Factors Which Affect The Travel And Tourism Industries Tourism Essay

Factors Which Affect The Travel And Tourism Industries Tourism Essay Introduction to Hospitality Industry Hospitality Industry, historians have traced the development of the hospitality industry through of thousands of years and many cultures. The term of hospitality industry can define as an age-old industry because historians speculate the first overnight lodging structures were erected along Middle Eastern. Viewing the industry through the e lens of history is helpful because it reveals the strong relationship between the shape of hospitality and the needs and want, the hospitality industry will continue to change in what they need and want, the hospitality industry will also continue to change. The hospitality industry encompasses a wide range of businesses, each of which is dedicated of the service of people away from home. (Chon, 2010) The hospitality and tourism industries are the largest and fast-growing industries in the world. The hospitality industry consists of wide category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging industry components, food industry components, recreation sports and entertainment components, transportation industry, and supplementary fields within the tourism industry. (Chon, 2010) Advantages in the hospitality industry From the simple origins as privately owned, independently operated businesses are the hospitality industry because has grown in complexity and size. Todays hospitality businesses interact with one another on a global basis, and must stay aware of what is happening around them. For an example, management companies and hotel chains now spread across the world; economic conditions in Singapore affect a companys holdings there and elsewhere. Hospitality businesses are closely intertwined with those in the travel and tourism. Tourism is travel for recreation or the promotion and arrangement of such travel. Tourism and the hospitality industry so strongly affect one another that some associations and industry leaders, including the Council on Hotel, Restaurant and institutional Education (CHRIE), consider the combined industries of hospitality and tourism as one large industry- the hospitality and tourism industry. The components of this large industry include: (Chon, 2010) Food and Beverage Service Lodging Service and Ski Resort Recreation Service Campground and Theme Parks Travel- Related(Tourism) Service The Gaming industry Product provides with personal service in conjunction with the first four components. Because these components are separate and often competing industries, this group industries will be referred to in this text of an interconnected set of parts or components. Channel Distribution is one of the important uses in hospitality industry. Channel distribution is used to transfer merchandise from the manufacturer to the end user. An intermediary in the channel is called a middleman. Channels normally range from two-level channels without intermediaries to five-level channel with three intermediaries. For an example, a caterer who prepares food and sells it directly to the customer is in a two level channel. A food manufacturer who sells to a restaurant supplier, who sells to individual restaurant, who then serve the customer, is in a four-level channel. Intermediaries in the channel of distribution are used to facilitate the delivery of the merchandise as well as to transfer title, payments, and information about the merchandise. For example, a manufacturer may rely upon the workforces employed by a distributor to sell the product, make deliveries, and collect payments. The channels used by a marketer are an integral part of the marketing plan a nd play a role in all strategic marketing decisions. Global distribution system is the worldwide computerized reservation network used as a single point of access for reserving airlines seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related items by travel agents, online reservations sites, and large corporations. The premier GDS are Amadeus, Galileo, Saber, and World span owned and operated as joint ventures by major airlines, car rental firms, and hotel groups and also called automated(ARS) or computerized reservations system(CRS). 1.3 Disadvantages in the hospitality Industry The disadvantages of Globalization on the hospitality industry are as follows: Language Barriers Due to Globalization, the hospitality industry can employ people from different countries- as it is usually cheaper they may sometimes have problems in communicating with the customers. Many customers get quite irate as a result of this. (Chon, 2010) Cultural Barriers: As there are people from various cultures, one needs to be careful not to offend them. For example, a Muslim will not eat pork one needs to make sure not serve food which contains pork. (unless specifically asked). Whats acceptable by one culture may be frowned upon by another. Events/Disasters in other Countries: A disaster or even taking place in one country may affect our country (the home country) also. For example, the financial crisis makes less people want to spend money or travel; due to increase in terrorism some visitors get are not ready to travel to certain countries. Seasonal Employment: During peak periods, a lot of jobs are available but as soon as the tourists go back the jobs disappear as well. For example: Goa India; the locals in Goa get their income only during the peak season, (Dec-Feb and April July) after which they have no jobs and no income. Increasing use of technology to communicate: Due to international barriers, there has been a steady increase in the use of technology for communication (through the internet, voice recordings). This removes the human touch. Developing Countries: Countries that are unable to keep up with the advancement in technology tend to lose out. Example: Africa does not have the infrastructure or technology as yet to welcome a large amount of foreign visitors, though it does have a lot of natural attractions. To increase the flow, it would have to improve conditions; otherwise tourists have a vast sea of areas to choose from. Increase in Crime Rate: With the increase in tourists, crimes increase too. Example: pick-pocketing, hustling, rape, smuggling. Bad Habits: People from other countries sometimes influence the local youth in a bad way. Increase in drugs and promiscuous behavior, etc. Environment Depletion: Globalization causes an imbalance in the eco system. People usually throw their garbage around everywhere which could cause sickness, to encourage more visitors, areas of greenery are cleared and wildlife killed which is a major cause for global warming. Loss of Cultural Pride and Values: To suit customer needs to change or modify various services and products. For example: Certain food dishes are changed ( in taste, names become more westernized ) to make them more attractive to visitors. This, in a way, leads to the loss of culture as one wants to become and behave like the tourists that come into our country. 