Epic Of Gilgamesh Essays (1313 words) - Epic Of Gilgamesh

Epic Of Gilgamesh Lindsey Johnson Professor Cutter World civilization October 9, 2000 The Epic of Gilgamesh1 . Mesopotamia, current day Iraq, derived its name from words meaning, the land between the rivers, which refers to the Tigris and Euphrates. This land was inhabited during the fourth millennium B.C.E. and throughout time transcended into political and military organizations. The significance of these cultures revolved around important warrior figures and their impact on society. The most important figure that will be discussed is the protagonist from The Epic of Gilgamesh. Many consider it to be the greatest literary composition written in cuneiform Akkadian around 2150 BC. This epic portrays the life of the great warrior, Gilgamesh. It chronicles how his victories, both militaristic and internal, ultimately determined his superiority. This relates to the ancient Mesopotamian society in many ways, including the role of warriors and the dual nature of Gilgamesh. It is evident from the beginning of the Epic of Gilgamesh how vital of a role warriors played in ancient Mesopotamian society. Warriors were considered top of the social hierarchy. All other authoritative figures were considered subordinate. Uruks inhabitants deemed Gilgamesh as their superior: There is nobody among the kings of teeming humanity who can compare with himBelet-ili designed the shape of his body, made his form perfectIn Uruk the Sheepfold he would walk about, show himself superior, his head held high like a wild bull. 2 Gilgamesh epitomizes the ideal hero in the eyes of his society through admirable physical strength, bodily perfection, and bravery. This admiration directly pertains to ancient Mesopotamia and the earliest Sumerian governments. For instance, When crises arose, assemblies yielded their power to individuals who possessed full authority during the period of emergency.3 Back then, it was considered common knowledge that early governments based their decision s for the good of the entire community. Gilgamesh demonstrates these same tactics when he finds his community in danger. For example, Gilgamesh seized the Bull of Heaven, which came down from the skies, in order to protect his cherished citizens. 4 Protection of the city is Gilgameshs main objective. He states, I shall face unknown opposition, I shall ride along an unknown road. 5 Here, Gilgamesh seeks out to Pine Forest where he slays Humbaba, in order to exterminate evil and safeguard his city. Sumerian cities also faced external tribulations because of their wealth and virtually defenseless entrances o their land. Because the land and location was so flat and vulnerable the cities built defensive walls and organized military forces.6 Gilgamesh built a very similar structure. The wall of Uruk was an amazing barrier that sheltered every square mile of land. The citizens of Uruk claimed the wall to be the pure treasury. 7 It becomes evident in Mesopotamian culture as well as with Gilgamesh that major defense mechanisms are needed in order to maintain security. When a city state gains structure the next step is to become proactively aggressive; therefore, conquering and punishing other cities. For example, External threats came later to Egypt than to Mesopotamia, but the invasion of the Hyksos prompted the pharaohs to seize control of regions that might pose future threats. 8 In addition, Gilgamesh displays these same ideas when adventuring into the Pine Forest. Because its ci tizens adored Mesopotamias physical landscape, they would protect their land at all costs. Gilgameshs image and qualities depict those of an ideal man. He controls a great deal of power and status, for he is believed to be two-thirds divine and one-third human. He also possesses power through his kingship. Gilgamesh displays a great amount of hubris. Priding himself with greatness he states, Gilgamesh is finest among the young males! Gilgamesh is proudest among the males 9 He is not only spiritually content, but also physically appealing. He represents the ideal man through wealth, handsomeness, and power. These traits were also important of the Egyptian pharaohs. Because the city valued their leader to such a great extent, they built massive pyramids as royal tombs. They also believed that heroes were gods living on earth.10 This helps comprehend the importance of Gilgameshs part divinity, part human character. Hammurabi of the Babylonian empire proclaimed that the gods named him to promote the welfare of the peopleto cause justice to prevail

How to Use Fewer or Less Correctly in Business Writing

How to Use Fewer or Less Correctly in Business Writing You might write that you want fewer mistakes and less inefficiency in your business writing or office. But, it would be incorrect to write that you want less mistakes and fewer inefficiency. Why is that? The answer lies in the type of noun each word modifies. Mistakes and inefficiency are different types of nouns. Mistakesis acountablenoun and the inefficiency is uncountable. Countable nouns are things like reports, products, ideas, employees, and managers. They are countable because you can have 1 employee or 1,000 employees. The word employee can be made plural, and therefore, you can count the word employee.Uncountable nouns are things like efficiency, money, and electricity. You might be able to count these things (we all count money every day) but you cannot count the word money. You simply cannot have 1 money or 1,000 monies. It is correct to use fewer with countable nouns, and less with uncountable nouns. After taking a vacation, you have less time off remaining, but you could also say that you have fewer days off remaining.Time is uncountable so it is used with less, while day is countable so it is used with fewer. Similarly, items are countable, so the common sign "10 Items or Less" seen so often in markets is grammatically incorrect. It should state "10 Items or Fewer." Fewer and less are not the only words that are unique to one type of noun. Here are other examples: Countable Uncountable Fewer Less Many Much A few/Few A little/Little Several - A couple - There are some words that can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. These are: some, plenty of, a lot of, and any.You can have some employees and plenty of electricity, as well as plenty of employees and some electricity. Note: When using any of these modifiers with countable nouns, the noun must be plural. For example, fewer hours, many reports, a few days, several ideas, and a couple of managers. It would be awkward (and grammatically incorrect!) to say fewer hour or several idea.Be careful! There are quite a few words that used as countable nouns even though they are technically uncountable. A good example of this would be coffee. We all say, â€Å"I'll have two coffees, please.† But, this is technically incorrect (it should be two cups of coffee). It is worth remembering that certain nouns (coffee, water, beer, etc.) are uncountable even when used as countable nouns. If you remember that, you will be more likely to choose the correct quantifier. This is important because even though it's not a problem to say, â€Å"I drink two coffees per day,† it is a problem to say, â€Å"I need to drink fewer coffees.† If you are ever in doubt, consult a good dictionary, which will differentiate between countable and uncountable nouns.The nuances of countable and uncountable noun usage may seem small, but they are invaluable to the clarity and ease of your business writing. Remember, business grammar errors are always very individual. To correct your errors, it isn't helpful to review all business grammar rules. Instead, choose an overallbusiness writing courseor business grammar course that provides individual review and feedback on your writing so you can focus on your specific errors.

Reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 21

Reflection paper - Essay Example When a person hears a distasteful joke, it helps the person from keeping away from focusing at their problem. Individually, I have at several instances made jokes that put down other individuals with an aim of strengthening my ego. To help in justifying my fat body that is made fun of at various social occasions, I constantly referred the thin people as skinny and at various instances mentioning the negative implications of possessing a skinny body. The joke would yield fun and as result help me to avoid focusing on my fat nature helping me to have peace of mind. It is however inappropriate to make jokes that put down other individuals. For example, consider a joke that emanates from a racial connection. The joke may yield bad blood against individuals from different races and if it is done in a working place work relations among people from different races will become destroyed (McGhee). Consequently, it is not from every person understanding that the jokes putting a person down is merely a joke as some may perceive the joke as

Health Care Provider and health Diversity Essay

Health Care Provider and health Diversity - Essay Example On the contrary, Buddhism has a different world view since the faith has a straightforward looking at the human condition where nothing is ever based on wishful thinking (Murti, 2013). The origin of the Buddhism religion was based on the observation of how things are in the world and everything that the faith teaches is based on these observations, including the concept of healing. Therefore, it is imperative to discuss how the two faiths, Christianity, and Buddhism, perceive the concept of healing and how their worldviews may affect the process of providing healthcare. One of the vital questions to address when tackling issues to do with religion is the concept of spirituality. Christianity has a strong attachment to spirituality and, in this case, it refers to the extent to which human beings are connected to God as the supernatural being (Shelly & Miller, 2006). Thus, Christians hold their world view from the story of creation and fall where God, in spiritual presence, created everything and everything that happens is according to his will. Therefore, for a Christian seeking medical attention, he or she believes that the medics and healthcare providers are serving the purpose of God by preserving the life that God gives for free. In this case, the Christians believe that God uses the healthcare givers to protect the lives of human beings. On the other hand, the Christians believe that spirituality is living up to God’s expectations by following the footsteps of Jesus Christ (Woodhead, 2012). When handling a patient from Christian faith, therefore, the healthcare provider must understand that the religion has strong attachment to spirituality and doing things according to God’s will and that anything contrary to the Christian morals may invite God’s wrath as evident from the story of ‘the fall’ during the beginning of creation (Shelly & Miller, 2006). Thus, for

Applying E-Commerce in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Applying E-Commerce in business - Essay Example They can also use a variety of platforms to access these services example: mobiles, laptops and desktop computers. This infrastructure contains universal standards and is globally reachable. It is rich in diversity and accommodates videos, audios and text messaging. They enable firms to host live conferences, instant messaging (IM), file transferring and text based live chat across the globe. E-commerce infrastructure enables effective interacting between clients in multi stratums including consumers, producers and vendors. It decreases the cost and increases the quality of business transactions. It allows clients to customize and personalize the services according to the requirements of different parties (Turban, et. al, 2012). E-commerce generates a number of economic benefits to the businesses due to the above characteristics such as decreasing cost, increasing richness in communication, expanding market and enhancing customer relations. The cost of travelling to market place is s aved and the physical presence is no longer required for bargaining in virtual markets. Videos, audios, pictures and graphics used in virtual markets can simulate the real shopping experience to buyers. Market of the modern day business has expanded widely across the globe. It is not constrained by country borders, racial, religious, language and ethnicity based differences. It does not involve rigid time zones. Billions of potential consumers and various producers can meet in virtual market places. Consumer becomes a co-participant in marketing process. Hence the products can be customized according to individual preferences unlike in traditional marketing methods (Turban, et. al, 2012). It can be converged with contemporary trends in Information Technologies such as cloud computing. Benefits of Cloud computing for E-Commerce Based on the predicting analyses by Nelson (2010) it is forecasted that 80% proportion of total E-commerce in the world will be taken over by cloud computing within 10 years. Processing of payments using the internet and the webs involve identification of transaction ID, customer name, dollar amount, date/time of transaction and status of the payment. All these can be converged in â€Å"cloud† infrastructure at a comparatively lower cost and a higher efficiency (Knowledge Center, 2011). Hence cloud computing depicts the potential growth of E-commerce as well. According to the definition of Mell, and Grance (2011), â€Å"cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction† (p.2). The above definition contains a number of characteristics of E-commerce infrastructure. Economic characteristics of cloud computing are as follows. On-demand self-service involves utility base d access to the cloud without involving of human component for providing the service each time a customer needs it. Broad network provides heterogeneous platforms. Resource pooling allows aggregating the storage, memory, processing capacity and network bandwidth of idle computers across the globe and a number of customers who are unaware of the specific location where the service is provided from. Rapid elasticity involves immediately and unlimitedly providing the services while ensuring its availability, accessibility and

