Michael T Hayden Medical Center - 1024 Words

Simon J Castro Grand Canyon University: HLT 302 10/05/2014 During the last week I have been observing spiritual needs of patients in the Carl T Hayden Medical center in Phoenix Arizona. A majority of the assessment was observation based and one patient was open to some questions. The assessment tool I used is a set of five questions and the tool is always preceded by observation. The assessment is based on the observation period involves looking for obvious signs of religious or spiritual activity. These signs could be religious literature in the patient possession, wearing religious insignia; such a necklace with a cross or Star of David, and noticing the activity of the chaplain rounds. My assessment is based off of the F.I.C.A†¦show more content†¦I felt that was probably a common theme, that the patients felt that they were a burden on the staff. The assessment does not ask what a patient specific beliefs are and this was designed to prevent patients that might possess diverse faiths as from feeling uncomfortable. Dameron (2005) states that is is important when assessing spiritual needs of a patient to no impart a religious belief or spiritual system onto the patient. The patient stated that his beliefs were important to him and he already did have religious literature or visits from the chaplain. This was to be expected and I realized that the patients selected for the assessment mostly already had signs or spiritual or religious belief, in the future I might attempt to assess a patient that do not show any outward signs of religious affiliation. The patient expressed that his spiritual needs already had been met, but they also enjoyed the opportunity to talk about the subject. I asked if there was anything I could do to help them spiritually, the patient asked to pray together while I took him to an appointment in his gurney. He asked for another Bible, her couldn’t find his. I also found it awkward to interact with the student nursing staff when I told them that a patient wanted a Bible to read, a student on rotation seemed confused. The desk nurse knew who to contact, so it would appear that the regular

The Use of Persuasion in Jewelry Departments Essay

Other people have a profound affect on our behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. A friend can coax another to drink alcohol at a party, despite being underage. A husband can convince his wife that she deserves to be beaten, and a professor can entice a student to prefer one philosophy over the others. These incidents demonstrate how easily influenced humans are, especially when they do not pay attention. Since the results can be severe, it is important for individuals to learn and recognize the various methods used to exploit them. During my research, I came across at least four methods which are frequently practiced: â€Å"Door-in-the-Face Technique,† â€Å"Foot-in-the-Door Technique,† â€Å"That’s-Not-All Technique†, and â€Å"Expertise† The first one I†¦show more content†¦When the shopper denies this outrageous proposal, the merchant then draws attention to a more reasonably-priced product. S/he hopes the consumer will feel guilty about th eir prior rejection and will thus agree to their new alleged compromise (Taylor, Peplau, Sears, 2006). When Matt learned that I was looking for a pair of earrings, he presented me with a pair that cost over two hundred dollars. After I informed him that I only need a cheap replacement pair, he showed me a pair for only forty dollars. While forty dollars was still out of my budget range, Matt’s actions clearly demonstrate the Door-in-the-Face technique. Despite this, I was not persuaded, but annoyed. His persistence actually incited me to resist his efforts. I recognize that this aggravation may have been caused by my familiarity with the strategies of salesmen. Still, I would not have continued to drop the prices. Instead, I would have attempted another technique. The second approach I stumbled upon during my field experience is often linked to door-to-door salesmen. It is called the â€Å"Foot-in-the-Door Technique† (Williams, Psychology 302 lecture, October 6, 201 0). During the evening of October 22, 2010, my mother and I journeyed to K-Mart under the illusion of searching for a jewelry present for my grandmother. K-Mart is much like Wal-Mart with its tall narrow aisles and variety of services. It offers services ranging from a pharmacy to a fast-foodShow MoreRelatedSURVIVING IN TODAY’S JOB MARKET Essay1340 Words   |  6 Pagesspotted by a recruiter. Business Week reports that 87% of recruiters use the on-line social networks for spotting candidates for jobs they represent. Pursuing jobs that match the skills you enjoy using will more ensure you like your new position. Most skills can be applied in multiple tasks. For example, I taught school, did management training for a corporation, consulted with a retail chain designing a Human Resource Department, and provided seminars for the public. 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Part IV Condensed Version Free Essays

As an overview, Cleanthes is described as a philosopher that has a calm disposition. Demea is the one more concerned in the cause of religion. Philo is the arbiter or mediator between the ideas presented by Cleanthes and Demea. We will write a custom essay sample on Part IV: Condensed Version or any similar topic only for you Order Now Cleanthes was wondering why Demea was insisting that the Deity had no resemblance to humans in terms of human mind and understanding. For Cleanthes, the Deity has powers that humans cannot comprehend, for that is its nature––unexplainable. Though incomprehensible, Cleanthes recognized the Deity as a supreme being. Cleanthes also questioned Demea what was the difference of those who believed in the Deity and those who were Sceptics or Atheists. Atheists believed that the first cause of all was an unknown being. Atheists do not recognize the existence of a Deity. Atheists have boldness. Not only they had rejected the production by a mind, they also pretend to assign intelligible cause. Demea replied and commented that Cleanthes had presented his thoughts concerning the Deity with criticism instead of reasoning. Demea presented the comparison between the Deity and humans since Cleanthes said that the Deity is similar to the way humans think and understand. A human mind is filled with ideas, feelings, passions, and different faculties. And the human mind varies from one person to another. Though they vary from one another, the ideas they presented have form or order. The Deity has a perfect nature. He is able to see into the past, into the present, and into the future. Also, unlike the human mind that can change from one instance to another, the Deity has a fixed and firmed decision. The presence of the Deity is felt by those who believe in it. He is present everywhere, unlike humans who can only exist in one place at a certain point in time. Cleanthes again commented based on Demea’s words. With the way Demea explained, Cleanthes said that those â€Å"who maintain the perfect simplicity of the Supreme Being† were considered Atheists, yet they were unaware of it. For if we recognized the existence of the Deity, and since we know that his characteristics are incomprehensible, humans must give the Deity the respect he deserves. As humans, it is but natural to give due respect to the Deity. However, humans who do not give due respect to the Deity are diverging to the accustomed way of the Deity’s nature. It all bois down to human mind and the way it perceives things. Those who do not respect the Deity have restricted their minds to think of ways to give glory to the Deity. A mind that thinks with simplicity cannot think of creative reasoning and normally inclined to what is common, or to something that has no uniqueness at all. Demea chose to believe in the â€Å"perfect simplicity† of the Deity. The way we defined simplicity does not describe the true nature of the Deity, for the Deity’s mind definitely does not think simply. Same with humans, the Deity’s way of thinking is complicated yet creative. Philo, upon hearing the exchange of ideas between Cleanthes and Demea, argued that in order to know â€Å"the cause of that Being whom you suppose the Author of Nature,† they could judge the matter by reason or by experience. With reasoning we are able to explain the cause of every idea we thought of. We explain things based on reasoning that involves a whole lot of mind thinking. With experience we are able to explain the cause based on what we had experienced or what others had experienced. And because experience differs from one person to another, no two individual can think exactly alike. In reasoning, the mental world and the material world both need a cause. In experience, the material world is much easier to comprehend than the mental world because the material world is tangible unlike the mental world or the world of ideas. Philo continued to argue that in order to understand the cause of the Author of Nature why not consider focusing on the present material world. What is beyond the material world is vague and unknown. It is like saying to be contended on what we presently know about the Deity or God and do not worry ourselves on what is incomprehensible to us. The most important is that we know that there is a God. Philo added that some philosophers were ignorant and yet they disguised to know explanation to some matters. Such philosophers were called Peripatetics they would reason out and yet they were not really knowledgeable of the matter. They took advantage of those who were unaware of the matter. The matter on having an order in the ideas of the Supreme Being was an example. Some philosophers explained that having order is just one of the natures of the Deity. Cleanthes commented that Philo’s arguments were easy to answer. Cleanthes gave an example that if he were assigned cause for an event, would there be a problem if he could not tell the cause of that cause? For Cleanthes, knowing the Deity is the most important. He had stopped his inquiries and settled on the fact that there is a Deity. He did not push to knowing the cause or the order of the ideas of the Deity. For him, the existence of the Deity is what is more important. Believing on this fact is already enough. He would not busy himself on discovering what else should be known about the Deity. However, Cleanthes also said that those who would want to know what is beyond the existence of a Deity may do so. Philo said that he pretended not to be like Cleanthes who stopped thinking what lies ahead or what is beyond the existence of the Deity. Philo also pretended not to be like those who go and explore beyond to inquiry more of the existence of the Deity. Philo said he should have not attempted to expound on his arguments. Philo stressed that naturalists, with regard to the matter about the Deity, normally explain their ideas by giving out general causes. How to cite Part IV: Condensed Version, Papers

Nisa The Life And Words Of Kung Woman By Marjorie Shostak Essay Example For Students