1.4 Conclusion Hotel business is growing and developing a career centre, Includes travel, tourism, restaurants and recreational facilities and the government more and more people are turning to industry to make money. For those planning to venture into the hospitality industry, it helps to know the common terms and words of a particular industry.If we manage a restaurant in the street with heavy tourist traffic for example, we wound want to stay current with local attractions and question beyond the experience of visitors to our restaurant. This will enable our customers to get the best service the focal point of the hotel industry. Experienced travelers may want to know the abbreviation for the hotel industry, the industry stands and password in order to plan the best possible vacation. Beginners may want to be informed about the latest jargon in order to make their trip go more smoothly. QUESTION 2 Find out the factors that affecting travel and tourism. Explain in detail. 2.1 Introduction to Travel and Tourism The travel and tourism industry is the largest individual industry in the world and the largest contributor to global economic development. Worldwide, this rapidly changing industry generates more than $2.5 trillion annually and provides jobs for more than 112 million people. In terms of total revenues, investment and employment travel is also the fastest-growing industry. (Chon, 2010) The components of the hospitality network may be independent and competitive businesses, yet they share an interdependency that has evolved over the centuries. The relationship can be seen in the roles that destinations and hospitality facilities play in motivating people to travel. Although travel encompasses all movement or displacement of people, not all travel involves tourism. Refugee, migrants, explorers, nomads, soldiers, and commuters certainly travel, but they are not tourists. Tourism-related travel involves the movements of visitors to a place to enjoy attractions, special events, hospitability, lodging, food, and entertainment. The tourism industry is concerned with attraction and events that draw tourists and excursionists to an area. (Chon, 2010) 2.2 Factor which support the growth of tourism The most effective factors that inspire the growth of tourism of a country are the stability of Politics of a country. This is because the country is safe from crime, wars and helps to protect the safety of tourism. For an example, Singapore the fast growing country is focusing more on safety of tourist, so that the political stable will be respected and impressed by the tourist and also will generates the growth of a country. Furthermore, one of the important aspects is Economic development of a country. To relate this, if the economy of a country is stable, there will be more investors to invest in our country as well joint ventures. For an example, if the economy growth is higher than, the number of tourist will be also increase. Besides that, more strategic tourist spots are being built to attract the tourist to come over to experience as well as to have leisure time. Also, this is mainly to promote the entire region or city as either a business or pleasure destination. In addition, one of the strongest factors in choosing destination is the desire to visit family and friend. Although people visiting other people often do not need commercial lodging, they probably will take advantage of other hospitality and tourism service such as transportation, recreation, food, museums, entertainment, and product during their trip. As a final point, the most imperative dynamics that can boost the growth of tourism is through Education. In todays world, education plays a vital role for every individual to be successful in life. In addition, the Ministry if Higher Education can come out various types of education plan in order to promote the eminence of education of our country as well as to be hub for foreign countries to twin-up their educational programmes. 2.3 Factor which effecting Travel and Tourism There are quite a number of factors that could most likely to contribute to boost up the Travel and Tourism Industry of country. A healthy tourism trade benefits countries Economically, Sosioculurtrally, and Environmentally. Of course, some effects the travel tourism also exist. Careful planning and management can help lessen negative impact. 2.2.1 The Economic Affect of Tourism In a narrow sense, tourism refers to the activity or practice of travelling for personal enlightenment, education or pleasure. In a broader sense, tourism is the business of providing information, transportation, accommodation and other service to all types of travelers, whether travelling for business or pleasure. Tourism is now firmly established almost where in the world, from the high mountains of Tibet to the Amazon jungle of Brazil. Whether the sites are ancient ruins, mountain, forests, or beaches, tourism development has inevitably followed discovery. The Economic benefits of tourism are undeniable. The most visible economic benefits of tourism is employment. Tourism provides jobs such workers as hotel employees, taxi drivers, tour guides, construction workers, entertainers, restaurant employees, and transportation workers. Many such jobs would not exist if tourism had not been developed. Foe example, if taxi drivers in Malaysia could not transport visitors to hotels, they might not have a livelihood as taxi drivers at all. (Chon, 2010) Besides employment, tourism also generates revenue that benefits the local population by increasing economic activity. Taxes paid by tourist help local government fund education, health are and other service. Money spent by a traveler at a hotel or restaurant help to pay employee wages and support other business. Eventually, the same money is used to by food, clothing and other products and services, further benefiting the country. (Chon, 2010) 2.3.2 The Culture Affect of Tourism One of the most positive effects of tourism is cross culture awareness, the fostering of understanding between people of different nations and culture. The opportunity to exchange knowledge, ideas, and tradition is more available today than at previous time in history. Aside from merely satisfying curiosity, tourism promotes international good will and the exchange of culture values. For statistical purpose, the United Nations divides countries into two broad categories: developed countries and developing countries. The developed countries include all North America and European countries, as well as Japan, Australia, New Zealand. Developing countries are nations that have relatively poor economic and lack advanced Technologies. They are located in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Asian mainland. (Chon, 2010) Tourism is a major economic factor in most developed countries. According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO, 90 percent of all tourism are concentrated in 15 Countries in North America and Europe. To support a thriving tourism industry, airports must be built or expanded to accommodate jet aircraft and tourist facilities such as hotels, restaurants, and recreational sites must be constructed for visitors. The underlying framework of facilities and systems required to support a tourism industry is called tourism infrastructure. Particularly in developing countries, the creation of a tourism infrastructure can have a profound social, culture and environmental affect. 