Technology: A User Friendly for Students

Technology has transformed the society leaving people with no choice but to conform to the constant innovations and learn to rely on what the technology has to offer. The advent of the twenty first century has gone to a lot of discoveries and innovations that require the people to increase the living standards in a society that is rapidly and constantly changing. Today, technology is even requiring a higher quality of education (Clark, Sanders, & Stammen, 1997).Apparently, the existence of technology gives people countless benefits to make lives more convenient. Students nowadays have been fortunate for having an advanced technology to be used for education purposes. Even though the society blames technology for the way it molds the young generation through the gadgets and modes of communication that give them independence, the advantages that these young people acquire from technology are evident.Technology helps the students to communicate well and immediately get and receive infor mation they needed for their studies. Moreover, technology makes easy transactions of the students inside and outside the schools. On the other hand, the idea of bringing technology outside the classrooms can be frightening because students always tend to look only at the benefits and convenience that it gives to the users. However, this may also open another opportunity to the young generation in attaining the real picture of the technological world.Technology does not always bring negative impacts because the students still benefit from the newly-innovated products in the society. The online libraries, internet messaging, and word processing are just few of the benefits that students learn and enjoy through the use of technology. Proper teaching of faculty about the right usage and limited exposure of students to technological gadgets can make technology user friendly and beneficial for the young adults. Apparently, the extent of beneficial relationship between technology and user s does not depend on how many gadgets a student has and how much he or she knows using them but having enough knowledge about technology and how to use them in proper ways can serve as the measurement of how these gadgets become friendly to its users.ReferenceClark, V. L. Sanders, G. F. & Stammen, R. M. (1997). Building a User Friendly Environment: The Challenge of Tecnology in Higher Education. Retrieved December 3, 2008, from http://www.kon.org/archives/forum/11-1/clark.html

The Byod Security Risk

The BYOD Security Risk Introduction The introduction of mobile devices in the workplace has been on the rise and there is no denying that these devices are transforming how companies do business. This has introduced the BYOD or Bring Your Own Device model in the workplace and its becoming more popular every day. BYOD is a policy that accepts employees bringing personally owned mobile devices to their workplace and using them to access company data such as email, file servers and databases as well as their personal applications and data.But as data transmissions increase with these devices so does the chances of them being hacked and the burden of successfully managing the mobile devices is laid upon the IT departments. One of the real underlying issue with BYOD and mobile security is the that people in IT, compliance and internal audit aren't willing to stick their necks out and try to enforce their mobile security policies or enforce an effective Enterprise Mobility Management solut ion. First Section Title goes hereEnterprise Mobility Management can be described as the set of people, processes and technology focused on managing the increasing array of mobile devices, wireless networks, and related services to enable broad use of mobile computing in a business context. Enterprise Mobility can be broken down into 2 parts Mobile Application Management and Mobile Device Management. In short Mobile Application Management or MAM is the use of secure application to connect employees to Crop data and the application secures the data from other apps on your phone.Mobile Device Management or MDM takes a centralized approach and installs an application on the mobile device and the software allows you to use all your native apps to access Crop data and email and is managed from a centralized server. Both these examples of Enterprise Mobility Management have their own pros and cons but provide solid solution to the mobile security issues in the workplace. Second Section ti tle goes here With the increasing need for mobile devices in the workplace and although ost employees have embarrassed it most IT departments are not ready to meet the security demands a mobile device network can put on a company. Let’s look at this survey where 4,000 employees in a verity of industries across 16 countries were surveyed and half of them use their mobile devices for work. CIO’s and IT departments want to embrace the BYOD model to help accomplish their company’s mission but they want to do it securely. At this point the secret is out BYOD is a real issue and IT departments need to strategize now for an effective enterprise mobility management solution.It’s time to ignore the standard approved device list, locking down corporate apps, and enforcing mobile device policy. The risk of a CIO or IT department failing to implement a suitable solution for their mobile device network is very real. It’s time to explore new ideas to effectively manage a mobile device network via the Enterprise Mobility platform. The invasion of mobile device’s into the workplace is going to happen weather industry leaders want them to or not, and smarter companies are looking to deploy Enterprise Mobility strategies before they are overrun.Third Section title goes here Adapting security and management for the new generation of mobile devices is turning out to be a huge corporate challenge. The Company Thomson Reuters like many companies is struggling to find which enterprise mobility management and security systems for their mobile device network consisting of mostly IPads and IPhones. Thomson Reuters has introduced the BYOD approach to its users to but not without a signed document requiring employees to surrender their device to IT if necessary if detection of negligent use.The problem with BYOD is that current IT, compliance and internal audits departments need to â€Å"Get With It† and enforce their mobile security polic ies. The threat of a security breach with mobile devices is real and large companies need to realize it and find the balance between usability and security. And it’s not just large companies and corporations that are being affected the BYOD model or the user of mobile devices in the workplace. Small business in the last several years and most businesses found mobile devices useful.But few small businesses are a where of the significances of an adequate mobile device management solution. A survey was conducted by CDW of 753 mobile device users and IT professionals from July 2012 to June 2012. The survey found that 79% of the small businesses deployed smart-phones to some of their employees but 67% of IT managers in the survey are unfamiliar with Enterprise Mobility Management software. The use or knowledge of mobile device management is virtually non-existent in small businesses.Fourth Section title goes here Not only is the lack of preparation by IT departments a problem in p osing a security risk, but the devices and the applications on them pose a security risk. Bit9 did a research study analyzing the security permissions of Androids 400,000 apps and found over 100,000 posed a security risk. 72% of them use at least one high-risk permission and 26% access personal data such as gps location, email, and contacts information.Even some basic apps like wallpaper apps ask for gps data and should be a red flag to users. Having these apps on your Android mobile device along with company date could be a serious problem. Especially since the average user doesn’t read the information pertaining to the app their installing. Fifth Section title goes here Furthermore the mobile devices themselves can be lost or stolen and if the data is not encrypted it can be accessed. In less than two years, from September 22, 2009 through May8, 2011, the U. S.Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) indicates that 116 data breaches of 500 records or more were the direct result of the loss or theft of a mobile device, exposing more than 1. 9 million patients' PHI. Sixty-four percent of physicians own smartphones and 30 percent of physicians have an iPad, with another 28 percent planning to buy one within six months, according to a recent Manhattan Research study. If one of these devices with patient information was lost without any type of enterprise mobility management software the patient data can be exposed.Conclusion In conclusion businesses can save money by letting employee’s buy their own devices, IT departments need to implement secure, efficient ways to let employees, contractors and guests gain access to the corporate network, while protecting data and applications. It takes a proactive approach to solve this BYOD problem and IT departments need to educate themselves on an enterprise mobility solution as mobile devices in the workplace is only going to play a larger role. Being able to manage and sec ure your mobile device network should be a priority of an IT Department.

Marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Marketing - Research Paper Example conducting an advertising campaign, and how can companies employ marketing tools to best realise their mission?, will be the primary concern in the paper. Through an analysis of the marketing presentations made by three guest speakers as well as my own secondary research and personal insights, it will be possible to arrive at answers to these questions. Before I came up with this research question, I thought about certain brands that stand out in my mind every time I think about a product. Wrigley’s is the brand king for chewing gum while Coca Cola rules the soft drinks industry; Colgate is quite strong in the toothpaste sector while Proctor and Alan dominate the breakfast cereal market (Boone & Kurtz, 2013). As these names floated through my mind, I began to wonder about the things that make them tick; some of them have been in business for over a century and still maintain dominance. Most of the answers could be found in the presentations while others were hidden in marketing articles, books and journals. The first speaker hit the nail on the head concerning this topic because he summarised it in three words: relevance, credibility and distinctiveness. He did a case analysis on Tourneau Inc., which is a luxury watchmaker headquartered in the US with approximately 37 stores countrywide. The organisation is not an easily recognisable and strong brand because it does not deliver these three qualities every time and in a consistent manner. Selecting Tourneau Watch seemed like an effective idea owing to certain characters possessed; first, it has been in business for over 100 years. It mimics the longevity that other well-known brands like Coke have in the marketplace; however, it did not possess the same market dominance that these other brands have. The presenter compared Tourneau’s performance with another leading brand in Switzerland called Butcherer; he found that there were certain discrepancies between them. If the case study organisation could borrow a

Ethics, Morals, and Criminals Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethics, Morals, and Criminals - Research Paper Example A few examples to mention could be company ethics, professional ethics, family ethics, or school ethics those who are participants in such establishments or institutions should have to adhere to. The outcome of such outlook is individual moral codes or values do not change often, while ethics can change depending on what the particular participation of individuals are. Accordingly, what ethics refers to is right way and wrong way of doing things or acceptable and unacceptable behavior in a given setup such as a workplace. Sources such as Josephine had what he called the Six Pillars individuals can use to improve their ethical approach when they make decisions. These Pillars are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Keeping them in mind while making decisions will enable individuals to harbor an ethical approach all the time. Individuals could also learn ethical norms starting from their own homes and then can capitalize on what they encounter in schools, churches, and eventually in the various social settings they could participate in. This means that individuals will start to make themselves familiar with what is right and wrong starting from their childhood. ... The reason for that could be the action might have overridden the legal rules that are put in place to govern individual behavior. However, ethics and moral are much broader than laws introduced by a given body such as a government and ethics and moral values are different from laws. The reason for that is a given action might be considered to be adhering to what the law requires, but when looking at the end result it is possible to find out it was unethical and vice versa where some actions might be illegal, but ethical. This kind of approach might be applicable in organizations where it is possible to engage in unethical behavior in order to benefit oneself or through a process of carrying out one’s duty when, for example, a medical practitioner carries out abortion some consider to be unethical or when a criminal lawyer has to defend a criminal that he or she knows could have committed a given crime, simply because their professional ethics require them to do so. There is a lso an outright criminal activity that could take place at workplace where at a higher level some company or government officials would decide to benefit themselves wrongfully by breaking company ethics codes or government regulations and policies. At a lower level employees could engage in larceny that will force them to break the law, as well as break the ethical code of the company they work for that forbids such activity, while at the same time they disregard their own moral values. Criminals When it comes to those labeled as â€Å"common criminals† the reason behind their action is more complicated than applying the rules of ethics and moral, because some of them, for various reasons explained below might not even be aware of the existence of

A Visit of Charity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A Visit of Charity - Research Paper Example In her 92 years, she wrote a couple of short stories, novels, essays, photographs, and one children's article. Welty makes use of her gift in literacy to convey concern to human huddles such as old age, illness, ignorance and poverty (Rags 1). These can be viewed in her short narrative, A Visit of Charity. In the narrative, Welty incites thoughts concerning selfishness, negligence, dehumanization, and callousness with the use of an ironic tone. The name itself is rather an irony (Rags 1). Charity refers to showing humanity, kindness, and social ethics toward individuals in need. However, neither the central character Marian nor society observes these principles. This article will analyze the short story, A Visit of Charity by Eudora Welty to explain its ironies. A Visit of Charity is an account about a 14 year-old girl, Marian, who goes to visit two elderly women in a nursing residence (Rags 1). The aim of her trip is to gain three points for her marks in Campfire Girl. By taking a p otted plant to the nursing residence, she can get an extra one mark, or a double point is added up if she takes a bible and reads it to the elderly women. Marian takes the bible with her a potted plant (McCartney 1). In the nursing residence, she is surprised by the inferior locality and two complaining old women. Throughout her short stay, she is strange, and her mind cannot work appropriately. She drops the abilities to see, think, hear clearly and speak. She has a strong desire to flee from this bizarre place, and from the strange elderly ladies. At the end, she leaves a weeping elderly lady and a prayerful old lady untouched. She digs up an apple she has buried under a tree and hurries to take the bus to go to her home (WriteWork 1). The narrative happens on an extremely freezing winter day at a nursing residence (WriteWork 1). The structure is portrayed as beaten block and it revealed the winter sun like a block of ice. It is redecorated by spiky dark hedge plants. These scenar ios imply the lack of warmth and affection from a society towards isolated elderly citizens in the nursing residence. Marian is the central character of the story (McCartney 1). She is portrayed as a self-centered individual. She is disturbed about the development of her Campfire Girl points more than everything. Her stopover is evidently hypocritical when she informs the nurse at the reception desk that she is a Campfire Girl and that she wants to pay a visit to a couple of elderly women. When the nurse poses whether Marian is familiar with any women there, she reply, no, however, she says that most of the women there will recognize her (McCartney 1). The potted plant is more proof that illustrates Marian’s self-interest. Rather than taking fruits or other more sincere and sensible gift, Marian opts to take a potted plant that can get her one extra mark. Nevertheless, compared to the earlier campfire girl who took a bible in her trip, Marian is thought to have a modest self- awareness. This is because she does not prefer to take a bible that can get more extra marks for her. Welty mockingly proposes that individuals who use bibles as an apparatus for self-gaining are certainly those who are too worried with their own benefits (Welty 4). Their proceedings fly in the face of consecration. Marian, nevertheless, dehumanizes the two elderly ladies automatically. She relates the voice of an elderly lady to a sheep’