Nisa The Life And Words Of Kung Woman By Marjorie Shostak Essay In this paper I am going to discuss the book Nisa The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman, by Marjorie Shostak. In doing this I will describe the culture of the !Kung people, a small hunter-gatherer tribe in Africa. Then I will go on with telling about their sociocultural systems that I have read about in this book. To rap things up I will tell my prediction where the !Kung population is headed into the future. I will use explanations from the book to help me describe my prediction. !Kung culture is a very simple culture. The norms in this society are hard to define; norms are shared rules that define how people are supposed to behave under certain circumstances. Take marriage for example In the book Nisa explains how a women can marry more than once in her lifetime, a !Kung girl is actually married several times before she stays with one man. These appeared to me as trial marriages, the women are too young to want the marriage and usually are the ones to end it. Even after long marriage involving children things such as death and divorce/ separation occur and a woman finds a new husband. So as you can see the norms in the !Kung culture are much different than that of our own norms. Even when marriage is involved the idea of having lovers was not shunned. Although some women do not engage in this act, it is a very common thing among the !Kung. The norm here is to have a lover to keep that young playful and loving attraction alive with someone, even after things have began to settle with your husband. Nisa explains, ?Even my mother had lovers. Id be with her when she met them. But my father, if he had them, I didnt know She recalls many situations like this, as do most !Kung children. ?I remember, when I was still small, seeing my mother with one man. He met her, took her, and made love to her. I sat nearby and waited. When she came back carrying firewood, I thought, ?I am going to tell!? Then I thought, ?Should I tell Daddy or shouldnt I But when we arrived back at the village, I didnt say anything. I thought if I told, my father would kill my mother.? Most children fear their fathers beatings, therefore, will not tell on their mothers. Values, standards by which a society defines what is desirable and undesirable, in !Kung society mainly involve things dealing with sex. The sex they value is not the same sex that our society views it. It is not about looks or big breasts or broad shoulders. They place no value on looks, although Nisa does comment on good-looking people, there is no comments made directly towards ugly people. They do not emphasize on peoples bad looks; therefore, they do not have to feel self conscious of their looks. When derogatory comments are made its about peoples genitals. Once when she was too young to have sex she would decline sex play by saying, ?You, Tuma, youve got an enormous penis! I dont want to be with someone like that!? He said, ? Were going to play and have sex with Big-Vagina over there.? He meant me.? The y used this as a way of insulting each other. When it comes to sex having big genitals is a bad thing, therefore, the values in the society are much different from our own. The socialization/ enculturation process of a new !Kung child starts at day one. Enculturation is the process of social interaction through which people learn their culture. When the mother is feeling well enough after the birth, which is usually a few days or as soon as the milk comes in, the baby will go gathering with the mother. That there involves a large part of the culture of everyday life. Although not much is expected of the !Kung children their curiosity makes up for it. Children are willing and eager to learn to hunt and gather, as do the adults. Young males are able to learn about hunting by following their fathers on a hunt. They carefully watch their fathers hunt and learn from them the skills to make a good kill, although some experience is necessary. So from day one the child is taught the norms, values, and beliefs of the society. .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c , .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c .postImageUrl , .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c , .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c:hover , .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c:visited , .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c:active { border:0!important; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c:active , .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u0523be7e922037e47a28c3b365edfc7c:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Indians Of The United States Essay Social structure, the sum of the patterns of relationships within a society, as presented in Nisa shows that much goes into a society. The only recognized status, a recognized position that a person occupies within a society, is that men actually go out and hunt for food. Both women and men gather food, but the men actually organize hunts. All !Kung people are equal and even when it comes to the religious healers men and women are equal, although most healers are men. Even down to raising children both sexes are equally involved. This keeps the society equal, there is no headman to make a ruling, and everyone has an opportunity to have the same chances. In families the mother and father have equal roles. They both provide food and they both support their children. Their decisions about their children are always equal, although it seems that the mother gets the final say in what the final decisions are. The men on the other hand often beat their wives if they feel it is needed. One time after her husband caught her with a lover her lover was beat, then hours later she was beat. She describes, ?When he finished, he came back again, grabbed my arm, and hit me?my back, my body, all over. He hit me until my back started to swell again and it stood out, as before. The headman said ?Enough! Youll kill her.? In most cases if the beating gets too bad and out of hand others in the village step in and stop the husband, in this case it is the headman of her husbands tribe. So in a way each gender has his or her own kind of power. The religious trance dances are taken very seriously, and religion is a large part of !Kung culture. In some cases it is a matter of life and death. Both men and women have the chance to become a healer and enter trance. When you first learn how to go into a trance a drug is taken to induce trance. Women feel that this is very painful and in turn dont want to become healers. Also it is considered bad for you to trance while you are either pregnant or breast-feeding, which makes it difficult for women to be healers. But they still do it and can if they want to. Most trance dances are healing ones and last anywhere from one to five days. They report that they talk to God to ask for a persons soul back. The !Kung truly believe that this works, unless the God wont give the soul back. Then the ill person dies soon after the trance. Being a healer would be considered an achieved status, a status that results at least in part from a persons specific actions. ?Interceding with the spirits and drawing out their invisible arrows is the task of !Kung healers, men and women who possess the powerful healing force called n/um. N/um generally remains dormant in a healer until an effort is made to activate it.? Shostak explains what the meaning of n/um. Nisa tells about the healing experience, ?N/um is powerful, but it is also very tricky. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesnt, because God doesnt always want a sick person to get better. Sometimes he tells a healer in trance, ?Today I want this sick person. Tomorrow, too. But the next day, if you try to cure her, then I will help you. I will let you have her for awhile.? God watches the sick person, and the healer trances for her. Finally, God says, ?All right, I only made her slightly sick. Now, she can get up.? When she feels better, she thinks, ?Oh, if this healer hadnt been here, I would have surely died. Hes given me my life back again. Thats n/um?a very helpful thing.? ?I know how to cure people to drum-medicine songs. An elderly uncle taught me a few years ago. He struck me with spiritual medicine arrows; thats how everyone starts. Now when the drum starts sounding, ?dong? dong? dong,? my n/um grabs me. Thats when I can cure people and make them better.? As said by Nisa. .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae , .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae .postImageUrl , .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae , .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae:hover , .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae:visited , .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae:active { border:0!important; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae:active , .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ufd247823de79d7ccb262342c8f652eae:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Ernest Hemingway Essay PaperTrances dont seem as important anymore since the !Kung culture has been entered by different tribes. When Shostak was doing her research the !Kung people would go to her for things such as tobacco and medicine. Nisa goes to get her husband and niece medicine because she thought a trance dance would not help them. The !Kung culture has started to diminish in this sense. More and more people have begun to live on their land and have the !Kung work for them. This is pulling them away from their hunting and gathering background. The older people such as Nisa choose to stay in the bush and stick to the old way of life, but the younger !Kung has begun to go to school and make money. If this continues to happen the !Kung culture will become extinct. ?Working for the Hereros isnt good. I wont do it again you dont get enough for your work. They only give you food. They dont give you money to buy blankets or clothing.? Nisa feels the other tribes cheat her. In conclusion I feel that the !Kung culture is very endanger of becoming extinct. We can find out a lot of things from these people. Life does not need to be so complicated as we now have it. Once they have become industrialized there is no going back to the simple bush life. They will soon forget what it foods are good, what game in near by and how to survive against predators. So my theory is that they will loose the innocence of their simple bush life, and eventually become more industrialized. BibliographyWorks Cited1. Shostak, Marjorie, Nisa The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman, 1981, Harvard University Press, Cambridge , Massachusetts 2. DeCourse, Christopher R., Scupin, Raymond, Anthropology a Global Perspective, 1998, Prentice-Hall Inc., Upper Saddle River, New JerseyBook Reports

Unbearable Ecstasy, Reverence and Awe, and the Perpetuation of an Aesthetic Conflict Essay Example

