Christinity and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Christinity and Culture - Essay Example Kierkegaard, in his book 'The Sickness unto Death' likens the fears of the Christian to those of a non-believer in the Christian religion to the fears of an adult and those of a child; children fear things that might not be harmful to them like darkness and some creations of their minds, while the adult fears what is really terrifying. It is evident from this that Kierkegaard believes that the world view of Christianity is different from that of other religions, cultures and philosophies, and - according to Kierkegaard - is superior. Kierkegaard is a Christian who is not willing to compromise any aspect of his religious belief. Some Christians however, either for making their religions more popular and applicable or for a conflict within them between their cultures and their religions, have sought to bring Christianity's view of the world closer to their cultural one. There has been many tries to do this while maintaining harmony with the Christian view, such as arguing that culture is the creation of God and so it is not against his will to follow it. All these views however fail to maintain logical consistency for a simple reason; Christianity claims to be from an all-wise God and thus claims perfection, it also claims that every human has free will but is required to follow the path set by God. To argue that man is imperfect and should follow his imperfect path is at bottom saying that Christianity is a perfect law that has no use to us humans, that for some reason God asked us to follow this law and rewards and punishes based on the following of this law, and in the same breath saying; God wants us to ignore this law. Nietzsche's famous quote 'Only something which does not have a history can be defined' means that something that has evolved over time and will probably continue to evolve cannot be limited to a certain definition since it is in constant change. Morality is one such thing, and so, for Nietzsche, the Christian - or any religious - attempt to define the morality of all time fails. This can be contrasted with Kierkegaard's view that Christianity is superior to any other philosophy, morality or culture. There is no middle ground, and trying to seek in holy books a hint for going against them is like asking God to give us orders and ask us not to follow them. What if these tries do succeed, and so one of the orders given to us by God would be 'don't follow my orders', what then should we do Back to the problem that initiated this ethical religious problem, if Catholicism is to be taught in Catholic schools, then a kid with lesbian parents will definitely suffer in that school from hearing that his own parents are going against the very teachings of his religion. If, however, Catholicism must be changed to suite the needs of people who both want to claim to follow a religion and go against it then we are left with something that is not Catholicism but that has the same name. Some people act as if one should be given the right to be Christian and have a belief system that goes against Christianity, but I believe that if someone has a belief system that goes against a religion then he is, by that fact alone, not belonging to

Significant Meanings Regarding the Myth of Cronus Essay Example for Free

Significant Meanings Regarding the Myth of Cronus Essay As Hesiod stated in Theogony (126-491), the Titan son, Cronus was born to the Greek God of the sky Uranus, and Gaia, the mother of earth. Cronus had eleven Titan brothers and sisters, and was the brother of three Cyclops, as well as the invincible Hecatonchires. For no particularly defined reason, after each of his children were born, Uranus chose to hide them in the depths of the earth or Gaia. At one point, Gaia devised a plan to free her children, which led to the removal of Uranus from power. In doing so, Cronus was now in control of the throne during the Golden Ages. After doing so, Cronus chose his sister Rhea as his mate. For fear that his promised destiny envisioned him being dethroned by his offspring, much like the fate of his father, Cronus swallowed each of his offspring as they were born, until one day being deceived by Rhea; which allowed his son Zeus to become the new ruler of all. (Pages 60, 67-70). The story about Cronus is one of the most important myths in Greek Mythology as it explains the very basics of human nature, thoughts and desires when combined with greed, overconfidence, and power. Although Cronus strived for everlasting power, and was willing to do anything to stay in control, he may have been emotionally torn in regards to the methods he took. This is stressed repeatedly in the fact that as stated by Morford, Lenardon and Sham in Classical Mythology; most depictions of Cronus show him to be sad or depressed and always with his sickle in hand (Page 70). The fact that he is displayed as sad demonstrates that with all the power in the world, he still is not happy with what he is. The sickle represents the fact that he is continuously on guard against possible actions against him as well as the brute force that he will use in order to retain power. Although not mythical creatures, political figures have allowed this to occur in our recent history. Regardless of their initial reasoning for taking office, at times political leaders get so wrapped up in the power that their office represents that they imprison or slaughter political opponents, and strip certain rights away from citizens due to the aranoia that they face. Modern day examples of this could be seen in countries such as North Korea, Iran and a fragment of the United States population may also claim America is headed in this direction. This demonstrates that regardless of initial motivations, leaders occasionally stray from their natural behavior once they are faced with possible resistance. The harsh actions carried out by Cronus may have also been fueled by the harsh treatment and abandonment that he felt was carried out by his father Uranus. Based on the tactics Cronus carried out once he was in power, it is safe to conclude that he did not necessarily oppose the actions his father carried out as much as he simply opposed the fact that those actions were directed at him, and limited his rise to power. Cronus had every opportunity to become a hero in this story, however due to the fall of grace that he witnessed with Uranus; the idea that he may lose control of his kingdom quickly controlled his actions and turned him into a paranoid villain at the end. It is quite possible that if Uranus as a role model to Cronus chose a different path in regards to handling his power, Cronus may have reacted differently if or when he was given the chance to lead. Another lesson this story exhibits is that regardless of people thinking they know best, human beings more often than not repeat the same mistakes that their previous generations made in the past. As Hesiod stated in Theogony (459-467), there would be negative repercussions for the actions that Cronus