Al Qaeda Network

Al qaeda the ‘terrorist network’ and Osama bin Laden have carried out a complicated ‘media campaign and ‘public relations’ over the last 10 years (qtd. in Bevy, 2006).As Bevy (2006) excerpted, â€Å"’terrorism-analyst’ think that these communications have been intended to draw out ‘emotional reactions’ and converse intricate ‘political messages’ to a worldwide viewers as well as to explicit populaces in the ‘Islamic world’, the U.S., Asia, and Europe.†A number of analyst and officials consider that ‘Al Qaeda’s messages’ hold signs that notify and educate operatives to get ready for and perform fresh attacks. Bin-Laden has referred to his ‘public-statements’ as significant chief sources for parties in quest to know Al Qaeda’s political demands and ideology.Osama bin Laden’s familiarities as a ‘financier’ and ‘logistical-coordinat or’ for the Arab and Afghan struggle to the ‘Soviet-Invasion’ of Afghanistan throughout the 198os are considered to have supplied backdrop for his principle that ‘Muslims’ can obtain valuable ‘military action’ motivated by ‘Islamic principles’ (Bevy, 2006).According to Bevy (2006), his contact to the philosophies of ‘conservative Islamist-scholars’ in Saudi Arabia and his work with the Arab activist in Afghanistan offered the ideological and theological foundation for his principle in the interest of ‘puritanical Salafist Islamic-reform’ in Muslim societies and the need of ‘armed resistance’ in the countenance of ‘perceived aggression’ – an idea Al-Qaeda has since connected with a commonly-binding ‘Islamic principle’ recognized as â€Å"defensive-jihad† (qtd. in Bevy, 2006).After a few years after he initiated setting up Arab volunteers to dispose of ‘Soviet forces’ from ‘Afghanistan', bin-Laden had a ‘vision’; the instant had come, he informed his friends, to start a ‘global jihad’, or’ Islamic holy-war’, in against to the crooked ‘secular-governments’ of the ‘Muslim Middle East’ and ‘Western-powers’ that maintained them (New York Times, 2001).Bin Laden, the ‘Saudi’ millionaire’, would utilize his campgrounds in Afghanistan to obtain ‘holy-warriors’ from around–the-world – who had at all times followed ‘local goals’ – and figure them into an ‘international-network’ which would wrestle to convey all Muslims under a ‘militant-version’ of ‘Islamic law’. At some stage in the ‘anti Soviet jihad’ Bin-Laden and his combatants have been given American and Saudi funding; a number of ‘analysts’ think Bin-Lad en himself had ‘security-training’ from the C.I.A. (BBC, 2004).Following the ‘Iraqi-invasion’ of Kuwait, Bin Laden articulated these analyses in resistance to the beginning of ‘foreign military-forces’ to Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden illustrated the presence of non-Muslim troops and U.S. in Saudi Arabia following 1991 Gulf-War as reason for transformed commitment to ‘defensive jihad’ and the endorsement of violence against the United States and Saudi government.What is Al Qaeda?Any number of theories has been advanced as to the origins of the name â€Å"Al Qaeda†, from a reference to a computer file revealing the identities of Arab veterans of the Afghanistan conflict (the database), to Osama bin Laden’s alleged high-tech headquarters, deep in the mountains of Afghanistan (the secret base), drawings of which – impressive though entirely fictitious – were produced by the American media when U. S. operations be gan in October 2001 (Chaliand & Blin, 2007).The name Al Qaeda, which instantly became the focus of the media attention following the August 1998 U. S. embassy bombings had long had mythical status. According to Chaliand and Blin (2007) Osama bin Laden himself had contributed to the mystery surrounding the name by never uttering it prior to the events of September 11. The groups’ leaders, in their internal communications, usually referred to it as â€Å"the society†, an internationally neutral appellation.In fact, it was ‘Abdallah Azzam who had named the organization; in 19888, the first signs of a Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, ‘Azzam decided that he would not disband the Army of Arab volunteers he had created four years earlier but would use it to undertake a much vaster mission – re-conquest of the Muslim world (Chaliand & Blin, 2007).To that end, he needed a standing vanguard of fighters to serve as leaders of the umma; he coined the term al- qaeda al-sulbah (the solid base) for this, which was also the headline of an editorial he wrote in al-Jihad in 1988.

About Tjx Assignment

1. List and describe the security controls in place within TJX Companies. Ans: When security upgrades are made available, it’s because they’re necessary, not because software developers have thought up some great new software gimmick. Hackers are able to bypass the old systems too easily, so better security is needed to keep the hackers out. TJX ignored the need for better e-security, and even neglected to install one particular upgrade they had purchased. 2. What management, organization, and technology factors contributed to these weaknesses? Ans: Management: While one may not think of it as a weakness, the management’s reluctance to report the stolen laptop and the contents of the hard drive contributed to the difficulty in finding the laptop before the data was compromised. Organizations: VA operations should have limited the data accessible to the employees to only the data needed in order to effectively do this job. Lack of promoting the sensitivity of the data led to a careless attitude regarding the protection of the data. Technological: At a minimum the data should have been encrypted and password protected. As a practical measure, the laptop should have been protected at the BIOS level if that sensitivity of data was contained. 3. What was the business impact of TJX’s data loss on TJX, consumers, and banks? Ans: TJX faces consumer and bank class action lawsuits over the exposure of as many as 100m customer records as the result of a security breach that lasted for two distinct six-month periods between 2003 and December 2006. Hackers broke into a system that stored data on credit card, debit card, cheque, and return details in an attack blamed on a poorly secured wireless network in one of its stores. Subsequent credit card frauds have been traced to data swiped as a result of these breaches, and a number of arrests have been made. 4. How effectively did TJX deal with these problems? Ans: Not well enough. The $40. 9 million fund for the banks won’t nearly cover he banks’ losses, and I see too little info in the report about what exactly TJX is doing to prevent this from happening again. I see money being thrown at the problem, but management doesn’t seem to have a clear picture of a real solution. 5. Who should be held liable for the losses caused by the use of fraudulent credit cards in this case? TJX? The banks issuing the credit cards? The consumers? Justify you answer. Ans: Obviously TJX is responsible – their negligent behavior that made them vulnerable to the attacks. The banks and consumers can’t be held responsible – especially the consumers! If consumers were held responsible for attacks like this, we’d do away with credit cards, keep our money under our mattresses, and go back to making our own clothes and food and entertaining ourselves by telling each other stories as people did centuries ago! Then where would the banks and credit card companies be? That’s probably extreme, but so is expecting a shopper to pay for a huge corporation’s negligence and a hacker’s crime.

Art Piece Anotation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Art Piece Anotation - Essay Example Falconet continued with hard work in sculpturing and he was successful in developing his first sculpture by the name Milo of Crotone (In French it is Milon de Crotone) (Artfinding.com, 2006). This successful bit of art made Falconet very famous and immediately he was absorbed and became a member of â€Å"Academie des beaux-arts† in the year 1754 (Artfinding.com, 2006). This was the royal academy of painting and sculpture that only had prominent outstanding painters and sculpture of the time being appointed to be members. Due to his hard work, the sculptures he developed between the year 1755 to 1757 made him get appointed to be the director of sculpture workshops in that royal academy. This sculpture is a figure of a great legend known as Milo of Crotone. This was a real life portrait of a Grecian wrestler of the 6th century; who was born in a town called Magna Grecian city of Croton in southern Italy (Djibnet.com, 2011). Milo was a great wrestler who at all time enjoyed the career since he always won. In addition to this, Milo was also an athlete and had won many wrestling and athletics competitions during important festivals of ancient Greece (Djibnet.com, 2011). Moreover, Milo is also remembered for his role in leading his fellow citizens to a military triumph in 510 B.C. over their neighbors in Sybaris (Djibnet.com, 2011). Milo was also associated with another Crotonean Pythagoras who was once saved by Milo from a collapsing roof (Djibnet.com, 2011). In repayment Milo was given the daughter of Pythagoras called Myia. His name became very famous and the greatest complement was on his strength and power. This is the main theme portrayed in most of his statues developed by most artists. It should be noted that the sculpture of Milon de Crotone is entirely constructed from the artistic literature demonstrating Milo’s power, strength and his painful death. Milo’s legendary strength and unique death have currently

Reflective diary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Reflective diary - Essay Example He does not really overtly manifest his beliefs, expectations, perceptions, assumptions, values, thoughts, deep-seated feelings and impactful experiences in his life. Take that iceberg and multiply it a hundredfold and you have a multi-faceted population who may only be bound a number of commonalities. Culture may be one of them, or gender, or age, but still, deep inside, they are unique individuals. Let’s say a person from a certain cultural background is plucked out of that environment and brought to a totally different one. Orberg (1960) theorized that his initial reaction would be culture shock because he is not accustomed to what he sees and experiences in that new place. He may be excited to be there and feel that it suits him really well because it addresses his own personal preferences for a living environment. Take someone else from the same culture he belongs to and bring him to the same new environment. He may likewise experience culture shock but not be excited lik e the first individual. On the contrary, he may be terribly upset for leaving his home culture because he was out of his comfort zone and needed to go back to it. Both people from the same culture may have different views and perceptions of the new culture and their reaction to it will depend on what they have â€Å"beneath the tips of their icebergs†. ... ), but after some time, he might realize that it is something very different from what he was accustomed to, so he becomes frustrated and confused (morning after stage). This is the time when homesickness sets in, and is described as the dip in the U-curve. Eventually, as he learns to adjust to his new environment, he slowly regains his positive disposition. This pattern is not limited to adjustment to living in a new country. It may also be adjustment to a new job, new school, phase of life, etc. where the individual experiences a different culture. Adjusting to the people in the new culture may be challenging especially if there is a language barrier. If so, the individual will rely on non-verbal communication to understand the natives. He also needs to know the new culture and be aware the people’s beliefs, value system, food, traditions, etc. David Kolb (1984) explains four stages of learning experiences. These are having concrete experiences, reflective observations of wh at was just experienced, abstract conceptualisation or extracting learning from the experience and finally the active experimentation leading to new experiences thereby completing the full learning cycle. For an individual immersed in a new culture, he needs to establish rapport with others and establish smooth interpersonal relationships. Especially in settings where people from various cultures come to live and work together, each person adopts certain roles to play to contribute to the team. Belbin (1981) has come up with team roles. Team roles improve self-knowledge and understanding among individuals and teams. They also depict a current behavioral pattern at a certain point in a person’s life. Preferences aren't fixed, since many factors can influence behaviour, whether a new job,

