Changes to Department of Homeland Security Since 9/11

Since its inception the DHS has gone through a shift in terms of overall concepts and missions. Something had to be done to ensure the safety of American people and protecting the U.S. homeland against future terrorist attacks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was enacted shortly after the September 11th 2001 attacks and the creation of DHS was one of the most significant changes made by the U.S. government with a clear mission of protecting our homeland. The Department of Homeland Security has merged twenty-two separate agencies into one unified and integrated department. Funding has nearly reached 9 billion dollars towards the security enhancements of homeland security such as the national borders and transportation systems (Spindlove and Simeson, 2009). Some noticeable department components that make up DHS are the developments of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), United States Customs and Border Protections (CBP), Unites States Immigration and Customs Enfo rcement (ICE). Additionally, further expanding core mission of homeland security were the effects of hurricane Katrina and its response toward disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was enacted in order to prepare the nation for hazardous events, manage federal response and recovery efforts following a national incident. As events have unfolded, homeland security strategies and missions have adapted safeguards and protective measure to ensure a homeland that is safe fromShow MoreRelatedHomeland Security1085 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ AMERICAN MILITARY UNIVERSITY HOMELAND SECUIRTY Brittany Staley HLSS302: Paper #2 May 11, 2014 In the years since 9/11, homeland security has turn out to be frequently and generally identified as both a word and as a Federal department. However, a large amount has been learned since 9/11 concerning the array of further challenges we face. Hurricane Katrina strongly illustrates the general impact of weak preparedness andRead MoreRoles Of Law Enforcement And Intelligence1503 Words   |  7 PagesRoles of Law Enforcement and Intelligence in Counter-Terrorism After 9/11 September 11, 2001 marks one of the darkest, if not the darkest, days in United States history. It is a day in the history of our country in which everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news that two planes had flown into the World Trade Center in New York City, taking out both of the Twin Towers. All in all there were close to 3,000 people who lost their lives on that fateful day betweenRead MoreOverview of the US Department of Homeland Security925 Words   |  4 PagesDepartment of Homeland Security: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was formed more than a decade ago with a very significant mission of safeguarding Americas homeland from hazards, threats, and national disasters. This department conducts its mission through securing the countrys borders, preventing terror attacks, and responding to incidents or threats to its citizens (Miller, n.d.). Generally, the most important roles of the Department of Homeland Security are to lead a concerted nationalRead MoreU.s. Security Since 9111368 Words   |  6 Pages Changes in U.S. Security Since 911 By Travis Bublitz LA 11 Quarter 3 online May 2015 Then They Were Gone. The twin towers turn into a pile of ash and rubble after two planes disintegrate in the center of both towers. People were running every were to get to out of the ash and smoke fire fighters running in while everyone is running out many not making it back out. From this day on nothing has been the same the people were devastated that it happened and cried out forRead MoreThe Homeland Security Act Of 20021333 Words   |  6 PagesTHE HOMELAND SECURITY ACT The Homeland Security Act of 2002 Signed into law in 2002 by President George W. Bush, the Homeland Security Act established the Department of Homeland Security to prevent terrorist attacks, minimize any damage to the nation’s citizens, and reduce the country’s vulnerability to terrorism. In response to 9/11, the government, as well as the airline industry, has gone through many changes. As of result of 9/11, the airline industry lost a total of $7.7 billion. This paperRead MoreEssay on Evolution of Homeland Security750 Words   |  3 Pages　 Evolution of Homeland security 　 The evolution of Homeland security started in September 11, 2011. When terrorist took control of 4 flights in the United States and planed to kill millions of lives including their own lives. Everyone knows this day as 9/11. When ex-president George W. Bush created the Department of Homeland Security act of 2002. There were 22 agencies that were inherited into the DHS and three agencies that were not included in the DHS. The agencies that make up partRead MoreNational Intelligence Reform And Terrorism Prevention Act Of 20041659 Words   |  7 PagesHomeland Security is the intersection of evolving threats and hazards with traditional government and its responsibilities for civil defense emergency response law enforcement, customs border control and immigration. Moreover, the term â€Å"enterprise† is a national effort that refers to the collective efforts and shared responsibilities of federal, state local, tribal, territorial, nongovernmental and private-sector partners as well as individuals ( U.S. Department of Homland Security, 2010). SinceRead MoreTerrorism during the 9/11 Attack and Afterwards1476 Words   |  6 PagesTerrorism has been around since separate nations were created long ago; these nations fought over who was the strongest or who had the right viewpoint or even over who should control certain lands. Though most everyone has heard about some form of terrorist activity du ring their lifetime, it was brought to the forefront of every American citizen’s mind after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the world trade center. After these attacks the whole country was looking for security, a reassurance that an eventRead MoreA Look Back at 9/111307 Words   |  6 Pages9/11 One of the most known and worst events occurred on September 11, 2001. Terror attacks occurred in the United States of America in the cities of Washington D.C. and New York City. An Al-Qaeda terrorist group organized this attack by sending terrorists on four different airplanes to crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, while another one was targeted for the Pentagon. Although one plane hit theRead MoreRole Of The Department Of Homeland Security1659 Words   |  7 Pagesthe DHS in Counterterrorism On September 11, 2011, the United States observed the tenth anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks in the history of the United States . The creation of many anti-terrorism organizations was a clear message that this threat is beyond a single military or intelligence capacity. Our citizens demanded a strong response that would prevent any future terrorist threat. President Bush created the Department of Homeland Security as the key agency responsible for all anti-terrorism

Learning team charter Free Essays

What are the general expectations for all members of the team? Sarah Dowling- It is our goal as a team to work collaboratively to ensure all members’ thoughts, ideas, and input are shared, discussed, considered, and incorporated into the learning team assignments and projects. It is people’s duty to be accountable for is or her individual portion of the project and to strive to do their personal best. As a group we will seek out opportunities within each other’s strengths to improve our quality of work and assist those team members who may struggle to do so. We will write a custom essay sample on Learning team charter or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the event disagreement occurs between cohorts in regards to any one idea, including but not limited to: substance, quality, or timeline of work submitted, team members will vote to decide if the individual/ idea will continue to work with the group or project. Each member must be committed to the team’s academic achievement and success. Expectations for Time Management and Involvement (Participation, communication with the team, accessibility, etc. ) Sarah Dowling- Our team will communicate frequently via e-mail and phone, as well as before and after class. Team members agree to attend all meetings in whichever method possible. All persons must complete their portion of the agreed upon work in a timely manner that shall be determined by the group as a whole. How to cite Learning team charter, Essays

Youth and Mall Culture free essay sample

Introduction Shopping malls have taken the Indian scenario by surprise and the Indian youth are increasing attracted to the malls. It has grown at an incredible pace all across India, especially in the metropolitan cities. The earlier uncomfortable shopping process, under the scorching summer sun and sultry weather has now been put at ease. The few words that come to our mind when we hear the word â€Å"mall† are shopping, food, movies, entertainment and of course hanging out on a holiday – all under the same roof. People find a mall as the best place to visit and shop, and get free-entry to the air-conditioner interior during the summer heat; not to forget the different and delicious cuisines available in these multiplexes for all food enthusiasts. Indian youth consider it as a status symbol to be known as mall goers. Mall culture has proved to be having a great impact on Indian youth culture. It is indeed playing a major role in shaping the mindset and life style of youth in India. As a coin has two sides mall culture too has its pros and cons. It could affect and shape the character and lifestyle of youth in any direction. . The Focus of the Study The focus of this study is to look at the impact of malls on Indian youth. The study tries to present both the negative and positive sides of the mall culture. It will also suggest a new way of being a mall goer 3. The Rationale and Relevance of the Study All most all the young people across the metros in India are mall goers. My study among 30 young people between the ages of 15- 25 from different locations in the city of Bangalore would vouch for this fact. If all our metro youth are mall goers, it will definitely have some remarkable influence on them. How and to what extent are they influenced is something to be pondered over. And so it becomes very relevant to look at the mall culture that is spreading across the country and globe at an ever increasing speed. 4. Scope of the Study The scope of this study envisages the following points, a) Situate the growth of malls in the Indian context, b) Deepen our understanding of the influence of mall culture on Indian youth, c) Become aware of the positive and negative sides of the mall culture, d) To suggest a new way of being a young mall goer. 5. Personal Interest in the Topic This is one question I encountered even while conducting the research. Many young people wanted to know the reason behind my choosing this topic. I was always fascinated by the mighty shopping malls in Bangalore. Visiting some of the malls, I came to the realization that a vast majority of the mall goers are young people. I also found many of them just wandering around not interested in much shopping. If not for shopping why have they all come here was my question when I visited a mall for the first time. The question was not directed to the young people alone but a personal interrogation too for I too had not done any shopping.

