147523-547837 - Michelle Glaser- Jul 3, 2017 1217 AM - A World Without

Michelle Glaser Dr. William Sewell English 201 Composition II A World Without Bodies Film ENGL-201-D31-2017SU Composition I A World Without Bodies Film This is a horror movie of the Nazi rule with respect to how it treated persons with disabilities. The film takes the method of a trip to Bernberg: the program -makers tours there with families of disabled people. The close people to honor all who m have died, consider the killings that had been done and reveal upon current day approaches to people living with disabilities . A World without Bodies film articulates an imperative story, and it fixes to a defiantly biased perspective . It is not perfect . Nevertheless, the I nfirmity Film Festival suggests a stage for programme-makers who are not in position to express their work in a conventional setting. This specific film is a brilliant case of precisely why we should rejoice its reality. 8763001559560 Starting with the outline of life science ideology , the filmmakers explore mechanisms of mass murder set up initially to persons with and thereafter moved to intended areas . This film gives a lasting sight into the health and social belief that headed to the or ganized killing of more than 270,000 physically challenged persons during World War II. The film eventually asks us to think of the effect of these actions on our approaches to people with infirmities in our local areas. Before we stretch to the city of Bernberg in the 21st century, audiences are drawn over the acres of clear records detailing the planned slaying of people with disabilities during the Nazi rule . Consider that in Barenberg people with disabilities are taken to hospitals and starved ; plac e cards having the writings 'S ome People Are Born to Be a Burden on The Rest'. There is a boundless agreement of doubt to the organized murder of disabled persons, which is in ways considered more adequate than the losses of other individuals who grieved during the Nazis. Some tried to defend the killings by saying that they were releasing the anguish of the involved. The film-makers prop ose s that this approach implies that this is the way of today's society as well , saying that di sabilities are seldom celebrated on ceremonies to other Holocaust fatalities , and that still view the " mercy killing" of persons with disabilities is right . Persons with disabilities faces several types of stigma which are because of their condition and the unpleasant encounters they have with those they interact with on daily basis. The bond between a person and their relatives is one of the strongest bonds in the world. Therefore, the killing of children and parents breaks this bond and threatens both the health of the parent and the one of the children . One of the stigmas facing protagonist is confusion and the overwhelming situation caused by the threat of the death . He is trying to navigate through an incredibly challenging world in which he has little support. Some parts of the film are horrific. The nurse testifies to the eyesight of viewing seventy stripped Bernberg 'patients' being chattered , snapshots of dark buses with tinted windows which were used to in transportation of disabled people to organizations of death, explanations of the whiffs which must have puffed over Bernberg while preys' bodies were being ashed in the crematorium, the crash as David Mitchell closed the door of the gas chamber. It is weird, seeing a group of people s with disabilities wheel and tremble near gas chambers . This is very absolutely a protest movie . The idea is that there is a great pact of uncertainty towards the organized murder of people with disabilities. Today, people living with mental disability are experiencing a unique type of torture - in addition to the one of living with that condition - separation from their children. Losing custody of a family member is only serving to intensify their pain . As seen in the movie, some of them are going through struggles when their loved ones are murdered in front of them. It is not necessary for a parent living with a disability to lose

Argues for the decriminalization of medicinal marijuana.

Argues for the decriminalization of medicinal marijuana. Gordon Hanson, an epileptic, served six months in a jail cell in Minnesota. Byron Stamate spent three months in a California jail when he tried to help his disabled girlfriend. Gordon Farrell Ethridge spent 60 days in an Oregon cell, though he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Will Forster was sentenced to spend more than 90 years in an Oklahoma jail, despite the fact that he suffered from chronic pain. These four people were all unjustly forced to serve time for trying to self-medicate with marijuana. As a result of the sentences, Hanson served his time despite his sporadic seizures. Stamate's girlfriend committed suicide so she would not have to testify against her boyfriend. Ethridge served his time while enduring the side effects caused by chemotherapytreatments. And Forster still sits in a jail cell, continuing to have chronic pain (Marijuana PolicyProject, mpp.org).There are only seven people allowed by federal law to use marijuana medicinally, though tens of thousands o f people use it as a medicine nationwide (MPP).Drug Enforcement Administration badge.For some people, legal medical options have been proven unsafe or ineffective, leading them to consider marijuana. Their only options are to either continue to suffer from their ailment or break the law, forcing them to worry about the trauma of getting caught. If this happened, their house would besearched and they would be handcuffed and escorted away in a police car. They may serve time in jail, eventually having to deal with court costs and attorney fees. Probation would result in urine tests, preventing the use of medicinal marijuana. The patient could lose their job, resulting in inability to pay for insurance or their bills. They would also get the reputation of being a "druggie," making doctors reluctant to prescribe pain medication to them, even if they...

