An Analysis Of Singapore Airlines Performance Commerce Essay

Singapore Airlines has been a major discovery in the air power universe. It has been systematically been executing good against their rivals. It is besides regarded as the best air hose in the universe. We examine how SIA has achieved its impressive public presentation and be able to stay competitory throughout its history. Besides, we examine the strategic success through distinction by agencies of service excellence and invention, together with cost leading issue. We take into history the critical factors every bit good as organizational factors that provide competitory advantage for Singapore Airlines. We discuss in inside informations about the â€Å" Singapore Girl † , In-flight service, Training, Customer feedback, Team spirit, Tripartite agreement, Strategic hub, Alliances, Governmental Support, Cost-saving. Introduction: SIA started its service as Malayan Airways in 1947. Following a common understanding between the Malaysian and Singaporean Government over the split of the Malaysia Singapore Airlines, two new air hoses were formed viz. SIA and Malaysia Airways. The freshly formed SIA began its operation in 1972. As Malaysia Airways took over the domestic paths, SIA decided to concentrate on international web to vie for paths, acquire the rights to set down on different international airdromes, set up bilateral understandings, buying flight slots and set uping set downing rights. Furthermore, SIA went on to buy Boeing 747 Jumbo jets and besides cargo services were offered excessively. Following 7 old ages in service, the aircraft were traded for new and more efficient aircraft. SIA has a policy of maintaining immature fleet as a scheme for clients to believe of better safety. SIA besides decided to spread out its fleet which included a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft. SIA is regarded the best air h ose in the universe following the legion awards they have received. To hold been acclaimed such a good repute and been keeping it for old ages, it has non been an easy nut to check down. Harmonizing to Chan ( 2000 ) analysis, he suggests that SIA has been so successful since they implement a double scheme affecting distinction through first-class in-flight service and invention, together with cost leading in its direction. However, Porter ( 1985 ) argued that distinction and cost leading must be reciprocally sole since they require alternate agencies of investings. Furthermore, we examine the critical and organizational factors involved for the strategic success of SIA harmonizing to the Chan ( 2000 ) instance surveies. 1. Customer Focus Strategy SIA is a service industry. Its top precedence is to heighten client service and besides better the service and merchandise they offer to run into and fulfill clients ‘ demand alternatively of following cost salvaging construct normally implemented by the traditional U.S air hoses. SIA adopt a customer-focused scheme alternatively of concentrating on rivals or themselves foremost. Although it involves a high cost, SIA net income border has non been affected. This clearly shows that if an air hose wants to be successful, it has to take the hazard to offer better client service, which in bend involves higher investing but finally basking a higher output of net income. This is what SIA implemented and so far has been successful in its quest. SIA was besides the first air hose to concentrate on client service construct and besides heightening its repute of supplying quality service and it is ingrained in the heads of clients. This so helps SIA to be in the pole place for sustainable competitory advantage. 2. Marketing Weapon: â€Å" Singapore Girl † Furthermore, in order to develop and implement high quality service criterions, SIA uses the â€Å" Singapore Girl † icon as its selling arm of great cordial reception service to clients. With such a simple and genius thought, SIA has been so successful for the past 25 old ages with no mark of ruin. This has been greatly awarded and has earned a positive and singular repute such that it is being displayed at the Famed Madame Tussaud ‘s Museum in London. The â€Å" Singapore Girl † is ever featured in the advertisement magazines or layouts even if SIA is advancing new finishs, bigger aeroplanes, or even new repasts on-board. This is because the bottom line for SIA is to present quality service and that â€Å" Singapore Girl † is the perfect illustration to show that service. A pilot, an aircraft applied scientist or a celebrated chef will non be suited to present the message of â€Å" quality service † to clients. SIA air hostesss are dressed in a bea utiful Malay sarong kebaya, designed by celebrated manner house, Pierre Balmain ( Chan, 2002a ) . SIA ‘s nucleus competences include marketing accomplishments developed by its top direction and the interpersonal accomplishments of its flight attenders harmonizing to ( Ayob, 2010 ) . Making the flight every bit gratifying as possible is the aim of SIA. 3. Training SIA has adopted a rigorous and selective attack for staff enlisting. It is based on an intensive and comprehensive preparation where the most suited and efficient staffs are selected for an ongoing 4 month class which is considered the longest preparation of all time every bit compared to other air hoses. Some of the specific subjects covered during the preparation are safety, proviso of service reflecting heat and friendliness, beautiful tips, treatments of epicure nutrient, all right vinos and the art of conversation. These subjects antecedently mentioned if good assimilated by the selected campaigners, will supply a major encouragement to SIA and besides to its clients due to the fact that the attenders will hold sensible cognition of the things that clients might inquire during the flight. As these subjects covered up most if non all of the information that usually riders tend to inquire. The preparation is besides conducted during period of economic crisis as it will assist the air hose to travel frontward in service quality betterment as other air hoses might travel back to salvage cost and besides it proves to the staffs that uninterrupted betterment are of import for success ( Kauffman ) . Furthermore, SIA believes that employees play an of import portion in conveying success to the air hose. Its flight attenders, together with its pilots come from different cultural backgrounds and are able to pass on to riders in different linguistic communications depending where they fly to. 4. Customer service and In-flight service In 1972, SIA became the first air hose to supply free nutrient and alcoholic drinks on its flights regardless of category, every bit good as in-flight amusement at no excess cost. Passengers are served with delightful, gourmet nutrient and the flight attenders pay peculiar attending to detail. Furthermore, SIA has one flight attender for every 22 seats which is good above the industry norm. SIA will even function instant noodles on petition. In 1997, SIA introduced the Electronic Ticketing for flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Penang. In the same twelvemonth, it launched advanced in-flight amusement offering riders sing and listening options from a broad assortment of 20 films, 20 short characteristics and about 50 Cadmiums. Besides, First Class, Raffles Class and PPS Club members were provided internet check-in service when winging out of Singapore in 1996 ( Chan, 2000a, p.7 ) . SIA is besides really good at managing people state of affairs in such a manner that if of all t ime SIA promises to present the baggage in 10 proceedingss, so it will lodge to that promise ( Ramaswamy 2002 ) . Furthermore what SIA wants to accomplish is that they want to do the clients aware that they are non merely paying to transport them from one state to another, but besides that they are basking the service offered to them on board and besides that they feel comfy and non like stuck in an enclosed compartment particularly on a long-haul flight which is rather raging. SIA wants to indicate out that they are viing to be the best air hose in the industry but alternatively they are viing to be the best service administration alternatively. To accomplish that, SIA benchmark themselves non merely against their rivals but to the best in category service companies. With respect to business-level scheme, SIA manage to present quality service to clients ( accomplishing distinction ) , at a degree of costs that approach those of a budget bearer. This accomplishment challenges Porter ‘s suggestion that distinction and cost leading are reciprocally sole. ( Heracleous et al. , 2009 ) . 5. Customer feedbacks SIA does seek feedback from its riders in order to better its quality service. In 1998, a study on 4000 riders from all the categories was conducted. It involves information from riders from different flights viz. London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Mumbai and Hong Kong ( Chan, 2000b ) . Comfort, privateness and the experience that SIA offered were the chief issues involved. So, an immediate action was taken by SIA whereby a squad of specialized people started to restitute and implement what was necessary to be done. For illustration, SIA renovated the made-to-order seats to cashmere covers. SIA wage peculiar attending to clients ‘ demand as a resource for invention thoughts. 6. Cost economy SIA focuses its cost economy scheme at the direction degree. Aircraft care, catering and security are run and managed as subordinates. This is planned since SIA will hold a better control of the costs this manner. As a consequence, SIA has generated a better-cost nest eggs and besides increased its net income border ( Asiatic Business Review, 1996, p.34 ) . Furthermore, SIA relocated and outsourced its database and processing maps to much cheaper Mumbai in India and Beijing in China. 7. Strategic flexibleness Hax and Wilde ( 2001, p. 114-5 ) believe that in a fast-changing universe, â€Å" Strategic flexibleness can bring forth higher net incomes by assisting a company stay absolutely tuned to the market and avoid acquiring trapped in dead-end concern theoretical accounts † . SIA has been implementing the construct â€Å" flexibleness † by come ining into new markets- opening new paths. Since SIA does non hold any domestic paths to function, it has to look for paths that even originate in 3rd states winging to another 3rd state. Furthermore, to assist spread out its web of flights, SIA has code-sharing understandings with about 20 air hoses, including cardinal partnerships with Delta Airlines and Swissair. SIA, Delta Airlines and Swisssair are besides spouses of the Global Excellence Alliance, each keeping 5 % equity bets in the other two. ( Chan, 2000b ) . Constructing up confederations as a scheme to stay competitory in the planetary market is aboriginal presents for air h oses to be a success as noted by Johnstone ( 1996 ) . Harmonizing to Hanlon ( 1996 ) , holding a strategic hub strengthens the strategic competitory place of an air hose. Singapore is a really good illustration of a strategic hub which contributes to the success of SIA. Furthermore, SIA presents themselves as attractive spouses with other air hoses to construct planetary strategic confederations and webs. In 1998, SIA had a strategic understanding with Lufthansa. This has allowed SIA the chance to hold a strategic European hub in its international web and frailty versa. SIA riders going between Singapore and Frankfurt can now bask more flights to take from due to the understanding made. 8. Governmental Support The Singaporean Government plays an of import function in negociating actively for favorable air understandings and agreements with other states. It besides helps in the development of Singapore Airlines and Singapore ‘s Changi Airport every bit good. With the coaction of the Singapore Government, SIA and Changi Airport, wholly have distinguishable strategic competitory advantage and has helped SIA in their pursuit for success in the international air power universe ( Business Traveller- Asia Pacific, 1997b, p.3 ) . 9. Team Spirit SIA adopts a airy, â€Å" can-do † and animating attack which motivates its squad members. BHAGs are used in SIA scheme to bring forth squad spirit and that is the ground behind SIA success harmonizing to Chan ( 2000 ) . The squad spirit is built within its 6600 crew members through a little group of 13 crew members who are formed and wing together to beef up their relationship in the workplace and besides better the civilization of cost effectual service excellence and the equal force per unit area to present SIA promise to clients harmonizing to Heracleous et Al ( 2009 ) . Furthermore Doganis ( 2006 ) noted that the productiveness of SIA employees is one of the highest in the planetary air hose industry. Decision: Meanwhile, critics and rivals complain that much of SIA ‘s success is due to environmental factors and the function of authorities instead than its ain capablenesss. Analysts note that one benefit of Temasek ‘s 54.5 % interest is lower sensed debt hazard by loaners and therefore lower cost of adoption ( even though SIA does non necessitate to borrow significantly ) . The industrial dealingss climate in Singapore is deemed to be less adversarial than elsewhere, enabling SIA to implement policies that would hold caused significantly more clash in many other air hoses. Critics besides suggest that SIA ‘s acquisitions have non fared that good. In 1999 SIA bought 49 % of Virgin Atlantic, and wrote away 95 % of the investing shortly after 9/11. In 2000 it acquired a 25 % interest in Air New Zealand, which was earnestly impacted by the prostration of its debt-laden Australian arm, Ansett Airlines ; this investing was besides written