Unbearable Ecstasy, Reverence and Awe, and the Perpetuation of an Aesthetic Conflict Essay In this paper, I will attempt to explicate and discuss some aspects of Frances Tustins concept of the unbearable ecstasy of at-one-ment emphasizing her attentiveness to the importance of the containing function of the mother with regard to this elemental experience; Meltzers notion of the aesthetic conflict; and Bions important and original distinction between reverence and awe and defensive idealization as each of these specific themes separately and in combination have some essential bearing upon the provocation or mitigation of envy, the process of introjection, the development of both healthy and pathological internal object relations, and the resultant nature of the super-ego and individual self-esteem. I hope to be able to demonstrate how these concepts overlap, intersect, and modify one another perhaps reflecting the personal and professional intersection between these three clinicians and their profound impact on my thinking. Toward this end, I will offer clinical case material, both as a background for and an illustration of the phenomena described, as well as certain conclusions, which may have some impact upon our attitude and technique in psychoanalysis. To begin with, I would like to present a clinical vignette from the analysis of a patient, whom I will call Jessica, as an introduction to and background for the theoretical discussion which follows. Jessica (Clinical Material Omitted Here) We will write a custom essay sample on Unbearable Ecstasy, Reverence and Awe, and the Perpetuation of an Aesthetic Conflict specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Unbearable Ecstasy, Reverence and Awe, and the Perpetuation of an Aesthetic Conflict specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Unbearable Ecstasy, Reverence and Awe, and the Perpetuation of an Aesthetic Conflict specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Aesthetic Conflict I was re-minded of Jessicas experience while reading Donald Meltzers paper (Meltzer Williams, 1988) on what he terms the aesthetic conflict. In that paper, Meltzer states: It has probably escaped no-ones attention that the percentage of beautiful mothers recorded in the course of psycho-analysis far exceeds the national average and that this appellation clearly refers back to childhood impressions often completely out of keeping with later more objective judgments by the patients of their middle-aged parent (p.8-9). Here Meltzer prompts our consideration of the possibility that the view of the beautiful mother, often presented by patients in analysis, harkens back to some early proto-aesthetic experience; one that is however not without conflict. Rocked in the cradle of the deep of his mothers graceful walk; lulled by the music of her voice set against the syncopation of his own heart-beat and hers; responding in dance like a little seal, playful as a puppy. But moments of anxiety, short of fetal distress, may also transmit itself through heart-beat, rigidity, trembling, jarring movements; perhaps a coital activity may be disturbing rather than enjoyable, perhaps again dependent on the quality of maternal emotion; maternal fatigue may transmit itself by loss of postural tone and graceless movement (p.17). In this passage Meltzer indicates that the baby knows its mother inside and out as both the bad and the beautiful and is impacted on a sensual level by each of her physical, mental, and emotional qualities even before its birth. This notion reverberates with findings from current fetal observation (Mancia 1981; Piontelli 1985, 1987, 1988, 1992a, 1992b), psychoanalytic/clinical inference (Bion 1976/1987,1977a; Freud 1926; Hansen 1994; Maiello 1995; Mitrani 1996; Osterweil 1990; Paul 1981, 1989, 1990; Share 1994), and imaginative conjecture (Bion 1979). Indeed Meltzer purports that . . . every baby knows from experience that his mother has an inside world, a world where he has dwelled and from whence he has been expelled or escaped, depending on his point of view (p.21), and he goes on to posit that, after birth: The ordinary devoted mother presents to her ordinary beautiful baby a complex object of overwhelming interest, both sensual and infra-sensual. Her outward beauty . . . bombards him with an emotional experience of a passionate quality, the result of his being able to see [her] as beautiful. But the meaning of his mothers behavior, of the appearance and disappearance of the breast and of the light in her eyes, of a face over which emotions pass like the shadows of clouds over the landscape, are unknown to him (p.22). Meltzer seems to suggest here that mother is an enigma to her baby. The baby may have known her, and yet perhaps shaken by the impressive caesura of the act of birth (Freud 1926) it has suddenly become uncertain of what it knows. Is she a beauty or the beast? When Meltzer proposes that This is the aesthetic conflict, which can be most precisely stated in terms of the aesthetic impact of the outside of the beautiful mother available to the senses, and the enigmatic inside which must be construed by creative imagination (p.22, italic mine). it seems that he is implying that the babys sensory experience of the beautiful (good) mother must be confirmed by what the baby finds inside the mother, and that the babys experience of the mothers inner world her mood, her emotional and mental life, her attitudes about herself and her baby is colored by creative imagination, i.e., by its own phantasies via the process of projective identification. However further along, Meltzer appends the above conclusion, submitting that the baby must wait like Kafkas K for decisions from the castle of his mothers inner world (p.22). With this addition, it would seem he is suggesting and, I believe, is correct in doing so that it is not just the babys creative imagination that imbues the inside of the mother and the babys pre- and postnatal experience of her with meaning, since, as he so astutely observes, the baby must derive its cues from the mothers conscious and unconscious communications; that is, the baby must wait for its mother to confirm its greatest hopes or its gravest fears. To put it another way, the baby asks: how does mother view/experience herself? and it must anxiously await the answer from its mother. I believe that the babys question and the mothers answer together constitute one aspect of the type of reality testing that Melanie Klein (1975) referred to as the means by which the baby finds validation for the enduring existence of the good breast, the good internal object, and the good experience it represents. An example of this type of reality testing, and the consequences of a distorted message being received from the castle of the mothers inner world, may be seen in the following material from the four times per week analysis of another patient whom I will refer to as Carla. Carla (Clinical Material Omitted Here) Lara (Clinical Material Omitted Here) Reverence and Awe versus Idealization In a paper read at a scientific meeting of the Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Society in 1967, Bion (1992) described an encounter with one patient who came to him after a previous analysis from which he had benefited, but with which he was nonetheless dissatisfied. At first Bion expected to find greed at the bottom of this patients distress, but it soon became clear to him that there was something else going on. Bion described his patients outpourings, which were so fragmented that they would have required an omniscient analyst to sort out and make sense of (p.289). Bions interpretations were either labeled brilliant or they were met with extreme disappointment and hostility to the point of depression. He finally concluded that: There is a great difference between idealization of a parent because the child is in despair, and idealization because the child is in search of an outlet for feelings of reverence and awe. In the latter instance the problem centers on frustration and the inability to tolerate frustration of a fundamental part of a particular patients make-up. This is likely to happen if the patient is capable of love and admiration to an outstanding degree; in the former instance the patient may have no particular capacity for affection but a great greed to be its recipient. The answer to the question which is it ? will not be found in any textbook but only in the process of psycho-analysis itself (p.292). In his customary style, Bion avoids saturating his concepts, leaving them somewhat ambiguous, and thus allowing us the freedom to use our own capacity for imaginative conjecture to fill in the blanks, so to speak. I will yield to the temptation to do so with the understanding that the reader may draw his or her own conclusions, which may very well differ from my own. I think Bion seems to be saying that, in this instance, he had met with a patient for whom Kleins theory of envy did not apply. Indeed he seems to be making it clear that he did not see his patients disappointment and hostility as constituting an attack on the good breast or the analysts good interpretations. Neither did he seem to see the patients fragmented presentation as the result of an envious attack on thinking or on the links that might have rendered his communications meaningful and relevant (Bion 1959). Instead, Bion appears to conclude that his patient was attempting to have an experience of an object who might be able to understand and transform the inchoate experiences of the as-yet-unintegrated-baby-he and was therefore seeking the realization of his preconception of an object who can contain these experiences as well as his innate capacity for love, reverence, and awe. I would put forward here that the containing capacity, initially found and felt to be located in this type of external object when introjected leads to the development of an internal object capable of sustaining and bearing feelings of ecstasy and love; an object that might form the basis of the patients own self-esteem. This aim certainly calls for an analyst who truly thinks well enough of himself and his own goodness that he is not dependent upon the goodness and cooperativeness of the patient in order for such a positive self-perception to be confirmed, and in order for him to continue to function analytically. Discussion with Frances Tustin During one of my final conversations with Frances Tustin (1994), with whom I enjoyed a close personal and professional relationship for over a decade, we had the opportunity to discuss this distinction, which Bion makes between the manic defense of idealization and the healthy striving to be in contact with an object deserving of reverence and awe. Prior to this time, Tustin had never read nor had she been aware of the existence of this paper of Bions, which I chanced to bring to her attention in the following way. When we were together in England, just one month before her death, I knew that Frances had little time to live and I wanted to express to her in most explicit terms how much her work had affected me. I wished to do this partly out of my own need to show my gratitude toward her this one last time. However, I also felt the need to reassure her, since she seemed to be plagued by a fear that she had not contributed enough, that what she had contributed would soon be lost or forgotten, or that it would have no effect on anyone after her death. When I told Frances how profoundly she had helped and inspired me in my thinking and practice as an analyst, she demurred, as if she felt I was in danger of idealizing her. She said that I gave her much too much credit for [my] good work and hard-won success, and she heaped upon me many other compliments that, although sincere, left me feeling somewhat rejected. Suddenly I felt a headache coming on, and my good spirits faded. When Frances noticed my mood had changed, she asked what the trouble was. I was quite candid with her about what I had felt and about what had followed, and said that I hoped she would be more mindful of the way she handled peoples gratitude for and admiration of her. After recounting my experience and those of the patients discussed in this paper, we talked over how she herself had stressed the idea that the ecstasy of at-one-ment (Tustin 1981) could only be borne if it were adequately contained by the mother herself (p.224-6). In the most primitive states of mind, beauty is associated with moments of bodily completeness in which there is an experience of ecstatic fusion with the earth-mother (Tustin, 1981/1992). If left uncontained, such ecstasy might be experienced as a dangerous overflow of bodily excitement equated with a devastating sense of two-ness (p.106), too much to be borne in mind, perhaps disintegrating into a painful if not unbearable somatic agony. When the beautiful experience of at-one-ment is unable to be kept in mind, not only does it leak out and dissolve in its antithesis the ugly tantrum of two-ness but the baby is now doomed to an eternal despairing search for that ever-present auto-sensual bit needed to flesh out its exp erience of being. We went on to talk at length about the relationship of the experience of ecstasy to that of the beautiful mother refered to both by Meltzer (1988) and by Winnicott (1945), as well as about Bions ideas regarding reverence and awe. We both knew that I was having difficulty facing the impending loss of her friendship and support, and that I was chafing at the prospect of her death. However it seemed to us in that moment that even more salient was my need to secure in our last contact her aid in containing all of my love and gratitude for her. Some Conclusions In part, as a result of that last conversation with Tustin, I have arrived at the conclusion that the resolution of what Meltzer called the aesthetic conflict might be predicated, at least in part, upon the capacity of the mother to contain the babys reverence and awe of her, along with her own capacity for tolerating her babys hatred, envy, and terror of loss. This may prove clinically crucial when we consider the process of internalization or introjection by the patient of the analyst and his/her functioning which is essential to insure a successful treatment. It might be said that the apprehension of beauty (Meltzer 1988) is linked to the existence at the core of the inner sphere of the personality of a container, not just for our painful experiences, but for those joyful ones as well; a containing object with the capacity to endure not just our feelings of hatred toward the object (and therefore toward the self), but one that is enduring of and resonating with those loving feelings felt toward the perceived external object, one in which the capacity for realistic self-love and esteem are rooted. As Kahlil Gibran wisely wrote in The Prophet : And a poet said, Speak to us of Beauty. And he answered: Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide? And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech? (1923/1976, p. 74) It must not escape our awareness that our capacity to love and therefore to forgive ourselves depends largely upon the way in which our loving feelings have been dealt with, accepted, and validated by an other. It seems when all is said and done that we are limited in part in our capacity for self-esteem by the limitations of our parents capacity (and later our analysts) to contain and therefore confirm our feelings of reverence and awe. I believe that herein lie several technical implications of enormous import. For example, we must consider that if we interpret the patients genuine reverence and awe of us (when we are felt as truly good objects) as a defensive idealization (as if we were instead being experienced as bad objects) perhaps out of some rigidly inappropriate adherence to our theories we will fail in our function as a container (Bion, 1977b) for experiences of true goodness, and consequently this essential internal function will fail to develop in the patient. Instead, the Super ego (Bion 1962, p.97) will be augmented and its devastating effects intensified, where forgiveness and the striving for life might otherwise healthfully prevail. Additionally, the development of an enduring faith in the existence of goodness and beauty, with increasing hope for their apprehension, will be stultified. When hopefulness perishes, nagging doubts about the goodness of the object and therefore about the worthiness of the self perpetuate in spite of repeated proofs of such goodness and worthiness. Moreover, increased envy and defensive idealization will proliferate hyperbolically (Mitrani 1993). As analysts we need to realize that the degree of our awareness of our strengths and limitations, and the extent of our willingness and ability to consider, to accurately evaluate, and to acknowledge to ourselves the impact of the messages we send to the baby-in-the-analysand from the castle of our inner world are crucial factors in providing an emotional experience for the patient that serves to mend old wounds and facilitate new growth.