2.3.3 The Sociocultural Affect of Tourism The affect of increased hospitality and tourism activities on the ways individual interact with other members of their society also may be positive or negative. Changing family lifestyle and cross- culture contacts may result in either positive or negative influences. However, most concern surrounds the social ills that can results from countries. (Chon, 2010) Changing Family Lifestyle Many local residences find their lives changed when obtain tourism- related employment. Young people may enter the job market for the first time when tourism development occurs. On the positive sides, this may contribute to increased family income, allowing families to buy products that were previously beyond their means. The changes in lifestyles may also lead to demands for better housing and change in dress and eating habits. When local people adopt practices from tourists, this is known as the demonstration effect the demonstration effect can have a negative outcome, though if local residents come to realize that, even with their increased income, they cannot afford to live like the tourist. A feeling of envy or resentment toward affluent visitors may results. This situation tends to occur most in those destinations where the economy is based primarily on tourism. (Chon, 2010) Social Ills Social ills include such problems as crime, displacement and discrimination. Organized crime and prostitution are sometimes associated with tourism. Indeed, research studies show a correlation between growth of tourism and increased crime. Promoters, law enforcement officers, and other stakeholders may have to deal with the facts that tourists who do not know their way around a city may be targets for criminals. The negative publicity from such attacks may be difficult to overcome. (Chon, 2010) The negative effect of tourism may be included discriminations. Hiring and promotion practices of corporation new to an area may be discriminatory against local employees. A community may be discriminate agents transplanted corporate employees. When there are not enough local workers to build and manage the tourist business, workers may be brought in from outside the area or even the country. A sudden wave of large numbers of outside workers may cause resentment in local workers. This is especially true if the incoming employees occupancy menial jobs to local workers. For an example. If local worker see a higher standard of living for the newcomers, they may actively discriminate against them. On the other sides, if the culture and lifestyle of the local residents is very different from that of the newcomers, the newcomers may by uncomfortable in theirs situation. (Chon, 2010) 2.4 The Environmental Affect of Tourism Protecting the environment is now one of the most talked about and hotly-debated topics across the globe. Many companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to create products or make their products environmentally friendly. An example is the electric car that is being looked at as a viable option to that of the present gasoline powered car. In 2009 world leaders met in Copenhagen to discuss ways in which they can prevent global warming and reduce on the effects of climate change, in effect protecting the environment. The travel industry too has nit been left out of this issue. In a industry where the number of people engaged in international travel has been predicted to reach the billion marks in 2010, there is concern about its contribution to the damage bone to the environment. Also like every other industry the travel industry needs to be concerned about ways of doing business that are environmentally friendly. Outlined below are some of the environmental issues affecting the travel industry which stakeholders need to address and in some cases seek out long term solutions? Aviation which ferries hundreds of thousands of tourist across the globe is of great concern to those seeking to protect the environment. A major concern for the industry is greenhouse gas emissions. One way the aviation industry is working on this problem is by rolling out newer planes that have fuel efficient engines which means less carbon emissions. However not all airlines especially in the poor countries cant afford buying new aircraft. Mass Tourism, with the cost of travel becoming cheaper and more and more people venturing away from countries to place that were previously inaccessible but can now be reached because of air transport, areas of environmental and historical significance are becoming crowded. This is putting pressure on ecosystems within these areas and threatening the flora and fauna. Also climate change is going to mean that certain place will not favor visitors because of weather conditions becoming extreme which will lead to overcrowding in other place with more favorable weather conditions. Again this presents a danger to the ecosystems in the overcrowded areas and to the tourism of the area. (Chon, 2010) Deforestation, in spite of the worldwide call to protect the environment there are still areas where massive logging is taking place. This is also contributing to destruction of flora and fauna and is a threat to the tourism of the area. Besides that, with the call to go green affecting all industries across the globe the tourism industry has not been left out. There is pressure on those who are in the industry to find methods of doing business that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. For example, can the hotel industry builds hotels that are more environmental friendly? What methods can they use to conserve energy and reduce on chemicals that are in the dry cleaning of tons of laundry used in the industry? Human Encroachment, with populations continuing to grow worldwide there is mow competition between man and animals for space. Human are now encroaching on areas like National Part that are protected and marked for wildlife. This has led to reports of people and their livestock being killed by wild animals which in turn leads to people hunting and killing these animals that are considered to be a threats this is a threats to be tourism of the area. Human encroachment is also forcing animals to move away from their habitat to other areas where they cannot survive leading to the extinction of certain species. 2.5 Conclusion The travel and tourism field is the fast growing paced and rapidly growing in world. Each year, the tourism industry is increasing seems more difficulty to employees to undertake the trainer of new entrants to the fields. The parallel growth in the use of sophisticated technologies has complicated this situation. At the same time, travelers throughout the world have becomes more sophisticated, more knowledge and more demanding. Bibliography Websites Reference Scribe(2011), Hospitality Industry, Retrieved on February 12,2011 from http://www.scribd.om/doc/8691190/discuss-the-impact-of-globalization-on-the-hospitality-industry Business Dictionary(2011), Global Distribution System, Retrieved on March 13,2011 from http://www.busineedictionary.com?definition/global-distribution-system-GDS.html. Bized(2011), Factors Affecting the Travel and Tourism Industry, Retrieved on March 13,2011 from http://www.bized.co.uk Book Reference Kaye Chon, Thomas, A. Maier, 3rd Edition, Welcome to Hospitality and Introduction, USA: Delmer.

The Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival The Qingming Festival, Clear Bright Festival, Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice (or the 15th day from the Spring Equinox), usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar (see Chinese calendar). Astronomically it is also a solar term (See Qingming). The Qingming festival falls on the first day of the fifth solar term, named Qingming. Its name denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime (TÃ  qÄ «ng, treading on the greenery) and tend to the graves of departed ones. Qingming has been regularly observed as a statutory public holiday in Taiwan and in the Chinese jurisdictions of Hong Kong and Macau. Its observance was reinstated as a public holiday in mainland China in 2008, after having been previously suppressed by the ruling Communist Party in 1949. Tomb Sweeping Day and Clear Bright Festival are the most common English translations of Qingming Festival. Tomb Sweeping Day is used in several English language newspapers published in Taiwan. Qinming Festival originated from Hanshi Day (literally, Day with cold food only), memorial day for Jie Zitui (or Jie Zhitui,). He died in 636 BC in the Spring and Autumn Period. He was one of many followers of Duke Wen of Jin before he became Duke. One time during Duke Wen of Jins 19 years of exile, they didnt have any food, and Jie prepared some meat soup for Duke Wen of Jin, who enjoyed it a lot and wondered where Jie got the soup. It turned out Jie cut a piece of meat from his own thigh to make the soup. Duke Wen of Jin was so moved, he promised to reward him on day. However Jie was not the type of people who sought rewards, instead, he just wanted to help Duke Wen of Jin to return to Jin to become Duke. Once Duke Wen of Jin succeeded the throne of Duke, Jie resigned and stayed away from the Duke. Duke Wen of Jin rewarded the people who helped him in the decades, but for some reason, he forgot to reward Jie, who by then had moved into the forest with his mother. Duke Wen of Jin we nt to the forest, but couldnt find Jie. Heeding suggestions from his officials, Duke Wen of Jin ordered to set the forest in fire to force out Jie, however, Jie died in the fire. Feeling so remorse, Duke Wen of Jin ordered the 3 days without fire to honor Jies memory. The county where Jie died is still called Jiexiu (literally meaning the place Jie resting forever). Qingming has a tradition stretching back more than 2,500 years.[4] Its origin is credited to the Tang Emperor Xuanzong in 732. Wealthy citizens in China were reportedly holding too many extravagant and ostentatiously expensive ceremonies in honour of their ancestors. Emperor Xuanzong, seeking to curb this practice, declared that respects could be formally paid at ancestors graves only on Qingming.[5] The observance of Qingming found a firm place in Chinese culture and continued uninterrupted for over two millennia. In 1949 the Communist Party of China repealed the holiday. Observance of Qingming remained suppressed until 2008, when the Party reinstated the holiday. The Qingming Festival is an opportunity for celebrants to remember and honor their ancestors at grave sites. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, (joss) paper accessories, and/or libation to the ancestors. The rites have a long tradition in Asia, especially among farmers. Some people carry willow branches with them on Qingming, or put willow branches on their gates and/or front doors. They believe that willow branches help ward off the evil spirit that wanders on Qingming. Also on Qingming people go on family outings, start the spring plowing, sing, dance, and Qingming is a time where young couples start courting. Another popular thing to do is fly kites (in shapes of animals or characters from Chinese opera). Others carry flowers instead of burning paper, incense or firecrackers as is common. The holiday is often marked by people paying respects to those who died in events considered sensitive in China. The April Fifth Movement and the Tiananmen Incident were major events on Qingming that took place in the history of the Peoples Republic of China. When Premier Zhou Enlai died in 1976, thousands visited him during the festival to pay their respects. Many also pay respects to victims of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and the graves of Zhao Ziyang and Yang Jia in areas where rights of free expression are generally recognized, as in Hong Kong; in most areas of China such observances are suppressed and all public mention of such subjects is taboo.[4][6] In Taiwan the national holiday is observed on April 5 because the ruling Kuomintang moved it to that date in commemoration of the death of Chiang Kai-shek on April 5. The holiday is nevertheless observed in the traditional manner, with families gathering to honour their own ancestors, visit and maintain their family shri nes, and share traditional meals. Despite having no holiday status, the overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asian nations such as those in Singapore and Malaysia take this festival seriously; deep in heritage, rituals and strict decorum. Qing Ming in Malaysia is an elaborate family function or a clan feast (usually organized by the respective clan association) to commemorate and honor their late relations at grave site and their distant ancestry of China at home altar, clan temple or a makeshift altar in a Buddhist or Taoist temple. For the oversea community, Qing ming festival is very much a family heritage and at the same, a family obligation. The overseas Chinese see this festival as a time to reflect, honor and give thanks to their forefathers. The oversea Chinese normally visit the graves of their late relations at the nearest weekend of the actual date. According to the ancient custom, grave site veneration is only feasible 10 days before and after Qingming Festival. If the visit is not on the actual date normally veneration before Qingming is encouraged. Qingming Festival in Malaysia and Singapore normally started early in the morning, with the ancestral veneration at home altar- paying respect to the distant ancestors from China. This would be followed by visiting the graves of their close relations in the country. Some would take the extent of filial piety to visit the graves of their ancestors in mainland China. Traditionally, family will burn paper money (paper have imprint of money) and paper replica of some material good such car, maid, home, phone, and etc. In Chinese culture, even though a person died, he/she may still need all of these in the afterlife. There should always an even number of dishes put in front of the grave and a bowl of rice with incense stick upright. Then, family members start taking turn to bow before the tomb of the ancestors. Bowing will go in order, which starts with the most senior member of the family and so on. After the ancestor worship at the gr ave site, the whole family or the whole clan would be feasting the food and drinks they brought for the worship at the site or nearby gardens in the memorial park, signifying family reunion with the ancestors. Hanshi, the day before Qingming, was created by Chonger, the Duke Wen of the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period. The festival was established after Chonger accidentally burned to death his personal friend and servant Jie Zhitui (or Jie Zitui) and Jie Zituis mother. Chonger ordered the hills they were hiding in set on fire in hopes that Jie Zitui would return to his service, but the fire killed Jie and his mother. On Hanshi, people were not allowed to use fires to heat up food, thus nicknaming it the Cold Food Festival. Eventually, 300 years ago, the Hanshi celebration was combined with the Qingming festival, but later abandoned by most people. The Qingming festival holiday holds significance in Chinese Tea culture since this specific day divides the fresh green teas by their picking dates. Green teas made from leaves picked before this date is given the prestigious pre-qingming or mingqian designation which commands a much higher price tag. These teas are prized for having much lighter and subtler aromas than those picked after the festival.(I download the last two paragraph from the internet)

Gloria Naylors Mama Day Essay -- Gloria Naylor Mama Day Essays

Gloria Naylor's Mama Day It is impossible to interpret Gloria Naylor’s 1988 novel, Mama Day, in one way. There are multiple standpoints that a reader can take in explaining various events that occur throughout the book, as well as different ways that the characters in the book interpret these events. The author never fully clarifies many questions that the story generates so as to leave the readers with the opportunity to answer them based on their own personal experiences and beliefs. The multiplicity of perspectives in Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day is embodied in the legend of Sapphira Wade and the dynamics between logic and the supernatural and between George and Cocoa. Sapphira Wade is a character that Naylor uses as a tool to immediately present the theme of multiple perspectives. Sapphira, who was brought to the island of Willow Springs as a slave in 1819, is at the top of the Day family tree. Through time her legacy had transformed to the point that her true identity became more of a matter of opinion than a matter of fact. Even the simple matter of the appearance of her skin becomes so distorted through the time span of a few generations that each member of the Willow Springs community describes her complexion differently. In regards to her supernatural attributes, members of the community portray Sapphira as being able to â€Å"walk through a lightning storm without being touched† and â€Å"use the heat of lightning to start the kindling going under her medicine pot: depending upon which of [them] takes a mind to her† (Naylor 3). It is up to the reader to decide which viewpoints to accept about Sapphira. These varying view s on Sapphira’s identity provide the reader with immediate evidence of the theme of multiple tr... ...it’s not as if [they] were dressing to petition the pope† (Naylor 230). Of course Cocoa’s perception of the situation was quite different: â€Å"I had to be perfect that evening† she says (Naylor 233). Both George and Cocoa feel as if the discrepancy was the fault of the other. Their attitudes regarding the situation that night are completely different. Mama Day is filled with situations in which the theme of multiplicity of perception arises. Various types of readers can interpret these situations in ways they feel are appropriate, just as different characters tend to have different perceptions of things based on their own values and ways of thinking. The important thing is that the reader does not forget that there is, in fact, more than one way to view these situations, and ignoring any one of them can take away from the worth of the book.

