Qué es USCIS, qué hace y cómo contactar con una oficina

El Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a de los Estados Unidos (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) es la agencia federal encargada de gestionar todos los trà ¡mites relacionados con la inmigracià ³n legal. Todos los migrantes legales deben hacer trà ¡mites con el USCIS, al igual que los ciudadanos americanos que desean pedir los papeles para un familiar. Por esta razà ³n, es importante conocer cuà ¡les son los trà ¡mites de los que se ocupa USCIS, dà ³nde està ¡n ubicadas sus oficinas,  cà ³mo contactar para obtener informacià ³n y, finalmente, en quà © consiste la verificacià ³n de antecedentes penales (background check, en inglà ©s) que realiza esta agencia y cà ³mo saber lo que esta agencia sabe de cada migrante. Qu hace USCIS y cules son los tiempos de espera en sus trmites USCIS se ocupa de asuntos muy variados. Por ejemplo, es el organismo que estudia y aprueba o deniega las solicitudes de tarjeta de residencia permanente, conocida  como green card, por peticià ³n de un familiar o de una empresa. USCIS gestiona las solicitudes de adquisicià ³n de la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense por naturalizacià ³n o la aprobacià ³n de visas temporales de trabajo. Tambià ©n se encuentra dentro de las competencias de USCIS aprobar permisos de trabajo (EAD, por sus siglas en inglà ©s), programas especiales de proteccià ³n a migrantes como, por ejemplo, VAWA para và ­ctimas de violencia domà ©stica, TPS, para ciudadanos de paà ­ses en situacià ³n de catà ¡strofe humanitaria, o DACA, para jà ³venes indocumentados que llegaron a Estados Unidos siendo nià ±os. Asimismo, USCIS gestiona el programa e-verify para determinar que una persona està ¡ autorizada para trabajar legalmente en Estados Unidos. Por à ºltimo, entre otros trà ¡mites  frecuentes tambià ©n destacan la gestià ³n de los casos de asilo afirmativo, los de adopcià ³n internacional y  las solicitudes de advance parole, para permitir salir de Estados Unidos y su regreso sin problemas. En cuanto al tiempo de demora para que USCIS apruebe o deniegue un trà ¡mite hay que decir claramente que no hay una respuesta à ºnica, ya que depende del tipo de trà ¡mite. En su pà ¡gina oficial se pueden verificar tiempos aproximados, una vez que se sabe el centro que gestiona el trà ¡mite y el nombre del documento del tipo de peticià ³n o solicitud. Por ejemplo, I-130 para el caso de peticiones de un familiar, N-600 para la naturalizacià ³n, etc. En todo caso es necesario destacar que si se trata de una peticià ³n de familia donde hay un là ­mite  de solicitudes que pueden ser aprobadas por aà ±o fiscal, como es el caso de todas las peticiones de residentes o en las peticiones de ciudadanos para hijos mayores de 21 aà ±os o casados o para sus hermanos hay que esperar mà ¡s. Es decir, hay que esperar a que exista cupo para lo cual es mà ¡s indicativo verificar las fechas que publica el Departamento de Estado cada mes en el Boletà ­n de Visas. En relacià ³n a los trà ¡mites que se realizan con USCIS, se debe  recordar que todos los formularios oficiales son gratis y pueden descargarse de su pà ¡gina oficial, incluso admitià ©ndose casos de e-file. Ademà ¡s, en ciertos casos es posible solicitar una exencià ³n para no pagar la tarifa que requiere el caso. Asimismo, se debe  insistir que todos los documentos que se presentan en espaà ±ol, como por ejemplo, las partidas de nacimiento o matrimonio, deben ir acompaà ±ados de una traduccià ³n al inglà ©s, que debe ser certificada. Por à ºltimo, tener en cuenta que cuando el USCIS deniega una peticià ³n es posible apelarla en algunos casos. Oficinas de USCIS y cmo obtener informacin En la actualidad, USCIS cuenta con mà ¡s de 19.000 empleados repartidos en aproximadamente 200 oficinas, algunas de las cuales se encuentran ubicadas fuera de los Estados Unidos. Desde el punto de vista orgà ¡nico, el USCIS pertenece al Departamento de Seguridad Interna, conocido en inglà ©s por sus siglas de DHS. Lo importante es enviar los formularios y la documentacià ³n de apoyo a la direccià ³n correcta, que va a depender de dos factores: el tipo de solicitud y el lugar en el que se reside habitualmente. Todos los formularios especifican claramente este punto, y tambià ©n se establece una distincià ³n segà ºn el tipo de envà ­o: ordinario o urgente. Tambià ©n es posible solicitar informacià ³n del USCIS. Si es de carà ¡cter general, se puede acudir a una de sus oficinas locales con servicio de atencià ³n al pà ºblico, aunque es recomendable que se abstengan de esto los migrantes indocumentados. Otra opcià ³n para no esperar es realizar una cita previa mediante el sistema de INFOPASS. Si la pregunta que se desea realizar es sobre un caso concreto se puede marcar  a USCIS al 1-800-375-5283 para lo cual es necesario tener a mano el nà ºmero de caso, que se puede encontrar en la carta en la que USCIS notifica que ha recibido los papeles para una peticià ³n o solicitud. Asimismo, con esa informacià ³n es posible obtener informacià ³n và ­a Internet. En qu consiste la verificacin de antecedentes penales que realiza USCIS Para realizar los trà ¡mites, USCIS pide frecuentemente datos biomà ©tricos, como foto y huellas dactilares de la persona para quien se solicita un beneficio migratorio. Esos datos le sirven para verificar los posibles antecedentes penales de una persona. Es lo que se conoce en inglà ©s como background check. Esto consiste en cotejar las huellas digitales con las bases de datos de otras agencias federales y tambià ©n enviarlas al FBI para determinar si la persona que solicita el beneficio migratorio ha sido arrestada o detenida en el pasado y, en caso afirmativo, la causa. Ademà ¡s, se envà ­a informacià ³n biogrà ¡fica a otro departamento del FBI para que lleve a cabo la verificacià ³n del nombre para determinar si la persona es un delincuente, se tiene sospechas sobre ella o se le considera un riesgo para la seguridad de Estados Unidos. Todas las personas con un expediente presente o pasado en USCIS que desean saber cuà ¡l es su contenido pueden solicitar dicha informacià ³n mediante lo que se conoce como FOIA. El formulario a llenar es el G-639. La direccià ³n a la que se debe enviar es: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration ServicesNational Records Center, FOIA/PA OfficeP.O. Box 648010Lees Summit, MO 64064-8010 Cmo evitar problemas con USCIS y fraudes En asuntos migratorios es fundamental llenar bien los formularios de peticià ³n y enviar a tiempo la documentacià ³n de apoyo. No es necesario usar los servicios de un abogado pero es recomendable, particularmente en los casos que no està ¡n claros y pueden dar lugar a interpretacià ³n.   Datos sobre buenos abogados de inmigracià ³n pueden obtenerse en la base de datos de AILA. Tambià ©n se recomienda verificar la reputacià ³n de un abogado en el BAR (colegio de abogados) del estado. Finalmente, tambià ©n se puede obtener informacià ³n para buenas referencias o letrados pro bono en asociaciones de defensa de los intereses legales de los migrantes. Debe desconfiarse de los llamados notarios, que no pueden ejercer como abogados en Estados Unidos y de todas las personas que prometen resultados porque supuestamente conocen a alguien dentro de USCIS. Esos casos son fraudes. Finalmente, USCIS no se dedica a juzgar casos migratorios ya que eso es competencia de las cortes y del Board de Apelaciones (BIA, por sus siglas en inglà ©s). Tampoco se ocupa de arrestos ni de ejecutar deportaciones ni de guardar la frontera, que es competencia de ICE y la CBP. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

International Relations Relating to Humanitarian...