Definition Of Corporate Social Responsibility Commerce Essay

Definition Of Corporate Social Responsibility Commerce Essay There is no single authoritative definition of CSR (ISO COPOLCO, 2002). Various definitions embracing a vast number of concepts traditionally frames as environmental concerns, public relations, human resources management and community relations were used to defined CSR. One of the most referred definition is by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development( WBCSD) ( 1999) that defines CSR as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large Businesses not only have the economic responsibility of being profitable and the legal responsibility to follow the laws or ground rules that guide their ability to achieve their economic requirements, but they also have ethical responsibilities that include a range of societal norms, or standards (Carroll, 2000). CSR has been around for more than two decades. During the later half of twentieth century there arose the idea of the corporate social contract, which today underlies the CSR concept. Given the sometimes adverse effects of business decision making on society as well as corporate reliance on society, the notion of an implied corporate social contract was conceived by social and economic theorists. This contract spells out societys expectations of business as well as (although much less discussed) businesss expectations of society (Bowie, 1983). CSR means being a good steward of societys economic and human resources ( Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2001). In summary, CSR entails the obligation stemming from the implicit social contract between business and society for firms to be responsive to societys long-run needs and wants, optimizing the positive effects and minimizing the negative effects of its actions on society. To synchronize that organizational social responsibility concerns are treated in the same routine manner in which legal, financial, and marketing concerns are addressed, four theories of corporate social responsibility have been advanced in the literature. The four positions are the classical, stakeholder, social demandingness, and social activist theories. The classical theory is the oldest of the four, and is grounded in classical economic theory. Firstly business executives are said to be primarily responsible to the shareholders of the corporation and their primary goal is to promote efficiency and secure effective economic performance. Secondly managers are said to be responsible to respond to the shareholders demands. These views are often thought to coincide with each other, because it is usually assumed that the main demand of shareholders is to maximize economic performance. In addition, both versions agree that managers are to perform their corporate function according to the laws and, thus, to avoid such things as fraud and deception. Friedman (1970), points out Here the businessman self-selected or appointed directly or indirectly by stockholders is to be simultaneously legislator, executive, or jurist. He becomes in effect a public employee, a civil servant and even though he remains in name an employee of a private enter prise. This theory, albeit the oldest of the four theories, is still well and alive; it has many supporters and proponents among academicians and practitioners. The second theory is the stakeholder theory which integrates the main idea of classical theory, that is, corporate executives are responsible to stockholders. Nevertheless, what differs it from classical theory is that other groups are directly affected by the conduct and decision of the firm. These groups can employees, consumers, creditors, suppliers, and legal sub-systems who have a stake in the organisation and who might affect, in one way or another, the corporate decision making process. Furthermore, corporate executives have a direct responsibility to promote the interests of these groups. The main disagreement among stakeholder theorists, however, over whether stakeholder interests of these groups take precedence over the financial interests of stockholders or the stakeholder interests are the overriding ones. Social demandingness theorists argue that corporations have a responsibility to protect and promote certain interests of the general public. They agree with the stakeholder theorists that the interests of stakeholder groups are important, but they believe that these interests do not override non-stakeholders interests or demands for such things as safety, health, freedom, and prosperity. As with the stakeholder theory, this theory repudiates the notion that there is some balanced or sensible list of tangible responsibilities that corporate executives always have toward society. The list varies as the nature and ranking of the interests or demands of the public change. The fourth and final theory is the social activist theory which is distinctively the most socially and morally demanding of the four theories. While agreeing with the stakeholders and social demandingness theories that executives have responsibilities toward stakeholders groups and the general public, social activists theorists argue that corporate managers should sometimes strive to undertake projects that advance the interests of the public even when these undertakings are neither expected nor demanded by them. Social activists theorists contend that such projects should, for the most part, be in the area of corporate know-how, but they sometimes urge that executives deliberately take on social projects for which they have no special training or expertise 2.1 Types of CSR and Corporate Governance The notion that business has duties to society is firmly entrenched, although in the past several decades there has been a revolution in the way people view the relationship between business and society. Carroll (1979) and other researchers believe that we should judge corporations not just on their economic success, but also on non-economic criteria. Carroll (1979) proposed a popular four-part definition of CSR, suggesting that corporations have four responsibilities or four faces (Carroll, 2000b, p. 187) to fulfill to be good corporate citizens: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic: Economic responsibility. Economic responsibility is to be profitable for principals, by delivering a good quality product, at a fair price, is due to customers. Legal responsibilities. Legal duties entail complying with the law and playing by the rules of the game Ethical responsibilities. Ethical duties overcome the limitations of legal duties. They entail being moral, doing what is right, just, and fair; respecting peoples moral rights; and avoiding harm or social injury as well as preventing harm caused by others (Smith and Quelch, 1993). Philanthropic responsibility. Interest in doing good for society, regardless of its impact on the bottom line is what is called altruistic, humanitarian or philanthropic CSR. Giving back time and money in the forms of voluntary service, voluntary association and voluntary giving is where most of the controversy over the legitimacy of CSR lies. CORPORATE GOUVERNANCE (CG) Moreover, CSR is closely linked with the Corporate Governance of the organization, be it hotel organization. Any of those types of CSR should start in the hotel organizations first and then move to external environment. The key people should be taken into consideration so the CSR practices should be geared towards the internal customers who will in turn become CSR delegates to reach the external customers and environment. Companies must improve their business models by bringing CSR and sustainability into their strategy. Shleifer and Vishny (1997) define Corporate Governance as the ways in which suppliers of finance to organisations assure themselves of getting a return on investment. Over the years, Corporate Governance has evolved from the traditional profit-centered model. By incorporating the community in which firms operate, the political environment, laws and regulations, and more generally the markets in which firms are involved. 