The Concept of Human Life Value in Relation to the Need for Life Insurance Essay Example

The Concept of Human Life Value in Relation to the Need for Life Insurance Essay Almutairi Yahya Professor Ruben Acad. Writing Reading June 4 2013 We will write a custom essay sample on The Concept of Human Life Value in Relation to the Need for Life Insurance specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Concept of Human Life Value in Relation to the Need for Life Insurance specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Concept of Human Life Value in Relation to the Need for Life Insurance specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Concept of Human Life Value in Relation to the Need for Life Insurance Jane and Andrew had just celebrated their fifth year wedding anniversary, and they were coming from dinner when they had an accident. Unfortunately, Andrew did not survive, and Jane became paralysed from the waist down. With no one else to turn to and no way to make an income, Jane had to go back to her parents, where she became dependent on them for the rest of her life. This is a sad situation, but, unfortunately, it represents the story of many families, who are unprepared when fatal accidents happen. The families are left suffering when they lose their breadwinner. Had Andrew and Jane thought about their lives in the future, they would have purchased a life insurance policy, which would have enabled Jane to survive comfortably and even pay for her medical treatments. She would have avoided returning home to her aging parents for care. The rapid changes in life necessitate the acquiring of a life insurance policy. This is a sound financial plan that will ensure that your loved ones are not left destitute but are well taken care of and continue to enjoy a brighter tomorrow in the case of an unfortunate event to you, as the insured, especially if you are the breadwinner. Life insurance is also vital to you in the event that you are disabled. Employers can also benefit from purchasing a life insurance for their employees (assets) to regain financial cover in the event that they lose their lives or they are rendered inefficacious in a way that they can no longer work to make profits for the company. This is referred to as insurable interest. Life insurance/assurance is a security against loss of income resulting from the demise of the insured. The mentioned beneficiary receives the proceeds, and he is thus secured from the financial repercussions that would have occurred owing to the death of the insured. This paper thus aims at looking at the concept of human value in relation to the need of acquiring a life insurance. Some of the relevant sections that will act as principal topics of discussion will include the basic principles of life insurance, the benefits of life insurance, a focus of human value and the advantages disadvantages of life insurance. The human life possesses numerous values, most of which are immeasurable. For example, a person’s relationship with others creates a set of sentimental and emotional attachments. These can barely be measured or replaced with monetary value. However, such values are not the basis for life insurance even though it upholds a strong moral and social concern. The basis for the need of a life insurance cover is the fiscal worth of a human life. With regards to life insurance, the human life has monetary value in terms of its earning capacity only if someone/people or an organization depends upon it or anticipates gaining some financial benefit through it. This secures the economic state of the beneficiary in terms of financial dependence and future savings for fear that there is a negative contingency. Determining the fiscal value of human life helps in identifying the amount of life insurance needed by the beneficiary. The simplest way to work this out is by evaluating all what you pay for and whom you support. These might include things like educational costs, health insurance, mortgages, personal loans, rent, credit card debts, food and groceries, and car insurance among others. Out of these, you can then deduct the things that your family can comfortably do without such as stocks and property investments. The overall amount you get is what determines the level of life insurance that you need (Baldwin 60). Investing in a life insurance policy demands a high level of sacrifice. Life insurance encourages people to be responsible for their own families and the society (Mishra 6). This means that you voluntarily opt to continue providing and catering for your dependant’s wellbeing after death. However, the law morally obliges you to provide for your family to the extent that your financial means permit. A life insurance cover ensures that this moral obligation and financial decency persists after death. The death or disability of the head of a family should not necessarily lead to bankruptcy or financial problems for the family. However, it should be realised that the economic value of human life diminishes with the passage of time. As much as a person’s income may tend to increase indefinitely, the period of productivity lessens as each year passes. This owes to the fact that an individual’s fiscal value is indeed the unrealized earning ability in terms of skill, and it eventually diminishes as potential income is gradually converted into actual income. The basic principles of life insurance include the principle of Utmost Good Faith. The insurer and the insured should have good faith towards one another (Gulati 39). The insurer must provide the insuree with complete and correct information with regards to terms and conditions that apply while the insured should also be willing to disclose complete, clear and correct information of the subject matter. The other principle is the law of large numbers whereby the insurance company uses a large sample size to predict deaths. All life insurance principles operate with this principle. They carefully approximate mortality rates annually to balance their resources. Another principle is the insurable interest. This is whereby the insured, must have some personal relation to the policy owner, receives economic compensation in the event of death of whom they depended on. Perfected savings is another principle of life insurance where you purchase death assurance to your loved ones. This principle is, however, limited with regards to a pre-set time or a predetermined age, upon which the contract matures and compensation are made. In the event of a policyholder’s demise before the pre-set period, the insurer compensates the insured. The transfer of risk is a further vital principle for life insurance. The risk of death is not retained in your policy but spread out among all policyholders with relations to the insurer. The last principle of life insurance is the loss of minimization. This means that the policyholder needs to be careful to reduce the risk of death. This includes careful driving, indulging in proper lifestyle issues and maintaini ng your health as much as possible. The cost of insurance is heavy in the realization that you do not uphold the principle. There are numerous advantages that come with life insurance, such as the immediate infusion of cash when dealing with adverse fiscal consequences of the policyholder’s death. Life insurance guarantees protection of one’s family. The tax treatment for life insurance is quite favourable. The death benefits are usually income tax- free to the insured. It is possible for the life insurance to be exchanged for another policy such as annuity without the incurrence of current taxation. Another advantage is that it facilitates loans without affecting the benefits of the policy (Sethi and Bhatia 181-182). The life insurance policy just like any other has its cons. These include the fact that policyholders forego some current expenditure for the sake of the insured. The surrendered cash values are generally less than the premiums paid, and at times, it is impossible to recover them fully. You may outlive your insurance term and obtain no monetary benefit from the premiums you paid. The insurer also does not provide you with a permanent life insurance protection. Many people are willing to get insurance covers for their properties, but they are not willing to take life insurance, even though life is more valuable than property. The many adversities and uncertainties of life demand that a person acquire a life insurance policy. This is an indispensable measure if you care for the life of those who depend on you. Taking a life insurance cover is proof that a person cares for his or her family, and is concerned about their welfare in case of any eventuality. Some people put off taking life policies because they think that they will be okay so long as they take care of themselves. However, it is not possible to predict death, and it is prudent to consider taking a life insurance policy. Works Cited Akrani, Gaurav. The Principles of Life Insurance- 7 Basic General Insurance Principles. 2011. Web. June 2, 2013 Baldwin, G. Ben. The Complete Book of Insurance: The Consumer’s Guide to Insuring Your Life, Health, Property, and Income. Burr Bridge: Irwin Professional Publishing, 1996. Print. CIFP Learning. Introduction to Life Insurance. Web. June 2, 2013 Gulati, C. Neelam. Principles of Insurance Management: A Special Focus on Developments in Indian Insurance Sector Pre and Post Liberalisation. New Delhi: Excel Books India, 2009. Print LIFE. What You Need to Know about Life Insurance. 2009. Web. June 2, 2013 Luke, Chris. Principles of Life Insurance Policy. 2012. Web. June 2, 2013 Mishra, Kaninika. Fundamentals of Life Insurance: Theories and Applications. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd, 2010. Print Sethi, Jyotana and Nishwan, Bhatia. Elements of Banking and Insurance. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., 2007. Print

Vietnam war outline essays

Vietnam war outline essays Indochina is made up of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. It was colonized by the French in the late 1800's and given up in 1939. Japan tookover Frances loss after that. After Japans defeat in 1945, Vietnams patriot and communist, Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Minh declared Vietnam independent. After that, France came to claim their loss. The US supported France fearing the "Domino Theory" would take affect after in 1949 China fell to communism. In 1950, the US sent troops to South Korea to prevent the dominos from falling. The Vietnamese took fort Dien Bien Phoo in May of 1954, so then the French finally pulled out. That set up 2 nations North Vietnam and South Vietnam split at the 17th parallel. Ho Chi Minh was in the North and was a Communist Ngo Dinh Diem was in South and disliked communism. He argued that if there was an election to choose a leader of 1 unified nation, that Ho In 1956, Diem closed all elections, and appointed local officials. That gave him less of support. Also he didnt win the support of the peasants, that was a major mistake... in the south Vietminh members who were located in South Vietnam formed their own communist party. Diem called them the Viet Cong meaning Vietnamese Communists. North Vietnam supported the rebellion in the early parts. In 1959 the Vietminh set up a supply route to South Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia. They were then named the Ho Chi Minh trail. Also in 1959, the first American advisors were killed during a battle. By 1960 the Vietcong had about 10,000 troops and were threatening to overthrow Diem. Then the US sent 15,100(WorldBook) more US advisors in from 1961 - 1963. The Buddhists also had a hard time with Diem, they felt he did not give enough religious freedom. The Buddhists also held the better part of Vietnams popul ...