Patrick Suskind- Perfume Essay

Reflective Statement: Perfume Perfume by Patrick Sà ¼skind, exposed me to a series of literary texts, themes and ideas. It also opened me to a variety of cultural developments that happened throughout the book.  Through the interactive oral I gained a better understanding of the historical context and Parisian lifestyle. When reading I had superficial knowledge and I never really analyzed the periodical moment that the book was set in. The presentation helped me broaden my understanding of the French lifestyle by explaining the streets of Paris and the lack of sanitation. I now understand the importance of where Grenouille was born and the significance it holds; but then I also found myself astonished of the extreme conditions humans could endure and call everyday life. The fact that the author chose to set the book in that time period, where Paris was at its filthiest, and decided that the main character shall be born with the gift of scent. This fact gave me an interpretation of the author’s choice in location. It was also through this interactive oral that I got a stronger grasp of the connections between Grenouille and the other gifted abominables that were mentioned in the beginning of the novel. When initially reading the book, I lost the real connections of the characters. It was through the interactive  oral that I made the vital connections between Grenouille and Marquis de Sade and the others that were mention as well. These historical figures were also known for their terrible acts against humanity. As the group described each of them, I was thoroughly interested because I was surprised by some of the horrific things some of them had done. I was most engrossed by the Marquis de Sade; he’s personality and lifestyle as repulsive as it was, interested me a lot and I realized I got the same reaction from him, as I did from Grenouille. I became aware of Sà ¼skind’s directive with such connections. It further strengthens my opinion on how Sà ¼skind antagonized Grenouille from the beginning; because of the comparisons to the horrific figures from history. This interactive oral gave me a simple but direct understanding of the cultural context, by explaining 18th century Paris. I appreciate Sà ¼skind choice of location and including those historical figures, as foreshadowing. Overall I reached an improved understanding of Perfume. [Word Count: 400] Stolen Innocence: The Exploration of the elements of innocence from the fallen victims of Grenouille as he begins and ends his quest for the ultimate scent in Perfume: The story of a murder The roles of minor characters are gravely important to the development of a story. Their character, their actions and what they symbolize lead the protagonist to different points of the beginning or to the conclusion of their journeys. This is clearly shown in Perfume by Patrick Sà ¼skind, as the protagonist Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is led on killing spree in search for a certain element for his ultimate scent; the minor characters aid him as the catalyst and conclusion of his quest. The plum girl of the dark Parisian streets unknowingly awakened Grenouille’s desire for what he perceived to be the ultimate scent. Her role as a minor character was to be the catalyst of Grenouille’s journey, her scent captured him and led him to the discovery that a scent like that was conceivable. She was a fleeting character, barely in the book but her presence and representation brought on the whole premise to Grenouille’s voyage. Sà ¼skind never gives the reader a direct characterization of the plum girl but it is  through her scent that he creates a personality that the reader is supposed to unravel; when he describes her scent we get an indirect form of characterization of her character â€Å"Her sweat smelled as fresh as the sea breeze, the tallow of her hair as sweet as nut oil, her genitals were as fragrant as the bouquet of water lilies, her skin as apricot blossoms†¦ and the harmony of all these components yielded a perfume so rich, so balan ced, so magical†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 41). Linking her scent to her personality we are obliged to believe she was a girl of adoration, because of the description of her scent. The comparisons of her fragrance are all things that one would find beautiful. â€Å"†¦ the scent was not much stronger. It was only purer, and in its augmented purity, it took on an even greater power of attraction. Grenouille walked with no will of his own.† (pg. 40). Everybody admires beauty and it’s through this that Sà ¼skind admits that even Grenouille is unable to resist beauty; fore this beauty was in the scent. Sà ¼skind’s diction further allows the reader to entwine the beauty and associate the plum girl with innocence; despite the little context the readers are given. â€Å"†¦ like a piece of thin, shimmering silk†¦ and yet again not like silk, but like pastry soaked in honey-sweet milk- and try as he would he couldn’t fit those two together: milk and silk!† (pg. 40). The comparison of her scent with milk brings back Jeanne Bussie’s thoughts of the smells of a baby, the link between their milky scent and their innocence. The author’s choice to link the plum girl with those simple forms of innocence shows how she is one of the representations of purity. The plum girl was the catalyst to Grenouille’s quest as it was through her that he gained the incentive to further his knowledge and vision to capture scent. During this time, the enlightenment was at its stronghold, as new scientific experiments took place, and as it took on the form of individuality; where man was fighting for their rights. The people of the enlightenment began to drift apart from the social norms of that time and began to associate themselves as their own being. This was something Grenouille soon realized he lacked as he came to terms that he had no essence to call his own. The thing that in his perspective made everyone who they were, was what was absent from him. As Grenouille is led on his journey to capture his intrinsic scent, as he embarks on his killing spree; Sà ¼skind leads the  reader to believe that Grenouille is seeking a certain element for his perfume. After his first kill every girl that followed next was in one way or another, a form of innocence. From the girl of the rose fields who was â€Å"young, so very young†, to the young Italian girls of the migrants, the Sardinian washer-woman, and th e carpenter’s daughter; they all shared something apart from their youth. â€Å"†¦the college of medicine examine the bodies of the shorn beauties to determine the state of their virginity. It was found that they had all remained untouched† (pg.197). All the girls were virgins. Virgins are a universal symbol for purity and innocence, the point that Grenouille was attracted to their scents further incites the feeling that he in fact was trying to extract what they had and that was their sense of purity. It strongly suggests that Grenouille was seeking the element of innocence for his perfume. Sà ¼skind shows the reader that Grenouille has an exact plan and process; ones that correspond to the enlightenment. As he journeys we discover different aspects to Grenouille’s nature that resemble aspects of the enlightenment. We see this through his methods and his overall perspective throughout the novel; as the enlightenment was entirely about experimentation, the individual rights of man and finding oneself. Sà ¼skind perhaps proposes that through the quest as he seeks the ingredients for his ultimate perfume Grenouille is also creating a recipe for himself. Grenouille’s whole being responds to the views of the enlightenment as he is searches for self-awareness through science and experimentation. Where the plum girl represents the beginning of his quest, it is only through Laure that he concludes the journey. Her role as a minor character was to be a physical representation of Grenouille’s end goal, to conclude his quest. She was the depiction of the ultimate innocence and it was shown all about her, through her appearance, her age and her scent; â€Å"She barely had the rudimentary start of breasts†¦ In a word: the girl was still a child† (pg. 170-171). Sà ¼skind clearly illustrates that Laure was a girl of admiration and beauty; this allows us to make the connections of Grenouille’s craving with one associated with himself. Grenouille’s goal was to be someone that overwhelmed people, someone who could bewitch people; just like he predicted Laure would. She too like the other girls had something that Grenouille wanted, that element of innocence he required for his perfume. As she was the end goal, the others girls were different components to his depiction of  innocence, and Laure was the absolute scent. She was his epiphany, and she completed his composition. â€Å"In a year or two this scent will be ripened and take on a gravity that no one, man or woman, will be able to escape. People will be overwhelmed, disarmed, helpless before the magic of this girl†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 171). Only through Laure would he be able to achieve what she could achieve by just being, and only through her and collecting her scent did Grenouille finally come to self-realization, it’s only after he had completed his quest did he come to gather the â€Å"worthlessness† to this earth. He had completed what he wanted and only then did he come to terms that there was nothing else in this world that he would want. He had overwhelmed people, disarmed them, and bewitched them. It simply was not enough. Her character was the physical embodiment for his masterpiece that he would call his scent. The minor characters are the basis structures that aid the main character in any journey he or she sets of to accomplish; they symbolize different aspects of the theme that the book tries to convey. All the girls were symbols of innocence in one form or another, different ingredients for the ultimate scent. The roles of these girls were to create the hunt for Grenouille, as the plum girl began his quest and Laure brought it to an end. It was only through the quest and these minor characters did he create his recipe for himself and came to self-realization. It was through the quest that Sà ¼skind allows the reader to believe that Grenouille was the epic depiction of the enlightenment as a whole. [Word Count: 1316] Work Cited Sà ¼skind, Patrick. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. Trans. John E. Woods. New York: Vintage, 1986. Print. ere different components to his depiction of innocence and the end goal, the others were merely components to the overall

