Education for All Essay

Higher Education has left behind the image of an American college population featuring predominantly young men and women from affluent, well connected families. Being a college student myself at age 50, I notice the diversity in student demographics. College represents a new beginning for those who have been affected by the recent economical changes all over the country but mostly in California. The visibility of nontraditional students earning a degree while raising families is commonplace. The availability of financial aid, scholarships, and federal loan programs has opened collegiate doors for students of all income levels and cultural backgrounds. I had many reservations in regards to entering the education arena so many years after graduating high school. I had concerns that I would not be able to pass an entrance exam. In the article â€Å"College Entrance Examination Board† in the Encyclopedia of Education, Second Edition, The College Examination Board is the body that creates the nationally recognized college entrance exam referred to as the Scholastic Assessment Test or SAT which is taken by one million students annually and is required for admission by many four year colleges and universities (372). According to the â€Å"Assessment Requirements† article on the website, California Colleges, most California Community Colleges require a placement assessment test to accurately place students in appropriate classes based on each individual’s level of ability. After taking the placement test for Mt San Jacinto Community College, I was amazed at the simplicity of the test itself. However, my reading and comprehension is still college level and unsurprising to me since I have been out of school since 1979, the test showed that I would require some remedial math and grammar. Since becoming a student in a California college I have become aware of several things. According to the Postsecondary Education Commissions article â€Å"Admission and residency requirements† on the website California Postsecondary Education Commission, by law all California Community Colleges are required to admit any California resident who graduated from high school. In addition, community colleges may admit individuals who have not graduated but are over 18 years old and can benefit from the instruction offered. The Commission article further states California Community Colleges serve 1. million students every year and a California resident may attend any community college campus in the state. According to article â€Å"California High School Exit Examination,† on the website California Department of Education, in California all high school students must pass a test to earn a high school diploma, the test itself is called the CAHSEE. I further investigated this exam, and found another article referring to the CAHSEE called â€Å"Help with the California High School Exit Exam† on the website San Diego County Office of Education. In which the San Diego County Office of Education outlined the components of the CAHSEE exam. I was absolutely amazed. The test covers the curriculum of the courses I was placed in after taking the placement test at Mt San Jacinto Community College. I understand the placement of someone who has been out of school for over 30 years, but what I absolutely do not understand are the amount of students in the same classes as I am who are fresh out of high school. Something is definitely wrong. I have discovered that California Community Colleges are the melting pot for students that didn’t make it in high school and now are taking up space in the largest education system in the state. In fact, with the budget cuts in the State of California affecting class availability in the community colleges, obtaining the necessary classes for every student’s educational goal is challenging. I received an email from Enrollment Services at Mt. San Jacinto Community College, titled â€Å"Policy Changes Effective Summer 2012,† its content disturbed me. Basically, it is limiting the number of times each student can take a class to receive a passing grade. That means that the student can take up to three semesters and receive financial aid, take up desk space, trying to pass a class that before this change, the class could be taken more than three times to achieve a passing grade. This policy was adopted by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to â€Å"ensure that as many students as possible are provided the opportunity to access a postsecondary education†. There is a gap between exiting high school and entering community college. There are Adult Education Centers in every community and these schools should be utilized for those students who don’t have college level reading comprehension skills. There should be a referral source and a retesting arrangement for students that cannot read. This has been the most frustrating element of returning to college. The students that for whatever reason did not finish high school and do not have adequate reading comprehension skills should not take up space in the higher education arena. A bridge needs to be created to assist these individuals to integrate them into college. The assessment placement test places students below 10th grade reading and comprehension abilities in remedial courses. Community colleges are providing classes that are not college level, which takes away classroom availability for students moving towards a degree, or certificate program. Class availability is a twofold problem, the number of student trying to enroll in college that don’t have the college level skills and the students enrolling in college trying to obtain their undergraduate courses to transfer to a four year college or university. The remedial classes I took my first semester back to college did not count towards my college units needed for a degree. However, it was difficult to register for these classes due to the infrequent availability and the number of students trying to register for these same courses. There is a huge benefit to the student taking these classes. Not only does it improve reading comprehension and math skills, but it teaches note taking and encourages better study habits. Ultimately these two things are greatly important to being successful in college. Using the community Adult Education Centers for Basic English, math or English as a Second language is part of the solution. The next would be to change the community college entrance â€Å"Accuplacer Test† to a more sophisticated â€Å"Entrance Exam† geared towards college level ability. Not only would this make more class rooms available at the community college level but increased class availability for the type of classes meeting the specific needs of the student. In the article by David Olson â€Å"Education is key theme of Riverside White House summit† from The Press-Enterprise, the percentage breakdown of persons with a bachelor’s degree is 13 percent Hispanic, 31 percent white and 50 percent are Asians (A1+). Olsen further states that nearly half the Inland area’s residents and 60 percent of its school children are Hispanic and lag far behind their classmates in educational achievement (A1+). This is greatly attributed to the language barrier. English as a second language does not carry college degree units. I believe that students who need this type of instruction could receive it just as well in an Adult Education setting. According to the article by Joanna Lin, â€Å"Expanding access to education,† in The Press-Enterprise, the Riverside Unified School District, introduced a state wide ballot initiative that would give students unrestricted access to publicly funded courses (A1+). This initiative would not limit the access to the courses by Zip code. The courses are known as the A-G requirements, required by California State University and University of California for admission. Having access to these undergraduate courses through the Riverside Virtual School is another solution for the overcrowding at community colleges. Lin further states that access to these courses could be through the student’s high school or through any publicly funded school. The type of classes could be online, classroom based or a blended model of both (A1+). According to the article â€Å"Budget Cuts Affect California Community Colleges† on the website Purpose of Education, a state budget cut is affecting more than 21,000 college students in California. Students that would have enrolled in a California State College are now seeking undergraduate courses at the community college level. Due to the overcrowding in the community colleges this student population is having a difficult time accessing their classes. According to Lin’s article in The Press-Enterprise, the Riverside Virtual School would assist in making undergraduate courses available. Lin further states this initiative calls on the State of California to modify its school financing to funding based on courses completed rather than on average attendance allowing multiple institutions to split funding for the same student (A+). It is my belief that in trying to help students whose educational ability is less than the criteria necessary to achieve success in community college, the Department of Education is denying the caliber of students who have the ability to achieve a degree and give back to society in the fashion that supports higher education. Utilizing Adult Schools is a solution for this problem. Every person has a right to education; California law regarding the right to everyone over 18 years of age can enroll in a community college and receive an education is a proactive and positive contribution to the betterment of society as a whole. My argument lies within the parameters of the assessment process. I believe that all students entering community college should have college level reading comprehension and basic math skills. If a student is not able to read at college level then the student should be referred to the Adult Education Center in his or her community to receive remedial instruction and then referred back to the college for re-assessment testing. This process would allow a greater availability of classes to students that already possess these skills and reduce the overcrowding as well as the financial strain on California Community Colleges as a whole. Those students that are serious about furthering their education will do whatever it takes to accomplish their goal. The demographic of the country is changing, along with it the need of the Department of Education to rise to the challenge. Education is mandatory for success for anyone. It is my belief that with the types of alternate education for undergraduate courses outlined in Lin’s article â€Å"Expanding access to education† and utilizing the community Adult Education Centers for remedial education, any student would be able to successfully obtain a degree. Not only obtain a degree but be able to do it in a more expedited fashion, which would benefit society as a whole.

Democratic Society Essay

The conducted study revealed that both external and internal factors are of great importance for facilitation democratic changes in developing countries. Some observers argue that democratic outcomes are strongly related to the extent to which power holders have been encouraged by pressure from various external and domestic sources – for example, internationally, from foreign governments granting financial aid and, at home, from civil and political society to allow citizens greater participation in the political arena. Others suggest that democratic progress is primarily associated with an array of domestic factors affecting political outcomes, including level of economic development, quality of political leadership and political culture. It seems that truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between. Without a doubt, globalization of democratization encourages developing countries to keep up to date and join the process of internationalization of economic growth and get profit from widening of free markets, reinforced by new means of international communication. But our study proves that to promote democratization the developing nation has to maintain multiple domestic conditions such as adherence to sustainable economic development and willingness to allocate public resources in equitable manner, strong middle class, powerful and soundly structured civil society, effectively functioning multi-party system, and liberal political culture. Thus, economic development proved to be the most important predictor of democratization. It seems that, once a country achieves a certain degree of economic development, additional economic growth is an important ingredient for the developing country’s continued progress toward further democratization. Our study demonstrated that continued democratization of developing countries depends heavily on their economic liberalization, supported by the increased purchasing power of the people. The empirical findings cited in our study clearly showed that the ‘unique’ Confucian or Islamic political culture/civilization does not prevent the internationalization of national economies from affecting the degree of democracy. It seems, therefore, that states may be able to delay, but not negate, the process of political liberalization induced by economic liberalization. As the economic opportunities increase for individuals and private businesses, their awareness of the potential for improving their civil liberties also increases. Subsequently, they will begin to demand more freedom. It seems, therefore, that the improvement of the standard of living and the popular involvement in the economic and political decision-making are critical for long-term democratization in developing countries. References Arblaster, A. (1999). Democratic Society and Its Enemies. In P. Burnell & P. Calvert, (Eds. ), The Resilience of Democracy: Persistent Practice, Durable Idea, special issue of Democratization, 6(1), 33-49.