Elasmotherium Facts and Figures

Elasmotherium Facts and Figures The largest of all the prehistoric rhinoceroses of the Pleistocene epoch, Elasmotherium was a truly massive piece of megafauna, and all the more imposing thanks to its thick, shaggy coat of fur (this mammal was closely related to the contemporary Coelodonta, also known as the woolly rhino) and the huge horn on the end of its snout. This horn, which was made of keratin (the same protein as human hair), may have reached five or six feet in length, and was likely a sexually selected characteristic, males with bigger horns able to better attract females during mating season. For all its size, bulk and presumed aggressiveness, though, Elasmotherium was still a relatively gentle herbivoreand one well-adapted to eating grass rather than leaves or shrubs, as evidenced by its almost comically heavy, flat teeth and lack of characteristic incisors. Elasmotherium consists of three species. E. caucasicum, as you can infer by its name, was discovered in the Caucasus region of central Asia in the early 20th century; almost a century later, in 2004, some of these specimens were reclassified as E. chaprovicum. The third species, E. sibiricum, is known from various Siberian and Russian fossils excavated in the early 19th century. Elasmotherium and its various species appear to have evolved from another, earlier elasmothere mammal of Eurasia, Sinotherium, which also lived during the late Pliocene epoch. As to the exact relationship of Elasmotherium to modern rhinoceroses, it appears to have been an intermediate form; rhino wouldnt necessarily be the first association a time traveler would make when glimpsing this beast for the first time! Since Elasmotherium survived up to the cusp of the modern era, only going extinct after the last Ice Age, it was well known to the early human settlers of Eurasiaand may well have inspired the Unicorn legend. (See 10 Mythical Beasts Inspired by Prehistoric Animals.) Stories of a mythical horned beast vaguely resembling Elasmotherium, and called the Indrik, can be found in medieval Russian literature, and a similar animal is referenced in ancient texts from Indian and Persian civilizations; one Chinese scroll refers to a quadruped with the body of a deer, the tail of a cow, the head of a sheep, the limbs of a horse, the hooves of a cow, and a big horn. Quite possibly, these stories were imported into medieval European culture via translation by monks or word of mouth by travelers, thus giving birth to what we know today as the one-horned Unicorn (which, granted, resembles a horse much more than it does a rhinoceros!) Name: Elasmotherium (Greek for plated beast); pronounced eh-LAZZ-moe-THEE-ree-um Habitat: Plains of Eurasia Historical Epoch: Pleistocene-Modern (two million-10,000 years ago) Size and Weight: About 20 feet long and 3-4 tons Diet: Grass Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; thick coat of fur; long, single horn on snout

Develop an interview methodology for a digital forensic examination Research Paper

Develop an interview methodology for a digital forensic examination - Research Paper Example It will depict the instructions and definitions for the forensic examiner. Examination: This phase is meant to facilitate the evidence visibility while providing an explanation regarding its origin and significance. The examination phase also involves the revealing of hidden information and the relevant documentation (Kohn, 2012). Developing the interview methodology is very critical in a digital forensic investigation. The major steps involved in the development process include preparation for the interview, selecting/determining participants, establishing a pilot test/study, Constructing the research question, following-up the question, implementation of the interviews, and data interpretation (Selamat, 2008). The first and one of the most important things to do is to initiate a preparation for the digital forensic examination interview. The interview preparation will help in breaking the forensic investigation process in such a way that any problematic circumstances are alleviated or exacerbated. Such problems usually occur after the investigation is fully implemented (Turner, 2010). The forensic examiner should determine the possible problems and establish a way of evading or dealing with them. The preparation should be done in such a way that unambiguous focus is established. This is meant to enhance the feasibility and the associated benefit of the digital forensic examination (Turner, 2010). To ensure an effective interview preparation, the forensic examiner needs to choose the forensic investigation setting. This choice of forensic investigation setting will ensure that the examination is done within a feasible context. The purpose of the forensic interview should also be explained effectively. Further, the confidentiality terms need to be addressed. This requirement is very important because respondents will require guaranteed safety once they provide

Personal perspective paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal perspective paper - Essay Example Being a female and the first born, I have understood the different responsibilities that life brings with itself. If I am given a chance to study in the business school and do my MBA, I would be better able to understand the world markets as I already have an idea about the mannerisms in which the different markets already exist within and the methodologies they have adopted towards the foreign traders, marketers and the like. The undergraduate degree in management that I have attained is something that I can look up to when I pursue my MBA degree program. This MBA would eventually make me stand in a league of professionals who are on the go and want to achieve more and more out of life. I will get a better paying job and the ease of mind that I have so much wished and yearned for, with the passage of time. All said and done, I wish to see myself getting established in a financial institution and see progress happening for me left, right and center. I want to make money, more and mor e of it, so that I could make my career strong and a better living is bestowed upon me nonetheless. Thus I decided to pursue my MBA because I felt I was lagging behind in life and I needed to do much more than I had already done. I needed to understand myself a whole lot more and for that, I must study further and an MBA is the key to know more about things, more about the world in general. A better and more comforting life is what I dream of, in the long run and for it to happen; it is pertinent to attain the education that I am longing to have. Having said all that and after the details that I have given about myself and my personality, I would request the said authorities to consider me for admission to the business school so that it could polish my personality as well as fulfill my dream to gain more and more about the big world of corporate giants and all that comes along with that. I would be