was taking, regardless of this, he continued on his path for absolute power (Page 69). Common day examples of this phenomenon can be seen in everyday life. Individual action such as the tragic results of drinking and driving or smoking still take place today, regardless of the fact that we already know the possible long term repercussions of these actions. On a larger scale, it can also be seen with global events such as repeated wars with no foreseen positive outcome. Repeated mistakes and consequences have tainted both our world and Classical Mythology throughout the ages. The fact that Cronus was deceived into believing a simple stone was Zeus as Hesiod stated in Theogony (481-491) displayed that Cronus fell victim to overconfidence regarding his plan to retain control of power, or at the very least was an example a lack of vigilance. (Page 70). Regardless of all the protocols that Cronus was taking in order to retain complete power; one remote instance of carelessness during a critical moment in his life eventually led to his downfall. Hesiod was attempting to demonstrate that regardless of the situation one fines themselves in; you should never be so overconfident that you become complacent. In a time before modern science and vast exploration of the earth, the story surrounding the life of Cronus was a means to clarify the unexplainable negative actions some people make in regards to human nature and society. The classical mythology surrounding Cronus demonstrated missteps, lack of judgment, greed and insecurities that led to his eventual downfall. The actions of Cronus were simply driven by his ambition to gain and retain power. The downfall of Cronus was mostly brought upon by his insecurities as well as greed. Cronus was brought into existence by Hesiod in order to display the insecurities and irrational behaviors of some of those in power. It served as a metaphor at that time, one that is still effective as displayed in politics today. Politics aside, it also served an example of the common evil and greed that is displayed on a daily basis in our world. The rise and fall of Cronus has taught many important lessons that were significant when it was written and the lessons still hold true to this day.

Analysis Of The Indian Hotel Company Limited

Analysis Of The Indian Hotel Company Limited The Indian Hotel Company Limited (IHCL) is an Indian based Hospitality Company which provides accommodation services in four different market segments globally. The company has its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is listed in Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Company strategies The growth strategy of the company is to operate 20,000 rooms from the current 14,000, in 25 major destinations around the world. They target on a group turnover of US$ 2 billion, from which 33% would be from international operations by 2012. Company operations The company portfolio comprises of 4 brands; The Taj hotels which concentrates on luxury market, The Vivanta which is upper upscale, The Gateway hotels which is upscale and Ginger their budget hotels. The company operates Indias only wildlife lodges called Taj safaris in joint venture with CC Africa. Company Background The Indian hotel company limited (IHCL) was established in 1902 by Mr Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata. In 1903 the first hotel Taj Mahal Palace was opened in Mumbai. The year 1974 saw an expansion of the company by opening its second property at Goa and went on adding properties at a rapid rate fuelled by the Tourism growth in India. Till date it has added 104 properties across the globe to its portfolio. The company is listed on Bombay stock exchange (BSE).Tata sons limited which is the parent company holds 28.5% equity capital in IHCL. Parent Company The Tata Sons limited was founded in 1868 by Jamsetji Tata. It has its presence in various sectors such as Steel, Automobiles, Information technology, Communication, Power and Tea. It operates in more than 85 countries across 6 continents. It has a group turnover of over Rs.124, 970 crores ($24.5 bn). It accounts for nearly 6% of the total market capitalisation of Bombay Stock exchange (BSE). Stakeholders Shareholders Key people Mr. Ratan Tata: Chairman of Tata sons Limited He became the chairman of the Tata sons in the year 1981 which is the largest Indian conglomerate. The group comprises of companies namely Tata motors, Tata steel, IHCL, Tata consultancy services (TCS), Tata Power, Tata tea, and Tata Telecom. He graduated from Cornell University in architectural and structural engineering and joined the company in the year 1962. In 1971 he was appointed as the director in charge of NELCO which was in strong financial crisis. His risk taking capability and vision made him the successor of JRD Tata. Tata sons under his leadership made a number of acquisitions such as Chorus steel, Jaguar motors and Land Rover. This made the companys presence in global market. Mr. Raymond.N.Bickson : MD and CEO of IHCL He joined IHCL in the year 2003 as chief operating officer of the luxury segment. In the same year he assumed the responsibility of MD and CEO of the company. He carries more than 30 years of international hospitality management experience. Prior to IHCL he worked nearly 15 years as a vice president and general manager for The Rafael group. An American national, Mr. Bickson attended the École Hà ´telià ¨re Lausanne in Switzerland and Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School. He is an active member of Leading hotels of the world and World travel tourism council. During his tenure, IHCL went through rapid expansion by acquisitions, managing contracts and joint ventures at domestic as well as international market. Mr. Anil P Goel : Executive Director Finance He overlooks the Taj Groups Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, Purchase and Legal Secretarial function. He is a non-executive director for Taj GVK limited. Mr. Abhijit Mukerji : Executive Director Hotel Operations He oversees hotel operations of the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces which include Taj Luxury Hotels India and International, Taj Business Hotels, Taj Leisure Hotels, Taj Spas, Taj Trade and Transport and Indi travels. Mr. Ajoy K. Misra : Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing He represents Taj in industry organizations such as the World Travel and Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTC II), World Tourism Organisation (WTO), Hotel Association of India (HAI), Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He served as General Manager of the Taj President in Mumbai and Area Director in the Sri Lanka and Maldives region. Mr. Prakash V. Shukla: Sr. Vice President, Technology and Chief Information Officer. He is currently responsible for total IT deployments at the Taj Group and is on MDs management committee. Mr. H.N. Shrinivas: Sr. Vice President Human Resources Mr. Shrinivas has worked for 18 years with the Taj in Human Resources, Learning Development and Business Excellence functions. He