The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by the late Martin Luther King

The â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† by the late Martin Luther King, Jr. is a very inspiring work about injustice, oppression, and fighting for everyone’s rights. He was able to respond to his critics in a manner where he appeared calm and responsible. He laid out all his reasons for his actions and why he was in such a place without becoming angry and bitter at the situation.One example of enthymeme found in his letter is the statement â€Å"I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong. † This statement is considered as an enthymeme because it has a part of the argument that is missing since this is already assumed. It can be broken down in three parts: laws that are considered morally wrong should not be obeyed by the public; segregation ordinances are morally wrong; thus, segregation ordinances should be disobeyed.He states that segregation allows other people to think that they are superior from others, while some may feel t hat they are much lower than the rest. Another enthymeme is seen on Marin Luther King, Jr. ’s letter, specifically in the 10th paragraph where he talks about opposing to violent tension and â€Å"the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The assumed premise here is that gadflies have the ability to improve people’s lives.The minor premise is that the author, Martin Luther King, is a gadfly. As such, it is concluded that the author’s efforts will greatly improve the lives of the people. Martin Luther King was able to express his intentions by using logical arguments to persuade his audience. He was effective in his purpose by having clear examples and arguments that answered the questions and concerns of the clergymen who wrote to him.

Geotechnical Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Geotechnical Report - Essay Example Most structural design specifications are slowly transitioning into the Load/Resistance Factor Future plans are to develop the material into a structural reliability. Through instruction of structural reliability concepts, an awareness of structural safety design and a better appreciation of expertise will be strengthened among future engineers.. It will also better equip engineers to face possible future revisions of design codes. With a growing population and a very limited land space, the need for Hongkong to exploit subterranean space is obvious, and also acute. Comprehensive and accurate geotechnical information of the subterranean space would be necessary to achieve this objective. Hongkong is sufficiently compact to enable the development of a database of previously collected soil data on a national scale. The database would appropriately integrate with value-added information that would be calibrated against careful benchmarks. For the benefit of the industry, the database could be made readily accessible via the internet. Some of the more tangible contributions are: (a) Future soil investigation may only be carried out to complement the known information. This will optimise future soil investigations. (b) The availability of a comprehensive Geotechnical Information System coupled with accurate analysis and design will lead to well designed projects. Careful and well-designed projects are an essential ingredient in improving productivity. (c) This development which has at its core the development of a comprehensive system will play a major role towards nudging the industry in that direction and hence leads to greater productivity in the construction sector.In Hongkong, large volumes of geotechnical data have been collected over the years by various Government organizations of Singapore such as Housing Development Board (HDB), Building Construction Authority (BCA), Jurong Town Council (JTC) and Land Transport Authority (LTA), and the construction industry of Singapore. However, the data are not placed in a convenient frame work and the data are not available in digital format to other users. Structural Reliability in Engineering Structural reliability accounts for the ability of the structure to fulfill its design purposes throughout a certain design life. Measures of structural reliability come from every process that constitutes the life of a structure (Figure2-1): Most of these measures are random in nature; hence, probabilistic methods are required to quantify the participation of these different random variables in the design in order to determine the overall system stability. Sources of errors that may affect the reliability of a structure may come from humans (i.e. negligence, approximation, lack of knowledge or pure greed) or from nature. Brief I have been commissioned by my client to carry out a preliminary site and design all the civil and geotechnical elements for the project. A series of preliminary boreholes have been excavated in the eastern part of the route and laboratory tests have also been

Phase 2 Individual Project_Criminal Investigation Essay

Phase 2 Individual Project_Criminal Investigation - Essay Example An example of a case outlining the exclusionary evidence rule is the Weeks vs. United States (Signorelli, 2010). From the case, the United States Supreme court ruled that it is a breach of the Fourth Amendment of the American constitution when a law enforcement agent seizes the property of a suspect without a warrant. The statute prohibits local law enforcement agencies from collecting evidence by unlawful means. Wetterer (1998) identifies the following as exceptions to the exclusionary rule, The doctrine of good faith observes that the evidence in question is admissible in a trial court if a law enforcement agency under a good faith took action believing that it was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment. In explaining the application of this law, Leon vs. United States of America.1984 challenges the admissibility of evidence obtained through an illegal search by law enforcement agencies (Persico, 1997). From the case, law enforcement officers in California got information about the activities of Patsy Stewart and Armando Sanchez. After investigation and surveillance, police officers identified Ricardo Castillo and Alberto Leon as accomplices in drug trafficking, and a detective sought a search warrant from a judge (Persico, 1997). The warrant in question was illegal since the police could not prove a probable cause for the warrant. However, the evidence was admissible because the police action was on the belief that they followed the law. The inevitable discovery doctrine is grounded on the belief that the evidence in question was likely to be discovered by legal means. A statute explaining this exception is the Nix vs. Williams’s case (Signorelli, 2010). In the case, the defendant killed a young girl in the state of Iowa. The defendant surrendered to law enforcement officers, and on his own plea, he was arraigned in court. The officers searched for the victim’s body, and because of heavy snow,

Who Killed Palomino Molero by Mario Vargas Llosa Essay

Who Killed Palomino Molero by Mario Vargas Llosa - Essay Example But the relatively sophisticated Silva is not so quick to jump to conclusions. "Nothing's easy, Lituma," he says. "The truths that seem most truthful, if you look at them from all sides, if you look at them close up, turn out either to be half truths or lies" (86)1. Vargas Llosa, playing on the normal expectations of readers of detective fiction, produces a plot that is surprising for the very reason that it contains no surprises. Yet he simultaneously undermines the expectations of postmodernist readers by keeping his detective story plot on track right through to the end. Who Killed Palomino Molero derives a great deal of its energy from metareading effects similar to those so important in Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. The text can be read by typical "unsophisticated" fans of detective fiction as an ordinary detective story. The ending of Vargas Llosa's subplot is thus very much like the ending of the detective plots. Silva himself makes the parallel between the plots quite clear: "I've made a vow," he declares early in the book. "I won't die until I screw that fat bitch and until I find out who killed Palomino Molero" (58). 2 The Foucauldian link between sex and epistemology suggested in Who Killed Palomino Molero indicates that these two roles are not all that different.

Forces of Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Forces of Globalization - Essay Example One such force is the dependency of some nations on others, as a result of the increased inequality between such countries. It is clear that some of the countries have developed to world economic powers as a result of their expertise, resources, and technology. On the other hand, most of the countries around the globe are still underdeveloped, with lack of proper technologies and expertise to exploit their resources. From the past, the relationship between these developed and underdeveloped countries has remained one of dependence, with the latter depending on the former for economic and political. In his book, Wright suggested that the Niumi people were dependent on the British during the colonial times and at a point, they remained without basic resources such as healthcare facilities, until they were built by the British. Such is still the case in the current world as the gap between the developed and developing countries has continuously increased, forcing the developing countrie s to develop in the developed countries for financial and humanitarian aid. International politics has also been an interestingly significant determinant of international interactions. Nations from various parts of the world have different political ambitions, some of which are taken into the international environment, leading to either formation of political alliances or conflict. Defined by different political boundaries, different nations are faced with the mandate to protect the interests and sovereignty of their people.

Description essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Description - Essay Example Sean Penn, Ali MacGraw, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Dick Van Dyke and Tony Hopkins have all had homes here. The reason for this is the area’s incredible views of both the mountains and the ocean. As we drove along, it was awe-inspiring and a little dizzying to look up at the multi-colored mountains on one side of the road and then deep down the jagged cliffs to the white sand and ultramarine blue of the ocean down below. The difference between the two sides of the road made us feel as if we were traveling in alternate worlds, which, in a way, we were. The solid mountains look very dry, full of scrub brush and rocks and small, stunted trees that are bent and shaped by the wind. Although the ends of the grasses sway in the breeze and the trees bend slightly, this side of the road looks unchangeable. Nothing moves without good cause. It is very obvious looking at this side of the road why fires are such a danger here. In contrast, the ocean breakers send up white spray into the blue sky, emph asizing the constant motion and change occurring along the coastline. People are everywhere enjoying the beach, some tanning, some surfing, some just playing at the water’s edge. In contrast with the mountains, it seems as if nothing down there could ever remain the same. The houses along this drive are incredible, too. They don’t seem to belong to the real world of real people living real lives. Instead, they are mansions and palaces belonging to characters out of a fairy tale. The gigantic structures seem less like a place someone would live than like monuments to an idea. Each one has its own unique architectural style and lies in various degrees of hidden behind the heavily landscaped areas of their yards and gates. It is difficult to impossible to stop long enough to get a really good glimpse of how each house has been modeled. Another thing people don’t

Water Pollution (what are the reason and what to do to keep it clear.) Annotated Bibliography