On Henrik Ibsen’s Nora in a “Doll’s House” Essay Example for Free

On Henrik Ibsen’s Nora in a â€Å"Doll’s House† Essay Henrik Ibsen displays the effect of society’s standard on an ideal family through the interesting characters in his play. Its story lingers on the loveless marriage of Nora and Torvald, and the lives of the supporting characters of the play as they portray society’s take on sexual prejudice and the role it plays on the family unit. Moreover, the story brings out a message that people are not always what they seem on the outside and on first encounters. In the Laws of Morality as presented by Ibsen, individuals had different dilemmas such that a character was developed and recognized in accordance to how he/she deals with it. An individual’s character is not inherited and thus, developed by personal endeavors or one’s own exertion. In today’s community, morality is typically focused on institutions rather than individuals; however the two are inextricably linked. Respect for an individual’s freedom and identity is necessary to sustain mental saneness which is more likely to protect individual freedoms. One such significant character in the play is the protagonist, Nora. Initially, she is introduced in the play as a somewhat childish and submissive wife of the Helmer household. Nora’s husband who constantly refers to her as his â€Å"little squirrel† (Ibsen) or â€Å"skylark† (Ibsen) is constantly implying and enforcing his views of a proper wife on her. This in turn makes the audience think that Nora is a highly dependent wife who relies on her husband’s approval. As the play progresses, Nora displays a rather courageous feat that she has hidden from her family. She had in the past associated with Krogstad on committing fraud to find finances needed in the rehabilitation of her husband’s poor health. To pay for the debts, she works secretly to ensure this. Nora is thrown into a traumatic chaos when Krogstad threatens to reveal their crime in exchange for a favor. She is further set off balance when her husband’s reaction turns out to be the complete opposite of what she hoped for. This circumstance makes her realize the disillusions she had of her marriage and that she has yet to find her true self as an independent being. Having lived an overly protected life under the care of her father and then her husband, she comes to understand that she is living not the life that she wants but of what they have imposed on her. The play ends with Nora leaving her family to embark on a mission to rediscover what she has truly wanted for herself all along. Psychological Effect Due to Unacceptance Nora is first seen as a person who is happy and contented to be the loyal wife and doting mother. While trying to meet the demands of what the society and her husband refers to a proper wife, she deliberately tries to rebel in small ways by lying to her husband about small matters such as eating sweets. Lying on such small things is seen to be psychologically disturbing for Nora, since all things she does seemed to be disapproved by her husband. She later realizes that she was never fully happy and contented living the life that others have arranged for her. Her personal foundation is being individually attached to the community having different cultures, beliefs and fashion preferences compared to hers such that, most of her decisions, likes and dislikes were greatly affected and influenced by the opinions and preferences of the community evolving around her. During the span of her marriage life, she wasn’t allowed and therefore feared to practice her true individual character. Though freedom is something an individual enjoys and is the absence of oppression, it should be practiced that where there is freedom, there is responsibility. This put her in a state of initially accepting her state of living, thus, accomplishing what the community around her believes as a rightful wife to Torvald. However, she discovers that she has been living a lie, hiding the other side of her true personality to the people who were supposed to be her family. Her husband, who she trusted to respond in her honor broke her trust and was more worried on how other people would see the family if they were to know of the crime that she has committed. Freedom is described as rights to personal security, personal expression, and political participation and it is in this respect, that Nora’s freedom of expression of was limited. The Doll in Distress Finding out that she has lost an important part of herself in an empty marriage is a distressing trauma that a lot of people like her deal with. She feels like she has lived an almost empty life as Torvald’s doll and that all her efforts for her husband to appreciate and understand her have proved to be useless. She had lived a life of a doll, where she does what she was told inside the doll house. The shelter that she once considered her home is such a doll house where there are to emotions living and even lingering inside her doll family. Given the traumatic experiences that she has experienced, there is a possibility that she will encounter depression. Moreover, these bouts of depression can lead to possible mental disorders like Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. We have take note that when she decided to leave her husband, she surmised that their children were better off with their father and not with her. This already tells us that she has also lost her confidence as a good mother to her children. Due to her depressing state, she had taken of towards her freedom, leaving of the great responsibility of being a mother behind her. Such confidence of being a good mother was destroyed due to her situation, carrying her battered morale and vanishing self esteem with her. Leaving the Doll House As Nora breaks out and breaks free from the emotionless house, there is sense of strong will to be, putting a great effort of almost forgetting the family and life she had been attached to for years. In Ibsen’s plot, she placed Nora of having acquired a sense of free willingness by letting go a huge part of her life. In the last part of the play, Nora developed the free willingness to make a big step towards recognizing an emotion that is happening to her and being aware of its effect around her. Tuning in and being aware to her every emotion or feelings makes her manage them enabling her to be confident in her worth and capabilities. Being aware of her self makes her confidently use her abilities. Being aware of ones self and emotions makes her a free willed person. Henrick Ibsen finally ended the play with a display of triumph on Nora’s side, being able to show her true individuality despite of Torvald’s disapproval and concern of the reaction of the community around them, which is in great contrast of the true story where the husband had demanded for a divorce and Nora, who was mentally and emotionally agitated, had a nervous breakdown and confined in a mental institution. Conclusion For sheltered people like Nora, breaking out of their safe zone and embarking on a new environment is a terrifying endeavor. They are more vulnerable to fallbacks because being independent is something that they will have to learn for themselves for the first time on their own. Coping up with stress is harder when a person is unaided. Although she has displayed a great deal of courage by clearly defying the wishes of her husband and leaving altogether the household it is therefore inevitable an emotional pit. It is therefore important that although she has decided to leave the household to be independent, she should be in a place where close acquaintances are available for her emotional support system. In these day and age, support systems in the mental health department are already accessible. Compared to the olden days, it is no longer a taboo issue when one seeks a psychiatrist’s help to clear one’s mindset and consult professionals on how to healthily cope up with stress. People who had experiences like Nora then should not hesitate to consult these services if ever they feel that they need it. More importantly, it is essential that they surround themselves with people who know their plight and not isolate themselves. Individuals are important members of a community for a single community is a composition of different individuals. Being individuals of one community, we are now evolving in a community with different likes, dislikes, culture and tradition. The Helmer’s personal foundation is being individually attached to the community of the same cultures, beliefs and fashion preferences, thus, most of their decisions, likes and dislikes, their way of living were affected by the opinions and preferences of the community evolving around them. So even if an individual is a part of a community, there is a big difference between an individual and a member of a community. In a lonely Doll World, it is therefore important by having an awareness of using our abilities to bring optimum results by understanding others as an individual and try out for better ways rather than stereotyping. Works Cited Ibsen, Henrik. The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Dolls House, by Henrik Ibsen, Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius. 29 March 2005. The Project Gutenberg. 14 April 2007 http://www. gutenberg. org/files/15492/15492-h/15492-h. htm

Is the Government doing the right thing? :: essays research papers

Is the Government doing the right thing? The statement made by Honorable Jess A. Helms seems to be pretty clear when he says that the government, instead of giving sources to save the country, is actually providing freedom for crime rates to increase. â€Å"You can stand on the Capitol steps and almost throw a rock into neighborhoods where you cannot walk at night because of the violence that takes place nightly† (Helms 1). From this statement it is possible to understand why Helms is criticizing the government politics that are only spending money to combat violence, instead of spending money to prevent it. So as a possible solution for the violence problem, Helms defends the reinstitution of the prayer in public schools. He finds support for it on three main arguments: first is the fact that the government is spending huge amounts of money and it is not solving the violence problem; second because people agree with it and actually want it back to schools, and finally because the freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution. Throughout his arguments becomes to see that instead of spending that amount of money to combat the crime, it is cheaper and better effective to use God and religion as a weapon against violence. Honorable Helms criticize the fact that since he got into US Senate a lot of money have been spent on violence combat, specially on motions described by the term â€Å"crime bills after crime bills† (Helms 1). He criticizes this attitude because it is not been efficient, since The United States has right now a higher crime rate than ever. â€Å"†¦ we have been passing crime bill after crime bill almost since I came here in 1973. And what has been the result?† (Helms 1). Helms also believes that the senators are feeling that their job is done. They think that they â€Å"†¦really took care of it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Helms 1), but the real fact is that crime rates are still going up, what proves that their job is not even close to be done. It is time to start looking for different alternatives to solve the problem. Seeing that all the money spent on the direct combat of crime is not working as well as expected, Helms starts to analyze a different approach to solve the problem. Seeking for the right move Helms find a possible solution on the article published by Reader’s Digest called â€Å"Let Us Pray† that defends the reinstitution of prayer classes to public schools.