Business management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Business management - Essay Example ives and the resources available (human, physical, financial etc.), each company prioritizes some competitive criteria, according to market tendencies and concentrates its efforts to get a competitive position relating to concurrence’. Ryanair is a firm that operates for many years in the airline industry. The main characteristic of the firm’s strategic choices is that they are all directed towards the provision of low cost services to the customers. This strategy has helped the firm to survive in its market and expand its activities in many countries (apart from Britain). The potential differentiation of the firm’s strategic choices is examined in this paper trying to identify the reasons that led the firm to remain stable in its strategies since its establishment. The strategic direction of a firm that operates within the modern market is an issue that can be criticized and evaluated primarily by the firm’s owners/ stakeholders. At a first level the firm’s managers have a series of strategic options available (like Porter’s five forces model and SWOT analysis that will be analyzed in the following sections) that can help them to decide on the appropriateness of their strategic choices. However, the use of the above mentioned strategic tools requires the competency of the managers to understand all the aspects and the role of these tools – in order for the firm to be actually benefited. The accurate and the extensive industry analysis is also mentioned by many researchers as an appropriate tool offering to the firms’ managers the appropriate support towards the development of the corporate initiatives and the increase of effectiveness of the corporate plans. In this context, it is noticed by Pritsker (1997, 3 2) that ‘industry analysis typically focuses on a companys external dimensions such as its markets, customers, and competitors’. In the case of Ryanair the strategic tools chosen by the firm’s managers should be appropriately customized

Comparisons and Contrasts of Countries and International Organizations Coursework

Comparisons and Contrasts of Countries and International Organizations on Various Economical, Political and Social Issues - Coursework Example The table above compares and contrast different countries basing on three major categories, political, economical and socially: Economically Energy sector is seen to be the dominant Economic sector as three of these states dwells on it as their Economic booster while USA, China and Kenya dwells on Service, Industry and Agriculture respectively. They all had a steadily rising HDI Index between 2012 and 2014 except Venezuela that declined in 2014 before rising again in 2015. Politically Most of these countries are headed by Presidents with unitary and Federals as their form of government organization. Socially USA, Kenya and Venezuela have got a high percentage of Christians with Qatar and Saudi Arabia dominated by Islam while China is dominated by Buddhism. Most of their official languages is English and are all faced by the problem of Corruption (Social policy in the UK, 2014).

How Did AIDS Evolve in Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

How Did AIDS Evolve in Africa - Essay Example In New York and California a number of men developed infections and cancers that resisted all known methods of treatment. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus was discovered soon after. (AVERT, 2009) However, while HIV was recognized only in the 1980s, there were several samples which, having only been recently analyzed, pre-dated this discovery. The samples, dated at the time they were taken, are as follows: 1. Dated 1959: Plasma sample, adult male from (the presently denominated) Democratic Republic of the Congo. The analysis here suggests the earliest known infection to have occurred in the 1940s or early 1950s. (Zhu, Tuofu, Korber & Nahinias, 1998) HIV is a lentivirus that attacks the immune system. The word â€Å"lentivirus† means â€Å"slow virus† because of the length of time it takes for the disease to manifest its ill effects on the human body. They are part of the larger classification of viruses known as retroviruses. Lentiviruses are found in many species of animals, but the one closest to the HIV is the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), a strain that affects monkeys. It is accepted by a large number of experts that the HIV descended from the SIV because some strains of SIV appear closely similar to the two strains of HIV, the HIV-1 and HIV-2. The less virulent of these strains, the HIV-2, corresponds to a strain of SIV that is found in a species of monkey indigenous to western Africa, the sooty mangabey or white-collared monkey. The origins of the HIV-1 was more difficult to trace, but in 1990 a group of scientists found evidence that linked this strain to a sub-species of chimpanzees that inhabited m ostly west-central Africa. (AVERT, 2009) The Hunter Theory. Viral transfer can occur between species; when the transfer occurs between animals and humans, a â€Å"zoonosis† is said to have taken place. In the case of the HIV,

The Impact of Evolving Technologies on Political Participation Essay

The Impact of Evolving Technologies on Political Participation - Essay Example While the technology has introduced itself and enforced its presence in the different forms, one of the shapes in which the technology has been used to aid and assist the political participation is that of social media. Social media, which is also dubbed as the Web 2.0 is an invention and gift of the 21st century A.D. it is a totally new concept that was not known to the users or implementers of the digital media in the previous decades. The Web 2.0 is a more dynamically assisted digital interface that has allowed new applications usage and improved service providing. The Social media is a gift of Web 2.0. Through the social media, people from all walks of life get together and express their views, concerns, optimism and other related trends and concepts. They all merge under a unified group of entity followed by the large number of fans. Arab spring one of the most dominant words in the political sphere of global politics has been in practice for last four to five years. It was a movement and agitation activity that turned governments. It was a movement that toppled the governments of dictators who had been in seat for over two to three decades. The Arab spring was a gift of technology. It was spurred by the use of Face book and other social media websites (Howard & Hussain, 2013, 65). It served as a platform for the youth of that area to mobilize, find a platform. While the practical fields were cordoned off by the police and other means of militia and regimental forces, the Face book served as a medium where the people could gather, express their views and express their legal concerns. The Tehrir square which late on became the house and center to over a million people was initially set into fire by the Face book when a group of individuals sat together and discussed the possible actions against the incumbent President

Management of change with reference to change management models Essay

Management of change with reference to change management models - Essay Example This is necessary for all the implications of the change in any organisation. The change has been analysed according to the model. They are as follows: 7 PROCHASKA AND DICLEMENTE’S CHANGE THEORY 8 ANALYSIS OF THE INDIVIDUAL POWER AND POLITICAL RELATIONSHIPS ON THE MANAGEMENT STYLES OF THE ORGANISATION 10 UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF THE POWER 11 POWER MODEL 11 EXPERT MODEL 12 CONCLUSION 13 INTRODUCTION CASE PERSPECTIVE The use of the change management in any organisation is subject to a number of factors that are inherent to the nature of the organisation. The development of the resources is one of the primal factors that decide the shape of the organisation. The use of the different kind of parameters is one of the ways in which the change management of an organisation is accomplished. After the careful observation of this case study in a very objective manner, there has been the identification of the change initiatives to the various kinds of models of the change management . The college, Pearmount College is a medium sized institution in the field of the further education. The college has a part of the social responsibility being the only college that has the post-graduation facility in this place. All the sixteen courses are run in the manner of the post-graduation. The use of the resources is also an area of concern. The performance for the A level was found to be satisfactory (albeit average), but the sixth form colleges were having a very bad performance. This could be attributed to the teaching methods. The new principal of the institution took to the steps of reform for a change in the existing facilities. The aim was to provide the best type of sixth form in the country. There were a number of inherent issues that need to be taken in the context for the use of the data. The factors that triggered the change management measures were as follows- The quality of the full time course was under the scanner. There was differential gradient that existe d between the vocational and the full time courses. The staffs of the institution are ageing. The distribution of the workload was also seen to be uneven. In the case of the removal of the vocational course, it was seen that the level of the activity reduced by a great extent. This created a lot of functional problems in the field of the allotment of the appropriate kind of the workload. The efficiency of the programs was also to be questioned due to the rapid kind of the changes being faced by the institution. The changes proposed were as follows: The restructuring of the staff. The increase of the number of the working hours of the students and the staff. This was done to enable more amount of the teaching to happen. This shall also allow the development of the college. The impact of the changes would also be higher in this context. The pay structure of the institution was to change, with the introduction of some higher paid posts and the lower paid posts. The existing lecturer co uld re-apply without the assured chances of the re-instatement in the college. The major positions had been given a 90 day period by teaching staff, and rapid progress was made in its implementation. There are a number of theories that can be applied in the context of the organisational change. They could