Water Pollution (what are the reason and what to do to keep it clear.) - Annotated Bibliography Example lhoun has focused more on legislations and acts that have direct effects on environmental issues rather than causes, effects and sources of water pollution. This book provides a comprehensive review on basic and latest developments of water pollution. Goel not only has discussed in detail the origins of water pollution but also provided separate chapters on its history, legislation, pollutants, detrimental effects, monitoring etc. This book also emphasizes on control of water pollution by employing various techniques. Ritter L, Solomon K, Sibley P, Hall K, Keen P, Mattu G and Linton B. Sources, pathways, and relative risks of contaminants in surface water and groundwater: a perspective prepared for the Walkerton inquiry. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental health part A, 2002. 11:65(1):1 Ritter L, Solomon K, Sibley P, Hall K, Keen P, Mattu G and Linton B, in this paper have evaluated the resources, pathways and hazards associated with human health at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Data collected was mainly from literature sources and drinking water surveillance program of Ontario. Assessment was limited to major contaminants i.e. metals, nitrates; pesticides and the results indicated that little risks were associated with specific concentration for these compounds present in water. However, this study does not emphasize on risks related to other contaminants i.e. pharmaceutical products and also the results are particular to specific concentration of pollutants. This paper discusses the sources of pollutants and their identification in rivers and streams across United States. Also, leading sources of pollution and its potential risks on human beings, environment, agriculture and aquatic life are explained. As an organization, WWF’s mission is to decrease the impact of human activities on nature and reduce pollution. Several measures have been launched worldwide to create awareness and promote preventive measures for water pollution. This

A rhetorical analysis on How Society in the United States Views Research Paper - 1

A rhetorical analysis on How Society in the United States Views Abortion and what impact the media has on that view - Research Paper Example Iyengar, Shanto; Hahn, Kyu S. Red Media, Blue Media: Evidence of Ideological Selectivity in Media Use. Journal of Communication, 59.1 (2009): 19-39 - This article is geared towards showing that the public is always aligned towards media houses that cover news that are aligned to their political interests. It follows then that there is a partial selectivity on the news that people on National television due to a perceived bias. Such a trend is worrying and may erroneously inform the public which negatively impacts the society. The article concentrates on proliferation of biased media houses which is important for this paper in the abortion debate perception. National Survey of State Laws. Abortion. 16th Nov 2012. Web 2008 http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/abortion.aspx - This is the primary text that provides information about the different legislations that govern the abortion debate. Most of these legislations are quite controversial and they have led to a polarized public with two extreme views on the debate. Rohlinger, Deana A. "Friends and foes: Media, politics, and tactics in the abortion war." Social Problems 53.4 (2006): 537-561 - This paper concentrates on how politics and the media interplay to inform the public about the abortion debate. Both politics and media strategies influence each other in presenting facts about sensitive debates touching on the US public. The media on its part employs different tactics to bring out their messages to the public which influences perceptions of controversial issues in US. As such, this article provides important information on the broad tactics used by media and enhances knowledge on the dynamics of politics in the abortion debate. Weitz, Tracy A., and Yanow Susan. â€Å"Implications of the Federal Abortion Ban for Womens Health in the United States.† Reproductive Health Matters, 16.31 (2008): 99-107 - Authors of this article expound on the impacts of the Partial Birth

Analyze the Art Exhibit by Ken Ellis, Gathering Essay

Analyze the Art Exhibit by Ken Ellis, Gathering - Essay Example This goes a long way to help them define themselves. Arts also add depth to people’s cultural backgrounds. This essay seeks to analyze Ken Ellis â€Å"Gathering† and some of his other art works as portrayed in the Chicago cultural center exhibition. The event is to take place at Chicago and this suggests that it would be a successful one. Chicago is the third largest city in the United States, with a population of nearly three million people. It is a cultural city as most cultural events take place and this is proven by the number of facilities that promote the cultural scheme. The facilities range from dozens of cultural institutions, historical sites, and museums, more than 200 theaters, and nearly 200 art galleries. There are also some few factors which suggest and prove as to the fact where nearly 40 million people visit Chicago annually. Some of these factors are Chicago being the first and largest municipalities to require public art in various strategies and this led to passage of the Percentage-for-Arts Ordinance in 1978, and the Art Institute of Chicago which has one of the largest and most extensive collections of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings in the world. The building and street where the exhibition is to be held is accessible and convenient. The Chicago cultural center, 78 E. Washington St. ... According to Galvin, the programme can be experimental, intellectual, or innovative. An analysis of the event’s programme reveals that it is intellectual in nature. The event is meant to be a talk about Ken Ellis exhibition of â€Å"Gathering.† Ideas are exchanged between different people as they try to justify their opinions on their understanding of the painting. This allows for most of the people to think extensively and base their perspectives about the painting on a broader point of view. The content of the exhibition is shallow as it is based on the single painting of Ken Ellis and this narrows down the whole event content-wise. Therefore, most of the people at the exhibit are narrowed to a particular content of the exhibition and this discourages them to think from a wider perspective about the whole exhibition (Surin, 2009). Also the exhibition is held in the Chicago cultural center and thus the programme relates to the definition of the center as the Ken Ellis â€Å"Gathering â€Å" points out on a cultural perspective as lots of people are seen to have gathered either for a function that involves the whole society. This also proves that the exhibition is based on a simple platform as the title is quite simple, understandable and relevant to the artistic painting. This eliminates the seriousness except for the fact that most people might come up with many questions regarding the painting as one has the freedom to think on a broader perspective about the painting. The exhibition also gives room for an international platform as the painting may be associated with most cultures all around the world since gatherings are the only ways to reach masses on any matters concerning the society

Law enforcement today Essay Example for Free

Law enforcement today Essay Law enforcement officers have a very important role in society. They have a job that involves lots of decision making and using personal judgment. Law officers have many duties while at work. Law officers have to decide whether or not someone is breaking the law and how they will enforce the situation. Law officers are sometimes expected to be perfect. They have to catch all the bad guys and save all the innocent. Unfortunately it doesnt always work that way but officers try to do the best of their ability. All officers are different in that some are more strict and you cant get away with as much, and others are very laid back and you are apt to get a way with more. I believe all officers should be strict when it comes to safety issues, and peoples health is at risk. I also believe officers should try and teach you what is against the law before you are punished, like warnings should be issued when no one is in harms way. Some officers think they are immortal when they put on a badge, sometimes officers forget what theyre there for and go too far. There are many cases when people have been falsely abused by officers for no reason. All people have rights, even when you have committed a crime. You are read your rights when you get arrested and no one can take those rights away from you. If an officer violates those rights, you will probably win you case because of it. I think the laws and rules citizens have to follow are reasonable. To run a country successfully, you need to have laws that cover everything. People also need to educate themselves on what the laws are. In this country, you are innocent until proven guilty. Everyone also has a right to a trial before a jury when you have been accused of a crime. Each case obviously has its own circumstances, and thats why everyone gets a trial. I think the more serious the crime, the less space or freedom you have. Obviously there are different penalties for speeding and murder. They say the crime should fit the punishment. I think the penalties in this country are very fair. I dont think to many people get off too easy or too harshly. I believe the punishment system is pretty accurate in this country. I think a lot of police work is just plain old confidence. Criminals are going to take the state police more seriously than the police in a little town in the middle of nowhere. Law enforcement officers have a bad reputation of being fat, out of shape, eating donuts, sitting at a desk and so on. Some officers you see  are definently out of shape but they might have great knowledge in the field of law enforcement. I think all officers who go on patrol should have to pass a physical test as well as a written test each year to be certified. Im not saying out of shape officers should be fired, but they shouldnt be on patrol. They could be put at a desk or do detective like work. I think officers should be in good shape and look intimidating towards criminals. I think that would cut crime rates down. Criminals would be less apt to rob a bank if they knew a young, in shape, fast cop was chasing them rather than if a three hundred pound, forty six year old cop was. All these things I just mentioned would probably help reduce crime, but they are just opinions. I truly believe law officers today do a good job at what they do and deserve a tremendous amount of respect for it. Being a law officer is not only a risky job but it is kind of heroic in a way. I think it takes a special person to be a law officer and not everyone should able to be one.