Relationships Among Service Quality

Relationships among Service Quality, Image, Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in a Hong Kong Franchised Bus Company Iris M. H. Yeung* Abstract Market share of franchised buses in Hong Kong decreases since 2004 irrespective of increase in service quality as reported by Tang and Lo (2010). This paper investigates how service quality, image, satisfaction and loyalty are related to gain insight on the decreasing market share problem based on data collected from passengers of a franchised bus company in Hong Kong in 2004.The structural equation modelling results support the hypothesis that (1) service quality affects satisfaction and image directly, (2) image affects overall satisfaction and loyalty directly, and (3) overall satisfaction affects loyalty directly. However, the results do not support the hypothesis that service quality affects loyalty directly. Service quality has only indirect effect on loyalty through image and overall satisfaction. So even though the service quality may be increasing, the indirect effect of service quality on loyalty is not adequate to increase market share.Keywords: image, loyalty, public transport, satisfaction, service quality, structural equation model. Field of Study: Customer Service and Customer Relations Introduction In Hong Kong, public transport is the dominant transport mode, accounting for approximately 90% of daily passenger journeys over the past 10 years (Transport Department (1999, 2003)). Public transport comprises railways, franchised buses, public light buses, taxi service, non-franchised bus services for residents, ferries, railway feeder buses, and peak tramways.Among these modes, railways and franchised buses play an important role, carrying over seven million passenger journeys per day, or approximately 70% of the total public transport patronage (Transport Department (1995–2010)). Market share of franchised buses is generally higher than that of railways. In 2002, market share of franchised buses peak ed at 39. 8%, whereas market share of railways at the time was a mere 32. 3%. However, with the opening of new rails, market shares of franchised buses and railways were 32. 4% and 38. 8% respectively in 2010.Other than competition from other modes, franchised buses compete with each other as well for the operating right of new bus routes. Moreover, the franchise can be terminated based on poor performance. Thus, service quality is essential to maintain market share and increase profitability under fierce competition. Iris M. H. Yeung , Department of Management Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon,Hong Kong, Tel. : + 852-3442-8566; Fax: + 852-3442-0189, E-mail address: [email  protected] edu. hk (I. M. H. Yeung) YeungIn fact, quality of services for both railways and franchised buses has continuously improved over the past years. Using Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and Kowloon Motor Bus Limited (KMB) as references, Tang and Lo (2010) commented that the qualit y of rail and bus service provision improved from 1984 to 2004, particularly in terms of service supply and based on technical measures such as vehicle-kilometre per capita and real fare increase rate. However, market share of franchised buses, including KMB, started to drop since 2004 irrespective of increase in service quality as reported by Tang and Lo (2010).As passengers decide on which transport mode to take, this paper investigates how service quality, image, satisfaction and loyalty are related in order to gain insight into decreasing market share problem from passengers? perspective. In line with Tang and Lo? s study, the analysis is based on a data set collected from passengers in 2004. Further, among all the franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, KMB has the longest history and is currently the largest, occupying approximately 70% of the franchised bus share in Hong Kong. Thus, KMB? quality of service affects many people in Hong Kong; it is of interest to a large share of the population and therefore merits investigation. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the literature review of the four constructs and the research hypothesis of the proposed structural model. Section 3 describes the research methodology. The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM) are provided in Section 4. Finally, Section 5 presents the concluding remarks with limitations of the study and suggestions for future research directions.Literature Review Service quality Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988) developed the SERVQUAL instrument, which consists of 22 attributes under five distinct dimensions (i. e. , reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness). They defined service quality as the difference or gap between customers? expectations and perceived performance and proposed to use gap scores to measure service quality. Despite the widespread use of SERVQU AL in various industries and countries, some scholars such as Brady et al. (2002), Cronin and Taylor (1992, 1994), Zhao et al. 2002) reported that service quality is more accurately assessed by the perceptions of quality rather than the „gap? scores. Another criticism on the SERVQUAL instrument is that the 22 associated attributes have been deemed inappropriate, or that they cannot be simply adopted for measuring service quality in all service industries (Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Lai and Chen, 2011). According to Ladhari (2009), 30 industry-specific measures of service quality have been developed between 1990 and 2007 in different industries and countries. Corporate image Corporate image can be defined as the overall impression that is formed in people? minds about a firm (Barich and Kotler 1991). Some researchers thought that service quality affects image (See, for example, Ostrowski et al (1993), Aydin and Ozer (2005), Nguyen and LeBlanc 1998). Also, it has been reported tha t corporate image can also affect customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (see, for example, Hart and Rosenberger 2004). 2 Yeung Customer satisfaction According to Oliver (1997, 2010), customer satisfaction is defined as a judgment that a product or service provided a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment. Also there are two levels of individual consumer? satisfaction: transaction-specific satisfaction and cumulative satisfaction. Transaction-specific satisfaction or encounter satisfaction is identified as a fulfillment response to a single transaction or encounter, whereas cumulative satisfaction is a judgment based on many occurrences of the same experience and not just one-time experience. For both cases (encounter satisfaction and cumulative satisfaction), satisfaction is either defined as an overall judgment of satisfaction or decomposed into satisfaction with performance or quality attributes (Cronin and Taylor 1992). Overall† â€Å"cumulative† s atisfaction is commonly used by researchers such as Mittal et al. 1999 and Spreng et al. 1996. Loyalty According to Oliver (1997 P392;2010), loyalty is defined as â€Å"a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred product or service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts that have the potential to cause switching behavior†. There are two approaches to customer loyalty: behavioural and attitudinal.Behavioral loyalty refers to a customer? s actual behavior to repeat purchases of products or services and recommend whereas attitudinal loyalty refers to a customer? s intention to repurchase and willingness to recommend. Attitudinal loyalty is more commonly used in many research studies (Loureiro and Kastenholz 2011) and relatively easy to measure. Relationships among perceived service quality, corporate image, overall satisfaction, and loyalty There is much previous research exploring the quality-satisfaction-loyalty (QSL) relationship.It is generally believed in marketing and service industries that (1) good service quality results in customer satisfaction, (2) good service quality attracts customers and hence lead to customer loyalty and (3) high satisfaction level is likely to create customer loyalty. However, it has also been reported that satisfaction may not be adequate enough to lead to loyalty, though loyal customers are almost typically satisfied (Cronin and Taylor 1992; Cronin et al 2000). Furthermore, corporate image is also found to affect customer satisfaction and loyalty.Customers who develop a positive image towards a company will tend to have high customer satisfaction through a halo effect (see for example, Hart and Rosenberger 2004; Lai et al 2009). Hart and Rosenberger (2004) reported that image has a â€Å"marginally significant† direct effect on customer loyalty, but a substantial effect mediated by custome r satisfaction. Therefore, image can affect loyalty directly and indirectly. Based on the above literature review, this paper considers the structural model presented in Figure 1. The hypothesis proposed in the model are given below: H1: Service quality has a significant, positive and direct effect on orporate image. 