Rooms Division Operation Plan Essay Example for Free

Rooms Division Operation Plan Essay The rooms division comprises the front office, reservations, bell service, concierge, housekeeping, laundry including health and recreation. (NZQA 2005) Since the resort operates as a full-fledged 4-star category, the reservations, bell service and concierge are made separate sections from the front office and the laundry is made separate from the housekeeping. As a resort, the rooms division extends its scope to the facilities of surfing, spa, swimming pool, maintenance and gardens which are specialized functions are under the Health and Recreation department. The next 12-month operation strategies for the Rooms Division will aim to overcome the weaknesses as determined in the SWOT analysis which are lack of conference facilities and meeting rooms, high employee turn-over, shortfalls in planned maintenance activities and will focus on full blast redesigning and refurbishment, upgrading the service quality, augmenting market research, enhancing service capacity and upgrading management competencies. Refurbishment Any service company, particularly hotels and resorts will always have to consider sufficiency of infrastructure and facilities. The quality of service will always rely on these factors. (Gray 1992) Refurbishment will be necessary to achieve the resort’s major strategies especially in the expansion of conference rooms and meeting rooms. The refurbishment program for the rooms division includes expansion of the ballroom which now becomes a grand ballroom that is breakable into 4 mini ballrooms to accommodate 100 to 150 persons per ballroom, additional 8 function rooms that can accommodate 50 persons and 10 meeting rooms with a capacity of 20 persons. This will encourage local markets to book more parties, meetings and conferences and the resort will be able to accommodate to as much as 600 persons in one sitting at the same time be flexible enough to accommodate small groups. Because of this major move of the resort, some guestrooms will have to be refurbished which are those to be included in the packaging of the conferences and meetings. The 214 guestroom are in resort motifs and there will have to be at least 40 guestrooms that will be redesigned to match the conference package of the resort. It is expected that the conference and meetings engagement will generate the intended occupancy rate increase of 15% in the next year and the targeted increase in sales from the New Zealand and Asian markets. Aside from these more amenities will be supplied to the guestrooms as add-ons to increase occupancy rates particularly during off peak seasons along with refurbishments undergone in for the conference halls and meeting rooms. There will be two (2) business centers to be set up beside the ballroom areas to facilitate easy access to communication and printing requirements of the guests that are booked for the conferences and meetings. These business centers will be equipped with the latest IT facilities and state of the art communication systems that will answer to all types of needs of customers at all levels. These facilities are also expected to contribute to the income generated by the resort. Service Quality Since the resort saturate efforts to increase occupancy rates through massive promotional campaigns to be led by the resort Marketing Department. The rooms division will have its share of strategies and complementary efforts to upgrade the quality of service provided by the rooms division, particularly in the front desk, concierge, bell service and health and recreation departments which are the front liners of the resort. All staff at the front line would be required to learn Japanese Nippongo, Chinese Mandarin and Italian which are the most common language barriers as determined in the previous years. Aside from those, the staff had to improve their English communication skills. All staff of the division will have to undergo re-training and series of seminars on improving service quality. Butlers will be hired to provide special service to the guests at the VVIP suites. Flowers, chocolates, fruit baskets, beach bags, bathing suits and rubber sandals will be provided for the guests as promotional amenities. The image of the resort will depend on the excellent quality of service that the rooms division staff will provide the guests, as they enter the resort and reach the comforts of their rooms. (Branson 1998) Correspondingly, as a move to control the movement of customers, particularly those who will attend meetings, functions and parties, a separate route will be allocated for them, to protect the in-house guests from losing their privacy particularly those staying at the pool area. It is important to consider always, the privacy and comfort of the guests in the resort. This is what customers look for in hotels and resorts and that they are willing to pay much for that. (Gray 1992) Entrance to the pool area will therefore be limited to in-house guests although other restaurant and party patrons may be allowed discretely. Market Research  While there is a Marketing Department that specially focuses on finding the clients and developing strategies to attract guests and bookings (Gray 1992), the Rooms Division provides its counterpart move to market research. The early operations stage of the hotel will need the support of all the staff especially the expertise of the key people, like the Front Office Manager, the Executive Housekeeper and the different managers of the other departments in the rooms division to help determine the hotel’s target customers, their profile and their needs as well as determine how the rooms division services can satisfy them. The division will hold a strategic planning session to give inputs to market research. Here, the staff will give their expert ideas as to who the targeted clients are, where to find them, how the hotel can get them to book and most especially, how the hotel can satisfy them when they finally try the hotel services. The integrated inputs will be submitted to the Marketing Department for integration to the marketing plan. (Lane 1998) Production Development A major weakness identified in the plan is the deficiencies in providing maintenance services especially in the guestrooms. Guest complaints received in the previous year mostly were pointing to unserviceable facilities like the hot and cold water, busted bulbs, defective appliances, and even clogged bathtubs. In any service company, maintenance is as important as the other services provided. (Branson 1998) The division’s response to solve the problem would be to develop a maintenance preventive system that will require regular monitoring of facilities and assure that all is working well. Additional employees will be hired in the housekeeping department, those who already possess technical skills in maintenance and engineering so that housekeeping department can immediately solve minor technical problems without waiting for the engineering team to respond. Management Competencies The resort has been affected by fast employee turn-over and this will be answered by package incentives programmed by the Human Resource Department. Aside from the capability building programs being conducted for the staff skills upgrading including teambuilding and values development, the rooms division will institutionalize a regular learning session among management, which includes supervisors, assistant managers, managers and the division manager to improve the management competencies and benchmark on best practices. Food and Beverage Operation Plan The Food and Beverage Division comprises the FB Service and FB Production departments. FB Service will cover all restaurants, bars and the banquet; FB Production will cover the cold and hot kitchens, pastry and stewarding. Each of these departments is most critical and will contribute significantly to the total make-over of the resort. . The next 12-month operation strategies will aim to overcome the weaknesses as determined in the SWOT analysis which are lack of conference facilities and meeting rooms, high employee turn-over and the resignation of the Head Chef, shortfalls in planned maintenance activities and will focus on full blast refurbishment, upgrading the service quality, augmenting market research, enhancing service capacity and upgrading management competencies. Refurbishment In determining the courses of action to take, it is the SWOT that provides information on the focal concerns. (Branson 2002) Major problems identified in the SWOT were the lack of conference and meeting function areas. Management has decided to answer these needs and provide additional function areas. The focus of the Food and Beverage division on the refurbishment will be on the additional kitchen and storage facilities including kitchen fixtures, tools and equipment that will be put up specifically for the banquet areas. This will cater to the clients of the ballroom, conferences and meetings. The setting up of the banquet kitchen and storage beside the ballroom area will facilitate smooth and speedy transport of food for the specific banquet clients. The kitchen and storage must be able to provide food for at most 1,200 persons, which is the maximum capacity of the ballroom, conference rooms and meeting rooms all together. The expansion of the banquet will encourage local markets to book more parties, meetings and conferences and the resort will be able to accommodate big groups at the same time be flexible enough to accommodate small groups. Likewise for the food and beverage service, additional facilities, glassware, chinaware and silverware and other service tools and equipment will have to be procured for this purpose. Market Research The contribution of the food and beverage division to the over-all marketing strategy is the detailed identification of the targeted clients and how the resort will be able to satisfy them. (Cousins 2002) The general strategy of the resort for the next year is to improve food and beverage revenues through expansion of banquet services. The division will organize a special team of chefs and other banquet experts to study the preferred tastes of the target clients for the banquet and develop special menus that will appeal to prospective engagers. Series of food tasting sessions will be done and this will be coordinated with the resort PR department to invite media personalities and other influential people to promote the food and the service styles that are in store for the new resort image. Surveys may also be conducted to prospective companies and target groups to get their preferences in terms of service, food and the price. The team of FB leaders will have to find ways of developing menus that have lower cost so corresponding, lower prices will be offered to customers. This strategy intends to attract a wider margin of the market including those who would prefer practically priced menus and food and beverage package. Service Quality One of the possible causes of the fast turn-over of employees is the inability to cope with the demands of their jobs. Hotel work is not easy especially for those hired without skills. Employee involvement is very important in every move that the food and beverage division will undertake. (Gray 1992) The division will augment the activities conducted by the Human Resource department through coaching, mentoring and job rotation. This move will prepare next-in-line subordinates as alternates. The division will establish safety nets to protect the operation from being affected by employee absences or resignations. FB Managers and Chefs will work closely with the Human Resource Department to get the best and skilled people. Kitchen staff, particularly Chefs and other key positions like the Maitre-d’Hotel, Ice/Butter Carvers (Cousins 2002), will require special qualifications and ample experience. All staff will be trained on the company standard of values and service including the health aspect of food handling, aside from the specific skills training they will undergo. Simulation exercises and food and beverage tasting will have to be conducted to perfect the quality of food and beverages that will be served to guests. Special effort will have to be made to source for the Head Chef who will have to be provided special package incentives. Precautionary efforts will have to be made to retain hard to find skilled employees, which will be of utmost concern, not only by the Human Resource Department but also the FB Manager who oversees the work of the Head Chef and down the line chefs. Special commitment will have to be made by the Head Chef to be hired, whose role is very crucial to the success of the resort business. Production Development The expansion of the division particularly in the additional function areas will need complementing augmentation in terms of resort warm bodies and systems to equally make the service satisfying to the customers. The division will be expecting customers who are not â€Å"in house guests† for the parties, conferences and other meeting, therefore extra caution will have to be made by the staff, especially in billing guests to avoid losses for the restaurants. Procurement of supplies is critical in the production aspect. (Gray 1992) The key officers from the FB will have to be involved in the procurement as well as the design of the different kitchens and outlets. Their expertise will be needed for the sourcing and selection. All items to be procured will have to suit the standards set by the resort and the varying motifs of the FB outlets particularly the banquet functions. The resort will have will have to scan resources within reach and establish suppliers of hard to find facilities, supplies and ingredients. New technology on order taking and billing will be installed in all the food and beverage outlets. This is an on-line system that will centralize the billing and order taking to the computer which directly will generate summaries in the cashier. This computerization intends to systematize the process and prevent errors in the manual communication of orders and computation of bills. It is noted that this problem has caused stress to many staff in the restaurants, specifically for the waiters and order takers who made significant errors in orders and billings. The computerization intends to minimize these problems. Enhanced Management Competencies The rate of turn-over is highest among the chefs for the past years. Chefs have varying expertise that is crucial to the resort and hard to find. The resort will have to create special package of incentives for the chefs to assure that they are satisfied with the jobs. Chefs as well as the other supervisors and managers of the food and beverage division are relied on in terms of their expertise as well as their management capabilities. Many of the supervisors and managers have technical skills but lack the necessary management competencies. (Cousins et. al. 2002) Stephen Covey emphasized in his â€Å"Seven Habits of Highly Effective People† his seventh habit, which is most important is the â€Å"sharpening of the saw†, which means, every person no matter how effective and efficient will need to improve himself continuously to stay relevant. The food and beverage division will coordinate with the Human Resource department to prepare and package capability programs for the division management staff particularly on people handling, time management and stress management. They will also have series of IT enhancement particularly in Microsoft Office programs so that they will be able to cope up with the computer-based reporting systems being installed in the resort. These moves hope to improve the relations within the division and improve employee relations.