Strategies To Sell Seoul As A Leisure Destination Tourism Essay

Strategies To Sell Seoul As A Leisure Destination Tourism Essay This diploma paper introduces Seoul, the growing market as a leisure destination. The purpose of this paper is to find and suggest ways for Seoul to become a popular leisure destination for Europeans. The paper starts with introduction to Seoul, analysis of tourists who visit Seoul. Furthermore, this paper provides three ways for Seoul to become a popular leisure destination for Europeans by clear three steps including increasing awareness, marketing which gives Europeans motivation and information, and an improvement on Seoul as a tourist city. Chapter one is an introduction to this paper, which gives a general thought about Seoul as a leisure destination. In chapter two, there will be a closer look at Seoul. Starting from general introduction to South Korea, this chapter shows tourism industry in South Korea and a few attractions in Seoul which are divided into both traditional and modern points. Chapter three deals specifically with statistics related to visitors of South Korea, concentrating on difference between Asian and European visitors. Then, it leads to stepping stone of ways for Seoul to become popular among European leisure-oriented travelers. Chapter four shows the importance of international events in terms of national image and tourism. To build awareness and images of South Korea is linked for Europeans to be motivated to think about visiting South Korea. This chapter will explain this and gives a case. In chapter five, Hong Kong which is the one of the most popular destination in Asia is analyzed to be compared to Seoul. By understanding and learning from the metropolis, Hong Kong, the milestone of next two chapters about marketing strategies and development of Seoul will be set up. Chapter six suggests marketing strategies to sell Seoul as a leisure destination for Europeans. As marketing strategies, the roles of government and media will be shown. Chapter seven is about how to improve Seoul as a leisure destination. Through SWOT analysis, a few points will be suggested to develop Seoul to attract Europeans. In chapter eight, the last chapter, there is a conclusion based on all the chapters of why this research is important and published. Introduction This diploma paper was created to find and suggest ways for Seoul to become a popular leisure destination for Europeans. The capital city of South Korea, Seoul, has many both traditional and modern attractions and great potentials to attract Europeans as a city tourism destination. However, it is not as much well-known as the fascinating cities in Asia such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, or Shanghai. For Europeans, Asia would seem to be somewhere new and adventurous. Since they do not know and are curious about the continent, their expectations of what they want to experience are somewhat oriental. However, some major cities like Tokyo are very westernized, modern but yet have their own uniqueness based on traditions and culture. Moreover, they would like to go to those places and see the real lives of the country. This is called City Tourism, which means that the city itself has lots of tourist attractions of accommodation, transportation, amusement facilities, culture, and food to make people from outside to be motivated to visit. Those both sides of attracts encourage Europeans to see oriental, traditional Asian parts and experience the real life of metropolis in Asia. In that respect, Seoul has true colors of South Koreas culture and tradition behind and yet as a metropolis of more than 10 millions of residents, tourists would be able to see and experience how Korean live. In other words, Seoul has the real charms of pull Europeans. Then, why Seoul is not yet the popular and concerned destination for Europeans to travel? This paper demonstrates the reasons and answers for the question. First reason is that South Korea is still not well-known, especially for European tourists, which leads to the fact that it is crucial to increase Europeans awareness of national images so that they would know and be motivated to visit South Korea. Also, there is lack of marketing strategies for Europeans to be encouraged to travel Seoul. Finally, Seoul should be improved more in terms of tourism industry, including cultural tourism, various activities and events for tourists, the needs of overcome language barriers, and so on. South Korea was not the destination for leisure purposes until late of 1980s. After holding successful Olympics in Seoul, the world had started looking at the country differently, while images of South Korea would have been poor and developing country after the Korea War. Furthermore, 2002 World Cup Korea Japan has definitely helped Korea to become a tourist destination that people talk about. Importance of international events, which will be acquainted later in chapter 5, is one of the major factors for a country to be well-known and improve tourism industry. 2. Seoul as a tourist destination Introduction to South Korea Geographically South Korea is located in East Asia, between China and Japan. The Korean peninsula is roughly 1,030 km long and 175 km wide at its narrowest point. The land area is 99,200 sq km, and it has a population of 48.6 million people. From Gojoseon which was the first form of country to after Japanese occupation, Korean War and division, Korea has more than 5,000 years of history. After Korean War and division from North Korea, the Republic of Korea had developed economy remarkably from 1960 to 1980s, which is called Miracle on the Han River. South Korea is a member of the OECD, and is classified as a high-income economy by the World Bank and an advanced economy by the IMF and CIA. South Korea is now a member of G-20 and will hold the annual G-20 meeting in 2010. History of tourism industry in South Korea Along the development of economy, tourism industry also has been growing. This figure shows that the number of people visiting Korea from other countries rise remarkably from 11,109 in the year of 1961 to 6,155,047 in 2006. Especially, between 1980 and 1992, Asia-Pacific region moved from being a minor player in the international tourism scene to becoming the fastest-growing and most talked about region of the world. And one of the fastest-growing markets was South Korea according to WTO (World Tourism Organization). Figure 1. Visitor Arrivals in South Korea from 1961-2006 Introduction to Seoul Seoul is the capital city of South Korea. With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the worlds largest cities. It is also the second largest metropolitan area. Seoul is located on the Han River in the center of the Korean Peninsula. Even though it may not be the center of South Korea geographically, Seoul is definitely the center of economy, politics, culture, and transport. Also, it is known as the hub of East Asia. Not surprisingly, this figure shows that among foreign visitors to South Korea, more than 70 percent of them visit Seoul. Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Visitors (%) 85.0 80.9 78.1 76.8 73.4 Figure 2. Percentage of foreign visitors to Seoul taken from total population of foreign visitors to Korea Seoul is a very attractive city which has both oriental and modern characteristics. Traditional places such as palaces, temples, and traditional house villages attract people from the West as oriental attractions which are unfamiliar and interesting. Also, Seoul as a modern metropolitan city which shows how westernized Seoul is. Seoul as an oriental destination in Asia Gyeongbokgung (Gyeongbok Palace) (Seoul has been a capital city for approximately 600 years. Therefore, there are a lot of palaces, especially the ancient royal palaces of the Joseon Dynasty: Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung, Changdeokgung, and Changgyeonggung.) Gyeongbokgung is the first palace of the Joseon Dynasty which was built in 1395 and remained the core nucleus of autocratic rule through much of Joseon period. It was the palace where the head of state conducted important matters, received foreign envoys, and assembled his court in royal rituals. Enthronements also took place here. (It is 340,000 m2 (square meter).) Remarkably, the most representative edifices of the Joseon Dynasty, Gyeonghoe-ru Pavilion and Hyangwonjeong Pond are still relatively in tact. Woldae and the sculptures of Geunjeongjeon (The Royal Audience Chamber) represent the past sculpture art which was the trend back then. The National Palace Museum of Korea is located south of Heungnyemun Gate, and the National Folk Museum is located east within Hyangwonjeong. Bongeunsa (Bongeun Temple) One of the unique facts which attract people from Western countries is Korean Buddhism. Bongeunsa is one of only a few traditional Buddhist temples found in the city. Surprisingly, it is located in the busy, fast-paced part of the World Trade Center area. It is a pleasant place not only for Korean to visit but also for travelers to get to know Korean Buddhism culture. Temple Stay is what people can experience daily lives in a temple and learn Buddhism culture and spirits. In fact, lots of visitors stay there from few hours to 2 days to get to know Korean Buddhism, exotic culture. Bukchon Hanok Village There are traditional Korean houses remained in Bukhon Hanok Village. Most of houses are residences, but there are galleries, traditional workshops which sell fine jewelries, Korean restaurants, and minbak (Korean traditional Bed Breakfast). Insa-dong (Insa District) Insa-dong, located in the middle of the city, is an important place where old but precious and traditional goods are on display. Galleries, traditional restaurants, traditional teahouses, and cafes take place the whole area. The shops in Insa-dong are very popular among all age groups, because each one is unique. For young people especially, cheap but yet traditional and fine goods are sold in carts on the street. There are about 100 galleries in the area which travelers can see every example of traditional Korean fine art from paintings to sculptures. Seoul as a modern city N Seoul Tower N Seoul Tower is the landmark of Seoul. It is located on top of Namsan Mountain and is a place where you can get fine views of Seoul. Built in 1969, it was a satellite tower but opened to the public in 1980. Besides fine views, the tower has restaurants, cafes, and shops. Lighting show which takes place every night is also attractive for visitors. Myeong-dong (Myeong District) Myeong-dong is a massive shopping district where has all kinds of brand name shops and department stores are clustered along the streets and alleyways. Myeong-dong also has family restaurants, fast food, and Korean, Western and Japanese food. Hangang (Han River) and Cheonggyecheon (Cheonggye Stream) A place of relaxation and convenient waterway transportation, the Hangang River is the center of Seouls urban renewal. Visitors come to the banks of the Hangang for leisure and recreation, an urban respite from the hectic pace of everyday life. Cheonggye Stream had been the biggest wholesale market in Seoul for more than 40 years after the Korean War. However, after renovation construction in 2003, it is now a beautiful tourist attraction and a leisure place for Koreans. Beautiful 22 bridges are decorated with 9,000 lights and 1,500,000 plants. Its length is 5.84 kilometer and 12.04 kilometer of walking paths are available. Especially, during December, the light show installed in the Cheonggye square which is the end of the stream is stunning. COEX The COEX (Convention and Exhibition) building serves as the World Trade Center Seoul that includes a convention center, exhibition hall, and mall. It is a place for international conferences and cultural and arts events. It has successfully held the 3rd ASEM, the Noble Peace Prize, OECD international workshop, and many other international conferences. It has more than 200 exhibitions and over 2,000 international conferences and events annually. The COEX mall which is an underground shopping mall is the largest shopping center in Seoul. Also, it constitutes many other leisure places such as Aquarium, Megabox Movie Theater, Kimchi field museum, event court, and food court. Especially, Aquarium has more than 40,000 fish of 600 species and dozens of large sharks. Moreover, two chain hotels are connected to the place. Hongdae area Hongdae stands for Hongik University but also around the university, the area is for nightlife, various activities, and art performance. A lot of youngsters in Seoul spend their free time clubbing, shopping and enjoying gigs in this area. Especially, the last Friday of each month in Hongdae is Club Day, a wristband-powered event which allows entry to more than a dozen major clubs for the price of one. Itaewon Itaewon district is a place where various foreign cultures gather. Located between the southern slopes of Mountain Namsan and the Han River It started in the early 20th century, when it was a residential district for Japanese colonialists. Foreign communities form in the place, therefore many restaurants serving international dishes are found in this area including cuisine from India, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Thailand, and Mexico, foods that are not widely available in Korea. 