The Lived Experience of Older Hispanic Women with Chronic Arthritic Research Proposal

The Lived Experience of Older Hispanic Women with Chronic Arthritic Pain - Research Proposal Example The various factors that influence the effectiveness of the treatment or prevention need to be identified and evaluated for providing better care and mechanisms of pain management and preventive measures. The study would look at the lived experience of older Hispanic women with chronic arthritis and help identify the various aspects of health disparity, disability and pain due to chronic arthritis in older Hispanic women who are 65 years and above. 2a. Statement of the problem In the target demographic segment of 65 years and above age group, chronic diseases are quite common. Christ and Diwan (2009) assert that from 2010, when the baby boomers start turning 65 years and above, there would be significant rise in the aged population. CDC (2007) reports that ethnic minority and Hispanic older population would be nearly 39% of 65 and over population by 2050! Hispanic American would increase by 18%. The racial diversity of older population becomes important ingredient of healthcare deliv erables because of the increasing health disparity. It further informs that 54% of women are afflicted with arthritis. With relatively large percentage of population constituting of Hispanic Americans, women, in particular, are more prone to arthritis and other chronic diseases. 2b. Purpose of the study The basic purpose of the study would be to study the lived experience of older Hispanic women with chronic arthritis and find out various aspects of the illness that impact quality of life in the target segment. It would help to address the issue from the wider perspective of socio-economic and cultural paradigm that would help evolve new mechanisms for improving their life. 2c. Significance of the study The study would help the authorities and healthcare industries to address the various external factors that impact the effectiveness of the arthritis treatment in older Hispanic women. It would go a long way in easing the pain of the chronic illness in aged Hispanic women who have be en living with the constant pain and disability caused due to chronic arthritis. 3a. Research question Q1 To what extent ethnicity or culture influence the treatment experience? Q2 Why women are more vulnerable to chronic arthritis than men? Q3 What are the external environmental factors that impact the lived experience of older Hispanic women? Q4 How pain is perceived in chronic diseases across cultures? Q5 Should geriatric care be redefined vis-a-vis pain perception across culture? 3b. Hypothesis Arthritis, especially rheumatoid arthritis is associated with chronically painful syndrome of aching and burning pain of the joints (Merskey and Bogduck, 1994). Constant pain and difficulty in carrying out daily work are the major consequences of arthritis (Melanson and Downe-Wambolt, 2003). The disability becomes a crucial factor that not only impacts the physical condition of the women but also influences her mental and cognitive abilities to live normal life. The socio-economic conditi ons of the people can aggravate or delay the chances of age related diseases, especially arthritis. Indeed, environmental factors like poverty, cultural paradigms, racial health disparity etc. are significant factors that have adverse effect on the health. It is therefore assumed that by identifying the factors that influence its treatment, women

E-Business Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

E-Business Case Study - Essay Example The internet that has now emerged and matured, presents a paradigm shift in its very ideation. The infrastructure has acquired a business character, a transcontinental personality and a vending framework of wide-ranging, business, educational, scientific and personal data. Now its use covers real-time computer conferencing, audio broadcasting, video broadcasting, real time telephony and of course real-time business. E-business in its simplest form can be described as doing business in electronic form. Electronic business is the extensive use of computers, communication technology, networking technology and computerized data to perform business processes. In other words, e-business is any system of suppliers, distributors, or customers that use the Internet as the basis for their operations. It can range from using e-mail to communicate with customers and/or conduct business to a web page promoting a company, from a full e-commerce retail site to the integration of procedures and proc esses using Internet based technology. It takes its cue from terms like e-mail, e-commerce, e-governance etc. The term "e-business" was coined by Lou Gerstner, CEO of IBM. Today leading online stores and companies have moved beyond the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to internet relationship. It is an electronic commerce application used for B2B or B2C. Online shopping has become popular mainly because of its speed and ease of use. Initially users were mostly computer literates, but now the universality of access marks a paradigm shift in e-business operations. E-business is more than just e-commerce. It involves business processes spanning the entire value chain: electronic purchasing and supply chain management, processing orders electronically, handling customer service, and cooperating with business partners. Now the internet e-business portals greet each customer by name and present targeted information and services that correspond to each visitor's unique preferences and requirements. This type of personalized attraction increases customer loyalty, enhances revenue for the company and helps in establishing a valuable database of customers. The internet may be changing the way we do business, but it hasn't altered the fundamentals of human nature. People still respond to personalized services. They want to be treated as individuals and they appreciate intelligent assistance in finding products and services that meet their unique needs. Businesses that understand their customers and cater to their individual preferences benefit in two k ey ways. In the short term, they increase the sales potential of every customer interaction. In the long term, they establish a more loyal customer base. Corporate investments in e-commerce sales and marketing applications continue to climb steadily. With a personalized e-business solution, a company can customize the online experience for every visitor who comes to its internet, extranet, or intranet site. The process is relatively straightforward. Visitor information is accumulated through a registration process and by observing online behavior. Patterns can be analyzed and compared. Market segments can be defined and reliable predictions can be made about the products or services that interest a particular individual or group. Based on this analysis, a unique combination of information and promotions are presented to each user. The click stream behavior of each visitor can be monitored and feedback gathered accordingly. Personalized services can improve efficiency and communication throughout the e-business value chain. Companies can also push targeted content depending on the user's business role and personal preferences, further adding value to the user and strengthening the key business objectives. As is the case with the p ersonal business-to-consumer environment, in this case also the tangible and intangible benefits are quite comprehensible. Information flow can be optimized, so that right information gets to the right person at the right time delivering the right content.