History response 15 16 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

History response 15 16 - Assignment Example However, China had no single organization that had the naval power to create new target markets in other regions. This made China and it use of Opium to remain Inland medium of exchange hence was not transferred overseas. Britain step to colonize other parts of Asia signed a new regime in international opium trading. In the 18th century, at most in China Opium has replaced silver as the currency for trade. This resulted to the depreciation of the flow of silver from India to China. Thus, when British come to Asia, they did not expect this had taken effect hence had problem with the mode of payments. With increased competition, the British followed suit and started using Opium as a medium of exchange, however, they were not the only China’s Opium supplier. American’s also sold Turkish Opium to China. Later the Chinese government tried to stop the trade of opium by implementing harsh penalties such as death. The British merchants refused to sign the agreement, but the American signed. â€Å"This lead to conflict between British trade lords, the American Merchants, and the government of China,†

Television shows of Criminal Justice System Research Paper

Television shows of Criminal Justice System - Research Paper Example This show even shows that negative side of the criminal justice system as at certain times these investigators act against policies and even misuse their power in interrogations. 24 is even a television show in which federal agents of the federal agencies work to counter terrorist activities (Sutherland, 2002). The main focus of this show is an agent who used to work with the Counter Terrorist Unit and was continuously added and removed from the unit for conducting mal practices. This show provides a very negative image of federal agents and the tactics they use to obtain confessions from criminals and suspects. The tactics they represent in these shows are very harsh in nature and can even lead to death. On the other hand, this show even paints a positive image of the federal agency officers because at the end of the day the agent is able to solve criminal cases and defend his nation and this show even paints a picture that working according to the book at all times does not solve c riminal cases. Burn Notice is a television series that depicts that an under cover intelligence operative was fired and asked to leave his duty as an under cover operative (IMDB, 2012). In this series, the officer tries to figure out why he was suspended from his duties and who were responsible from letting him off from his duties (Donovan, 2008). During this process he continues to provide detective work for the community and he helps catching various criminals but he does so in an illegal manner as he does not have a job.

Literature review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Literature review - Essay Example The initiative of UNICEF is to increase the availability of ORS to everyone around the world in a way people would purchase household materials from any other shop like Coca Cola, soap, razor blades or the like. Oral Rehydration Therapy was found at the outset of millions of deaths due to dehydration caused by Diarrhoea. Children are more vulnerable to die from this disease than adults because they get dehydrated fast. Malnutrition among children is the major cause of Diarrhoea. In developing nations around 2.2 million people (mostly children) lose their lives due to inadequate safe drinking water, poor sanitation and hygiene and overcrowding in their locale. Ninety percent of these children are under the age of five. Oral Rehydration Therapy is a dream solution to avert these millions of death through awareness, prevention, treatment and intervention strategies. The application of ORT gained momentum from the medical point of view when it was discovered that when sodium transport and glucose transport is combined in the small intestine, glucose hastens the absorption of solute and water content into the body potentially. This has been referred as one of the significant advancement of medical science in the treatment of diarrhoeal dehydration in this century.(Anon, Rehydration Project). Until the use of ORT was found the only way to treat diarrhoea was to assist IVT (intravenous therapy) by qualified medical staff in a medical clinic or hospital. Dehydration can now be brought under control with a simple solution of sugar, salt and water that can be administered through mouth by the parents in a child’s home. Oral Rehydration salt solution is used for children and adults with diarrhea if preliminary consumption of normal fluids does not stop dehydration. The ingredients of ORS in grams per litre are Sodium Chloride (2.6 gm/l), Anhydrous Glucose (13.5 gm/l),

Christian Science Monitor Essay Example for Free

Christian Science Monitor Essay An article in the Christian Science Monitor last January tries to educate consumers about the value of carbon offset programs and whether they have any real effect on global warming. The article, published January 10, 2007, discusses the concept of carbon offsets and the efforts of some companies to become carbon neutral. The ideal are based on the idea that as consumers we emit a certain amount of greenhouse gases or are responsibility for having been emitted. In an effort to reduce that amount, the so-called â€Å"Carbon footprint†, consumers are being offered the chance to buy â€Å"carbon offsets†, a process by which a company takes some action to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted. If enough offsets are purchased, the person or company can become â€Å"carbon neutral† meaning that their actions are not increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the world. This article, â€Å"Do Carbon Offsets Live Up to Their Promise? †, is about the first report by someone trying to evaluate whether this is a good environmental effort or a giant fraud. The report, by the non-profit organization Clean Air-Cool Planet, argues that three-quarters of the 30 companies currently selling carbon offsets are doing a less than mediocre job of it. The companies were ranked on a scale of 1 to 10, 75 percent ranked less than a five. The article also details what criteria were used to evaluate the carbon offset programs. The intended reader of this article is the highly-informed readership of the Christian Science Monitor. The newspaper is one of the most well-respected in the country for journalistic excellence and assumes a certain amount of base knowledge in its readership. As such, the article could have been better at explaining some of the basic terms it used, but appeared to be scientifically accurate. Surprisingly, many of the article’s sources were people active in the environmental community. This would seem like an inherent bias in the article, but many of those people were willing to point out flaws in the carbon offset system. One representative of the Sierra Club told the Monitor that if carbon offsets were viewed like papal indulgences and people used them as an excuse to keep polluting, they could potentially be harmful to the planet. The article was also peppered with scientific facts including the idea that methane is a more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide without feeling like a science lecture. This article made me angry because it seemed to make it clear that carbon offsets are a sham. The article indicated that one criteria of the evaluation done by Clean Air-Cool Planet was to determine how many of these greenhouse gas reducing activities would have taken place regardless of whether the offsets were purchased. For companies who use producing alternate fuel sources as a carbon offset, it appears that this new trend is simply a way to capitalize their projects and make even more money. Other companies called planting trees their â€Å"carbon offset†. Since trees are a renewable resource, I am skeptical about when and where these trees were being planted. If they were planted to replace a forest that had just been clear cut for the local paper mill, then calling them a â€Å"carbon offset† is fraudulent and ridiculous. This article made me very leery of those who use carbon offsets in general, as it appears that this may indeed be a way for the indulgent to continue their polluting ways, never change their lifestyles to reflect the needs of the planet, and feel better about themselves while nothing is being done to stop global warming. This article left me with the impression that much of the hype about stopping global warming has been just that, hype, and that we will realize in a few years that the problem is getting exponentially worse despite our â€Å"efforts† to fix it.

History of Pole Dancing Essay Example for Free

History of Pole Dancing Essay Pole dancing is a combination of dance and gymnastics that is an increasingly popular form of fitness and dance. Pole dancers use a vertical pole which is either static or spinning, and train in gyms or dedicated dance studios. It’s no secret that pole dancing really started in the strip clubs. But it has evolved into so much more and pole dancing fitness enthusiasts and schools have been working tirelessly to change the perception to one of a legitimate dance style emphasising the acrobatics and strength. Circus influences such as Chinese pole and other aerial arts have helped along the way, moving it away from the erotic environment. Competitions are usually non-sexual and are judged on tricks and transitions rather than sensuality. Rather than just the gyrating and grinding people expect it to be, pole dancing requires an amazing amount of strength, flexibility and cardiovascular endurance, even a five minute routine is extremely tiring! Obviously in clubs, rather than actual tricks, there is a lot of floor-work and other things that are designed to arouse rather than amaze! Pole dancers use upper body and core strength are the most obvious requirements as there are a lot of climbs, spins and inverting the body weight – it often involves a lot of training to get anywhere near an advanced level. Pole dancing as we see it today originated during the depression in America. The traveling entertainment and carnival troupes would go from town to town. In one of the side tents aside from the main show, girls would dance suggestively on a small stage in front of crowds of cheering men. Sound familiar? Pole dancing gradually moved into to bars in the 1950s as burlesque became more popular and then during the 1980s in North America, became pole dancing and the modern striptease. It was only a decade later that a dancer in Canada started teaching pole dancing for fitness to women who weren’t club dancers. In Australia, the first pole dancing studio, Bobbi’s Pole Studio, opened in Sydney in 2004, closely followed by Pole Divas in Melbourne in 2004 and a national competition followed in 2005. Since then there have been dozens of pole dancing schools opening all over Australia and we boast some of the best pole dancers in the world, including multiple Miss Pole Dance World winner, Felix Cane. We do know that there are different styles of pole dancing including Chinese pole, and Mallakhamb (an Indian sport), neither of which have an erotic component and are mainly performed by men, so obviously pole dancing in different forms has developed around the world over time. The Mallakhamb pole is wide, made of wood and has a wooden ball on the top of it. Chinese Pole is usually performed using two poles, between which the men perform gravity defying acrobatics. During a pole dancing fitness class, which are often similar to aerobics or dance classes in their format, students begin with a cardiovascular warm up, use dynamic stretching and strength drills to prepare and then learn a series of tricks, climbs and inverts and often then put them into a dance routine to practice transitions and develop their endurance. One other thing that is often reported by women who have taken up pole dancing for fitness is a feeling of empowerment and increased confidence. Whether this is because of their developing strength, skill, grace or simply a sense of achievement, differs from student to student. Pole dancing now focuses on the fitness, acrobatics and dance performance aspects and competitions are fierce. Some dancers are lean contortion machines whilst some look like they could be body builders in their spare time. Women and men compete on a regular basis around the world in a number of styles, all with absolutely breathtaking performances. Pole dancing has definitely come a long way from the sexy tent pole dancing where it began!

The Principle Of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities Politics Essay