3. Analysis of tourists visiting Seoul This chapter acquaints with analysis of tourists visiting Seoul, South Korea. Based on the International Visitor Survey 2008 which was published by KTO (Korea Tourism Organization), this chapter will determine characteristics of visitors to South Korea, reasons why Asians travel South Korea more than Europeans do, which leads to differences between Eastern and Western tourists to South Korea. Also, this chapter includes key points which lead to answer the question; how Seoul can attract Europeans. It is important to mention that most of statistics and surveys used in this chapter are based on South Korea, not Seoul. However, since more than 70 percent of visitors to South Korea travel Seoul, those figures are clearly explained to figure out about Seoul. 3.1. Statistics of visitors to South Korea First of all, the figure is provided to show you percentage of visitors to South Korea in 2008. In 2008, the total number of visitors to South Korea was 6,890,841. 72.7 percent of visitors which means that 5,018,219Â  were from Asian countries such as Japan, China, Taiwan, and Thailand. The second largest proportion of the pie was people from Americas. The number of Europeans who visited South Korea in 2008 is 592,303, which is 8.6 percent. 1.9 percent of visitors were from Oceania and 1.1 percent of visitors to South Korea were from Middle East such as Turkey. The smallest percentage, 0.4 percent of visitors was Africans in 2008. Figure 3. Percentage of visitors to South Korea The pie shows that visitors are mainly from Asia. To indicate this fact more obviously, the chart below is provided to see from which countries are the most visitors to South Korea. Clearly, the massive numbers of visitors are from near countries to South Korea such as Japan and China while only Russia is included this chart. Top 10 countries travelling South Korea (2008) Rank Country 1 Japan 2 China 3 United States 4 Taiwan 5 Philippines 6 Thailand 7 Hong Kong 8 Russia (Federation) 9 Canada 10 Australia Figure 4. Top 10 countries travelling South Korea (2008) 3.2. Reasons why Asian travel South Korea more than Europeans Since more than 70 percent of travelers to South Korea are Asians, it is critical to find ways to attract Europeans by comparing with Asians, especially Japanese and Chinese who visit South Korea the most. Therefore, this sup-chapter will demonstrate reasons why Asian travel South Korea. There are several reasons why Asians travel South Korea more than Europeans such as geographical locations, more accessibility, Asians knowing South Korea and its culture well, and the Korean Wave. 3.2.1. Geographical reasons First of all, Asian countries especially Japan and China are nearer to South Korea than other countries so that it is easier and cheaper for people from those countries to visit South Korea. It takes an hour to visit Seoul from Tokyo, Shanghai, and Beijing by airplanes. For them, it might be even nearer to travel Seoul rather than other cities in their own countries and it is still other country which motivates them to travel for leisure purpose. Because of geographical factor, there is more accessibility for Japanese and Chinese to visit Seoul. While almost people from other countries visit South Korea by airplanes, some of Japanese and Chinese travel South Korea by ships. As an example of comparison, there are approximately 30 flights in one day from Seoul to Tokyo, 26 flights from Seoul to Beijing, while only 5 flights in one day from Seoul to Paris. 3.2.2. Cultural reasons Since China, Japan, and Korea are located all in Northeast Asia, they have some common and similar cultures behind them even though they all are individually unique. Therefore, tourists from China and Japan to South Korea feel more comfortable about travelling South Korea because they know the country. Moreover, they have more knowledge and experience about South Korea from education, media, and so on. 3.2.3. The Korean wave The Korean wave refers to the significantly increased popularity of South Korean culture around the world since the 21st century. The term was coined in China in mid-1999 by Beijing journalists surprised by the fast growing popularity of South Koreans and South Korean goods in China. Globalization has had an impact on pop culture to be opened to foreign countries for last decade. Especially, Korean TV dramas are really popular among Asian countries through the whole generations. As an example, Japan is the one of the countries influenced by Korean pop culture popularities, which leads to increase of Japanese travelers to South Korea. NHK, Japans public broadcaster introduced Winter Sonata as the first South Korean TV drama shown on its satellite channel in 2003. The TV drama created many syndromes about itself and because of its explosive popularity, Winter Sonata was aired twice in the same year and NHK published novels based on the screenplay and program guidebooks, as well as to produce DVDs, CDs and videos for both entertainment and for learning Korean. Meanwhile, travel agencies offer tour packages that highlight shooting locations of Winter Sonata and rare moments to meet the stars. The economic effects of Winter Sonata in South Korea have enormously benefited not only the entertainment but tourism industries, as well. As a result from Korean Wave, Japanese visitors accounted for 41.6% of 1.99 million visitors to South Korea in 2004. 3.3. Differences between Asian and European visitors There are mainly two obvious differences between Asian and European travelers; purposes of their visits and places that they visited. This subchapter will indicate the basis to determine ways to bring more Europeans to visit Seoul. 3.3.1. Purpose of visit Generally speaking, the percentages of business-oriented visitors and leisure-oriented travelers to South Korea are similar in 2008 according to the pie given below. Those two constitute more than 80 percent. However, people who visited for business/professional activities are slightly more than people who came to South Korea for leisure/entertainment/vacation reasons. Figure 5. Purpose of visit (2008) According to the chart below which shows the nationality and purpose of visit, there is a significant difference between Asian and European travelers. Asians, especially Japan and Taiwan, tend to visit South Korea with leisure purpose, while there are more Europeans who came for business or professional activities than those who came for leisure purpose. The difference between business and leisure purposes is more than six times among Europeans. The Number of Case Business/Professional activities (%) Leisure/Entertainment/Vacation (%) Friends/Family visit (%) Total 11,978 42.0 40.4 11.5 Japan 4,318 25.6 63.2 8.9 China 2,128 39.2 37.1 13.1 United States 1,108 57.3 12.2 23.9 Taiwan 587 29.3 62.9 4.5 Russia (Fed.) 249 68.5 10.6 10.8 Canada 190 50.8 15.8 28.5 Australia 175 50.6 25.0 11.9 Germany 165 76.9 8.7 9.8 England 159 76.0 8.3 10.9 Figure 6. Comparison of purpose of visit (2008) 3.3.2. Attractions in Seoul There are two statistics about popular attractions in Seoul given. According to the first chart, the most visited place with 52.8 percent is Myeong-dong where has various shopping places and restaurants. The second and third most visited attractions are both market but yet have different characteristics. Dongdaemun market is also famous place for shopping different items, mostly clothing. Travelers who visit Namdaemun market discover this place very interesting. Because everything from cheap electronic products to vegetables, live fishes supposed to be cut and sold right away shows the real looks of Koreans. Also, they could find some traditional goods in cheap prices. 43.7 percent of answers to the survey dedicates to ancient palaces. Other places from Insa-dong where keeps traditional looks on the whole district to N Seoul Tower, the landmark of Seoul and Lotte World, the largest amusement park are visited by international visitors. Figure 7. Places Visited in Seoul However, a clear difference of the most visited place between Asians and Europeans is determined. For Asians, the most visited places are Myeong-dong and Dongdaemun market, which shows that they liked to go shopping in Seoul. Meanwhile, ancient palaces attract Europeans including English, Germen, French, and Russians according to the survey. Country Japan China Taiwan England Germany France Russia The most visited place Myeong-dong Dongdaemun market Dongdaemun market Ancient palaces Ancient palaces Ancient palaces Ancient palaces Percent 74.9 % 63.9 % 82.5 % 49.2 % 56.8 % 63.6 % 52.9 % Figure 8. The most visited place 3.4. Conclusion Based on figures analyzed in this chapter, three main conclusions are determined in order to sell Seoul as a famous and popular destination for Europeans. First of all, Europeans awareness of Korea should be increased so that they are motivated to travel. Secondly, not only to increase Europeans awareness but also to promote tourism industry, the government should do more marketing and advertising through various and effective ways. At last but not least, Seoul itself should become a more attractive and comfortable tourist destination. And that needs several factors like preserving traditional attractions, solving language barriers. From next chapter, this paper will fully concentrate on those three points. 4. International events for national image and tourism This chapter focuses on national images and their impacts on tourism as the first step to bring more Europeans into visiting Seoul. The reason why this chapter is the first means is that raising their awareness is created by raising well-known, attractive and positive national images. At first, definition and importance of national images will be introduced, and then this chapter will deal with international events, which help effectively a venue to be known. To hold international events such as Olympic Games, Football World Cup, and exhibitions are crucial for a city or country to raise its images, which eventually make tourists motivated and attracted to visit before, during, and after the event. At the end of this chapter, there will be a case study about 2002 World Cup Korea Japan to demonstrate it. 4.1. National images Since the advance of globalisation, national image and reputation have become more critical assets in the modern world. In order to build national images, governments try to develop those under the name of national branding as a marketing technique. The reputations of countries are similar to the brand images of companies and products. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. The brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot. To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. Likewise, a country needs to build its own images in order to understand and attract target audiences including foreign tourists. Every country has its own characteristics, also referred as brand images. As mentioned above, some national images built in target audiences cannot be influenced by the governments efforts. Because those images are formed by personal experience, the media, and so on. However, the government could improve and create positive and attractive national images to make potential tourists consider visiting the city or country by national branding. Images about tourism tend to last until the reality. Charming images promote collecting information and activity to try to visit the destination. Formed images become expectations about the destination. Expectations have impacts on evaluations. Influence on images depends on the degree of knowledge and experience of the destination. Figure 9. Seoho Uhm 1998, The study about measuring destination images The study of tourism The figure above was published by a Korean expert from the institute of tourism in University of Kyonggi. It shows that images of destination are built not only by actual attributes of the destination but by potential tourists and their desires of travel activities. 4.2. Impact of international events on tourism