3 Yeung H2: Service quality has significant, positive, and direct effect on customer satisfaction. H3: Service quality has a significant, positive and direct effect on loyalty. H4: Corporate image has a significant, positive and direct effect on customer satisfaction. H5: Corporate image has a significant, positive and direct effect on loyalty. H6: Customer satisfaction has a significant, positive and direct effect on loyalty. Methodology Sampling and Data Collection The target population of this study comprises purely KMB passengers.KMB has three main types of bus routes running through urban Kowloon, the New Territories, and crossharbour. Stratified sampling was emplo yed to select the bus routes within each type of stratum: urban Kowloon, New Territories, and cross-harbour. Passengers over 16 years old waiting at the bus stops or stations to ride the selected bus routes and had ridden a KMB bus in the previous month were invited for interview. A total of 855 passengers were randomly selected to complete the questionnaire; only 636 samples were valid and included in the analysis. Successful response rate was 74. %. To complete the questionnaire, passengers must be waiting for the bus at the bus stop. It should be noted that passengers arriving at the bus stop and boarding the bus immediately with little or no waiting period are relatively difficult to interview. Thus, the questionnaire must be as short as possible to encourage response, taking into consideration that respondents may easily lose their patience or may be in a hurry, as well as the fact that buses may arrive during the interview. The time for conducting the survey was scheduled from 7:00 a. m. to 11:00 p. m. n both weekdays and weekends to interview both peak-hour and non-peak-hour passengers. The interview was conducted in Cantonese in March 2004. Measurement and Data Analysis Based on a comprehensive review of the transport literature, detailed search on the printed materials and KMB Web sites, and results of focus groups, 15 attributes of service quality were derived. The order of these attributes in the questionnaire is as follows: clarity of bus number design, bus route map, bus stop location, fare, discount, bus frequency, bus punctuality, bus service time, bus route coverage, travelling/driving safety, driver attitude (anything related to he driver other than driving such as politeness and friendliness, caring about the safety of passengers when they board get on or off the bus), bus cleanliness, seat design (such as comfort, seat layout, leg space), air-conditioning, and bus stop information. Passengers? perception of the performance of service quality are measured by asking them to rate each service quality attribute on a satisfaction scale (1 = very dissatisfied and 5 = very satisfied). This type of measurement scale is used by researchers such as Huang et al. (2006), Lin et al. (2011), and Tam et al. (2005).The overall satisfaction, corporate image and loyalty are measured by a singleitem. Although the use of single-item measures may weaken the estimated relationships, such measures have been used successfully in many research studies (see for example, Bolton and Drew 1991; Bolton and Lemon 1999; Cronin and Taylor 1992; Brunner et al 2008; Mittal, Kumar and Tsiros 1999). As mentioned above, the questionnaire must be short enough to encourage response. Use of multi-item scales for overall satisfaction, corporate image and loyalty will mean longer questionnaire and may affect the response rate and overall reliability.Therefore, single-item measures for these three constructs are considered adequate for this exploratory study. 4 Yeung Overall satisfaction is measured on a 5-point Likert scale with (1=very dissatisfied and 5 = very satisfied). As the respondents had ridden a KMB bus in the previous month, â€Å"overall† cumulative satisfaction is appropriate in this study. Corporate image is measured on a five-point scale from â€Å"very bad† to â€Å"very good† whereas customer loyalty is measured by the intention to increase ridership in the coming month on a five-point scale from â€Å"definitely will not† to â€Å"definitely will†.Repurchase intention and willingness to recommend others are two common indicators of loyalty. As Hong Kong people are already familiar with KMB and its service and hence it is less necessary for the respondents to recommend KMB bus service to others, so this study uses repurchase intention only to measure loyalty. In this paper, we conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM ) to these data. Results and Discussion Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis Because two attributes – „bus route coverage? and „bus stop information? have cross loading and low reliability problems, EFA is performed on the remaining 13 service quality attributes using principle axis factoring extraction method and orthogonal rotation. The results of EFA on perceived service quality are shown in Table 1. Five factors with eigenvalue greater than one are retained. The factors are labelled as follows. Factor 1 is highly related with bus punctuality, bus frequency, and service time; thus, it represents reliability. Factor 2 is highly related with bus route map, bus number sign, and bus stop information; thus, it represents bus travelling information.Factor 3 is highly related with seat arrangement, air-conditioning, and cleanliness; thus, it represents bus environment. Factor 4 is highly related with fare and discount; thus, it represents price factor. Finally , Factor 5 is highly related with driver attitude and travel safety; thus, it represents driving or travelling factor. Cronbach? s alpha level for the five factors varies from 0. 658 to 0. 745, which are above the generally agreed lower limit of 0. 6 and hence suggesting high internal consistency among the variables within each factor (Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994).The results of performing CFA on the perceived service quality scores are shown in Tables 2a and 2b respectively. All goodness of fit statistics shown in the bottom part of Table 2a suggest that the measurement model for the service quality has a good fit to the data : small ratio of chi-square value to degrees of freedom (2. 03); goodness of fit index (GFI), goodness of fit index adjusted for degrees of freedom (AGFI), Bentler? s comparative fit index (CFI), normed fit index (NFI), and non-normed fit index (NNFI) are greater than the threshold value of 0. ; and root mean square residual (RMR) and root mean square error o f approximation (RMSEA) are more below the threshold value of 0. 05. The measurement model for the service quality also has high validity and reliability. Firstly, standardized factor loadings and t values of the factor loadings being significantly different from zero at the 0. 001 level support the convergent validity of all attributes. Further, as none of the correlation between the factors is greater than the square root of the AVE for the corresponding factors (see Table 2b), the perceived service quality scores demonstrate discriminant validity.Secondly, the composite reliability of all five factors exceeds the minimally acceptable value of 0. 6. Moreover, four out of five factors have variance extracted estimate (AVE) greater than or close to the threshold value of 0. 5. Only the „bus environment? factor has an average variance estimate below the threshold value. However, this test is conservative. Therefore, as a whole, it can be concluded that the perceived service qua lity scores have 5 Yeung good reliability. Five summated scales are created and used as indicators for the latent construct â€Å"perceived service quality† in the subsequent structural equation model.Structural equation model (SEM) A structural model is fit to the perceived service quality, corporate image, overall satisfaction and loyalty data according to the model structure given in Figure 1. The path between service quality and loyalty is found to be insignificant and dropped based on Wald tests. The goodness of fit indices for the revised structural model, shown in the bottom part of Table 3, suggest a good fit to the data: small ratio of chisquare to degree of freedom (< 2), great values of GFI, AGFI, CFI, NFI, NNFI (> 0,9) and small RMR and RMSEA values (< 0. 05).The estimation results in Table 3 indicate that both H1 (quality ? image) and H2 (quality ? satisfaction) are strongly supported, with standardized path coefficients of 0. 523 and 0. 386 respectively. However , H3 (quality ? loyalty) is not supported based on insignificant standardized path coefficient. It can be seen below that service quality has only indirect effect on loyalty through overall satisfaction and corporate image. So it indicates that high service quality is not adequate to create loyal customers for franchised bus company. The estimation results show moderate support for H4 (image ? atisfaction) with the standardized path coefficient of 0. 192 whereas weak support for H5 (image ? loyalty) and H6 (satisfaction ? loyalty), with the corresponding standardized path coefficients of 0. 105 and 0. 124 respectively. To summarize, the results support five out of six hypothesis (H1 – H2, H4 – H6). Furthermore, the magnitude of the support is strong for H1 and H2, medium for H4 and weak for H5 and H6. In terms of explanatory power, the model accounts for 26. 3% of the variance in overall satisfaction, 27. 4% of the variance in image and 3. 6% of the variance in loyalty . In other words, he model has medium explanatory power for both overall satisfaction and image but low explanatory power for loyalty. The low explanatory power for loyalty may imply that there is not much guarantee that a customer with good perceived service quality, overall satisfaction and corporate image will be loyal and repeat purchase. The management should consider other factors that affect loyalty apart from service quality, overall satisfaction and corporate image. The direct, indirect and total effects of service quality, corporate image and overall satisfaction on loyalty is given in Table 4.It is interesting to see that corporate image plays a more important role than overall satisfaction in affecting loyalty, which are consistent with the findings of researchers such as Abdullah 2000. Concluding Remarks EFA concludes that there are five factors behind the perceived service quality scores. According to CFA, the measurement model for this five-factor structure performs w ell in terms of validity and reliability and hence five summated scales can be used as indicators for service quality in developing structural model. SEM supports the sequence: service quality ? corporate image? verall satisfaction? loyalty. However, it is found that service quality affects loyalty only indirectly through overall satisfaction and corporate image. So it may explain why high service quality is not adequate to lead to customer loyalty. The table of indirect, direct and total effects of service quality, overall satisfaction and image on loyalty shows that corporate image has higher total impact on loyalty, as 6 Yeung compared with satisfaction. So to increase loyalty, improving the corporate image of KMB in passengers? mind is more important than improving satisfaction.As the explanatory power of these three constructs (service quality, overall satisfaction and image) for loyalty is very low (3. 