Anti-Social Behavior Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Anti-Social Behavior Policy - Essay Example Margaret Thatcher the conservative prime minister was the initiator who linked crime as the internal social issue that affects the victims and society on a whole. In seventies the act carried out by burglars, violent union members were considered as a crime. The after math developments of the economy and the society being diversified has elevated the freedom of the society where common man handling guns for an immature criminal act. These activities were at times carried out even by the juvenile generation questioning the levels of freedom. These people being in the society damage the values and moral essence of the society. As the moral values of the society depletes the society at times may be regarded as harmful to survive. Keeping in view of the social values, the community has to be reformed at every stage to enlighten the generation to lead a disciplined life together. Margaret Thatcher largely succeeded in highlighting the impact on society but unable to implement. John major the successor had tried to unite the political concerns and the electoral concerns. The momentum for constructive authoritative move resulted due to the incidents of 1992 where the young offenders went on rampage. The reports indicate that 104.5 indictable were recorded by thousand population1. This issue was made political 1993 and was projected as major political issue. 1993 and 1995 were the years where there was a 25 per cent in crease in the number of people imprisoned stands at about 74000. The above graph reveals that the crime rate has been on a raise from 1960 an according to report of house of common libraries depicts that there is an increase in crime rate from 1960 in England and Wales. 1 Source: The British crime survey Fig.2 The graph depicts that a major change has occurred after 1980 where it has been observed that the crime has slowly increased. The significance aspect of this is that the accused were the youth who were the main culprits in eve teasing, damaging properties, graffiti etc. youth turned violent, vandalism, and verbal abuses were major issues where as the repetitive nature of harassment like the noise, improper behavior created an unsocial atmosphere in the living environment When the concern elevates to an extreme level the unacceptable activities generated a social fear and commotion. The ignorance may become an excuse and the accused may turn more unbearable. There is a need to curb this menace at this initial stage to regulate it without reaching unacceptable levels. So the anti social behavior has gained importance. Anti social behavior has wider scope of concerns which may not be acute as a criminal offense, however in the long run people are experiencing the ill effects of ASB. The crime which has shaped into more social concern evolved from extremist activities to the acts perceived in unconscious states and out of rampage. The fact that 1991 to 1995 saw a huge raise in crime rate is visible in graph above. The legal initiatives taken in 1995 and 1996 kept a hold regulated the crime rate from that juncture. The acts like public order act, Environmental act, Housing acts existed to cater the existing requirements. To unify these acts and to cover all these above concerns under one roof "Anti social behavi

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 22

Essay Example The essay, though apparently seems a difficult text for reading, has been established on firm and definite norms and objectives. â€Å"The first paragraph establishes the essays objective: to investigate technology in order to prepare us for a "free relationship" to it. One of the fundamental questions of the essay has to do with how "we†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ currently relate to technology, how we think about it, what we imagine it to be.† (Heidegger: The Question Concerning Technology, hawaii). Thus, in an ultimate evaluation of the essay one finds the worthiness and value of it. An exceptionally remarkable aspect of the essay "The Question Concerning Technology† is that it, more than any scholarly article on the complex questions around culture and technology, has influenced several other writers and thinkers as well as it is formed on the basis of the existing paradigms and scholarly works on the similar topics. Conspicuously, the interest of the author in "The Question Conce rning Technology† falls not on technology or the various forms of it but on an orientation of the readers towards technology. The essay seems to be very relevant and valid to the modern age of technological age as it has been a relevant interpretation of the modern man in relation to the technological advanced universe. Thus, the essay also amounts large scale influence and significance among the modern writers and it has been structured rooting its arguments and thoughts on the terminology of German, Greek, and Latin. For example, we may consider â€Å"episteme,† the first word that is significant to the idea of information that Heidegger explains to the reader. It can be defined, in simple translation, as "knowledge." In an analysis of the influences that informed this significant essay, it is important to note that the interest of the writer was to orient the readers to technology and act as a tool or mediator between the

Wal-Mart Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wal-Mart - Case Study Example (Wal-Mart) Currently, Wal-Mart operates worldwide through the Wal-Mart Stores, Sam's Club franchises, and International. Wal-Mart offers everything starting from necessities such as food, clothing, health, beauty and household items, cleaning products, electronics and others. Wal-Mart currently operates almost 4,000 stores in the U.S., and more than 2,700 stores outside the United States. Wal-Mart has been an attractive target for lawsuits for so long. The company's policy about this has been to admit their fault and settle the claim, otherwise take the matter to court. This practice of Wal-Mart's has proven effective in keeping the number of lawsuits piling at bay. (Willing) The company has been growing at a remarkable pace. Wal-Mart is not content with its present stature to the effect of building and opening hundreds of new stores each year to further boost its supremacy of the United States retail industry. Wal-Mart is looking to further expansion efforts in the future. Industry experts are concerned however, at the rate that Wal-Mart is expanding. At the rate that it is expanding, the older stores are not getting much attention as the newer ones. Patrons who seek are seeking a change and a more modern feel would flock to the nearest "new" competitor. World oil prices are anothe... Patrons who seek are seeking a change and a more modern feel would flock to the nearest "new" competitor. Retail Industry Health The recent years have seen ups and downs in Wal-Mart's performance. These fluctuations are caused my many factors such as world oil prices, globalization, and others. Similar companies such as Target and Costco are also performing well although Wal-Mart remains dominant in this category. National Economic Trends The United States stock market is currently a bear market and said to be on its third leg. (The Market Oracle) When interest rates are on the rise, stock markets are expected to crash. When inflation rate is high, stock prices may decrease, in like manner, stock prices may become overpriced if inflation rate falls. World oil prices are another important factor in determining the prices of stock and the performance of a nation's economy. The skyrocketing of the prices of oil in the world market would cause prices of stocks all around the globe to plummet. The reason for this is almost all industries are dependent on oil for their operations. The United States is also very concerned about the trade deficit with China. China is fast becoming a world leader with the onset of globalization. In terms of prices, most of China's commodities and the labor market offer very competitive prices as compared to the prices of other countries. The past decade has seen the entry of more and more products and services from China. More industries are shifting or outsourcing labor services to China because of the cost-efficiency. The United States feels that the fact that China refuses to raise the value of its currency gives China an unfair advantage when it comes to trade. With more buying power

Analysis of Barack Obamas Inaugural Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Analysis of Barack Obamas Inaugural - Essay Example The result is an incredibly effective speech which I find very stirring emotionally, focusing on a communal struggle rather than his own abilities, so much so that it is difficult to fault it on a lack of logical proposals.   His uses ethos and pathos to emphasize communal struggle as the central aspect of his presidency while filling in the hole with logos to reassure the more critical of the audience, which combines to make an incredibly stirring speech. Barack Obama’s inauguration took place on January 20th, 2009 on the steps of the American Capital building. Much of the context surrounding this speech was entirely traditional to a presidential inauguration – the date in cold late January, the same location as every other inauguration since the capital buildings were built. But the context also had important aspects to it that were unique to this particular event. First, the event was historic, even for an inauguration address. Barack Obama was the first black person ever elected as president of the United States, which in and of itself was important (Tufankjian). He also had by far the most grass-roots campaign that had ever elected a president in recent memory, with the most amount of small donors (Tufankjian). This leads to his rhetoric focusing highly on ideas of communal struggle while eschewing his independent role. Furthermore, America was in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the great depression, s o a tone of hope was important for his speech. Probably the least overplayed part of Obama’s speech was his ethos. Rather than build himself up as a toweringly powerful candidate, or focusing on his position as one of the preeminent constitutional law scholars in America, Obama focused on his humble beginning to try to make himself an everyman, position himself as an outsider who understood the common people’s needs.     Ã‚  

The Role Of The Catholic Religious Education Specialist Teacher Article

The Role Of The Catholic Religious Education Specialist Teacher - Article Example Religious education encompasses various areas such as evangelisation, catechesis, giving witness, introduction to church, prayer, experience of faith, and knowledge of other faiths. At the same time, the Religious Education specialist teacher’s duties need to be performed on the basis of what the Catholic church teaches; what the government states: the curriculum for excellence; and what schools expect from them in the context of any extracurricular duties which are not expected of other teachers in the school. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the Catholic Religious Education (RE) specialist teacher, the various areas of religious education, and the influence on the RE’s role by the Church, the government and the school. Religious teaching can be understood as a ministry with a professional dimension (Cook & Hudson, 2006). Catholic educators need to think and act sentire cum ecclesia which refers to the ideal form of thinking and feeling with the church on the basis of individuals’ identity as Catholics. ... ng to Cook & Hudson (2006: 399), assessment of religious teaching as a profession can be based on a framework composed of the following characteristics: "essential service to society, motivation by a call to serve, special knowledge and skills, specialized and advanced university training, public trust and status, code of ethics and performance standards, and professional organization".Religious Education helps in students' development of the self, socially, morally and spiritually (SCAA, 1994). Research conducted by Sikes & Everington (2001) indicates that a religious education teacher's life history plays a vital part in determining their teaching skills and approach to work. Further, "the quality, range and flexibility of teachers' classroom work are closely tied up with their professional growth - with the way they develop as people and as professionals" (Hargreaves, 1994: xi). This evidence would be useful in screening potential candidates for training as RE specialist teachers, by addressing negative identities unsuitable to carry out the important work. Evangelisation and Catechesis Ecumenism is the essential task of the whole Church to bring the Gospel to the entire world. Ecumenism and mission, evangelisation and Church community converge in a common witness to the same God (Houtepen, 1998). The Church's evangelistic mission is expected to be carried forward by the RE instructor by imparting the Faith to all students in the classroom, including those students who do not share the Christian faith, in the interests of sharing the wisdom and benefits of the Catholic religion (Francis et al, 1996). Teachings of the Catholic Church are mainly through catechesis. Bishop O' Donoghue (2008) believes that the key element or essence of the aims of a