holds a Masters Degree in Social Work from the National Institute of Social Sciences, Bangalore, and a Masters in Industrial Law from Bangalore University. Mr. Veer Vijay Singh : Chief Operating Officer Upper Upscale Hotels He is responsible for the Operations and Overall Performance of 36 hotels in 26 locations spread across seven countries under upper upscale category. He graduated from IHMCTN, New Delhi and had the opportunity to enhance his skills by attending training programmes conducted by Cornell University Singapore, INSEAD Harvard. Ms Jyoti Narang : Chief Operating Officer Luxury Division Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces She is responsible for the overall development and operations of the luxury category hotels. When she was the Chief Operating officer for the upper upscale division, she was instrumental in pioneering the launch of Taj Safaris which is a unique concept that offers adventure tourist a distinctive wildlife experience. In 2008, Ms.Jyoti was appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of The Gateway Hotels, the new upscale brand of the group, and was involved in developing the concept and launching the brand. Mr. P.K.Mohankumar : Chief Operating Officer Gateway Brand Mr. P. K. Mohankumar has over 35 years of experience in hotel operations with the Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palace. He is an alumnus of Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai and has participated in several senior leadership workshops conducted by Harvard Business School, Michigan University, USA, Cornell University, Singapore and IIM, Ahmedabad. Currently, he is the Chief Operating Officer of the Gateway hotels, and is responsible for the operations and performance of 19 properties in India. http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3hid=102sid=ce8939c4-8df1-4962-9afe-f373f4140a95%40sessionmgr112 accessed on 23 Nov Sustainable Tourism EARTH (Environment Awareness Renewal at Taj Hotels) The EARTH program was launched in August 2008, put forward to reduce the impact of the Hotel groups daily operations on the environment. EARTH programme has received certification from Green Globe. Currently 55 properties under IHCL are certified and the company is looking forward to put all the hotels under the certification by 2009-2010. The company focus on improving energy efficiencies, water management, solid waste management which helps to reduce the strong impact on environment. Porters five forces Competition plays a major role in todays world. Competition can have both beneficial and unfavourable effects. Competition for profits goes beyond established market rivals to include four other forces as well. They are Customers, Suppliers, New Entrants, and Substitute products. To understand industry competition and profitability, we must analyse the industrys structure in terms of the five forces. Threat of new entrants: New entrants can put pressure on prices, costs, and the rate of investment necessary to compete. Due to globalisation and rapid economic growth of Indian market a favourable market has emerged for International hotel chains. Hotel chains like Four seasons, Marriott International Inc., Starwood Hotels and Accor Hotels have recently came up with projects across India. New International hotels such as Shangri la, Mandarin, Movenpick and Ritz Carlton are in pipeline. Entry of non-hospitality companies into hotel sector can be a threat; such as Reliance Industries. Due to dilution in the market the profitability of IHCL can be at stake. Bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers have more power if they have the monopoly or do not depend heavily on the industry for its revenues. As hospitality industry is hugely labour oriented, their trade unions and labour suppliers are powerful. As hotels chains are looking for rapid expansions and prime properties, the power of property owners is high. Inbound tour operators are having an upper hand as they provide huge volume of business to the hotels. Infrastructure suppliers have moderate power over the company. Bargaining power of buyers: Powerful customers demand more value by forcing down prices for better quality and more services. This results in higher operating costs thereby bringing down profitability. Corporate clients due to their huge volumes have negotiated rates. Company had to come up with loyalty programme for retaining customers which incurs costs. The threat of substitutes: A substitute does the same or a similar function as an industrys product by a different means. The threat of a substitute is high when it offers an attractive price and service to the similar industrys product. Luxury serviced apartments, camping and lodges are in demand. The Governments introduction of bed and breakfast hotels can really be a threat. Web 2 which enables video conferencing is an emerging product which can be a threat to MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Events) Rivalry among existing competitors: Rivalry among hotel chains results in discounting of price, new product launch, advertising campaigns, and improvement in service. If there is high rivalry the profitability of the company can be affected. The hotel products are highly perishable, which creates an urge to cut prices and sell the inventory below its profitable rate to cover the fixed cost. Internal environment of the company: The internal environment of the company can be divided into two types they are Tangible and Intangible resources. Tangible resources include assets which can be seen and felt, like physical properties, Yachts, Flights, and other fixed assets which spread around 5 continents. The intangible resources are the one which cannot be seen or felt but play a major role in the business like the brand value, Leadership style, Human resource etc. IHCL being the subsidiary company of Tata Sons Limited, which has a company background since 1868. IHCL itself operates in hospitality sector in India for last 108 years, and have the market share of 22% in India shows the brand value of the company. In terms of leadership style the company has a style of innovations and pioneer of Luxury property and wild life lodges (Joint venture with CC Africa) and budget hotel chains (Ginger Hotels), Spa resorts and properties in India. The human resources in the company is around 20,000, which includes permanent staff, Fixed term contract workers and other Executives and Corporate staff. The company has various staff development program such as TMTP (Taj Management Training Program) SPEED PLUS, HOMT for standardization of operations throughout the company. External Environment: It can also be called as Operating environment. Factors which influence organizations opportunities and risks; such as conditions, entities and events consists of its external environment. PEST Analysis Political: Political instability in some parts of India made foreign investors cautious; in turn brought down investment from abroad and business travel. Due to the recent terror attacks on hotels in Mumbai, there has been