Media’s Influence on Adolescent Body Image Essay -- Adolescent Behavio

Today’s society is a consumers’ society in which trying to obtain perfection is one of the fastest selling businesses (DeLaMater Pg. 12). Mass media, advertising, and fashion industries are being accused of feeding off females dissatisfaction with their bodies by portraying unhealthy thin role models in order to sell their products. This unachievable physique and lifestyle has led today’s adolescence down a dark path of such extreme eating disorders as anorexia and bulimia. Although it may sound nice to be societies perception of thin, there are consequences to these eating disorders such as cardiac failure that lead to horrifying defects or even death. In the 1950s, models such as Marilyn Monroe or Zhazha Gabor didn’t suffer from a lack of beauty due to a voluptuous figure. Then starting in 1960’s the ideal body has become more slim and slender. Twiggy had become a singer, actress, and a fashion icon during the 1960’s when she became the face of the fashion industry. Twiggy began to starve herself in order to become more â€Å"beautiful†. In addition to having such an influence on fashion, â€Å"Twiggy [had] also changed the way that women thought about their [own] bodies,† (Rosenzweig et al. Pg.62). Women of the 1960s and today have struggled to attain this slender body such as Twiggy's, sometimes going to extreme lengths to do so. Although some of these role models might actually obtain these thin bodies through strenuous workouts and healthy diets, there are a huge number of them, such as Twiggy, that obtained them through extreme dieting. Frightened and inspired by these role models, overweigh t and even teenagers that are healthy according to their BMI (Body Mass Index) continue with strict dieting and exercise regimens. An Article... ...en death associated with eating disorders." Internet Journal of Cardiovascular Research 7.1 (2010): 1. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. Mehler, Philip S., and Mori Krantz. "Anorexia Nervosa Medical Issues." Journal of Women's Health (15409996) 12.4 (2003): 331. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. (331-340) Morris, Anne, Katzman Debra. â€Å"The Impact of the Media on Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents.† Paediatrics & Child Health (2003) 287-289. Pulsis Group Inc. Web. 18 March 2011. Rosenzweig, Marianne, and Jean Spruill. "Twenty Years After Twiggy: A Retrospective Investigation of Bulimic-Like Behaviors." International Journal of Eating Disorders 6.1 (1987): 59-65. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. Winston, A. P., and P. J. Stafford. "Cardiovascular effects of anorexia nervosa." European Eating Disorders Review 8.2 (2000): 117-125. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. http://www.wisegeek.com/who-is-twiggy.htm

Essay --

According to the Victim oriented multi-disciplinary responses to statutory rape training guide, â€Å"Law enforcement often assigns statutory rape cases a much lower priority than incest and forcible rape cases with young children. There is a belief among criminal justice officials that investigation and arrest are a waste of time because prosecutors will not prosecute except in most egregious cases† (Elstein & Smith, 1998). Statutory rape laws should be just as much of a priority as child abuse and forcible rape. Throwing away statutory rape cases is not effective regardless of how hard it is to prosecute. A minor does not know what is best for him or her it should not matter whether or not the victim is willing to testify. If proof that a minor is indeed involved in a cases where his or her partner is considered an adult by law then that person should be convicted. It is hard to prosecute statutory rape cases because most of the ‘victims’ are not willing to test ify against their partners. The minors involved in the cases are usually in the relationship because they want to be not becaus...