Interculture communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Interculture communication - Essay Example Technology changes the way we reason in identity and perceive other cultures. Technology mostly leads to movement of people making us to come in contact with many other people of different cultures. It has been established that young adults move more often than the other generations in the process changing the individuals not excluding myself as I moved from China to the U.S and adopted a little bit of the American cultures (Lee, 2011). Demographic intercultural communications are derived from the recent variation in the U.S population. The changing US demographics include the population increasingly becoming non-white and multiracial besides the workforce being female dominated and older. The changing immigration patterns result in immigration and economic classes. According to Lee (2011) demographic diversity results in varied world views which lead to prejudices and stereotypes though it can be a positive force in giving linguistic richness and research. The economic imperative based on globalization as the US economy is connected to other countries it does little in ding business with other countries. Domestic diversity also encourages business to be attentive in to cultural variations. The peace imperative gives an insight on the role of historical, political, religions and economic contexts. Most of the time contacts to other groups have led to conflicts. The interpersonal imperative helps us to comprehend our cultural diversity with the similarities and differences that exist in the universe. Communication is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual process in which individuals make shared meanings. Symbols define the shared meanings. Interpretive as people comprehend symbolic behavior of others. Transactional because people task together create comprehension among themselves communication is a process comprising of shared meanings. Interpersonal communication involves