Free Essays on Prisoner On Prisoner Crimes

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Sociology of community Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit - Essay Example This paper will examine how housing segregation, workplace discrimination and deindustrialization combined over a period of slightly more than twenty five years to fuel one of the most destructive acts of civil disturbance in the country's history and contribute to the city's slow, painful decline. Naturally, the origins of this "urban crisis" can be traced back before World War II. But race riots in 1943 and 1967 provide a convenient frame for the phenomena Sugrue attributes to Detroit's decline. The people of Detroit, black and white, who became the major players in this modern tragedy largely came to the city in the Great Migration between 1916 and 1929, with a later influx during and just after WWII. Oddly enough, the racial conflicts the author describes were not carried to the city by migrants from the South eager to install Jim Crow laws in the North; instead, as Sugrue argues, "The racial politics were thoroughly homegrown" (212). Attached as they were to the personal factors of job availability and home ownership, the city's destructive racial politics can also be laid at the door of the American Dream -- and to other American Dreamers who could not or would not be persuaded to share. However, Sugrue is careful to point out that federal, state and local policies and po litics, including measures meant to enforce equality, helped in no small measure to further divide black and white Detroiters by race, class and employment status. Signs of trouble in Detroit were visible long before the riots of the late '60s, or the election of Mayor Coleman Young, or the gas crisis and the resulting American automotive industry crisis of the 1970s. Even as Detroit boomed from the industrial mobilization of WWII and the auto-driven economic expansion afterward, pervasive discrimination in the workplace and the housing market along strict racial lines thwarted sustained economic prosperity for the thousands of African Americans. Detroit and other major Northern cities went, as Sugrue describes, "from magnets of opportunity to reservations for the poor" (4) for reasons largely misunderstood or ignored, even by historians and social observers, who often seem to blame the victims or the federal aid programs of the Great Society and the War on Poverty. Instead, Sugrue also argues, it was New Deal policies and how they were applied by state and local politicians that helped ignite not black militancy, but a pervasive and radical " whiteness" that resisted equality for blacks in the workplace and the housing market as their God- and state-given right. Detroit, though examined as a case study applicable to other cities as well, is atypical in many ways that may have served to make bad situations worse. It was heavily reliant on the automotive and related industries, and lacked a significant presence of other racial minorities (13). Its ethnic communities, largely different European groups, quickly merged into a cohesive, blue-collar, home-owning "white American" culture by the 1920s, one bolstered frequently through independent union shops and churches that bucked larger social trends toward equality and civil rights. Even during the Depression years, Detroit's industrial economy chugged on, immortally captured in the epic murals of painter Diego Rivera. When WWII demanded a quick industrial mobilization, Detroit was ready physically; despite the association with the automobile, more than 40

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ICIMOD has facebook (http://www.facebook.com/icimod) and twitter (http://www.twitter.com/icimod) for sharing news, events and other information; and youtube (http://www.youtube.com/icimod) for sharing short videos. These tools will help people interested in/about ICIMOD, to keep themselves updated on the activities of ICIMOD in an efficient way, and at the same time they can share the ICIMOD updates further with their networks. Security threats to IT system, time spent by staff and individuals in social networking are considered as major drawbacks of the social media whereas rapid sharing of information is considered as the advantage. Despite the drawbacks, social media is gaining more and more popularity among companies, organisations and individuals for sharing information so dont be surprised if you see the social networking ID in the business card you receive from your business client or your friend, people are already using one in their websites.

Impact of Globalisation on the Music Industry Essay -- Globalization E

Define and explain globalisation, then critically evaluate and illustrate the impact globalisation has had on a particular business, the industry it operates in, its country of origin and the country or countries the business has expanded into. In this paper I will be discussing how globalisation has impacted the Music Industry in recent years, and in particular the multi-national giant Universal Music Group (UMG). Globalisation is a noun that is hard to define; it has many definitions depending on which scholar you talk to, which dictionary you reference, and the viewpoint you take. The Oxford dictionary will tell you that globalisation is â€Å"the process by which businesses or other organisations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale† (Definition of globalization in English). People’s perspectives on defining the word vary depending on the place they were born, where they have lived, the religion they follow, their social status, political ideology, cultural background and wealth, amongst other things, because all of these will affect whether they view globalisation to be a positive or negative occurrence. My favourite definition comes from Kenichi Ochmae; a Japanese organisational theorist most recognised for introducing Japanese management methods, such as the just-in-time method of production, to the Western world. In 1992, Ochmae said that globalisation is the â€Å"onset of the borderless world† (Al-Rodhan, 2006). This is my preferred explanation of globalisation because it is so simple to digest. From the phrase â€Å"borderless world† alone you can begin to understand exactly what globalisation is all about, however the simplicity of this definition is also its downfall because it is very non... ...ndi, a Paris-based multi-national who in 2012 declined an offer of 8.5 billion US$ for the company from SoftBank (Staff, 2013). Universal Music Group operates in over 60 countries across the world – with its corporate headquarters located in Santa Monica (California) and Broadway (New York City) (FAQ's, 2014). The firm owns many hugely successful record labels including Deutsche Grammophon Capitol Records, Decca, Def Jam Recordings, EMI Records, Interscope Records, Island Records, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Polydor Records, Republic Records, Virgin Records and many more. This puts them is an extremely fortunate position in the music industry because they own many back catalogues of artists who have experienced huge fame and have the ability to attract new talented artists because of their history and the prestige linked to the names of the labels they own.

Why a President Must Persuade

According to Richard E. Neustadt, ‘The power of the American president is to persuade. ’ I am going to analyse this statement in my essay, by answering why a president must persuade, looking at the relationship between the president and government, giving examples of when persuasion has worked and when it hasn’t, focusing on other ways the president can influence and finally ending with a conclusion. Firstly, why is it important for the president to persuade? The power to persuade is seen as an informal power as it is not clearly expressed in the constitution. It is important as presidents need to persuade other branches of government to influence policy; they even have to do this in their own branch (the executive) e. g. influencing cabinet secretaries. Due to all the branches of government, it means that power is dispersed and concentrated in different places; this can make it complex for the president to exert his own influence especially if there are opponents. Without the support of the Senate or the House of Representatives the president has only slight power, due to the checks and balances imposed on the president, power is reduced. Persuasion needs to take place in order to influence all sectors of the government so they can facilitate their policies, this supports the conception that the power of the American president is to persuade. Where has persuasion worked? When Bush was justifying the Iraq war, Colin Powell spoke in his favour and he furthered bi-partisanship with Democrats, who was the opposing party at the time. By showing this alliance, it meant that policies would have no problem going through Congress (reducing deadlock), this supports Neustadt. Where persuasion has not worked? An example was when President Eisenhower failed to persuade a governor. At the time were African-American students were not allowed in a school, which lead to a Supreme Court case (Brown vs. The Board of Education) and it resulted to the students being allowed to attend. Sadly, the governor did not agree and so Eisenhower had a meeting with him and failed to persuade him to allow them to attend, this showed that Eisenhower was not even good at persuading those in his own government, showing he was a ‘weak’ president. If persuasion is not acquired, it means that power is reduced, which reflects how the president is portrayed. For the president to be persuasive they must be charismatic and have the ability to influence the voters and those who can make their legislative goals happen. If a president has the ability to influence then it shows great leadership. Neustadt focuses on three traits a president must have to be successful: having the power to persuade, a good professional reputation and public prestige, with all these components put together they would be seen as a strong president. Professional representation, the term Neustadt used was ‘Washingtonians’ who are people in government (governors, military leaders, congress etc). The better the reputation of the president, the easier they will find it to negotiate, pass legislation and implement policy. I mentioned earlier that power is dispersed everywhere due to the separation of powers, meaning that it could be possible that someone may have great power and influence other than the president, which can be a problem for the president this means he must always be aware of them.