Should Laws Governing Nursing Homes Be Changed Essay

Should Laws Governing Nursing Homes Be Changed - Essay Example It leads to abandonment of duties, and possible casualties are patients in need of special care 24 hours. Getting an all-round care should be the heart and center of nursing homes (Brickley, Lu & Wedig, n.d.). Changing the law is known to affect normal operation hence curtailing the norm. Freedom is a right in the bill of rights and as such should not have borders. Care facilities should be directed by government to ensure people using the facility access. The structure that changes due to the enactment of laws will drive uneasiness in the state of being of the care seekers. The outfit robs patients of the calm, which fosters the healing process (Connell, 2004). To conclude, nursing homes are imperative facilities within society. Laws governing the operation some of the times may hinder operation when changes are effected. With respect to rejection of the new law and discomfort felt by the care seekers, changing laws need cautious approach. The right approach to changing and implementing laws will be to involve all the stakeholders in the nursing facility. Brown, L., Hyer, K., & Polivka-West, L. (2007). A comparative study of laws, rules, codes and other influences on nursing homes disaster preparedness in the Gulf Coast states. Behav. Sci. Law, 25(5), 655-675.

Website Proposal For Holiday Inn Hotel Tourism Essay

Website Proposal For Holiday Inn Hotel Tourism Essay The shrinking world is expanding the outreach of tourists. No more do hotels have a fully staffed reservation department with managers, assistant managers, supervisors and agents. The internet has conveniently replaced numerous phone calls, faxes and payment issues. Now potential guests just dial a toll-free number or book directly on the internet. According to Forrester Research 32% of hotels revenues come through online bookings. They include both direct reservations and those made through third party websites. The travel industry allocates 29% of its marketing budget to online marketing. (Cullen)This is so because the importance of integration of E-Commerce with business strategies is realized. This is also because the nature of the traveler and travelling is changing. Present day travelers are hyper-interactive, who are texting, tweeting, emailing, communicating with friends via face book and commenting on their current or previous travels. The advent of social media and mobile Web means that potential guests for the hospitality industry have continuous access to multi-channel interaction and sharing opinions. Thus hotel websites have to be designed in order to handle this hyper-interactive user. Thus hotel websites can no longer be static brochures with stale and boring context. (Max Starkov). Back ground The Holiday Inn hotel is a subsidiary of the IHG group of companies. It is a brand which remains consistent towards the board. Guests at the 1874 Holiday Inn hotels around the world know that they will be treated well and have certain level of expectations regarding the service. In fact the idea for the Holiday Inn hotels came into the mind of its founder, Kemmons Wilson, when he was disappointed with the consistency of road side motels during a trip to Washington DC. Consistency is a great advantage when it comes to providing services. The art of total quality management lies with the hospitality greats like Marriott, Hilton and of course Holiday Inn but when it comes to social media policies and the ever changing world of the internet consistency has a huge down side. Consistency is not the only key feature of the Holiday Inn hotels and resorts. Innovation goes side by side with consistency. Holiday Inn hotels were the first ones to introduce the Holidex reservation system giving its competitors a run for money. Holiday Inn hotels also initiated the idea for indoor pools, termed Holidromes, turning its hotels into resorts. This innovation and comfort, which is the landmark of the Holiday Inn hotels, should be made evident in the hotel website. With the advent of time, Holiday Inn is now an established name in midscale provision of hospitality. This midscale travel market consists of 43% of travelers worldwide. (Hospital and tourism industry report:Q2 2010) and is the sector of the tourism industry which faces the highest competition. With the tourism industry recovering from the economic depression of 2009, the number of tourists is increasing, but at the same time the new tourist is more cost conscious and e-savvy. With social medias burgeoning levels and websites like tripadvisor advising tourists on the wide range of living options available, the tourist might not fall for the reliability of brand names as the previous guests were. The increasing travel trend resulting from economic recovery also means that the internet is bombarded with tourism information. This is so because due to economic conditions many hotel websites were abandoned during the past two years. The waking up of hoteliers means that new websites are profoundly different as they now cater to a different inventory distribution system, social media and cross channel marketing. Almost all new websites cater to mobile web applications and so does the Holiday Inn website. With increased globalization of the economy and increased competition hotels cannot rely on their past successes. Holiday Inn and IHG are bound to know this well as the hotel chain lost considerable market share in the 1980s. it is only after its re launch in 2007 that the hotel has again captured some part of its market segment. At the time of the re launch, the new hotel website was also launched. Consumers that visit the hotel website find a user friendly environment. The site provides availability details, locations, room features and descriptions of the surrounding area. But provision of these details is not enough for the highly competitive hospitality industry. Holiday Inn hotels needs to develop a website which highlights its core competencies, tackles competition from market rivals and eliminates the bargaining power of buyers. During the pre recession times, visitors were more satisfied with the Holiday Inn website than the industry average. This data was deployed from studies based on 31 websites of leading hospitality brands. It checked data based on the five most crucial dimensions of a visitors online experience. They were navigation, content, interactivity, motivation and adoption. The customer satisfaction was generally higher ranking in the 92nd percentile. (Website Satisfaction Soars at InterContinental Hotels Group) In the year 2007, the content dimension was an area of strength for the website. The amount of details provided covered a vast range of aspects of visitor concern. Coupled with this was the fact that the data was very well structured and easy to navigate. This led to an adoption rating higher than the industry average, pointing to future site referrals and a strong likelihood to return. The website also fostered brand loyalty. According to Sasha Paine, an analyst at iperceptions, There is no clearer indicator of a sites effectiveness than its ability to build loyalty among its visitors.