2.3 Vision of the Government Concerning CSR For the past decades, CSR activities were practice by many organizations, but it was done on an unequal proportion. To this effect, The Minister of Finance, in his 2009 budget speech announced the legal creation of the CSR Fund. After amendments, the Income Tax Act (1995 Consolidated) stipulates, any company making a profit is required as per Section 50K and 50L to contribute 2% of its book profit. This helped to create a CSR Fund so as to finance the different CSR activities in which the company is involved. The Government of Mauritius designed a framework with the objective of mandating registered companies to pay 2% of their book profit towards CSR programs that contribute to the social and environmental development of the country. 2.4 Legal framework of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) The legalization of CSR, has designed a new framework whereby, any company adopting a CSR activity, should first seek for approval from the CSR Committee so as the program be accredited as an eligible one. Below, are the different changes brought in the legislation so as ease CSR practitioners. Key areas can be found in the Amended Income Tax Act (1995 Consolidated, Section 50K and 50L) which are as follows; Approved non governmental organization (NGO). The NGO should follow certain criteria. These criteria can be summarized as follows; The NGO should have a legal locus stand The NGO should be run on a non-profit basis. The cost involved in implementing the CSR program should not exceed 15% of the total cost. Proper records and books should be kept by the NGO and must summit certified audit reports. Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). Any company whose CSR Fund exceeds Rs. 2 million can use a Special Vehicle to implement its CSR programs. The criteria for Special Purpose Vehicle and an approved NGO are the same. Corporate Partners. Sometime, companies call upon organizations which conduct CSR activities on behalf of the company. These organizations should follow the same criteria as above, to the exception that companies with a CSR budget less than Rs. 2 million, using a corporate partner should not spend more than 25% of the 2% CSR value budget in implementing the CSR programs. The CSR Committee has adopted two categories of CSR Fund: The 2% of the book profit is equal to Rs.2 million or above, that is, CSR programs are conducted with a CSR Fund of equal Rs 2 million or above. The 2% of the book profit is less than the Rs. 2 million, that is, CSR programsare conducted with a CSR Fund of less than Rs 2 million. Figure 1 and 2 below shows how fund are being channeled so as to harmonize CSR practices. Figure 1(Modalities for a company with book profit less than Rs 100 million) Figure 2(Modalities for a company with book profit above Rs 100 million) As seen above, figure 1 and 2 shows clearly, if any amount of unused fund from the CSR Fund should be remitted to the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA). All companies, remitting their return at the end of a tax year should submit a return on the different CSR activities undertaken by the company during the tax year. 2.5 CSR Fund This refers to the amount collected for implementing CSR activities. As seen above, in Figure 1and 2, programs can be either corporate or national. Corporate CSR programs are those activities internal to a company. The usual beneficiaries are the company employees. It may vary from size of the company to the number of employee within. Corporate programs are financed by the of the 2% book profit. National program are those programs, which are perceived as national inequalities. Example of National program can be: Socio Economic Development( fight against gender and human rights) Health Education and training( empowering women) Leisure and sports Environment Calamities intervention and support Eradicating absolute poverty Any amount left, unused in the corporate CSR Fund, is remitted to the MRA. This amount is deposited in the National CSR Fund which will be used to combat the above mention inequalities. The National CSR Fund is approximately of Rs 2 billion( CSO,2010). 2.6 The Hospitality Industry -Definitions Definitions of the hospitality have been approached from a number of different perspectives. Most of them combine physiological and psychological elements with security and levels of service. Hospitality is concerned with the provision of physiological and psychological comfort with defined levels of service. The satisfactions may be physiological (thirst, bed, warmth), economic (value for money), social (company, service) and psychological (self-esteem, status, security). C. Cooper, R. shepherd, J.Westlake (1994) Even if the approach to defining hospitality may shift according to the authors, there are a number of integral elements that are common to all. These are: Hospitality is a complex combination of tangible and intangible features and benefits Hospitality involves a satisfying interaction between the service provider and the customer Hospitality provides guests with security, psychological and physiological comfort by offering food, beverage and accommodation. Therefore, bearing in mind the above characteristics, a simpler definition of the hospitality industry may be: The Hospitality Industry is involved with providing accommodations, food, beverage, entertainment, comfort and recreation for travelers away from their usual residences and normal surroundings. The industry also naturally look forward to meet the customers needs for safety and support of their persons, property, modes of transportation, and even the varying purpose of their travel. Speaking generally, those who make use of hospitality services demand attainment of a professional level of quality consistent with world standards, although perhaps adjusted for local conditions. They anticipate the facilities will be clean, comfortable, safe and secure. They expect good food and beverage at a reasonable rate. Furthermore, they look for courtesy, friendliness, respect and identification from the host. Perhaps more importantly they demand honesty, truth and equity in their dealings with the operator and his employees. 