Environmental Concerns and Public Policy Essay Example for Free

Environmental Concerns and Public Policy Essay Your 8 to 10 page final paper is to be a comprehensive research study on one of the following Public Policy topics: Social Security Health Care Welfare Primary and Secondary Public Education Environmental Concerns You will identify relevant material consistent with the focus of the topic using scholarly journals and professional websites with authored material (not popular Internet sites). Your analysis of the selected topic must include the following: The scope and nature of the public policy problem The evolution of public policy Evaluation of policy, the actors involved The intergovernmental structure and political concerns The approaches to policy setting The suggested policy direction that is supported by research In addition to the textbook, you must use a minimum of six resources from the Ashford Online Library Database, academic websites or professional journals and organizations in the field of Sociology. You are encouraged to analyze your findings and avoid over-use of direct quotations. Writing the Final Paper The Research Paper: Must be eight double-spaced pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. Must include a cover page that includes: Students name Course name and number Title of paper Instructors name Date submitted Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph. Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources. Must incl To get this material copy and paste link to browser https://bitly.com/1rubRAC Going to college is an experience that will help you shape your personality and build a better future for yourself. It is important that you think about your decision carefully, compare different schools and programs and find a way to finance your education. Read this article to learn more about college. Sociology General Sociology Final Paper Your 8 to 10 page final paper is to be a comprehensive research study on one of the following Public Policy topics: Social Security Health Care Welfare Primary and Secondary Public Education Environmental Concerns You will identify relevant material consistent with the focus of the topic using scholarly journals and professional websites with authored material (not popular Internet sites). Your analysis of the selected topic must include the following: The scope and nature of the public policy problem The evolution of public policy Evaluation of policy, the actors involved The intergovernmental structure and political concerns The approaches to policy setting The suggested policy direction that is supported by research In addition to the textbook, you must use a minimum of six resources from the Ashford Online Library Database, academic websites or professional journals and organizations in the field of Sociology. You are encouraged to analyze your findings and avoid over-use of direct quotations. Writing the Final Paper The Research Paper: Must be eight double-spaced pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. Must include a cover page that includes: Students name Course name and number Title of paper Instructors name Date submitted Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph. Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources. Must include six sources in addition to your text. Must include, on the final page, a Reference Page that is completed according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. Carefully review the Grading Rubric for th