Single parenthood does not benefit the society

Single parenthood does not benefit the society The purpose of writing this research report is to discuss on the question that single parenthood does not benefits the society and it brings negative effects to the society. There will be a full explanation with some evidences to support the idea that single parenthood brings many negative effects to the society. Furthermore, this report will also have three main ideas on the negative effects as well as how they are likely to affect the single parents, children and society. At the same time, there will also include the weaknesses of arguments from the opponents. After a brief explanation of the three main ideas, there will also have some recommendations for this report. Understandably, most of the problems are come from the single parents towards the children, thus, single parents have to show some responsibilities towards this problem, several recommendations are needed to take into actions. However, before actions, it is necessary for us to have certain knowledge on the negative ef fects. Hope that this research report will pave the way to overcome the problems of single parenthood. 1.0 Introduction A family in society is often seen as a father, mother and their children. Nowadays this is not always the case. In this modern age, single parenthood is now acceptable in our society. It is a person who builds a family and cares for one or more children without marriage or without the presence of a husband or wife. According to information from the United States Census Bureau, in 2002 there are about 20 million children lived in a household with only their mother or their father. (Single Parent Central, 2004). Single parent families are families with children under age 18 headed by a parent who is widowed or divorced, not remarried, adoption, artificial insemination and surrogate motherhood, or by a parent who has never married. It also may be the result of an unforeseeable occurrence, such as death, child abuse, child neglect, or abandonment by biological parents. In this day and age, single parenting caused by adoption of a child are widely accepted. Adoption by single individuals has also soared. In 1970 only 0.5 to 4 percent of adoptive parents were single. In the 1980s this rate increased from 8 to 34 percent. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 33 percent of children adopted from foster care are adopted by single parents. (Single Parent Central, 2004). A single parent who has chosen to adopt generally feel as though their life is incomplete without a child, they feel there is a loneliness which money or a social friend network cannot cure in their life. As a result of that, it has brought up an ultimate question which remains debatable among the society is, single parenthood does not benefits the society and it brings negative effects to the society. Do you agree? In the end, the answer for this question is yes. Single parenthood does not benefits us, besides, it brings many negative effects to the society. So, single parenthood is not encouraged by the society because it will bring impacts for the children of single parent and they are not growth in a complete and healthy family. According to a study conducted in the United States, children from a single parent background had a 77 percent chance of being physically abused, 87 percent risk of being harmed by neglect and overall 120 percent of being endangered by some form of child abuse. (National Service Personnel, 2010) Therefore, this report will mainly focus on the negative effects of single parenthood to the society. It will indicate that the single parents have financial problems, they cannot handle the pressure of raising the children alone. Furthermore, most of the children may have psychological problems due to lack of supervision and they may involve in social problems. It also include the weaknesses of the arguments from the opponents. Overall, this research results are related to the global range, including United States and some other European countries. The percentage of children of all races living in single parent homes has been steadily increasing since 1970. Percentage of Children in Single Parent Homes: 1970-2005 http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu/prevention/images/singleparentchart.gif Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Current Population Survey Families and Living Arrangements, Historical Tables. Table CH-1: Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years Old: 1960 to Present. The proportion of children living in single-parent homes more than doubled between 1970 and 2006 from 12% to 28%, according to the Current Population Survey (CPS). Over the 36-year period, the share of children living with only their mother rose from 10 percent to 24 percent while the share living with only their father grew from less than 2 percent to 5 percent. A never-married parent is becoming more common in single-parent homes. Between 1970 and 2006, the proportion of children living with a never-married parent increased from 7% to 42%. In 2006, almost 4 percent of children lived with other relatives (including foster parents) and fewer than 1 percent lived with non relatives. Although there may be no direct, causal link between single parent families and youth violence, poor parenting is often identified as one of the most serious risk factors for unhealthy youth development. 2.0 Body of Content 2.1 Single parents cannot handle the pressure of raising the child alone. As a single parent, raising a child is challenging. It is like having two jobs at once. Psychologists believe that raising a child is a very stressful task that single parent will require to be a sympathetic mother plus a strict and providing father at the same time. Without proper guidance from counselors, a single parent will deteriorate emotionally due to stress. Psychologists suggest that in order for a single parent to manage both stress and take care of their child, they should enumerate things that brings them the stressors. (Maxx Family Life, 2010). Another important thing to regard is single parent have to struggle to do everything by themselves with no one else to blame if it does not get done. They have to learn that if something has to be done, then they are the one has to do it. Even if they have developed a network of friends which helps each other, they also may find that there are some jobs have to be done by themselves when no one is capable of or have time to do. According to The Single Mothers Survival Guide, the most common challenge for a single parent will be the financial problems. Opponents argued that single parents will have total control over expenditures than a two parents. They will have to plan on a specific date and set money aside to cover the expenses for their living that a two parents may not have. As single parents are handling the family finances, medically dental care, transportation, household tasks such as repairs and moving, so they must have a wise plan on their expenses. However, to oppose this, in 2002, as twice as many single parent families earned less than $30,000 per year compared to families with two parents present. At the opposite end of the spectrum, 39 percent of two-parent families earned more than $75,000 compared to 6 percent of single mother families and 11 percent of single father families. (Single Parent Central, 2004). Single parents are low income earners. They usually survive on only one income, whe reas other families usually have two parents working providing double income. Kristen Anderson Moore from the Child Trends claims that children living in households with single parents were five times as likely to be poor as the children in households where both parents were present. (Child Trends Research Brief, 2007). Child Poverty by Family Type. Children Age 0-11, 1994-1995 Note: Poverty is measured using Statistics Canadas Low-Income Cut-Off Lines. Source: NLSCY 17 percent of children in two-parent families and 68 percent of children in single-parent families were living in poverty, based on Statistics Canadas 1994 Low-Income Cut-Off Lines (LICO). Infants were over 20 percent more likely than 11-year-olds to be living in poverty, primarily because younger families have higher poverty rates. One in ten Canadian children live in households that are supported primarily by social assistance. 17% of children in two-parent and 68% in single-parent families live in poverty. Only 0.4 percent of children live with teen mothers. However, the overview report stated, even though the numbers were relatively small, this group of children demands particular attention because of the heightened risk of growing up in a poor household and having poor child outcomes. Child outcomes were examined in the areas of emotional and behavioral functioning, academic functioning and social functioning. Most children had no problems in these areas only 26 percent had one or more problems. About 10 percent of Canadian babies are born prematurely, and 5.7 percent had a low birth weight. There is a well established link between important indicators of health at birth, such as low birth weight and prematurity, health and social problems later in life, the authors of the report stated. Also, the NLSCY corroborated past research linking low household income and mothers who smoked during pregnancy with a higher incidence of low birth weight. 2.2 Children may have psychological problems due to lack of communication and attention from their parents. Children from single parent families are more likely to suffer emotional problems than those who are living with both parents. According to the survey carried out by National Statistics, children from the age of 5 to 18, the result showed that 3 percent had developed problems, 30 percent had emotional issues and 43 percent had behavior problems. They stressed that they had not found any direct causes of the problems in children but sure that will be a link to living in a not complete family. (National Statistics, 2008). Children who experienced the stressful events such as seeing their lovely parents divorce, appear in court, being tortured or serious injured by ones parent, they were likely to develop emotional problems. Others emotional issues includes anxiety, depression or become aggressive and antisocial behavior because they think that their parents divorce because they do not want to take care of them. Based on another survey, children whose parents had break up were 4.53 time s more likely to develop emotional problems than those children in two parent family and were 2.87 times to show the onset of behavior disorders. (National Statistics, 2008). As a fact, children in single parent families have psychological problems or abnormal behaviors due to the lack of family care. Consequently, these children suffer a lot from mental strain and stress, therefore they may change their moods very easily and frequently, sometimes they are not willing to listen to their parents. Another important thing to regard is single parents are the sole breadwinners for the family, so they cannot always spend so much time with their kids, this will lead to a poor relationship between them and single parents also may have less parental control over the children. In fact, the children are lack of supervision and they do not receive guidance or attention when they are desperately seeking for. As a result, the gap between the single parent and the children may widen, children might feel that friends are more important than their parents. Hence, communication is an important role in the developing and growth of a child. Parents who communicate and supervise their children will enhance their well-being. (Maccoby and Martin, 1983). Single parents should work to the best on doing everythings to make their children feel love, respect and secure. Opponents argued that in a single parent household with sufficient income, the parent will actually have more free time to allocate for the kids that a married parent would have. They can give much attention that a single parent will often bestow in the absence of a spouse and concentrate on their childrens studies in order to have a high level of academic achievement. Children who have that kind of support, even if it is only from one parent, are much better equipped to deal with the intellectual. On top of that, African American children in elementary school actually do better in school when their parents work outside of the house. The fact that children from low income, single parent families actually can have higher grades than children from two parent homes. (One-parent households and achievement, 1992). However, to oppose this, single parents who have less time overseeing their childrens study habits and helping them with their homework, therefore, the children may have discipl ine problems and do poorly in school, all these will lead to the lower of academic achievement. Thus, two parent household is better for a child, it is really not surprising. (Matt Garrett, 2007). 2.3 Children who involve in social problems like crime, alcohol and drug abuse are they face family problems. Children of single parents are more likely to involve in dangerous behaviors such as smoking, drinking alcohol, drug abuse, crime, delinquency, violence, sexual activity, suicide attempts, etc. This would link on logically from the psychological problems mentioned above. If a child is unhappy and dissatisfied, they need someone to share with their problems and they cant find their own parents to talk with, so they will most probably want to smoke and drink to release out their stress. Often, children left alone at home for long periods when their parents get outside to work, they may be unduly influenced by peers that can lead to unwanted behavior. While most parents will want to respect their childrens privacy, watching for early tell tale signs of drug use or other harmful behavior will save everyone much grief later. (David Richardson, 2007). Furthermore, in The Lancets Jan. 25 issue, the research showed among other things, that 2.5 percent of boys and 1.5 percent of girls in sing le parent families were hospitalized with alcohol problems and the increased risk for drug addiction, compared to just 1 percent of boys and 0.5 percent of girls in two parent homes. (Bootie Cosgrove-Mather, 2003). Another important thing to consider is adolescents are more negatively affected by parental discord prior to divorce . Later, as they from single parents families become adult, they are more likely to marry early, have children early and divorce too, follow their own parents footstep. (Demo and Acock, 1991). Understandably, children need to feel love and secure from their parents in the developing and growth, this may be difficult following a divorce, especially if it was an acrimonious divorce. Family and home are fundamental to a childs sense of self and if children lose confidence on this safe and loving place, they might lose their belief to the world. Opponents claim that in single parenthood, children prior two parents household included frequent fighting and discord between the adults, the absence of a partner means the absence of sometimes irrational and vehement arguments that the children would observe. Consequently, children can be benefit from living in a one parent home provided that the conflict is stopped. At the same time, children being raised in a single parent families can learn to be self reliant, they solve problems themselves. They also can learn to help with household chores and care for younger siblings, which makes them become more mature and gain in more responsibilities than other children in their age group as a result of altered family routines (Demo and Acock, 1991). However, to oppose this, in fact, having two parents is usually better than one. Children are actually learn by example, if their parents didnt have any fighting and discord, on the contrary, they are loving and caring to their children, then it will lead to a happy and well being family. So, be a good role model for the children to follow by setting a good example. 3.0 Conclusion Above all, it can be states that single parenthood does not benefits the society and it indeed brings many negative effects to the society. In this day and age, people pursue a high quality life and happy marriage, but their hopes will usually end up in a higher rate of divorce and greater hurt to the children than before. It will be better if divorced parents establish a new family life with their children, they should spend more time, patience, care and love to their kids. Single parents will have a unique opportunity to influence their children for good or ill, without the counterbalance of another partner. Therefore, based on the three arguments that are mentioned and with the aids of examples and supporting arguments, we could conclude that it is really important to give children a peaceful and stable home environment in the developing and growth of them. 4.0 Recommendations It is highly recommended that the society take steps to help in overcoming the problems of single parenthood whether is the single parents or the children. We should keep in mind that we want to live in a peaceful life and to look forward to a progressive society. Statistics indicate that single parents cannot handle the pressure of raising the child alone, so the government sector should provide some subsidies for single parents in order to reduce the expenses of single parents, instead they can also save the money for being used by future. Besides, some of the children may have psychological problems due to lack of communication and attention from their parents, therefore, single parents should spend more time with their children like have some family day events on holidays, always have a talk with them, do not let them feels that they are left out. Other than that, as a matter of fact, children who involve in social problems like crime, alcohol and drug abuse are they face family problems, the single parents and the society should avoid the happenings of such social problems because children who are still young, they do not know how to differentiate that what should do and what should not do. Hence, adults like us have the responsibilities to help and protect the children, especially their parents.