2.7 Hospitality Industry In Mauritius HISTORICAL BACKGROUND In Mauritius, the first hotel was the Park Hotel in 1952 so as to accommodate the crew members coming at that time. Then came the Mauritius Hotel, the first beach hotel, built in 1954 at Le Morne followed by Le Chaland, another beach hotel in 1961. But the real development of tourism took place soon after Mauritius got its independence from the British. In early 1970`s the creation of Trou aux Biches Hotel by the Mauritius Hotels, the setting up of the Club Medità ©ranà ©e and the Saint Gà ©ran Hotel by the Southern Sun Hotels as well as the Merville Beach Hotel by the ex-British Colons who wanted to come back here during the winter months of England. The Mauritius Hotel is now the Beachcomber group and the Southern Sun Hotels is the Sun International Resorts Limited. At present there are 105 hotels in Mauritius (operational) and there are not less than 5 more under construction as per the registered list set by the Ministry of Tourism. The numbers of hotels, rooms and bed places have increased constantly from 1991. Moreover the Prime Minister has announced his vision to reach 2 million tourists in 2015. Consequently an average annual growth of 10% in tourist arrival is expected. In order to reach this target, an approximate number of 18500 rooms should be made available. This will bring about the creation of around 37000 direct jobs and double the amount in terms of indirect jobs. Due to the rapid growth of tourism and hospitality industry, government has introduced incentives for the private sector to bring in a sustainable development, namely by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. This is achievable through proper public-private sector partnership. Overview of the Hotel industry IN MAURITIUS The hospitality industry in Mauritius has developed rapidly during the past 25 years. The coastal regions as well as the interior part of the island are constantly changing with the construction of the hotels and the increasing number of vehicles being used for the tourism industry. In 2007, the tourism industry was considered the third pillar of the economy after Sugar and Textile, and currently it plays a vital role in the economic growth of the country. The undoubted fall of 35% in the price of sugar and the removal of preference agreement with the EU market, has earmarked the tourism industry as the main industry capable of boosting the Mauritian economy. In April 2010, according to the last bulletin published by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), Mauritius welcomed 249,971 tourists as compared to 232,908 in corresponding quarter in 2009, registering a 7.3% growth. Net receipt of Rs 11,021 million, that is, a growth of 7.4% compared to Rs 10,265 million for the same period last year. Figure 3 below show the arrival of tourist compared to the same period last year. Figure 3; table of arrival of tourist till the end of March Source: CSO data dated April 2010 But after two decades of impressive growth, the need for responsible corporate governance has been felt in the country as the attitudes; mentality and knowledge of those working in that industry have not evolved at the same pace in terms of social responsibility and environmental awareness. Impacts of this rapid and somehow unplanned development are being experienced in the environment at large. Still, a lot has to be done to meet the competitive edge through proper campaign and involvement of all stakeholders so as to contribute towards sustainable development of the hospitality sector. In order to support its continuous growth, the Mauritian Tourism and Hospitality industry needs well-trained staff with full knowledge of their product while respecting the socio-economic and cultural environment in which the Mauritian tourism product is evolving. It is really important to maintain a high standard of efficiency and service so as to meet the requirements of an increasingly competitive and sophisticated global market. 2.8 CSR in the hotel industry In Mauritius Within the hospitality industry it has been agreed that there are increasing environmental and societal concerns. The big question is how to manage our environmental impact as demand grows against a backdrop of increasing vulnerability. As a result of demand for more sustainable destinations and travel preferences, management policies are being felt. Hotels practicing CSR look at the following areas: Workplace (where employees are treated equally and fairly) Marketplace (stakeholders) Environment (which has to be sustained for the future generation) Community Ethics Human rights Many hotels are now aware of CSR practices and have begun to use environmental-friendly products. Hotels in Mauritius are reducing the use of hazardous or non-degradable chemicals. Big hotel chains like Oberoi Mauritius recycle oil, water and plastic bottles while all hotels with more than 50 rooms are compel to recycle water as per the legislation. Hotels tend to purchase products that have a reduced environmental impact during their life cycle, from suppliers that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility to their customers and the society. Furthermore, Association des Hoteliers et Restaurateurs de L`Ile Maurice (AHRIM), is fully supporting the CSR initiatives initiated by the Mauritian Government. Through its members, they are actively putting forward the CSR activities on a regional basis all over the island. Stakeholders (employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, business partners, government) are getting more and more involved the hotels CSR activities. Hotel employees are educated to make a conscious decision in favour of environment and social issues in their private and business lives. Hotel guests are informed about CSR activities and are asked to participate in responsible business activities within the hotels and to work together to find innovative solutions that satisfy the hotels economic, environmental and social objectives. Managers are asked to abide by local and EU legislation especially on labour laws, health and safety, human rights and the environment. A great deal can be done when developing a hotel property in order to make both the development process and the eventual operation more environmentally sustainable. One of the aims of CSR is to make the community benefit from the hotel industry. 2.9 Benefits of CSR in the hotel industry Hotels who adopt CSR into their operations and public image depend on the following factors: Size Level of diversification Research and Development Advertising Government Intervention Consumer Income Labour market conditions Stage of the industry life cycle However this differs for different hotel organization, for example, larger hotels like international hotel chains may operate a CSR program at a lower cost than a small hotel because of economies of scale. It is a method for organization to distinguish themselves from their competitors Firstly, hotels benefit from CSR as it helps to reduce operating cost such as implementing of recycling and energy saving programs. Secondly, their brand image and reputation are enhanced as consumers prefer companies with CSR programs. Another benefit derived by hotels is in terms of productivity and quality since productivity goes up whenever working conditions improve. Other beneficiaries of the CSR programs are immediate environment in which the company is evolving. It comprises of the local community, neighboring villages, employees who usually live in those areas, the hotel guests and the host country at large. Hotels are expected to have ethical and social commitments, valued connections with partners and consistency over time to build trust with the stakeholders. In doing so, the hotel organizations are also developing societal marketing concept, therefore beneficiate from it.