In the following essay I will discuss aspects of international relations relating to humanitarian intervention and how they affect a nation’s responsibilities in the international arena. I will be drawing parallels to historical examples of intervention and to recent world events. I will inspect the classical realist notion of non-intervention and sovereignty and another newer line of thought, more adapted to the modern system. What I hope to bring forth in this paper is a clearer understanding of the situation and the responsibilities of the actors in current international relations in regard to humanitarian rights and intervention. Today the world stands more connected than ever before in human history. Nations form economic empires.†¦show more content†¦Even if non-intervention is ignored, as it often has been throughout history, intervening powers till try to maintain an illusion of adhering to the non-interventionist principles. A good example would be the Soviet Union using the pretext of ‘invitation’ in order to justify its interventions in its former satellite states of Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan.(Plant 1995:197) The non-intervention principle has formed a foundation stone of international order, and lent a degree of predictability-in theory, at least-to the conduct of interstate relations.(Thomas 1994:18) However as we enter a new century the world is changing and becoming more interconnected than ever. In today’s world national sovereignty and human rights have become almost contradictory. As the first insist ‘upon the sole responsibility (for better or for worse) of a state over its subjects, while the latter upon all people having a right to self-determination independent of the state‘(Alston and Macdonald 2008:2) Sovereignty implies immunity from international prosecution for internal-state matters but where public officials perpetrate serious international crimes, the arguments for upholding immunity are weak.(Marks 2004:2) However at present there is no mention in the Charter of UN for intervention on purely humanitarian grounds. Even so the UN has authorised military intervention in spite of the previous fact, in recent humanitarian crises (Somalia, Rwanda,Show MoreRelatedInternational Aid Allocation : The Path For Global Success1151 Words   |  5 PagesInternational Aid Allocation: The Path to Global Success From the origins of large-scale international humanitarian projects in the post-World War I period to current global aid allocation programs, scholars in the field of international aid have focused on the motives behind countries’ generous donations to their underdeveloped counterparts. Myriad studies, regardless of the time frame they encompass, make reference to the moral obligation rich nations have to help the poorest countries. In thisRead MoreThe Darfur Crisis Essay3078 Words   |  13 PagesSecurity can be defined as focusing on the individual human being as the referent object of security as distinct from the nation-state. R2P and Human Security have gathered impetus in the international community both in academic and policy spheres with a view to these concepts being justifiers for humanitarian intervention. Taking realism as the security argument that deals directly with state security, it is accepted that nation states have valid concerns in protecting their borders and populationsRead MoreAnalysis Of One World : The Ethics Of Globalization Essay1355 Words   |  6 Pagescategories of issues perpetuated by said governments; humanity’s impact on the environment, the international trade regulations of the World Trade Organization, national sovereignty, and the distribution of aid to nations in need from first world countries. He identifies these as the four main issues in the day and age of globalization that needs to be rectified in order to improve the state of the globe, relations between the nations, and mankind in general. In his book, Singer cites many current eventsRead MoreNational Interest’ Is the Most Important Factor in the Formation of Any Foreign Policy. Evaluate This Claim.3864 Words   |  16 Pageslead to benefits or advantages created for the nationa l population in question. Foreign policies examined over the course of this paper will include economic policy, national security policy, and policies that fall under the category of humanitarian intervention in other countries. It will be argued that for the majority of the time, and in most situations (but certainly not all situations), foreign policy seeks to benefit the national government responsible for its creation, and the national societyRead MoreThe Use of Force, War and the Role of the UN Essay2103 Words   |  9 Pagessystem to provide a fair and adequate means of peacefully settling disputes is a prohibition on unlawful use of force. Theoretically, this necessity not to use unlawful force can be said to be one of the most fundamental rules of international law and has the status of jus cogens. The United Nations Charter demonstrates profound commitment to denounce the use of unlawful force in its preamble. It avows, â€Å"[determined] to save succeeding generations from the scourge of Read MoreComparison of Regional Organizations and Global Organizations3222 Words   |  13 Pagesin recognized international organizations and at times the very interests can better achieved through localized organizations such the African Union, which established based on regional or geographical lines (Boutros, 1992, p, 5). Global organizations and regional organizations carry out a major role in maintaining peace across the world, which comprises of the United Nation at the global level and the African Union at the regional level. While dealing with threats to international peace and securityRead MoreEconomic And Political Of The United Nations Essay2071 Words   |  9 Pagessecond multipurpose international organization established in the 20th century that is worldwide in scope and membership. Many historical events had occurred before the establishment of the United Nations. States first established international organizations to cooperate on specific matters. The Internatio nal Telecommunication Union was founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union (ITU), and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) was established in 1874. In 1899, the International Peace ConferenceRead MorePolicymakers have a range of tools to use in conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction.3200 Words   |  13 Pagesprotection of sovereignty. (Bercovitch and Jackson, 185) In this paper I will show how the political, economic, and military tools available for conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction are deeply interconnected and how the changes to the international system following the Cold War have made the application of such tools more difficult in practice. To begin conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction tools are different. Each set of tools has a delineated and defined set of goals thatRead MoreConflict Between The Humanitarian Action And The East Of Ukraine Essay9660 Words   |  39 Pagesthe issues surrounding the provision of humanitarian action in non-recognized entities effectively controlling a territory. If the Humanitarian needs and the effects of wars on civilian population are rarely manageable for the de facto states without external assistance, Humanitarian action may be instrumentalized, hence creating additional challenges for humanitarian actors. The core idea of this paper is to highlight the interactions between the Humanitarian action and its possible instrumentalizationRead MoreThe For International Refugee Law1938 Words   |  8 PagesIn order for International refugee law to function and satisfactorily benefit the people it has challenged state sovereignty in some aspects. Regardless of the enfor cement laws signatory states have been able to keep authority over the flow of refugees individually keeping their territorial supremacy. In my opinion refugee law has not challenged the principle of state sovereignty enough as some people still seem to fall within the cracks and are not afforded protection. States are still refusing

Poverty a Silent Killer Free Essays

Poverty: a silent killer The merciless chain of poverty is enclosing its arm around America. Children are storming the streets starving for a modest meal and a heated room. It confines them, forcing them to live a life of nightmares. We will write a custom essay sample on Poverty: a Silent Killer or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is evidently noted that poverty is the silent killer all over the world. The danger is, no one truly knows what poverty is, and who is to blame. A snapshot of poverty would seemingly resemble the poorest of the poor. As an experienced person who lived through childhood poverty, I can relate. When Bobby, a preschooler, scratched a mosquito bite on his leg, the area became infected. His parents took him to the doctor, who prescribed an antibiotic. However, because Bobby’s father earned very low wages at his job, the family could not immediately afford to buy the prescription. As a result of the family’s poverty the infection grew dangerously out of control and Bobby was hospitalized for three days in order to receive intravenous antibiotics. Each of those hospital days cost about $800, doctors estimated (Sherman, 6) What is the real truth about poverty? Every conception of the term is misconstrued. There is no absolute one-size-fits-all definition for poverty. All we know is that poverty is currently at war with America and has been for an unquestionable amount of time. Poverty has structured the face of destiny for good. In the eyes of Americans, poverty is the plight of delinquents. Beginning with the Bible and continuing through the Elizabethan poor laws, there has been a belief among some that the poor have no one to blame but themselves (Edelman, XV). However, poverty looks different than it did decades ago. The elderly are considerably more impoverished, and children have become the poorest age group. To understand why there is so much more poverty among children, we need to understand why their parents are worse off. Although some experts affirm children are affected by biological conditions (genetics, health, and nutrition) and environmental conditions (families, communities, and schools), some also believe there are no accurate measurements for poverty (Boyden and Bourdillon, 129). â€Å"Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn’t commit. -Eli Khamarov. Around 21,000 children die around the world everyday due to poverty (Boyden and Bourdillon, 151). At this very moment, a child died from poverty. We need to pinpoint the cause for poverty now! But it is a cycle that cannot be broken. For example, as a child I was raised wealthy. Anything and everything I ever wanted could have been mine thanks to my parents. Although the economy began its sinking process, my family still managed to rise above surface. That is, until my dad’s company went bankrupt and all our money sunk with it. The wealth turned to poor, and we had to do anything and everything we could to carry on. The food was scarce, and the toys were sold. I asked myself everyday why this was our punishment. After nearly a year of enduring the pain of poverty, I now know whom to blame. Ourselves. Are we enough to blame for our own predicament? Have we been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for our plight? What about our government? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development? We’ve waged war on poverty and poverty won (Edelman, ). With the real cost of minimal living, the cycle will continue unless America platforms a plan. As of right now, President Barack Obama makes little use of the word â€Å"poverty. † The government website detailing the contents of his Recovery Act used the word â€Å"vulnerable† to characterize those portions of legislation relating to low-income people (Edelman, xiv) With that being said, both are to blame. America’s disease is greed. Greed has produced rash tax cuts that have given money to the rich and taken it from the poor. We all want more money, bigger homes, and nicer cars; however, no one can appreciate what they have. The only people that can are the poor. In result to the greed of my family, when an unforeseen dilemma arose we didn’t know how to handle the situation at hand. Thus, we sunk further and further into the cycle and it took a fight to pull us to the surface. I believe that unless one truly experiences poverty no one will truly comprehend its meaning. On the other hand, poverty can happen to those born into it. As the government focuses more and more on other nation worries, a child dies from poverty. How to cite Poverty: a Silent Killer, Essay examples

Aran Islands free essay sample

This sucks. I grumbled as I stomped through puddle after puddle on the dirt road. Nobody heard me, how could they? The clatter of the heavy rain as it reached the ground drowned out everything else on the quiet Island. It was the beginning of my last week in Ireland. I came here with my parents three weeks ago to visit my fathers family in County Limerick. We had never been to the Aran Islands, off the coast of County Kerry before, so we thought it might be a good way to kick off our final week. When we set off from the mainland, we didnt expect the monsoon that was waiting for us a few miles offshore. After just a few minutes of walking, I was soaked. My heavy jacket had become damp on the inside, and my thin sundress underneath didnt stand a chance. Everyone else was in the same boat. We will write a custom essay sample on Aran Islands or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page My little cousins were cloaked from head to toe in sweatshirts, rain jackets, and ponchos. Their parents were the same, and the clutched umbrellas that were useless in fending off the rain that was pelting us from all sides. Finally, we reached a small pub. Fifteen of us squeezed through the doorway and into the small barroom. I set off for the bathroom, praying there would be a hand dryer so I could warm up a little. As I held my thick jacket underneath the tiny dryer, I sulked. This couldnt be any worse. It was cold and rainy, we were stuck here for another three hours, and we had nothing to do. I pulled my damp jacket back on and walked back out to the main room. I slumped into a chair next to my aunt Noelle, and looked around. My family, despite the miserable conditions outside, were smiling. They were all clutching steaming cups of tea and hot chocolate and acting as if we were snug and cozy back home in Limerick. My mother had pulled the game Left Right Center from her purse, and now the kids were laughing and giggling as they rolled the die like maniacs and distributed their chips. My uncle sat his baby on the table and she was squealing and gurgling as he made silly faces. Had this been any other situation, say I were back in America, I probably wouldnt have even tried to have any fun. But this was completely different. I was surrounded by people I loved and who loved me, and in a week I would be on a plane not knowing when I would see them again. With that thought in mind, I smiled. I just smiled. I was in the company of wonderful people, and no amount of rain or cold would discourage me from enjoying one of the last days we would have together. A week later, as I boarded the plane, I looked out the window. It was raining. Through the tears, I smiled. I thought back to that day, and I had no regrets. I was able to make the best of it, and it was a memory I would have for a long time.

