Thursday, October 31, 2019

The Importance of Online Advertising to Hospitality and Tourism Research Proposal

The Importance of Online Advertising to Hospitality and Tourism - Research Proposal Example In what ways has the internet changed the hospitality industry? 2. What does a consumer find when they search for information regarding their travel needs? 3. What are the methods used for the hospitality industry to connect with consumers? 4. What methods used by the hospitality industry might be considered unethical when dealing with consumers searching the internet? 5. What disadvantages can be found for the consumer as they use the internet as a means to book their travel? 6. What are the advantages of the internet as a consumer looks to book travel? By using these questions to frame the inquiry, this research project will be able to focus on the internet as a source of advertising for the hospitality industry and the effect that it has had on consumer travel practices. 1.3 Theoretical Foundation The study that is being proposed is a quantitative study that is based upon a survey instrument. Quantitative study often begins by wanting to test a conceptual model of the question. Th eory allows for predictions on which phenomena will manifest (Polit and Beck 2008, p. 57). This study predicts that the outcome to the study will suggest that internet marketing is an important part of hospitality industry advertising and that consumers have changed their travel practices as a result. The following hypotheses will frame the inquiry that is intended for this paper: Hypothesis 1: The internet has changed the way in which the hospitality industry markets to consumers. Alternative Hypothesis 1: The internet has had no effect on the way in which the hospitality industry markets to consumers. Hypothesis 2: Internet advertising has changed the way in which consumers plan for holidays and travel.... This "The Importance of Online Advertising to Hospitality and Tourism" essay describes the benefits which the Internet brought into the sphere of hospitality's advertisement. The hospitality industry, like most industries, has been impacted by the tools that the internet provides for advertising. Online capacities for the hospitality industry do not only include advertising, but the potential for transactions making travel a more accessible experience. Advertising is highly competitive on the internet with someone always coming up with new ways to attract the attention of an audience that is deluged with information all coming at them at once. The hospitality industry benefits from everything from data mining techniques to websites providing specific information. Without a web based presence it is unlikely that a hospitality industry entity would have success in this globalised and interconnected world. The research questions that have been defined for this study discuss the various stakeholders in the hospitality industry and the impact that the internet advertising potentials have had on travel. The first question asks about the changes that have been made in relationship to the hospitality industry through internet advertising and will be answered through statistical inquiry as well as anecdotal information on the topic. Secondary research will provide answers as to how the hospitality industry is currently using the internet for expanding their opportunities with consumers.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Abortion and the Medical Profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abortion and the Medical Profession - Essay Example Perhaps no other issue stirs up heated debates and fierce emotions than that of abortion. It is one of the most contentious issues in society today. Medical and health care professionals are often put into a serious quandary regarding abortion and their professional practice in regards to their personal and religious beliefs. This issue of abortion clearly has ethical implications for people who want to avail of these surgical procedures and the ones performing them. Like any divisive issue, there are no easy answers to such a sticky emotional issue. In most cases, it all boils down to one’s deeply-held personal beliefs that will determine a stance the person has on a certain issue such as abortion. Before the landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court passed in the Roe vs. Wade decision, abortion was legal in a few states but illegal in most states of the country. Other countries do likewise have similar ambivalent laws regarding such a basic issue as human life and the right to life of an unborn child. The medical profession forbids the taking of life as contained in its Hippocratic Code. However, there are clearly certain instances in which abortion is justified (based on medical grounds) to be performed such as a threat to the life of the pregnant woman or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Plight of street children in India

Plight of street children in India Until 1993, the term street child was not present in the Official Vocabulary in India. Until 1993, the Indian government did not fulfill their duty by protecting the rights and freedom of children. Until 1993, India had failed to completely recognize and acknowledge their growing street children epidemic. Street children can be defined as both market and homeless children. All around the world, innocent children are stripped away from their sovereignties and placed on the cruel streets of their cities forcing them to create a living on their own. Both developed and developing countries, including Russia, Vietnam, Romania and Brazil, are negatively affected by the growing population of street children. Unfortunately, India is the home to the worlds largest population of street children eighteen million and counting. Throughout the last couple of years, India has achieved many accomplishments, including the rise of their economy and recognition around the world. However, neglecting th e street children epidemic is unjust and overshadows their economic boost. According to Article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it states that Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the childs physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. Street children are denied of each one of these rights, instigating the fact that innocent children are not being supported and cared for by their families, friends and the government. Street children in India are deprived from proper protection due to the negligence of their family, the unstable economic situation in the country and the lack of focus on their health care.