(Website Satisfaction Soars at InterContinental Hotels Group) The new virtual market place allows small companies to compete with industry giants. This means that Holiday Inn faces competition not just from hotel chains like Ramada and Hilton but also from small hotels. By looking at the hotel website we can easily find out that the website is high in content. The most critical section, which is the reservations section, is right in front for customer ease. The reservations section helps finds locations and provide all details regarding the Holiday Inn hotel in the area to be visited. On the downside it is known that only 32% of visitors visit a hotels website to make reservations. (Hospital and tourism industry report:Q2 2010) The rest visit either to find information or to compare rates. For visitors who are not lured by the brand into booking, the website should be appealing and catchy enough to ensure adoption or at least a revisit. But what the website lacks is targeting new customer strategies. It seems that unlike other websites which appeal to new guests by providing reasons for staying at their hotels, the Holiday Inn relies on its brand name and preconceived notions about its excellence to get potential guests to make reservations. What is not realized is that website design is an illustrative art and making correct use of this art might ensure that visitors will not have to change pages or scroll down for the required information. A look at the key competitor Ramadas website demonstrates this very well. Though the reservation section is still on the main page of the site, the opening window encompasses much more than only the reservation section. It eyes potential customers and not just visitors by ensuring that new deals are right under the visitors nose. The slideshow of the Holiday Inn website is not very creative and is short with only 4 slides. Though it instantly appeal to the comfort factor and attracts business travelers immediately. The family and friends factor and fun travelling and living is excluded from the slide show. In contrast other websites have wider navigation menus and longer, swifter slideshows. Websites are using rich media foreg the Pueblo Bonito website and the Atlantis hotel in Dubai. Websites foreg theurbansuites.com are also trying to split visitors by demographics and visitor types to provide custom services. Websites have an increasing number of testimonials, blog links and some even have the press singing their praises. (Mackenzie) This you attitude employed by the website and marketing strategy appeals to visitors. This paper looks at the need for developing a new website for the Holiday Inn hotels. It observes the changing trends in both website designs of the hospitality industry and nature of travelers. Data is collected from visitors to the website and their satisfaction is analyzed. Satisfaction is measured using variables which include content of the website, ease of navigation, interactivity, motivation and adoption. This is done by e-surveys and observing visitor behavior on the website. Conclusions are then drawn regarding visitor satisfaction. Since online reservations make up a chunk of all hotel reservations, it will be very important to pay due attention to either reconstructing or renovating the website if needed. The new website can be developed by outsourcing the development of the website to some leading website developers specially related to the hospitality industry. Budgetary allocations will have to be made. They include consultancy costs, advertisement of the new website, Search Engine optimization costs and website development and mantainence. Research will have to be made on the percentage of revenues generated by the website, the potential for development and the amount competitors allocate towards online marketing and website development. Budget allocation and trends in the hospitality website industry along with weaknesses in the current website will provide guidelines for the new website. Rationale The hotel marketing industry is a booming industry which caters exclusively to hospitality providers. Surveys are done and researches made to find out about visitor and guest behaviors. These researches aid hotel marketing advisors in development of new websites and to target customers. Special online surveys are designed to get visitor opinions and rate their satisfaction. Some of the works done in this regard are The Iperceptions satisfaction index It is the only metric device to measure exclusively customer satisfaction with an online channel. It provides advice to hoteliers on data mining and analyzes that data to provide results and draw conclusions. The hospitality and tourism industry report This caters to timely changes in the hospitality and tourism industry providing hoteliers with the current trends and predicting the future condition of the market. Best practices in Hotel website design by Hospitality e-business strategies. A report prepared by hospitality e-business industries which looks at the importance of websites for hotels and outlines ways to do so. Best Practices for Maximizing Your Hotels Online Revenue ROI by Kathreen Cullen. This white paper is a survey which as the name suggests helps hotels maximize their online revenue. Although the content of these reports and many others which try to integrate E-Commerce with hospitality are industry specific but they provide broad guidelines for the Holiday Inn hotels. This paper will focus on how the Holiday Inn hotels should conduct its research? what would be the methodology of research and what strategies would be involved. The limitations of the research and the potential for advanced features on the Holiday Inn website will also be discussed. As Del Ross, vice president of Americas Distribution marketing for IHG, claims We truly believe in the paramount value of knowing our customers and capturing their opinions in the context of their actual online experiences by implementing improvements research for the new website will be centered around customer opinion and satisfaction. Data collection and methodology. Advanced research methods will have to be employed to gather data from website visitors. According to Cooper and Schindler (Methods) qualitative studies may be combined with quantitative ones to increase the perceived quality of the research, especially when a quantitative study follows a qualitative one and provides validation for the qualitative findings. There is a strong suggestion within the research community that research, both quantitative and qualitative, is best thought of as complementary (Malhotra) and should therefore be mixed in research of many kinds. There is a strong suggestion within the research community that research, both quantitative and qualitative, is best thought of as complementary and should therefore be mixed in research of many kinds. Both qualitative and quantitative data sets will have to be used. Since customer satisfaction regarding the website has to be measures, offline data collection can prove to be useless and mundane. Online data collection approach can be utilized in two ways and can result in both objective and subjective responses. The difficult part about this research is that though secondary data relevant to the industry is abundant, but none of this will be specific to the Holiday Inn hotel. Thus researchers will have to gather primary data from the scratch, analyze it and form conclusions about the current state of the hotel website. Sampling methods The sampling method will mostly be a non probability method as the only visitors cannot be forced to take part in the research. Probability sampling will be reserved for a small focus group. Quantitative research will depend upon visitors and visitors will only participate in qualitative research by choice. Quota method of sampling will be the most convenient. This is so because only potential travelers should be included in the research. Only people with annual income above $50000 will be sampled. Population below this income group generally is