The Online Reservation Systems Computer Science Essay

The Online Reservation Systems Computer Science Essay The literature review phase is the one of the main stage that we need to focus on, so far the stage explains the main aims of the system and how the system is going to operate and the benefit of the system over environment. Firstly, Travel agent hotel suppliers will have way in to the travel agent extranet system to load room rates and allotments, instead of keeping rate and allotment contract manually. The travel agency application system is an online system that which let customers to make their reservation comfortably from anywhere. Thats All customers should be able to way in the agency services information 24 hours a day. Because of the rapid spread of the internet, the hotel adopted a reservation system that is a powerful factor to gain new sales. The travel agency began to present their own on-line reservation system. The travel agency gived some hotel with reservation systems that will normally liked to the various programs and special offers which adds to their ability to capture the travel and leisure market. These are some plan that the online travel agencies and travel agents cannot achieve because of the limitation in their services. However, this system also feels drawbacks. Most of the hotel sites do not allow for easy price comparison, some will only book reservations on the hotel which have the site. (Kearney Robinson, 2004). 2.3 Why online reservation system As a commercial medium, the Web offers a number of advantages for all the customer and companies. From the customer point of view, using the web instead of a traditional approach call for tickets or go to a travel agency means way in to a greater amount of information and also more flexibility in choosing, analyzing and comparing the offers. Having more choices with just a click away helps customers find a better deal, in possible less time. For the companies, the use of Web means decrease costs for information processing, reduced costs to suppliers, the possibility of building stronger customer relationships by having customers interact directly with the web site, the possibility of creating user profiles to be used in marketing development and also an easy way of information partnership, involving the cooperation between different companies. Travel Agent Reservation System to enhance  effectiveness in keeping hotel contracting room and allotment updated in real-time manner. 2.4 Online Travel Agency There are many traditional travel agencies that are operating on-line, but only insufficient are known by the passengers. The transaction between the travel agents and hotels is through the commission base. However, because of the direct booking of other passengers the commission basis is slow diminishing and they have to rate the customers for the service fee. The usual offers they give be contingent on their strategy and advertisement and not part of the hotels (Kearney Robinson, 2004). 2.5 Guda Travel Agency Application System Services The travel agency online application service will need the users city of destination, desired hotel quality, check-in date, and check-out date. It will departure the hotels that match the criteria, and also return the hotel name, address, check-in time, check-out time, cost per night, and total cost of the length of stay. Travel Simplified has its own database with the hotels and charge. It also has a Java application to have the hotels and rates. The Web service will need to use the tools in Application Developer Integration Edition to create a service from the application so that users can search hotels for their travels whenever they want. 2.6 Reservation systems analysis Internet presence and online application are the two business models most frequently used by the travel reservation systems we studied. The services offered in the two models are related: in Internet presence, the customers find information about the service; some examples are check hotel in Internet presence and book hotel. There are also two different services, information about special offers in Internet presence and the possibility to save the itineraries already defined in online store an itinerary consists of a hotel, usually round trip and possibly of a reserved room in one or more hotels. 2.7 User value model of a Guda Travel Agency Application System Landvogt (2004) explained online booking engines as tools to store, publish and update the dynamic data availability and prices, and moreover provide the users with a regular reservation process. A specific characteristic of the guda travel agency application system is that users can make and see the changes in reservation status online. But users can only see descriptions and pictures of hotels, sometimes rates but they could not check availability and make bookings online. This means that all business models which provide the possibility for an online  booking electronic booking service, electronic travel agent, electronic market place, and flexible comparison shopping services are compatible with above mentioned definition of website quality. 2.8 Customer needs One of the main importances in developing this application system for Guda Travel Agency application system is to satisfy the customer needs. One must remember that electronic commerce has to compete with the real-life methods of making reservation and completing customer transactions. Customers can choose between different reservations methods electronic or real-life and they will always prefer the one which best gratify their need. 2.8.1 Customer needs presentation In the case of online reservation systems we identified six main important customer needs: Lack of difficulty system status information error tolerance and system stability â‚ ¬Ã‚  query refinement for achieving customers goal â‚ ¬Ã‚  customer profiles 2.8.1.1 Lack of difficulty Lack of difficulties is one of the major problems for customers. The user interface of the online systems should be designed in such a way that all services are easy to understand and use. It can often happen that customers may want to use a service, but they dont know how to do it or the user interface does not allow them to do so. It is the case of the registration process when using online travel reservations. This system Guda Travel Agency Application system allow timetable consultation only after registering which can take quite a lot of time, or they allow consultation but there is no price information before registration. System status information and feed forward The status of the system are accessing database, computing solutions must be always indicated to the customer. Different mechanisms should be employed to give clear feedback to the customer, for error messages, data input required, no solutions found, etc. When possible, the messages should contain explanations and provide suggestions for future actions e.g. no solution was found, customer has to try to enlarge the domains for his travel constraints: dates, hotel, and time. 2.8.1.3 Error tolerance and system stability An easy and efficient way out should be provided in case of errors. This makes customers feel more confident and at ease. In the case of a customer mistake, it is important that the reservation process is restarted from a point close to the one where the mistake was generated, the customer shouldnt be sent back to the beginning. Query refinement for achieving customers goal It often happens that customers are not satisfied with the first solutions they get from the online hotel reservation system. In this case, most of the current systems allow customers to search for hotel next day, or on a newly defined day. If they are still not happy with what they get, they can come back to the query definition and change their input data. This way of interaction is quite heavy and time-consuming, using a lot of the system and customer resources. In the second part of our paper, I propose a new interaction model in which the customers can modify their initial queries directly in the result table. It is easier for customers to find exactly what they want or to find out if what they want exists or not, starting from possible existing solutions. Customer profiles The use of customer profiles in online reservation systems is connected to the registration process. The same question arises, when is the best moment to ask customers to register and/or to create their own profiles. The systems I studied have different approaches, but most of them leave the profile creation at customers control, they can do it when and if they want. The customer profiles are currently used in the same way by all the systems, but each system has its own profile implementation, which makes difficult a possible communication and data interchange. A future improvement in online travel industry would be a standard personalization technique to be adopted by all online systems providing in this way both efficiency and interoperability. 2.9 PROCEDUREs for electronic commerce Commerce in the real world is a very rich set of interaction procedures with a very complex set of constraints. The protocols used in electronic commerce systems must respect at least some of the real world models and add also new interaction techniques. Flexibility combined with ease of use and understandings are primary requirements, as rigid and restricted protocols lead to frustration for both users and developers. 2.10 Customers application PROCEDURE All existing online travel systems offer consumer application procedure. The customer must interact directly with the system in order to receive results for his query. A general model for the protocols offered by the online travel systems for booking hotel is the following: [register] input data (travel constraints) see results evaluate book The registration step can be sometimes avoided customers have the possibility to use the system as guests or to register only if they want to make a booking. Adriana Jurca, Adriana Jurca Dmt-isr 1999 programmings and techniques for developing the system Php is an extensively used general-purpose scripting language that was originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, php code is embedded direct to the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a php processor module, which generates the web page document. As a specific programming language, php code is processed by an interpreter application in command-line mode performing desired operating system operations and producing program output on its standard output channel. It also function as a graphical application. Php is existing as a processor for most modern web servers and as standalone interpreter on most operating systems and computing platforms. 2.11.1 History of PHP Php was originally created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1995  and has been in continuous development ever since. The main implementation of PHP is now produced by the php clicks and serves as the de facto standard for PHP as there is no formal specification. Php is free software released under the php License. In other to used php they is need for basic understanding the following those are bellow: 1. HTML or XHTML 2. Java Scrip 2.11.2 USES of php. Php is a general main scripting language that is especially suited to server-side web development where php generally runs on a web server. Any php code in a requested file is executed by the php runtime, usually to create dynamic web page content. It can also be used for command line scripting and client-side GUI applications. Php can be deployed on most web servers, many operating systems and platforms, and can be used with many relational database management systems. It is available free of charge, and the php clicks provides the complete source code for users to build, customize and extend for their own use. Php primarily present as a filter, taking input from a file or stream containing text and/php instructions and outputs another stream of data; most commonly the output will be html. 2.11.3 FEATURES OF PHP Access Logging With the way in logging capabilities of php, users can maintain their own hit counting and logging. It doesnt use the systems central access log files in any way, and it provides real-time access monitoring. The Log Viewer Script provides a quick summary of the way in to a set of pages owned by an individual user. Access Control A develop in web based configuration screen handles access control configuration. It is possible to create setting rules for some web pages owned by a certain person which place various restrictions on who can view these pages and how they will be viewed. The Pages can be password protected, completely restricted, logging disabled and more based on the clients domain, browser, e-mail address or even the referring document. SQL Support -the php supports embedding SQL queries directly in .html files. File Upload Support -And It lets users upload files to a web server and provides the actual Mime decoding to make this work and also provides the additional framework to do something useful with the uploaded file once it has been received. HTTP based authentication control the php can be used to create customized http based authentication mechanisms for the Apache web server. Variables, Arrays, Associative Arrays -the php supports typed variables, arrays and even Perl-like associative arrays. And with these can all be passed from one web page to another using either GET or POST method forms. Conditionals, While Loops -the php supports a full featured C like scripting language. You can have if/then/elseif/else/endif conditions as well as while loops and switch or case statements to guide the logical flow of how the html page should be displayed. Extended Regular Expressions Regular expressions are freely used for pattern matching, pattern substitutions and general string manipulation. And then the php supports all common regular expression operations. HTTP Header Control The ability to have web pages send customized http headers based on some condition is essential for high-level web site design. A frequently use is to send a Location URL header to redirect the calling client to some other URL. It can also be used to turn off caching or manipulate the last update header of pages. ISP Safe Mode support php supports a unique Safe Mode which makes it safe to have multiple users run php scripts on the same server. 2.11.4 Advantages of php You can develop web applications in php as compile and link is eliminated in php scripting language. The Php applications are very stable and do not depend on the browser technologies unlike JavaScript applications which depend on browsers. Php has excellent database connectivity to all SQL database servers. php has partial support for Object oriented features Php runs on all UNIXs, Linux, Windows 95/NT/2000 and is more powerful than ASP, JSP and others. The Php has a very large user base and developer base. 2.11.4 PHP AND HTML Php and html interact a lot because the php has the ability to generate html and the html has the ability to pass the information to php my sql MySQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. Advantages of MySQL MySQL is a popular database with Web developers. Its speed and small size make it ideal for a Web site. Its fast. The main aim of the folks who developed MySQL was speed. Thus, the software was designed from the beginning with speed in mind. Its Inexpensive. MySQL is free under the open source GPL license, and the price for a commercial license is reasonable. Its Easy to use. And then you can build and interact with a MySQL database by using a few simple statements in the SQL language, which is the standard language for communicating with RDBMSs. How MySQL and PHP work together 2.12.1 The Main Features of MySQL Is written in C and C++ It easily uses multiple CPUs if they are available. Provides transactional and non transactional storage engines. Relatively easy to add another storage engine. This is useful if you want to add an SQL interface to an in house database. A very fast thread based memory allocation system. Very fast joins using an optimized one-sweep multi join. In memory hash tables which are used as temporary tables. SQL functions are implemented using a highly optimized class library and should be as fast as possible. The server is available as a separate program for use in a client/server networked environment. Tested with a broad range of di ¬Ã¢â€š ¬erent compilers. Works on many deferent platforms 2.13 What Is a Web Server Web server is a software application that listens for client connection a specific network port. When a connection is made, the Web server then waits request from the client application. The client is usually a Web browser, but it could be a Web site indexing utility, or perhaps an interactive telnet  session. The resources request, usually a request to send the contents of a file stored on the server, is a phrased in some version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Although the Web servers primary purpose is to distribute information from a central computer, modern Web servers perform other tasks as well. Before the file transfer, most modern Web servers send descriptive information about the requested resource, instructing the client how to interpret or format the resource. 2.13.1 Features of web sever Many Web servers perform user authentication and data encryption to permit applications like online credit card purchasing. Another common feature of Web servers is that they provide database access on behalf of the client, eliminating the need for the client to use a full-featured database client application. Apache provides all of these features 2.13.2 Apache http sever of this project The Apache HTTP Server Project is an effort to develop and maintain an open-source http server for modern operating systems including Windows 7. The main aim of this project is to provide a secure, efficient and extensible server that provides http services in sync with the current http standards. 2.13.3 THE APACHE http server Apache is a powerful, flexible, http compliant web server Its Implements the latest protocols, including http Its highly configurable and extensible with third-party modules It provides full source code and comes with an unrestrictive license It runs on Windows NT/9x, Netware 5.x and above, OS/2, and most versions of Unix, as well as several other operating systems is actively being developed it encourages user feedback through new ideas, bug reports and patches it implements many frequently requested features 2.13.4 Features of apache server DBM databases for authentication: Usually allows you to easily set up password protected pages with enormous numbers of authorized users, without bogging down the server. Customized responses to errors and problems: Allows you to set up files, or even CGI scripts, which are returned by the server in response to errors and problems, e.g. setup a script to intercept  500 Server Errors and it perform on-the-fly diagnostics for both users and yourself. Multiple Directory Index directives Allows you to say  Directory index.html index, which allows the server to either send back  index.html  or run  index when a directory URL is requested, whichever it finds in the directory. Unlimited flexible URL rewriting and aliasing The Apache has no fixed limit on the numbers of Aliases and Redirects which may be declared in the config files. And then In addition, a powerful rewriting engine can be used to solve most URL manipulation problems. Content negotiation the ability to automatically serve clients of varying sophistication and HTML level compliance, with documents which offer the best representation of information that the client is capable of accepting. Virtual Hosts This allows the server to distinguish between requests made to different IP addresses or names mapped to the same machine. And is also offers dynamically configurable mass virtual hosting. Configurable Reliable Piped Logs You can configure Apache to generate logs in the format that you want. Apache can send log files to a pipe, allowing for log rotation, hit filtering, real-time splitting of multiple hosts into separate logs, Tools require for implementing the system Dreamweaver: Adobe Dreamweaver is a web development application created by Macromedia, and is now developed by Adobe Systems, which acquired Macromedia in 2005. The Dreamweaver is available for both Mac and Windows operating systems. The Recent versions have incorporated support for web technologies such as CSS, JavaScript, and various server-side scripting languages and frameworks including ASP, ColdFusion, and PHP. Adobe Flash Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform acquired by Macromedia and currently developed and distributed by Adobe Systems. Since 1996 flash has become a popular method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages. The Flash is commonly used to create animation, advertisements, and various web page Flash components, to integrate video into web pages, and more recently, to develop rich Internet applications. And the Flash can be manipulated vector and raster graphics, and supports bidirectional streaming of audio and video. And It contains a scripting language called Action Script.   Adobe Photoshop The Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and Published by Adobe System. And it is the current market leader for commercial bitmap and image manipulation software, and is the flagship product of Adobe Systems. And It has been described as an industry standard for graphics professionals and was one of the early killer applications on the Macintosh, later also for MS Windows.