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Street children are excluded from stable protection because children are neglected from the attention of their loved ones. When a child is born, he/she is entitled to be cherished, loved and sheltered. Children are extremely vulnerable and naÃÆ' ¯ve; they do not know how to differ from right and wrong. When a child is abandoned and left isolated on the streets, they are uneducated about why they are alone. Thousands of kids blame themselves for their desertion, even though they are not to blame. In India, many street children are sexually, physically and mentally abused by their parents, and living on the streets leads them to being further exploited to child labour and prostitution. One of the main reasons that street children are abused by their parents in India is due to gender discrimination. Over the past generations, boys are undoubtedly favoured than girls. Boys are considered an asset since they can carry on the family name, help with the fa rmland and can continue their education longer than females. Sixty percent of the labour force in India is based on agriculture, meaning that men are more suitable for this intricate occupation. On the other hand, girls are regarded as a liability because parents have to raise dowry in terms of getting their daughter married, girls cannot carry on the family name and a vast majority of females do not receive the same amount of education as males, since parents do not look at schooling as an obligation. In accordance to Article 26 in the Universal Declaration of Independence, it states: Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Pilfering education from a child handicaps them and is one of the worst forms of punishments in the world. Even though women have triumphed and broken down bigotry barriers over the last decades, favoritism is evident in several parts of the world. In India, the female/male ratio is 927/100 0, which is incredibly low in comparison to other countries. In some developing parts of India, girls may get aborted or killed at birth solely due to their gender.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When a child is neglected from their loved ones, it creates long-term psychological problems. Maslows hierarchy of needs outlines the basic needs of an individual: self-actualization, esteem, love/belonging, safety and physiological. Street children in India are extremely far away from reaching the top of Maslows hierarchy, since homeless children are not introduced to proper health care, are not protected from the precarious people on the streets of India, are not accepted by their families thus leading to a low self-esteem. Street children are forced to face unwanted and awful obstacles at an extremely young age. Both girls and boys do not have a role model to follow, and try to survive day by day. Furthermore, when Charles Darwin introduced natural selection, in which he explained that individual organisms that are better adapted to their environments have a better chance of surviving; humans began to receive education, create reputations and establ ish families for themselves. In order to survive on the streets, children can go to extreme levels in order to have clothes and food. When parents neglect their own children, kids are negatively affected and conform to the other street children around them; monkey see, monkey do. With no one to tell them whats right and whats wrong, whos to stop them?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Street children are robbed from social security because they are not given the proper financial support that they deserve. Indias economic situation changes on a weekly basis. Similar to other developing countries, the prices of production and labour inflates and/or deflates regularly. Following the world-wide recession, India has dealt with the economic problem better than some developed countries, such as the United States of America. The developing economy in India is great for the government, but what about the people? Even though Indias monetary condition is reasonably settled, some rural and urban parts of the country are being faced with poverty and street children. 56.4% of Indias population is in debt and the unemployment rate in India is 9.1%. People are having a difficult time paying off their debts, since the competition in the workforce is increasing and not enough jobs are available for everyone. With an increasing population, there is an increased demand for needs. We, as humans, meet those needs by consuming more resources. Consuming more resources declines the availability of supplies, which negatively harms the environment. The environment destruction and declining resources leads to scarcity and poverty. Resource scarcity explains the fact that if there is not enough food, hunger arises. If there is not enough water, people become thirst. If jobs are scarce, the unemployment rate rises. If money is scarce, poverty augments. Street children do not have enough food, water and a source of income in order to survive in India. Due to the need for basic necessities, children are forced to work for their money. Some of the activities that street children participate in are collect/sell paper, clean cars, sell newspaper, work in small hotels, beg, steal, and tend to animals and domestic labour.