6%), it seems that efforts are still needed to increase loyalty through oth er means. There are several limitations in this study. The generalizability of this study is limited due to three reasons. Firstly, this study used one single item only to measure overall satisfaction, corporate image and loyalty to reduce the burden of respondents and the time for the interview. For further research, multiple-item scales are preferred so that their validity and eliability can be assessed through CFA. Also they may enhance the interpretation and prediction of overall satisfaction and loyalty. Secondly, the analysis is based on a survey data set collected in March 2004 when the market share of franchised buses such as KMB began to decrease. However, further study is necessary to examine whether the relationships among service quality, customer satisfaction, corporate image and customer loyalty change with time. Thirdly, the explanatory power for loyalty in terms of service quality, customer satisfaction and corporate image is low.Further analysis to investigate the p redictors of loyalty other than service quality, overall satisfaction and corporate image is needed. References Abdullah M, Al-Nasser A and Husain N (2000). â€Å"Evaluating functional relationship between image, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty using general maximum entropy†, Total Quality Management, vol 11, P. S826-9. Aydin S and Ozer G (2005). â€Å"The analysis of antecedents of customer loyalty in the Turkish mobile telecommunication market. † European Journal of Marketing, 39 (7/8), P910-925.Barich H and Kotler P (1991),†A framework for marketing image management,†, Sloan Management Review, P94-104. Bolton R N and Drew J H (1991). â€Å"A multistage model of customers? assessments of service quality and value. †, Journal of Consumer Research, 17 (March), P375-384. Bolton R N and Lemon K N (1999). â€Å"A dynamic model of customers? usage of services: usage as antecedent and consequence of satisfaction. † Journal of Marketing R esearch, 36 (2), 171-186. Brady MK, Cronin JJ and Brand R (2002) Performance only measurement of service quality: A replication and extension.Journal of Business Research 55:17-31 Brunner T A, Stocklin M and Opwis K (2008). â€Å"Satisfaction, image and loyalty: new versus experienced customers. † European Journal of Marketing, 42 (9/10), p1095-1105. Cronin J J and Taylor S A (1992). â€Å"Measuring Service Quality: A Reexamination and Extension. †, Journal of Marketing, 56 (July): 55-68. Cronin JJ, Taylor SA (1994) SERVPERF versus SERVQUAL: Reconciling performance-based and perceptions-minus-expectations measurements of service quality. Journal of Marketing 58:125-131. 7 Yeung Cronin J J, Brady M K and Hult G T M (2000). Assessing the effects of quality, value and customer satisfaction on consumer behavioral intentions in service environments. †, Journal of Retailing, 76 (2), P193-218. Hart A E, Rosenberger P (2004). â€Å"Effect of corporate image in the forma tion of customer loyalty: an Australian replication. †Ã¢â‚¬  Australian Marketing Journal, 2004, 12(3), P88-96. Huang YC, Wu CH, Hsu JCJ (2006) Using importance –performance analysis in evaluating Taiwan medium and long distance. National Highway Passenger Transportation Service Quality 8:98-104. Ladhari R (2008). Alternative measures of service quality: a review.Managing Service Quality 18:65-86. Lai F, Griffin M, and Babin B (2009) How Quality, Value, Image, and Satisfaction Create Loyalty at a Chinese Telecom. Journal of Business Research, Vol 62, pp. 980-986. Lai WT, Chen CF (2011) Behavioral intentions of public transit passengers – The roles of service quality, perceived value, satisfaction and involvement. Transport Policy 18:318-325. Lin CN, Tsai LF, Wang PW, Su WJ and Shaw JC (2011) Using the expected importance and perceived satisfaction of tourists to construct indicators for improvement of resort hotel service quality.IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security 11:P91-94. Loureiro S M C and Kastenholz E (2011), â€Å"Corporate reputation, satisfaction, delight and loyalty towards rural lodging units in Portugal†, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30, P575-583. Mittal V, Kumar P and Tsiros M (1999). Attribute-level performance, satisfaction and behavioral intentions over time: a consumption-system approach. Journal of Marketing, 63(2), p88-101. Nguyen N and Leblanc G (2001). â€Å"Corporate image and corporate reputation in customers? retention decisions in services. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 8(4), P227-236. Nunnally Jr JC, Bernstein IH (1994) Psychometric theory, 3/e, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. Oliver R L (1997, 2010). Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. McGraw Hill, New York. Ostrowski P L, O? Brien T V and Gordon G L (1993). â€Å"Service Quality and Customer Loyalty in the Commercial Airline Industry. †, Journal of Travel R esearch 32, P16-24. Parasuraman A, Zeithaml VA, Berry LL (1985) A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing 49:41-50.Parasuraman A, Zeithaml VA, Berry LL (1988) SERVQUAL: A Multiple Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality. Journal of Retailing 64:12-40 Spreng R A, MacKenzie S B and Olshavsky R W (1996). A re-examination of the determinants of consumer satisfaction. Journal of Marketing, 60(3), p15-32. Tam ML, Tam ML, Lam WHK (2005) Analysis of airport access mode choice: A case study in Hong Kong. Journal of Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies 6:708-723. Tang SB, Lo HK (2010) On the financial viability of mass transit development: the case of Hong Kong.Transportation 37:299-316. Transport Department (1995-2010) Annual Transport Digest. Government of the Hong Kong special administrative region. Transport Department (1999) Third Comprehensive transport study final report. Government of the Ho ng Kong special administrative region. Transport Department (2003) Travel Characteristics Survey. Government of the Hong Kong special administrative region. 8 Yeung Zhao X, Bai CH, Hui YV (2002) An empirical assessment and application of SERVQUAL in a Mainland Chinese department store.Total Quality Management 13:241-254. 9 Yeung Table 1 Five-factor structure of perceived service quality scores and Cronbach? s Alpha (with attributes „bus route coverage? and „bus stop information? being deleted) Service quality Attributes Clarity of bus number sign Bus route map Bus stop location Fare Discount Bus frequency Bus punctuality Bus service time Bus route coverage (NA) Travel safety Driver attitude Cleanliness Seat arrangement Air-conditioning Bus stop information (NA) Factor 1 Factor 2 0. 632 0. 865 0. 449 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 . 777 0. 649 0. 652 0. 902 0. 407 0. 799 0. 551 0. 520 0. 780 0. 495 Eigenvalue 4. 11 1. 44 1. 27 1. 11 Variance (%) 31. 61 11. 08 9. 76 8. 52 Cron bach? s alpha 0. 745 0. 722 0. 658 0. 726 Overall MSA = 0. 797, cumulative variance explained = 68. 70%, communality = 6. 853 Root mean square residual = 0. 012, RMSP = 0. 024, Cronbach? s alpha = 0. 816 1. 01 7. 73 0. 693 10 Yeung Table 2a Results of confirmatory factor analysis on perceived service quality Loadin g 0. 728 0. 795 0. 557 0. 751 0. 765 0. 736 0. 876 0. 535 t 18. 0 1 19. 7 3 13. 4 6 16. 3 16. 4 4 19. 0 0 23. 0 8 13. 2 8 17. 5 4 14. 7 9 Reliabilit y 0. 739 0. 530 0. 632 0. 311 0. 729 0. 564 0. 585 0. 766 0. 541 0. 767 0. 286 0. 703 0. 663 0. 426 Variance Extracted 0. 491 Bus information factor Clarity of bus number sign route map Bus Bus stop location Price factor Fare Discount Reliability factor Bus frequency Bus punctuality Bus service time Bus route coverage (NA) Driving factor Travel safety Driver attitude 0. 574 0. 532 0. 545 0. 814 0. 653 Bus environment factor 0. 663 Cleanliness 0. 677 15. 1 0. 459 9 Seat arrangement . 675 15. 1 0. 456 5 Air-conditioning 0. 531 11. 9 0. 282 2 Bus stop information (NA) Fit indices: Chi-square = 130. 55, df = 55, Chi-square / df =2. 03 GFI = 0. 969, AGFI = 0. 949, CFI = 0. 966, NFI = 0. 943, NNFI = 0. 951 RMR = 0. 023, RMSEA = 0. 047 0. 399 Table 2b Correlation between factors for the measurement model on perceived service quality Bus information Price Reliability Driving Bus environment Bus information 0. 701 0. 451 0. 404 0. 474 0. 334 Price ? 0. 758 0. 453 0. 393 0. 340 Reliability ? ? 0. 729 0. 461 0. 438 Driving ? ? 0. 738 0. 519 Bus environment ? ? ? ? 0. 631 11 Yeung Table 3 Standardized path coefficients of the Structural Model Standardized parameter estimates 0. 566 0. 558 0. 641 0. 586 0. 503 0. 523 0. 386 -t-value Hypothesis Conclusion Independent variable ? Dependent variable Service quality ? Bus information Price Reliability Driving Bus environment Corporate image Overall satisfaction Loyalty Corporate image ? Overall Satisfaction Loyalty 9. 99 -10. 71 10. 19 9. 23 9. 4 6. 6 -1 2 3 Supported Su pported Not supported 0. 192 0. 105 4. 26 2. 7 4 5 Supported Supported Overall satisfaction ? Loyalty 0. 124 2. 92 Fit indices: Chi-square = 27. 7, df = 18, Chi-square / df = 1. 54 GFI = 0. 989, AGFI = 0. 978, CFI = 0. 988, NFI = 0. 967, NNFI = 0. 981 RMR = 0. 009, RMSEA = 0. 029 6 Supported 12 Yeung Table 4. Direct, Indirect and total effects on loyalty Direct Indirect -0. 105 0. 124 0. 115 0. 024 – Total 0. 115 0. 129 0. 1240 Service quality Image Satisfaction Corporate image H1 Service Quality H4 H2 H6 H5 Loyalty Figure 1 Hypothetical Structural Model Satisfaction Overall H3 13