The Brenner Debate

The Brenner Debate The development of capitalism has often been discussed by historians who focus on the factors that could lead to the decline of the feudal society and emergence of the new socio-economic system. Much attention should be paid to the so-called Brenner debate because this discussion can throw light on various models that can explain the transformation of European societies.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Brenner Debate specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This debate revolves around the claims made by Robert Brenner who emphasizes the idea that new class and property relations resulted in the development of capitalism. In turn, this debate is critically evaluated by other historians. On the whole, it is possible to argue that a single approach cannot account for the dramatic transformation that different countries underwent. Much attention should be paid to the arguments advanced by Guy Bois who combines the elements o f the demographic and class models. On the whole, it is vital to focus on such factors as the property relations between various economic agents, demographic trends, as well as the increase in the productivity. These are the main issues that should be examined in great detail. It is possible to examine the arguments put forward by Robert Brenner who argues that the transformation of European societies can be explained primarily by the changing class structures1. In his opinion, much attention should be paid to the property relations. The capitalist system of production could emerge provided that economic agents such as peasants could secure their property rights. This privilege can be viewed as a good incentive for increasing the volume of production. One should keep in mind that Robert Brenner rejects the demographic model according to which social and economic breakthrough were driven by population fluctuations. It is vital to remember that demographic patterns could significantly affect wages and the demand for products. However, this model does not explain the differences in the socio-economic development of various countries. These are the main points that Robert Brenner makes. Overall, his work stimulated additional research on this topic. The validity of these claims should be discussed more closely. Some of Brenner’s arguments are supported by other historians. For instance, it is possible to mention to mention Guy Bois who also examines the limitations of the demographic model2. In his opinion, this approach to the socio-economic development is too deterministic, and it cannot reflect the decisions of separate people. Moreover, this framework lays too much stress on such a factor as the struggle for resources.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Nevertheless, Guy Bois mentions that Brenner underestimates the importance of such a facto r as productivity. In particular, he notes that the increase in productivity led to the surplus of goods. More importantly, this factor contributed to the intensification of trade between and within communities. In this case, one should not speak only about the adoption of new technologies. One should also pay much attention to the way in which labor was organized. To a great extent, this view of the formation of capitalism is supported by Rodney Hilton3 who focuses on the pre-requisites for the development of the new socio-economic system. In his view, the differences in the productivity led to the accumulation of capital and the development of new institutions. This is why this notion should not be overlooked. It should be mentioned that other historians such as Postan and Hatcher argue that Robert Brenner lays too much stress on political power of different economic agents. Nevertheless, one should not overlook the influence of such factors as inheritance customs or attitudes to innovation, or military confrontations4. The main argument is that the economic stagnation of the feudal societies can be attributed to a diverse set of factors. Moreover, one should not suppose that the influence of demographic trends can be easily measured with the help of exiting research methods that require the study of quantitative data. The main problem is that these data are not always available to scholars. Additionally, historians such as Emmanuel Ladurie5 argue that the bargaining power of peasants can be explained by the population trends. In particular, the surplus of labor could strengthen the position of landlords. In the long-term, these trends could result in the formation of serfdom. This is why the validity of the demographic model cannot be fully rejected. Demographic trends are vital for showing how the bargaining power of different economic agents could change. For instance, the decline of the population could increase the wages of servants, as a result; these people could have more opportunities for accumulating capital. Similarly, the increasing population could contribute to increasing demand for various goods. Thus, the demographic model should not be disregarded. Overall, the socio-economic advance to capitalism cannot be attributed to only one factor such as new property relations or the changing demographic patterns. The development of the new political and economic system is not a deterministic process that can be easily predicted.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Brenner Debate specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More More likely, researchers should pay attention to such factors as class relations, new forms of property, demographic trends, and the changes in the productivity. Robert Brenner’s views on the formation of capitalism are important because they can show how the bargaining power of producers could increase with time passing. These are the main detail s that can be singled out. Bibliography Bois, Guy. â€Å"Against the Neo-Malthusian Orthodoxy.† In The Brenner Debate, edited by Trevor Aston and Charles Philpin, 107-119. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Brenner, Robert. â€Å"Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre- Industrial Europe.† In The Brenner Debate, edited by Trevor Aston and Charles Philpin, 10-64. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Hilton, Rodney. â€Å"A Crisis of Feudalism.† In The Brenner Debate, edited by Trevor Aston and Charles Philpin, 119-138. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Ladurie, Emmanuel. â€Å"A Reply to Robert Brenner.† In The Brenner Debate, edited by Trevor Aston and Charles Philpin, 101-107. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Postan, Michael and John Hatcher. â€Å"Population and Class Relations in Feudal Society.† In The Brenner Debate, edited by Trevor Aston and Charles Philpin, 64-79. Cambridge: Cambridg e University Press, 1985. Footnotes 1 Robert Brenner, â€Å"Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre- Industrial Europe,† in The Brenner Debate, ed. Trevor Aston and Charles Philpin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 30.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More 2 Guy Bois, â€Å"Against the Neo-Malthusian Orthodoxy,† in The Brenner Debate, ed. Trevor Aston and Charles Philpin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 112 3 Rodney Hilton, â€Å"A Crisis of Feudalism,† in The Brenner Debate, ed. Trevor Aston and Charles Philpin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 120 4 Michael Postan and John Hatcher. â€Å"Population and Class Relations in Feudal Society,† in The Brenner Debate, ed. Trevor Aston and Charles Philpin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 66. 5 Emmanuel Ladurie, â€Å"A Reply to Robert Brenner,† in The Brenner Debate, ed. Trevor Aston and Charles Philpin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 103.

Free Essays on Plato Apology

The Life of Socrates I. Socrates The most interesting and influential thinker in the fifth century was Socrates, whose dedication to careful reasoning transformed the entire enterprise. Since he sought genuine knowledge rather than mere victory over an opponent, He familiarized himself with the rhetoric and dialectics of the Sophists, the speculations of the Lonian philosophers, and the general culture of Periclean Athens. Socrates employed the same logical tricks developed by the Sophists to a new purpose, the pursuit of truth. Thus, his willingness to call everything into question and his determination to accept nothing less than an adequate account of the nature of things make him the first clear exponent of critical philosophy. Although he was well known during his own time for his conversational skills and public teaching, Socrates wrote nothing, so we are dependent upon his students (especially Kenophon and Plato) for any detailed knowledge of his methods and results. The trouble is that Plato was himself a philosopher who often injected his own theories into the dialogues he presented to the world as discussions between Socrates and other famous figures of the day. Nevertheless, it is usually assumed that at least the early dialogues of Plato provide a (fairly) accurate representation of Socrates himself. Socrates profoundly affected Western philosophy through his influence on Plato. Born in Athens, the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor, and Phaenarete, a midwife, he received the regular elementary education in literature, music, and gymnastics. Initially, Socrates followed the craft of his father; according to a former tradition, he executed a statue group of the three Graces, which stood at the entrance to the Acropolis until the 2nd century AD. In the Peloponnesian War with Sparta he served as an infantryman with conspicuous bravery at the battles of Potidaea in 432-430BC, Delium in 424BC, and Amphipolis in 422BC. ... Free Essays on Plato Apology Free Essays on Plato Apology The Life of Socrates I. Socrates The most interesting and influential thinker in the fifth century was Socrates, whose dedication to careful reasoning transformed the entire enterprise. Since he sought genuine knowledge rather than mere victory over an opponent, He familiarized himself with the rhetoric and dialectics of the Sophists, the speculations of the Lonian philosophers, and the general culture of Periclean Athens. Socrates employed the same logical tricks developed by the Sophists to a new purpose, the pursuit of truth. Thus, his willingness to call everything into question and his determination to accept nothing less than an adequate account of the nature of things make him the first clear exponent of critical philosophy. Although he was well known during his own time for his conversational skills and public teaching, Socrates wrote nothing, so we are dependent upon his students (especially Kenophon and Plato) for any detailed knowledge of his methods and results. The trouble is that Plato was himself a philosopher who often injected his own theories into the dialogues he presented to the world as discussions between Socrates and other famous figures of the day. Nevertheless, it is usually assumed that at least the early dialogues of Plato provide a (fairly) accurate representation of Socrates himself. Socrates profoundly affected Western philosophy through his influence on Plato. Born in Athens, the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor, and Phaenarete, a midwife, he received the regular elementary education in literature, music, and gymnastics. Initially, Socrates followed the craft of his father; according to a former tradition, he executed a statue group of the three Graces, which stood at the entrance to the Acropolis until the 2nd century AD. In the Peloponnesian War with Sparta he served as an infantryman with conspicuous bravery at the battles of Potidaea in 432-430BC, Delium in 424BC, and Amphipolis in 422BC. ...

Pacific Islands Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pacific Islands Culture - Research Paper Example These groups of islands have both differences as well as commonalities based on culture, social structure, and historical experience. Populations migrating from other regions such as Africa and Asia began colonizing the islands over 35,000 years ago. Over the millennia, there were numerous encounters of the settlers with the outside world. Of over 6.3 million currently living in the Pacific Islands, the majority of the population of around 84% live in Melanesia, only around 9% live in Polynesia and approximately 7% live in Micronesia (Eccleston et al, 1998). Melanesia is related to the Greek words melas which means black and nesos (islands); it refers to the â€Å"physical appearance of the indigenous inhabitants of Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji and Solomon Islands† (Eccleston et al, 1998, p.249). Polynesia is related to the Greek word poly (many). It forms a triangular group of islands including Hawaii in the north, Aotearoa/ New Zealand in the south-west to Rapanul/ Easter Island in the south-east. The single culture in this unique triangle is reduced by the intrusion of colonialism. Indigenous Polynesians maintain effective sovereignty to some extent only in the inner islands, excluding the peripheral ones. Micronesia from micros (small) encompass the Northern Marianas in the north, Palau in the west, and Kiribati in the south-east. The smaller islands of Micronesia have societies similar to those in Polynesia; they are â€Å"ruled by indigenous hereditary aristocracies both before and after contact with colo nial powers† (Eccleston et al, 1998, p.249). In comparison with Polynesia and Micronesia, in most of Melanesia with some exceptions like Fiji which is on the boundary, the societies are more egalitarian with equality among men; contrastingly however, gender inequalities are greater. Originating from the Fujian province of southern China, seafaring people who spoke the Austronesian language, settled in the distant parts of Melanesia,

Starbucks Market and Customer Analysis Research Paper

Starbucks Market and Customer Analysis - Research Paper Example The research paper "Starbucks Market and Customer Analysis" presents the strengths and weaknesses of Starbucks’s products and services as it ventures into the new target market. One of Starbuck’s key strengths is seen to pertain to the company’s strong market position and global brand recognition. Starbucks enjoys a significant geographical presence across the world in addition to its maintaining an estimated 36.7% of the market share within the United States. The company will be able to leverage is rich brand equity by merchandising a wide range of products as well as licensing its brand logo to outlets across its new venture market of Xiamen, China. The company produces products of the highest quality. Starbucks gives the highest importance to the quality of their products as well as avoids the standardization of quality even in the face of higher production output levels. This attribute is expected to aid the company in the quick capture of a significantly large share of the Xiamen market. As a result of its numerous social responsibility initiatives, Starbucks benefits from enjoying the goodwill of all its customers across the world. Starbucks stores are designed to be community friendly and focused on the recycling and reduction of waste products. This attribute is expected to help the company attract more customers as it expands into the new market. And one of Starbucks’ key weaknesses is the fact that most of its products are generally perceived to be quite expensive.