The Principle Of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities Politics Essay Introduction The assertion that climate change is anthropogenic and poses a serious threat to humanity is considered a valid argument by many schools of thought. This argument presents a platform for continual dialogue and negotiations between nations, supported with actions towards mitigating climate change and its threats. Resulting from several negotiations, which are not without controversy, are agreements, plans and policies such as the Kyoto Protocol, the Montreal Action Plan, the Rio Declaration and the Bali Road Map etc. all fashioned to ensure collective and wide participation amongst states in addressing climate change. Also, as part of global efforts, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established by the United Nations (UN), is assigned the task of generating guidelines and reports and also assessing the effects of climate change and the adequacy of response measures (Svensson, 2008). In addition, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is adopted by many states in order to prevent this negative change by mainly minimising the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission into the atmosphere (Svensson, 2008; Ringius et al., 2002). However, concerns have been raised about the efficacy and feasibility of some of these agreements, plans and frameworks as measures for controlling and managing climate change (Monbiot, 2006; Pinguelli-Rosa and Munasinghe, 2002; Hardy, 2003). These concerns call for unbiased reviews of climate change mitigation measures and the principles behind them within different framings of the problem. In this paper, I discuss a key principle behind climate change mitigation measures. I weigh the value of equity in climate change mitigation and identify the advantages and disadvantages of adopting the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR). In conclusion, I make a case for introducing viable principles as measures for tackling climate change. EQUITY IN CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change can be framed as a single or combination of issues such as ethical, political, historical, scientific, security and health issues etc (Randall, 2010). However, one can argue that although the universal perception of the magnitude of climate change is hinged mainly on scientific claims and evidence, this perception is broadened within the other issues or framings mentioned. Principles and mechanisms to control climate change are proposed, developed and implemented at local and international scales around these framings (Randall, 2010). Nonetheless, one consequential factor underlying these scales and framings is inequity (Pinguelli-Rosa and Munasinghe, 2002). Incidentally, equity is arguably the starting point of the discourse on climate change mitigation (Barkham, 1995). It forms the crux and as well constitutes the bane of many debates and negotiations on climate change (Ashton and Wang, 2003). Yet, Pinguelli-Rosa and Munasinghe (2002) contend that equity is not adequ ately addressed in key agreements and documents relating climate change. Contrary to this claim, Ashton and Wang (2003) argue that equity permeates UN negotiations and agreements on climate change. Equitable participation is to a large extent dependent on the understanding of the challenges posed by climate change (Skea and Green, 1997). On these premises, I argue that the explicit understanding of equity in the context of climate change at a local or international scale sets the stage for fairness in dealing with climate change problems. Notwithstanding, it is important to mention that it is difficult to reach a consensus on equity since it is reliant on different philosophical beliefs and notions (Ikeme, 2003). While it can be argued that climate change is a common problem, it also fair to recognise that responsibilities and impacts vary (Harris, 1999; Ashton and Wang, 2003). Consequently, differences and disagreements emerge. The phrase, unfair advantage in climate change negotiations, questions the practicability of equity and the comprehension of the common and differential nature of this global challenge. This undermines efforts to obtain viable solutions (Skea and Green, 1997). The mere recognition of inequity or equity may be considered a reasonable act of justice and key to solving the climate change problem. Thus, I put forward that the acceptance of equity as an integral component of negotiations opens up rather chaotic but pertinent twists in the climate change debate which on one hand can promote the efforts towards mitigating climate change and on the other hand serve as a conundrum against solutions. To explore these arguments and make a case for viable climate change solutions, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) as a tool for negotiating climate change solutions is defined and dissected at an international scale. This principle is equity-based and has been applied in key climate change negotiations (Ikeme, 2003; Okereke, 2008; Matsui, 2004; Ashton J. and Wang X., 2005). Principle 7 of the Rio Declaration, 1992 Common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) The application of this principle in the climate change saga has its origin from the UNFCCC Rio Earth summit of 1992 (Harris, 1999; Ashton and Wang, 2003; Matsui, 2004). It is regarded as the key principle in addressing the problem of GHG emissions in the Kyoto protocol (Matsui, 2004; Harris, 1999). The principle of CBDR is established on the grounds of equity and fairness and demands more responsibility from developed countries in a global participation towards seeking climate change solutions (Harris, 1999; Ashton and Wang, 2003; Matsui, 2004). The principle states that: States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earths ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command. (Source: United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, www.unep.org) This principle has come under close scrutiny and criticism in the climate change mitigation debate. Both the developing and developed states remain sceptical about this principle (French, 2000; Okereke, 2008). Why the principle of CBDR? Given the complexity of issues and arguments arising from climate change debates, one can only wonder how decisions can be regarded as fair and equitable (Ashton and Wang, 2003; Carzola and Toman, 2000). And if they are regarded as such how can their efficiency be measured? Outlining the reasons behind the application of this principle in this discourse sets the stage for a thorough analysis of its strengths and weaknesses. These reasons are: To distinguish between the contributions of the developed and developing states in the emission of GHG and subsequently determine their contributions in remedying the problem (Weisslitz, 2002; Pinguelli-Rosa and Munasinghe, 2002). To ensure financial aid and clean technology transfer to the developing states as a measure of mitigating climate change (Ashton and Wang, 2003; Shah, 2009). To provide a philosophical and legal support for achieving the objectives of key international agreements such as the Kyoto protocol etc. [note: this principle is not a legal obligation] (McManus, 2009; Rajamani, 2000). Identification and analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Principle of CBDR as a solution to climate change In relating CBDR to answering the following questions: who should accept responsibility for climate change? and on what basis should responsibilities be assigned, one can explore the pros and cons of this principle within different framings. The ambiguous nature of this principle in global climate change negotiations warrants answering these questions at an international scale. Livermann (2008) reinforces this assertion by pointing out that the challenge of the blame game in assigning responsibilities to states is controlled under negotiations driven by the principle of CBDR. Nevertheless, she concedes that there controversies in applying this principle. Strengths First, from a historical framing, it is difficult to reconcile the contribution of different polluters on an international scale over a long period of time (Caney, 2005). Attributing emissions directly to a country (from which the emission emanate) is impractical largely because GHG get completely mixed up in the atmosphere, which fundamentally has no boundary (Pinguelli-Rosa and Munasinghe, 2002). On this basis, the principle identifies a common responsibility (Pinguelli-Rosa and Munasinghe, 2002) for all states. This common responsibility is intrinsic in climate change negotiations and forms the fulcrum of viable agreements. During the era of massive global industrialisation, a lot GHG were released into the atmosphere (Stern, 2006; Pinguelli-Rosa and Munasinghe, 2002; Hardy, 2003). But the impact of distribution of these GHG is irrespective of who is responsible (Ikeme, 2003). The need for historical accountability became obvious during climate change negotiations (Neumayer, 2000). In this regard, the CBDR recognises that there are historical differences in emissions between the developing and the developed states and between developed states (Hepburn and Ahmad, 2005). In the words of Ikeme (2003, pp 7), bygones are not bygones. On this note one can argue that this principle is progressive in an intergenerational context. It considers how the emissions of the past can affect the future. It also establishes a moral and ethical basis for environmental justice which cannot be legally guaranteed (Kamminga, 2008; Ikeme, 2003). There are strong indications that climate change has an impact on the worlds economy (Stern, 2006). Similarly, the worlds economy has a hand in climate change. The economic boom which accompanied the industrialisation of the developed states arguably played a major role in aggravating climate change, leaving developing states and future generations at more peril to its effects (Barker, 2008; Stern 2006). This peril is more obvious due to the economic gap between these states. The CDBR is applied to this effect to bridge the economic gap between states, even though its application remains contentious (Najam et al., 2003; Ramajani, 2000). In the Kyoto protocol, economic based mechanisms adopted to mitigate climate change show the global proposition for shared responsibility (Halvorssen, 2007; Vashist, 2009). The CBDR is clearly one principle behind economic agreements of shared responsibility in the Kyoto protocol (Harris, 1999; Vashist, 2009). Thus CBDR is formulated to meet economic needs of states while tackling climate change. The CBDR also saves developing states the cost of engaging in stringent carbon cut regulations, thereby indirectly helping to build their economies in order to close the gap with the developed states. Through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto protocol, this principle arguably enhances the investment in clean technology globally, promoting ecological modernisation in the process. More so, CBDR facilitates the need for developed states to provide technological and financial assistance to the developing states for combating climate change (Scarpace, unknown). Developed states get credits under the CDM for avoiding emissions. Though, McManus (2009) argues that through the CDM, developing states meet sustainable development targets, I remain sceptical about this claim since the developing states remain at the core of disagreements in negotiations. I argue my case in the next section. Matsui (2004) and Harris (1999) suggest that the CBDR encourages the developing states to participate in climate change negotiations by pressurizing the developed states to bear the greater responsibility in the interim. However, there is need to back up this encouragement with actions. It seems encouragement is not enough judging from the GHG emission levels of countries like Brazil, China and India. While these countries are not committed to reducing their emissions now, I suggest this principle serves as legacy to ensure their future compliance and commitment in climate change mitigation initiatives, especially as they are at the forefront of pressing the developed states to comply with the Kyoto agreements. When aligned with neoliberal economic ideas and structures, the CBDR is usually successful (Okereke, 2008, pp 26). I argue that these ideas and structures are entwined in some of the mechanisms of the Kyoto protocol which encourage private participation in climate change mitigation such as the CDM. The introduction of equity based norms such as CBDR in approaching global environmental issues such as climate change shows the consideration of justice and equity in facing the challenge (Okereke, 2008). Weaknesses On the contrary, the interpretation of the principle of CBDR sparks controversy in the allocation of historical responsibility to states. Liverman (2000) argues that this favours the developed states. She also points out that while developing states have low emissions with high vulnerability; developed states have high emissions with low vulnerability. Hence, the basic interpretation of this principle is devoid of issues on vulnerability which is a big problem. Thus, one can infer that this principle is fundamentally constructivist and to a large extent uncaring about the issue of vulnerability of some states to climate change. By virtue of this assertion, there is no firm commitment by developed states to aid countries such as Bangladesh and the Maldives which are more vulnerable to the rise in sea levels. The case of vulnerability is can be appreciated more from a health perspective. The emergence of many diseases is now attributed to the increasing global temperatures (Patz et al. , 2007) and now climate change is seen as a threat to global human health (Cambell-Lendrum et al., 2007). It is also considered the largest health inequity of our time (Patz et at., 2007 pp.397). There is a notable asymmetry in vulnerability to diseases between the developed and developing states in favour of the developed states (Hardy, 2003, Patz et al., 2007, Cambell-Lendrum et al., 2007). The CBDR alignment with the aftermath of GHG emissions is myopic. This principle is not modelled to advance sustainable development in the developing states. (Scarpace, Unknown). The exportation of unclean technology by developed states to developing states for financial benefits is contrary to the objective of sustainable development. Many heavy polluting multinational industries now establish their plants in developing states where there are no stringent emission regulations. By virtue of the CBDR, the weight of responsibility on developing countries to voluntarily cut GHG emissions is insignificant (Scarpace, unknown). Though, some schools of thought will argue that setting targets for developing states will limit their growth and possibly widen the economic gap which the principle aims to narrow (Pinguelli-Rosa and Munasinghe, 2002), I maintain that there should be some sort of commitment from developed nations based on this principle or a reviewed principle because climate change still remains a common problem. A scenario where some states with historically insignificant emissions but are now are big emitters with strong economic capabilities, is not adequately depicted in the CBDR. Due to their economic capacities some of these developing states can fully participate in reduction of GHG. Under the guise of the principle, these states like China do so little to solve the problem (Scarpace, Unknown). The ambiguity of this principle questions the level at which the principle should be adopted. Caney (2005) suggests that this principle may fit international interests but neglects lower level interest such as local national interests and individual interests. Finally, Matsui (2004) argues the CBDR has a propensity for what he calls double standard or what Okereke (2008) refers to as responsibility deficit where the willingness to act responsibly is superseded by cost-benefits. This contention is made worse on the grounds that the CBDR principle is not legally binding, irrespective of the fact that the Kyoto protocol was signed into law (Matsui, 2004; French, 2000). Also, the pressing economic needs of states may result in limited devotion of resources necessary for global solutions to climate change (French, 2000). There is also a sense of caution and competition amongst the developed countries such that they want to avoid any condition that may result in unfair economic advantage (Green and Skea, 1997, pp 3). More so, Okereke (2008) asserts that the nature of the CBDR could result in hegemony; where developed nations in a bid to maintain their economic and world dominance, project an air of interest, claiming leadership in moral and int ellectual discourses in climate change. Discussion Only agreements considered by all parties as equitable are likely to promote action and facilitate climate change mitigation (Ashton J. and Wang X., 2003). Such agreements must be built on the tenets of equity and driven by a singular objective stop climate change if we can. Though the implementation of CBDR is wrought with several controversies, parties to climate change debates and negotiations must recognise that it is not an utopian principle. Concessions need to be made on ethical grounds if climate change is really considered a big threat to humanity. The CBDR is one important principle for tackling climate change equitably. Sceptics and critics have to realise that agreeing on a new principle to replace or back-up CBDR may take several years, yet more claims of inequity may arise. The Polluter pay principle has a more direct approach to addressing emission issues. It could easily be drafted into law. However, it may undermine the economic gap between states (Caney, 2005). It focuses mainly finance and economics to the detriment of physical and environmental outcomes of climate change. Without a strong historical basis, this polluter pay principle cannot be viable at any level in tackling climate change. However, there are arguments by Shue and Neumayer in Caney (2005) canvassing for individualist approach for accounting for historical deficits in adopting this principle. In my opinion, to make the CBDR more practicable and fit to meet the especially the challenge vulnerability in climate change, a consequentialist dynamic approach is needed. This approach shall integrate measures to assess the risk of climate change in different regions of the world and it shall be carried out continuously at different times. Global efforts will subsequently concentrate of the most vulnerable areas. This approach will not require changing the wordings of principle 7. However, it will need a firm legal backing to ensure its implementation. Conclusion The post Kyoto negotiations will take off in 2012 and Kamminga (2007) points out that improving the Kyoto protocol is a major concern. The CBDR still remains the most potent principle to bring all states to the round table for fair negotiations. Sacrifices must be made to mitigate climate change and the big polluters, especially the US, need to establish their sovereignty in the new negotiations. Doubting the evidence of climate change is one thing, but refusal to act reasonably negates the essence of the precautionary principle. Environmental and Political egalitarianism need reflect in the outcome of the 2012 negotiations. States need to ask, What is morally right to do in this situation? If the talk about globalization is anything real, then we must all learn to be our brothers keepers. The big states seem to prioritise economic gains in climate change mitigation while the small states are bent on playing the blame game. However, these states need to realise that the CBDR is still a potent tool with which to achieve collective viable climate change solutions.

The Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

A person's morals and beliefs are the structure for which their life is built upon. Once you have defied these 'morals'; there is no greater punishment than having to live within oneself. The Scarlet Letter, a Nineteenth Century novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, raises the question of what is worse is worse; A sin that has been allowed out in the open, or one that has been concealed. Hawthorne chooses a character, Arthur Dimmsdale, to demonstrate that.Dimmsdale, an ordained minister, is a man that is revered within his Puritan society for not only his quiet and effective sermons, but also for his kind hearted ways.A young clergyman coming straight from a university, Dimmsdale brought with him new ideas about religion as well as a renewed passion for the sermons which he gave. The Reverend is described as a 'person of very striking aspect, with a white, lofty, and intending brow, large, brown, melancholy eyes, and a mouth which, unless when he forcibly compressed it, was apt to be tremulo us, expressing both nervous sensibility and vastpower of self restraint.';. Though as the chapters go on it becomes apparent that Dimmsdale is in fact not quite the man that he had been perceived as.Though thoughtful and honest, Dimmsdale did not have the restraint as thought. He in fact, was the father of Hester Prynne's illegitimate daughter Pearl. Rather than having to face the public damnation as well as the detriment to his place within society, Dimmsdale choose to conceal his own guilt, allowing Hester to take the shame and scrutiny alone. Though it may seem that Dimmsdale is cold hearted, in fact the opposite is true. While it is true that Dimmsdale refused to publicly announce his sin, withholding it within himself turned out to be much more punishment than any other could have given. This carnal sin, moreover the concealment of it, in fact is what ultimately becomes this man's demise. A once vibrant man was literally eaten alive by the guilt for which he carried within his heart. The Reverand's vibrant eyes became dark, his rosy cheeks pale and hallow. His once young body now emaciated as if he was trying to purge the sin from within it. Yet if that was still not enough, Dimmsdale walked with a hand covering his heart. His own token reminder that though he himself is no longer an esteemed preacher of God, but simply a man living within a life of sin.

Designing an Amateur Darkroom :: Essays Papers

Designing an Amateur Darkroom The first time I processed my own roll of black and white film I was around 14 years old. Being very anxious to see the pictures I had taken, I couldn't even wait for the film to dry. I first became interested in photography in seventh grade. My parents allowed me to buy some equipment and supplies to setup my own darkroom in our home. Everyday after school I rushed home to develop and print my own film. In my darkroom, away from the outside pressures of the world I enjoyed creating my own works of art throughout the remainder of my school years. At 40 years old with a family and home of my own I still look forward to escaping the world for a little while in my own darkroom. Creating custom prints of your own can be a very rewarding and fun too. The first step in designing your own darkroom is to choose a room in your home with electric outlets, running water, and the least amount of light coming through the windows and doors. The room must be light tight, you can accomplish this by covering the windows with a black cloth or heavy gauge vinyl. To check for stray light, stay in the darkroom for five minutes with all the lights off. Hold a piece of white paper against a dark background, if you can't see the paper, it passes inspection. If there are light leaks, use black electrical tape to cover them. The materials needed to develop your roll of exposed film are available at any photo supply store. You will need to choose the type of chemicals and paper needed according to type of film used, desired affect, convenience, personal preference, and expense. The clerks in these stores are usually very knowledgeable and helpful, explain to them what you're working on and ask plenty of questions. You will need: 1. Developing tank 5. Thermometer 2. Roll of exposed film 6. Developer 3.

Why People Commit Murder

What Triggers People to Commit Murder? Alicyn Nitsch Criminology April 17, 2013 Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide. (Wikipedia) In most countries, a person convicted of murder is typically given a long prison sentence, possibly a life sentence where permitted, and in some countries, the death penalty may be imposed for such an act. (Wikipedia) Murder has been a common crime in the United States and it has taken a lot of influence for kids and teens.  Control Key and Word – Text and Graphics.The rate of killings in the U. S. involving five or more victims — one generally accepted definition of a mass killing — represented less than 1% of all homicides 25 years ago, and still does today. (Kluger,Jeffery)Though it is difficult to have a control on such factors but a little attention of parents on their children can minimize growth of criminal nature in their kids. Education is another criterion of prevention of such criminal activities. Education makes a person to distinguish between right and wrong and makes him stable and balanced.He is thus able to withstand any kind of circumstances and develops a potential to overcome any situation. (Shipali, Sharma) Murders are committed for many different reasons. One major reason people commit murder is due to anger. People are often confronted with feelings of disappointment, frustration and anger as they interact with government officials, co-workers, family and even fellow commuters. (Greeneimer, Larry) In Anger, a person often tends to lose his senses. He loses the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Also, the rush of adrenaline makes him to commit crime.What turns anger into action is self-control. Watching a movie showing violent acts predisposes us to act violently. Even just listening to violent rhetoric makes people more inclined to be violent. Iron ically, the same mirror neurons that make people empathic make them very vulnerable to all sorts of influences. Indeed, after many years of studies on mirror neurons and their functioning, scientists are shifting their lab research to the study of the control mechanisms in the brain for mirror neurons. The key issue is the balance of power between these control echanisms are called top-down—because they are all like executives that control from the top down to the employees—and bottom-up mechanisms, in the opposite direction, like mirror neurons. This anger could turn into something deadly such as revenge. Revenge can make a person to commit crime. When a person is not able to take revenge by direct means then he adopts indirect and unlawful means to punish his enemy. Peer influence and poor parenting skills are the reasons for easily giving up the path of honesty and truth. Signs that a person is disturbed enough to take action are quite visible.When it does happen, t he people likeliest to commit the crime fall into a drearily predictable group. They're 95% male, and 98% are black or white — not a big surprise since more than 87% of the population is made up of those two races. action itself is a sign, a desperate form of communication from a disturbed individual. Connecting with the subject, that person may have rethought some of the activity of mirror neurons toward a truly empathic behavior, rather than in the service of the deranged imitative violence leading to action. The violence shown in Televisions is also highly responsible in negatively affecting one’s mind.Kids and teenagers generally try to mimic the stunts and the violence acts shown in the TV. The violent games of video games and computer games are very famous among kids and teens. Such games and scenes shatter their innocent brain and are responsible for making them aggressive and violent. Another key note in why people commit murder is due to mental health and past experiences. According to neuropsychologist Jonathan Reed; 49. 4% had a developmental disorder in childhood, 87% had a brain injury, 85% had a history of substance abuse, 45% had a psychiatric history and 35% have had a history of abuse in childhood.Exactly what is going on in their heads can never be known and the neuropsychological factors don’t explain the trigger or situation in which the murder took place. However, it is clear that there are neurological and neurodevelopmental factors going on here, and given what we know about these in childhood and from case studies, it is unclear how much control such individuals have in a given situation. (Reed, Jonathan) So many of these people’s problems seem to stem from experiences and events in their childhoods. People are not criminals by birth.Their circumstances, needs and their upbringing make them criminals. Another big factor that criminals are brought up by is poverty. Poverty is one of the main factors for commit ting a crime. When a person is helpless with no money in hand and a huge family to support then in such cases his circumstances forces him to take up the gun in his hand. There are many terrorist associations that hire such needy people for little money and use them in their criminal acts like murders, bomb explosions, kidnapping etc. Unemployment, which is another cause of poverty, is the main cause of aggression in today’s youth.Lack of job opportunities misleads the youth to take up this direction and earn money in this way. (Shipali, Sharma) The Greed of possessing materialistic things and the intense desire to have a luxurious life by any possible means leads a person to follow this track of crime. It is a human desire to lead his life luxuriously which is sometimes not possible in the little income of a person. (Shipali, Sharma) For this reason some people look up for easy and fast methods of gaining cash and they do not even hesitate to take up the life of some other i nnocent person. It’s greed that completely weighs over their judgment.

Moving To Foriegn Land Essay

The idea of leaving the life behind you had lived for 19 years and moving to another country and start your life from scratch never attracted me. Looking back 3 years ago before leaving my home country, Pakistan and moving to Singapore my life was very different. When my father first disclosed the news that we will be moving to Singapore I remember how excited everyone in my family was, except for me. I was living a life that I always wanted and loved, surrounded by most loving grandparents and relatives, growing up with my best friends, and studying in Fashion School. The fact that I had to leave everything behind and start up new, moving to unknown city, unfamiliar to the culture, unknown traditions, making new friends, inter cultural communication barriers, how will I fit in new school scared me. I always had this idea in my head that starting up new is impossible for me and I was not self-motivated for the change Moving from high-context culture to low-context culture is a big change. First thing I did after moving, I started comparing everything to how it is back home. Then I could not get in fashion school, which caused having low self-esteem in me. I was not very familiar to the culture as well, new places, new challenges and new people. All this led me to isolating myself and being pessimist about everything. After my family successfully convinced me to take a Diploma in Business I got admission in one of the private institute, few early weeks I was the shy and quite student in the class, there were a lot of things going on in my head and because I was not self-motivated I never initiated to talk to people or make friends. After a while I became friends with these 2 girls in my class (both belonged from different culture). Both of them were very helpful and understanding. From there I started being open and interacting with people from different other countries and culture. Dwyer (2013a, p. 117), defined culture as â€Å"shared views of people belonging from to that society†. Dwyer (2013b, p. 118) I realized, just like me most the students in my class were immigrants too and pretty much have been through the same difficulties and experience. They all were unknown to my culture (Language, religion, social culture etc.) as  I was unknown to theirs. All of them were away from their homeland and some of them were also living without their families. As time passed I started realising positive aspects of this experience. Growing up in a certain culture means you become customized to those beliefs, values and norms they appear very normal – everyday activities, behaviors, and you do not think about them as part of a culture. Singapore is a land of multi cultures, due to which I have made friends from different countries, with time I started soaking up culture references, trying different foods, learning different languages, known to different religions, celebrating different cultural and religious festivals, trying their clothes, sharing the customs and traditions. I found myself eager to learn about it and not only me but my class mates where equally interested in my culture. After a while I realized I started adopting the habits I never thought I would embrace. I got to know myself better because there were things I used to believe in which was just the cultural heritage of the society I grew up in and not my own beliefs. Furthermore, as I had an art background, studying business for the first time was also a new experience for me and had some difficulties in the beginning but with the help of my teachers I managed to clear my concepts. When a person has lived a part of their life in another country especially their teenage, it is a challenge moving to different country and starting from the scratch but now after spending 3 years in Singapore I have realised how it was one of the best decision of my life. What I wanted was to spend my whole life in a shell and never let myself think outside the box. I can say that I was the one making this process difficult for myself, it all depends on a person’s will. Since the day I got to know about moving I was being hard on myself and never let myself think positively about it. It certainly is difficult to start all over again when our lives already exists elsewhere but It depends on a person to overcome the change and make it comfortable. It is all a process of learning, expecting the unexpected and fighting through the challenges. . I never knew before that I could be flexible with the changes and see this as an opportunity one day. Through this transformation of experience, I can conclude that after moving from my homeland to Singapore, I may have faced difficulties in adjusting with the culture and other challenges in the beginning but looking at  positive side I have only learnt from it and came out of it as a better and mature person intellectually and more exposed toward the cultures. This experience helped me in learning so many new and different things, about myself, about other than my own culture which I never knew even existed, and that is one of the best parts about leaving your home country and moving to a foreign land. It has been a life-changing experience for me and I will never go back to how I was. And now I can say that I’m ready to face further challenges in my life. References: Dwyer, J 2013a, Communication for business and the professions: Strategies and skills, 5th ed., Pearson Australia. – 2013b, Communication for business and the professions: Strategies and skills, 5th ed., Pearson Australia.