Satisfaction And Service Quality In Uk Budget Hotels Tourism Essay

Satisfaction And Service Quality In Uk Budget Hotels Tourism Essay The outline for the research is presented here. It includes Introduction to the topic and of the company. This is followed by Literature Review. Next comes methodology of research and then Analysis and Results. These are followed by Discussion and Recommendation. Finally the Conclusion and its contents are given. The budget hotels or low-cost hotels are in great demand today. This is because currently the world is facing the worst economic recession in decades, which has reduced the ability of people to spend on non-essential products and services like holidays. Also there have been huge cuts in the travel budgets of many firms as a result of which more and more companies are using budget hotels for business travel. Another key target market for budget hotels are the backpackers who stay in either youth hostels or budget hotels. This sentiment has been echoed by the author Fiorentino (1995) stating that budget hotels especially thrive in the recessionary environment. The author has further gone to say that, the budget hotel is not only a booming short-term phenomenon, but a major strategic development in the international hospitality industry that represents the introduction of the no-frills, purpose-designed and branded product concept in hospitality. However the quality of service and the level of satisfaction in such types of accommodation has been an area of interest for academics and hotel managers for a long time. But it is especially important in the current economic scenario and presents a great opportunity to study these. Background The concept of budget hotels originated in America but it is widely used in the developed world including the UK and many successful chains of such hotels are thriving today. Prominent amongst them are Travelodge and Premier Inn. With the exponential usage of the internet in the serach and booking of accommodation there has been an explosion of websites that offer value for money or budget accommodation and this is causing strong demand for such accommodations. Aims and Objectives The aim of this study would be explore the significance of the service quality and satisfaction in the budget hotels operating in the UK. The principal aim of this research will be met by following objectives: To identify factors affecting service quality in UK budget hotels; To explore the consumers perceptions of service quality in UK budget hotels; To explore the consumers expectations for service quality in UK budget hotels; To report the gap between the perceptions and expectations for service quality in UK budget hotels; To study the factors affecting the customer satisfaction in the budget hotels Literature Review Importance of Service Quality The effectiveness and importance of the service quality according to the academics and marketing experts will be researched and written Importance of Customer Satisfaction The effectiveness and importance of the service quality according to the academics and marketing experts will be researched and written Service Quality in Hospitality Industry The quality of service is a much researched subject in the hospitality arena. According to the authors Benà ­tez, Martà ­n and Romà ¡n (2007), Hotels provide an ample range of services to customers, including lodging services, reception, meals, room service, among others. Service quality can be regarded as a composite measure of various attributes. It not only consists of tangible attributes but also intangible/subjective attributes such as safety, quietness, which are difficult to measure accurately and usually studied throughout linguistic information. Thus details and expert views on what constitutes service quality will be researched here. Measurement of service Quality SERVQUAL instrument by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry is the most popular one used in the measurement of quality of service today in the hospitality industry. This is the one which will be used here as well for the measurement of service quality Measurement of customer satisfaction The ways of measuring customer satisfaction are varied from periodic surveys to continuous ones. The best and most popular methods will be studied here. Methodology of Research To assess the service quality and customer satisfaction levels in the firm chosen a number of factors will have to be studied. Both primary and secondary data will be used to understand this. A budget hotel chain in the UK will be chosen and firstly secondary data will be gathered on that organisation to understand its marketing strategies and the overall strategic direction the firm has undertaken. Then a questionnaire will be developed for the survey that will be carried out to gather primary data on that organisation and its customers. Rationale for Research There has been tremendous increase in the number of budget accommodations in the UK and surge in demand created increase in the supply with lots of new budget hotels creeping up in the pre-recession growth years. This led the hotels to compete on prices and service quality was side-lined but the view today is changing and the hotels are feeling that there is a need to focus on the customer satisfaction and quality of service being offered in the budget hotels to gain a sustainable competitive advantage amongst the increase in the competition. However, globally the hotel sector is experiencing the decline in service quality and consumers satisfaction. Decline is perceived by the consumer, because in 1990s consumers expectations were raised to the standard that hotels couldnt sustain and exceed (Briggs, Sutherland, Drummond, 2007:1009). Similar pattern has also been noticed in relation to the budget hotels where, constant updates of tangible and intangible aspects in budged hotels resu lted to development of upper budget hotel type, with the provision of full-service three star hotel facilities (Fiorentino, 1995: 457). There has been a lot of research in the field of service quality and customer satisfaction in the hospitality sector but there is very little such research done in the budget hotel segment which is one of the fastest growing segments in the hospitality industry today. Hence this research attempts to study and evaluate the factors that affect customer satisfaction and service quality. Selection of Research Methodology Secondary data will be used to meet the research objectives. A range of academic journals and other literature will be used to understand the already published experts views and data on the subject. As author Churchill (2001) suggested the data to be collected for this research will be decided on the different aspect of the research and their importance and relevance to this study. Questionnaire Design A structured questionnaire will be designed for the purpose of this study. It will have questions relating to the customer satisfaction and service quality regarding the chosen hotel. The service quality will be based on SERVQUAL elements of Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. The SERVQUAL is the most popular and commonly used tool for measuring the quality of service in the hospitality sector. The questionnaire will also include question on customer satisfaction. Analysis and Results The data gathered from the survey will be analysed to gain insight into the results and to find the levels of satisfaction and the quality of service offered by the company. The results will be given in both tabulated form as well. Discussion and Recommendation This chapter will discuss the results found and the insight generated by the analysis. It will then give the recommendations for managers Conclusion: This will list the findings of the study and the recommendations for the future studies as well as the limitations of this study

Knowles Separate Peace Essays: Character Traits :: Separate Peace Essays

Character Traits in A Separate Peace In the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, one of the main themes is the effects of realism, idealism, and isolationism on Brinker, Phineas, and Gene. Though not everyone can be described using one of these approaches to life, the approaches completely conform to these characters to create one realist, one idealist, and one isolationist; thereby providing the foundation of the novel. The realist is Brinker. Brinker's realism takes on a very morbid quality after Gene decides not to enlist with him, do to Phineas's return to Devon. Brinker still sees everything the way it is, but begins to think that the way it is, is bad. On page 122, he is quoted as saying, "Frankly, I just don't see anything to celebrate, winter or spring or anything else." Brinker will scrutinize any incident until he finds a dark side to it, because, in his mind, at least one side of everything is a dark side. Already we have the footing for our climax. Phineas (Finny) is the idealist. Like Brinker, Finny's approach experiences a grim metamorphoses. Before his accident, Finny sees the world as a glorious playing field and life as a never ending game. After his accident; however, Finny begins to view the world through the eyes of a paranoid old man who is always seeing something covert in everything. On page 106, Finny even goes as far as to ask Gene, "Do you really think that the United States of America is in a state of war with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan?" This outlook is a mental facade that only succeeds in setting Finny up for a harder fall. Finally there is the isolationist, Gene. Gene's approach is austere from the beginning. It is Gene who generates the dark change in the others. Gene looks for danger in everything he is emotionally close to. When he finds danger, he ostracizes himself from whatever it is that is posing a threat to him. If he can not find danger, as with Finny, he creates it. On page 45 he strives so hard to create danger in Finny that he falsely concludes that, "Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies." This creates the story's

Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors Essay -- essays research papers

Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare’s first plays. The minor characters, in the play, Egeon and the Duke, set up the framework of the play. Egeon, at the request of the Duke, describes his adventures and relates his life story. This provides the history of The Comedy of Errors, and helps keep track of the confusion, which unfolds during the play. There are several themes that Shakespeare uses which are only loosely related to the actual comedy. The conflicts between burden and freedom, rule and compassion, loss and rebirth all form a critical undertone within the play. There is also the serious effect time. Shakespeare requires that all the action end at five o'clock, the time of Egeon's execution, Antipholus of Syracuse's meeting with the merchant, and the moment when Angelo must pay the Second Merchant his money. There are also several coercions within the play. The comedy opens with Egeon unintentionally breaking the law, for which he is sentenced to death. In addition to this very real danger of death, there is also the risk that the play will end too soon. At various times the reader could assume the characters are close to revealing the entire plot and ending the play. These occur when Antipholus has the chance to demand payment from his father at the beginning, and also when both Dromios are on opposite sides of the door at Adriana's house. The characters are meant to gain knowledge of something. For instance, the Duke claims th...

Affirmative Action Essay -- essays research papers

The American government takes affirmative action very seriously as demonstrated in the methods it has implemented to combat discrimination in the workplace. Although it can be argued when affirmative action actually emerged, the government’s efforts to protect the rights of all American citizens with regard to employment began in 1941. President Roosevelt created the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) when A. Phillip Randolph, president and founder of one of the most powerful black labor unions, threatened to organize a mass march on Washington D.C. if Roosevelt did not take action on behalf of black workers. It was the responsibility of the FEPC to increase the number of black citizens employed by defense contractors. The commission continued its efforts throughout World War II and then was eliminated. President Truman signed Executive Order 9980 in 1948. This order created the Fair Employment Board within the Civil Service Commission. It was the purpose of this commission to increase the employment of minorities within the federal government. Although the board was very idealistic, there was also a great deal of politics involved. The board was terminated soon after President Eisenhower took office. While holding office as vice president in 1961, Lyndon B. Johnson expressed a great deal of interest in the economic flourish of black Americans. He asked a black attorney from Detroit, Hobart Taylor Jr., to assist him in drafting an executive order to present to President Kennedy for his signature. Executive Order 10925 â€Å"required federal contractors to take â€Å"affirmative action† to hire more minority employees† (Darien A. McWhirter, pg.31). This order created the Presidential Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity. While Executive Order 10925 was a step in the right direction, it had limitations. President Kennedy knew that congressional action would increase civil rights efforts. Kennedy passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963. This act demanded equal pay for equal work, prohibiting women from being paid less than men for the same work. In addition to the Equal Pay Act, â€Å"he also proposed sweeping civil rights legislation, which southerners managed to bottl e up in committee†(Melvin I. Urofsky, pg.17). Before he could continue his efforts for civil rights, Kennedy was assassinated. In memorial, Lyndon Johnson urged passage of the Civil Rights act of 1964 ... ... legal action in this case. In Lorance v. AT&T, the issue was that a union contract was changed to reduce the seniority f a group of women employed by AT&T. Although they had a legitimate argument, the Supreme Court rued against them claiming that they waited too long to file their case. In the fifth and final court case, Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, A black woman by the name of Brenda Patterson filed charges of racial harassment against her employer. The decision was to be made if she could sue under the civil rights act passed after the civil war and receive more damages, or would she be required to settle for the provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court ruled that she was stuck with the 1964 Act. When President Bush signed the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the decisions in all but one of these cases were either modified or overturned. The act gave more protection to the rights of victims of employment discrimination. Although the fight for equality in everyday society sometimes seems like a relentless battle, it is apparent that the government is striving toward equality in the workplace by demanding employers to conform to the laws that it has established.