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being a developing country, the government of India is unable to entirely support all 1, 166, 079, 217 citizens; however that is not a justification for everyone. If an individual decides to have a baby, that human being is entitled to take care of that child. In India, many children are introduced to poverty; the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support. In certain circumstances, children from both middle and lower income families are forced to go onto the streets of their town in order to bring in more cash for the family. Are the parents being selfless or selfish? Parents who are telling their children to have no respect for themselves and bang on car doors simply to earn a rupee or two are utterly and shamefully selfish. Furthermore, families of lower caste systems are more prone to allowing their children to remain on the streets for days and nights. Caste systems are described as specific rankings that distingui sh a lower class family from a higher class family. This system is originated from the city and/or town that a family lives in, the last name of that family and the amount of land a family owns. In foreign countries, such as Canada and the United States, it is difficult to comprehend the caste system, yet in India the system is completely straight forward. Families from lower castes are prone to force their children, both males and females, to plead on the streets of India.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Street children are stripped from their rights when children are not being taken care of when he/she is affected by a health issue. In both developed and developing countries, both men and women tend to avoid the topic of health care. India has the largest number of street children in the age group of eight to eighteen years; these children are exposed to a risky social environment daily. Being on the streets instigates diseases because street children live and work amidst trash, animals and open sewers. The risk of getting diseases increases dramatically since dozens of Indians are immigrating and emigrating, in order to visit their relatives and be introduced to new environments. A majority of street children are not vaccinated and protected from harmful diseases including H1N1, Diphtheria, Polio and Tetanus, significantly raising their possibilities of getting seriously ill and possibly facing death in the upcoming future.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Career Resilience Essay -- Employment Work Jobs Essays

Career Resilience Change in the workplace continues at a rapid pace, affecting careers and career development. Mergers, acquisitions, reengineering, and downsizing are influencing employment patterns and altering the career directions of many. No longer are individuals advised to think in terms of spending their entire careers in one organization. Rather, they are being led to recognize the temporary nature of all jobs and the need to prepare themselves for redefined career paths that require resilience and an ability to be self-reliant. This Digest defines the concept of career resilience, including the characteristics of individuals who are career resilient and the characteristics of organizations that support career resilience. Definition of Career Resilience Collard et al. (1996) present several definitions of career resilience. One of these is "the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, even when the circumstances are discouraging or disruptive" (p. 33). Another definition of career resilience is "the result or outcome of being career self-reliant" (p. 34). Although career self-reliance and career resilience have been used interchangeably, there is a slight difference in the focus of each term. Career self-reliance refers to individual career self-management taking responsibility for one's own career and growth while maintaining commitment to the organization's success; career resilience refers to individual career development developing the knowledge and skills required to make a visible and personally motivated contribution to the organization and its customers. The Need for Career Resilience The emphasis on the self-management and self-development of one's career is a reflection of the shift in the ... ...ouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, 1996. (ED 396 191) Filipczak, B. "You're on Your Own." Training 32, no. 1 (January 1995): 29-36. Fox, D. "Career Insurance for Today's World." Training & Development 50, no. 3 (March 1996): 61-64. Hall, D. T. and Mirvis, P. H. "The New Career Contract: Devel-oping the Whole Person at Midlife and Beyond." Journal of Vocational Behavior 47, no. 3 (December 1995): 269-289. Hequet, M. "Flat and Happy?" Training 32, no. 4 (April 1995): 29-34. Kaye, B., and Farren, C. "Up Is Not the Only Way." Training & Development 50, no. 2 (February 1996): 48-53. Koonce, R. "Becoming Your Own Career Coach." Training & Development 49, no. 1 (January 1995): 18-25. Waterman, R. H., Jr.; Waterman, J. D.; and Collard, B. A. "Toward a Career-Resilient Workforce." Harvard Business Review 72, no. 4 (July-August 1994): 87-95.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Gender Roles and Fashion Essay

Most people feel that the qualities and characteristics we perceive as specific to gender are inherent by nature. In America, physical strength is stereotyped to be masculine, while emotional behavior is stereotyped as feminine. Any straying from these expectations is sufficient grounds for alienation. However, historian Howard Zinn has documented that gender roles are a part of a system constructed by the ruling class during the formation of our nation. The gender role structure in the US was designed in order to maintain a centralized, wealthy ruling class. In order to keep wealthy, white men in control of the economy, women have been constructed as inferior to men — physically, mentally and emotionally. In Judith Lorber’s article â€Å"Night to His Day†, Lorber explains that the definition of being a man or woman is comprised of more than apparent genetic information. â€Å"Gender† is a socially constructed status, which has the intention of â€Å"choosing people for the different tasks of society†(Lorber 55). Thus, ideas about how one should behave in order to fit into a gender category are learned, not intrinsic. As a society assigns people as â€Å"men† or â€Å"women†, this categorization denotes the accepted and preferred â€Å"personality characteristics, feelings, motivations, and ambitions† that create different classes and preferences for people (Lorber, 55). That is, the genderization system produces men and women who tend to have a