Musical Instruments Speech Essay

The Chinese philosopher Confucius said long ago that â€Å"Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without. † Being able to play any musical instrument is extremely satisfying. This includes everyone from the person who has mastered her instrument right down to the beginner who knows only a few chords. I personally believe that if there’s one thing you should learn in your lifetime, it’s how to play an instrument. Learning to play a musical instrument offers a lot of benefits and can bring joy to you and to everyone around you.. Here the four most important benefits of playing instruments: The first benefits, is that playing a musical instrument makes you smarter. Playing an instrument helps the mind to be alert and remain active eventually helping to sharpen the memory. Learning an instrument requires you to learn about tones and scores which increase your ability to store audio information. According to an article from The Telegraph online magazine, â€Å"New research suggests that regularly playing an instrument changes the shape and power of the brain and may be used in therapy to improve cognitive skills. There is continually more evidence that musicians have organizationally and functionally different brains compared to non-musicians, especially in the areas of the brain used in processing and playing music. These parts of the brain that control motor skills, hearing, storing audio information and memory become larger and more active when a person learns how to play an instrument and can apparently improve day to day actions such as being alert, planning and emotional perception. And according to Lutz Jancke, a psychologist at the University of Zurich, said: â€Å"Learning to play a musical instrument has definite benefits and can increase IQ by seven points, in both children and adults. † For children especially we found that learning to play the piano for instance teaches them to be more self-disciplined, more attentive and better at planning. All of these things are very important for academic performance, so can therefore make a child brighter. The second benefits, is that playing a musical instruments relieves stress. Playing any instrument can actually help release the endorphins in your body, which will also result in reduced levels of stress Playing music naturally can soothe not only others, but the musician as well, not only the actual sound of the instrument, but also the release of creativity and emotion, as well as the simple vibration of an instrument against a player’s body can significantly lower a musician’s stress level.. The study’s principal investigator, Barry Bittman, M. D. f the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, PA, says these unique findings not only shed new light on the value of active music participation, but also extend our understanding of individualized human biological stress responses on an unprecedented level. Most people would be very surprised at just how easily their stress and problems can be forgotten while playing their instrument on a quiet evening. There are no pressures or expectations while playing. This creates a perfect environment for relieving stress, along with the joy and relaxation of listening to your own musical creations. The third benefits, is that playing musical instruments enhances an individual’s ability to recognize emotion in sound. The musicians had a heightened response to the complex portion of the sound, where the frequency rapidly changes. When the musicians heard the simple sections of the sound they had lower responses. Musicians showed enhanced responses to the most acoustically complex portion of the stimulus and decreased activity to the more periodic, less complex portion. the musicians conserve neural resources while processing simpler sounds (economy) and deploy them to more thoroughly respond to complex sounds (enhancement). The study found that the more years of musical training and the earlier the age in which the musical studies began, the more enhanced their nervous systems were to process emotion in sound. Historically, it has been thought that the auditory brainstem is fixed, that information flows through without changing any of the circuits. According to Kraus’ research shows that it is not only trainable, but more malleable than previously thought. Scientists know that emotion is carried less by the linguistic meanings of words than by the way the sound is communicated. Kraus’ work reveals that brain changes involved in playing a musical instrument enhance one’s ability to detect subtle emotional cues in conversation. And last most important benefits of playing instruments, is that playing a musical instrument is fun. Everybody enjoys hearing music, but the people who make the music have the most fun. Once you get better playing your chosen musical instrument, you will be able to demonstrate what you have been learn to your families and friends that gives you fun and enjoyment. The songwriter Bob Dylan has written numerous well-known songs using only a few chords. There is nothing like the feeling of suddenly walking into a room and playing a song you just learned or wrote for a friend. You don’t have to be Beethoven to appreciate the benefits. And it is nothing but fun to sit down with a couple of friends and play and sing a song. In this camaraderie there is an endless amount of discovery and laughs to be had. The sound you’re making rises and falls, singing in the voice of the instrument. But it’s not really the instrument that’s making those great sounds—it’s you! It’s fun, even when you play by yourself. Playing in a group is even better because other players are sharing the fun. There’s no way to have all that fun than for you to be the person who is playing the music! As you can see, playing a musical instrument has many benefits and hopefully that will motivate you to keep on practicing and always hold music in high esteem. Whenever you come across challenges as a musician, think about the end results and always remind yourself of all the great reasons you love to play. I’ll leave you with an inspiring quote by jazz saxophonist and composer Charlie Parker who once said, â€Å"Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn. †