Video-psychology-past, Present Essay -- essays research papers

Past, Present, and Promise   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  'Past, Present, and Promise'; is the first volume in the twenty-six volume set. The video begins by introducing the series and going over basic definitions such as the definition of psychology. The video continues on by giving an example of a disorder that psychologists may work with- multiple personality disorder. A woman who has an extreme case of this disorder is introduced. At times she believes she is a scared seven year old girl named Carol, and at other times she has a coarse personality of a man named Devan. After describing the characteristics the host explains how this disorder is usually caused by childhood traumatic/sadistic experiences and is used to mask emotions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In introducing behavior, the video shows several clips from Candid Camera back in the 50s. Junior High boys and girls have conferences with their new teacher who is either a handsome man or an attractive woman, pairing the boys with the woman and the girls with the man. Once the teacher walks away both the girls and boys either break out into laughter or smile embarrassingly. Why did they act this way? The video states that two factors affect personality: dispositional and situational. Dispositional factors are those that are a part of us and internal such as genetics, attitude, and personality. Situational factors are those that come from the environment such as sensory stimulation, rewards, and punishments.  ...

Intellectual Property :: Star Trek Trekkie Websites Essays

Intellectual Property As I begin this narrative, readers will have to understand that I have been and always will be a Trekkie. The very first movie I was ever taken to see was Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. I was six months old and I did nothing but scream the entire time, but the fascination has nonetheless been there my entire life, and there is no twelve-step program to help me recover. That having been said, you might have some degree of understanding when I say that Viacom’s attempts in 1997 to eliminate all use of copyrighted material on fan sites, ranging from still pictures to movie and sound clips to the logos themselves, was war for me. For Viacom, the issue was that these copyrighted images were used at all. This spawned a whole host of further crackdowns and lawsuits in similar kingdoms of fanatics across the web. The situation I just described to you, while probably not the best example of the internet’s general abuse of intellectual property, is one of the earliest examples. Proper accreditation and documentation is a widespread problem on the internet, particularly now that the internet has grown in use and popularity. The internet hosts websites that directly violate the concept of intellectual property in ways that no other tool ever can. If copyrighted graphics or sound appear on any website trying to convey a message, particularly if these are recognizable to an average member of the site’s target audience, the validity of that argument is subconsciously undermined by the unaccredited presence of someone else’s ideas. For web writers, one solution to this dilemma seems to be to avoid copyrighted material as much as possible and create original content. â€Å"This content does not need to be entirely dissimilar from a copyrighted work you would have liked to use. Copyright law protects the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves† (Farkas & Farkas 349). But this solution creates problems with recreational forms of websites. Those built by fans of a popular TV show, for instance, have no personal photos of their favorite actors and actresses and inevitably rely on scanned publicity photos and content from official sites to populate their galleries and create their custom graphics. This example might then fall under the fair use defense, which â€Å"has to make the case that [use] of the copyrighted work of another should be legally permitted, notwithstanding the copyright owner's exclusive rights in her work† (George Washington).

Medea as Woman, Hero and God in Euripides Play Essay -- Euripides Med

Medea as Woman, Hero and God In Euripides' play the title role and focus of the play is the foreign witch Medea. Treated differently through the play by different people and at different times, she adapts and changes her character, finally triumphing over her hated husband Jason. She can feasibly be seen as a mortal woman, Aristotle's tragic hero figure and even as an exulted goddess. Medea's identity as a weak woman is emphasised at the very start of the play. It is made very clear that she has come to misfortune through no fault of her own and is powerless in her problem ("her world has turned to enmity"). Being unable to change her situation is an example of her portrayal as a weak woman figure. We are told that she has been crying for days ("lies collapsed in agony"). Soon after these descriptions of her weeping, the Tutor arrives and informs us that yet more bad news is coming her way ("not heard the worst" "banish them"). At this point all the pity is directed towards Medea, shunned by her husband and unable to control what is happening around her, instead crying uncontrollably ("shouting shrill, pitiful accusations"). Behind this weak figure however, we have the warnings of the Nurse, shadowing this pity. She describes Medea's fury brewing from the grief and how powerful it is ("not relax her rage" "like a mad bull or a lioness"). Her appearance as a woman in grief is well depicted but very soon Medea emerges from the house, shaking off this grief and instead focusing on revenge. Her speech when she leaves the house gives us some evidence of her sour temper. While talking she comes across as submissive ("I accept my place") and describes the unenviable position of women in society ("we women are the most wretc... ...tion for what they perceive to be justice. Works Cited Bates, William Nickerson. Euripides. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Press, 1930. "Euripides." Image-Nation. http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc4.htm Lucas, F.L. Euripides and His Influence. NY: Cooper Square, 1963. Euripides.   "Medea."   The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces.   Ed. Sarah Lawall.   New York and London:   W. W. Norton & Company, 1999.   642 - 672. Hamlyn, Paul.   Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology.   Westbook House, Fulham Broadway, London.   Paul Hamlyn Limited 1959. McDermott, E A (1989) Euripides' Medea: The Incarnation of Disorder. Pennsylvania State University:USA Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. Zissos, Professor.   Classical Myth Lecture Notes.   July 20, 2001.   http://ccwf.cc.utexasz.edu/~paz/myth/notes.html