â€Å"natural inclination† toward ideas, behaviors, and careers that help them assimilate to anticipated gender stereotypes. Parents, constantly in fear that people will not be able to dis tinguish the sex of their new baby, instinctually encourage dress, styles, and behavior that perpetuate the masculine and feminine labels from birth. The term â€Å"woman† itself was created by the masculine conception of what femininity should be. These criteria set up the dominant/subordinate relationship standard because women lacked the power to challenge the male point of view. Lorber suggests that â€Å"as a process, gender creates social differences that define ‘woman’ and ‘man'† through interactions and expectations of peers and family. As a stratification, gender ranks men’s work superior to women’s, regardless of skill or difficulty. As a social structure, gender organizes work habits both domestically and economically  (Lorber 60-1). For the average girl in American society, adapting to gender roles is taught in every single facet of life. The media, entertainment, and school cooperatively exhibit and promote gender assimilation. Barbieà ¤ dolls are the first toys I can recall playing with as a young girl. Her long blond hair, short skirts, disproportionately long legs, and spike heels set the precedent for how I would view true â€Å"femininity† throughout adolescence. By age six, my life became infiltrated by gender specific, â€Å"girly† activities. I: practiced ballet and avoided sports, painted fingernails, nearly always wore dresses with nylons, experimented with my mother’s make-up (rather unsuccessfully), joined Girl Scouts, grew out my hair to mid-back, and wished for everything to be pink or lavender. I was so excited and anxious for the day when the boys would†¦ finally†¦ notice†¦ me (sarcasm intended). Fashion trends and clothing styles, in particular, significantly aid the social construction of gender. The mere presence of a standard for the judgment of beauty automatically designates some group to be in control of the other. That is, individuals are constantly judging one another to make certain that they fit into the correct gender classification. Trendy, hip clothing are made for a very specific, minority group of women- narrow-hipped, small-breasted, tall, and skinny. The pressure to fit into these styles of clothes is unrelenting and produces insecurities and a poor body-image. These adolescent anxieties are not uncommon and can produce eating disorders, depression, and suicide. Joanne Finkelstein, in After a Fashion, explains that fashion can be seen as a device for confining women to an inferior social order. Throughout history women have been isolated from men by their fashion dues to society – women would risk spinal disorders from corsets, chronic foot pain and arch trauma from high-heels, and submit to a constant preoccupation of worry over men’s approval of clothing appropriateness. Fashions play such an integral role in how we judge one another – how much money we have, what music we listen to, how much education we have received – that any gender-bending fashions  exhibited by women are at best taboo, and at worst, unattractive to men (the alleged Ultimate Woman’s Worry). In many societies, gender is not considered a part of nature, but rather learned, acquired, or earned as a rite of passage. In some tribal communities, acquiring gender status represents maturity and responsibility. There is an unspoken agreement between American men and women that women will fashion their clothing and styles as part of a system that favors men. In part this system favors men simply by distinguishing a class apart from men, requiring someone to exist on the outside of an established social norm. John Lorber puts it best: â€Å"Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at† (Lorber 46). In a society where many women still do not recognize the inequalities of genderization, the pervasiveness of gender roles in America remains perpetuated and profound. Works Cited Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. New York: Viking Press, Reprint edition, January 1995 Finkelstein, Joanne. After A Fashion. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1996. Lorber, Judith. â€Å"Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender†. Paradoxes of Gender. New York: Yale University Press, 1994. Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Mayans †Popol Vuh Summary

The Mayans – A Basic Summary on Popol Vuh and Xibalba Information on the Popol Vuh The Popol Vuh is one of the only remaining texts we have of ancient Mayan cultures. It is, for lack of a better word, their bible. In English its most direct translation is â€Å"Book of the Mat† but it can translate into its more meaningful name, â€Å"Book of the Community†. It encompasses a variety of stories and legends as well as a history of the mayan ancestors.Its most famous story is the creation myth of the Hero Twins. This myth explains how two abandoned twins ventured into the Mayan underworld called Xibalba and defeated the â€Å"bad† Gods and the arrogant Xibalbans people. They then ascended out of Xibalba to the sky where they became the sun and the moon. This book was an important source of cultural heritage to the Mayan people and the religions they practiced.It explains the importance of Maya as a divine place and culture, as well as introduces important fig ures such as the Maize God. After Bishop Diego de Landa’s eradication on Mayan literature, it is an extremely valuable source of information. Information on Xibalba Xibalba is to the Mayans what Hell is for us. It translates to something along the lines of, â€Å"the place of fear†. However, it has many important differences.For instance, instead of eternal damnation in one endless fiery pit (aka: Hell) there are seven chambers. Each chamber is a different challenge or nightmare that you have to face. The Mayans believe a person has five souls, one of which ventures into Xibalba. Depending on how evil you have been depends on how deep into Xibalba your soul goes. Again, the deeper you go, the worse it becomes. Xibalba has cultural significance because it develops the idea of key gods, religions and practices such as the Mayan ballgames.