Measurement of Sevice Quality of Apollo Using Servqual

Dissertation Project Report On Measurement of Quality at Apollo Hospitals using Servqual Submitted by Richa Kumari A0102208164 MBA (M&S) 2010 Under the Supervision of Faculty Mentor Prof. (Dr. ) P. K. Bansal Faculty Amity Business School AMITY BUSINESS SCHOOL AMITY UNIVERSITY UTTAR PRADESH SECTOR 125, NOIDA – 201303, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA 2010 DECLARATION I Richa Kumari, student of Master of Business Administration (Marketing &Sales), Class of 2010from Amity Business School, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh hereby declare that the dissertation done by me on the topic â€Å"Measurement of Quality at Apollo Hospital using Servqual† is true to my knowledge. The information collected by me is authentic & is done through data analysis & interpretation & I have a thorough knowledge of the project. The content of this report is based on the information collected from visiting Indraprastha Apollo hospitals in Delhi. I further declare that the matter embodied in this project report has not been submitted to any other university or institute for the award of any degree or diploma. PLACE: Noida DATE : Richa Kumari Amity Business School Amity University, Uttar Pradesh CERTIFICATE FROM FACULTY GUIDE This is to certify that Richa kumari, student of MBA (M&S), Amity Business School, Amity University; Uttar Pradesh has successfully completed the dissertation project under my guidance. The project report and data submitted by her is authentic and genuine to my knowledge. Prof. Dr. P. K. Bansal Faculty guide Faculty, Amity Business School Amity University, Uttar Pradesh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It takes immense pleasure for me to express my sincere gratitude to all the helping experience I had during my dissertation. The Project was done by me under the guidelines of my Faculty Guide Prof. Dr. P. K. Bansal was a source of enormous learning for me. I am highly obliged to him for their continuous unconditional support & guidelines. A special word of thanks from me to all the respondents whose cooperation and interaction was a great help. As a student of AMITY BUSINESS SCHOOL, NOIDA I got the golden opportunity to work on the topic â€Å"Measurement of Quality of Apollo Hospital using Servqual†. I also feel highly obliged to my program leader Mrs. Aparna Goel and some of the faculties in ABS who in several ways were my inspiration & helped me to put in the best of my efforts. I am deeply indebted to my parents, family members & friends for their support during the course of my dissertation. Last but not the least; the report was completed successfully because of the grace of God. Richa Kumari Amity Business School EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Service firms like other organizations are realizing the significance of customer-centered philosophies and are turning to quality management approaches to help manage their businesses. This paper starts with the concept of service quality and demonstrates the model of service quality gaps. SERVQUAL as an effective approach has been studied and its role in the analysis of the difference between customer perceptions and expectations has been highlighted with support of measurement of quality at Apollo Hospital. Outcomes of the study outline the fact that although SERQUAL could close one of the important service quality gaps associated with external customer services, it could be extended to close other major gaps and therefore, it could be developed in order to be applied for internal customers, i. e. mployees and service providers. Quality Health Care  is an achievement of optimal physical and mental health through accessible, cost-effective care that is based on best evidence, is responsive to the needs and preferences of patients and populations, and is respectful of patients’ families, personal values and beliefs. The report covers the survey of Apollo Hospital Services, Delhi. It focuses on the dynamics of the the overall service provided, the trends over a period of time, and the key challenges faced by the industry. TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION I * CERTIFICATE FROM FACULTY MENTOR II * ACKNOWLEDGEMENT III * EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IV * CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION * CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW * CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY * SAMPLE DESIGN * RESEARCH DESIGN * DATA COLLECTION METHOD * SAMPLE SIZE CHAPTER 4 DATA INTERPRETATION * DATA ANALYSIS * FINDINGS * LIMITATIONS * CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION &RECOMMENDATION * APPENDICES V * REFERENCES VI * BIBLIOGRAPHY VII CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Earlier in the medical literature, the quality of service i. e. the  characteristics that shape the experience of care was rarely discussed beyond technical  competence. This research measures and analyzes  some routine encounters in Apollo, a hospital of international standard from a service quality point  of view. The study has led to the following two premises: First, if high-quality service had a greater presence  in practices and institutions, it would improve clinical  outcomes and increased satisfaction of patient and doctors while reducing  cost. It will also create competitive advantage for those who  are expert in its application. Second, many other industries  in the service sector have taken service quality to a high level,  their techniques are readily transferable to health care, and caring for patients can learn from them. Healthcare industry The healthcare industry in India comprising of hospital and allied sectors, is projected to grow at 23 per cent per annum and to touch US$ 77 billion by 2012 from the current estimated size of US$ 35 billion, according to a Yes Bank and ASSOCHAM report. The sector has registered a growth of 9. 3 per cent between 2000-2009, when compared with the growth rate of other emerging economies such as China, Brazil and Mexico. According to the report, the growth in the sector would be driven by healthcare facilities, private and public sector, medical diagnostic and pathlabs and the medical insurance sector. Today Hospital industry is an important component of the value chain in Indian Healthcare industry. It renders services and is recognized as healthcare delivery segment of the healthcare industry. It is growing at an annual rate of 14%. The hospital industry accounts for half the healthcare sector’s revenues and was estimated to be worth USD $25 billion in 2008. The dismal performance by the Indian government in providing healthcare infrastructure has created tremendous opportunities in the private sector. The huge pent up demand for quality healthcare and increase in healthcare spending in the long-term are fundamentally strong drivers in this market. The factors contributing to its bright future is based on increased healthcare  consumption, increasing instances of lifestyle-related diseases, medical tourism, and growing  health  insurance. The key challenges for the industry include significant capital requirements and a shortage of medical professionals. Ensuring high quality of healthcare service is another key issue for service providers. Healthcare spending in India accounts for over 5 per cent of the country’s GDP. Of which the public spending in percentage is around 1 per cent of GDP. The presence of public health care is not only weak but also under-utilized and inefficient. Meanwhile, private sector is quite dominant in the healthcare sector. Around 80 percent of total spending on healthcare in India comes from the private sector. Inadequate public investment in health infrastructure has given an opportunity to private hospitals to capture a larger share of the market. In addition the demand for hospital services has been increasing due to the rise in lifestyle related diseases that accompany prosperity. Hospitals serve an important function in India’s healthcare system. They provide in-patient and out-patient services and also support the training of health workers and research. Indian hospitals can be broadly classified as public hospitals, private and not-for-profit hospitals. Corporate hospital chains that provide tertiary healthcare services in large towns and cities have also been established. However, the number of hospital beds in India is around 1. 1 per thousand people. This is significantly lower when compared to most developed economies. The current outlook for the hospital services is positive. Technological innovations in service delivery, increased affordability, improved service quality and supportive government policy initiatives are some of the factors that are likely to impact growth of the sector. This is a pointer to significant opportunities that exist for service providers. Moreover, the future of healthcare is not restricted to the large domestic market alone. Emerging trend of medical tourism indicates the possibility of Indian healthcare services opening to the whole world. Health Care and Service delivery Health  Service delivery  refers to the way inputs such as finance, staff, treatment, equipment and drugs all deliver a range of health interventions to consumers seeking to access health care. Improving Service delivery  depends on having key resources that are well organized and managed. Health services include personal health services that are preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic or rehabilitative; whilst non-personal services cover areas such as mass health education/ promotion programs, health legislation and the provision of basic sanitation facilities. Incompetence or breakdown in the process of care-giving may be the result of problems in practice, products, procedures or systems. A key issue facing development agencies is the utilization of health services as they are often inaccessible or mistrusted by consumers. Lack of managerial capacity at all levels of the health system is increasingly cited as a binding constraint to scaling up services and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Apollo Hospitals With over  8065 beds across 46 hospitals in India and overseas, neighborhood diagnostic clinics, an extensive chain of Apollo Pharmacies, medical BPO as well as health insurance services and clinical research divisions working on the cutting edge of medical science, Apollo Hospitals is a healthcare powerhouse one can trust with their life. Apollo Hospitals, India is a union of exceptional clinical success rates and superior technology with centuries-old traditions of Eastern care and warmth, with 16 million patients from 55 countries. Apollo Hospitals Group is at the Forefront of Medical Tourism to make India the Global Healthcare Destination. Its mission is to bring healthcare of international standards within the reach of every individual. They are committed to the achievement and maintenance of excellence in education, research and healthcare for the benefit of humanity. Dr. Prathap C Reddy is the Founder & Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group. Led by Apollo Hospitals Group, Indian Healthcare today has developed International delivery capabilities and has demonstrated International excellence in all specialties with major cost advantages for people from overseas. Apollo Hospitals has successfully treated over 60000 foreign patients from across the world in last five years and the numbers are looking up every year. By constantly measuring our deliverables, they have succeeded in creating infrastructure that meets the needs of the future that incorporates the latest technology and provides superior healthcare delivery systems. Their immediate agenda includes setting up of healthcare facilities in all major Indian cities, 23-hour hospitals, pharmacies, a pharmaceuticals business and finally, a Health Maintenance Organization that will give millions of people access to all these facilities. The telemedicine technology that has been successfully introduced by Dr. Reddy in India will be a key enabler in transforming the healthcare delivery in India. His blueprint for the nation includes setting up of many rural hospitals. Apollo Hospitals Group is the acknowledged leader in bringing super speciality world-class healthcare to India. It is presently the largest integrated healthcare company in Asia. Apollo Hospital  would mean any of the hospitals owned by  Apollo Hospitals, a  healthcare  corporation that operates 38 hospitals in South Asia. It is the largest healthcare provider in Asia and the third largest in the world and is headquartered in  Chennai, India. Apollo Hospital  Delhi  is the first hospital in India to be accredited by the JCAHO and is affiliated with  Johns Hopkins  international, the  Mayo Clinic, and many major hospitals in the United States and Europe. In addition to hospitals, Apollo operates Nursing and Hospital Management colleges,  pharmacies, diagnostic clinics, medical transcription, third-party administration and telemedicine. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Apollo Health and Life Science Limited, the Apollo Group has set up a chain of nearly 60 branded day-to-day retail clinics on a franchised basis across India and the  Middle East. This is the first time healthcare delivery has been successfully franchised in India. Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, the largest healthcare group in Asia. Indraprastha Apollo is one of the largest corporate hospitals in the world. It is the third super specialty tertiary care hospital set by the Apollo Hospitals Group, jointly with the Government of New Delhi, India's capital. It is a 695 bedded hospital, with the provision for expansion to 1000 beds in future. The hospital is at the forefront of medical technology and expertise. It provides a complete range of latest diagnostic, medical and surgical facilities for the care of its patients. The hospital started functioning from July 1996, its mission being Medical Excellence with a Human Touch. Cost of treatment Apollo Hospitals is considered one of the most expensive treatment facilities when compared to their local counterparts. A similar treatment and care in a regular hospital would cost significantly lesser. However, their facilities, infrastructure and quality of medical faculty are far superior to anything else in the country, seemingly justifying this increased cost. Medical Milestones * Employs over 4000 specialists and super-specialists and 3000 medical officers spanning 53 clinical departments in patient care * Achieved a 99. 6% success rate in cardiac bypass surgeries, over 91% of these were beating heart surgeries * Conducted over 55,000 cardiac surgeries First Indian hospital group to introduce new techniques in Coronary Angioplasty, Stereotactic Radiotherapy and Radiosurgery. Performed over 7,50,000 major surgeries and over 10,00,000 minor surgical procedures with exceptional clinical outcomes * Pioneered orthopaedic procedures like hip and knee replacements, the Illizarov procedure and the Birmingham hip re-surfacing technique * Pioneered the concept of preventive healthcare in India * First ho spital group to bring the 64 Slice CT-Angio scan system * First hospital group in South-East Asia to introduce the 16 Slice PET-CT Scan * First to perform liver, multi-organ and cord blood transplants in India * Equipped with the largest and most sophisticated sleep laboratory in the world CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Kotler (1999) points out an unchangeable principle for a successful business are to satisfy the customers’ need. Consumer service is closely related to customer satisfaction and consumer satisfaction has a critical influence on the profits and performance of institutions and organizations (Fornell, 1992; Mittal & Lassar, 1998; Wong, 2000). That is why organizations emphasize the importance of consumer service and satisfaction. Just as the dashboard of a car provides timely feedback on vital performance measures, so should an organization’s dashboards inform decision makers and board members on where the organization is headed and how it is progressing toward its strategic objectives. The consumer service perspective is closely associated with the evolution of the business strategies in the Health Care industry. To manage and improve quality, these successful organizations are coming to the conclusion that quality must be measured. This ensures accurate measurement of customer satisfaction versus that delivered by competitors. Service Quality is a service that is consistent with customer expectations and stated obligation in Customer Care, performance & Value. Quality itself has been defined as fundamentally relational:   ‘Quality is the ongoing process of building and sustaining relationships by assessing, anticipating, and fulfilling stated and implied needs. ‘ One cannot separate the process and the human factor, therefore there is a believe that Quality, when built into a product, generates emotions and feelings within those who have taken part in it's creation. Quality is doing the right things right and is uniquely defined by each individual. Error-free, value-added care and service that meets and/or exceeds both the needs and legitimate expectations of those served as well as those within the Medical Center. Organizations that constantly measure themselves in relation to competitors are able to quickly capitalize on their emerging strengths and address weaknesses before they become problems. Service Quality Quality applies to every product either it is physical product, information product or service product. But when Service Quality is talked about it is all about satisfying the targeted customers through meeting their requirements (Zulfikar Ali). Quality cannot be measured without a clear definition or standard. Likewise, Measuring Quality leads directly to the identification of areas for improvement or enhancement—the first step in Improving Quality. Service Quality models There are a number of models which try to capture and define Service Quality. Each has their strengths, and weaknesses. The core definition of Service Quality is â€Å"Customers thinking they're getting better service than expected†. This is often referred to as the perception gap, i. e. the gap between what the customer expects and what they think they got. It's worth noting that both sides of the gap are in the customers mind. You may actually deliver better Service then your competitors, but if the customer thinks that your Service is worse then that's all that matters. Because the perception gap is based on the difference between what a customer expects to receive from a Service and what they think they received both sides of the gap are â€Å"soft† – they are based on customer impressions rather than a â€Å"hard† definable quality. This means the perception gap is difficult to measure, difficult to manage and is likely to change with time and experience. Nevertheless it's vital to business success. Elements of the model A management model should identify and relate those key elements that require systematic management attention (Brogowicz et al. , 1990). The elements proposed to fit in the model are: * Management’s perceptions of customer expectations and perceptions about the service; * Vision, mission, service strategy and directions to eliminate the gaps; * Service analysis, translation of perceptions into service quality specifications and service design; * Financial and human resources (HR) management; * External communication; * Service delivery system (production, delivery and ‘part-time’ marketing). Some models which are the result of some significant research are: The KANO Model states â€Å"What do customers expect as a minimum standard†, and â€Å"what actually makes a difference if the service provider does it better†. Professor Noriaki Kano (1984, the Japanese quality guru), introduced a two-factor quality model, commonly known as â€Å"Kano's Curve†. The curve illustrates the difference between must-be attractive and linear quality elements. The strength of the Kano model is that it identifies that some aspects of service are simply required to be there whereas others serve to genuinely provide competitive advantage and that there are diminishing returns to be gained from simply focusing on must-be qualities. However Kano does not provide diagnostic tools to identify or measure the different aspects, and suggested the changes with time or environment. The PZB Service Quality Model The service quality model and the role of consumers’ and learners’ satisfaction is an essential part of service quality studies. The â€Å"GAP† model of service quality from Parasuraman et al. (Zithaml & Bitner 1996) offers an integrated view of the consumer-company relationship. It is based on substantial research amongst a number of service providers. According to the PZB model, there are five gaps. The first gap refers to the difference between customers’ expected service and management’s perceptions of customers’ expectations. This gap means that management may not correctly perceive customer expectations. The second gap refers to the difference between management perceptions of customers’ expectations