Ancian Roman Arcitecture :: essays research papers

Ancient Roman Architecture The ancient Romans are famous for many things. One thing is their adaptation and development of architecture. From the Etruscans and early tribes the Romans found most of their basic architectural skills. From the Greeks some components of Roman architecture were adapted. Which gives some early Roman architecture some characteristics of oriental architecture because of Greek contact with the Orient. The heart of Roman architecture was the Roman forum, which was really being constructed under the rule of Octavian (Augustus) Caesar. As time progressed the Roman architecture went into a stage of Greek like buildings. After this Roman architecture as we know it today was starting to take form. Etruscan architecture was really the beginning of Roman architecture. For example in Etruscan tombs people would find many types of architectural traits found in many Roman buildings. Like the fact they had vaulted entrances. Some cities had an influence, such as the fortified city of Norba. After this Greece started to gain control in Italy that greatly affected the Roman architecture of this time but not as much as Etruscan does in the future. When the Greeks came in Rome was building their new buildings in the classic Greek vaulted construction with Doric style columns. The start of this was in 179 B.C., it started with the planing of the Temple to Fortuna Virilis. This was completed in approximately 100 B.C. Then shortly after the completion of the Tabularium built in the time of Sulla. In this period under the dictator Sulla, Hellenistic architecture flourished in Rome, with the buildings Lindos, Cos, the acropolis at Pergamon, Fortuna at Praeneste, the sanctuary of He! rcules Victor at Tibur, and the temple of Jupiter Anxur at Terracina. Though all these buildings were noticeably Hellenistic, they retained the Roman’s own unique architectural style. Such as the cylindrical shape of Forum Boarium, this was an original shape for the Romans along with the roof. Eventually the Hellenistic architecture was being pushed out by Romanization. When Rome gained leadership over Neighboring countries and was starting to unite the cities, in about 300 B.C. Rome started to gain it’s own unique architectural culture. When Rome was expanding they build grids of roads, and with this advance Rome had a much greater ability to build massive projects. Such as Octavian (Augustus) Caesar’s Forum, aqueducts, temples, jetties, safe ports, bridges, marsh drainage and the first truly planned cities. These cities were truly planned to certain specifications and were built and optimized for certain purposes. After the Hellenistic period was nearing an end in Rome Octavian (Augustus) Caesar took control of Rome and started to start some major development programs. A tribute to the god of Mars called the Ultor for the death of Ancian Roman Arcitecture :: essays research papers Ancient Roman Architecture The ancient Romans are famous for many things. One thing is their adaptation and development of architecture. From the Etruscans and early tribes the Romans found most of their basic architectural skills. From the Greeks some components of Roman architecture were adapted. Which gives some early Roman architecture some characteristics of oriental architecture because of Greek contact with the Orient. The heart of Roman architecture was the Roman forum, which was really being constructed under the rule of Octavian (Augustus) Caesar. As time progressed the Roman architecture went into a stage of Greek like buildings. After this Roman architecture as we know it today was starting to take form. Etruscan architecture was really the beginning of Roman architecture. For example in Etruscan tombs people would find many types of architectural traits found in many Roman buildings. Like the fact they had vaulted entrances. Some cities had an influence, such as the fortified city of Norba. After this Greece started to gain control in Italy that greatly affected the Roman architecture of this time but not as much as Etruscan does in the future. When the Greeks came in Rome was building their new buildings in the classic Greek vaulted construction with Doric style columns. The start of this was in 179 B.C., it started with the planing of the Temple to Fortuna Virilis. This was completed in approximately 100 B.C. Then shortly after the completion of the Tabularium built in the time of Sulla. In this period under the dictator Sulla, Hellenistic architecture flourished in Rome, with the buildings Lindos, Cos, the acropolis at Pergamon, Fortuna at Praeneste, the sanctuary of He! rcules Victor at Tibur, and the temple of Jupiter Anxur at Terracina. Though all these buildings were noticeably Hellenistic, they retained the Roman’s own unique architectural style. Such as the cylindrical shape of Forum Boarium, this was an original shape for the Romans along with the roof. Eventually the Hellenistic architecture was being pushed out by Romanization. When Rome gained leadership over Neighboring countries and was starting to unite the cities, in about 300 B.C. Rome started to gain it’s own unique architectural culture. When Rome was expanding they build grids of roads, and with this advance Rome had a much greater ability to build massive projects. Such as Octavian (Augustus) Caesar’s Forum, aqueducts, temples, jetties, safe ports, bridges, marsh drainage and the first truly planned cities. These cities were truly planned to certain specifications and were built and optimized for certain purposes. After the Hellenistic period was nearing an end in Rome Octavian (Augustus) Caesar took control of Rome and started to start some major development programs. A tribute to the god of Mars called the Ultor for the death of

Cybercrime in Today’s World Essay

I have been asked to write a paper concerning cybercrime in the world today. I will go over what cybercrime is, how much it is affecting the United States, possible ways of enforcement and why or why not enforcement would be effective. What is a cybercrime, in your own words? Cybercrime is using computers or technology in order to steal information or to create fake identities over the World Wide Web. It is a growing problem in the world today, especially in countries like China, Japan and the United States where populations are high. Phone scams are another type of cybercrime as people will try to glean vital information from another by pretending to be a grandchild or a salesman. Cyberspace allows people to invade another person’s or company’s computer and download sensitive materials such as social security numbers, birth certificates and tax information. What is the extent of cybercrime in the United States? Computerescape. om says that â€Å"Cybercrime is widespread throughout the United States with 73% of American internet users being victims of cybercrime, either through viruses, online credit card or identity theft†*. With over 300 million Americans in the US, that comes out to 219 million Americans that have been or are currently victims of a cybercriminal. Most of the victims of identity theft are infants and the elderly. My own infant cousin had his social security number stolen shortly after his death. It took several months to recover it. How do you think we should control / enforce cybercrime? I personally believe that the only way to control cybercrime is to attach a major virus to sensitive files, so that when an unauthorized person tries to access it, it attaches itself to that person’s computer, downloads any information regarding the owner of the computer, sends that information to the authorities, and finally scrambles all data on the computer. The authorities will then be able to make an arrest and unscramble the computer so that evidence can be obtained. The offender should then have an appendage cut from their body on national television, so that others thinking of committing the same crime will hopefully be deterred. If the person should offend again, then they should be stoned until dead by the people that they have stolen from. Do you think enforcement can be effective? Why or why not? I don’t think that any type of enforcement would be effective as tracking anything in cyberspace is time consuming and if the person was determined enough, they would find a way around the enforcement. Security cameras are an excellent point. You can have the main points of a store being watched by cameras, but the only places you have issues with theft is in the cameras blind spots. A security system will alert you if someone comes in through a door or window, but isn’t programmed to respond if a person decides to cut a hole in the wall or ceiling and enter the premises without ever tripping the system. If someone wanted to commit a robbery and they knew that a police patrol car passed by every 45 minutes, they would wait until 10 minutes after the patrol car had passed and then rob the business, knowing that it would be at least another 10 minutes before police could respond. Criminals will always find a way to circumvent the enforcers of the law.

Prostate cancer prevention and treatment essays

Prostate cancer prevention and treatment essays Prostate cancer prevention and treatment In 2005, over 232,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and over 30,000 men will die from it.(Prostate Cancer Facts.) Thats one new case every two and a half minutes and a man dieing every seventeen minutes. That leaves men with a 33% higher risk for receiving prostate cancer than woman have for receiving breast cancer.(Prostate Cancer Facts.) One in six Americans men will receive prostate cancer.(Nobody Knows) A non smoking man is more likely to get prostate cancer that the next seven most common cancers combined.(Nobody Knows) With so many people getting prostate cancer you can see why it has become the most common cancer in America and the number two cause of death in non smokers.(Prostate Cancer Facts.) But there are things that you can do to considerably lower your risk for contracting prostate cancer, and if its contracted there are many options to try to remove it. First off we need to establish just what exactly a prostate is, as most people do not know. A healthy prostate is about the size of a walnut, and it is shaped like a donut.(Prostate cancer) The prostate is located between the rectum and the bladder and is connected to the urethra (the tube that leads out of the body).(The Prostate) The prostate gland is part of a mans body which produces the fluid that mixes in with semen during ejaculation. Next, I felt as though people need to be informed as to just exactly what cancer is. The human body is constructed of cells, the building blocks of life. When cells get old they purposely die so that a new cell can take its place. During this routine cell death and rebirth, cells can develop that do not follow the normal patterns of death and rebirth. Causing cells not to die when they should and reproducing when they shouldnt. This ultimately leads to the ...