Nature Versus Nurture Essay Example

Nature Versus Nurture Essay In The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare, there are many themes that are developed throughout the play. So a few of the themes that Shakespeare develops in The Tempest are nature versus nurture, prejudice and its effects, and power of the artist. Shakespeares theme of nature versus nurture asks what the determining factors in someones development are. The two most determining factors in someones development are the persons parents and his goals, which can be shown in The Tempest.So the persons parents can be considered the most important factor that helps to decide the way a person develops. For instance, in The Tempest when Miranda talks with Caliban and says, I pitied thee,/ Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour/ One thing or other.(I.ii.333-335), showing that Miranda taught Caliban to speak. Therefore Mirandas own kindness teaches Caliban how to speak. But since Prospero raised Miranda, the kindness in her personality and her knowledge of a language must have come from the way he raised her. Consequently, Prosperos nurture allowed Miranda to be nice to Caliban, and Mirandas nature had to do with her act of kindness. Another time in The Tempest where parents are a determining factor in a characters development is when Prospero raised Miranda and helped to raise Caliban. So since Miranda and Caliban were both raised by Prospero they should be similar. But Miranda and Caliban are different because Miranda is a good person and Caliban is a bad person. So Miranda and Calibans good and bad temperaments show nature as the main effect onPemberton 2a persons development. Another example in The Tempest where nature is exemplified is when Prospero loses his throne to his brother, Antonio. Prospero losing his throne to Antonio is mentioned in The Tempest when Antonio and Sebastian, Alonsos brother, are talking about overthrowing Alonso and Sebastian says to Antonio, You did supplant your brother Prospero.(II.i.lns.264). Therefore a persons nature ca n affect a persons development because even though Prospero and Antonio are brothers and have the same parents, so they were raised similarly, Antonio decided to overthrow Prospero as duke of Milan and become the duke himself. So parents can be an important influence in a persons development, but even with a parents nurture a person can still act differently because of their nature.So after parents, the next most important factor in a persons development must be the persons goals. For example, in The Tempest Sebastian and Antonio want to kill Alonso so that they can rule as kings, shown when they plot to kill Alonso and Sebastian says, As thou gotst Milan,/ Ill come by Naples.(II.i.285-286). Therefore Sebastian and Antonios nature make it so they will kill someone in order to achieve their goal. Sebastian and Antonio are both nobles so they would have been taught to be civil and it would not be considered civil to kill someone, so Sebastian and Antonios nature are going against thei r nurture. Another example can be found in The Tempest when Stephano and Trinculo talk with Caliban about the island, then Stephano and Trinculo decide that they want to kill Prospero and rule the island. Trying to achieve their goal, Stephano and Trinculo act just like Antonio and Sebastian do when they try to kill Alonso. Therefore Stephano and Trinculo show nature being more influential in theirPemberton 3development than nurture. One more example of a goal affecting development can be found with Prosperos goal of revenge against the people that took his dukedom from him. Trying to achieve his goal, Prospero shows nurture as the determining factor in a persons development. Thus Prospero is different from Antonio, Sebastian, Stephano, and Trinculo because he uses his knowledge of magic to achieve his goal and knowledge can only be obtained from someone elses nurture, through teaching, or through a persons own nurture. So when someone, such as Prospero, sets a goal for himself it c an change his development. Goals can change the development because in order for the person to accomplish the goal, they would have to act a certain way or do certain things. Another way a goal can change a persons development could be if he accomplishes the goal then he will get something he wants. Therefore, there will be a positive affect on his development. One way a goal can change a persons development could be if the person fails, then he might want to work harder to achieve the next goal he sets for himself. Conversely, he can have a feeling of failure, which would have a negative effect on the persons development. So goals are the nature part of a person because it is a persons nature to want things and try to achieve them. So goals are an essential part of a persons development that is not nurture.Nature versus nurture is an important theme that Shakespeare develops in The Tempest. In The Tempest, Shakespeare creates many instances with Antonio, Prospero, and Caliban, whic h develop the theme of nature versus nurture. As can be seen in The Tempest, nurture from parents and ones own goals has the same effect as nature in a .

Can You Take the SAT Without Geometry

Can You Take the SAT Without Geometry SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The math section of the SAT covers four main areas: number /operations, algebra, data analysis /statistics, and geometry. If you've never taken a geometry class or feel it's not your strong suit, is itstill possible for youto score highly on the SAT math section? This article will let you know how much geometry is actually on the SATand how well you can score with little or no previous knowledge of the subject. First, how many of the math questions actually ask you about shapes and angles? How Much Geometry Is On the SAT? About 25% to 30% of the math questions are considered geometry questions. This equates to about 15 of the total 54 math questions (44 multiple choice and 10 grid-ins). These approximately 15 questions may cover a number of concepts. What Concepts In Geometry Are Covered? The questions may cover Area and perimeter of a polygon (triangles, squares, pentagons, and so forth) Area and cirumference of a circle Volume of a box, cube, and cylinder Pythagorean Theorem and special properties of isosceles, equilaterla, and right triangles Properties of parallel and perpendicular lines Coordinate geometry Geometric visualization Slope Similarity Transformations Below isan example of an SAT geometry questionabout surface area and volume of a polygon of medium level difficulty. If you're familiar with how to calculate surface area and volume, then it basically turns into an algebra problem where you solve for x. The correct answer here, by the way, is (C) 60. Do any of the above conceptssound familiar? If not, what's the highest score you can hope to achieve on the SAT math section? What Score Can You Get Without Geometry? If you skip all of the geometry questions and answer all of the other math questions correctly, then the highest score you can achieve is a 620. Of course, this isn't a particularly realistic scenario. You can't guarantee you'llanswerall of the other questions perfectly, nor will you necessarily be unable to answer any geometry questions just because you haven't taken a geometry class. Self-studying can go a long way, and some of the geometry questions may even be intuitive and easy for you to figure out. To give you a deeper understanding of how well you can score on the math section, let's review exactly how it's scored. First, you get a raw score that consists of one point for every correct answer, 0 points for skipped answers, and -1/4 point for wrong answers. If you answered every single question right, for instance, your raw score would be 54 (one point each for 54 correctly answered questions). This raw score is then converted to a scaled score between 200 and 800 by a process called equating, which takes into account the scores of everyone who took that test, along with a number of other variables. A raw score of 54 would equate to a perfect scaled score of800. So where did I get that number, 620? This chart shows how raw scores converted to scaled scores on last year's SAT. If you were to get15 geometry questions wrong, and the remaining 39 math questions correct, then your raw score would be 39. As you can see in the chart, a 39 equates to a 620. Again, since this isn't a very realistic scenario, this chart can give you a better idea of what scores you can aim to achieve on the SAT with little or no knowledge of geometry. I cut it off at 420, but as you know, the lowest score on the math section is a 200. Raw Score Scaled Score Raw Score Scaled Scored 54 800 35 590 53 790 34 580 52 760 33 570 51 740 32 560 50 720 31 550 49 710 30 540 48 700 29 540 47 690 28 530 46 680 27 530 45 670 26 510 44 660 25 500 43 650 24 490 42 640 23 480 41 640 22 470 40 630 21 460 39 620 20 450 38 610 19 440 37 600 18 430 36 590 17 420 These exact conversionsmay vary slightly from year to year, but they stay roughly the same. If you're curious about how the Critical Reading and Writing sections are scored (all the sections are a littledifferent)you can check out the scoring charts here. Now that you have a sense of what topics are covered and how the math section is scored, what can you take away from this information? SAT Math Section Takeaways At 25% to 30%, geometry concepts make upa significant part of the math section on the SAT. If you haven't taken geometry in school, it's definitely a good idea to try to learn some of the concepts on your own through your SAT prep. The geometry questions usually aren't too advanced, so you might be able to get a lot of them right with just a basic knowledge of the concepts and some practice. Seek out some representative questions and you should be able to anticipate and prepare yourself for the ones that will show up on your official SAT. SAT Questions of the Day can be a great introduction, and full length practice tests are very useful once you have some familiarity with the concepts. With some review of geometry on your own, you can probably enhance your overall math score a great deal. What's Next? When are you planning to take the SAT? Depending on your grade, you will likely be aiming for different target scores. Read about what makes a good score for 9thgrade, what's good for 10th, and what's a good score for your final SAT score for colleges. Are you figuring out your study plan for the SAT, or not sure how to fit in test prep with all the other things you've got going on in your life? This article helps you set target scores and plan out a study schedule so you can achieve high scores on this important test. Are you eventually aimingto get a perfect 800 on the math section of the SAT? This article by a full scorer breaks down how to achievethat elusive 800. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Teacher's Pension Scheme Reforms in the UK Essay

Teacher's Pension Scheme Reforms in the UK - Essay Example Issues involved in the scheme The TPS of UK currently assumes a defined benefit scheme of final salary of teachers. This translates into the fact that retirement benefits, as well as the final salary of individual teachers, is based on the length a teacher has been in service. This has seen calculation of final salary of retirement benefits based on either the best of a teacher’s salary within the twelve months before retirement, or calculated as the best average of any three successive years of salary in the last ten years. However, the union chiefs have taken a stand to demand the reformation of the method that is being used in the calculation of the retirement benefits. The chiefs argue that this method of calculating final salary is unfair, for it only benefits high flyers at the expense of low flyers that are in the same professional groups. Conversely, the government is of the opinion that it is the way to go, and, therefore, rooting for the maintenance of the scheme onl y that the final salary be replaced by a revalued earning scheme that is career averaged (Lewicki et al, 56). Another issue is the retirement age where it has been noted that life expectancy of people in UK is on the rise. This means that retiring at 60 results into teachers spending approximately 40% of their lives in retirement as compared to earlier years like 1955 when life expectancy was low (Department of Education, 1). Government ministers demand that the retirement age take into account the increases in the life expectancy, in addition to, reformation of the normal pension age so that it corresponds with the state pension age. However, the union chiefs are opposed to the increase in pension age to 65. In terms of contributions, the issue is the monthly contributions to teachers’ pensions. The government is of the view that the monthly contributions be increased and that the contribution levels be tied to the earning s to protect the low aid teachers. However, union ch iefs are opposed to this, for this will only function to  favor the employers who will have an upper hand in determining the teachers’ pensions. The final issue is the issue regarding returning to work after a teacher retires. The union chiefs root for abatement of teachers’ pension as the government root for a reduction of pension on return with an increase upon retirement. Tactics employed The government minister’s concern is the increasing cost of running the TPS which is purely unfunded. This means that the contributions paid by both employers and employees are the ones used to pay out pension benefits to teachers by the government department (Education Department, 1). Therefore, in a way of raising these funds as well as allowing for saving, the government figured out on how they can have teachers themselves contribute to this plan. This was transferred to the monthly contributions teachers make to the TPS. It was, thus, consequential that teacher’ s contributions be increased by an average of 3.2 percent that is from 6.4 percent to 9.6% by 2014. This may translate to a person earning forty thousand dollars seeing an increase of up to 64% in the monthly contributions (Lewicki et al, 1). However, this is under the disguise of