observed not to travel frequently. Similarly other characteristics of current guests can be used to find the different quotas which should be used in sampling. This kind of sampling will make it impossible to assess the sampling error as the results will not be representative of the population as a whole. Focus groups of targeted market will need to be used. Since the current website of the hotel and the general notion about the hotel chain is that it caters to mostly business travelers, business travelers can be selected randomly. They can be chosen from firms where work entails frequent travelling. These business travelers will be then asked to navigate through the website and answer relevant questions about the website content, ease of navigation, interactivity and adoption. The results can be classified and then visitor perceptions about the different aspects of the website can be rated. They will provide a clear guideline about the positive and negative aspects of the website. This focus group will be coupled with quantitative and qualitative data. The focus group technique will allow better screening of the focus group respondents to ensure that they are the people whom the hotel is most interested in and thus provides an in-depth insight. Descriptive data from the survey and the questionnaire will reveal information that could not be easily explained by the statistics from quantitative data. This survey will be limited to a very small population of potential Holiday Inn customers. It can be both biased and non-representative of the actual feelings of the general public. But this data will target the largest niche of current customers. Gathering quantitative data Quantitative data can be gathered by observing visitor behavior on the website. It can be done on a large scale on the website. The behavior observed includes number of clicks, time on site, no of visitors who made a reservation, net promoter scores and the page from where visitors are exiting. Relationships between variables can be observed. This can be done from web analytics of the website. The sample size from this kind of web analytics has to be large and therefore will have to be done over a period of time. For much of its history, web analytics has been concerned with measuring behavioral phenomena. Unique visitor counts, pages viewed/visit, time on site, bounce rates, click through rates, ad impressions, and, more recently, rich internet application events have But studying clicks alone can never tell more than a part of the visitors story and will never bring to light true engagement data. Behavioral analytics is akin to paleontology, in the sense that it presents a fossilized record of a visitors site experience, at least as much as can be captured through page tags with optimal cookie deletion rates. However much scientists study the material implements of the past, however, they will never truly be able to gauge whether people were happy and led meaningful lives. This is the primary shortcoming of behavioral research; the tracks a visitor leaves are necessarily incomplete without knowing intent, attitude, and satisfaction. Further, engagement indices will always be hollow metrics unless they can be made to account for loyalty, trust, and advocacy (iperceptions) Gathering qualitative data. Qualitative research will take more time and preparation. Different sampling methods and full time researchers will have to be employed to monitor data. The basic format will be inviting all visitors to the website for a short survey or questionnaire. It will have to be ensured that the questionnaire is short and to the point yet it is fulfilling the purpose. This is necessary because abandonment of questionnaires will lead not only to loss of data but will also cause distaste for the website in visitors. Like all qualitative and naturalistic research methods, questions will have to be developed which are clear and unambiguous but open to change as the research develops. It is necessary because both qualitative and quantitative research goes hand in hand. It is qualitative research which will give a holistic view of the complexities which the website poses to its visitors. In the course of the survey visitors will be asked to provide scores for the website attributes related to their online experience. Each of these attributes will be related to specific dimensions of the website. It can include questions such as whether the visitor likes the site enough to recommend it to another friend or colleague. The scaling can be done on a 1 to 10 scale ranging from very bad to outstanding. The attribute sets that will be selected will be in accordance with both the E-commerce and hospitality industry standards. They will be content, navigation, motivation and interactivity in this case. It might also address the most crucial section of the website which is the reservations section. Thus the questions to be addressed are Navigation Website functionality must be intuitive and easy-to-use. If visitors are cannot find the information they desire, they may lose interest and move on to another hotels site. It is also important to be sure that hotels provide the capability to allow customers to book via the method of their choice such as mobile and smart phone technology. Content The website must provide all necessary information. This information should not only be limited to the hotel but also about the area and activities where the hotel is located. The content of the website should be accurate, up-to-date, detailed and relevant. Interactivity This will address questions about the visitors ease of communication with the website and therefore the hoteliers. It measures functionality, collaboration, informational exchange, and the intuitiveness of transactional tools. Motivation This measures whether the online content matches with the services the hotel provides. It questions whether the customers feel that the site was trustworthy and if their time on the site was well spent. All these factors eventually answer one question and that is of adoption. This is the main factor of concern for the Holiday Inn hotels that whether the visitor will re-visit the website or refer the website to somebody else. Potential for new features New vanity websites can be added which cater to different locales. It should be ensured that the feel of the different websites remains the same but better search engine optimization can be achieved. The Holiday Inn website can be optimized in two ways. It is the need of the time to modify the contents for Search Engine optimization. The second is the renovation and restructuring of the website. New website design Visual content It has been observed that the Holiday Inn website has a subtle color appeal. It stands true to catering to business travelers as they can visualize themselves in that situation. But simultaneously excludes a large travelling class. A glimpse at the Marriott hotel website speaks loads about integrating target markets at one place. A boost of color on some place in the Holiday Inn website will provide the required energy to indicate that the hotel welcomes both fun and families. Selling travel is all about selling a vision, a dream-an intangible product. Rich media and its many formats-from photos and visual galleries, to videos and virtual tours, e-postcards, web cams, interactive maps, etc.