Insidious Film Review Essay

Insidious is terrifying in a completely different way than most horror movies. While the genre continues to creep toward exorcisms, thrill killers and the mentally deranged. It’s not out to scare viewers as much as it is to creep them out. The Lambert’s have just moved into a new house. Renai quit her job to focus on music and raise the kids, but the latter is proving to be more time-consuming than expected. There’s boxes to unpack, a baby who won’t stop crying and a husband who’s becoming increasingly distant. Josh assures her nothing’s wrong, but something feels off. She knows it. She just can’t put her finger on what. Unfortunately, that proof comes by way of a terrible accident. Oldest son Dalton goes exploring in the attic and lands on his head. Apart from a few bumps and bruises, he initially seems fine but fails to wake up the following morning. He’s rushed to the hospital where the puzzled doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong. He’s not in a coma. He just won’t wake up. Renai wakes up all the time. Anonymous eyes seem to be upon her. Something is inside the house. It’s sporadic at first, but after Dalton, still in his non-coma, is moved back home, the strange incidents start becoming more noticeable. Doors open in the middle of the night, alarms go off and there’s weird whisperings on the baby monitor. Tired, scared and fed up, the Lambert’s once again move to a new house, but their exodus only makes things worse. Bloody handprints are found on Dalton’s bed and faces appear in the windows almost nightly. After Josh’s mother witnesses a horrifying red-faced figure herself, she recommends the couple phone her old friend Elise. In preparation for her visit, Elise sends a two-man team of demon hunters to inspect the authenticity of the haunting claim. Scanning the ceilings for poisonous fumes to weed out the hallucinators and yelling at Josh for taking action figures out of their boxes, the Mutt and Jeff pair serve as a strange and wonderful precursor to their boss, who over-emphatically concludes there’s an epic problem at hand. Dalton is an astraltraveler. He leaves his body at night to voyage into the further, a sketchy realm where dead souls congregate, reliving horrors and coaxing the living into abandoning their Earthly bodies. There, he’s been taken prisoner by a devil-looking psychopath who climbs walls, listens to old wind-up music and wants to inhabit his body to embark on a murderous rampage. What makes the film work are the characters, the setting, the atmosphere and the really nice build-up of suspense and drama. Patrick Wilson is adequate as the troubled father and Rose Byrne is excellent as wife Renai. The film loses it’s edge in the second half as Wilson takes the helm, Byrne is the stronger of the two but is left with little to do or say and the weight of the film suffers as a result. The small cast works well and credit should go to Lin Shaye as the medium. Joseph Bishara’s music score is exceptionally creepy and the lighting, make-up of the ghostly faces is enough to give some nightmares. What works well is that while there are computer generated shots, they are well designed and hardly a distracting. All in all, Insidious is not for everyone, but I highly recommend you to check it out. In five years, if I’m flipping channels and see any twenty second excerpt from this film, I guarantee I won’t need the guide to tell me I’m watching Insidious. Not many movies can say that.

Ba Main Transformation Process

Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to discuss the main theories, models, frameworks and issues in the area of operations management, using British Airways as a working model, throughout the report. It was prepares for a coursework assignment as part of a Operations Management Module Academic journals and books from the area of operations management were used to illustrate the main points in the report to give evidence and back up the information provided. Key findings of this report show how quality impacts on the development of the operations strategy in British Airways and how the key elements of design contribute hugely in operations. The importance and role of supply chain was discussed and three quality control methods; Quality Sampling, Total Quality Management and ISO 9000 were evaluated to how they could improve the performance of British Airways. Conclusions were drawn and it was found that operations management, based on the points discussed is a major factor to an organisations success. Contents Page Page Number 1. Introduction4 2. BA’s Main Transformation Process 5 & 6 3. Quality & Operations Strategy 7, 8 & 9 4. Design in Operations 10 4. 1Concept Generation10 2. Concept Screening10 4. 3Preliminary Design 10 & 11 4. 4Evaluation and Improvement11 4. 5Prototyping and final design 11 & 12 5. The Role of Supply Chain 13 1. Quality13 2. Speed14 3. Dependability14 4. Flexibility15 5. Cost15 6. Quality Control Methods16 1. Quality Sampling17 2. Total Quality Management 17 & 18 3. ISO 900018 7. Conclusions19 8. References 20 & 21 1. Introduction This report has been issued by University as part of this Operations Management module, in which a company will be selected and used as a working model throughout the report. The chosen company that will be used in relation to operations management is British Airways (hereafter BA). The various elements of operations management will be researched and applied to BA’s main transformation process. This will be done using academic articles and books in the area of operations management to illustrate the main points. The report will begin with an overview of BA’s main transformation process indicating key inputs and outputs and then investigate how quality might impact upon the development of the operation strategy. Next it will review the key elements of design and how this impacts on the operation. Finally the role of supply chain in BA’s operation will be discussed and three different quality control methods will be evaluated to show how these might improve the performance in operations. Conclusions will be drawn and any overriding management issues identified. . BA’s Main Transformation Process The transformation process is a â€Å"model that describes operations in terms of their input resources, transforming processes and outputs of goods or services† (Slack et al, 2008, Page 8) BA use their aircrafts and staff which allows passengers and freight to travel from one destination to another thus, making this BA’s main transformation process. The operations fu nction of a business is the arrangement of the resources which are allocated to the production and delivery of an organisations goods and services. Three roles that are important for an operations function are the implementer, supporter and driver of the business strategy. In this example the operations functions follows the inputs of the transformation process. BA’s main transformation process inputs are the 238 aircraft in service, 32 million passengers, and 760,000 tonnes of cargo that it carried in 2009/10 along with the pilots and cabin crew. These are the transforming resources which allow the operation to take place and results in the service being provided. This uses the transformed resources which can be split into two types; facilities such as the buildings and equipment, and staff who are all the people involved in the operation in some way. (ba. com) â€Å"The main activities of British Airways Plc and its subsidiary undertakings are the operation of international and domestic scheduled air services for the carriage of passengers, freight and mail and the provision of ancillary services† As BA is one of the worlds largest airlines operating internationally, the transformation process can be complicated with many units or departments interconnecting and contributing to the overall operation. Some of the operations with in BA include British Airways World Cargo carrying freight, mail and courier traffic. (ba. com) They key outputs of BA’s transformation process are the millions of transported passengers to over 300 worldwide destinations and the cargo including dangerous goods and live animals. The outputs are services and therefore intangible. 