The Usage of Made In for the Segmented Products Essay

The Usage of Made In for the Segmented Products - Essay Example The command of the market has been linked to the efficiency of the product and the considered aspect of the economy. Such allows for the consideration of advanced technology and improvement in the economics of the cost towards the address of the rivals under practice. The superiority among the rivals allows for the conceptualization of the eventual ability they extend in the considered domination, as well as in the out-positioning of inferior products. The stationing of different arms of production under geographical distinctions allows for the reflection of the challenge they stand to offer with respect to the perspective concept of state recognition. Apparently, goods desire to be recognized alongside the state of origin. However, the inclusion of different states or countries in the process of production only assists in the complication of the entire acknowledgment process. Such allows for the reflection of the immediate challenges that may be related to the shipping of products with a source complication (Scheve, 2002). Various approaches have been considered to be associated with the eventual process of development and allocation of the â€Å"made in† tag. Allowing a state to consider a product to be manufactured in its territory allows for the improvement in its global perception of technology. However, the producing authority may not have had a comprehensive manner upon which the process of filing of the respective descriptions of rights and protocols are advised. Instead, there exists a line of acknowledgment with respect to the role plaid by the involved country (Tanzi, 2002)

Humor is a Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Humor is a Philosophy - Essay Example In this regard, the philosopher has, I think, a family resemblance with the comedian, who also asks us to look at the world askance, to imagine a topsy-turvy universe where horses and dogs talk and where lifeless objects become miraculously animated. Both the philosopher and the comedian ask you to view the world from a Martian perspective, to look at things as if you had just landed from another planet. In its own way, a joke can reveal the pathos in laughter, grotesqueness in opulence and life's struggles' in the quiet that envelopes it. The power of humor in liberating the mind and enlightening it to see deeper also connects it to Zen. This is discussed in greater detail below. Zen says that reality can be understood in a way that is not conceptual. Zen philosophy believes that unitive point of view is not attained by logical dissection of reality but by the intutive method, which transcends subject and object and all logical categories including affirmation and negation. As pointed by Ha Tai Kim 1955: Zen transcends the logical bifurcation of subject and object, mind and matter, being and non-being, which always falls into the realm of relational knowledge. It is due to the thoroughgoing attitude of Zen that it pierces through relational knowledge, so as to acquire an absolute point of view. It attempts to see the world in its absolute wholeness (p. 21). This This is really the philosophical spirit and what connects it so beautifully with humor. Zen does not build any philosophical systems since it defies concept-making, much like comedy; for very often humor arises when a situation is viewed in its completeness with all its paradoxes and contradictions. Humor is related with people and situations, not concepts and objects. Just as Zen points to facts as they are, so does the comedy of recognition. Zen says, when you are offered tea, sip it, and, when you happen to take wine, drink it and that there is nothing more than this. Humor as a philosophy, too offers a view of reality by making one view situations in wholeness. Comedy of recognition for example reinforces status quo and does not criticize established order, much like Zen, which points to facts, as they exist. Paradox and Language Let us examine paradox. Paradox is apparent whenever there is incongruity. Humor, very often works by way of a felt incongruity between what one expects to be the case and what actually takes place in a funny situation. For incongruity to be humorous, usually, there exists congruence between joke structure and socially accepted norms. For example: "Someone's hat falls on the coffin in a freshly dug grave, the funeral loses its meaning and laughter is born"(Kundera, 1983, p.232-33). The incongruity that thus results and pricks, what is socially accepted, gives rise to laughter. Just like the incongruence in situations, there exists incongruence in what is being said, which can make statements comic. Language plays a crucial role here. Language is explained as "an approximation of thoughts through symbolic manipulation, and the gap between the expectations inherent in those symbols and the breaking of those expectations leads to laughter" (Wikepedia, 2005). The language connection and especially the paradox that can be inherent in language, reminds one of Zen. Zen teaching

Roles and Functions of the Music Industry

Roles and Functions of the Music Industry The music industry is one of the largest creative industries in the world, combing different elements of the business to produce and sell music to its audience. The development of the industry has evolved on a very large scale since the 19th century, when it was the printed sheet music being the leading product. Moving forward with societys technological progression, in the 20th century, the way we were listening to music was changing with it becoming ubiquitous. popular music was an early global commodity, with record companies establishing branches around the world for both marketing and the recruitment of talent at the beginning of the twentieth century, (Gronow and Saunio, 1998). When these record labels began to emerge, they were producing and selling more recorded music, CDs, cassettes and live performances and introducing more musical genres to the world. All of these aspects have brought us to todays technologically advanced society, making the music business a very powerful industry consumed by the masses. In this essay I shall discuss the role and functions of the music industry, drawing upon particular theorists opinions including Theodor Adorno. I will also touch upon the study of popular music and the many factors contributing to the current crises of the music industry itself. In an age where music has become one of the more dominant and influential forms of entertainment in our society, the factors driving its production should be explored. Firstly, I shall look at the concept of music ownership. Record companies have an enormous amount of control over what music gets produced and what doesnt as it is the main goal for them to sell and make profit. They will not sign an artist unless they truly believe that they will make them money. The major companies in the business today are, Sony BMG, Universal Music, EMI and Warner Music, which are collectively known as The Big Four who then own smaller labels as well. After managing the production and distribution of the music, it is their responsibility to handle the marketing for musical artists, organising promotions, music videos, endorsements and so on, giving the artist well-known status among the mass audience. In the early days of this music industry, being signed to a label was essential for an artist to b e successful. However, in todays digitally advanced world, it is much easier for an artist to have their music shared with an audience using information technology like the internet, which paved the way for independent labels becoming more popular as well. In the documentary Money for Nothing, they go behind the business of pop music and look at how it has changed in this society of digitally experienced consumers. We are shown insights from music journalists and artists about corporate control and the restraints given to contemporary music. With major labels only looking at the artists who they believe are the most profitable, the independent labels take on artists that they can help develop and take risks with different talent. Although, with the current economic climate and the decline in revenue from various aspects of the industry, even the independent labels are having trouble staying out of the corporate system. REFERENCE. Recording companies becoming this hyper commercialized system is a largely stated opinion among musical talents and media theorists. Major record labels are owned by the huge media conglomerates that are the core reason why creativity in music has become so limited. The conglomerates of the industry use the re cord companies to sign acts that can get them the quick sell as the only aim for them as a business is to make a profit. Cross media marketing or synergy, is something these conglomerates use to make this profit and to develop other media industries. They buy into other companies in entertainment, which they can then use to advertise and sell across different markets. The music industry on the other hand is completely dependent on the media as a promoter, user and distributer of its products. Most professional musical artists communicate with their audience primarily via some kind of electronic medium and only a fraction of the audience is able to experience the artists live performance. For instance, Warner Music Group, one of the largest media conglomerates, owns various entertainment companies including television, film and publishing along with music labels. The record labels use these companies to advertise and promote artists across markets such as radio, television and retail which are then consumed by the mass audience. A successful example in the current music charts is Ellie Goulding and her new song which is a cover of Elton Johns Your Song. It was not that popular to start with as Goulding is not an extremely well known artist compared to other artists currently in the charts. However, when the music label gave permission for the retail chain, John Lewis, to use the song in their new Christmas advertisement, the song rocketed up the charts and is now a favourite for Christmas number one. Goulding has begun to appear on radio and television promoting the song and she has become a household name in a matter of weeks, all thanks to the instant fame John Lewis have given her. This shows how popular music is so commercially driven and how the absence of real talent, experimentation and creativity in music has begun to disappear. Most of todays new acts are manufactured because this is cheaper and easier for labels to produce rather than finding new talented artists. With television shows such as The X Factor, a concept of combining reality television with the music industry, created by music mogul Simon Cowell, we are brought together as this unthinking homogenous mass with the music acting as a social cement. We are being brainwashed through these simple ideologies of music, rendering us as a passive and unthinking mass audience. Adorno argues that the whole structure of popular music is standardized, even where the attempt is made to circumvent standardization. In his work he characterizes popular and serious music of which he then uses to underline his theory of popular music being standardized. This theory highlights that pop music is just a product of mass culture, and how the formula of producing a song is just endlessly replicated with a fixed structure and yet creates the illusion of creativity, what Adorno refers to in his theory of pseudo-individualisation. The song structure is replicated so much so, that the consumers do not actually realise they have heard it before, what Adorno refers to as pre-digested. So the listening of a song is not spontaneous and no intellect is required as it has done the thinking for them and the listeners consume what is already familiar. However, I do believe that with the current crisis of the music industry, there is a certain layer of pop music that is standardized but there is still an element of creative autonomy. Although saying that, the industry will always be driven by money and not creativity as that is the prerogative of a capitalist society we live in today. Compared to popular music, serious music is not standardized as it is produced with the whole aesthetics of a song in mind and every detail derives its musical sense from the concrete totality of the piece. With serious music being genres such as folk, pre-industrial music, classical, or art music, it is focusing on the experimentation and meaning of a piece rather than the repetitive, fixed structure of a popular song. Independent music labels have a slightly different outlook on producing music compared with the major labels. They take a less economic approach and more a social approach to music and without a corporate conglomerate steering them they can decide what to produce. However without corporate finances indie labels still have trouble getting the music out there to be heard. Not wanting to be a part of the commercial music industry, the American punk band Fugazi stayed with their independent record label Dischord Records which was also co-founded by the bands guitarist Ian MacKaye, refusing offers to become part of major label. Their main focus was their music and they did not want to rip off their listeners, which a major label would make them do. Michael Azerrad mentions in Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991, In response not only to a corrupt music industry but to an entire economic and political system they felt was fraught with greed for money and powerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Fugazi staked out the indie scene as the moral high ground of the music industry; from then on, indie wasnt just do-it-yourself, it was Do the Right Thing. This is one example where the music is more important than the sell and the artist keeping control over their music. Even when managing to not sell out to the commercial music industry, Fugazi gained loyal fans through their honest and passionate attitudes towards their music and do not charge extortionate amounts of money for tickets to their performances or CDs escaping the capitali st business. However, for the major record labels, charging large amounts of money for concert tickets seem to be the only way for an artist to make money these days. With the music industry in a crisis, losing money through illegal downloading and file sharing over the internet, artists are losing money through CD sales so have to charge more money for ticket prices to make up for this loss. Going back to the use of synergy in the music business, we have come to find that the status of Radio itself has also changed. With radio stations being owned by the bigger conglomerates, they are not spontaneous anymore, when playing different types of music. It used to be that, Radio DJs would play the music that they believed was good music and having their particular music personality broadcasted to their listeners. Today, the conglomerates that own the stations have a strong say in what gets played. For instance, there would be a particular song they have to play a number of times in so many hours, so technically they have no control over whats played. Adornos belief on how culture gets polluted when it meets commerce plays a quiet role here. The media conglomerates controlling the radio stations are selling the listeners an illusion. They are hiring celebrities as DJs who know little or sometimes nothing about music other than their own personal interests to host shows, who the n become these big media personalities become with the public from media marketing and promotion. For example, Vernon Kay, BBC Radio 1 DJ, was a TV presenter before his big break in to radio in 2004. His television status made him a well known name, and so naturally he was then hired to be the DJ for a prime spot on a mainstream station. So, overall, they are selling him more than the station, to acquire a larger proportion of listeners. It was radio play of music that constituted its popularity, but with many radio stations sounding the same nowadays, only playing the popular chart music, it is much harder for unknown bands and artists to get air time on the more popular stations. Looking back at the documentary Money For Nothing again, we can see that there are the four main companies that reach consumers in the selling of music. From the production at the record companies, the music then gets played over the radio, the music videos will be shown on television and then touring will promote the music. For manufactured new artists, the record companies will pay other radio stations to play this music so its heard by the masses, and then this will also give the opportunity to promote other areas of the industry that they own. So in the end, the variety of music heard on the radio has now decreased on a large scale. Coming into todays digitally advanced world, the music industry has fallen into a crisis. In a generation where virtually everything is digitally recoverable, the sales of records are on continuing decline, not only from legal downloads from sites such as iTunes, but illegal file sharing over the internet has also become major factor. In an interview with Simon Frith for the online music magazine Perfect Sound Forever, Simon Frith says that, With digital CDs, records can now live forever and there is far more back catalogue available and less incentive to buy records that just came out. iTunes is one of these catalogues where music files from virtually any artist are readily available to purchase. It was established in 2001 by the global corporation Apple and has since been one of the main outlets of digital media. Napster, was a peer to peer file sharing service online created by a university student, Shawn Fanning. It began in 1999, allowing people to share their music libraries across this system. This service became very popular with its easier way of obtaining music files that could be expensive to purchase or just hard to come by. However with this technology its popularity grew to over 20 million users and music artists and bands became more aware of the seriousness of the copyright infringements of the company. Metallica and Dr Dre were one of the first bands to sue Napster for copyright violations of their music with a successful outcome. Rapper Dr Dre stated that I work hard making music thats how I earn a living. This is a shared opinion of all musical artists as they are losing money through file sharing technology, and this is ultimately damaging the future of the industry. In the end Napster had to stop the service, but not completely shut it down. They turned it into a subscript ion service to abide by the copyright laws; however this still did not get them out of the financial struggle they were in, paying legal settlements to the music industry. They finally went bankrupt and had to liquidate their business. Even though the illegal file-sharing was stopped through Napsters service, the core idea and technology has gone on to a larger problem with many more illegal downloading services such as Limewire, Ares or torrent software. These newer services have built upon Napsters original technology and have made a larger dent in the music industrys revenue today. Even Fanning saw the greater potential for peer to peer technology stating, peer-to-peer technology or distributed computing also has tremendous opportunity for sharing resources or computing power, lowering information and transaction costsPeer-to-peer also has the potential to change todays understanding of the relationship between source and site. He saw how this could make searching for files easie r, explaining that it is less complicated and less time consuming to just let a program find the file source to rather than connecting to a central server. Looking at the music industry as a whole, the main aspects of technology, music and commerce Conclusion: Internet has made music ubiquitous. Using our emotions and vulnerability to sell us music catharsis adorno synergy, which Ben H. Bagdikian, in his book Media Monopoly,