-can truly present your travel product and make it tangible and real. Seventy-two percent of US Internet users view video online on the same scale as network television and 89% of users surveyed said video influenced their booking decision. Usability surveys about hotel websites show that the majority of users think hotel websites are lacking or need more pictures and images The website can also add more visual content as the number of slides on the main page slide show is only 4 and only targets limited audience. The website can make use of good photography which provide more details about rooms and amenities. Demand generator content. The website should add more localized content to each of its franchise content sites. This will not only aid in showing up on search engines but a description of the area and the activities of the areas helps visitors thus creating better chances of adoption. More navigation options can be introduced on the main page as even though the current website has a high content percentage but the visitor has to scroll and search for it. More tools can easily be added in the navigation tool bar without making the site look congested. Scalability The website platform should have the ability to grow with the needs of the growing Hotel Inn. Holiday Inn is launching new hotels so it should be ensured that the new website keeps pace with both the rapidly changing face of the hotel as well as the fast changing tourism industry. Thus new development should be both easy and inexpensive. It should be easy to add new pages without the returning visitor to find a change which hinders his navigation. Conclusion The rapid pace of change of tourism industry and the changing face of the traveler requires the Holiday Inn hotel to maintain a website which is intuitive and adaptative. Regarding this concern quantitative data can be analyzed from the websites web analytics. An understanding of this quantitative data can be done by a focus group survey of the target market and online questionnaires. Visitors to the website can be surveyed about their views about the website. This will be random non-probability sampling. The questions have to be short and succinct as target specific attribute. This is to ensure that the visitor does not abandon the survey midway. After the online survey, a deep understanding can be gauged by using a focus group. This can be done either online or offline. The focus group can be small but chosen by quota or snowball sampling. The target audience should be used as the part of the focus group. The sample can be small but the questionnaire has to be extremely detailed. This will address all questions which arose from the satisfaction or non-satisfaction of the online survey participants. The final data set will lead to a certain conclusion about the visitor satisfaction index. This can be used to provide guidelines about visitor expectations from the website and how and how much the website should be modified. The modified website will lead to higher revenue and return on investment. Online questionnaire Based on todays visit, how would you rate your site experience over all? Very bad Bad Fair Good Outstanding Which of the following best describes the primary purpose of your visit? Make a reservation Compare rates Find more information View/cancel reservation Other please specify Were you able to complete the task you visited the website for? Yes No What do you value most about the website? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What did you most dislike about the website? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Would you recommend the site to somebody? Yes No If you answered in negative to the previous question, why? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Would you recommend any changes to the website? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How did you arrive at the website? Typed the URL in the browser Search engine Advertisement Link on a Blog Another website Link sent by somebody Other. Please specify _______________________________________________ The offline questionnaire presented to the focus group. This will be modified according to the response generated from the online website survey. It will be more detailed so as to sound explanations of the data derived can be provided. Offline questionnaire What is your age category? 15-20 years 20-35 years 35-60 years 60 or above What is your gender? Male Female Are you single or married? Single Married Your email address? _____________________________________________________________________ How often do you travel? More than four times a year. Twice or thrice a year. Once a year Less than once a year Is your travel related to work most of the time? Yes No Do you always make your bookings online? Yes No What features of the website did you use? _____________________________________________________________________ Did each page load quickly enough? Yes No On a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent rate the following Reservation procedure Website speed Ease of navigation Visual appeal Information Your overall satisfaction Was the reservation process efficient? Yes No Were you tempted were you to abandon the reservation process midway? Yes No If yes then why? Choose one that is applicable Technical difficulties Rate issues Difficulty in finding Unfriendly website Other. Please specify ______________________________________________________________ Did you easily find what you were looking for? Yes No Did the website design confuse you? Yes No Was the language easy to understand? Yes No Was navigation comfortable? Yes No Was the information you were looking for easy to find Yes No Was the information useful? Yes No Was the information detailed? Yes No Was the information accurate? Yes No Was the information up-to-date? Yes No Did you like the appearance of the website? Yes No Do you think more visuals should be added to the website? Yes No If yes, do you think it will make the hotel more appealing? Yes No Will a more detailed, illustrative website, aid or hinder you in your work? Yes No Do you think the overall design of the website can be improved? Yes No If yes then how? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Can the website alone without the Holiday Inn brand name lead you to make a reservation? Yes No What did you like the most about the website? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What did you dislike most about the website? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What problems if any did you face when navigating the website? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Was the website user friendly? Yes No If no why not? Would you recommend the website to someone you know? Yes No If no, then why not? __________________________________________________________________ Would you navigate the site from your phone? Yes No If no then why not? _____________________________________________________________________ Do you think your time on the website was well spent? Yes No If no then why not? _____________________________________________________________________ What are your overall suggestions for the website? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Field guidelines The research survey will look at the need for developing a new website for the Holiday Inn hotels. It observes the changing trends in both website designs of the hospitality industry and nature of travelers. Data is collected from visitors to the website and their satisfaction is analyzed. Satisfaction is measured using variables which include content of the website, ease of navigation, interactivity, motivation and adoption. This is done by e-surveys and observing visitor behavior on the website. Conclusions are then drawn regarding visitor satisfaction. Since online reservations make up a chunk of all hotel reservations, it will be very important to pay due attention to