Ecuadorian Rose Industry

The Ecuadorian Rose Industry 1. What is the basis of Ecuador’s comparative advantage in the production of roses? Ecuador’s rose farms are located in the just about perfect position for growing long and straight roses or at least most of the farms. They are positioned at about 10,000 feet elevation in the Andes Mountains. This provides the roses with high altitude, volcanic soil that is very rich in ingredients, and located on the equator. This gives the roses about 12 hours of daylight every day. Graham) This provides an intense amount of sunlight, so farmers use plastic sheeting to create a greenhouse effect. I believe this helps keep the roses from burning up, being so close to the sun, and from freezing on the cold nights. (Hamilton) It creates a sense of perfect temperatures. (Thompson) 2. Most Ecuadorean roses are sold in the United States or Europe. Who in these countries benefit from the importation of Ecuadorean roses, and how do they benefit? Who loses? Do you think the benefits outweigh the costs?In 2006, the United States accounted for 61% of the Ecuadorean roses’ total sales. This made us the largest market in this rose industry. Europe accounted for 20% of the exports of Ecuadorean flowers, while these flowers accounted for 31% of the United States flower imports. (Alvaro) Both countries benefit overall because they can imports the roses at such a low price and most of the profits stay in the imported country. (Graham) I believe local growers are the ones who lose in this situation. If buyers can find them for a lower price, most will take it so they can keep more profits.This isn’t necessarily the best option for our country, but some companies do not care about the greater good of helping our own country. 3. How does the rose export industry benefit Ecuador? Do these benefits have any implications for the United States and Europe? With the increase of rose and other flower exportation from Ecuador, the country’s export revenue has increases and is increasing the stability of its economy. (Halberstadt) This is one of the effects of the fair trade agreement between them and the United States. Another effect is the extra money the people are getting.They are able to take classes to learn how to manage the extra money. (Hamilton) Ecuador has also been able to pave more roads, build sophisticated irrigation systems, and some schools with the taxes and revenues from growing roses. (Thompson) Developed countries, like the United States and Europe, have to understand that as developing nations, like Ecuador, become more developed they have to adhere to global standards and it is up to developed countries to help with this. 4. How should developed nations respond to reports of poor working conditions in this industry?Should importers in some way certify Ecuadorean producers, or only importing from those who adhere to strict labor and environmental standards? I believe the developed nations should h elp to encourage making the working conditions better. Although the average flower worker does earn more than the minimum wage of $120 per month, but it does not make up for the horrible conditions. I also believe importers should certify Ecuadorean producers for those following the labor and environmental standards and those who are trying to improve their operations. Plantations, like RosaPrima, have done this.Ross Johnson, a general manager of the plantation, said that they had made a lot of improvements over the years, from protective wear and equipment to cracking down of child labor. (Thompson) Works Cited 1. ) Alvaro, Mercedes. â€Å"Ecuador Flower Exports Require U. S. Trade Deal to Keep Growing. † Dow Jones Newswires Feb. 2006. 3 March 2013 . 2. ) Graham, Grace. â€Å"Five Reasons who you shouldn’t Buy her Roses† North by Northwestern Feb. 2010. 3 March 2013 < http://northbynorthwestern. om/story/five-more-reasons-why-you-didnt-buy-your-girlfrien/>. 3. ) Halberstadt, Jason. â€Å"Ecuador Foreign Trade. † Ecuador Trade Copyright 1997-2013. 3 March 2013 4. ) Hamilton, Cortney and Deb Tullmann. â€Å"Rough Cut. † Ecuador Flower Power Feb. 2008. 3 March 2013 . 5. ) Thompson, Ginger. â€Å"Behind Roses’ Beauty, Poor and Ill Workers† NY Times Feb, 2003. 3 March 2013 .