and service quality specifications. This gap means that although the people in management level may perceive the correct expectations of the customers, they may not have suitable and sufficient service quality specifications. The third gap refers to the difference between service quality specifications and the real service delivery. This gap means that although the service providers may have suitable and sufficient service quality specifications, they may not have the satisfactory service delivery in the real situation. That may be because service providers lack well-trained employees to deliver satisfactory service. The fourth gap refers to the difference between the service delivered and external communication about the service with customers. That is, the service providers may not have suitable and sufficient communication with the customers or the service providers may have commitments that exceed what they can do or they may not sufficiently inform the customers of what they have done. The fifth gap is the difference between consumer expectation and their perception of service quality – measured by the difference between what customers expect and what customers perceive about the service. In addition, gap 5 is a function of gap 1, gap 2, gap 3, and gap 4; that is, Gap 5= f (gap1, gap2, gap3, gap4). This means that the service quality is closely related to management perception, marketing, personnel management, communications with customers, service specifications and delivery. Based on theoretical development of the PZB Service Quality Model, the SERVQUAL (SERVice QUALity) instrument was proposed. RATER A complementary analysis of the perception gap is the RATER model also produced by Zeithaml (1990). RATER identifies the 5 key areas which together form the qualities of a service offering from a customer perspective. Where the Gap model describes how the provider can minimize the perception gap. RATER focuses on the dimensions of customers expectations. The RATER factors help provide specific dimensions which can be used to analyse and measure customer expectation. Figure 1: PZB Service Quality Model A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and its Implications for Future Research. Journal of Marketing, 49(4), 41-50. Source: Parasuraman, A. , Zeithaml, V. A. & Berry, L. L. (1985). | RATER dimensions sorted by relative importance (Zeithaml 1990)| Dimension| Description| Relative importance| Reliability| Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately| 32%| Responsiveness | Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service| 22%| Assurance | Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence| 19%| Empathy| Caring individualised attention the firm provides its customers| 16%| Tangibles | Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials| 11%| THE ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS-The SERVQUAL and SERVPERF Based on preliminary knowledge about the service quality model and the consumer satisfaction concept, there are two major assessment instruments (SERVQUAL and SERVPERF). The SERVQUAL (SERVice QUALity) instrument was proposed by the Parasuraman et al. (1988). They initially developed a 97-item instrument to measure the service quality attribute. After eliminating the items with low correlation, they extracted five factors (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy) with 22 service quality items, and claimed the generic nature of the five-dimension instrument. Because the disconfirmation-based SERVQUAL instrument has advantages such as better diagnostic power (Jain & Gupta, 2004), and the parsimony of the instrument (Rohini & Mahadevappa, 2006), most researchers in the service quality area tend to prefer the disconfirmation-based SERVQUAL instrument (Abdullah, 2006; Brady, 2001). However, some researchers have been questioning its drawbacks related to the disconfirmation-based model (Redman & Mathews, 1998), process orientation, dimensionality, measuring scale, and the gap scores (Buttle, 1996; Coulthard, 2004; Clewes, 2003; Wetzels, Ruyter, & Lemmink, 2000). To resolve problems related to the disconfirmation-based SERVQUAL instrument, Cronin and Taylor (1992) propose the performance-only SERVPERF (SERVice PERFormance) instrument to measure service quality. Comparing the validity and reliability of the SERVPERF with that of the disconfirmation-based SERVQUAL, they claim that SERVPERF is better than SERVQUAL in overall service quality measurement in empirical tests (Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Brady, Cronin, Brand, 2002; Jain & Gupta, 2004). The debate related to adoption of SERVQUAL or SERVPERF in service quality studies is not yet resolved. SERVPERF has better explanatory power in overall service quality measurement. On the other hand, SERVQUAL has better diagnostic power because of the P-E score measurement. Thus, selection of the service quality instruments will be determined by the intention of the researchers, service providers or decision-makers (Jain & Gupta, 2004). Research Papers â€Å"Provider Competition and Health Care Quality: Challenges and Opportunities for Research†, by HERBERT S. WONG, PEGGY, M NAMARA states that during the last several years, health care quality issues have emerged as important considerations in developing and implementing public policy. This report highlighted health care delivery problems, patient safety concerns, and health disparities issues. Health care quality is difficult to define because different audiences view health care quality from. Clinicians may define quality based on medical outcomes or processes. Economists may define quality based on concepts of social welfare and may include features that consumers happen to care about, but that clinicians do not (e. g. , the appearance and size of hospital rooms). Health plans may further differ and focus on concepts of preventive care or organizational efficiencies. Researchers need to understand what their measures are capturing and should interpret their findings accordingly. Once health care quality has been defined, investigators interested in conducting applied empirical research are confronted with the challenges of creating proxy measures that capture the essence of the health care quality of interest. An initial problem is whether data even exist to create proxy measures for quality. The physician services market was one of the two health care provider groups on which the conference focused. However, the lack of available data about the care administered by physicians has stymied research on physician competition and quality. With literally hundreds of thousands of patient care physicians, current data systems are not structured in a way that makes accessing data and using data for research purposes pragmatic. Even if data were available, researchers must still overcome the challenges of how best to measure physician quality—an area that is currently not well understood. Patient satisfaction measures, which seek to quantify patients’ experiences with healthcare services, represent another dimension of quality still in the developmental stages. The article by Patrick Romano and Ryan Mutter in this supplement documents the studies that examined hospital competition and hospital quality, identifies the variety of hospital quality measures employed, and highlights the challenges of measuring hospital quality. As Romano and Mutter noted, the science of creating hospital quality measures has focused primarily on the clinical definition of quality, and such research is still largely in its infancy. At the heart of the challenges confronting researchers is determining whether observed differences in hospital quality measures are â€Å"true† differences. Confounding factors that may influence their accuracies include severity of illness, underlying patient risk, and the hospital’s overall case mix. Moreover, how well specific data elements are coded varies widely and ultimately affects the accuracy of the corresponding hospital quality measures. Many observers of medical markets believe that hospitals should compete on the basis of health care quality. However historically, hospital merger cases have focused on their effects on prices, costs, and the nature of the competitive environment, largely discounting health care quality issues. Health care markets are unique and extremely complex. While this invitational conference focused only on hospital and physician providers, the research opportunities and challenges outlined here apply to other health care markets as well. Mark Pauly’s article provides some preliminary thoughts on the concepts and the history of the relationship between competition and quality in health care markets. Health care markets are complex. Hospitals compete with one another, physicians compete with one another, and hospitals and physicians interact in many ways. Multiple external factors may influence hospital and physician competitive behavior. Measurement Challenges As mentioned earlier, the science of quality measurement is largely in its infancy and will continue to develop. The main challenges confronting researchers are determining the validity of the current set of measures and improving or developing new measures. The research field involved in inpatient quality measurement appears to be moving in three broad directions. First, researchers are exploring ways to further evaluate and validate the current set of inpatient quality measures. One approach being considered compares existing inpatient quality measures based on administrative data with information from medical records. Organizations such as individual health plans and veterans’ hospitals often have access to a richer source of clinical information, which could be used for this type of assessment. Second, current inpatient quality measures could be improved if the quality of the information collected is better. For example, in their article, Patrick Romano and Ryan Provider Competition And Health Care Quality Mutter mentioned that external-cause-of-injury codes (i. e. , â€Å"E Codes†) are sometimes under reported and vary substantially across the different organizations collecting such data. Many inpatient quality measures rely on accurate coding to identify the relevant observations. Existing measures could be improved if E Codes are collected more consistently. Finally, another broad approach is to supplement current administrative information with additional clinical information that could be used to refine or to create new measures. The availability of this clinical information could be used to improve measures of quality. As the science for better quality measures advances, analysts face a number of important research questions. While some critics argue that existing measures do not capture all clinical information, proponents argue that if there are no systematic biases across hospitals, precise patient-level information may not be needed. Consequently, is the science of quality measurement â€Å"good enough† for aggregate studies of competition and quality? Are they good enough for individual hospital comparisons? How will new measures with better information compare with existing measures? The Evolving Science of Quality Measurement for Hospitals: Implications for Studies of Competition and Consolidation PATRICK S. ROMANO The literature on hospital quality is young; most studies have focused on few conditions and outcomes. Measures of in-hospital mortality and complications are susceptible to bias from unmeasured severity and transfer/discharge practices. We describe the strengths and limitations of various approaches to quality measurement; summarize how quality has been operationalized in studies of hospital competition. three mechanisms by which competition may affect hospital quality, and propose measures appropriate for testing each mechanism. To evaluate the effects of competition and consolidation in health care markets on quality of care, it is essential to understand the capabilities and limitations of the tools currently available for measuring quality. The number and scope of these tools have grown considerably over the past two decades. These developments have created new opportunities to understand how competition and consolidation affect quality of care, although critics may still challenge the validity of any particular quality measure. The fundamental problem is that quality of care has multiple dimensions, and organizations that perform well on one dimension may not perform well on others. It is all too easy to arrive at the wrong conclusion if one focuses on a single measure, or even on multiple measures of a single dimension. In this paper, a standard definition of health care quality and an associated typology of quality problems is set. It describes the three general approaches to quality measurement, focusing on their strengths and limitations for studies of the impact of hospital competition and consolidation. Next summarizes how these measures have been applied in previous studies, and how the authors of those studies have dealt with concerns about confounding and endogeneity. It describes a conceptual framework that may be helpful in identifying promising measures for future studies in this area. 1. Definitions of Quality and Quality Problems In this paper, they have adopted a clinical perspective on quality of care. Avedis Donabedian (1980), one of the founders of the modern science of health care quality measurement, defined the quality of medical care as â€Å"the management that is expected to achieve the best balance of health benefits and risks (taking) into account the patient’s wishes, expectations, valuations, and means the social distribution of that benefit within the population. † The American Medical Association (1984) defined high-quality care more narrowly as care that â€Å"consistently contributes to the improvement or maintenance of the quality and/or duration of life. Perhaps the most authoritative definition was published by the Institute of Medicine (1990), which defined quality of care as â€Å"the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with curren t professional knowledge. † All of these definitions attempt to distinguish between quality and other non-price aspects of service, which might be classified as â€Å"amenities. † Amenities include aspects of appearance, comfort, and convenience, such as the number of television channels available to hospital patients, the number of menu choices, and the quality of decoration. In making this distinction, they acknowledge that the line between amenities and quality may become blurred, especially with important patient-centered measures such as telephone response time, wait time for appointments, clinic hours, prompt complaint resolution and claims payment, and patient satisfaction. Nonetheless, this distinction is useful because it focuses attention on whether provider organizations expend resources in ways that were likely to improve patient outcomes, or in ways that are designed to give the appearance of quality. this paper, also follow the Institute of Medicine’s (1999) typology of quality problems (Chassin et al. , 1998) as involving inappropriate overuse (i. e. too much care), inappropriate underuse (i. e. , too little care), and misuse. Although this conceptualization may state Pauly’s (2003) definition of quality as â€Å"everything about some good or service relevant to consumers’ well-being that is not measured by quantity,â⠂¬  we prefer to place all provider judgments and recommendations regarding appropriate care in the category of â€Å"quality† rather than â€Å"quantity. † 2. Approaches to Quality Measurement Donabedian (2003) has described the three broad approaches to quality measurement as structure, process, and outcomes. This useful schema has been widely adopted by the health services research and quality improvement communities. Structural measures describe the conditions under which care is provided, and encompass material resources such as facilities and equipment, human resources such as the credentials and experience of health care providers, and organizational characteristics such as patient volume and team nursing. Process measures describe the content of health care, and encompass health care providers’ activities in the realms of screening, diagnosis, pharmacotherapy, surgery, rehabilitation, patient education, and prevention. Finally, outcome measures describe changes attributable to health care, and encompass mortality, morbidity, functional status and pain, as well as patients’ health-related knowledge, behaviors, and satisfaction. Although this schema remains conceptually useful, it is sometimes difficult to apply. For example, the shared features of â€Å"high-reliability organizations† (Reason, 2000) include both the structural conditions under which professionals work and how that work is performed. 3. Integrating Outcome and Process Measures of Quality Given that quality of care is a complex and multidimensional concept, no single measure of either process or outcome is likely to provide an adequate summary of the effects of competition and consolidation. Hospitals that perform well on risk-adjusted outcomes for one condition often perform poorly for unrelated conditions (Rosenthal, 1997; Chassin et al. , 1989), making it useful to consider a spectrum of conditions. Similarly, explicit process measures must be developed and implemented on a condition-specific basis (Ashton et al. , 1994). It may be particularly useful to consider outcome and process measures together, as an integrated approach would offer a more complete assessment of quality and elucidate the pathways by which market forces affect patient outcomes. Observed agreement between process and outcome measures at the provider level would support the construct validity of each measure. Disagreement would suggest: (1) information bias attributable to misclassification on either measure; (2) confounding of outcome measures due to unmeasured severity of illness; (3) selection bias due to selective enrollment or dropout of high-risk patients; or (4) an incorrect conceptual model, based on an assumed process-outcome linkage that does not actually exist Competition in Medical Services and the Quality of Care: Concepts and History MARK V. PAULY Consumers of medical services care about both the price they pay (directly, or indirectly through insurance) for that care and the quality of the care for which they pay. While both an unambiguous measurement of quality and the process by which quality is produced are in many ways unknown, it is surely possible for producers, consumers, and regulators to detect and analyze large (enough) variations in relevant qualitative characteristics. Sometimes, in some places, and with some providers, quality is higher than at other times, places, and providers. To some extent the final level of quality is (from an analyst’s perspective) going to be random; some quality variation is bound to be due to unknown forces and accidents. However, to some extent as well the supplier decisions which affect quality are explicit and rational, and likewise the consumer choices about which provider or which supplier to use depends on perceived quality. Economically Efficient (Optimal) Quality From an economist’s perspective, â€Å"quality† in its most general sense just means anything and everything about some good or service relevant to consumers’ (actual and perceived) well being that is not measured by quantity. Since the definition of quantity is somewhat arbitrary—for hospitalization for example, is it the number of hospital admissions, the number of hospital days, or some amalgam of inpatient services and outpatient services? the definition of quality will depend on how we define quantity. If we define quantity by surgical admissions, then average length of stay would be one dimension of quality, prevalence of wound infections would be another, and patient satisfaction would be a third. Th ere can also be qualities that do not have this ordering—for example, the color of the walls, the temperature of the room, or even the length of stay—but these factors are usually not very important. It is focus on â€Å"ordered† qualities. However, just because people prefer more of some characteristic to less does not necessarily mean (or even usually mean) that the market will or should â€Å"maximize quality† in that dimension. If we think of some unequivocally-ordered characteristic, from an economic viewpoint the optimal level of quality, given some total quantity, is that level at which the marginal benefit from additional quality (measured in money) just equals the marginal cost of adding to quality. The optimal length of stay is not infinite, the optimal amount of space in a patient’s room is not enormous, the optimal number of medical errors is not zero (though it could be much lower than at present). Of course, it is possible, indeed, likely, that optimal quality will be different at different quantities (quality and quantity can be substitutes or complements). It is certain that the optimal level of quality, given quantity, will be different for different people, depending on the value they attach to quality. The â€Å"right† quality depends on the patient as well as on the illness or