English Assignment

HK Immigration Department Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong 10 January 2013 Mr. Aris Chu 3/F, 8 York Road Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Dear Mr. Chu RE: Working Holiday Scheme Thank you for your letter dated 2 January 2013 enquiring about the Working Holiday Scheme to New Zealand. I am glad to provide the information you need. Concerning the visa, ordinary visit visa holders are not allowed to work there. It allows you to leave and return to the host country multiple times. It allows the holders work in the same company for up to 3 months.Our work visa is valid for 12 months. Please note that any time you spend out of the country will not be added to the time the work visa is valid for in the ordinary visit. In addition, a financial proof of a certain amount of savings is needed, New Zealand is about NZ$ 4200 and Australia is about AU$ 5000. I am sorry to announce that the government will not provide any subsides for the applicants. However, the first 50 applicants will no need to pay administrative fee of HK$250, but you need to submit the application form as soon as possible.The annual quota of Australia and New Zealand are 5000 and 400. Regarding job seeking, the jobs in restaurants or bars are quite easy to find as a backpacker. Also, you can get seasonal jobs like fruit picking in farms and vineyards. During your stay, there is no language requirement to be eligible. I hope that the information enclosed will prove useful to you. Please feel free to contact us again if you have any further questions to our official website at http://whs. esdlife. com/. Yours sincerely Steve Petersons Senior Immigration Officer English Assignment HK Immigration Department Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong 10 January 2013 Mr. Aris Chu 3/F, 8 York Road Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Dear Mr. Chu RE: Working Holiday Scheme Thank you for your letter dated 2 January 2013 enquiring about the Working Holiday Scheme to New Zealand. I am glad to provide the information you need. Concerning the visa, ordinary visit visa holders are not allowed to work there. It allows you to leave and return to the host country multiple times. It allows the holders work in the same company for up to 3 months.Our work visa is valid for 12 months. Please note that any time you spend out of the country will not be added to the time the work visa is valid for in the ordinary visit. In addition, a financial proof of a certain amount of savings is needed, New Zealand is about NZ$ 4200 and Australia is about AU$ 5000. I am sorry to announce that the government will not provide any subsides for the applicants. However, the first 50 applicants will no need to pay administrative fee of HK$250, but you need to submit the application form as soon as possible.The annual quota of Australia and New Zealand are 5000 and 400. Regarding job seeking, the jobs in restaurants or bars are quite easy to find as a backpacker. Also, you can get seasonal jobs like fruit picking in farms and vineyards. During your stay, there is no language requirement to be eligible. I hope that the information enclosed will prove useful to you. Please feel free to contact us again if you have any further questions to our official website at http://whs. esdlife. com/. Yours sincerely Steve Petersons Senior Immigration Officer

Maju Jaya Supermarket (MJ Supermarket) Essay

Maju Jaya Supermarket (MJ Supermarket) advertises in the newspapers that there is a vacancy for the post of manager. The advertisement stated that those who are interested can come anytime to MJ Supermarket for an interview from 11th April 2014 until 21st April 2014. Ahmad who was very interested with the post came to MJ Supermarket on 20th April 2014 and was informed by the owner that the post was already filled. Ahmad was very angry as he has already tendered his resignation to his former company. On the day that Ahmad came to the MJ Supermarket, he saw Mr Chan, his neighbour, entering the MJ Supermarket and selected some canned food, shampoo, eggs and vegetables. He put all the items into his trolley. However, while he was still looking for other items, Mr Chan received a call from his son asking him to pick him up from the train station. Mr Chan left the items in the trolley and went out from the MJ Supermarket. Advise Ahmad and Mr Chan whether there is any contract between them and the MJ Supermarket. (20 MARKS) ANSWER to Part A (Ahmad Case) Introduction The definition given under the Section 2(h) of the Contracts Act 1950 is that a contract is an agreement enforceable by law (The Commissioner of Law Revision, 2006). Therefore in the Ahmad’s case, one of the parties (Ahamd or MJ Supermarket) has to make an offer that is duly accepted by the other. Issue First issue that we need address in this case is to see whether the advertisement stating the interview deadlines contains an offer. If it does, can Ahmad’s willingness to attend the interview be considered as an acceptance of the offer? In case the advertisement is not considered as an offer, or if it is just an invitation to treat, then there is no contract between them. Second issue raised by the question is whether Ahmad’s presence in the MJ Supermarket to attend the interview on time, after his resignation from his previous job, is an offer. In that case, does MJ Supermarket can reject Ahmad’s offer? Based on the limited information given in the Ahmad’s case, the issues were analysed to see whether there is a contract between both parties? The Law According to Section 2(a) of the Contracts Act 1950, an offer exists â€Å"when one person signifies to another his willingness to do or to abstain from doing anything, with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to the act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal† (Rahman , 2011). As given in the Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co Ltd (1893) 1 QB 256 case, a proposal or an offer can also be made to the general public to be accepted by any person who knows about it and willing to perform the requirements of the proposer. On the other hand, an invitation to treat can be defined as giving information or requests to others to make offers. Application of the Law to the Facts of the Problem The advertisement by the MJ Supermarket clearly states that those who are interested can come anytime to MJ Supermarket for an interview from 11th April 2014 until 21st April 2014. This raise the question whether the advertisement is intended to bound in contract with the participants who come for the interview. In case of COELHO v. THE PUBLIC SERVICES COMMISSION[1964] M.L.J.12, the applicant, a Health Inspector under the Town Board, Tanjong Malim, applied for the post of Assistant Passport Officer in the Federation of Malaya Government Oversea Missions advertised in the Malay Mail dated 19 February 1957. Consequently, the applicant was informed that he was accepted and, after undergoing training, he was posted to the Immigration Office, Kuala Lumpur, where he remained until December 1958 when he was transferred to the Immigration Office at Johor Bahru (Rahman , 2011). The High Court ruled that the newspaper advertisement was an invitation for qualified persons to apply and the applications were treated as offers. Same can be expressed to the case of Ahmad that the newspaper advertisement by the MJ Supermarket is an invitation to those who are interested to participate in the interview. In the case of Gibson v Manchester CC [1979] 1 All ER 972, HL local council write to tenants inviting them to apply to purchase their homes. One such tenant P did apply, and a price was agreed. Following a change of party control, the new council DD refused to go ahead with the sale. The House of Lords said there was no binding contract: P had made an offer which DD had not yet accepted. Phrases in the correspondence such as â€Å"may be prepared to sell† and â€Å"please complete the enclosed application form† were indicative of an invitation to treat (Thomson  Reuters, 2004). Similarly to this case, the advertisement by the MJ supermarket stated th at those who are interested â€Å"can come† any time to the interview is crucial to consider that the advertisement was a step in the negotiation for a contract. Conclusion Considering the court ruling on both Coelho’s case and Gibson’s case, the advertisement made in the newspaper was an â€Å"invitation to treat†. However, the presence of Ahmad to participate in the interview is considered as an offer. The MJ Supermarket rejected this offer. Therefore the advice to Ahmad is that there is no contract between himself and the MJ Supermarket. ANSWER to Part B (Ahmad Case) On the day that Ahmad came to the MJ Supermarket, he saw Mr Chan, his neighbour, entering the MJ Supermarket and selected some canned food, shampoo, eggs and vegetables. He put all the items into his trolley. However, while he was still looking for other items, Mr Chan received a call from his son asking him to pick him up from the train station. Mr Chan left the items in the trolley and went out from the MJ Supermarket. Introduction The definition given under the Section 2(h) of the Contracts Act 1950 is that a contract is an agreement enforceable by law (The Commissioner of Law Revision, 2006). In the case of Chan, there should be an offer made by Chan and this offer should be accepted by the MJ Supermarket to make a contract. Issue The issue raised in the question is whether the Mr Chan’s action of taking goods from super market racks and put it into the basket contains an offer or an acceptance of an offer. Does he or MJ Supermarket fulfil the requirements of a contract? The Law According to Section 2(a) of the Contracts Act 1950, an offer exists â€Å"when one person signifies to another his willingness to do or to abstain from doing anything, with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to the act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal†. An invitation to treat can be  defined as giving information or requests to others to make offers. In the Contracts Act 1950, Section 4(1) states that the â€Å"communication of a proposal is complete when the proposal comes to the knowledge of the person to whom it is made. To fulfil the pre-conditions of a contract, the proposal should be clearly communicated to the acceptor. Under Section 5(1) of the Contracts Act 1950, â€Å"a proposal may be revoked at any time before the communication of its acceptance is complete as against the proposer, but not afterwards. Application of the Law to the Facts of the Problem Mr Chan took goods by himself suggests that there is a display of goods in the MJ Supermarket and allows customers to voluntarily pick goods they like and purchase from the counter. â€Å"In the case of Fisher v Bell [1960] 3 All ER 731, DC it was a statutory offence under the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 to offer for sale any of various items, including flick-knives. A Bristol shopkeeper R displayed such a knife in his window, with a ticket reading â€Å"Ejector knife – 4s.† [4 shillings = 20p], and was prosecuted for an offence under the Act. The Divisional Court took a literal interpretation of the statute and said he had committed no offence: the display was an invitation to treat, not an offer to sell† (Rahman , 2011). In relation to the Mr Chan’s scenario, this case can be used to justify an argument of changing mind at any point of purchase before a contract is made. Therefore Mr Chan’s decision to leave the goods without buying is acceptable based on Fisher’s case. â€Å"In the case of Pharmaceutical Society v Boots [1953] 1 All ER 482, CA certain products that were to be sold only under the supervision of a registered pharmacist were displayed on shelves in a self-service shop. The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (who are responsible for enforcing this legislation) brought a prosecution against the shop for allowing customers to buy these products by helping themselves, but the Court of Appeal (upholding Lord Goddard CJ) said they had no case. The customer having selected the goods made an offer to purchase when he took them to the cash desk, and there was a registered pharmacist supervising that point at which the sale took place† (Rahman , 2011). Mr Chan does not take the goods  to the sales counter. In the case it is also mentioned that he was still looking for goods to purchase. However, he revoked from the process of making an offer to the sales staff when he got a phone call. As mentioned in the Boots case, the action by Mr Chan indicates that he did not properly complete an offer to purchase. In other words, he was involved in an invitation to treat from the MJ Supermarket. Conclusion To complete a contract between Mr Chan and MJ Supermarket, there is should clear communication of an offer and acceptance between both parties. Based on the discussed cases above, the display of goods are considered as an invitation to treat. Mr Chan does not complete an offer to purchase the goods as he quit his process of purchasing in the middle before taking goods to the sales counter. Futhermore, the MJ Supermarket does not have knowledge of a possible offer from Mr Chan.