Urban Transportation :: essays research papers

The development of urban transportation has not changed with the cities; cities have changed with transportation. In the early years of transportation it was the mass transit of horse and buggies or electric rail cars that shaped cities. Then as the automobile became affordable to the public, personal transportation redefined the city as it was known. It is the automobile and the movement to the suburbs that has public transportation struggling to make money today. The very first transportation was with the horse. Then someone came up with the idea to pair a horse up with a buggy. Now four to six people could be carried at one time. These horse and buggies began to be common sight in cities and public transportation was born. Before the horse and buggy people were confined to the distance they could walk, so cities could not grow much. People lived in the central business district because that is where they worked. Now with the simple horse and buggy, people that can afford the transportation can move a mile or two out of the central city (Guathier 174).The big explosion of growth and increased ridership came at the turn of the century. The cause of this explosion was the electric streetcars that were installed in many cities. Whichever direction the rail lines were laid down and the streetcar moved, people began building their homes in that direction. The automobile was just getting its beginning and people were depending on public transportation to get them to work. As the streetcar's tracks expanded east and west, the city's population shifted that way as well. People did not need to be in walking distance of their workplace anymore, but in walking distance of the nearest pickup point of the streetcars (Guathier 175). As streetcars increased their length of lines and service, the public increased their choices of residential locations. People with higher incomes were able to move out of the central part of cities and into outer areas (Guathier 174). This also fostered the concentration of different ethnic groups within separate neighborhoods (Guathier 175). This separation reversed the intermingling that had been taking place during the late 1800's between various economic groups and the different ethnic groups in the cities. Social stratification and sorting of different groups throughout the city was rapidly increased thanks to the streetcar spreading out the cities (Guathier 175).As cities spread out in the early 1900's, railroads developed interurban and suburban railroad to connect the outlying areas of the city.

How Archduke Franz Ferdinand was Assasinated

Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, has been assassinated along with his wife, at the age of 65, while he was invited to travel to Bosnia in order to observe military manoeuvres and open the state museum in Sarajevo. Although he was aware of the many dangers of such an act, the Bosnians desperate fervour for independence and the many terrorist organizations intent upon destroying our government; his love of the low-class wife blinded him. He was permitted to be seen in public with his beloved wife only while acting as â€Å"Military inspector† which was what brought him to set out on these types of trips. The Serbian Military Intelligence was most intent upon this assassination, due to their highly arrogant and crafty ambitions: to take over Bosnia which we have rightfully acquired. It was, therefore, not a surprise when we received first-hand reports proving it was the Serbian Intelligence who were directly responsible for backing the particular group of terrorists who committed these acts. However this did not detract from Franz Ferdinand's foolish actions, which as you will see were in sharp contrast to our honourable and wise King's decisions, when he visited Bosnia: First of all King Franz Joseph had policemen around the streets to protect him, whereas Franz Ferdinand had less than 120 policemen to protect him. King Joseph kept his itinerary top secret, far from the view of suspicious organizations, whereas Franz Ferdinand had his whole itinerary published in the media. On top of that he chose to ride in the â€Å"Grif & Stift† roofless, with his feathery hat sticking out of the vehicle. After brief inspections of the military barracks, the archduke's first stop was the Town Hall via Sarajevo's main road, the Appel Quay. Unknown to the distracted police forces, six young men were lined up across the Appel Quay with Weapons supplied to them from the Serbian Intelligence. Although 5 out of 6 of the assassins did not respond when the procession passed them, Nedeljko Cabrinovic did. He hurled a hand grenade at the archduke†¦ ut he had hit it faster than was required. Moreover it bounced off the back of the vehicle the Archduke was riding in and it blew up on the car behind the archduke's. After realising the situation, the driver accelerated, thus causing Princip to miss his first chance of assassination, and the procession reached the town hall. Here the Archduke cancelled the remainder of his program and advised his officials to utilise a different route to the one already advertised. Unfortunately he forgot to inform the chauffeurs, which would cost him his life. Gavrillo Princip, already dying from Tuberculosis and determined to die as a martyr, was thrown into deep confusion after his group had failed their assassination. He was on his way home when he spotted the vehicle†¦ He stepped forwards, fired two shots at the Archduke and waited. The first shot struck the archduke in his neck, cutting off his jugular vein, rendering his bullet proof covering useless while the second shot hit the duchess in her abdomen. The archduke's last words were, â€Å"Sophie dear! Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children! â€Å". It was thus that his love for his low-class wife bought his death†¦

Bibliography of Beethoven Berlioz and Chopin essays

Bibliography of Beethoven Berlioz and Chopin essays Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770 to Johann van Beethoven and his wife, Maria Magdalena. He took his first music lessons from his father, who was tenor in the choir of the archbishop-elector of Cologne. His father was an unstable, yet ambitious man whose excessive drinking, rough temper and anxiety surprisingly did not diminish Beethovens love for music. He studied and performed with great success, despite becoming the breadwinner of his household by the time he was 18 years old. His fathers increasingly serious alcohol problem and the earlier death of his grandfather in 1773 sent his family into deepening poverty. At first, Beethoven made little impact on the musical society, despite his fathers hopes. When he turned 11, he left school and became an assistant organist to Christian Gottlob Neefe at the court of Bonn, learning from him and other musicians. In 1783 he became the continuo player for the Bonn opera and accompanied their rehearsals on keyboard. In 1787, he was sent to Vienna to take further lessons from Mozart. Two months later, however, he was called back to Bonn by the death of his mother. He started to play the viola in the Opera Orchestra in 1789, while also teaching in composing. He met Haydn in 1790, who agreed to teach him in Vienna, and Beethoven then moved to Vienna permanently. He received financial support from Prince Karl Lichnowsky, to whom he dedicated his Piano Sonata in C minor, better known as The Pathtique . He performed publicly in Vienna in 1795 for the first time, and published his Op. 1 and Op. 2 piano sonatas. His works are traditionally divided into three periods. The first is called the Viennese Classical, the second is the Heroic, and the third is Late Beethoven. In the first period, his individuality and style gradually developed, as he used many methods from Haydn, including the use of silence. He composed mainly for the piano ...