Verble & Non Verble Communication

Assignments – Marks Allocation Breakdown | | Setting the scene | |Introduction and issue analysis | |Exposition | |Directly addresses the question | |Uses a wide range of information drawn from course material to address the issues | |Uses a wide range of information drawn from other sources (journals, articles, etc) to address | |the issues | |Contextualises the learning to the workplace | |Quality of conclusions and recommendations implemented | |Data collection and qualitative analysis/literature review | |Originality | |Attempts original research and analysis, creative and challenging insights to balanced | |perception | |Structure and presentation | |Logical sequence with sections well linked | |Good flow and clarity of presentation | |Balance between text, use of charts, diagrams, headings, sub-headings, etc | |Professional business-like style | |Compliance | |Word count | |Submission on time | My topic of choice is Verbal and Non-verbal Interpersonal Communication I will assess each below 8 A) Verbal InterpersonalCommunication Verbal Interpersonal Communication uses language as means of communication between cultures. In languages, there are set of rules about the use of words in the creation of messages. The usage of language in interpersonalcommunication can be either spoken or written. Below are some features of a language or connected with language: a) Phonology – sounds of language ) phoneme – smallest unit of sound, example; cat, tdk – why is cat correct but not tdk, English has 45 phonemes (ch, th) c) Morphology -smallest units of meaning, example, morpheme, happy, happiness, unhappiness d) Semantics -study of meaning of words, the understanding of vocabulary in order to function in a language. There are two types of meanings in languages: i) denotative meanings – public, objective, legal meanings of words ii) connotative meanings – personal, emotionally charged meanings For example, What does test me an to you? e) Syntactics -relationships of words to one another, word order f) Pragmatics – effect of language on human perceptions and behaviors ) Translation – transfer of written verbal codes between language, has time h) Interpretation – oral process of moving from one code to another Examples of Language Language follows culturally determined patterns which influence thinking. Some examples: – English is linear, Arabic combines ideas through conjunctions, hard to discover main idea when translating into English. – England, Ireland, Canada, USA – all speak English, is it the same? – Arabic â€Å"inshallah†, intonation, Arabic uses exaggeration, overassertion, repetition, elaboration, 10 words for English, 100 words for Arabic. – Writers Shakespeare used 34,000 words, today a good writer 15,000-20,000. Eskimos have 30 words for snow. 9 B) Non Verbal InterpersonalCommunication Non-verbal InterpersonalCommunication uses non-verbal codes as means of communication between cultures. Non-verbal codes are as the following: †¢ is a multichanneled process †¢ spontaneously performed †¢ possess nonlinguistic behaviors †¢ enacted subconsciously †¢ can be intentional or unintentional †¢ is not taught, but learned through observation and experiences Characteristics of Nonverbal Codes Non-verbal codes function as a silent language and impart meanings in subtle and covert ways, continuous, natural, blur into another, less precise. Relationship of Verbal to Nonverbal: 1. accent the verbal 2. omplement the verbal (smiling, pointing) 3. contradict the verbal (nonverbals are opposite to spoken) 4. regulate the conversation (looking, gestures) 5. substitute, take the place of the verbal Cultural Universals in Nonverbal Communication 1. same body parts are used 2. convey similar meanings 3. accompany verbal 4. motives are the same 5. control and coordinate contexts and relationships that are the same Cultural Variations in Nonverbal Communication 1. repertoire of behaviors are different 2. display rules – when and where 3. interpretations of meanings. 4. random 5. idiosyncratic 6. shared meaning and significance Body Movements – Kinesics Refers to gestures, head movements, facial expressions, eyes. 1. Emblems – nonverbals that have direct verbal counterpart 2. Illustrators – accompany the verbal, more easily understood 3. Affect – show feelings, emotions, body and face 4. Regulators – synchronize behavior, control the flow of conversation 5. Adapters – reaction to physical state, scratching, unintentional Space – Proxemics Refers to how people use physical space. Example: cold means having large physical distances and warm means having smaller physical distances. Touch Affects positive and negative feelings and may denote the following meanings: †¢ playfulness †¢ control †¢ ritual purpose †¢ task related Time – Chronemics Here, time is the main determinant of communication and is used in various: Example, past oriented means having a circular approach to life , present oriented means enjoying the spontaneity of the situation and future oriented means tomorrow. Voice Refers to the use of different tones of voices when communicating. Example, Through pitch, rate of talking, rhythm and volume Chemical codes Here, smell is used when communicating, for example wearing perfumes 10 Conclusion 1. Communication is a process when a sender transmits a message to a receiver using a particular medium. The medium used can either be verbal or non-verbal, which includes printed or electronic medias. 2. Culture refers to a group of people or society that has the share the same norm (what is expected of an individual) and values (what is considered good or bad in that particular group or society). 3. A group or society that live in close proximity with one another is called a community. 4. Cultures can be distinguished based on certain dimensions like Low Context Culture, High Context Culture, Individualism, Collectivism, High Power Distance, Low Power Distance, Low Uncertainty Avoidance, High Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculine, Feminine, Monochronic, Polychronic, Acquired Status and Given Status. 5. For the people in a group or society to interact with one another, communication is necessary.