Intro to Rh Bill

Humans are naturally born governed with laws and that’s what we call the natural law. And as we, humans grow to become more intellectual, we generated our own laws and rules to govern our lives for better quality and discipline. But sometimes, there are laws or proponents that have gained different viewpoints among us as to its necessity, value, and morality. One of these is the Reproductive Health Bill. Almost over a decade has passed since the Reproductive Health Bill in the Philippines was for the first time proposed, now that the pursuance of the bill has gained its rebirth, still it has become a part of the national debate bringing about a wider division. The Reproductive Health Bill, popularly known as the RH Bill, is a Philippine bill aiming to guarantee universal access to methods and information on birth control and maternal care. While there is general agreement about its provisions on maternal and child health, there is great debate on its key proposal that the Filipino taxpayer and the private sector will fund and undertake widespread distribution of family planning devices furthermore, 81% Filipinos are Catholics, the Catholic Church exerts a strong influence in public life. Its staunch of opposition to the bill has drawn the ire of non-Catholics and Catholics alike who support the bill, and they invoke the principle of separation of church and state to stop the church. Passage or non-passage of the bill has negative implications depending on the views.

Cebu City Essay

The City of Cebu (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Sugbo, Tagalog: Lungsod ng Cebu, Spanish: Ciudad de Cebà º) is the capital city of the province of Cebu and is the â€Å"second city† of the Philippines, being the center of Metro Cebu, the second most populous Metropolitan area in the Philippines after Metro Manila. With a population of 866,171 as per the 2010 census, it is the fifth most populated city in the country.[2] Cebu City is a significant center of commerce, trade and education in the Visayas area. The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu island. It is the first Spanish settlement and the oldest city in the Philippines.[3] Cebu is the Philippines’ main domestic shipping port and is home to about 80% of the country’s domestic shipping companies.[citation needed] It is the center of a metropolitan area called Metro Cebu, which includes the cities of Carcar, Danao, Lapu-lapu, Mandaue, Naga, Talisay and the municipalities of Compostela, Consolacion, Cordova, Liloan, Minglanilla and San Fernando . Metro Cebu has a total population of about 2.55 million people (2010 Census). Cebu City is bordered to the northeast by Mandaue City and the town of Consolacion, to the west are Toledo City, and the towns of Balamban and Asturias, to the south are Talisay City and the town of Minglanilla. Across Mactan Strait to the east is Mactan Island. Geography Cebu City has a land area of 315 square kilometres (122 sq mi). To the northeast of the city is Mandaue City and the town of Consolacion; to the west is Toledo City and the towns of Balamban and Asturias; to the south is Talisay City and the town of Minglanilla. Across Mactan Strait to the east is Mactan Island where Lapu-Lapu City is located. Further east across the Cebu Strait is the Island of Bohol. Demographics Around the 1960s, the population of the city was about 91,000. The population reached 799,762 people in 2007, and as of the 2010 Census, the city’s population has grown to 866,171 in over 161,151 households.[2] Education Cebu City currently has ten large universities each with a number of college branches throughout the city and more than a dozen other schools specializing in various courses. Among these schools is the University of San Carlos. It has four campuses around the metropolitan area. It is currently headed by the Society of the Divine Word. University of the Philippines Cebu, University of San Jose–Recoletos Cebu Normal University Cebu Doctors’ University University of Cebu University of the Visayas.. Cebu Institute of Technology – University, Southwestern University, St. Theresa’s College, University of Southern Philippines Foundation Cebu Technological University Cebu Institute of Medicine Cebu International School,Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion. The upcoming Centro Escolar University – Cebu will be the fourth campus of the university after its Manila (Main), Malolos, and Makati campuses.[17] Cebu City has 68 public elementary schools, 23 national high schools and 28 night high schools. These night high schools are operated by the city government. The Cebu City Public Library and Information Center is the only public library in Cebu.

IT'S AN AD,AD,AD,AD WORLD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

IT'S AN AD,AD,AD,AD WORLD - Essay Example One would ask 'why people switch to buying online rather than visiting stores and feeling the actual experience. Online Shopping is shopping you do online. There are sites that let you buy directly from manufacturers, online versions of regular retail stores, auctions, specialty sites, comparison sites, group buying sites and so on. With companies like e-bay and Amazon, life has become easier for the firms as these sites contain not just only catalogs but also information about the related products which the previous buyers had viewed or tagged before buying the particular product. This adds to the ease of making decision for the customer. Further such sites also allow giving technical support to both the firm and the customer. For example e-bay provides seller tools to help run a business more efficiently, such as 'Turbo Lister' and 'Selling Manager'. The world is changing rapidly and therefore it is an agile competition overall. Each organization requires a perfect strategic edge in order to maintain or improve its clientele. The Web is regarded as the database of databases and in current perspective it has eased the search criteria for every individual involved in buying or selling online. But the point raised is of quality, as so far, the quality sources are difficult to find unless you have the right to enter into the virtual libraries of this world. Since it is more feasible to buy online so one may wonder how easy it gets to buy online, you simply have to type in a word or a phrase which best describes what you are looking for. You can use the product name, manufacturer or type. After you enter your search words, you'll get a list of items matching your description. Here you can witness the resource description as it contains almost all information required for buying purposes. These catalogs allow you to have a feel of the actual equipment and also provide information about the complements (add-ons) you can apply to your product. Simply click on any link for get more specifics. Many businesses have online catalogs. First you need to log on to any desirable site and the next thing you would do is, simply search for the product and make a decision. Firms have been using different strategies in order to attain a higher market share. They, not only advertise using the mainstream Web applications but also acquire information of users from different sites that have member areas, however these sites only provide data of those members who are willing to be public. The firms use this data and attract customers by sending them e-mails which carry the producers' taglines and the links to the ordering sites. This is rather a direct marketing tool used by firms and it has great potential in delivering quality ads to the target customers but the problem is of privacy infringement and therefore only a small number of persons contacted respond to these e-mails. The main forms of ads present on the Web are in forums, blogs, main pages, search engines and reference sites. In these ads, only the main content is highlighted that is they become more appealing to everyone. These ads attract about 1 out of the 20 visitors who would go for the product and view its features. Producers expose there products on the global stratum thereby attracting different people form different cultures. These ads