3. Quality & Operations Strategy Operations strategies plan how the function will achieve future goals which are aligned with the companies overall strategy. This can be done by understanding current capabilities and limitations, exploiting current capabilities in quality and process innovation. The basic role of operations is to implement strategy. â€Å"Operations strategy concerns the pattern of strategic decisions and actions which set the role, objectives and activities of the operation† (Slack et al, 2007, Page 63) Operations are the resources that create products and services. There are four perspectives on operations strategy; top down, market requirements, bottom up and operations resources perspective. BA states â€Å"Meeting the rising expectations of our customers’ remains central to our strategy of transforming British Airways into the world’s leading global premium airline† This includes investment in their staff, aeroplanes and facilities in order to provide a premium quality service to their customers. (ba. com) â€Å"Quality is consistent conformance to customers’ expectations† (Slack et al, 2007, Page 539) Relating this to the above strategy of BA the quality of the service would be the friendly and helpful cabin crew, the flight leaving on time, clean aircraft and baggage arriving at the same time and destination as the passenger. Punctuality ensures other operational processes run smoothly and remains a key factor in whether customers would recommend British airways to other travellers† (ba. com). Therefore if BA produces a quality service to all of its customers, it is likely that they will get more business through recommendation s and giving them an advantage over other airlines. As the quality of service that BA provides is paramount to the customer and can be a deciding factor on repeat business, this will have to be incorporated to the overall operations strategy of the organisation for it to be a success. In BA’s 2009/10 annual report and accounts their strategy and objectives include meeting customer needs and improving margins through new revenue streams. Total Quality Management can have an influential impact on this as quality can reduce costs and increase dependability. â€Å"Lowered total quality expenditures, increased level of quality and reallocation of quality resources to prevention and away from appraisal and defect/failure correction activities† (SAM Advanced Management Journal, 1990, Page 25). This supports the above strategy of BA. TQM enables the developing of strategic thinking due to its inter-disciplinary nature† (Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 2004, Page 264) Overall in respect to BA this means that there has to be quality control in place for the overall strategy to be successful. When developing the operations strategy, taking quality into consideration there may be a higher cost initially, however, referring to the research a bove costs may be reduced overall due to less errors and more emphasis being placed on prevention tactics. 4. Design in Operations There are five stages of service design which will be looked at individually in relation to BA; 4. 1Concept Generation If BA were to introduce a new destination to the existing range that they already offer if they decide to follow the market requirement perspective which is â€Å"what the market position requires operations to do† (Slack et al, 2001, Page 65). A lot of people would have to be involved from management at the top down to the customers. Market research would be a good idea to get ideas and suggestions from the customers for the proposed new estination. â€Å"Operations strategy involves translating marketing requirements into operations decisions† (Slack et al, 2007, Page 63) 2. Concept Screening This stage involves the ides going through feasibility, acceptability and vulnerability evaluation. Questions such as are the resources such as aircrafts and staff available, will it be accepted and what may go wrong with it and will it all be answered and evalua ted. At this stage the ideas will progressively get fewer as each one is evaluated until there is only one possibility left. . Preliminary Design Preliminary design is the identifying of component products and services in the package, which in this case is the new flight destination in BA and the process of this will also be defined at this stage. The components of the new flight destination may be the aircraft, cabin crew, pilot, information leaflets and arrangement of new flight path and times. BA is part of a mass service process type in which there are many customers transactions therefore there is limited contact time and not much room for customisation. For example BA cannot put on a special journey for a single person as there are a range of pre-planned journeys for passengers to choose between. 4. Evaluation and Improvement Design evaluation and improvement is used to see if the preliminary design can be improves and this can be done using various techniques including quality function deployment, value engineering and taguchi methods. Looking at Quality Function Deployment (QFD), which is a technique used to ensure that the eventual design of BA’s service actually meets the needs of the customers. For example the new flight destination would have to be where the customers want to go and figure how this can be achieved. 5. Prototyping and final design The final stage of design is to turn the design into a prototype. For the new flight destination this may be running the flight on a trial basis to get reactions and feedback from the BA customers. Through the design process the five performance objectives; quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost will be considered. For example it can be decided if the quality of service will be the same as a regular flight or if it is going to be increased and marketed as a premium flight. Will the flight be dependable and be on a regular basis and will the cost be in relation to the service as mentioned above and if the customers will be willing to pay more. This would be classed as a product layout within BA which â€Å"involves locating the transforming resources entirely for the convenience of the transformed resources† (Slack et al, 2007, page 193). The transforming resources being the people, for example in BA as they can move through the airport in a predetermined route to enable them to get to the aircraft. 5. 0The role of Supply Chain A supply chain can be described as â€Å"A linkage or strand of operations that provides goods and services through to end customers; within a supply network several supply chains will cross through an individual operation† (Slack et al, 2007, page 402) All supply chain management has a common objective to satisfy the end customer and in the case of BA this will be the people travelling on the flight or BA’s World Cargo. As mentioned in the design process the five performance objectives; quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost will have to achieve appropriate levels in the supply chain. These can be looked at individually in relation to BA: 1. Quality For a flight many onboard services are required including the equipment food and drink. By the time the meal reaches the customer on the flight it has gone through many operations in the supply chain. It is important that at each stage there are minimal errors as this multiplies by the time it reaches the customer. Each stage then needs to take responsibility for its own and their supplier’s performance. This can in turn, ensure that the supply chain can achieve a high level of customer satisfaction at the end and therefore increase the chance of returning custom. 2. Speed In relation to BA, speed can mean the time it takes a customer to be served from the time they request the item to when it arrives. For example, receiving a drink in-flight. A fast response may be achieved by ensuring there is enough resources and stock, such as flight attendants and beverages within the supply chain. If there is a large amount of stock then the customers demand will be fulfilled. In order for this to be successful, the products received from further up the supply chain, such as from the manufacturers need to have fast throughput time. Achieving this allows the customer demands to be met if there is stock readily available. 