Population Pyramids-Session Long Project Assignment

Population Pyramids-Session Long Project - Assignment Example ment on social and economic values as well as introduction of some policies to regulate the population in Germany shaped its population in a different direction (Caselli, Vallin, and Wunsch, 2006). For instance, the Germany’s May 9, 2011 population census indicated that Germany has 80,219,695 persons. This population made Germany the 16th most populous nation globally. Despite this population, Germany’s population on the pyramid data presentation shows data Germany has a zero or declining population growth that is defined mainly by aging population and a smaller cohort of youths. The changing population trend with the number of youths being smaller than aged person is attributed by many factors in Germany including education, improved health care, social elements, and government policies. It is noted that in Germany, most of the educated persons tend to have lower number of children than then lowly educated persons. This has led to the shifting of fertility being high among the elderly women (considered to have achieved low education levels) compared to the youthful women who are considered to be highly educated (Micklin and Poston, 2006). Additionally, improved healthcare in Germany has since provided adequate and efficient healthcare system to the citizens, thereby reducing death rate thereby extending or elongating life span of persons within the country. This explains why there more elderly persons in Germany. The economic status of citizen and wealth generation is also another factor that contributes to the population trend in Germany (Hobbs and Hobbs, 2009). Parents are the sole sources of finances for the families; thus, the lower the number of children the effective and sustainable such families are; hence, the families tend to smaller for economic effectiveness and efficiency. In 5 or and 20 years to come, Germany is expected to have negative population growth rate. Notably, this will follow the trend between 1982 and 1985 when the population of this