The Call of the Wild :: essays research papers

Title:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Call Of The Wild Author: Jack London Copyright: 1986 Setting:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The beginning setting takes place on the property of Judge Miller in Santa Clara Valley, California in 1897. Later the setting takes place in Alaska during the Gold Rush of the Klondike. Main Character:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Buck is the only main character of the book. Buck is a dog who is part Saint Bernard and part Shephard. Summary:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Buck is my favorite character of the book. He had such a great life before he was stolen and sold to some very nasty people. Buck was treated very badly and he had to learn how to survive. He didn’t let the people know he was scared. The only way to survive was to listen, watch and learn. Buck wanted to be the leader and fought for what he wanted and he got it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Buck had a great life living with Judge Miller and his family. He had free run of the place and played with his daughters and hunted with his sons. All the other animals were stuck in the house or behind fences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One day a gardener named Manuel, that Buck had trusted, stole Buck and took him to a train station and sold him to people who used large dogs to pull sleds in Alaska. These men were not nice and would beat Buck and the other dogs very badly to let them know who was boss. Buck and the other dogs had no idea what was happening to them. The dogs were put onto the trains and taken to a ship that took them to Alaska where they would be sold again in teams to pull the sleds of people looking for gold and other work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Buck and the other dogs got off the ship, the first thing they saw was white. They didn’t know what it was. It was snow. They learned quickly how hard and scary this would be. Other dogs being used were wild wolves that would tear the new dogs apart if they had the chance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Buck and eight other dogs were sold to Perrault and Francois. Buck knew he needed to learn how to survive fast. One of the dogs, Spitz, who was the leader was a wolf and very mean. He would bully the other dogs. Buck hated him and one day wanted to take him down to take his place as leader. The dogs had to live through many dangers and survive with little food and sleep.

Exercises for Different Specific Muscle Groups

Muscles, together with our bones, shape a human’s body framework. Muscle causes motions by exerting force. It is divided into four muscle groups which are the head and neck muscles, trunk muscles, upper extremity and lower extremity muscles. A well-balanced exercise program helps to maintain muscle strength and tone.Head and neck muscles move our head and shoulders thus proper exercise is needed to relax and maintain the natural muscle girdle. One can do the isometric front and back neck exercise wherein the person will sit and will gently push his or her head backwards without bending the neck to develop neck muscle. Try to avoid any more head movements as you resist the push. After doing this for 16 counts, work on pushing from the back side of your head (Miller).Trunk muscles can gain more strength from stability ball exercises. Â  You can do full squat with the stability ball by immediately extending legs and standing up and down while pressing hands up above the head to keep wrists over elbows and arms moving parallel to your body. Do this for 20 counts and then for another set.Another exercise for your trunk is the stability ball crunch wherein first you will sit upright in the stability ball with feet firmly on the floor. Walk forward allowing the stability ball to roll until it is placed on to your mid-back part. Place your hands in your chest and contract your abdomen and raise your shoulders up. It is like having sit-ups while taking care of your neck not to be strained by keeping the head at the neutral position. Do this in 20 repetitions for 3 sets (Sports Fitness Advisor).Upper extremity/limb muscles include shoulder, forearm, down to finger muscles. Strive to finish 12-15 repetitions push-ups/triceps push-ups. After that, hold free weights with your palms facing up, stand with feet hip-width apart, abdomen tight. Lift the weights, turn the palms face out, then do in reverse motion. Repeat for 12-15 repetitions (MedicineNet).To improve your lower extremity/limb muscles, do ankle exercises by sitting erectly with your soles against the base of a wall, keeping your legs straight. Place your hands on the floor behind you for support. Flex your feet to bringing your toes toward the shins. Repeat for 5 times to stretch and get your leg’s natural girdle. Last, to improve your hamstrings lie on your back with one knee bent and its foot on the floor.Extend the other leg on the floor with foot bended. Lie down your hands on your side and then extend your straight leg in the air forming as close to 90 degrees with respect to your upper body. Then lower your leg to the floor repeating for 5 times. Try to increase your motion speed with each repetition. Hold your leg up in the air on the last repetition. Jog or brisk walk for 2 minutes after completing all the exercises.