Utility and Marginality

Utility and Marginality Introduction The classical economist, Adam Smith, presented the diamond-water paradox theory in academic circles. Concisely, the diamond-water paradox theory refers to the outright contradiction that, despite water being more useful for human survival than diamonds, the latter is highly priced in the market.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Utility and Marginality specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Blaug (1962) observes that, Adam Smith had presented this theory based on value, which in this context had two meanings: value in use and value in exchange. Water has a higher value in use since it is more essential for human survival than diamonds (p.17). However, since water is readily available in almost all human habitats, it has lower/little value in exchange. On the other hand, diamond is very scarce; therefore, most people would be willing to give more money in its exchange than water, making it a very expensive commod ity. Adam Smith’s presentation of the theory later came under criticism because the comparison being between heterogeneous commodities could have been explained better by the concept of marginal utility, which he had ignored. Wage Determination in Labor Markets Marginality is a term used for reference to a commodity pricing process that is neither based on the usefulness (total Utility) nor the amount of labor expended for production, but rather on its marginal utility. Marginal utility can be explained by assuming a rational consumer will consume commodities A and B in such a combination as to derive maximum utility. Further, consumption of any additional unit by the consumer marginal utility derived would be smaller. This phenomenon (reducing marginal utility) is known as diminishing marginal utility. Since water is readily available, its average consumption per person is relatively high, hence results in low marginal utility. Diamond, on the other hand, is scarce; therefor e, the average consumption of diamond per person is very low and resulting to a high marginal utility. Due to its high marginality, many people are willing to pay a higher price for diamonds than for water. A further scenario that has greatly drawn attention is the paradox of value in the fields of sport and that of noble professions such as teaching. Teachers, in any part of the world, receive very low salaries for their highly esteemed service to the society.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the contrary, sportsmen draw fat paychecks for mere entertainment, a service that society would comfortably live in its absence. The question, however that arises is as to whether this pricing gaps between the two commodities is justifiable. Ensuing is a discussion on the two professions and the factors that lead to such a lift in the market pricing. Several factors determi ne the wage levels in the labor market. Atchison, Belcher, and Thomsen classified the factors that influence wages in the market into four categories: â€Å"economic, institutional, behavioral, and equity considerations† (2000, p.50). Economic factors refer to the general market forces of supply and demand. Economic factors would perhaps offer a quick explanation as to why a teacher would get a much lower pay than a professional athlete; the teaching industry has more labor supply than the athletics industry therefore the athlete can easily bargain a higher salary than that a teacher. In addition, when one considers the institutional ability and willingness to pay, again it becomes evident that the athletics profession would pay highly since it brings in high revenues as compared to the teaching profession. For instance, the typical sources of revenue for the athletics sport would include ticket sales, commission from food sales, advertisements, sale of broadcasting rights, a nd sale of branded merchandise. The overall revenue collected is usually a huge amount and given the low numbers of athletes then the paycheck is a huge sum of money. On the other hand, the number of teachers is very big and the source of revenues is usually limited to payments from students as well as the budgetary allocations by the government. Given the limited revenues, the teacher has no option but to accept a lower pay than an athlete does. Behavioral factors for wage determination that include competition in the industry play a key role in wage determination. Whereas competition is not a key consideration for a teacher, competition is a key determinant for an athlete, which then means that the teaching discipline would be more congested than the athletics’. Lastly, the principles of equity as a factor of wage determination, dictates that the revenues available be disseminated equitably among the players, which leaves the teacher with a lower average pay than the athlet e because of low revenues.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Utility and Marginality specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Diamond-Water Paradox and athletes’ salaries Paradox of value theory as stated above refers to a scenario where a commodity that is seen to as essential to human life is lowly priced, whereas a commodity of little value to human life is highly priced. Teaching is a service that is very important to society as a teacher is the porter who molds the pupil’s future. On the other hand, a sportsman at best would offer just entertainment to society. Despite the great role a teacher plays in shaping the society’s future, the teacher earns significantly lower pay than a sportsperson. As elucidated above, the major explanation for the huge gap in pricing of the two commodities is neither the labor input nor total utility but marginal utility. Whereas a teacher would reach to a very few s tudents (low marginality) sportsman on the other hand, would reach an enormous number of his fans (high Marginality). Athletes’ Salaries and Pricing of sporting events Questions arise as to the connection between the huge salaries for athletics and the pricing of sporting events. Landsburg (2000) stated that â€Å"it’s not his salary that raises the ticket but his ability to raise ticket prices.† An athlete commands a large base of fans that in most cases is willing to reward his/her rare abilities and skills by buying the ticket. In addition, the purchase of the highly priced ticket for a sporting event is purely the consumer’s choice and no one can take away such discretion (Murray, 2002, p.26). Another reason that influences the pricing is market supply and demand forces; given the high demand and limited supply of the sporting event, naturally the prices adjust to bring market operations to a state of equilibrium. The sporting profession has continued to reward its players attractively over the years. In baseball, for example, currently the highly paid player is Alex Rodriguez of New York who earns an average pay of $33 million per year. Therefore, the high salaries of athletes do not raise prices of the sporting events; fans are willing to pay the high prices to enjoy what athletes have to offer and this has in effect increased players’ salaries.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Conclusion The Diamond-water Paradox theory puts forth the generalization and a solid pricing strategy based on marginality and utility. It posits that it is not the total utility (usefulness of diamonds or water) that matters, but the marginal utility (usefulness of each unit of Diamond or Water). In my personal view, the hiring practice of sportsmen should not be regulated since the field has natural regulatory forces that precipitate the best sports teams of the time. Therefore, regulations are not necessary. References Atchison, T., Belcher, D., Thomsen, D. (2000). Wage level And Its Determinants. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Print. Blaug, M. (1962). Economic Theory in Retrospect. Cambridge University Press. Print. Landsburg, S. (2000). At $10 a fan, That’s $17 million. The New York Times. Retrieved from web. Murray, C. (2002, September 6). Scoring the Big Money: Do athletes deserve so many Millions? Here is how you might be responsible for Jete’s paycheck. New York Times Upfront, 42, pp.26.