3. Dependability This means that BA has to have to correct stock in the right place at the right time. The airline needs to have the correct number or supplies or more on board at the time of a flight take off to ensure the demands of the customers are met. For example â€Å"If the individual operations in a chain do not deliver as promised on time, there will be a tendency for customers to over order, or order early, in order to provide some kind of insurance against late delivery† (Slack et al, 2007, page 404) A way that BA can control their â€Å"items of low value, fairly consistent usage and short lead time† (Tersine, 1982, page 432) such as beverages is the two bin re-ordering system. This is an effective way of controlling stock levels as it can easily be seen when the re-order point is reached. 4. Flexibility Flexibility is the supply chains ability to manage changes and disturbances. If BA’s stock levels are managed this should allow flexibility so the end customer’s needs are met and done so in a responsive manner. For BA to be flexible all operations in the supply chain must also be flexible. 5. Cost At each operational stage of the supply chain costs are incurred in order to produce the final product or service. A way of reducing costs is through JIT. Just-in-time is a Japanese management philosophy which tries to eliminate waste and always improve productivity. JIT has many roles to play in an organisation as â€Å"Continuous improvement processes are associated with JIT including product quality, process efficiency, information systems and operating value-added activities more effectively while eliminating non-value-added activities† (Wild, 2002, page 61) BA may also incur costs whilst finding the right suppliers or trying to find one supplier of there required costs to cut the cost of their transactions and come to a mutually beneficial agreement for both parties. 6. Quality Control Methods Measures for quality characteristics within BA can include functionality which is how well the service does the job, for example taking people to their required destination safely. Appearance is another which relates to the decor and cleanliness of aircraft, lounges and crew. Reliability, consistency of the flight service and keeping to the allocated times is another characteristic which is important to the service that BA provides. Durability ensures that the service provided is up to date and relevant to the customers needs. Recovery is the ease with which problems can be resolved and contact between airline staff and customers. These characteristics can be measured as variables and attributes. For quality control methods to take place operations must identify how the quality characteristics can be measured and a standard to which it can be checked against. As much of BA’s quality comes down to service it can be difficult to perceive as this has no quantified measure. Quality control uses statistics, process analysis and quality standards, these attempts are to solve the root cause of any quality problems. Quality means â€Å"doing things right, first time, every time† (Slack et al, 2010, Page 505) and in turn this will have a positive effect on revenues costs and customer satisfaction. The techniques of controlling quality that will be looked at in relation to BA are; quality sampling, total quality management and ISO 9000. 1. Quality Sampling This can be done by handing out surveys towards the end of the flight to receive customer feedback. The results can then be used to determine whether or not the quality characteristics mentioned above are up to the correct standards as expected by the customers and what BA wants to achieve. This will not be 100% checking as not every person will take the time to fill this out; however it can give a good indication of BA’s performance. The results of this can then be used to find areas that need to be approved for example the courtesy of the crew or areas that are positive such are the decor and cleanliness of the aircraft. Overall if action is taken this should help to improve the performance of BA. 2. Total Quality Management Total Quality Management, (TQM) means meeting the needs and expectations of customers. This includes all costs associated with quality which are prevention, appraisal, internal and external failure costs. Prevention costs are used to save failures and errors occurring. This can be the training and development of personnel and designing and improving of services and aircrafts to reduce any quality problems. Appraisal costs that could be incurred with BA are the setting of sampling plans as mentioned above and also conducting customer surveys. Internal failure costs, dealt from within the BA may include lost time due to errors. For example if problems occur and a flight is delayed or unable to take off. If a strategy is in place this could prevent this error from happening. Finally external failure costs which are errors going out of the operation to the customer. An example can be an annoyed customer who take up the time of staff at a check in desk. The main aim of TQM is that the processes and products will be continually improved. 3. ISO 9000 Without any quality control methods there is little or no basis to measure and monitor quality performance. Certification to the ISO 9000 standard demonstrates if an organisations quality of service and products are acceptable. This may improve the performance of BA as it gives assurance to customers that the service has to be at a certain standard so therefore there could be an increase of custom. However this could prove costly to train staff and conducing audits. 7. Conclusions The main findings from this report were the effects of quality on the development of the operations strategy and how design also impacts on this within BA. It was shown how quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost form the basis to all the decisions that are made in the area of operations management. It was found that meeting the rising expectations of BA’s customers was paramount and quality control remained central in this. It was suggested that BA could us a survey to receive feedback to work on and improve if appropriate. This could increase the standard of quality of service within the organisation. The five stages of design in operations; concept generation, concept screening, preliminary design, evaluation and improvement and prototyping and final design were identified and evaluated. The role of supply chain was discussed against the five performance objectives; quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost will have to achieve appropriate levels in the supply chain. Quality and its importance were shown how it can improve the performance of BA. In final conclusion it as found that operations management, based on the points discussed is a major factor to an organisations success. 8. References LEONARD, D and MCADAM, R. , 2004. Total quality management in strategy and operations: dynamic grounded models, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management. online]. 15(3). Pp. 254-266. Available from: http://www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? issn=1741-038X&volume=15&issue=3&articleid=851034&show=html www. emeraldinsight. com [Accessed 12th December 2010] www. ba. com [Accessed throughout December 2010] SLACK, N. , CHAMBERS, S. and JOHNSTON, R. , 2007. Operations Management. 5th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited GILMORE, H. L. , 1990. Continuous Incrementa l Improvement: An Operations Strategy for Higher Quality, Lower Costs, and Global Competitiveness. SAM Advanced Management Journal. online]. 55(1). Pp. 21. Available from: http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? vid=10&hid=112&sid=a64d86a6-2b59-4820-89e8-685e3526e9e7%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=4601151 [Accessed 13th December 2010] SLACK, N. , CHAMBERS, S. and JOHNSTONE, R. , 2001. Operations Management. 3rd ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited WILD, T. , 2002. Best Practice in Inventory Management. 2nd ed. Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd TERSINE, R J. , 1982. Principles of Inventory and Materials Management. nd ed. New York, NY: Elsevier Science Publishing Co. , Inc TANNINEN, K. , PUUMALAINEN, K. and SANDSTROM, J. M. , 2010. the power of TQM: analysis of its effects on profitability, productivity and customer satisfaction. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. [online] 21(2) Pp. 171-184. Available from: http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detai l? vid=7&hid=105&sid=15499fbe-0026-4e12-b2c1-b55559c94134%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=47760259 [Accessed 16th December 2010]