Women on a Beach Essays

Women on a Beach Essays Women on a Beach Essay Women on a Beach Essay Women on a beach discussion After reading and analyzing the poem Women on a beach written by Ann Michaels, I have noticed many occurrences of imagery and the use of literal and figurative language manipulated into the poem. The first use of imagery is when Ann uses light chooses white sails, the bellies of gulls. Ann is describing the scene of the poem in a unique way so that its not very dull and boring and makes it more amusing for the reader. Since its the first line of the poem, you want to engage the reader to continue reading by making it interesting. Another case of imagery that appears in the poem is when Ann says, the beach glows grainy under the suns copper pressure. This is another unique way that Ann uses to describe the scene because she points out that the heat from the sun is shinning down onto the sand and its very hot out making it glow. Shes explaining the temperature of the setting In intonating way making it more interactive for the reader. An additional use of imagery that Ann uses in her poem is when she says, the wind finger against your cheek like a tendril of hair. This is describing the slight breeze that is taking place In the scene using personification. Shes attributing human characteristic to something nonhuman, which in this case is the wind. In conclusion, Ann Michaels used Imagery throughout her poem to transform the everyday Into the unique. Cyrus Montreal

Louisa May Alcott essays

Louisa May Alcott essays Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, PA, on Nov. 29, 1832, and she was the second daughter of Abigail May and Amos Bronson Alcott. She had an older sister Anna and two younger sisters Elizabeth and May. The family moved to Boston, MA in 1834, where her father set up an experimental school that failed because of the lack of students. Since the Alcotts were relatively poor, Ralph Waldo Emerson financially supported them while they moved to Concord, MA. Amos and Abigail were both progressive educators and part of the Transcendental Movement in America so they instructed Louisa and her three sisters in this progressive educational style. Her father advised Louisa to keep a journal. She began this journal at a very young age and kept with it until her last days on earth. The journal was open to inspection by her father and mother. Mrs. Alcott would often write little notes to her daughter. Louisa included poetry and letters in her entries, as well as comments to her sisters and moth er. This journal helped lead her into her literary career. Louisa wrote poems, novels, and short stories most of which were published. Some of her early work was written under the pen name, Flora Fairchild. Her most well known work was Little Women, which was based on her own life. "Marmee" is her mother, "Meg" is her sister Anna, "Jo" is Louisa herself, "Beth" is her younger sister Elizabeth, and "Amy" is her youngest sister May. In real life the sisters would act out elaborate scenes in an old barn or by the stream just like they did in Little Women. Louisa May Alcott's career was not restricted to writing. Beginning in her late teens, she worked as a teacher for several years and off-and-on as a seamstress. In 1867, Louisa became the editor of Merry's Museum, a children's magazine. Louisa Alcott also was an avid social reformer. Abolition, temperance, and educational reform were among her chosen causes. But being a feminist at heart, she especially...

Case Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Case - Assignment Example The variable costs increase as the number of units increase. Similarly, the variable costs decrease as the number of units is reduced. However, the fixed costs remain the same at all production quantity levels (increase, decrease or steady sales and production outputs). Since the unit selling price for each boat is $20,000 and the total variable cost of each boat is $8,000, then the contribution margin is $12,000 per boat. To arrive at the breakeven sales, the $24,000 fixed cost amount is divided by the $12,000 contribution margin per boat. The consequent sales (breakeven) is two units. This is arrived at by dividing the $24,000 fixed costs by the contribution margin, $12,000 per boat. To arrive at the breakeven sales amount, the breakeven sales unit, 2, is multiplied by the unit selling price per boat, $20,000. Consequently, the breakeven sales amount is $40,000. The second situation shows the selling price is raised to $25,000 per boat. Consequently, the breakeven sales amount is the sale that results to the same zero profits (Hilton, 2011). Since the fixed cost is $24,000. There must be enough sales cash inflow to defray the $24,000 fixed cost amount. Consequently, the contribution margin must be equal to the $24,000 fixed costs amount to arrive at the same zero profit. Likewise, the data shows that each boat generates variable costs amounting remains at $8,000. Since the unit selling price for each boat is $25,000 and the total variable cost of each boat is $8,000, then the contribution margin is raised to $17,000 per boat. To arrive at the breakeven sales, the $24,000 fixed cost amount is divided by the $12,000 contribution margin per boat. The sales (breakeven) is 1.41units. This is arrived at by dividing the $24,000 fixed costs by the higher contribution margin, $17,000 per boat. To arrive at the breakeven sales amount, the breakeven sales unit, 1.41, is multiplied by the higher unit selling price per boat,

ScapeGoat MJ Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ScapeGoat MJ - Assignment Example Let me begin with the points in the book which are universal and to some extent we could agree such as collective persecution. So as not to be misquoted, I will lift directly from the book about collective persecution which â€Å"acts of violence committed directly by a mob of murderers such as the persecution of the Jews during the Black Death. By collective resonances of persecutions I mean acts of violence, such as witch-hunts, that are legal in form but stimulated by the extremes of public opinion†. There is no question that persecution is an act of violence committed by a mob murderers and even if the examples of the Jews are used during the Black Death, I still totally agree with it. Indeed the Jews were persecuted during the Black Death and even during Second World War in Hitler’s concentration. While I agree to this example in persecution, this examples reveals the bias of the book in the narrative of a certain people – the Jews. It is important to note h owever that in citing the prejudice of the example, I am not belittling the suffering of the Jews during the Black Death and I even added during the Second World War. It is just that my experience as a male Arab Muslim, the example of Jews who were oppressed run counter to my experience. In my eyes and in the eyes of Muslims, the Jews had morphed into tormentors from being the victims. In the eyes of the Muslim world, they have transformed into a modern Hitler that persecuted another group of people which are the Palestinians. It was not so long ago that we saw Gaza turned into a modern day Auschwitz where civilians, including children were killed during the bombing of Israel under the pretext of self-defense. This pretext of self-defense is consistent with the books assertion about persecution which are acts of violence which are â€Å"legal in form but stimulated by