Insight into milan kunderas narrative Essay -- essays research papers

Insight into Milan Kundera’s narrative This essay is specifically based on the narrative technique used by Milan Kundera in his book The Unbearable Lightness of Being. It is mostly focused in a personal critic supported with comments and critics made by important and distinguished authors. To sum up, it is an essay which main point is directed to the description of Milan Kundera’s narration as well as a personal opinion supported by critics of experts. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a work of fiction, that it is also combined with facts of history. Works of fiction can be told from the point of view of one of the characters, that means first person narration or it can be told by the author as narrator, that would mean third person narration. Most of the time, when the author is telling the story, he tries not to be perceived or to be noticed as less as possible. There is an exception to this rule called â€Å"the intrusive narrator†. This narrator addresses the reader and talks about issues concerning the narration. He tries to make his presence visible. (O’Brien 1). Milan Kundera uses in his narrative technique the intrusive narrator. He interrupts the reading with his authoritarian voice that most of the time fell into disfavour for the reader because it distracts the mind and reduces the emotional intensity of the experience of reading by interrupting and calling attention to the act of narrating. Mostly, this type of technique employed by Kundera leads to a different perception of the narrator. He gains power by interrupting the narration with his opinions, controlling the presence of the characters, his authoritarian voice and so on. The author has influence in the reading experience. The reader can drastically change his experience by getting to know the author and feeling his unwanted presence in the novel. Furthermore, Kundera’s work in the narrative is constantly analyzed and questioned from a philosophical point of view (Corbett 1). However, it would be wrong to regard Kundera as a philosopher. He enjoys playing with his storylines and while analysing them rationally, he opens up an infinite way of interpreting the presented facts. Here is an example of how he plays with the storylines in the last pages of the book : â€Å" And therein lies the whole of man’s plight. Human time does not turn in a circle; it runs ahead in a straight line. That is w... ...ive technique. To conclude, Kundera’s narrative technique is very complex and unusual, it is also very rich in history and fiction. It might being difficult the easy flowing of the reading, but I have to accept that he is a very good author, who knows what is doing. He uses the â€Å"intrusive narrator† technique, because he does not want to be a dissident writer. (Contemporary Literay Criticism-Select 1). References: Corbett, Bob. â€Å"The Unbearable Lightness of Being†. New York. October 2001. Retrieved from WilsonWeb, FSU libraries. Doctorow, E.L. â€Å"Four Characters Under Two Tyrannies†. New York Times Book Review. April 29, 1984: 1. FSU Libraries. Literature Resource Center. Kussi, Peter. â€Å"Milan Kundera: Dialogues with Fiction†. World Literature Today, Vol.57, No. 2, Spring 1983, pp. 206-209. FSU libraries. Literature Resource Center. O’Brien, John. â€Å"Milan Kundera: Meaning, Play, and the Role of the Author.† Critique. Vol. XXXIV. No. 1. Fall, 1992: 3-18. FSU Libraries. Literature Resource Center. â€Å"Milan Kundera: The Unbearable Stardom†. New Statesman. London England: 1996. WilsonWeb, FSU libraries. â€Å"Milan Kundera†. Contemporary Literary Criticism-Select. WilsonWeb, FSU libraries.