Hotel and Information Systems Essay Example for Free

Hotel and Information Systems Essay It has been accepted for inclusion in Communications of the Association for Information Systems by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact [emailprotected] org. 102 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 OUTRIGGER HOTELS AND RESORTS: A CASE STUDY Gabriele Piccoli School of Hotel Administration Cornell University [emailprotected] edu ABSTRACT This case describes the history, strategy, and current information systems infrastructure of a midsize, privately owned hospitality firm. The case is designed to provide the substantial background information needed to engage successfully in setting direction for IS resources and their use at Outrigger Hotels and Resorts headquartered in Hawaii. It enables students to analyze the firm’s strategy thoroughly and to assess its current use of information systems resources. With this assessment as a starting point, students can develop an appropriate IS vision, IS architecture, and a strategic IS plan for Outrigger Hotels and Resorts. The case was originally designed to use the process of setting direction for IS resources as described by Martin and colleagues [2005], but is flexible enough to adapt to the structure of other approaches to planning for information systems use. Keywords: IS planning, IS assessment, IS visioning, infrastructure, hospitality. Editor’s Note: A teaching note is available from the author to faculty so requiring it that are listed in the MISRC-ISWorld Faculty Directory. I am involved with every decision that senior management takes. They look to me for an IS slant to it – whether an IT solution can capitalize on opportunities or eliminate threats. They also expect my team to independently develop an IS strategy that will further the business. Joe Durocher, Senior Vice President CIO Every manager must have an IT strategy. You can’t delegate to technologists and only worry about your allocated cost or what training your employees need. You must understand how to be master of your own destiny and make IT work best for you. Too many managers still don’t get that. Rob Solomon, Senior Vice President Sales Marketing Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 103 I. INTRODUCTION Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, a mid-size lodging firm focused on leisure travel to the Hawaiian Islands and the South Pacific, uses Information Technology (IT) in numerous aspects of its operations and therefore must carefully engage in the information systems planning process. After analyzing Outrigger’s strategy and assessing the firm’s current use of information systems resources, we can develop an appropriate IS vision, IS architecture, and a strategic IS plan for Outrigger Hotels and Resorts. On Black Friday, September 13, 1929, Roy C. Kelley arrived in Hawaii with his wife Estelle. An architect by training, Mr. Kelley joined the firm of C. W. Dickey and was responsible for designing many of Honolulus landmark buildings, including the main building of the old Halekulani Hotel and the Waikiki Theater on Kalakaua Avenue. Nine years later Kelley set out on his own, building numerous homes, apartment buildings, and hotels on the island of Oahu. In 1963, Kelley took over the land occupied by the old Outrigger Canoe Club. Outrigger Hotels then became a reality with the mission of bringing the dream of a vacation in Paradise within the reach of the middle-class traveler. Included in the agreement were leases on three Waikiki lots that later became the Outrigger East, Outrigger West, and Coral Reef hotels. The Outrigger Waikiki Hotel was built on the site of the old canoe club, arguably the prime spot on Waikiki beach, in 1967. Throughout the next two decades, Outrigger Hotels Hawaii, as the company was named, continued its expansion in Waikiki. When in the 1970’s the zoning authority put a cap on new construction in Waikiki, Outrigger began to expand through acquisition rather than construction, ultimately becoming the largest chain in the State of Hawaii, with over 7,000 rooms and a total of 15 properties concentrated in Waikiki. Thanks to its clustered configuration, with all of its hotels located within one square mile, Outrigger was able to maintain a centralized management structure fitting Mr. Kelley’s ‘management by walking around’ style. In 1989, Outrigger Hotels Hawaii, now under the leadership of Roy Kelley’s son Dr. Richard Kelley, took over management of The Royal Waikoloan Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii. When hurricane Iniki, heading for Waikiki in 1992, barely missed Honolulu and ravaged the island of Kauai, it provided further impetus for Outrigger’s geographical diversification strategy to and beyond neighboring islands. The firm, expanding into management agreements with third party owners, added properties on Maui and Kauai and ultimately grew to a total of 26 locations in the Hawaiian Islands. In 1996 the firm made its first international foray, opening the Outrigger Marshall Island Resort on Majuro Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Through partnerships, joint ventures, acquisitions, and new developments the firm continued to grow internationally, adding properties in Guam, Fiji, Tahiti, Australia, and New Zealand. While growing geographically, in 1990 Outrigger Hotels Hawaii began to diversify its product portfolio by adding condominium resorts. Because of ts geographical and product diversification, in 1995 Outrigger Hotels Hawaii changed its name to Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, and in 1999 re-branded fifteen of its hotels in Waikiki to launch a new hotel brand called OHANA Hotels of Hawaii. We had an identity crisis because the market moved up, we upgraded the onbeach properties where we had higher demand and bought some nice properties in neighboring islands. But we had huge variation in the portfolio—if you stayed at a budget property vs. a beach front property, you’d be very confused as to what an Outrigger was. President and CEO, David Carey Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 104 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 Figure 1: Outrigger Properties in Waikiki Figure 2: Outrigger Properties in the Hawaiian Islands Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 105 Figure 3. Properties Managed by Outrigger Hotels and Resorts (International) The on-beach properties became upscale full-service hotels under the Outrigger brand. The condos, also typically on-beach upscale locations, maintained the Outrigger brand. Conversely, the OHANA brand was positioned to cater to the budget traveler looking for value on off-beach properties. Condominiums represented an increasingly important share of the total portfolio of properties, even though the firm stumbled upon the opportunity that condominiums offered. Condominiums appealed to independent travelers who would do much research and planning on their own. Condominiums were also complex, non-standard products that travel agents and wholesalers found hard to sell. Because condos were rarely built as business ventures, but rather were designed as primary or vacation homes for the tenants, they offered little office or staging space for management companies to operate in. They also lacked many of the typical hotel services and departments such as food and beverage, room service, laundry, and daily maid service. These difficulties notwithstanding, Outrigger found the condo business appealing because it provided a means for expansion through management contracts without the need to acquire expensive properties. By 2005, Outrigger was a sizable firm, with about 3,600 employees (of whom about 230 were at corporate headquarters), a portfolio of properties exceeding US $1. 4 billion, and approximate revenues of US $45 million [Hotel On-Line, 2003]. But at the heart of its strategic positioning a commitment remained to providing a ‘sense of place,’ an experience attuned to the culture and the characteristics of the destination, and to avoiding a cookie cutter approach. Our business is really about being a â€Å"window† to an experience, not the experience itself. We are the enabler through which people can engage in the leisure experience they desire. We don’t try to export Hawaii when we go elsewhere, but we do honor the same values in the places we operate hotels and resorts. David Carey Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 106 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 Outrigger’s senior management believed that its key competencies resided in providing hospitality to guests visiting their properties and marketing those properties successfully through leisure distribution channels. To complement these basic competencies, Outrigger’s management developed what it believed to be a superior capability to manage in a multicultural environment, including multicultural and multilingual employees and guests. Aided by a turnover rate in the single digits and an average of 25 years of employee tenure with the company, Outrigger managed to be a mostly non-union shop in the heavily unionized Hawaii labor market. We operate properties that have good locations, we have a strong travel distribution network, and our employees really provide hospitality from the heart. That creates a differentiated product making price less important. David Carey Outrigger was wedded to the success of its destination markets and to the well-being of airlines serving its destinations. If Hawaii does well, so do we. I spend a lot of time working with local tourism authorities to improve the appeal of the destinations we operate in. But airlines can be a bottleneck. We may not have available lift at times when we need it. If the airlines are full or they have decided in their yield model that they are going to only sell their top fares, there is nothing we can do. From purely the hotels’ perspective, the best thing for us is an airline price war to Hawaii. David Carey III. THE HOTELS AND RESORTS INDUSTRY As the 21st century dawned, the global lodging industry was estimated to exceed $295 billion in sales (about 11% of the world’s economic output) and employed more than 250 million workers [Encyclopedia of Global Industries, 2003]. The leisure travel segment accounted for about 45% of total volume [Horwath International, 2002]. THE HAWAIIAN HOTEL MARKET In the Hawaiian market, which was Outrigger’s traditional stronghold, 2004 data showed performance levels above the average of the global industry. Being quite isolated from any large population pool, Hawaii was a classic destination market with an exclusive fly-in customer base. The major feeders were U. S. westbound traffic and Japanese eastbound traffic. These markets were thought to yield very high return rates1—estimated by some to be around 50% westbound and over 65% eastbound. This trend made for a very location-savvy customer base. Peculiar to this market was also the trend of multi-island stays, with guests visiting more than one destination during the same trip. Table 1. Performance of Hawaii Hotel Market Occupancy Avg. Number of rooms Average Daily Rate2 Revenue* * Amounts per available room 72. 1% 706 $198. 41 $78,488 In the hotel business, return rate is used to refer to the percentage of visitors who come back again for more than one visit to the same location. 2 Average Daily Rate (ADR), is the average of all rates charged on a given date for all rooms sold that day. A yearly ADR can be computed by averaging ADRs for all days of the year. 1 Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 107 PRICING Because the Hawaii and Pacific Rim markets were exclusive destination markets, the use of packages – including air and accommodations – was pervasive. Historically, packages were assembled and sold by wholesalers and tour operators who purchased both air and hotel rooms in bulk and re-marketed them to the traveling public. With the widespread adoption of the Internet, a new type of package was emerging under the leadership of large online travel agencies: dynamic packages. A dynamic package was one that enabled the guest to choose air, hotel, car rental, and even activities, ticket them independently, and then price them out as a bundle. Dynamic packages were appealing to suppliers because the price of each item was not disclosed, making price comparison difficult and alleviating commoditization fears. They were appealing to prospective travelers because they increased choice and fostered flexibility. Finally, they appealed to online travel agents because they built upon their value proposition—customer choice—and could potentially improve their margins. COMPETITORS As a mature destination, Hawaii had been entered by many of the larger branded hospitality and resort companies. The largest hospitality firms, such as Marriott International, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, and Starwood, developed a significant presence with eight, five, and eleven properties respectively. But the largest operators in Hawaii were geographically- and leisure-focused players such as Outrigger, ASTON Hotels ; Resorts Hawaii (with twenty-eight properties), and Marc Resorts Hawaii (with eleven properties). IV. OUTRIGGER CUSTOMERS AND THE COMPETITION THE OUTRIGGER HOTELS AND RESORTS CUSTOMERS Outrigger’s original mission was to bring the opportunity for a vacation in Paradise within the reach of middle-class families. As the firm began to diversify its portfolio, the profile of its customers and the competition also changed. The typical guest staying with the premium brand – Outrigger – was often a multigenerational customer with a sense of loyalty to the brand (about 25% of guests were returning to Outrigger) and an annual income exceeding $75,000. Outrigger guests were almost exclusively leisure travelers. This customer base created seasonality, with winter and summer being the high seasons when properties like the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach reached an ADR of $260 and an overall occupancy around 90%. Our customers are independent-minded and look for an experience that is more regional and attuned to the destination, but still within their comfort zone. They may stay with big brands in their road warrior capacity, but that’s not what they are looking for in a tropical destination. Rob Solomon Table 2. Outriggers Portfolio and Sample Competitors Location Properties Rooms Lowest Rate * Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Waikiki 2 1,383 $160 Starwood Hotels and Resorts Waikiki 4 4,132 $150 Marriott International Waikiki 1 1,297 $209 Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Waikiki 1 1,230 $210 Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Guam Fiji 2 895 $203 Starwood Hotels and Resorts Guam Fiji 3 995 $145 Hilton Hotels and Resorts Guam 1 587 $110 *Rates for comparable rooms as they appear on the company website, December 2004, for January 2005 stays Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 108 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 Competing for these customers, Outrigger went head-to-head with major brands that enjoyed name recognition amongst the traveling public, a flow of customers redeeming points, available capital, and availability of programs for employees such as discounted travel beyond Hawaii and the Pacific region. In response, Outrigger leveraged its assets: some of the premier locations in the markets in which it competed, strong name recognition, long-term relationships with the travel distribution network, a strategic focus on vacation destinations, a deep local knowledge and community ties, and good employee relations. THE OHANA HOTELS CUSTOMERS The typical OHANA guest was a value-minded and Hawaii-savvy leisure traveler with income below $100k a year. Typically, OHANA guests had visited Hawaii multiple times, stayed longer than average, and visited more often. Business travel was mainly military personnel and employees of corporations who operated on multiple islands. Groups accounted for less that 10% of OHANA’s overall traffic. We have about 50% return guests. Your first trip you want a beach front hotel, the atmosphere, the ambiance—you want the full Hawaii experience. When you come more often, you still want the experience, but you look for more value and instead of spending $250-$300 a night for a beachfront you can stay longer offbeach for $70-$80 a night. Chuck Shishido, OHANA Hotels VP of Operations With seasonality similar to that of the full service Outrigger Hotels, OHANA Hotels typically achieved an ADR around $66 and approximate occupancy levels of 75% over the year. A number of small regional chains (such as Marc Resorts and Castle Resorts) and many off-beach independent hotels existed in the Waikiki market. Pricing for off-beach properties was much harder to manage because of the commodity nature of the hotels not enjoying a premium location. OHANA was the largest operator in Waikiki and the largest Hawaii-owned operator. Table 3. OHANA’s Portfolio and Sample Competitors Location Properties Rooms Lowest Rate * OHANA Waikiki 13 4564 $76 Marc Resorts Waikiki 4 314 $74 Castle Resorts Waikiki 6 N/A $75 * Rates for comparable rooms as they appear on the company website, December 2004, for January stays CONDOMINIUMS CUSTOMERS Two types of customers typically stayed at the condominiums. On the low end of the $90,000 to $160,000 income bracket were families visiting during school breaks, looking to control expenses, and control their vacation experience. They valued the full kitchen – a standard in every unit – and the two bedrooms and two baths. This assessment was substantiated by the fact that condos had four times as many reservations coming direct from the Internet and tended to recover faster after a soft economy. On the upper end were ‘newlyweds’ and ‘nearly dead’ couples who liked the privacy and space afforded by a condo. Because of the need to convince individual owners to join the pool of Outrigger managed units, the firm competed with small local management companies and individual owners’ beliefs that they could do a better job alone. This idiosyncrasy of condominium operations amounted to dealing with two customers—the unit owners and the guests. The guests were unaware of the workings of condo operations and looked for the same level of service they would receive at a resort. On average, a condominium with mostly two bedroom units would achieve an ADR around $175, while properties with mostly studio and one bedroom units would go for around $140. Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 109 MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION Outrigger operated a Central Reservation Office (CRO) in Denver, Colorado with anywhere from 40 to 70 reservationists (FTEs), mainly depending on the volume of business. A corporate marketing staff of 12 people, allocated about 6% of revenue, was responsible for managing the brand and for going to market. An additional 2% of revenue was used to fund reservation and other distribution costs. Reservations were centralized for all properties in Hawaii; beyond Hawaii reservations were only taken at each property. Outrigger’s executives believed that distribution was a cornerstone of the company’s success, with about 50% of the business coming from wholesalers. Consumer direct (via voice or the Web), travel agents, government and military, and corporate clients made up the rest. For international properties, the source of business percentage from wholesalers was close to 80% and almost all reservations were faxed to the property. V. OUTRIGGER’S ORGANIZATION Outrigger Hotels and Resorts was a management company wholly owned by a holding corporation called Outrigger Enterprises. Reflecting its real estate development roots, Outrigger Enterprises also owned a real estate ownership company called Outrigger Properties. Figure 4 shows the Outrigger organization. Figure 4. Organization Chart Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 110 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 Outrigger Properties wrote and managed real estate contracts with third party owners and supervised the owned assets (accounting for about a third of all properties in the Outrigger portfolio), as well as the development, acquisition, and sale of properties. Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, the operating arm of Outrigger Enterprises, was responsible for the writing of new management contracts, and for overseeing property renovations and operations of the managed hotels, resorts, and condos. Outrigger Properties generally negotiated a base rent and a 3 percentage of revenue with tenants; revenues from leased space were assigned to the hosting property’s own PL. Room revenue made up the bulk of each property’s revenue. Income from leased space ranged from as low as 5% in hotels with little retail space to as high as 20% in some of the most appealing locations. Other more marginal revenue was derived from parking, in-room entertainment, telecommunications, and kids’ clubs operations. Outrigger Hotels and Resorts historically maintained a highly centralized organizational structure. As the firm grew in size and geographical distribution a more distributed structure emerged, but, reflecting its roots, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts remained consolidated where possible. We have centralized services – accounting, IT, finance, engineering, purchasing, special projects – that support all the properties on Oahu, as well as indirectly the neighboring islands. There is also one executive housekeeper in charge of all properties. We run the OHANA Hotels like a 4,200 room distributed hotel. It is very efficient. Chuck Shishido As the firm expanded internationally it became more decentralized, with resorts in the Pacific Rim working much more like independent operations and organized like traditional resorts. Recognizing the significant advantages offered by its centralized structure, Outrigger was looking at the possibility of integrating its international resorts better. However, distance presented new challenges: We need a reservation solution for Australia, a real-time coordination with a central reservation service. They are operated as individual hotels; the central 800 number today is just switched to the correct hotel. A centralized system would offer tremendous value because we get drive-in business and substantial potential cross-property traffic. Executive VP and COO Perry Sorenseon, VI. OUTRIGGER IT INFRASTRUCTURE Joe Durocher, the CIO of Outrigger Enterprises, was hired by David Carey in 1986. Mr. Roy Kelly was a hands-on manager. He once told me he hated two things: computers and vice presidents. As the VP of IT, I had two strikes against me. Yet, in 1986 I was brought in to overhaul Outrigger’s IT infrastructure and we built Stellex—our integrated CRS/PMS. At the time all our properties were in Waikiki, within one square mile of each other. Joe Durocher In this type of agreement the landlord receives a fixed payment plus a percentage of the total sales made by the tenant business (e. g. , restaurant, shop). 4 The CRS, Central Reservation System, is the computer system used by a hotel chain to support call center operations and, generally, its web site. The CRS holds chain-wide inventory and allows reservationists to sell room inventory at all the hotels affiliated with the chain. The PMS, Property Management System, is the â€Å"brain† of hotel operations. It is the computer system that is used to manage the inventory of hotel rooms at an individual property. 3 Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 111 Figure 5. Timeline of Major Infrastructure Developments at Outrigger OUTRIGGER’S SOFTWARE Stellex, to which Durocher refers, was introduced in 1987 as a COBOL application that guaranteed complete redundancy and 24 x 365 uptime. These two properties are particularly important in the hotel business, which depends on being able to make reservations at any time during the day and wants to make sure that its computer system is always operational. For the technically minded, the application ran on a Tandem NonStop platform and a proprietary Enscribe database management system. 5 In 1992, Outrigger introduced its first major update to Stellex, Stellex 2. 0, which ran on a Sun Microsystems UNIX platform and provided revenue management functionality and reservation center support. Because of its unique need for substantial wholesale interaction, Outrigger engaged Opus, a software company specializing on revenue management systems,6 to build their revenue management module for Stellex 2. 0. Outrigger retained control of Opus’ source code7 and over the years made substantial enhancements, mainly to manage wholesale relationships. Outrigger implemented JD Edwards ERP as the cornerstone of its back-office operations in 1990, years before the ERP craze swept the business world. JD Edwards ran on an IBM AS 400—widely considered to be a mature and stable platform. The firm felt that its centralized IT infrastructure was a source of competitive advantage. Durocher discussed the trade-offs associated with centralized IT: Decentralizing IT would decrease our capabilities while increasing overall costs. But centralized IT creates friction at times. When a hotel is sold for example, the IT allocation may increase for other properties. 8 Joe Durocher Stellex provided the anchor to which all other operational systems connected, including telephone switches, call accounting, and in-room entertainment. All of the properties in the Hawaiian Islands had access to Outrigger’s centralized IT systems, served from the Honolulu-based data center, through the firm’s proprietary Wide Area Network. Stellex, for example, was accessed using an ASP model by all the properties in the Hawaiian Islands, the firm’s Denver-based Central Reservation Office, and the Portland, Oregon-based Web servers, thereby greatly simplifying the achievement of single image inventory, disaster recovery, and overall IT management. This configuration enabled the properties to operate with PCs (as few as 12 in a 5 Tandem Computer Systems was bought up by Compaq in 1997. Compaq, in turn was purchased by HP. Enscribe is still in business in December 2004. 6 Opus was subsequently bought by Micros-Fidelio, the dominant hospitality-focused software company. 7 ‘Source code’ refers to the original, human readable computer program. By owning it, Outrigger could change it as they saw fit. Note that Microsoft, for example, guards its source code jealously so that others can’t change Microsoft’s programs. 8 In many companies, such as Outrigger, IT costs are allocated to users, such as hotels, on an annual basis. IT cost is relatively fixed and not affected much by the number of units it supports. If a property is sold, the fixed cost allocated to all other properties must therefore go up. Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 112 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 Figure 6. Outriggers IT Infrastructure typical 500-room property) and networking equipment. The Point of Sales (POS) systems9 were not centralized, since Outrigger leased retail and restaurant space. This state of affairs generated some friction at times: The POS is the computer software used to support retail and restaurant operations. It enables operators to keep track of sales and accurately bill customers. Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 113 We offer to interface their POSs to Stellex and pay for interfaces to automate room charges. But many of those POS ar e old and can’t interface, they must be upgraded first. Restaurants have to write a manual charge voucher and walk it to the front desk for input. It’s not a popular or efficient way to do it. VP of Property Technology, Allen White Due to the need for local support, the high telecommunication costs to and from Hawaii, and the unacceptable reliability of international networks, Outrigger did not extend this centralized model to its operations in Australia and the Pacific. The properties in Australia and New Zealand, all condominiums, used a highly specialized PMS particularly well suited for their condominium properties and their unique tax code requirements. None of the properties in Hawaii has a server on property. In the outer regions we have standalone PMS’s and on-property reservations. We don’t even try to keep Stellex in sync, they just open and close. If a date is getting full, they issue a stop-sell. Reservations that are taken centrally are automatically emailed. Joe Durocher APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT Beyond maintaining and upgrading Stellex, Outrigger’s IT professionals engaged in minimal application development—mainly writing customized reports, and configuring and interfacing offthe-shelf applications. The use of outsourcing was limited to the Web site, developed and hosted by a third party in Portland, Oregon. Yet, in order to maintain the integration of direct channels, Stellex served as the booking engine behind Outrigger’s Web site. A key initiative for Outrigger was the development of electronic interfaces with wholesalers. These interfaces were customdeveloped by the firm’s IT group using XML. 10 With many wholesalers we have real-time electronic interfaces—they can check availability and we get their reservations instantaneously. Without the interface, if they create a reservation six or three months out, we don’t see it until reporting time, ten days out, when we receive a fax and manually input it. It is virtually impossible to revenue manage like that. Many big brands have great revenue management systems, but don’t have real-time wholesaler data. Moreover, we can write wholesale contracts brand-wide. Joe Durocher Outrigger felt that its electronic interfaces afforded it a competitive advantage and preferential treatment from interface-enabled wholesalers, a relationship that proved particularly important during slow periods or a soft economy. Electronic interfaces generated substantial efficiencies, including automatic billing and invoicing without human handling, lowering estimated costs for these functions to $0. 75 from an estimated $10 for manually handled ones. But not all wholesalers were able or interested in automating reservation processing. This lack of interest was particularly true for small operations or those for whom Hawaii and the Pacific represented a small percentage of business. The industry is a mess from a connectivity standpoint. We are fortunate that we have the in-house expertise and the recognition from senior management of how important this is. Even the big companies often don’t understand the conditions for success. The dirty little secret of the travel industry is that the fax machine still rules. Rob Solomon 10 XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. It is a language used to create a protocol enabling computer applications of partnering firms to exchange information easily. Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 114 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 I spend 30-40 hours a week working with wholesalers on interfaces. There are many legacy systems out there; the fax is state of the art. We have made great progress with the more advance wholesalers or those that upgraded recently. Alan White Outrigger found the Open Travel Alliance (OTA) XML standards, specifying common message format and common content, of great help. But being able to pick the right partner, and avoid costly failures, remained the major challenge. While Outrigger felt it had been successful to date, with an estimated 33% of total reservations received electronically through the various channels, it still handled more than half a million faxes a year—about eight hundred a day from its largest wholesaler alone before that wholesaler migrated to the electronic interface. The firm felt that it had been able to capitalize on the use of technology to increase distribution efficiencies in the face of ever rising labor costs. Conversion rates at the Central Reservation Office improved from 20% to 45%-50% with widespread consumer adoption of the Internet. The firm estimated that as much as 60% of callers had already researched the Outrigger website and made a purchase decision but, as Solomon put it, â€Å"had one more question. † In an effort to provide support right on the website, the firm introduced live chat functionalities and offered email confirmation for significant savings in labor and postage costs. DATA MANAGEMENT In 2001, Outrigger acquired business intelligence software, a data mart, and analytical tools from 11 E. piphany running on a Windows 2000 platform. The data mart held detailed data for three years, enabling analysis down to the individual guest folio. Data were consolidated afterwards, enabling only aggregate analyses. While E. piphany was a recent purchase, Outrigger had been disciplined in collecting data for some time. We had 10 years of high quality data from Stellex; we are very rigid about data capture standardization like room category, naming conventions, request codes, [and] what goes where. For example, postal and country codes are mandatory fields. Our employees’ long tenure helps, and peer pressure is a great asset— nobody wants to be the one that ruins the value of these reports for all. Alan White The data collected by Stellex, including source of business, stay information, and consumption, were extracted every night by load programs that scrubbed (i. e. , cleaned) them, and transferred them to the JD Edwards ERP system for accounting and to the E. piphany system for analysis. Feeding historical data and forward looking availability and reservation activity, Outrigger learned to harness the analytical power of E. piphany to do forecasts and generate business intelligence both at the source of business and at guest levels. We want the marketing data. It is stupid to have a treasure trove like that and not use it. We mine it. We send thank you letters to recurring guests, we can give you history on who visited, how they got here, what in-flight magazine we should hit. We sold a resort once and they figured they would have to hire 3 people to achieve manually what our reports gave them automatically. They even set their rates based on E. piphany forecasts. Alan White The IT group served as custodian of the data, but any user with security clearance had access to E. piphany data though a web interface; the data was used for marketing and operational analysis (e. g. , analysis of call patterns to evaluate the appeal of Voice over IP solutions). Incorporating the information into daily operations was more challenging. Definitions of technical terms such as Business Intelligence, Data Mart, Data Mining, and many others used throughout this case study can be found free of charge at http://www. whatis. com. 11 Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 115 Outrigger found it hard to justify a frequent guest program—with an average repurchase cycle for returning guests of three years, a once a year purchase was considered very high in Hawaii resort operations. Speaking about recognition programs, Individual properties have their own customer database and a strong informal recognition system. We haven’t been able to justify the investment technologically to do it brand wide. It would be a natural extension of the recognition we give our return guests, but it must be cost-effective. Perry Sorenson If a guest did not tell us he is returning when making the reservation, our current system does not have a database with guest history. Many times we recognize our frequent return guests only at the door, or during check in at the front desk. We have special programs (e. g. , for honeymooners, wedding anniversaries), but we need to know their history to appropriately acknowledge these returning guests. VP of Operations for Outrigger’s Waikiki Beachfront Hotels Kimberly Agas, a 20 year veteran with the company, IT STAFFING AND ORGANIZATION Outrigger’s IT staff consisted of 26 full time employees. Of these, 4 data entry operators and 3 developers were housed in a separate limited liability company to help Outrigger take advantage of tax incentives offered by the state of Hawaii.