procedure, and it depends on the patient’s preferences (backed up by ability to pay) as well as on the patient’s physiological state. A more complex question is the optimal variety of quality levels when people have different preferences but it is too costly to produce a different quality level for each person. This definition of optimal quality when applied to medical services certainly includes everything that would be embodied in a clinical definition of quality. However, there are some differences between the economic and what we might call the â€Å"health services research† perspective. One difference is that the economic definition will probably include more features (that consumers happen to care about but clinicians do not). One can think of cases in which consumer preferences about such things as â€Å"travel time,† â€Å"bedside manner,† â€Å"respect,† and â€Å"discomfort† do become important. The other difference is that the economic definition will probably require a more careful consideration of marginal cost relative to marginal benefit than would be embodied in the clinical view of â€Å"ideal quality. † 2. Quality Options with Inefficient Suppliers: A Diagrammatic Analysis Although the foregoing seems fairly basic, there are some aspects of the normative notion of optimal quality that may be controversial in both health policy and health services research, and some aspects of the positive aspects of market supply that are both confusing and contentious. A key issue for much of the literature is that of the existence of tradeoffs. The previous discussion implicitly assumed that higher quality costs more—that cost (which really just represents an index of the sacrifice of all other goods consumers value) and quality trade off. Yet many observers of medical care markets in the United States have the strong opinion that cost and quality don’t usually trade off—that higher quality implies lower cost or that it is at least an open question (Leatherman et al. ,2003). Improving the Service Quality of Distance Education( Rui-Ting Huang,USA / Taiwan) states that the success of a distance learning program is dependent on the quality of supporting services. This research relates to services, gaps in service, business models, continuous quality improvement, and maintaining a competitive edge. Distance Learning has become an important learning option for education systems (Yilmaz, 2005) and training solutions in the Human Resource Development (HRD) area (Felix, 2006). The growth of the distance learning industry has been faster than expected (Huynh, Umesh & Valacich, 2003). Most importantly, in terms of organizational training, an investigation from the Fortune-500 companies indicates that over 80% of companies use distance learning or plan to do so (Hammond, 2001). Through distance learning, organizations have a more convenient, practical and cost-effective way to train the employees (Hammond, 2001; Whitney, 2006; David, 2006). Due to the growth and competition in the distance learning market (Huynh, Umesh & Valacich, 2003), DL research includes the study f consumer aspects such as consumer services and satisfaction (Shaik, 2005; Granitz & Greene, 2003; Huynh, Umesh & Valacich, 2003). Feedback from learner give the instructor important data to determine how well the instr uctional program satisfies individual learner needs (Steyn & Schulze, 2003; Long, Tricker, Rangecroft, Gilroy, 1999). This in turn offers service providers in the marketplace important information to streamline the business process to improve the quality of distance learning services (Granitz & Greene, 2003; Steyn & Schulze, 2003). Quality services and support will help the service providers, institutions and organizations in DL get a competitive advantage in the marketplace (Shaik, 2005). As the distance learning industry has become mature in the educational marketplace (Huynh, Umesh & Valacich, 2003), it is providing learners with convenient and flexible learning alternatives (Alexander, 1999; Tarr, 1998). It is also giving organizations alternative cost-effective and timely training solution to effectively and efficiently implement the human resource development plans (Hammond, 2001; Whitney, 2006; David, 2006). ). The focus on consumer service may offer the service providers new insights (Moisio & Smeds, 2004) to help them streamline the business process, improve the quality of future service in distance learning (Granitz & Greene, 2003; Steyn & Schulze, 2003) and gain long-term competitive advantages (Shaik, 2005). Mary Nugent ( 2002, vice president and general manager of Subscription Services for BMC Software Inc. a leading provider of enterprise management)said that an increasing number of companies are relying on service providers to manage their mission-critic al applications, service providers are realizing that they need an improved method for consistently delivering reliable and highly available service at a competitive cost. Measuring the performance and availability of Web and enterprise applications is inherently difficult. Without accurate and timely measurements it is all but impossible to measure customer satisfaction and Quality of Service (QoS). Due to the cost of developing and implementing such a solution, service providers are finding they need to partner with others in the marketplace to ensure service level agreements (SLAs) are being met and the end-user experience is optimized. A quality end-user experience is what service provider clients require service providers must deliver in order to survive. Online shoppers are not tied by brand loyalty since they can get what they need at many different sites. Companies that want to achieve customer loyalty must deliver value through the customer experience. By outsourcing to service providers for this expertise, companies are entrusting their business and reputation on the solutions they offer. This makes it doubly important that service providers choose solutions that deliver on their SLAs. Principles Of Quality Customer Service 1. Quality Service Standards -Publish a statement that outlines the nature and quality of service which customers can expect, and display it prominently at the point of service delivery. 2. Equality/Diversity -Ensure the rights to equal treatment established by equality legislation, and accommodate diversity, so as to contribute to equality for the groups covered by the equality legislation (under the grounds of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller Community). Identify and work to eliminate barriers to access to services for people experiencing poverty and social exclusion, and for those facing geographic barriers to services. 3. Physical Access -Provide clean, accessible public offices that ensure privacy, comply with occupational and safety standards and, as part of this, facilitate access for people with disabilities and others with specific needs. 4. Information -Take a proactive approach in providing information that is clear, timely and accurate, is available at all points of contact, and meets the requirements of people with specific needs. Ensure that the potential offered by Information Technology is fully availed of and that the information available on public service websites follows the guidelines on web publication. Continue the drive for simplification of rules, regulations, forms, information leaflets and procedures. 5. Timeliness and Courtesy -Deliver quality services with courtesy, sensitivity and the minimum delay, fostering a climate of mutual respect between provider and customer. Give contact names in all communications to ensure ease of ongoing transactions. 6. Complaints -Maintain a well-publicised, accessible, transparent and simple-to-use system of dealing with complaints about the quality of service provided. 7. Appeals -Similarly, maintain a formalised, well-publicised, accessible, transparent and simple-to-use system of appeal/review for customers who are dissatisfied with decisions in relation to services. 8. Consultation and Evaluation -Provide a structured approach to meaningful consultation with, and participation by, the customer in relation to the development, delivery and review of services. Ensure meaningful evaluation of service delivery. 9. Choice -Provide choice, where feasible, in service delivery including payment methods, location of contact points, opening hours and delivery times. Use available and emerging technologies to ensure maximum access and choice, and quality of delivery. 10. Internal Customer -Ensure staff are recognised as internal customers and that they are properly supported and consulted with regard to service delivery issues. Performance measurement In Health care, the patients’ satisfaction has been widely used as a critical dependent variable to evaluate success of the service provider. The patient is one of the important stakeholders in the health care arena (Yeung, 2001; Yang & Cornelious, 2004). And it is reasonable that the patients’ perception will be considered as a crucial indicator to evaluate the quality of service(Steyn & Schulze, 2003). In the business area, consumer satisfaction often denotes whether the service provider met the consumers’ need (Steyn, & Schulze, 2003). Anderson, Fornell and Lehman (1994) propose there are at least two viewpoints in the definition of consumer satisfaction. The first viewpoint is a transaction-specific perspective, which refers to the consumers’ post-purchase appraisal or judgment of the products or service based on expectations at the specific purchasing time or location. The second viewpoint is cumulative satisfaction, which refers to consumers’ overall appraisal of purchasing and consuming experience toward the products or service. Therefore, we may regard patients’ satisfaction as the patients’ overall post-use evaluation toward the health care service. Performance measurement is a fundamental building block of TQM and a total quality organisation. Historically, organisations have always measured performance in some way through the financial performance, be this success by profit or failure through liquidation. However, they do not map process performance and improvements seen by the customer. In a successful total quality organisation, performance will be measured by the improvements seen by the customer as well as by the results delivered to other stakeholders, such as the shareholders. A simple performance measurement framework includes more than just measuring, but also defining and understanding metrics, collecting and analysing data, then prioritising and taking improvement actions. It is important to know where the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation lie, and measurement plays a key role in quality and productivity improvement activities. The main reasons it is needed are: to ensure customer requirements have been met, to be able to set sensible objectives and comply with them, to provide standards for establishing comparisons, to provide visibility and a â€Å"scoreboard† for people to monitor their own performance level, to highlight quality problems and determine areas for priority attention,to provide feedback for driving the improvement effort Quality-related activities that will incur costs may be split into prevention costs, appraisal costs and failure costs. Prevention costs are associated with the design, implementation and maintenance of the TQM system. They are planned and incurred before actual operation, and could include: Product or service requirements – setting specifications for incoming materials, processes, finished Products/services;Quality planning – creation of plans for quality, reliability, operational, production, inspection; Quality assurance – creation and maintenance of the quality system; Training – development, preparation and maintenance of programmes. Appraisal costs are associated with the suppliers’ and customers’ evaluation of purchased materials, processes, products and services to ensure they conform to specifications. They could include: Verification – checking of incoming material, process set-up, products against agreed specifications; Quality audits – check that the quality system is functioning correctly; Vendor rating – assessment and approval of suppliers, for products and services. Failure costs can be split into those resulting from internal and external failure. Internal failure costs occur when the results of work fail to reach designed quality standards and are detected before they are transferred to the customer. They could include: Waste – doing unnecessary work or holding stocks as a result of errors, poor organisation or communication; Scrap – defective product or material that cannot be repaired, used or sold; Rework or rectification – the correction of defective material or errors; Failure analysis – activity required to establish the causes of internal product or service failure. External failure costs occur when the products or services fail to reach design quality standards, but are not detected until after transfer to the customer. They could include: Repairs and servicing – of returned products or those in the field; Warranty claims – failed product that are replaced or services re-performed under a guarantee; Complaints – all work and costs associated with handling and servicing customers’ complaints; Returns – handling and investigation of rejected or recalled products, including transport costs Effective quality improvements should result in a future stream of benefits, such as: †¢ Reduced failure costs †¢ Lower appraisal costs †¢ Increased market share †¢ Increased customer base †¢ More productive workforce Service Quality Management (SQM) Service quality can be defined as â€Å"the collective effect of service performances which determine the degree of satisfaction of a user of the service†. In other words, quality is the customer’s perception of a delivered service. Service-quality management, refers to the monitoring and maintenance of end-to-end services for specific customers or classes of customers. As larger varieties of services are offered to customers, the impact of network performance on the quality of service will be more complex. It is vital that service engineers identify network-performance issues that impact customer service. They also must quantify revenue lost due to service degradation. The service-mapping tool comes in next. Performance data is mapped onto service-quality data. Take a customer using Multimedia Messaging Services, or MMS. If a video download is interrupted many times during a session, the customer will lose interest. The operator’s revenue will be lost with it. To avoid this situation, key quality indicators (KQIs) like availability can monitor the QoS offered to customers. From a customer’s point of view, the availability KQI measures how successfully he or she can access and use the MMS service. With the service mapping tool, it’s possible to combine KQIs from multiple key performance indicators (KPIs) across different service resources. KPIs measure a specific aspect of the performance of either a service resource or a group of service resources of the same type. A KPI is restricted to a specific resource type and derived from network measurements. By following this top-down approach, the service-mapping tool provides several benefits. It helps operators manage end-to-end quality of service from a customer’s perspective. It also allows them to reuse key performance indicators and key quality indicators across services and products. Lastly, it helps operators drill down to the service elements that are responsible for quality degradations. Service quality also demands a simple and easy-to-use user interface. With this interface, Network Operations Center (NOC) staff and service managers can monitor service-quality objectives against thresholds. These thresholds may be internal targets for the network operator. Or they could be derived from Service Level Agreement (SLA) definitions. When the service quality falls below the contracted levels, managers could then initiate corrective actions. They could focus on the service degradations that affect the greatest number of customers. A set of standard reports for different user communities should also be available. For new services, marketing and sales may be interested in reports on service usage and service uptake. National regulators may also request historical service quality against given service objectives. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY Cooper and Emory (1995) defined research as a systematic inquiry aimed at providing information to solve problem. This chapter will present a detailed idea about how the research will be conducted. In this chapter research methodology, the sample selection methods, data collection methods & data extraction from the Questionnaire and data analysis will be studied and explained. At the end of this chapter validity and reliability issues will be discussed to follow the quality standards of the research. Research strategy will be a general plan of how researcher will go about answering the research questions that has been set by researcher. It will contain clear objectives, derived from research questions specify the sources from which researcher intend to collect data and consider the constraints that researcher will inevitably have such as access to data, time, location and money, ethical issues. (Thornhill et. al. , 2003) Based on three conditions 1) form of research question 2) requires control over behavioral events and 3) focus on contemporary events Yin (1994) identified five research strategies in social science. These are – experiments, surveys, archival analysis, histories and case studies Most important condition for selecting research strategy is to identify the type of research question being asked. â€Å"Who†, â€Å"What†, â€Å"Where†, â€Å"how† and â€Å"Why† are the categorization scheme for the types of research questions. Two possibilities need to investigate by asking the â€Å"what† question. First, some types of what questions are justifiable for conducting an exploratory study and the goal is to develop pertinent hypotheses and propositions for further inquiry. Any of the five research strategies can be used in that situation- exploratory survey, exploratory experiment, or an exploratory case study. The second type of what question is actually form a â€Å"how many† or â€Å" how much† line of inquiry and the outcomes from a particular situation. The survey or archival analysis is more favorable than other strategies. If the researcher needs to know the â€Å"how† question, the better strategy will be doing history or a case study. (Yin 1994) Research Purpose Research can be classified in terms of their purpose. Accordingly, they are most often classified as exploratory, descriptive or explanatory (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2003). Exploratory research is useful when the research questions are vague or when there is little theory available to guide predictions. At times, researcher may find it impossible to formulate a basic statement of the research problem. Exploratory research is used to develop a better understanding (Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel 2003). Exploratory studies are a valuable means of finding out what is happening, to seek new insight, to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light. It is particularly useful if researcher wish to clarify the understanding of a problem. There are three principle ways of conducting exploratory research: a search of the literature, talking to experts in the subject, conducting focus group interviews (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2003). Descriptive research describes some situation. Generally things are described by providing measures of an event or activity. Descriptive research designs are usually structured and specifically designed to measure the characteristics described in a research question. Hypotheses, derived from the theory, usually serve to guide the process and provide a list of what needs to be measured (Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel 2003). The object of descriptive research is to portray an accurate profile of persons, events of situations. It is necessary to have a clear picture of the phenomena on which researcher wish to collect data prior to the collection of the data (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2003). Explanatory Research establishes causal relationships between variables. The emphasis here is on studying a situation or a problem on order to explain the relationship between variables (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2003). Explanatory studies are designed to test whether one event causes another (Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel 2003). The purpose of the research is mainly descriptive and explanatory. It is descriptive because descriptive data has been collected through detailed interviews and it is also explanatory since we will explain the relationship between the service quality variables and customer satisfaction and how these dimensions affect customer satisfaction. It is somewhat exploratory nature since Data Collection Method Data was collected by primary as well as by secondary data c