Future of Educational Finance Essay Example for Free

Future of Educational Finance Essay Gary Marx stated â€Å"identifying, monitoring and considering the implications of trends is one of the most basic processes for creating the future† (Stevenson, 2010 p. 1). The world of education is forever changing at a pace that gets more rapid as the years go on. The decisions made in the past have laid the foundation of education today, as will recent changes affect the future. Programs such as choice schooling and No Child Left Behind will impact school funding. Rulings such as the Lemon Test and separation of church and state will impact decisions that can potentially result in litigation and court rulings dictating educational decisions. In his work regarding educational trends, Kenneth Stevenson (2010) stated, â€Å"a continuing recession, escalating political polarization, rising racial/ethnic tensions, a growing national debt, and a widening divide between the haves and the have nots portend a future fraught with unprecedented challenges to and clashes over the form and substance of public education in America† (p.1). Analysis of the Lemon Test The Lemon Test was created by Chief Justice Warren Berger as a result of the court case Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) and is based on the principles stated in Everson v. Board of Education. The case of Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) centered on Rhode Island’s Salary Supplement Act. This act approved a salary supplement of up to fifteen percent for teachers who taught secular subjects in private religious schools or non-public elementary schools. The courts determined that approximately twenty-five percent of Rhode Island’s students attended non-public schools. Furthermore, ninety-five percent of the parochial schools were Roman Catholic. Pennsylvania offered a similar program that reimbursed non-public schools for expenses related to secular education and required schools to account for the expenses separately. Approximately twenty percent of Pennsylvania’s children attended non-public schools and ninety-six percent of the schools had a religious affiliation. The high courts looked at its own precedents and determined that, in order  for a law to be in compliance with the Establishment clause it, â€Å"must have a secular legislative purpose; second, its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion; finally, the statute must not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion (Barnes, 2010, p. 2-3). The Lemon test was created to, â€Å"determine when a law has the effect of establishing religion† (The Basics, 2014, p. 3). The court applied the Lemon test to the Pennsylvania and Rhode Island supplemental funding programs and deemed that the programs in both states were unconstitutional (The Lemon Test, 2009). Both programs met the first requirement of the Lemon test as they had a secular purpose. However, the court determined that it was unclear if the programs met the second set of criteria as â€Å"while the aid was intended for secular use, it was not entirely secular in effect† (The Lemon Test, 2009, p. 1). The court decided that it did not need to establish if the programs met the second part of the Lemon test as they failed to meet the third criterion as both programs â€Å"excessively entangling state administrators with the operations of parochial schools† (The Lemon Test, 2009, p. 1). The Lemon test has â€Å"become an extremely influential legal doctrine, governing not only cases involving government funding of religious institutions but also cases in which the government promoted religious messages. Over the years, however, many justices have criticized the test because the court has often applied it to require a strict separation between church and state† (The Lemon Test, 2009, p. 1). The test has been the foundation for many of the court’s ruling regarding the establishment clause since 1971. The choice  The idea of vouchers for education was first introduced in early 1950 in a move to privatize education. In that same year, as a result of Brown v. Board of Education, the southern states put the first voucher program into action as a way to â€Å"enable white students of all income levels to attend the segregation academies and continue receiving a publicly-funded, all white education† (Save our Schools NJ, 2014). In 1989, Wisconsin’s more modern voucher programs, focused on poor children of all races. (Save our Schools NJ, 2014). Regardless of the nature of the voucher program, the impact is the same- taxpayer funds being diverted from public school funding. In 2002, the Supreme Court ruling of the case of Zelman V. Simmons-Harris  stated that it was not a violation of the Establishment Clause to provide scholarships for some students to attend private or parochial schools. This ruling had a subsequent impact on the development of S1872, also known as the Opportunity Scholarship Act. This act allowed for vouchers to go to private or religious schools. Changes from S1872 resulted in an almost $1 billion dollar revenue loss for school funding by the end of its fifth year (NJEA, 2011). In addition to the government revenue lost, a 100% tax credit is given to companies who donate to these funds thus losing additional revenue. The children given these scholarship vouchers are children from targeted failing school areas, which then result in that already failing district to lose additional weighted funding for those children. â€Å"Shifting a handful of students from a public school into private schools will not decrease what the public school must pay for teachers and facilities, but funding for those costs will decrease as students leave† (NCSL, 2014). A study by the American Federation of Teachers in 2011 looked at the revenue lost in several states as a result of money being diverted to voucher programs. In most cases, these programs obtained funding by either increasing taxes or by reducing state aid to local school districts. Both the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program did just that. The Milwaukee program, in 2009, cost taxpayers roughly $130 million and the Cleveland program reduced Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid to the Cleveland public schools by $11,901,887 in 2007 (American Federation of Teachers, 2011). One of the most significant issues with voucher programs is the fact that they do not have the same monitoring and regulations as public schools in order to obtain funding. â€Å"Perhaps the biggest critique of market-based reforms, such as school choice and performance based accountability is that they will further exacerbate inequalities in education† (Fusarelli and Young, 2011, p. 92). Not all program funding is distributed in the programs based on poverty. Parents of special education students are not guaranteed special education services. In addition, many programs are not monitored for the way they appropriate money. When a review of the Arizona tax credit programs was conducted, it was discovered that â€Å"almost two-thirds of all voucher orga nizations kept more funds for overhead than allowed under state law† (AFT, 2011, p. 7). Per student revenue that local districts lose to  these programs is not guaranteed to be 100% applied to the students attending the private school. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education had a budget cut of $5 billion (The Education Trust, n.d.). In 2013-2014, over 35 states are providing less funding per students, more than 10% in fourteen of them. (Leachman Mai, 2014). With decreasing numbers such as these, voucher programs only continue to threaten to take limited funding away from local districts. Continued funding cuts will have an impact on the economic future of our country. As stated by Brimley et al. the more education provided, the more wealth developed; the more wealth created, the more funds available for investment; the more investment undertaken, the more wealth available for investment in physical and human capital: (Brimley et al., 2012, p. 3). The Impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is the largest federal funding program in the history of the United States. No Child Left Behind is a, â€Å"reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which originated in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty† (Braden and Schroeder, n.d., p. 1). While NCLB provides additional funding from the federal government it also imposes mandates that states must follow. The supplementary funding provided under the No Child Left Behind Act is not necessarily enough for states to meet the standards required by the act. The main focus of NCLB is Title I funding which the federal government allocates to states to help provide an education to economically disadvantaged students. No Child Left Behind includes eight other forms of Title funding such as school safety, teacher quality, assessments, and American Indian education (Braden and Schroeder, n.d., p. 1). Title I funds are the most important part of No Child Left Behind as the majority of the funds are earmarked for Title I purposes and Title I funding holds states accountable for student achievement as evidenced on state assessments. The move towards holding states accountable for student achievement began prior to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Most states included accountability in their education reform acts during the 1990s (Ladd, 2001). By the year 2001, the same year as NCLB, more than forty states published a school report card, more than half had some type of school achievement rating, and numerous states offered assistance or sanctions to schools with low student  performance (Meyer, Orlofsky, Skinner, Spicer, 2002). In January of 2002, No Child Left Behind was signed into law and for the first time in history the federal government was involved in, â€Å"setting broad parameters, implementation timelines, and sanctions for state accountability systems† (Dun combe, Lukemeyer, Yinger, 2006, p. 1). States began to implement NCLB in 2002 during a time of financial difficulties. This created concerns based on the cost involved in funding a program of its magnitude as well as questions regarding the extent to which the NCLB program was funded. Most estimates concerning the cost of implementing the program were far from accurate. This prompted states, such as Connecticut and Utah, to pass legislation which allowed them to either ignore the parts of NCLB that required funding from the state or sue the federal government for a lack of funding (Duncombe et al., 2006). While NCLB involves many federal education programs, the act’s requirements in regards to school improvement, accountability, and testing are a priority. No Child Left Behind required states to test students in grades three through eight yearly in math and reading. Students in grades ten through twelve must be tested once. In addition students must be tested in science once in grades three through five, six through eight, and tenth-twelfth. In addition, states, school districts and individual schools are to â€Å"publicly report test results in the aggregate and for specific student subgroups, including low-income students, students with disabilities, Eng lish language learners, and major racial and ethnic groups† (New America Foundation, 2014). Another requirement of NCLB is that all teachers must be highly qualified. Teachers must pass a licensure exam and be certified by the state they teach in. Teachers who teach a specific subject area must demonstrate their subject knowledge by passing the subject knowledge portion of the licensure exam. NCLB specifies that states develop a plan â€Å"to ensure that low-income and minority students are not taught by teachers who are not highly qualified at higher rates than are non-minority and low-income students† (New America Foundation, 2014). In addition, NCLB give parents and guardians the right to know the qualification of their child’s teacher and if their child is receiving instruction from a paraprofessional and if so the qualifications of that individual. NCLB requires that school district’s notify parents in writing if their child will receive instruction from a teacher who is not highly  qualified for longer than four weeks (New America Foundation, 20 14). No Child Left Behind stated that all school districts in the United States were to guarantee that each child enrolled in their district would score proficient in the state’s reading and math assessments by 2014. Each state was given the freedom to define what grade level proficiency meant in regards to their state standards. NCLB required that schools make â€Å"adequate yearly progress† (AYP) towards achieving their goal. Proficiency rates increased yearly up to 2014 and individual states were allowed to choose their rate of increase. In order for a state to make AYP they must meet their goal for student achievement in reading and math every year (New America Foundation, 2014). Forty-three states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, a group of California school districts as well as the Bureau of Indian Education applied for waivers exempting them from being required to meet their targets and other requirements of NCLB from the Department of Education. In September of 2011, President Obama and Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, announced that the Obama administration, â€Å"would allow states to request flexibility in meeting some of the requirements under NCLB in the absence of the law’s reauthorization† (New America Foundation, 2014). For a state to qualify to receive flexibility throu gh a waiver, the state needs to show they have adopted or will implement reforms to their, â€Å"academic standards, student assessments, and accountability systems for schools and educators† (New America Foundation, 2014). According to No Child Left Behind schools that do not make AYP for two consecutive years will be identified for school improvement, and will have to create a school improvement plan (SIP), and apply a minimum of ten percent of their federal Title I funds to professional development. Schools that do not make AYP for a third year will be under corrective action, and will be required to apply interventions to improve school performance, â€Å" from a list specified in the legislation† (New America Foundation, 2014). If a school fails to make AYP for a fourth year they will be, â€Å"identified for restructuring which requires more significant interventions† (New America Foundation, 2014). If a school fails to make AYP for a fifth year, â€Å"they must implement a restructuring plan that includes reconstituting school staff and/or leadership, changing the school’s governance arrangement, converting the school to a charter, turning it over to a private management company, or some other major change†Ã‚  (New America Foundation, 2014). Specific school districts that have a high percentage of schools that fail to make average yearly progress for multiple years could be, â€Å"identified for school improvement, corrective action, and restructuring† (New America Foundation, 2014). The Future of Church-State Relations As religion continues to hold influence on the American culture the U.S. judicial system remains the authority for interpreting the constitutionality of matters of religion. The separation of church and state comes as a result of America not having an established religion for all of the residents to follow; the people were given freedom of religion. According to Thomas Jefferson, God is acknowledged as the creator of mankind and government is not a divine organization therefore it is the responsibility of the citizens to oversee the institution of government. In 1791 the government discontinued support or promotion of any religion. The decisions made so long ago continue to greatly impact organizations such as schools today. In the classroom teachers are held accountable to the state that they will remain neutral on the subject of religion while on school grounds (The Boisi Center, n.d.). Cases such as Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v Nyquist (1973) and Mueller v Allen (1983) have kept the courts busy on the subject of funding religion in the educational system (Pew Research Center, 2008). The Free Exercise Clause permits students to practice their faith privately on campus as long as it does not cause disruptions to the academic day and students are not being persuaded to follow his/her beliefs. School vouchers and tax credits that were distributed from 1983-2002 were considered constitutional under the Establishment Clause as they approved a parent’s choice to have their child attend a religious school. The courts accepted these practices because they did not show intent to persuade on the side of religion (The Boisi Center, n.d.). During this time all over the country courts were hearing cases to oppose the allowance of vouchers to religious organizations as they felt it went against the separation of church-state. In some states courts ruled that vouchers could only be used for parents that wanted to move their child to a higher performing public school so that private religious schools did not receive state education funds. Now and in the future the United States  will continue to permit religious liberty to the people, the government will not be accountable nor will it dictate ones religious practices (The Boisi Center, n.d.). With the increased cases that continue to build against religion in schools and educational funding to religious private schools it is predicted that the future of church-state relations in educational funding will give more authority to the state education departments on the placement of funds. The state will seek more control of religious private schools, as the voucher program seems to be here to stay. The state is going to want more control of curriculum if they will be providing financial support (Pardini, 1999). Tax credit programs are also popular and seem to offer a compromise of church-state relations. Tax credits provide financial support to families that choose to place their child in private schools. As time progresses state government will advocate for an increase in charter schools, this will allow for state funds in the form of vouchers and tax credits to support schools that do not have a religious focus (Pardini, 1999). This battle will continue until a decision is m ade by the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the Blaine Amendments. These amendments were established in 1875 to disallow states to financially support private schools that teach religion. At this time there are approximately thirty states that incorporate Blaine language in their constitution, which disrupts the success of vouchers being used by parents that wish to relocate their child to a higher performing and/or religious private school (DeForrest, 2003). Future Trends in Court Decisions and Power over Educational Financing The courts have had a hand in education dating back to the creation of the United States Constitution. Although there was no specific mention in the Constitution as to who was responsible, who carried the power in terms of financing education, education was valued in the early days, and many early settlers used the Bible to teach the young to read. As time went on people challenged the use of teaching the Bible in Public Schools. People used the First Amendment of the United States Constitution to argue about the intermingling of church and state and the use of direct government support for parochial, and private schools (Brimley, Verstegen, Garfield, 2012). The courts found themselves hearing cases of people challenging the use of government funds in schools other than public schools and, in the case of Pierce v. Society of Sisters  (268 U.S. 510-1925), the courts ruled for using public funds for church-related schools. Because of this ruling financing public schools has seen some great changes, and will continue to see changes. This court ruling could potentially change the makeup and the system of education in the United States. States will implement more stringent guidelines as to what they expect from schools in regards to performance standards since they are the ones providing the funds. These guidelines are the result of schools continuing to fail to meet state requirements, running low on funds due decreased income from property taxes, or the need for states take over more schools or shut them down, To date there has not been a proven method that will solve the problems of educational financing. Politics have a large influence in financing education. This was evident during the Bush administration, when money went into funding Laura Bush’s library after other school programs were cut. For nearly forty years the constitutionality of the way schools are financed has been scrutinized. There have been one hundred thirty-nine lawsuits in forty-five states promoting finance reform after the ruling of Serrano v. Priest (Education Next, 2010). The states are required by their individual state constitutions to provide an adequate education to all students. Currently there is no solution to the challenges of financing public schools so that all individuals feel like they are being treated equally. The debates and challenges have been going on for decades and will continue for years to come. Responsibility is placed on the states to ensure that their State Constitution requirements are being met and to provide funding for local schools. Conclusion As previously stated education as it is known today continues to change at a rapid rate and will continue to change forever as the world that we all reside in is ever changing. Technology has had a major influence on education, and the world in general. â€Å"If students are not being taught to use technology, and not being taught adequate math, science, and communication skills, the United States will continue to lose its superiority to other countries† (A Nation at Risk, 1983). In order for the United States to keep up with the competitive commerce, today’s students need to be pushed a little more to achieve more and not just be satisfied with mediocrity. There was a time when funding private and/or parochial  schools was not even an issue, as it was clearly understood that government monies was allocated for public schools. As time went on, needs changed, be it individual needs such as students with disabilities, or families of low income. With these needs came reasons to challenge the norm. Attorneys were contracted, and the status quo was challenged. Nobody could have predicted the changes that would happen nor is it possible to predict the future from today. It is impossible to guess the future of financing education because no one knows what the needs will be in fifteen to twenty-five years from now. It is crucial that past rulings be thoroughly examined to assist with preparing for future financial direction, although that is not the magic solution. References A Nation At Risk: The Imperative For Educational Reform (1983). American Federation of Teachers (2011). School vouchers: The research track record. Retrieved September 29, 2014 from: http://www.aft.org/pdfs/teachers/vouchertrackrecord0211.pdfBarnes, M. (2010, September 13). The Lemon Test and the Establishment Clause: A Proposal For Modification. Retrieved September 29, 2014. Barry, C., and Wysong, C. 2010. School-Finance Reform in Red and Blue. Where theMoney Goes Depends on Who’s Running the State. Retrieved Summer 2010 / Vol. 10, N0. 3 from: educationnext.org/school-finance-reform-in-red-and-blue/ Braden, J., Schroeder, J. (n.d.). High-Stakes Testing and No Child Left Behind: Information and strategies for Educators. Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://www.nasponline.org/communications/spawareness/highstakes.pdfBrimley, Vera R., Verstegen, Deborah A., Garfield, Rulon R. (2012). Financing education in a climate of change (11th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon DeForrest, M. (2003). An Overview and Evaluation of State Blaine Amendments: Origins, Scope, and First Amendment Concerns. Harvard Journal Of Law Public Policy, 26(2), 551.Duncombe, W., Lukemeyer, A., Yinger, J. (2006, September). The No Child Left Behind Act: Have Federal Funds Been Left Behind? Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://cpr.maxwell.syr.edu/efap/Publications/costing_out.pdfFusarelli, Bonnie and Young, Tamara (2011). Preserving the â€Å"public† in public education for the sake of democracy. Journal of Thought. 46(1) p. 85-96 Ladd, H. 2001. â€Å"School-Based Educational Accountability Systems: The Promise and Pitfalls.† National Tax Journal 54 (2): 385-400. Leachman, Michael and Mai, Chris (2014). Most states funding school less than before the recession. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. May 2014. Meyer, L., G. Orlofsky, R. Skinner, and S. Spicer. 2002. â€Å"The State of the States.† Quality Counts 2001. January 10.. National Conference of School Legislatures (2014). School Vouchers. Retrieved September 28, 2014 from: http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/school-choice-vouchers.aspxNew America Foundation. Background Analysis. (2014). Retrieved September 28, 2014, from http://febp.newamerica.net/background-analysis/no-child-left-behind-overviewPardini, P. 1999. Church/state complexities. Retrieved from www.rethinkingschools.orgSave our Schools NJ (2014) School Voucher Basics. Retrieved September 27, 2014 from: http://www.saveourschoolsnj.org/vouchers/The Basics of Separation. (2014). Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://candst.tripod.com/tnppage/tnpidx.htmThe Boisi Center. Date Unknown. Separation of church and stat e. Religion and American Public Life. Retrieved from www.bc.eduThe Lemon Test. (2009, May 14). Retrieved September 28, 2014.