a drastic drop in tourists arrivals. Most of the Embassies have send travel advisory regarding African and Asian countries which has reflected tourist inflow. As Government of India has reduced the tariffs and duties on various items, trade relations have improved. It encouraged travel and trade which resulted in growth of hotel industry. The Ministry of external affairs has implemented visa on arrival for several countries in an effort to promote tourism. The government has released a five-year tax holiday to promote the growth of new hotels. External Commercial Borrowings have been eased by the Ministry to elucidate the problem of liquidity being encountered by the hotel industry due to economic slowdown. The Ministry of Home Affairs has agreed to grant Long Term Tourist Vi sa of 5 years duration with Multi-entry facilities carrying a condition of 90 days on each visit to the nationals of the following 18 countries which are France, Iceland, Germany, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Japan, Netherlands, South Korea, Belgium, Argentina, Finland, Brazil, Spain, Chile, Switzerland, Mexico, Norway, and Vietnam on request of tourism ministry. Economical: Early 1990s saw economic liberalization which led to a boom in the hospitality industry. The Government has allowed Foreign direct investment and Foreign institutional investment; which favours business travel. Compared to other South East Asian countries; tax structure in India is very high. Inadequate infrastructure facilities like Airports, Communication facilities and commuting facilities is a challenge for the Tourism sector. The effect of recession is causing serious problems for many hotels especially luxury hotels in particular. Hotels in certain global markets, mainly those operate in leisure sector, are less affected. All geographies are not equally affected by recession.(have to include graph from the site quoted in link , leading hotels of the world) Social: Indian customers are highly sensitive to price. A lot of them tend to compare services offered with price. Hoteliers face a challenge to design price strategy in each sector. There is a conflict between local community and hotels on space availability especially at beach destinations. The company has got an advantage of worlds largest concentration of young educated work force and thus decreasing the labour costs. Two religious communities being Hindus and Muslims have religious sentiments towards beef and pork which is consumed by foreign tourists. This raises conflicts between the organization and religious groups. Large scale tourism operation results in environmental pollution and an increase in carbon emission. Technological: The launch of E-commerce has revolutionized the hotel sector by reducing cost and increasing functionality. The introduction of Global Distribution System allows customers to access current time availability of products. The growing influence of video conferencing has got negative impact on MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Events) division. It is possible to get critical information on clients and products while away from desk due to wireless technology. This has improved customer relationships, saved time and increased revenue and profit. Indian Tourism Scenario Despite a drop in FTAs in India due to economic slowdown, domestic tourism has showed an impressive growth of 15.5 % in the year 2009.Domestic tourism supported the industry during unfavourable condition. Indias performance in tourism sector has been remarkable. During the period 1997 to 2009, India perceived an increase in the Foreign Tourist Arrivals from 2.37 million to 5.11 million. Because of global slowdown, terrorist activities and H1N1 influenza, growth rate in FTAs during 2009 fell by 3.3 per cent. The global tourism fell by 4.3 per cent. The plummet in India was less than that of the scale of global slowdown. Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism increased from Rs. 10511 crore in 1997 to Rs. 54,960 crore in 2009. The growth rate in earnings in 2009 vis-a-vis 2008 was 8.3 per cent. The percentage share of India in International tourism receipts has nearly doubled in past 12 years. Solutions: The Company has got only insignificant investments at political instable locations. To prevent future security threat the company has sought advice of security experts and invested heavily on improving security infrastructure. To reduce the conflict between local community the company has come up with corporate social responsibility. For instance the company works closely with NGOs to develop and train underprivileged housewives to earn their livelihood. The company tries to promote Indian culture by encouraging local artisans and craftsmen. This helps the local community in broadening their own outlook. Foreseeing sustainable tourism IHCL has come up with EARTH initiative to reinstate its vision and to preserve nature. To overcome the revenue loss due to video conferencing the company came up with new strategy of marketing in- house video conferencing facilities for corporate clients. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths IHCL has a very dominant position in Indian hospitality industry with largest distribution of hotels around the country. Its key advantage is the established Taj brand name. It has got a much diversified hotel and brand portfolio catering to different market segments which helps in capturing wider customer base. The company has got sales and marketing reach globally. The parent company being Tata sons limited which is one of the largest companies in India is an added advantage. Their presence in every segment namely luxury, upper upscale, upscale and budget allows more flexibility and stability. They have a well-diversified business model of subsidiaries, associates, joint ventures and management contracts which help in reducing risk and fuels faster growth. This asset light policy will help in revenue stability during economic turndown. Presently 45% of IHCL hotels are operated through joint-ventures, 40% are management contracts and 15% are owned in part or full by IHCL. Source: Adapted from HotelierIndia Nov 2010, Press Release The company has introduced a strong loyalty programme which helps in retaining customers. The companys alliances and partnerships have helped it in entering into new markets such as wildlife lodges and air catering. They have the advantage of very strong corporate purchase chain whereby they can considerably reduce raw material cost. As the parent company is present in the production of FMCGs they are able to procure items in a much competitive price. The company even have introduced loyalty programmes in conjunction with all leading airline companies. Weakness The less established brand name of the company in international scene can be viewed as a weakness. Nearly 75% of the companys income is generated by domestic operation resulting greater dependency on Indian market. In domestic market even though company has its presence in more than 15 states; 66% of their revenue and nearly 