Free Essays on Indian Gaming

A current controversy surrounding our community are the â€Å"compacts† concerning the state and Indian Gambling; opponents of Indian Gaming say that the revenue from casinos is either drawing away from the Arizona economy or becoming a burden for it. These statements are far from the truth. In a recent article for The Arizona Republic David LaSarte, executive director of the Indian Gaming Association stated that the revenue gained from a casino helps both the Indian community as well as the non-Indian community. Indian reservations, which for years have lived in desperate poverty are now gaining and expanding the most basic of services: health care, education, and police and fire services. In the non-Indian community, any revenue gained from the casinos is automatically spent in Arizona cities on goods and services. The money generated from Indian gambling is helping Indian communities gain financial independence as well as contributing to the Arizona economy. As a result of the Supreme Court decision in California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988; recognizing Indian gaming rights.1 Another reason Congress passed IGRA was in an effort to, â€Å"balance Native American legal rights with the interests of the states and the gambling industry† (Anders 1). Within the IGRA there are specific rules that the tribes must adhere to. The most important rule is that the states and the tribes must, â€Å"negotiate in good faith† to create gambling compacts (Anders 1). These compacts are legal agreements made between states and the tribes regarding the kinds of games played at the casino, size of the facility, betting limits, regulation, and security. Not only do these compacts ensure the states of their rights, but they also secure the tribes as the sole owners and primary beneficiaries of the gaming revenue. The second stipulation is that all casino profits must be used ex... Free Essays on Indian Gaming Free Essays on Indian Gaming A current controversy surrounding our community are the â€Å"compacts† concerning the state and Indian Gambling; opponents of Indian Gaming say that the revenue from casinos is either drawing away from the Arizona economy or becoming a burden for it. These statements are far from the truth. In a recent article for The Arizona Republic David LaSarte, executive director of the Indian Gaming Association stated that the revenue gained from a casino helps both the Indian community as well as the non-Indian community. Indian reservations, which for years have lived in desperate poverty are now gaining and expanding the most basic of services: health care, education, and police and fire services. In the non-Indian community, any revenue gained from the casinos is automatically spent in Arizona cities on goods and services. The money generated from Indian gambling is helping Indian communities gain financial independence as well as contributing to the Arizona economy. As a result of the Supreme Court decision in California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988; recognizing Indian gaming rights.1 Another reason Congress passed IGRA was in an effort to, â€Å"balance Native American legal rights with the interests of the states and the gambling industry† (Anders 1). Within the IGRA there are specific rules that the tribes must adhere to. The most important rule is that the states and the tribes must, â€Å"negotiate in good faith† to create gambling compacts (Anders 1). These compacts are legal agreements made between states and the tribes regarding the kinds of games played at the casino, size of the facility, betting limits, regulation, and security. Not only do these compacts ensure the states of their rights, but they also secure the tribes as the sole owners and primary beneficiaries of the gaming revenue. The second stipulation is that all casino profits must be used ex...

Mystical Discourses in Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mystical Discourses in Philosophy - Essay Example The clandestine struggle of a Mystic does not lend itself to understanding or provide insight into the intricate scaffolding of inspired philosophy. As Michael Sells comments, Mystic writers like Jalaluddin Rumi and Marguerite Porete did not aim to illustrate a specific type of experience. They hoped to generate an appreciation of the framework in which things take place at all and the human relationship to this fixed totality. "Mysticism is often associated with the extraordinary, the transcendent, the unimaginable, and reveals itself as the common" (Sells, Michael A. The Mystical Languages of Unsaying). Sells investigates the writer's use of language to sustain reality and its silhouette. Each discourse presents a cohesive tactic to accomplish its purpose. The aporia of transcendence, as Sells describes it, is a means of achieving dialectic ascension through apophatic debate. In contrast, Marguerite Porete believed that mystical pre-eminence could only be arrived at through the "An nihilation of the Soul." And, in Jalaluddin Rumi's vision, only in the supreme and boundless entirety of God, do all the conflict and dissension implicated in the antipathy of phenomena transcend the fracas and come to rest. Apophatic theology has commonly been depicted as a form of negation. ... Apophasis is basically a dialogue of contradiction and dueling statements. However, both Porete and Rumi would agree that most have a tendency to transfix on a solitary statement and abandon its double. Therefore, these dancing conjectures must be positioned within a larger text in order to maintain a continual regression. A referential candor within the wording suggests a particular willingness and susceptibility towards the essential necessity of practicing ceaseless transformation, as alluded to by Ibn Arabi. "Unsaying" occurs in reaction to an impasse. If one were to propose the existence of a limitless, definitive precept, then how could one submit to it Designations by nature have a way of restricting those entities they elect. When something is assigned a label, boundaries are erected that designate what it is and what it is not. Names are fixed and unyielding. How might one be liberated from this intrinsic inclination fundamental to language One must defeat language with language by posing it against itself. What Sells ascribes as a "meaning event" is accomplished by exploiting the disparity betwixt clashing statements. He illuminates the aporia of transcendence within the work of Marguerite Porete, and his ideas extend themselves to the words of Rumi as well. Sells focuses primarily on how these texts operate within their unique mythical compositions. He also examines their extensive theological and intellectual perspectives while making enlightening evaluations. These in depth exa minations allow one to appreciate the theatrical nature of the texts. These texts are intended to activate an understanding of

Anotated bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Anotated bibliography - Essay Example stions and how does someone or something get this popular and how does it disseminate globally and what about underdeveloped cultures and I want to look at how popular culture spreads and find a definition The article by author discusses how pop culture is spread in society through college classes used in curriculum primarily in the departments of social science course and humanities in the 1950s. Pop culture classes offered now and later, pop culture not only used of theorists but also became a part of English in mode of pop literature where certain types of popular books were being read by students and . students enjoyed this type of literature and it appealed to instructors because of it was liked that the literature at this level was â€Å"less rigorous† and more interesting to them students in classes. Pop is customarily used in the classroom as part of culture studies and how it is spread because many citizens even use pop culture for methods of creation criticisms. Some of the topics or themes including people, places or things that exist in pop culture are topics that are commonly heard of and then the students in classes c relate better to them and think about the topics that they exposed to in order to rip it apart about it. This then allows students a basis for which to compare thoughts about it. The author attempts to discuss the origin of popular culture and how it crawls across a certain area. His explanation somewhat follows the guide lines that which while some areas were becoming more populated, it was easier for information to spread and therefore, if one person started reading a book, then they could easily pass it on to their buddy friend and share it. Some of the earliest points of the intro of pop culture can be in found when Shakesphere literature started to become popular among different societies and society groups of smaller sizes. Author also discusses who folk culture survived, being passed down through

The Docket System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 23

The Docket System - Essay Example According to the study the court applied 15 U.S.C. 1125(d) and granted the case in favour of the City group. This domain name was registered by Shui on 13 October 1997 and they also set up a website of their own which had links such as â€Å"City Bank Students† and â€Å"City Bank Visa† but when the people who wanted to retrieve information clicked on these links they were redirected and none of websites affiliated with City Bank, consequently a hefty fine of USD 100,000 was applied to the guilty party. Docket no 3–06–0555 is about a criminal sexual abuse, the defendant in this case was James Johnson. The accused was alleged to have placed a pen in the Vagina of a minor girl. On 23 May 2005 it came to the knowledge of the judge that Johnson had skipped school to be in company of the minor girl and when the mother of the victim left for work, the accused had sexual intercourse with the minor girl. It was also found that the intercourse was consensual. The c ase took a dramatic when it was found that the minor girl was pregnant and it was also found that the accused had sex several times with the victim. Another important thing that was brought to light was that both had always had sex with mutual consent. The accused had to face severe consequences for his actions. Polar Tanker Vs City of Valdes is another intriguing case.  