In the light of the global financial crisis, discuss how the Essay

In the light of the global financial crisis, discuss how the remuneration of chief executives of banks should be determined - Essay Example In the U.S, for example, this was followed by acquisition of properties from defaulters. Despite a given financial situation, the banks’ chief executives have always enjoyed a constant pay through basic salaries and bonuses. Their positions have been secured by tenures and extensive pension plans. The banks have defended such payments as a way of protecting the interest of the bank by ensuring that they beat the competition for CEOs in the country. It is this unfounded huge salaries and allowances to CEOs despite financial situation, global or local, that needs to be reviewed. Such review should assist in ensuring that banks do not incur unnecessary expenditure when they should be recording increased investments and value for the shareholders. This paper will look into various ways that the remunerations of the chief executives of banks can be determined. In drawing up the analysis, various factors that add up to their pay such as pensions, office tenure, bonuses and gross sal ary will be looked into. Components to Be Monitored In determining the total remuneration of a CEO, various components should be given consideration. Such components are given priority owing to the fact that they motivate better performance by the CEO come the following financial year. They should also act to retain the person in office and within the bank to beat the market demand of such personnel. The components include salaries, bonuses, compensations, stock options and incentive plans. Salaries Like any other employee in a bank, the CEO is entitled to an annual or monthly based salary. Owing to the high number of companies willing to pay large sums for a given CEO, competition for such personnel has heightened considerably in many countries. Given a bank’s need for a well performing CEO, it is essential to ensure that a CEO is paid accordingly in an effort to retain them. Considering the constant nature of the salary, financial crisis should be given consideration when c oming up with figures (CNN Money, 2013). For some banks like Citi bank in the United States, the CEO’s salary is determined and approved by the shareholders. This ensures that the figure protects the interests of the bank’s owners. Any increase or decrease should be given room in cases where either is deemed necessary. In an Annual General Meeting (AGM), the shareholders may approve to reduce or increase the CEO’s salary as an effort to protect the interests of the bank during crisis (New York Times, 2009). Bonuses CEOs are usually awarded bonuses based on their previous performances. In most of the banks, the bonuses are based on profits realised within a given year. Such bonuses act as motivation to the CEOs and incentive for better future performance. With bonuses, complexity arises when it is eminent that the following year will be faced with financial crisis. Bonuses are essential as they act as incentives to the CEOs although over a very short period. Such incentives are meant to ensure that the CEO performs better by increasing on the growth of the bank through increased profits and shareholder value. It is the same bonuses that have been misused by many CEO to increase their pay. CEOs may lie about the profits realised by presenting deceiving figures to the board. Such an action has seen banks award bonuses to CEOs based on misleading information. To save banks during financial crisis or within a period preceding the crisis, bank financial accounts should be properly audited to ensure that the

Written Practice in English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Written Practice in English - Essay Example I have improved upon the following skills, but I still need some on working them: introductions/ conclusions, argument/persuasion, evidence/support, sentence/paragraph structure and staying on topic. I will need more, significant work on tone, revision, meeting/staying within page length, pre-writing and transitions. When I started the course, I was not even aware of the dynamics of writing. However, I was introduced to the various elements involved in good writing, and the first component that struck me and I wanted to specialize in was the ability to summarize. I practiced a lot on this because I thought it contained many subsidiary skills of writing related to identifying and choosing the significant ideas, editing, organizing and so on. I could say that I have mastered this skill after some dedicated hours of work. I have also mastered the skill of responding to a reading. For this, I spent quality time to read things carefully and to identify the main and supporting arguments. I am convinced now that my responses could be effective only if I understand properly whatever I read. I have improved drastically with my word choices. Earlier, I used to believe that words did not matter much as long as the content was significant. Now I am aware that the content can be made significant only if the r ight words are used. With the proper choice of words, I reached high levels of clarity as well. Before I start writing anything, I try to identify my thoughts clearly and ask myself whether this could be presented with clarity. With the help of my professor, I could identify various formats of writing and can claim that I am adept at it now. Though it all seemed restricting in the beginning, I was able to grasp the logic that worked with every format, and this helped me a lot to master them.

Compare and contrast Nissan Juke and BMW 128i Coupe Essay

Compare and contrast Nissan Juke and BMW 128i Coupe - Essay Example It was tested at a quarter mile, and came in a 15.5 seconds and zero to 60 in 7.3 seconds. From 60 mph to zero, it came in at 123 feet. The estimates for the Juke’s fuel economy are 27 city and 32 highway. With well weighted steering and buttoned down suspension, the Juke provides a decisive response. Coming in at $20,000 to $25,000, the Juke is also comfortable to drive. Firmly padded seats, adjustable height and steering tilts help the driver find the ideal position. It also has all wheel drive, Bluetooth and iPod capability, side and curtain airbags, as well as stability and traction control. It also comes with emergency braking assist, engine immobilizer, whiplash protection system, tire pressure monitoring and vehicle alarm impact sensor. Although the Juke comes in as an average vehicle in terms of performance, dynamics, comfort, quietness, ergonomics, visibility, space and overall build quality, it is a good vehicle with a very unique look at a fair price. With overall o wnership costs for five years coming in at $31,595, and depreciation at $10, 932, it’s a good deal. The 2011 BMW 128i Coupe is a smaller but still sleek version of BMW’s 3 series.

Response to Room No.12 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Response to Room No.12 - Essay Example This portrays women as despised members of the society since the hotel manager automatically assumed that there is no way that a woman who looked as lovely as Bahiga al-Dahida could have acquired her wealth alone. Her identity card had not given any indication that she was either married or employed. It seems unfair that the hotel manager could not have assumed that the woman could have inherited the money that she was using. The woman in the story is a representation of generation difference. In traditional Egyptian society, a woman was expected to be submissive and dis-empowered. Bahiga al-Dabida could also have been placed in the story to illustrate a change in social and gender roles. Egypt had experienced a change in attitudes of people towards traditional roles expected of different gender and social roles. When Bahiga arrives at the hotel, she is directed to her room by the bellhop who asks her to remove the bed covers and move the bed to the wall, and later tips the bellhop generously (Mahfouz 221). The bellhop also mentioned to the hotel manager that he heard the lady talking to herself while he was passing by her room. This creates a lot of suspense in the story as the reader is compelled to find out whether the woman is talking to herself, or talking on the telephone, or she could also be talking to spirits or demons. The story gets compelling when the lady orders lunch. She orders so much food that the hotel manager thinks it is enough for six people. Though the manager does not openly express his shock, he feels surprised when the plates are licked clean after one hour when a hotelier goes to clear the table in her room(Mahfouz 222). The hotel manager concludes that the woman is strange; from the way that she looked and acted. The manager tried not to think about the woman, but he later admitted that he could not avoid it. He found her fearful yet attractive. He also looked familiar but he could not remember

Week 3 Team Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 3 Team Discussion - Assignment Example The physician is therefore engaging in paternalism since he thinks keeping this important piece of information from his patient is in her best interest. This could be partially true though it might not be fully for the patient’s best interest because in the first place she is mourning a husband whom she believes loved her and was faithful to her yet in the real sense this is not true. In any case, when she finally discovers this information after she gets well, she might even be more annoyed for the husband’s unfaithfulness and for mourning the unfaithful husband’s death. Secondly, the physician deciding that this piece of information might affect the lady’s health is professionally okay but as it is, the lady’s health is stable and she is about to be discharged. It will not be fair to allow this lady to grief twice; over the death of her husband and over discovering that the same husband was unfaithful. If telling her will not cause her a nervous breakdown, she should be told. Also, if anything were to happen to her during the syphilis treatment which will be happening without her explicit consent then the physician could be sued since it could be pinned on his medication. For the respect of this lady’s autonomy, she should be told the whole

1905 Revolution in Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

1905 Revolution in Russia - Essay Example The research paper will also discuss why the Russian revolution was unsuccessful. Any changes witnessed due to the revolution will also be discussed in the paper. Introduction The Revolution of 1905 in Russia began on Sunday, January 9. This was after military guards massacred more than one thousand children, women, and men outside the Winter Place of the Tsar. On that Sunday, which came to1 be regarded as the bloody Sunday, 150, 000 workers on strike together with their families marched through St. Petersburg. The reaction to the massacre spread across the industrial centers, which experienced spontaneous strikes of workers (Ascher 2004, p. 68). Moreover, the massacre marked the beginning of armed preparations of workers. Peasants in the countryside extended their views through numerous evictions of landlords. It took more than one year for the Revolution to end and save the reactionary Tsar regime. This was despite the massive support the regime got from reactionaries and capitalis ts. Prior to the 1905 Revolution, Russia had witnessed a significant strike in 1902 and 1903. However, this was not the key factor that triggered the 1905 uprising. The main factor that triggered the Revolution was the Japanese and Russian War in 1904. During this war, Russian troops felt humiliated since the Japanese troops defeated them. As a result, the workers and the capitalist class perceived that the Tsar regime in Russia could easily be defeated. These high hopes of defeating the military triggered the onset of the Revolution. In addition, the War with Japan burdened the peasants and workers; this increased opposition to the Tsar regime. The Revolution can be regarded as an uprising of the Russian people who wanted change in their government (Ascher 2004, p. 70). Timeline of the Events du2ring the Russian Revolution of 1905 A timeline of the events during the Russian Revolution shows the occurrences witnessed during the Revolution. From January 3-8, 120, 000 striking workers marched through St. Petersburg as the government warned them against the protests. On the bloody Sunday of January 9, 150, 0000 striking workers together with their families marched in St. Petersburg. Their main aim was to deliver a protest to the Tsar, but the Russian army shot them down (Ascher 2004, p. 71). The reaction to this massacre spread to the neighboring regions; industries experienced numerous strikes of workers. On February, the strike spread to the Causasus; Grand-Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was assassinated in the height of the protests. During the same month, Nicholas II ordered the creation of an assembly to report on the reforms of the constitution. The following month, the unrest and the strikes reached the Urals and Siberia. On April 2, the second National Congress of Zemstovs demanded a constitutional assembly; this saw the formation of the Unions of Unions. The government got embarrassed on May due to the sinking of the Baltic Fleet, which had spent seven months sailing round to Japan. On June, the government used soldiers to counter strikers in Lodz, and on June 18, Odessa was halted following a massive strike. From June 14-24, there occurred a mutiny of Sailors on Battleship Potemkin. The first conference of the Peasants union was held in Moscow on August; the same month, Nizhnii held the first Congress, which comprised of the Muslim Union (Ascher 2004, p. 72). On August 6, Tsar issued a 3manifesto that detailed the creation of a state Duma; however, this plan faced massive rejection from the revolutionaries on grounds of its weak structure. The treaty of Portsmouth on August