90% of profits come from top six hotels in four cities. Even slight fluctuation in the countrys economy can affect profitability. The high dependency on higher-end luxury market can also be viewed as a weakness. Nearly 54% of the revenue is generated by these properties. Comparative size in line with international chains and insignificant international presence is a setback. The hotel industry in India is heavily staffed. In spite of international average 1:1 in India it stands at 2.1:1. Investments in acquiring international hotels have resulted in huge debt for the company. Opportunities Rapid growth in inbound and domestic tourism is a great opportunity for the company. Domestic tourism is growing at a phenomenal rate of 15.5% annually. Growing demand for budget and mid-segment hotels due to the growth of Indian middle class can be viewed as an opportunity. Healthy salary increases in corporate world is expected to create demand for leisure tourism. Launch of incredible India in both domestic and international market to promote destinations can be a boost in business. The introduction of medical visa may promote more volume and extended stay in all key destinations. The companys entry into new markets such as wildlife lodges, luxury residences, and spas will create new growth prospectus. Budget airlines now have connectivity across the country with competitive rates and attractive offers which will inspire domestic tourism. Increased business opportunities in India again have paved path for growth of conference and event tourism. Threats Growing presence of international hotel chains such as Marriot international, The Four seasons, Accor group, Shangri-La, Dreams resorts and spas etc. can be considered as growing threat to the company. The expansion plans of Indian hotel chains like ITC India limited, The Leela group, The East India Hotel Company and The Lalit may affect the market share of the company. Due to the arrival of international airline operators and affordable international travel, there has been massive growth of outbound tourism mainly to south East Asia, Europe and Australia. This has increased risk for domestic leisure segment. Due the companys portfolio of foreign currency debts, it is vulnerable to fluctuations in currency and interest rate risks. The debt equity ratio of the company shows drastic hike from the previous years which can really be a threat . Source: Adapted from Annual Reports Debt to equity ratio indicates how the firm finances its operations with debt relative to the book value of its shareholders equity (Fabozzi and Drake 2009 pp80). This indicates the comparison of equity and debt the company is using to back its assets. If the ratio is high then the company is said to be chancy as it is financed more by with debts and it might become even worse if the interest rates are high. The company stands at a threat as the debt equity ratio shows a trend of escalation from .52 to .99 within a span of 4 years. Strengths and Opportunities Due the companys presence across the country in different market segments it can capitalize the growth of domestic tourism. As the company has a well-established budget and mid-market segment hotels, it can benefit from the growing spending power of Indian middle class. Only IHCL has presence in wildlife lodge segment which shows growing demand every year. Loyalty programmes in tie-up with leading airline companies have resulted in greater exploitation of tourism growth in India. Companys entry into wellness tourism by establishing Spas in its existing properties can milk governments plan to issue medical visa. Strengths and Threats By virtue of the companys loyalty programmes and corporate tie-ups they would be able to hold to their market, even though new international players could stand a threat. IHCL have huge expansion plans in answer to other domestic hotel chains. By their plans to expand internationally it can lower the risk of outbound tourism. Weakness and opportunities Since domestic travel became cost effective, domestic leisure tourism turned robust and distributed, consequently reducing risk of concentration of revenue from key city hotels. Weakness and Threats To oppose the dependence on high end luxury market, the company has entered into budget segment which is stable comparing to the later. The company have international expansion plans other than existing properties outside India so that it will be resistant to domestic economic fluctuations. Diversification The IHCL has diversified its operation in hospitality sector from the hotel operation to other sectors like Air catering, Spa operations, Wild life lodges, Yachts, Charted Flights and Taj Khazana. TajAir TajAir is a charter flight operating company owned by IHCL, the subsidiary company of Tata Sons Limited4 pioneer aviation operator in India. TajAir at present owns 3 Air crafts which can be chartered by guests for domestic and international air travel. Ginger Hotels The Ginger Hotels are self-service budget hotels operated by IHCL which targets mid-market sector. Spas Jiva Spas the subsidiary of IHCL which operates at more than 25 Taj hotels at 20 different destinations which offers different rejuvenating treatments and massages. Taj SATS Taj SATS is an air catering division of IHCL in collaboration with Singapore Air Terminals which caterers to domestic and international flights operating from 6 different cities. Taj Safari Taj Safari is a wild life lodge which operates in collaboration with CC Africa which is one of its kinds in India. Taj Khazana Taj Khazana is a signature boutique store of Indian handicraft, Jewellery and garments which operates at selected IHCL properties. Current Situation The Company has decided to raise Rupees 850 crores by issuing shares and warrants to the promoter company Tata Sons Ltd to fuel its rapid expansion plans. Since the market is strong now the company has decided to raise its room tariffs by 10-15 percent. The company announced the roll-over of 19 hotels under its new brand Vivanta by Taj Hotels and Resorts. The introduction of Vivanta which is a brand architectural exercise by the company will be slotted in the 5-star upper upscale segment in the Indian hospitality industry. To exploit the on-going spree by Indian households on food and beverage spending, the company has rolled out several new FB outlets in collaboration with world renowned chefs and restaurateurs. To meet the current demands, they have invested a major share in Serviced Apartments, Wildlife lodges and Spas. To achieve their goal of generating 33 per cent of total revenue from international operations, they are engaged in Management contracts and Joint venture oversees. To capitalize the high demand of mid-market segment, IHCL has unveiled more than 20 budget hotels across India named Ginger Hotels In order to recover the loss of revenue due to the dip of tourism in India, the company has gone into a new strategy of putting hold on salary hike and the incentive for the executives and freeze new recruitment in the company and predicts a profit of 15 cr.