Social Normalities and Voicing of Opposition Essay Example for Free

Social Normalities and Voicing of Opposition Essay Brian Crane Throughout history, social norms have dictated the opinions of all members of society to a certain extent. Expressing disapproval of these social norms is a difficult and ambitious task, seeing as one challenging a social norm is essentially disputing, in addition to often disproving, the reasoning and opinions of the majority of any given culture. Take, for example, the ending of ones own life under the circumstances of terminal illness. Now, our basic and most common cultural view on the subject is that suicide is not a natural death and therefore a violation of nature regardless of nes physical condition. However, it is nature itself that has given us as humans the intellect to contemplate such a decision. If nature has enabled us to develop the intellectual ability to contemplate suicide, then one could argue that choosing to end ones life is in fact a natural death simply because nature has allowed us to examine the pros and cons of life or death. However, this is not to say that suicide based on emotional imbalance is in any way Just or morally acceptable. Mental illnesses, which often bring about suicidal deation, can be treated, therefore ridding one of all motivation to end their own life. Generally, those who suffer from mental illnesses cannot be held accountable for their own life because the affective disorder inhibits them from perceiving reality the way they once did. So, the argument that the time of our death should not be a decision we as humans can morally make is somewhat valid although very misguided. It is wrong to look down upon terminally ill people who choose suicide as their cause of death. The many different circumstances leading up to ones death akes this topic too complex for one to claim that choosing life over death is morally applicable and correct in every situation that involves the contemplation of suicide. John West discusses his fathers decision to end his life before enduring the pain, suffering, and eventual death caused by cancer in an excerpt from The Last Goodnights: Assisting My Parents with Their Suicides. Judging from this excerpt, West and his father seem to be very well rounded, cultured individuals in addition to being extremely open minded and emotionally balanced. Wests father was a very mportant fgure in the world of psychiatry. His knowledge on the topic of suicide is obviously very extensive. Their opinions and examinations of this topic are indeed equally as rational as they themselves are as people. Dealing with the death of a parent is hard enough emotionally as it is, but the fact that West is grounded enough to grapple with the complexity and sorrow of assisted suicide is a testament to his extreme emotional maturity. He sheds light on a crucial point in support of his fathers decision as he asks the reader, Should Jolly [my father] have been forced to endure a few more days or eeks of agony Just to satisfy some peoples notions that death should be natural? (33 West) If one were to explore the possible answers to the question West asks above, without an impartial view based on societal influences, it is undeniable that one would agree with the opinion that such a great deal of suffering is not necessary to tultill the requirements ot a morally sound death In tact, it is arguable that Wests decision to assist his father with his suicide and in-turn spare him from such a great deal of pain is actually a more compassionate choice in comparison to xposing him to months of unimaginable pain by denying his fathers request. Again, West implies that suicide is not a natural death. A supplemental argument to his case is missing. If one were to argue that suicide and natural death cannot possibly go hand in hand, then why has nature allowed our intellect to excel to a point at which suicide is even a possible conception for the human race? Later on in the excerpt, West reflects on his memory of when his father asked him to commit assisted suicide. He recalls: I sat up in my chair. I suddenly felt hot and cold at the same time, as I realized hat he meant. But as powerfully as his words registered, the idea behind them didnt seem strange at all. It made sense. He was about to die anyway, so why linger in pain? I knew Id want to do the same thing if I were in his position. (34 West) Jollys contemplation of suicide is undoubtedly a common one of people with analogous situations to his own. Most would find it hard to believe that this wouldnt cross the mind of a person with a terminal illness that would soon lead to unimaginable pain and suffering, followed by death. If exploration of suicide is in act a common happening, why is it that the practice of suicide to avoid agony followed by death is not more common as well? It seems as though the answer to this question is quite simple; It is socially unacceptable to commit such an act solely because it is abnormal. Because abnormality is not a sensible or rational reason not to do something, making the argument that suicide is not a morally righteous death is in-turn irrational and insensible as well. Another challenger of social norms is Catherine Newman, author of I Do. Not. : Why I Wont Marry. Although Newman discusses a very different topic than West does in his short story, the two subjects are very closely related. Newman is a successful writer with a little too much insight on the role of women in society, and the flaws of this role, to happily accept monogamy and more importantly marriage. She breaks down the history of marriage and its original role in society. Marriage represents a very evil concept that very few are even aware of. Newman describes it is as such: marriage is about handing the woman off, like a baton, from her father to her husband. Also known as traffic in women, this is how men have historically solidified their economic connections to other men and guaranteed the continuation of their Seed. (Newman 61) Women were more like bargaining chips for men than soulmates. Marriage is the legal bonding of two families, which doesnt sound very romantic as marriage is made out to be. Although women are no longer owned by their husbands, this ritual is still quite demeaning. Many women experience some feelings of inferiority and in-turn feelings of resentment towards men due to the heavy influence of the media and its bjectification of women. Newman seems to be a prime example of this. Her additional education on the history of the subject has given her an even greater grasp of the hardships of women in our contemporary society which are overlooked more often than not by the general population. Voicing out against the social norm of marriage is extremely commendable and in addition, a betterment of the mentality ot those who are exposed to the underlying implications ot such an act through ner courageous writing. It seems as though many social norms have become so routine to follow and abide y that we rarely ponder the ideas behind them.