Internal combustion engine Essay Example for Free

Internal combustion engine Essay An electric car is a vehicle which is driven by electric engines. The engines use electrical energy which is usually stored in batteries. Electric car is a variation of electric vehicle (EV). EV speaks of any vehicles which are propelled by electric engines. â€Å"Electric car† is a general term for high-speed vehicles which are powered by electricity. In the United States, low-speed vehicles which are powered by electricity are known as neighbourhood electric vehicles (NEVs), and as electric motorised quadricycles in Europe. Electric cars which are powered by different energy sources are also referred to by different names: if they are powered by sunlight, they are called solar cars. If they are powered by gasoline generators, they are called hybrid cars. The term â€Å"electric car† is usually referring to battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which are powered by on-board battery packs. Advantages of Electric Cars The first thing which comes to people’s mind when we talk about the advantages of electric cars is usually on pollution. Electric cars do not cause pollution related to internal combustion engines. The electricity used to recharge electric cars obviously has to come from somewhere, and most of the electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels. Yes, this causes pollution for sure, but there are also other methods to produce electricity. Hydropower and nuclear plants have helped in cutting the carbon emissions. Despite all the electricity production, the carbon emissions produced by electric cars is said to be half of what gas-powered cars produce. Another major advantage is you do not need gas anymore. In a year, an average American spends around $2,000 to $4,000 on gas only. Although electricity is not free, the fact that you do not have to pay so much for gas is relieving. The third advantage which needs to be stressed on is the batteries. Though you cannot drive many hundred miles with an electric car, you can still travel a rather long distance. An electric car can travel up to 100 miles on full battery. The distance it can provide is perfect for you to travel from your home to your workplace, and vice versa. Also the batteries recycle well. Almost 100 per cent of the batteries can be recycled; this helps preventing it from causing disposal problems. Electric cars are more efficient compared to gas-powered cars, in terms of energy and maintenance. Electric engines use 75 per cent of the energy from the batteries to run the wheels, while internal combustion engines only use about 20 per cent of the energy from fuel. Electrical engines also require less maintenance compared to internal combustion engines. You no longer need oil to lubricate the engine. The brakes would not wear off as quickly as gas-powered cars. You do not need belts in the engines, which will wear out due to overuse, in electric cars. Disadvantages of Electric Cars The major disadvantage of an electric car is the batteries. Electric car batteries are not cheap. They can cost around $5,000, and the better the batteries, the more expensive they are. Not only are they expensive, but you will also need to change them more than once, as the batteries have a limited lifetime. The time required for recharging the batteries is also very lengthy. To fully charge the batteries, you need 4 to 8 hours. This is a very serious disadvantage, as most people need to have their cars ready 24/7. With gas-powered cars, you just need a few minutes to fully refill the tank. Still on the batteries, another disadvantageous factor is their size and weight. Batteries used for electric cars need to be linked together into arrays, which form battery packs. Battery packs are bulky and heavy. They take up a significant amount of the vehicle space. Given the heavy weight, they battery packs can reduce the distance of how far the car can travel. Another disadvantage is the silence of electric cars. Yes, it can be soothing for some people, but it can also be dangerous for others. People usually listen to the sound of the revving engines when cars are coming up behind or beside them. When it is silent, they might not notice the cars and they can end up in an accident. Bibliography Bhat, N. (n. d. ). The Future: Our Planet in 2050 | Electric Cars. Retrieved November 05, 2013, from ThinkQuest: http://library. thinkquest. org/C008050/ecars4. html CarsDirect. (2012, January 27). Advantages and Disadvantages of Electric Cars. Retrieved November 05, 2013, from CarsDirect: http://www. carsdirect. com/green-cars/electric-cars-advantages-and-disadvantages Demuro, D. (n. d.). Electric Cars: Benefits and Disadvantages. Retrieved November 05, 2013, from AutoTrader: http://www. autotrader. com/research/article/car-tips/208155/electric-cars-benefits-and-disadvantages. jsp Enterprise Industry magazine. (2012, July 13). Automotive Industry. Retrieved November 05, 2013, from European Commissions Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry: http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/sectors/automotive/index_en. htm Fix, L. (n. d. ). Advantages and Disadvantages of Electric Cars. Retrieved November 05, 2013, from Lauren Fix, The Car Coach, Automotive Expert: http://www.laurenfix. com/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Electric-Cars Khan, A. (2012, November 25). Advantages and Disadvantages of an Electric Car! Retrieved November 06, 2013, from Tune Article: http://www. tunearticle. com/article-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-an-electric-car-. html Lampton, C. (2008, August 18). How Electric Car Batteries Work. Retrieved November 05, 2013, from HowStuffWorks: http://auto. howstuffworks. com/fuel-efficiency/vehicles/electric-car-battery. htm National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT. (1998, June 17). Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Retrieved November 05, 2013, from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): http://www. nhtsa. gov/cars/rules/rulings/lsv/lsv. html#lsv48 Pedrovsky. (2012, February 24). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Electric Vehicles. Retrieved November 06, 2013, from HubPages: http://pedrovsky. hubpages. com/hub/The-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-electric-vehicles Zak, B. (2011, April 04). Advantages and Disadvantages of Electric Cars. Retrieved November 06, 2013, from Goal for the Green: http://www. goalforthegreen. com/2011/04/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-electr.