Perceptions of Mental Illness Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Perceptions of Mental Illness Throughout this course, much of what we have discussed has depended strongly on an interpretation of scientific information. We have questioned, criticized, accepted, rejected, and formed our own ideas about topics in neural and behavioral science. A book which I have read recently seems to fit in with this type of discussion. Blaming the Brain, by Eliot Valenstein, describes the major biological theories of mental illness and the lack of evidence we have to fully support them. What Valenstein argues is that we have come to a point where we accept all mental illness as purely biological in origin, and have discarded older ideas about social and psychological effects, rather then attempting to see how these two different types of explanations fit together. While some may argue that this shift has helped to significantly de-stigmatize mental illness, it also has caused a neglect of important factors which must play a role in these disorders. In 1999, in a report by the Surgeon General, it was stated that research into the biology of the brain is "a potent antidote to stigma," but it was also emphasized that psychotherapy not be forgotten as it sometimes plays a large role in recovery. Finding middle ground: Although we do not know all there is to know about disorders of the nervous system, I believe that it is very plausible that mental illness is mostly the result of disturbances in the nervous system. Although in extreme situtions, some claim things like, "it reduces a complex human activity to a slice of damaged brain tissue" (4). I wouldn't go this far to assume that this is all there is to it, although I also don't believe that all mental illnesses can fit into the same box. While s... ... fallacies of no-fault addiction http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/brynmawr_main?http_rc=400&class=session&sev=temp&type=session&cause=http%3A%2F%2Fweb7.infotrac.galegroup.com%2Fitw%2Finfomark%2F672%2F823%2F36248906w3%2Fpurl%3Drc1_EAIM_0_A53551866%26dyn%3D3!xrn_5_0_A53551866%3Fsw_aep%3Dbrynmawr_main&cont=&msg=No+Session+cookies&sserv=no 5)Schizophrenia http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/brynmawr_main?http_rc=400&class=session&sev=temp&type=session&cause=http%3A%2F%2Fweb7.infotrac.galegroup.com%2Fitw%2Finfomark%2F672%2F823%2F36248906w3%2Fpurl%3Drc1_EAIM_0_A53551866%26dyn%3D3!xrn_5_0_A53551866%3Fsw_aep%3Dbrynmawr_main&cont=&msg=No+Session+cookies&sserv=no 6) Scientists Call for End to Neurology-Psychiatry `Divide' http://mentalhealth.about.com/?once=true&rnk=r7&terms=neuroscience Valenstein, Eliot. (1998). Blaming the Brain. New York: The Free Press

Independence in Jane Eyre Essay -- Essays Papers

Jane Eyre Essayindependence Jane Eyre, a novel written by Charlotte Bronte, is about a young girl named Jane that struggles to discover her identity. Jane’s a girl who is â€Å"unhappy, very unhappy†(23). She grows up with relatives that treat her unfairly because her diseased family was not wealthy. Jane’s uncle Mr. Reed had reminded his wife and family to consider Jane as their own, but in contrast she experienced physical abuse by her aunt and cousin John. â€Å"John Reed knocked me down and my aunt shut me up in the red-room...†(23), the abuse that Jane experienced impacted her young soul, but also helped her grow into a stronger person. Unlike her cousins, Jane’s childhood was unpleasant because â€Å"...I have no father or mother, brothers or sister...†(23). Years later, Jane goes to Lowood institution where she succeeds and becomes a school teacher. From there, Jane meets Mr. Rochester who turns out to be the love of her life. Throughout the novel the readers se e a dependent girl transform into an independent young lady that overcomes all her tribulations. Charlotte Bronte allows us to trace Jane‘s character. While at Gateshead, Jane is a dependent young girl learning and yearning to be independent. Jane acknowledges that without Mrs. Reed’s assistance of financial issues and disciplinary actions, she wouldn’t be able to survive. â€Å"Benefactress!...They all called Mrs. Reed my benefactress;†, here Jane declares she knows who's responsible for raising her. Jane’s independency...