The History Of The Value Delivery Network Marketing Essay

The History Of The Value Delivery Network Marketing Essay In todays business world, marketing is an effective tool in order for businesses to succeed in retail development for customers. To understand marketing, the perception of its definition is very important. People see marketing from different points of view forgetting some of the most fundamental functions. Marketing is more than just buying or selling. Here are three marketing definitions from different prospective As a personal definition, marketing is the heart of a business. Marketing is responsible to accommodate the customer needs by adjusting products or services. Some of these adjustments are such as prices, hours, product quality, product quantity, custom made product, or special service. A good example of marketing is taking place at Pacific Hospital of Long Beach. The marketing department is responsible for identifying the needs of the patients to increase the customer base and in turn boost net profit and repeat customers for services rendered from the facility. Some of th e issues that were addressed by the marketing department that do satisfy the needs of the patients are: providing quality services at a competitive price, free transportation for surgeries at the facility, hotel accommodations when patients are from out of town for the family members, private rooms during the patients stay, a home like atmosphere in the patient rooms to make the patients more at ease, extra meals for visitors, and financial aid. Providing these extra services gives the customer more options to choose from when determining which facility to use. By providing these extra services, the marketing department has increased the customer flow (daily census) to the hospital, and the hospital has achieved some of the companies stated business goals, specifically, an increase in profitability, and contributing to the business growth. Another marketing definition would be marketing is the developing and positioning an e-content product someone who will want to buy (Scott, 2004). In this definition, marketing will define a product in which customers will want to buy. Then the development of the product will take place. Here is a good example. Fast food restaurants need to compete with each other on pricing and new products. Marketing is responsible to create these new products. The marketing department of each firm will perform research for a product that customers will buy such as when McDonalds created a successful meal for children, the happy meal. The happy meal includes a toy with the meal and an attractive toy box that most of the children want to have. When the marketing research revealed that children from ages two to 10 years old were very interest in the toy more than a regular meal, the marketing department concentrated on the development of the happy meals brand creating new and very attractive toys on a season basis. This product or marketing tool increased sales for Mc Donalds business. Here is the last definition of marketing. Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals (Kotler, 2001). This definition gives the understanding that marketing is not only about advertising, public relations, product placement, or promotions. Marketing focus more on the satisfaction and needs of a customer as this relates to business. The process brings together the four Ps and other factors using a well thought-out plan to achieve the companies marketing goals. These goals are to retain old customers and achieve new ones, and at the same time increase the business profitability. In conclusion, marketing is an important factor that will contribute to a businesses success. Marketing will assist any business or organization to succeed in the most cost-effective way. An effective marketing tool will reduce costs and can increase profitability for any business or organization. Marketing will assist businesses to achieve any business goal, and at the same time can increase customer satisfaction. When a customer is satisfied, customers will be loyal to that business, and this action will contribute to the businesses growth potential. Marketing is not only about buying and selling. Marketing is also about satisfying customers and the companies needs. Many individuals may think of marketing as the way a business advertises their products and or their services. Others may believe advertising is how an organization carries out their public relations or promotions. A few individuals consider marketing to be selling or advertising. In a way this is true because in order for marketing to be carried out properly selling and advertising are a few key roles of the marketing process (Perreault McCarthy, 2004). Jan Welborn Nichols and Ann Arbor describe marketing as ones strategy for allocating resources (time and money) in order to achieve ones objectives (a fair profit for supplying a good product or service) (Welborn Nicholas, 1993). As one begins to follow the passage below one will become familiar with different definitions of what marketing signifies, based on these definitions explain the importance of marketing in organizational success. Also, the following will provide a minimum of three examples from the business world to prove th e importance of marketing and the organizational success. What should a company do before and after it decides to produce and sell? As indicated by Perreault-McCarthy and Arbor a company should consider the following if the product one wishes to promote is a bike: 1. Analyze the needs of people who might buy a bike and decide if they want more or different models. 2. Predict what types of bikes handlebar styles, type of wheels, brakes, and materials different customers will want and decide which of these people the firm will try to satisfy. 3. Estimate how many of these people will want to buy bicycles, and when. 4. Determine where in the world these bike riders will be and how to get the firms bikes to them. 5. Estimate what price they are willing to pay for their bikes and if the firm can make a profit selling at that price. 6. Decide which kinds of promotion should be used to tell potential customers about the firms bikes. 7. Estimate how many completing companies will be making bikes, what kind, and at what prices. 8. Figure out how many to provide warranty service if a customer has a problem after buying a bike (Perreault McCarthy, 2004). Many may assume that the activities above are captured by production when in fact it is actually a part of a much greater process identified as marketing. This process directs the production of the product(s) and provides needed assurance that the right goods and services are produced and find their way to consumers (Perreault McCarthy, 2004). Another way an organization can market and organize successfully is by strategically integrating across the entire organization. As Jan Welborn Nichols and Ann Arbor describe marketing as ones strategy for allocating resources (time and money) in order to achieve ones objectives (a fair profit for supplying a good product or service) (Welborn Nicholas, 1993). One way to define this effort would be to do the following activities and consider marketing as a cycle that consists of: 1. Research: Research often begins with a guess, sometimes an informed guess based upon your observations, experiences, and belief system. Often the process of gathering information can feel counter-intuitive, especially when research indicates something other than what you believe (Welborn Nicholas, 1993). Research customer demographics, psychographics, and competitive intelligence. From this research a SWOTT analysis can be developed. 2. Strategy and planning: gathered from raw data, the marketing department can create a strategy and then implement 3. Branding: making a name for the product brand, how would the company like to be known by the consumer. 4. Product development: the complete process of bringing a new product or service to market. 5. Sales and sales training: as the product or service has been established and prior to bring the product to market the sales team must be trained and to ensure proper knowledge of the product and or service to close a sale. 6. Point of purchase (POP): materials needed to press sales: coupon holders, brochures, and promotional signs to name a few. 7. Public relations (PR), media relations, and public affairs: PR deals with the public to inform individuals of the new product and or service. Media relations strictly deal with the press. Public affairs transact with the various government entities that impact the organization. 8. Customer service: customer experience should be extremely important to the marketers for if the customer is not satisfied with the product and or service then the organization must run back to the drawing board to identify what went wrong with the product and service. One method to complete a marketing debate would be to include the four Ps (Perreault McCarthy, 2004). The four Ps consists of the following: product, price, place, and promotion. A few examples of the business world to prove the importance of marketing and the organizational success are Dell Computers, McDonalds, and Wendys. Dell Computers provides a service that nearly other competitors can not follow. For example, Dell can create a computer to the consumers needs as the client is on the phone. Then, the computer can be shipped to the consumer in nearly no time at all (Businessweek, 2005). McDonalds is known worldwide and is the number one fast food company leading in sales today. How does McDonalds do this? Combining tangible products and meeting the needs of the consumer Happy Meals (Hoovers, 2008). Wendys menu offers a diversity of menus and all for just about .99 cents (Businessweek.com, 2008). No one can go wrong with a .99 cents menu especially such a variety of foods. With such a diverse world people need a variety of foods when looking through a menu of the restaurant will lose interest and the client will be lost. Today marketing process can begin with an idea or a passion. As a company conducts research to determine if the idea has merit then one can begin to ask questions. Who are the organizations potential customers? How large is the target market? Whats the perceived value of the product? Who are the competitors? How is the idea unique? How can the organization communicate that uniqueness? In conclusion, marketing is important to many companies and is an essential piece to an organizations success. Success is of great importance in creating a foundation to produce a product and or service. The comprehension of the functionality and need for marketing is a good starting point in understanding whats the purpose and how it interrelates in a economy and enhances consumer responsiveness in its buying power. Defining Value Value creation The customer is buying satisfaction. Highest value is derived when the customer is satisfied. Some common myths in Value Creation Myth # 1 More is often considered value Buy one get one free schemes are rolled out. There is of course an instant sales push. However at the end of the scheme the customer feels that he had all along been paying 100% more for the products and perceives that very product as costly once the scheme is withdrawn. May switch to another product at the same price. Conclusion: Dissatisfaction leads to value erosion Myth # 2 Price is value Many businesses considers lower price as offering more value. More often than not lowest price products end up as the second best with a higher priced product with similar product attributes leading the market. The simple reason is the higher price product may be offering a higher satisfaction due to perceived values and imagery. Car markets are a prime example of this syndrome. Myth # 3 More Features and add on are value Businesses load a product or service with more features thus offering a higher value. While this may be attractive if the features are not backed by adequate supports the satisfaction may be less and value is reduced. We encounter this everyday. A customer buys a product with many features but not demonstrated properly or may not be serviced properly. Enquiries may not be handled effectively. Airlines offering add ons like free overnight accommodation are still not favored if the services, like enquiry handling, reservations, and time schedules are poor. Cell phones companies may be offering plenty of add on like national roaming or free incoming calls etc. However if the billing is poor and billing enquiries are not addressed properly the customer is dissatisfied and leaves the service for another provider. Myth # 4 Products are competing with similar products This is often true in the leisure industry. A movie theatre may not be competing with another movie theatre. If the customer is not satisfied with a theatre or movie he may look at options to other entertainment sources, for instance an amusement park. We may call them discretionary time products. Highest satisfaction levels are very important in this type of business. Value delivery VALUE DELIVERY NETWORK Globalization and technological innovation are creating dynamic network or chain of interconnected players to bring and deliver value to the end user. The notion that value can be created by cooperation has led marketers to search for win-win positions as a way to enhance profitability through collaborative value creation (Anderson, Hakansson, Johanson, 1994; Kanter, 1994). The idea of value creation and exchange is the foundation stone of relationship marketing. This view is based on three different assumptions of value exchange potentialities (Christopher et al., 2002). These value perspectives suggest that value is created; as an offering and delivered through recurrent transactions within a supplier-managed relationship; through mutually interactive processes and shared through negotiated agreement within the life of a relationship and shared in interactions that emerge from within networks of relationships. Thus value has been considered to be an important constituent of relationship marketing and the ability of a company to provide superior value to its customers is regarded as one of the most successful strategies. This ability has become a mean of differentiation and a key to the riddle of how to find a sustainable competitive advantage (Ravald and Gronroos 1996; Heskett et al 1994; Nilson 1992; Treacy and Wiersema, 1993). Walters and Lancaster (1999a and 1999b) determine value as the utility combination of benefits delivered to the customer less the total costs of acquiring the delivered benefits and is then a preferred combination of benefits compared with acquisition cost. There seems to be an agreement that value is a function of what a customer gets, the solution provided by an offering, and the sacrifice of the customer to get this solution. Consumers overall assessment of the utility of a product based on a perception of what is received and what is given, is known as perceived value (Zeithaml, 1988). In a relational context the offering includes both a core product and additional services of various kinds. Many companies today have partnered with specific suppliers and distributors to create a superior value delivery network, also called a supply chain (Magnet, 1994). Brown (1997) has defined supply chain/value delivery network as a tool to disaggregate a business into strategically relevant activities which enables identification of the source of competitive advantage by performing these activities more cheaply or better than its competitors. It comprises of larger stream of activities carried out by members like suppliers, distributors and customers. Further Christopher (2002) defines a value delivery network/supply chain as the network of organizations that are involved through upstream and downstream linkages in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services in the hands of the ultimate consumers. In order to gain competitive advantage value delivery network/supply chain collaboration or integration is required i.e. the backward/upstr eam and forward/downstream collaboration/integration. Mentzer (2001) says a value delivery network comprises of number of players in which a firm whether manufacturing or service, holds the key by creating and offering values in terms of output to its customers. This further can be justified with the help of the notion that the core of relationship marketing is relations, maintenance of relations between the company and the actors in its micro-environment, i.e. suppliers, market intermediaries, the public and of course customers as the most important actor. Thus the more pertinent issue is not what kind of an offering the company provides rather it is what kind of relationship the company is capable of maintaining.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez Essay

Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez Works Cited Not Included Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, is a story that brings one to question the code of honor that exists in the Columbian town. Marquez' paints a picture that shows how societal values, such as honor, have become more important than the inherent good of human life. The Vicario brothers' belief that their sister was done wrong was brought upon by this honor, along with racial and social tension. The dangerous path of both honor and religious faith caused Santiago's untimely death. "'Before God and before men,' Pablo Vicario said. 'It was a matter of honor'" (Marquez 56). In the town honor is taken very seriously and any action taken to protect one's own honor or family's honor is never questioned. If someone loses their honor, they automatically become an outcast in the society. Angela Vicario's father had "lost his sight from doing so much fine work in gold in order to maintain the honor of the house" (33). When Angela Vicario explained she lost her virginity to Santiago Nasar, the honor and respect of the family was lost. The Vicario brothers felt it was their purpose to keep some sort of semblance of honor to their family name. Angela's supposed premarital relations with Santiago Nasar were enough in this culture to warrant death. The idea that honor can cross the boundaries of religion is considered to be very powerful. It is an action in which one can take the life of someone else. The act of killing someone becomes a powerful and almost godlike statement. Honor can extend beyond the reaches of religion, as shown in this story. Angela Vicario could have been beaten to death because she infring... ...d the bishop does not get off his ship that he is traveling on and instead asks to eat cock-comb soup, one that is costly to make and considered to be a sexual innuendo. He only offers his blessing on the boat nearly a few hundred yards off shore. The people take pride in how they are of religious faith, yet a whorehouse and constant sexual relations saturates everyone in the town. Marquez in Chronicle of a Death Foretold attempts to show that people naturally blur the interpretation of their own beliefs. The honor code that exists in the town is merely outdated. The hypocritical system of honor and religion breeds infidelity, murder, and deceit. The Vicario brothers abused honor and God's repentance as reasons for their act. In this town, religion and honor can be a dangerous force to merge, and Santiago Nasar was an innocent victim right in the way.

The United States Lends Credibility to the International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court (ICC), created in 1998 (Thayer and Ibryamova 2010), is responsible for investigating and prosecuting the most extreme cases, including crimes against humanity, aggressive crimes, war crimes, and genocide. The credibility of this institution, however, has been compromised due to the United States revocation of support and membership. Initially it is important to recognize the arguments against the United States becoming a member state of the ICC and what precipitated the U.S. withdrawing its signature from the document that instituted the Court. Once this has been established, addressing and refuting these objections will develop the arguments in favor of ICC membership. Finally, this analysis will lead to proving how the United States becoming a member state will increase the effectiveness and integrity of the International Criminal Court. One opposing standpoint to the union of the United States and the International Criminal Court is the concern of sovereignty. Those who support the United States’ decision to revoke its signature from the Rome Statute argue that by joining the ICC, America’s sovereignty would be threatened, for the country would be required to answer to a higher court. In accordance with this, many on the opposition believe it is necessary to create legislation that protects Americans from the ICC and allows the U.S. to retain its sovereignty. Consequently, the international community has expressed outrage in the United States’ actions to combat the International Criminal Court’s authority. As a world leader with one of the most sophisticated and respected judicial systems, these types of actions present the U.S. as appearing indifferent to the plight of human rights violations... ...s in International Relations (New York: Longman). Elsea, Jennifer (2006), â€Å"U.S. Policy Regarding the International Criminal Court,† in CRS Report for Congess (Washington D.C.; Library of Congress), 4. Bogdan, Attila (2008), â€Å"The United States and the International Criminal Court: Avoiding Jurisdiction Through Bilateral Agreements in Reliance on Article 98,† International Criminal Law Review, 8(1-2), 5. Barnett, Laura (2008), â€Å"The International Criminal Court: History and Role,† Library of Parliament, 2(11), 12. Chicago Council on Global Affairs (2010), â€Å"Constrained Internationalism: Adapting to New Realities,† [http://www.amicc.org/docs/Chicago_Council_Global_Views_2010.pdf], accessed 9 April 2012. American Non-Governmental Organizations Coalition for the International Criminal Court (2012), â€Å"US and ICC Info,† [http://www.amicc.org/info], accessed 9 April 2012.

Define the Term Micr

Question 1 Define the term MICR and explain what it is. Using a suitable example, discuss how does MICR readers work and what is it used for? Answer: MICR, or Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, is a character recognition technology used primarily by the banking industry to facilitate the processing of cheques and makes up the routing number and account number at the bottom of a cheque. It allows computer to read account number off printed documents. Its different and unlike with barcodes or other similar technologies, MICR codes can be easily read by humans. MICR characters usually contain iron oxide.They are printed in special typefaces with a magnetic ink or toner and in the form of either and E-13B or CMC-7 Font. Each font series is made up of a series of numbers and symbols specifically designed for readability on check sorting machines which read and extremely high rates of speed. The machine can always determine what each series of number signifies quickly, due to the symbols provide a beginning and end pint for each group of numbers. Line placement, character placement skew and quality are several critical components of printing MICR; the line must be precisely positioned in the MICR Clear Band area.The use of magnetic printing allows the characters to be read reliably even if they have been overprinted or obscured by other marks, such as cancellation stamps and signature. The magnetic scanning of a typical check has a smaller error rate than with optical character recognition systems. As for well printed MICR documents, the â€Å"can’t read â€Å"rate is usually less than 1% while the misread rate is in the order of 1 per 100,000 characters. A cheque is a suitable example to discuss how MICR readers work and what it is use for does.When a bank receives a check for payment, is uses an MICR inscriber to print the amount of the check in MICR characters in the lower-right corner. The check then is sorted or routed to the customer’s bank, al ong with thousands of others. Each check is inserted in an MICR reader, which sends the check information – including the amount of the check – to a computer for processing. When you balance your checkbook, verify that the amount printed in the lower-right corner is the same as the amount written on the check; otherwise, your statement will not balance. Some retailers use MICR reader to minimize their exposure to check fraud.Corporations and government agencies also use the technology to speed up the sorting of documents. The banking industry has established an international standard not only for bank numbers, but also for the font of the MICR characters. This standardization makes it possible for people to write checks in other countries. Question 2 Discuss what a laser printer is and how it differs from Thermal Printers. Answer: A laser printer is a high-speed, high quality nonimpact printer. It’s a printer that uses a focused beam or light to transfer text an d images on to paper.Though contrary to popular belief, the laser does not actually burn the images on to the paper. The laser beam will fire at the surface of a cylindrical drum called a photoreceptor instead of as a paper passing through the printer. This drum has an typically positive electrical charge, that is reversed in areas where the laser beam hits it. The laser beam is able to print patterns such as text and pictures on to the photoreceptor by reversing the charge in certain areas of the drum. Once the pattern has been created on the drum, it is coated with toner from a toner cartridge.The positively charged toner clings to areas of the drum that have been negatively charged by the laser. The drum is given a strong negative charge which allows the toner to transfer and stick to the paper when the paper is passing through the printer. Laser printers do not use ink therefore they have less smearing problems that ink-jet printers and are able to print pages faster. While lase r printers typically cost more that inkjet printers, most laser toner cartridges last longer than ink cartridges, which makes their cost per page is about equal.Based on this reason, businesses tend to use laser printers, while consumers are more likely to use inkjet printers. A thermal printer generates images by pushing electrically heated pins against heat-sensitive paper. Basic thermal printers are inexpensive, but the print quality is low and the images tend to fade over time. Self-service gas pumps often print gas receipts using a built-in lower-quality thermal printer. Many point-of-sale terminals in retail and grocery stores also print purchases receipts on thermal paper.Two special types of thermal printers have high print quality and can print at much faster rates than ink-jet and laser printers. A thermal-wax-transfer printer generates rich, nonsmearing images by using heat to melt colored was onto heat-sensitive paper. Thermal wax-transfer printers are more expensive tha n many color laser printers. Both printers have advantages and disadvantages; by comparing we are able to differentiate them. The advantages of a laser printer are it is an accessible and efficient office document printer. The document quality is very high, except for barcodes.There are a few disadvantages for a laser printer. It prints labels in sheets and resulting in waste. Its label and wristband adhesives can ooze from fuser and cause jamming. The barcodes require more ink and the toner is driving up the costs. Lastly, output susceptible to toner flaking and smudging. As for thermal printers it has more advantages than a laser printer, such as it is designed specifically for label and wristband printing, print on demand which does not lead to wastage, it is simple to operate and the best part are its durable, it has low maintenance and its does not have toner expenses.The disadvantages of a thermal printer are, for example they cannot print 8 1/2- by 11-inch documents and the p rinters are not readily available in hospitals today. Referencing List Question 1 – http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Magnetic_ink_character_recognition – http://www. whatismicr. com/index. html – Pg 281 from Discovering COMPUTERS by Gary Shelly Question 2 – http://www. techterms. com/definition/laserprinter – Pg 321 from Discovering COMPUTERS by Gary Shelly -http://www. datarayusa. com/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=70