Credit risk management of CDSs, case from AIG Essay

Credit risk management of CDSs, case from AIG - Essay Example In regard to the bailout, AIG was presented with access to a $85 billion credit facility. In exchange, the United States government was presented with warrants for a 79.9% equity stake in AIG and the power to expel dividend payments to shareholders. AIG’s misfortunes started in a unit known as AIG Financial Products, which traded in credit default swap (CDS). A CDS acts as a safeguard against a default on assets that are connected to corporate debt and mortgage securities. The losses to AIG’s portfolio of CDSs were prompted by the disintegration of the subprime mortgage1 market. A groundbreaking amount of defaults by subprime borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages initiated the current catastrophe in the global financial markets in 2008. Most of these began in 2005 and 2006 when lenders remarkably loosened up on underwriting standards. Figure 4.2: Subprime mortgage originations Source: Bradford (2008) ‘The Subprime Mortgage Meltdown, the Global CreditCrisis and the D&O Market.’ Advisen : Productivity&insight for insurance professionals. The assumption was that homeowners would refinance prior to the monthly payments being readjusted, but decreasing real estate prices made it inaccessible for the majority of subprime borrowers who had hardly any or no equity in their houses to refinance. As they were incapable of paying the increased monthly payments, many borrowers had no choice but to default. Defaults in U.S. mortgages rose beyond record levels in the second quarter of 2007, and the fallout rapidly expanded all through the financial markets. The subprime mortgage debacle immediately brought forth the worldwide credit crisis. AIG is one of the financial institutions with credit default swaps business that was also affected during these circumstances. From then on, many CDSs were sold as insurance to cover those exotic financial instruments that created and spread the subprime housing crisis. As those mortgage-backed securities2 and collateralized debt obligations3 became more or less valueless, abruptly that reputedly low risk event saw an actual bond default occurring on a daily basis. AIG sold CDSs were no longer taking in free cash. It had to pay out a large amount of money. The crisis at AIG is a â€Å"question of liquidity, not of capital†, according to ROB Schimek, EVP and CFO of AIG Property Casualty Group. Despite the fact that there have been a small amount of losses paid under the CDSs, contract provisions demand of AIG to post collateral in cash if the value of the assets underlying a CDS declines. At the parent level, AIG has approximately $80 billion in shareholder equity, though the majority of that is secured in the company’s insurance operations and cannot be converted to meet the collateral calls of the financial products unit. Since it did not have enough cash to meet the collateral demands, the company faced a liquidity crisis and bankruptcy protection. 4.3 What AIG actual did leaded the company go down 4.3.1 The undoing of AIG liquidity crisis AIG reported â€Å"an unrealized market valuation loss of $11.5 billion on [the] super senior credit default swap (CDS) portfolio† held by its subsidiary, AIG Financial Products in the annual report for 2007. The definition of CDSs was discussed in chapter 2.2. This initiated a drastic downfall and ended AIG’

Background theory on BUCKLING and DFINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS Dissertation

Background theory on BUCKLING and DFINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS - Dissertation Example These underwent no major changes in the next 100 years. In 1845, A.H.E Lamarle proposed the theory that Eulers formula could only be effectively utilised if the slenderness ratio was beyond a certain prescribed limit. In 1889 Considere further made an addendum in the form that Eulers formula could not be used for inelastic buckling since the actual section modulus available on the concave and concave sides of a bend beam were different. This lead to the formulation of the Reduced Modulus theory for buckling and which is still undergoing lot of revisions. (Gere James & Timoshenko Stephen, 2004) Theory Euler by a series of experiments observed that the buckling stress generated in an axially loaded column is directly proportional to the Youngs Modulus, the moment of inertia of the material and inversely proportional to the effective length of the member. In other words he represented the formula by a simple equation. Pcr=Ð » x E x I/ Le^2 Here Pcr represents the critical load, E the Y oungs Modulus which is an inherent property of the material, I the moment of inertia is function of the dimensional values in terms of breadth and height of the material. Le represents the effective length of the column. ... Another combination is that of the column fixed at the base and pinned on top. Calculating this from a series of differential equation with known end conditions would provide an effective length of 0.7L. Hence the Euler’s equation for all the above commonly loaded conditions can be represented as Pcr=Ð »^2 x E x I/ (K x L)^2 where K=2 for fixed-free column, K=1 for pinned end columns, K=1/2 for columns with fixed ends and K=0.7 for column fixed at base and pinned at top. (Gere James & Timoshenko Stephen, 2004) Source: Gere James & Timoshenko Stephen, 2004 The Euler’s formula is used to calculate the corresponding critical stress that is generated due to this critical load Pcr. Here ?cr= Pcr/ A where A is the area of cross section of the member which could further written as ?cr=Ð »^2 x E/(L/r)^2. Here L/r can be together noted as the slenderness ratio. L as denoted earlier is the length of the column while r=v I/A is called the radius of gyration of the member. (Gere James & Timoshenko Stephen, 2004) Using Eulers Theory in Calculations For the analysis of simple beams using Eulers formula, slenderness ratios of columns should not surpass 180. For other members that absorb compression forces the L/r ratio is limited to 200. (Welded Tanks for Oil Storage, 2008) For checking whether the column provided for a section is safe, the actual compressive stress is calculated using the simple formula ? actual=P/A whether P is the external load and A is the cross section of the member. The L/r ratio of the selected member is checked and limited to 180. Thereafter maximum allowable compressive stress generated is found out by using the above formula ? allowable=Ð »^2 x E/(L/r)^2 for columns. If the actual stress calculated is less than the maximum