Research Methods For Hospitality And Tourism

Research Methods For Hospitality And Tourism Set above the market town of Otley, in West Yorkshire, you will find unspoiled woodlands, secluded accommodation and glorious fishing lakes. With 49 recently refurbished hotel rooms and log cabins- you will feel a million mile from it all. However you will also find bustling markets, fine dining restaurants, bars, galleries and shopping just minutes away. Eating at our beautifully extended lakeside Restaurant is a must. Whether you are here for business or pleasure, you will leave refreshed and totally relaxed. A HOTEL WITH HEART AND SOUL A RENOWNED AREA OF SCENIC BEAUTY, The Yorkshire Dales is a landscape brimming with history, tradition and nature. Situated on the very southern edge of the Dales, Chevin Country Park Hotel Spa sits within 44 acres of silver birch woodland on the brow of the Chevin forest. The unique timber buildings of the hotel and lodges sit naturally amidst this seclusion. The hotel takes its name from the wooded hillside overlooking the mediaeval market town of Otley. This offers stunning views of the wharfe vally and surrounding countryside. Our ambition for Chevin is for it to remain as the Hotel of choice in West Yorkshire, At the same time preserving the beauty of the natural environment and the character of the original building. At Chevin Country park hotel Spa we will put our heart and soul into giving you a great hotel befitting of such a great location and promise to make your visit as special and unique as the setting itself. PADDY CRERAR. Aims Objectives: The aim of this research is to investigate the factors affecting implementation plans of management which has affected loss of business and profit. Objectives: To investigate concept of management based on literature review. To establish theoretical background to changing management. To investigate factors that affect implementation of plan by management. To clarify recent conditions with help of hypothesis. Analyses the data collected and give evaluation. PROBLEM ACCORDING TO MANAGEMENT: In Chevin Country Park Hotel, these are different types of problems according to management: Problem is about service. Guest has not given nice feedback, most of them are complaining about service. They are saying that, every time they have to wait for food. Management doesnt want to hire more staff for Kitchen as well as Service. Hotels dont have enough machinery. Rules marketing strategies laid by new management. Staff turnover RESEARCH: Research is defined as, any gathering of data, information facts for advancement of knowledge. Research is discerning pursuit of the truth Today there are thousands of companies, whose primary activity involves providing research services that helps business key strategies, tactical and operational question. Research has become more formalized technical. But its purpose remains much the same as enquiries undertaken by the Phoenician merchants. How do I find answer to improve my performance and make life better for customer, employees, and owner? Business research is design to answer these questions. OBSERVATION Due to shortage of time I couldnt be part of staff or cannot be employee of hotel, so method I chose was direct observation. I started my observation at reception as checking in the hotel. I was standing at reception as walking guest. I observed following facts: About Staff: Staff was not up to the standards. Were confused and less experienced. Were delaying check-in process were annoying customers standing in queue. Were talking to themselves in their native language Were rude to customers. They were confused with issuing of keys to the customer creating panic among themselves. Were not properly dressed. Were creating a chaos. Were not attending guests requests, which were living in the hotel. Were confused while attending call and guests simultaneously. Proper coordination between staff was missing. 2. At Reception desk: At the reception, the flowers used for decoration were not fresh.. Bell boy were not available, as a result guests had to carry their own luggage. Keys were placed in haphazard manner, which was confusing the receptionist while assigning it to the guests. Three telephones were placed on reception desk but only one receptionist was responsible for attending all three telephones, and she was not able to manage them. Ringing other two telephones while attending one call , was making that receptionist and guests annoyed. The floor near the reception was not cleaned regularly ,as a result many footprints were printed near the lobby, making floor dirty. 3.In Hotel Room: When I entered my room, I observed following things: The floor of the room was not properly cleaned; I could sense the dust on the floor as my shoes were leaving footprints on the floor. In refrigerator, I could see some empty cans, which projected that it was not restocked. There were some fingerprints on the mirror, which showed mirror was not cleaned regularly. The bed spreads also had some marks. Dusting was not done properly, as there was dust on the table. Towels in the bathroom were not up to the standards. It seemed like used before by someone else. The mattress outside the bathroom was stinky. Toilet tissues near the WC were not assembled in the tissue holder. AC in the room was not working properly. Also Wi-Fi signal in the room was very poor. One of the bulbs in the room was not glowing. There was no instruction manual for using electronic equipments. There was no instruction manual for operating AC. TV was not connected to DVD player and it was mentioned no where how to connect TV and DVD player. There was no manual for how to operate a washing machine. 4. In Hotel Restaurant : About restaurant, the service of food was very slow. Staff didnt have enough knowledge about food and wine. Service staff couldnt even explain to guest what were the ingredients in dishes, like what kind of sauces served with pork or beef? Even staff didnt know that which wine goes with specific dishes e.g.: red wine goes with red meat. Management had changed the menu staff was not briefed properly. There was no sufficient place between two table, making it uncomfortable for people to move to and from the aisles. Cutlery which was used on table which was not polished. Also table cloths on the table, were having food stains mark. Staff used to speak their native languages loudly standing behind the counters. Also there was loud sound of glasses, cutlery coming from service area behind. It seemed like they were not able to make proper atmosphere in restaurant. Restaurant Manager was very rude while handling guest complaints. 5. About Hotel Infrastructure: Infrastructure of the restaurant was one of the important problems of this hotel. Hotel is having 2 floor restaurants. Upstairs floor having lake view balcony. So guest will prefer to sit upstairs. But its very difficult for staff to give proper service to guest. Also bar is not situated near restaurant, so that each and every time they have to go to bar to take drinks for guest. HYPOTHESIS: Hypothesis can be defined as observable phenomena or experimental observation. It guides the direction of research. If it seriously conducted, it helps to know what shall be done and what shouldnt. Co relational Hypothesis: Co relational hypothesis occurs together in some specified manner without implying that one cause another. In this case management is independent and all staff, machinery, rooms, services etc are dependent. According to the Hypothesis and my observation the results which I found are: Hotel staff is not maintaining proper grooming standards like hair cut, wearing jewellery etc. Front office staff is not much capable to handle guest. Also not having enough experience to handle situation. Food service very slow in restaurant, because of that guest has to wait long for every course. Also staff not having enough knowledge about food and wine. Staff attitude towards guest is not good. Manager behavior towards guest as well as staff is very rude. Quantity of food is less Hotel rooms are not clean properly, when I entered in room, that time I saw that dusting in room not done properly. Direction signs are not accurate Infrastructure of the restaurant, some of the facilities in the hotel are not working properly. Casual staff is working , most of the all department,. Actually management get casual staff on more cheaper rate who are not trained. CASE STUDY: A case study at the Front desk: NANCY SWANGER, Morgan Black appointed as researcher by corporate office. The Coug Inn is a 150 rooms full serviced property with several medium sized banquets. it caters mostly to business travelers and visitors affiliated to local university. Hotel is very busy between august and may, with periods classes are not in session being extremely slow. Occupancy has been declining for the last year or so. Since arriving at The Coug Inn, Morgan made several observations about hotel situation. It seems that most of the problem with front desk. After reviewing comments card from last month, Morgan has sensed real dissatisfaction with the check-in process. Paper work at check in is perceived as lengthy and hard to fill out. Guest has been checked into rooms that were not clean. After discussing problem with front office manager, front office manager complaints that reservation staff does not always submit the days reservation to the front desk in a timely manner. So when guest arrive, desk further with over 65 % of the hotel staff speaking first language other than English. So communication is difficult. Front office manager further told that, the new hotel in town, the suit to sleep inn. Has an earlier checked in time and it seems to work ok for them. Morgan asks front office manager how the staff might respond to moving to a fully automated property management system. The respond was not favorable. Also corporate office had not put any money into the place in years. In attempt to reach a compromise, Morgan considers changing the check-in time in exchange for the front desk managers support of the conversation to an automated system. What must Morgan take into consideration before final decisions are made to adjust checked in time and install fully automated property management system? How should Morgan proceed in resolving the communication issue? Who needs to be involved in the final decisions? How might Morgan present the case to the corporate office? (Hotel Management and Operation By Michael J. Ofallon, Denney G. Rutherford, Page no:162) RESEARCH METHOD USED TO RESOLVE PROBLEM: Research: After reviewing the assessment form, I would like to use Evaluation Research. This will help hotel to get profit. There are three types of research: Descriptive Is finding out describing what it is Explanatory Explaining why or how things are there. Evaluation In process of Evaluation research participant contribution plays important role. Participant contribution term means manager should specify their problem provide the researcher adequate background information relating to them. As manager explained the entire situation about hotel. As manager told, all problem which hotel is facing, needs to be solved as soon as possible. There are many problems with service, kitchen as well as infrastructure. Actualy all these problems are related to each other. DATA COLLECTION: The main step in Evaluation Process is Data Collection. Data Collection identify issues from the people directly involved in the program identify further issues from the programmed documents, observing how the program is actually working. Through manager, I got assessment forms, Restaurant Bar comment card given by guest, also appraisal form which is filled by employees. To solve these problems, we need to evaluate current employees to determine their productivity, job satisfaction and commitment. DIFFERENT RESEARCH METHODS USED TO REACH THE CORE OF PROBLEM: SELF APPRAISAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Employee Name: Department: Position: Start Date: How do you feel about the work environment at Chevin Park Hotel? How do you enjoy most about your position? What do you feel about strongest work areas? In what area do you feel you have made improvements or changes? In what areas would you like more training or more work experience? What are your goals for next years? COMMENTS: Thank you. Guest Comment Card: Chevin Country Park Hotel Spa Chevin country park hotel spa really care about what you think. Sending feedback help us to provide you better level of service on your next visit with us. Please feel free to to comment on our site, our hotel or any other matter on your mind. Rate us: Excellent Good Average Fair Poor Physical appearance of the hotel Check in process Cleanliness of hotel Quality of food Your overall experience Better: Is there an area where you think we could do a better job? Employee: Did you particular hotel employee make your stay with us especially enjoyable? Comments: Additional comments you wish to makeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Thank you. CASE STUDY: SAMOUELS GREEK CUISINE RESTAURANT; Samouels Greek Cuisine Restaurant is located in London. Phil Samouel, owner of the Samouels Greek Cuisine Restaurant, believes his profit are not as high as they could be. He wants to increase sale. He wants to attract new customer. He also wants to ensure that restaurant running smoothly. Phil Samouel is new to this business. So he decided to hire restaurant consultant. He contacted Ad mark International, ask them to conduct a preliminary assessment of his restaurant operations and prepare research proposal for him to review. After discussions with Phil Samouel and several of his employees, the account manager from the research firm conclude that the primary questions facing samouels restaurant are: Are employees being managed to maximize their productivity as well as commitment to the success of the restaurant? What are the different way to attract new customer? These are the two separate issues but they are related to each other. First project will evaluate current employees to determine their productivity, job satisfaction and commitment. Second project evaluate the survey of customer. The employee assessment project: How do employees feel about work environment? How committed are the employees to helping make the restaurant success? Do different group of employees have different feeling about working at samouels? Customer assessment project: What is the level of satisfaction of samouels customer? What factors contribute to restaurant customer satisfaction? Do customers rate Ginos more favorably than they do samouels? ( name of the book ) Solution: For rooms: There should be either permanent staff or contract staff for cleaning the rooms , proper cleaning equipment like vacuumed cleaner, glass wiper, all solutions etc. should be purchased to make cleaning easier and faster. A supervisor should supervise the rooms. The towels and mattresses , bedspreads in the rooms should be properly cleaned and dried. Laundry should take this responsibility. Maintenance persons, at least 2 should be hired as permanent staff for emergencies which will also save money of management to look after all the electronic equipments in the hotel. Staff should be given training before actual service briefing should be done by manager with the staff so the staff is aware of daily specials, soup of the day availabilities of the dishes from the menu. Restaurant: The staff should be given the training related to food and beverage prior to attending guests. Staff should be given training, for meeting greeting guests as per hotel standards laid by new management. Manager should have an idea of handling all the problems that may happen in the hotel. Fast and proper service should be given to the guests. Staff should be given knowledge about what are the ingredients of the served dish. Staff should be given training based on type of wine and the dish with which it can be served. The tables should be arranged properly prior to the party or the event organized. There should be proper spacing between the tables so that waiter can move freely for serving. The plates and cutlery should be properly cleaned and polished. A plate polished should be arranged by the hotel. Table clothes on the table should be cleaned, and the responsibility has to be taken by laundry team. They should ensure that there are no stain marks on the table clothes. Staff should use only English while in the hotel, conversation in native language should not be allowed, as it is confusing for the guests of the hotel. About Staff : There should be either permanent staff or contract staff for cleaning the rooms Staff should be provided proper training prior to joining job. At Reception desk: This is the most import place in hotel as all the guests are received at Reception. Flowers at the reception should be fresh and placed properly. Floor should be cleaned regularly. If there are more than two telephones at the desk, more than one person should be available at desk to attend the calls. A personnel should be appointed for handling only guest complaints, and should be handled carefully. Bell boy should be available at the reception to carry guests luggage. About Hotel Infrastructure: Infrastructure of the hotel is the major part affecting the service of the hotel. So infrastructure should be designed properly to meet the requirements. Bar should be situated near the restaurant, so that it will be easy to provide proper service to the guests. Infrastructure of the hotel is the major part affecting the service of the hotel. So infrastructure should be designed properly to meet the requirements. (FLOOR PLAN FOR RESTAURANT / BAR/ RECEPTION) As per shown in diagram, Restaurant is situated on lake. Bar is situated behind the Reception. Thats why distance between restaurant and bar is too long. So every time service staff has to walk through it. Also if you go from service area then also it takes time. Thats why guest are keep complaining about service, slow service. If you see in diagram, lounge is situated exactly besides of the restaurant on lake. If we make setup of bar in Lounge, and Lounge will goes instead of Bar. This will save lots of time, also because of this it will look nice. So guest can go themselves on Bar and have their drinks. That will useful for guest as well as staff. If management ready to change infrastructure, this will be the important change, which need to be done. Surely this will help to improve service quality. Cleanliness: Proper Cleanliness should be maintained. All the used utensils should be cleaned at the end of the day so that it can be used next day. Oven should be cleaned regularly so that it is free from any odor. Gas stove should be cleaned regularly so that there are no stain marks on it. planning : All the events should be planned properly so that there are no confusions at any events. All the tables should be arranged properly in the night, so that in the morning there wont be any wastage of time in arranging the table. Training: The staff should be given proper Behavioral Training so that they should know how to handle guests. The staff who is working in service section of restaurant should be given proper training on serving and should be given knowledge on ingredients of the dishes served. The staff should be given Meetings: Meetings for staff should be arranged regularly by manager so as to discuss the goals to be achieved and should also discuss what technique should be used for the same. Meetings should be arranged on daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. All the problems faced by staff should be discussed in these meetings. Feedbacks: There should be a personnel appointed for handling feedbacks given by guest. Proper measures should be taken to work on it. It should be discussed regularly with manager so that the areas where hotel need to be improved is highlighted. Manager Behavior: Manager should be experienced, should know how to handle all the situations that a hotel may face. He should be trained properly so that he can handle annoyed guests. He should offer some complimentary service to guests in case of any mistakes committed by hotel unknowingly. Advanced Equipment / Machinery: Hotel should buy advanced equipment in case of necessity so as to make all the processes fast. For example : Hotel should buy an automatic dish cleaners so as to make dish cleaning faster and effective. Hotel should buy number of vaccum cleaner so that cleaning of dust is an fast an easy procedure. Dish polisher should be bought to polish dish. Floor cleaning machinery should be bought to make floor cleaning faster. In laundry, no of washing machines should be present so that bed spreads, mattress and table covers should be washed regularly and kept clean. Driers should be available so that all the table covers and other clothes are dried and can be used for next day. Technical Problems: For handling technical problem a technical team should be hired. For example: To handle problems related to bulb, tube light fitting, a electrician should be available for hotel. To handle problems related to network, LAN, wi-fi, internet connection a technical personnel should be hired. 3. To handle defects in washing machine, oven, geyser, lifts, fans, TV, dvd players a technical team should be there. Supervision: A supervisory team should be assigned to do following things: To supervise room cleanliness. To supervise floor cleanliness. To supervise whether electronic equipments are working properly. To supervise whether cleanliness is maintained at kitchen. CONCLUSION As elaborated above, if the mentioned policies are implemented by the hotel management, the expected result would be: 1. Increase in staff skills 2. Rise in customer satisfaction 3. Rise in employee satisfaction 4. Increase in hotel profit 5. Improve in hotel standard The mentioned policies would help hotel to maintain its position in this competitive world of business and would help hotel to grow at a faster rate, improving its market standards and market values. This would even help hotel and its employees to be at a stronger position even when market is down. Would help them to handle all the situations that would be beneficiary for the organization.