The Original Style of Jon Scieszka :: Biography Biographies Essays

The Original Style of Jon Scieszka Jon Scieszka has an original style that is all his own. Many of his books such as The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, and The Frog Prince Continued have led several people to believe that he has created a new genre of children's literature: using unique perspectives to retell classic fairy tales. But what motivated Scieszka to become an author? And how does he come up with his innovative ideas? I will answer these questions by discussing Scieszka's many inspirations including his teaching career, students, and his family. Scieszka began his love for books early on in his life when he and his mother spent time together reading. It was during these times that one of his favorite authors emerged. Dr. Seuss stood out because "he was the first author that I realized was a different person - that there actually was a person who wrote the book" (Scieszka). It was then that he decided that creating books for others to read would be entertaining. He did not give this idea much thought until after he became an elementary teacher. That was when he reconsidered the idea of writing children's books. As a second grade teacher he learned many things about children including what kind of books they enjoyed and which ones did not even keep their attention. As Scieszka himself said, "...there's nothing more discriminating than a group of second graders sitting on the floor. And they'll tell you if they don't like it, or if it's boring, or if it's stupid, or if it doesn't make sense" (Scieszka). This helped to shape his ideas as to what would be interesting and fun for children to read. Students have done more than just inspire him to write. Many have helped give him ideas. In Math Curse after her teacher tells her that almost everything has math involved in it; the narrator discovers how true the statement is as her world explodes into a giant math problem. Scieszka credits this idea to some of his "less accomplished" students and how they perceive math (Scieszka). Another source for his ideas comes from within his own house. His own daughter has unknowingly inspired him on at least one occasion. When she was small she enjoyed the popular story of The Gingerbread Man. After an endless amount of times of rereading the story Scieszka wondered: What would happen if the lady ran out of gingerbread and had to make him out of something else? The Original Style of Jon Scieszka :: Biography Biographies Essays The Original Style of Jon Scieszka Jon Scieszka has an original style that is all his own. Many of his books such as The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, and The Frog Prince Continued have led several people to believe that he has created a new genre of children's literature: using unique perspectives to retell classic fairy tales. But what motivated Scieszka to become an author? And how does he come up with his innovative ideas? I will answer these questions by discussing Scieszka's many inspirations including his teaching career, students, and his family. Scieszka began his love for books early on in his life when he and his mother spent time together reading. It was during these times that one of his favorite authors emerged. Dr. Seuss stood out because "he was the first author that I realized was a different person - that there actually was a person who wrote the book" (Scieszka). It was then that he decided that creating books for others to read would be entertaining. He did not give this idea much thought until after he became an elementary teacher. That was when he reconsidered the idea of writing children's books. As a second grade teacher he learned many things about children including what kind of books they enjoyed and which ones did not even keep their attention. As Scieszka himself said, "...there's nothing more discriminating than a group of second graders sitting on the floor. And they'll tell you if they don't like it, or if it's boring, or if it's stupid, or if it doesn't make sense" (Scieszka). This helped to shape his ideas as to what would be interesting and fun for children to read. Students have done more than just inspire him to write. Many have helped give him ideas. In Math Curse after her teacher tells her that almost everything has math involved in it; the narrator discovers how true the statement is as her world explodes into a giant math problem. Scieszka credits this idea to some of his "less accomplished" students and how they perceive math (Scieszka). Another source for his ideas comes from within his own house. His own daughter has unknowingly inspired him on at least one occasion. When she was small she enjoyed the popular story of The Gingerbread Man. After an endless amount of times of rereading the story Scieszka wondered: What would happen if the lady ran out of gingerbread and had to make him out of something else?

For The Love of Junk Food

Everybody have an uncontrollable weakness to a certain type of junk food. That desirable craving you have to satisfy right then and there. Being able to binge once you see a platter or buffet table with all the junk food in the world, we just don’t like the idea of eating increments at a time. We as a society like the idea of a quick cheap fix whenever hunger comes over us. Instead of either taking leftovers from last night’s dinner, or getting up extra early before work or school to fix a proper breakfast, or pack a proper lunch, we rather go to the local corner store to pick up two Twix bars and a sprite to hold us over. We love taking the easy way out of things. In the article, Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? , the author Mark Bittman targets the difficult topic of how people make excuses that eating healthier is way more expensive than just taking a family of four plus people to a local fast food restaurant. Bittman made his target audience families that are somewhat busy with extra-curricular things. For Bittman to help his targeted audience he went out to local stores and did price comparisons and he also did survey’s on why parents would rather choose a twenty piece nugget from Mc Donald’s over a hot healthy home-cooked meal. Bittman, the Brooklyn, New York native, is a NY Times Opinion columnist. ( Bittman’s Minimalist column was in the dining section of NY Times for over thirteen plus years. He holds the title of being the lead columnist for the Times Dining section and also the lead food writer for The Times Magazine. Bittman graduated from Clark University with a bachelor degree in psychology. Bittman is the author of fifteen cookbooks. He is married with two adult daughters. Not only is Bittman a writer but he is also a chef. Since Bittman has had experience with feeding a family of four in the past he can understand why some families would rather eat out than fix a meal, but he still feels that there should not be an excuse to cook dinner at least once or twice a week. Bittman explains how our society not only make prices an excuse for eating unhealthy but he also explains how we as people say that cooking is too time consuming after a long day of work. In this article, Bittman seem to approach the issue with anger because of the many excuses given for not making a proper meal for the family. He threw in facts and opinions of everyday people that deal with these kinds of decisions. Being a chef and a father of two, Bittman understands the importance of cooking a healthy meal and sitting it on the table. Bittman stated that â€Å"the core problem is that cooking is defined as work, and fast food is both a pleasure and a crutch. (Bittman)† That sentence alone explains why most parents do not come home and cook for the family. They feel as if it’s another job. Bittman argued in the article that though it may seem as if buying processed and junk food is cheaper, it’s really not! He gave an example of having a family of four and going to Mc Donald’s buying each person a meal. The total of the meal came out to be approximately thirty dollars. If the parents were to go to the local grocery store and buy a roast and broccoli, the total will only end up being fourteen dollars. Bittman also brings attention to how over the years the inflation price of fresh produce has gone up while for fast-food restaurants it has decreased. This brings more attention towards spending money on unhealthy food. Bittman stated in the article â€Å"that overconsumption of fast food â€Å"triggers addiction-like neuroaddictive responses† in the brain, making it harder to trigger the release of dopamine. In other words the more fast food we eat, the more we need to give us pleasure; thus the report suggests that the same mechanisms underlie drug addiction and obesity. (Bittman)† Bittman grasp the audience attention by letting them know that eventually their bad habits of taking the easy way out will catch up to them and harm them. Putting themselves in grave danger of potentially, let’s say, having a stroke or even dead maybe. It’s noticeable in the article that Bittman is fed up with the excuses. Bittman’s article is very relatable because he is basing it on average households around the world. Bittman wrote this article to target families that take the easy way out. Though this article is intended for families, single people, and couples should also take heed to the information given. Eating healthier is how you keep yourself looking and feeling young. Bittman’s purpose of this article is to inform everyone that eating take out every night is unhealthy and that there should be no excuse as to why a person cannot come home and cook a decent meal. Bittman encourage families across the nation to challenge themselves into cooking more than usual. Bittman wan this readers to understand that cooking once a week is better than not cooking at all, he also want them to see that cooking can be enjoyable. He doesn’t want his reader’s to think that cooking is a hassle and a burden to get accomplished. Mark Bittman’s article, Is Junk Food Really Cheaper, made such a bold entrance and informative ending that it came and conquered the message. Bittman put enough facts into this article that it should definitely make a person think twice about feeding their family take-out food two nights in a row. The details of the articles flowed with bold points along with opinions from Bittman and others. It was like Bittman came to the podium and laid it all on the table. Bittman gave several examples on how eating out is more expensive than cooking a meal throughout this article. Since Bittman is a family man he knew what components to insert in this article to grasp the attention of his targeted audience. This article was straight forward and to the point. Though Bittman went in about the topic from the very beginning he never lost his focus on what he was coming to execute. If Bittman’s article, Is Junk Food Really Cheap, can grasp hold of my attention as a college student he can very well grasp the attention of a parent that wants to keep their family live and healthy.