Declining Air Quality :: Environment Environmental

Declining Air Quality Section A The declining air quality can be held responsible for many things such as city smog and the greenhouse effect. Such problems are very definite in America since they are one of the top air–pollutant–creating countries in the world. The original list of air pollutants created by US industries was made up of arsenic, asbestos, benzene, beryllium, coke oven emissions, mercury, radionuclides (radioactive isotopes), and vinyl chloride. In the 1990’s this list was expanded to include 189 substances, and by the end of the 1990’s regulations were put in place for the â€Å"major sources†, which require the emission of no more than ten tons of any of these substances and no more than twenty five tons of any combination of them per year. Air pollution that worsens the global air quality is mostly generated by the wealthier, more populated nations. America has a population of 275,372,000, making it one of the most populated countries; it is also the most powerful nation in the world. As a result almost every household in the United States own a car or two. Cars are major contributors to the ozone hole and when almost every household in one of the most populated countries in the world own one, the level of air pollution emitted would be paramount. As a result, many of the major cites in the US such as New York, Miami and Los Angeles have very bad smog that reduce visibility and increase health risks. In Los Angeles, for example, the smog causes eye and chest irritations for residents and exacerbates asthma. Attempts have been made to clear the smog, but no reasonable success has been achieved. There have been measures taken to stop the problem from getting noticeably worse, but it is not a long term option. The smog in LA is caused fundamentally by the Californian sun. The heat of the sun creates a layer of warm air that acts as a seal, trapping the cold air in the basin of the Los Angeles harbour. This effect traps all of the industrial pollution and the car exhaust above the city. The millions that live there are all exposed daily to harmful levels of carbon monoxide. It is not yet known what the long term effects of this will be. Due to this hazard to human health the Los Angeles authorities have been urged to cut down on pollution, which means burning fossil fuels more completely and restricting the industries, all at the cost of millions of dollars.

The direct effects of Johnes disease

IntroductionMycobacterium avium races paratuberculosis ( MAP ) is the causative agent of an incurable, infective, chronic, granulomatous enteritis in ruminants, called Johne ‘s disease or paratuberculosis. The direct effects of Johne ‘s disease on animate being public assistance and productiveness may look insignificant and are frequently masked by the mostly subclinical character of the disease in domesticated farm animal ( incubation period prior to the oncoming of clinical marks by and large ranges from 2 to 10 old ages ) { { 1 Lepper, A.W. 1989 } } { { 2 Chiodini, R.J. 1984 } } .The economic impact of JohneA?s on dairy cowss industries is significant. Estimated costs as a consequence of reduced weight addition, milk production loss, premature culling and decreased carcase value add up to an one-year sum of $ 250 million ( USD ) in the United States industry entirely { { 3 Ott, S.L. 1999 } } . More recent in-depth estimations indicate a important relationship being between Johne ‘s disease position and decreased milk production { { 51 Smith, R.L. 2009 } } , increased hazard of being culled { { 40 Smith, R.L. 2010 } } and a reduced calving rate in high sloughing animate beings. The on-going contention refering the possible function of MAP in Crohn ‘s disease ( human inflammatory intestine disease ) suggests that MAP itself might be of great public wellness significance { { 17 Hermon-Taylor, J. 2000 } } .1.2. Transmission of MAPCattles are most susceptible to infection as calves from birth to a few months of age { { 27 Taylor, A.W. 1953 ; 55 Windsor, P.A. 2010 } } , but can besides be infected as grownups { { 28 Doyle, T.M. 1951 } } .Transmission of MAP can happen by a assortment of paths in dairy cowss ; horizontally by consumption of MAP from the environment, or vertically from dike to calf. Evidence of intrauterine transmittal and sloughing of MAP in milk and foremilk has been reported by several surveies { { 5 Nielsen, S.S. 2008 ; 25 Seitz, S.E. 1989 ; 24 Sweeney, R.W. 1992 } } . Although calf-to-calf transmittal has besides been demonstrated in several experimental scenes where calves are being housed together { { 52 RANKIN, J.D. 1961 ; 53 new wave Roermund, H.J. 2007 } } horizontal infection from cattles to calves and perpendicular infection from dike to calf are believed to be the most common and most of import infection paths in dairy cowss. Previous surveies besides describe that calves born from positive tested dikes were at a significantly higher hazard of going Map infected than calves without this risk-profile. Besides calves turning up with a future high spiller and calves being born shortly following the freshening of an septic dike were at higher hazard being infected { { 29 Benedictus, A. 2008 } } .1.3. Treatment & A ; controlPresently, there is no satisfactory intervention for the disease. No disinfectants are approved for the intervention of Johne ‘s disease because of their deficiency of efficiency and their failure to supply bacteriological remedy. A vaccinum for Johne ‘s disease exists but is non really normally used because it interferes with the reading of the current TB tegument trial and its inability to wholly forestall infection { { 44 Muskens, J. 2002 } } . Consequently JohneA?s disease is presently controlled via control plans that implement a assortment of production patterns. The most cost-efficient option for cut downing the prevalence of MAP infection in herds is application of hazard direction steps to interrupt known transmittal paths { { 6 Groenendaal, H. 2003 ; 16 Kudahl, A.B. 2009 } } . Current MAP control plans are risk-based. Management-wise, animate beings are divided into high and low hazard animate beings, by looking at the consequences of 4 one-year showings that test all lactating cattles for MAP specific antibodies in the milk { { 47 Nielsen, S.S. 2011 } } . Particular production pattern recommendations are provided for pull offing bad animate beings and these recommendations chiefly focus on within-herd MAP transmittal { { 46 Nielsen, S.S. 2007 } } .According to recent surveies, implementing patterns that can minimise the exposure of MAP to newborn calves should take precedence in control plans { { 45 Pillars, R.B. 20 11 } } . However, control steps are really expensive and non cost-effective. Current control steps do non take into history that MAP can be transmitted vertically and ignores the possibility that there is familial fluctuation in cowss associated with differential susceptibleness to Johne ‘s doing girls of septic dikes more likely to be infected even if hygiene steps are implemented absolutely at birth.1.4. Heritability of susceptiblenessConsiderable work on linkage between genetic sciences and the opposition, tolerance or susceptibleness to Mycobacterium avium races paratuberculosis. Heritability of susceptibleness to infection with MAP has been estimated from 0.06 to 0.159 { { 18 Koets, A.P. 2000 ; 31 Mortensen, H. 2004 ; 37 Hinger, M. 2008 ; 38 Attalla, S.A. 2010 } } . The broad fluctuation in these extimates can be explained by differences in definition of infection and nosologies ( blood or milk ELISA, faecal civilizations, tissue civilizations ) , sample sizes, survey population ( breed ) and statistical theoretical accounts ( assorted animate being theoretical account, beget theoretical account ) used. Two genome-wide surveies have identified venue for resistence or susceptibleness to infection by MAP utilizing Illumina Bovine SNP50 assay { { 32 Settles, M. 2009 ; 33 Minozzi, G. 2010 } } . A SNP on chromosome 9 ( BTA9 ) is associated with casting ( being faecal civilization positive ) when genuinely infected ( tissue civilization positive { { 32 Settles, M. 2009 } } and being ELISA positive { { 33 Minozzi, G. 2010 } } . Zanella et Al. performed an association survey on the same dataset as Settles et Al. and found BTA6 to be associated with tolerence to paratuberculosis { { 43 Zanella, R. 2011 } } . Several campaigner cistrons identified by these genome-wide surveies have been examined for farther association with infection. Attempts to turn up cistrons associated with susceptibleness or opposition to paratuberculosis hold had limited success. Pinedo et al 2009 identified an association of caspase enlisting sphere 15 ( CARD15 ) with infection { { 34 Pinedo, P.J. 2009 } } , while a separate comparative analysis of bovine, murine, and human CARD15 transcripts suggest no important associations between fluctuation in the CARD15 and disease position { { 41 Taylor, K.H. 2006 } } .Toll-like receptor 4 ( TLR4 ) was associated with infection in recent work by Mucha et Al. 2009 but was non associated with infection in a coincident independent analysis { { 49 Pinedo, P.J. 2009 } } . Tendency towards association between infection and variant allelomorphs of the SLC11A1gene ( once NRAMP1 ) { { 34 Pinedo, P.J. 2009 } } is consistent with a population-based familial association survey carried out by Ruiz-Larranaga et Al. { { 42 Ruiz-Larranaga, O. 2010 } } , but conflicting consequences were presented by a population ba sed association survey by Hinger et Al. 2007 { { 39 Hinger, M. 2007 } } . Hinger et Al. and Minozzi used ELISA-tests as a diagnostic step to sort animate beings as septic whereas Pinedo et Al. used a combination of ELISA and faecal civilization to specify infection and Settles et Al used faecal and tissue civilization. The complexness of the intracellular infective disease Mycobacterium avium races paratuberculosis causes suggests engagement of many different cistrons that perchance interact with one another and with external factors from the environment. In add-on, the different procedures involved in early disease and late disease are yet ill-defined and may besides be reflected in the different venue found to be associated with the categorization of the type of infection. Particularly because pathogenesis of the disease is non to the full understood and sensitiveness of ELISA trials is rather low in latent or low casting animate beings { { 10 McKenna, S.L. 2006 ; 54 Eamens, G.J. 2000 } } { { 50 Nielsen, S.S. 2008 } } , case-control association surveies that use chiefly tissue and fecal nosologies in order to find the true infection position of the cow present the most dependable consequences.1.5. Vertical transmittalTo look into the importance of perpendicular transmittal, old surveies tried to find the prevalence of foetal infection in cowss and estimated the incidence of calves infected via in utero transmittal. On norm, approximately 9 % of foetuss from subclinically infected cattles ( faecal civilization positive ) and 39 % from clinical cattles were infected with MAP prior to deliver { { 4 Whittington, R.J. 2009 } } . Harmonizing to Whittington and Windsor { { 4 Whittington, R.J. 2009 } } existent prevalence of foetal MAP infection would be higher than reported because some of the methods and protocols used in these surveies to handle and prove samples have really low specificity { { 54 Eamens, G.J. 2000 } } . The estimated incidence of calf infection derived via the in utero path depends on within-herd prevalence and the ratio of sub-clinical to clinical instances among septic cattles. The mean perpendicular infection rates mentioned above are derived from the consequence of five independent surveies published between 1980 and 2003.1.6 Strain typewritingCurrent developments in molecular genetic sciences make it possible to disciminate Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis strains with different fingerprinting techniques { { 36 Motiwala, A.S. 2006 } } . These techniques can besides be used as a tool to look into the possibility of perpendicular transmittal by comparing strains carried by the dike w ith strains carried by the girl. When comparing different MAP fingerprinting techniques, the Multi Locus Short Sequence Repeat technique utilizing all 11 venues selected by Amonsin et Al. 2004 has the highest prejudiced power with a Simpsons diverseness index of 0.967 { { 36 Motiwala, A.S. 2006 } } . Harris et Al. 2006 used four of these identified repetitions ( locus 1, venue 2, locus 8 and locus 9 ) to distinguish MAP strains { { 21 Harris, N.B. 2006 } } . To analyze diverseness of the selected MAP isolates we used these same four venue for MLSSR analysis and added venue 3, venue 5, venue 6, locus 10 and locus 11 in order to observe more diverity among dam and daughter isolates. Strain typing methods to longitudinal datasets can now supply us with extra penetration into within herd infection kineticss, including the transmittal of MAP from dikes to girls.