Inspector Calls Essay

Imagine tasks – you must use language that shows the character and reflect the character’s perspective at the time. Try to pin point where in the text you are being asked to comment on. Try to explain your responses in as much detail as possible and try to comment on the effect of specific words on the reader / audience. Don’t forget to comment on stage directions, body language and reported clauses wherever possible. Timing and planning. Do both please (plan points, find quotes, consider paragraphing for all longer tasks) Summary Act 1- The Birlings have just finished a dinner celebrating Sheila’s engagement to Gerald Croft, (the son of one of Arthur Birling’s business rivals). Arthur Birling makes a speech giving his views on the world and then Gerald, Birling and Eric have a chat about current affairs. Their evening is interrupted by the Inspector, who tells them that a young woman (Eva Smith) has died at the Infirmary after swallowing disinfectant. Arthur is the first to be interrogated and he admits that he sacked Eva as punishment for he having been on strike. Arthur Birling’s ruthless business sense is clear here as he fails to see he has done anything wrong and that his sole duty is to â€Å"keep labour costs down†. The Inspector says that it is not just Arthur who is responsible for Eva and begins to interrogate Sheila  who recalls having a shop girl sacked from Milwards department store. She is horrified and embarrassed that her vanity and jealousy contributed to the girl’s death. The Inspector mentions that after this, Eva changed her name to Daisy Renton, which shocks Gerald. He admits to Sheila that he too knew the girl and she guesses that he had an affair. Act 2- Gerald explains how he came across ‘Daisy’ and helped her out, giving her money and accommodation. He had an affair with her, which he ended after the summer. Sheila gives her ring back to Gerald, but says she respects his honesty. He leaves for a walk. The Inspector then begins to question Mrs Birling, who runs the Brumley Women’s Charity Organisation for women in distress. He reminds her of a meeting she chaired two weeks previous. She recalls that she used her influence to refuse assistance to ‘Eva’, who came giving the name â€Å"Mrs Birling† and was pregnant. ‘Eva’ said that the father was from a higher class and a drinker who had offered her marriage, which she had refused, feeling him too immature. She also said that he had offered her stolen money. Mrs Birling is adamant that she did the right thing and is not responsible for Eva’s death and that the man who got her pregnant is. Sheila realises it is Eric and tries to silence her mother but it is too late. Act 3- Eric explains how he met Sheila in a bar and slept with her. He continued to sleep with her, even though he admits that he â€Å"wasn’t in love with her or anything.† He says that she refused to marry him when she found out she was pregnant and she treated him â€Å"as if (he) were a kid.† He stole money from his father’s office and when she found out, she refused to see him. Sheila tells Eric that their mother turned ‘Eva’ away and Eric accuses her of â€Å"killing them both†. The Inspector makes a speech about their shared responsibility for ‘Eva’s’ death and Arthur Birling offers â€Å"thousands† of pounds to atone for the family. The Inspector leaves. The Birlings bicker amongst themselves and Mrs Birling and Arthur begin to question whether he was a real Inspector. Gerald returns with the news that the Inspector wasn’t really an Inspector and rings the hospital that report that no girl has been admitted. Arthur is relieved that it was a â€Å"hoax† but Eric and Sheila see  that it changes nothing. The play ends with Arthur Birling answering a telephone call. It says that a girl has been rushed to hospital after swallowing disinfectant and an Inspector is coming round to talk to them. Key Quotes Setting â€Å"large suburban house†, â€Å"heavily comfortable, but not cosy or homelike† The maid is removing â€Å"champagne glasses, dessert plates† and replacing them with â€Å"decanter of port, cigar box and cigarettes† They are all dressed in â€Å"evening dress of the period† Arthur Birling â€Å"rather portentous†, â€Å"rather provincial in his speech† To Gerald: â€Å"You’re just the kind of son in law I wanted. Your father and | have been friendly rivals in business for some time..† â€Å"I’m talking as a hard headed, practical man of business. And I say there isn’t a chance of war.† On the Titanic: â€Å"absolutely unsinkable† â€Å"There’s a fair chance I might find my way onto the next Honours List.† â€Å"a man has to make his own way – has to look after himself† â€Å"The way some of these cranks talk and write now, you’d think everybody has to took after everybody else†¦. Community and all that nonsense† â€Å"I can’t accept any responsibility† â€Å"It’s my duty to keep labour costs down† On sacking Eva: â€Å"She had a lot to say – far too much – so she had to go† â€Å"If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the earth† â€Å"I was quite justified† â€Å"The press might easily take it up† â€Å"Most of this is bound to come out. There will be a public scandal.† Mrs (Sybil) Birling â€Å"a rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior† â€Å"I don’t suppose for a moment we can understand why that girl committed suicide. Girls of that  class – â€Å" â€Å"I did nothing I’m ashamed of. I consider I did my duty† â€Å"I accept no blame at all† Sheila Birling â€Å"pretty†, â€Å"very pleased with life and rather excited† On getting Eva sacked: â€Å" I felt rotten about it at the time, and now I feel a lot worse† To Gerald about the Inspector: â€Å"Why – you fool – he knows. O f couse he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we don’t know yet.† â€Å"I know I’m to blame – and I’m desperately sorry† â€Å"We really must stop these silly pretences†. â€Å"He (the Inspector) is giving us the rope, so that we hang ourselves.† (Sarcastically, to Gerald about Eva) â€Å"You were the wonderful fairy prince. You must have adored it Gerald† On Gerald’s confession: â€Å"In some odd way, I rather respect you more than I’ve ever done before†¦.You and I aren’t the same people who sat down to dinner here.† To her father: â€Å"I remember what he said, how he looked and what it made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish. And it frightens me the way you talk and I can’t listen to any more of it.† Eric Birling â€Å"not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive† On Arthur sacking Eva â€Å"I call it tough luck† On the night he met Eva: â€Å"I’m not very clear about it, but afterwards she told me she didn’t want me to go in, but that – well, I was in that state where a chap easily turns nasty – and I threatened to make a row.† â€Å"I wasn’t in love with her or anything. But she was pretty, and a good sport.† â€Å"I hate these fat old tarts I see around the town. The ones I see your (Birling’s) respectable friends with.† â€Å"In a way, she treated me like a kid.† (To Birling): â€Å"You’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble.† Gerald Croft â€Å"attractive†, â€Å"rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy, well bred young man-about-town† (On Eva) â€Å"She was pretty and warm hearted – and  intensely grateful† Inspector Goole â€Å"creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness† â€Å"speaks carefully, weightily and looks hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking† â€Å"What happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide. A chain of events.† Looking at the dead body: â€Å"A nice promising life there, I thought, and a nasty mess somebody’s made of it† â€Å"One line of enquiry at a time† (Gerald: â€Å"we’re respectable citizens, not criminals† Inspector: â€Å"Sometimes there isn’t as much difference as you think. Often ,if it was left to me, I wouldn’t know where to draw the line.† â€Å"You see, we have to share something. And if there’s nothing else, we have to share our guilt.† â€Å"Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.† â€Å"this girl killed herself, and died a horrible death. But each of you helped kill her. Remember that. Never forget it.† â€Å"But remember this. One Eva Smith has gone – but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all entwined with our lives. We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.† Background / Cultural Context John Priestley was born in Bradford born in 1894 and died in 1984. He served as a soldier in WW1 and was a socialist – he believed that the British ‘community’ (people living together) should not be dominated by the rich and powerful (capitalists) Priestley wanted the poor to have a stronger place within the community The play is set before the war. Themes Social responsibility / community / accountability Family / Deception (lies) / Guilt / Abuse of power / Rich vs poor Responsibility Sin and morality Possible questions / Revision tasks 1What impression of the Birling family does the writer want the audience to have in the opening scene? 2 â€Å"We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.† In Act 1, how does the writer try to get this message across to the audience? 3. How is the theme of social awareness explored through different characters? 4. How does Sheila’s reaction to key events create tension in the play? 5. To what extent do you feel sympathy towards Mrs Birling? 6. To what extent do you feel sympathy for Eric? 7. What do you think is the importance of Eva Smith to the play as a whole? 8. You are Inspector Goole before your visit to the Birlings. You write in your notebook: what you plan to do during the visit; why you are doing it; and what you expect to happen. 9. How does the presentation of Arthur Birling, before the arrival of the Inspector, add to the dramatic impact of the whole play? 10. You are Sheila and you have kept a diary. Write two of the entries – one  for the day when you got Eva Smith sacked from Milwards, and one for the night on which the play takes place. 11. What changes occur in the relationship between Sheila and Gerald? 12. Describe the way in which the Birling family begin to believe that the Inspector is not a genuine policeman. 13. The action of the play takes place on just one evening, and in just one room of the Birling house. What do you think the play gains, or loses, as a result? 14. Explore the theme of deception in the play? 15. How is the idea of sin explored in the play? 16. Is An inspector Calls a play about morality? 17. ‘In the play, it becomes clear that the responsibility is shared amongst the characters.’ How far do you agree with this statement? 18. â€Å"By the end of the play, lessons have been learnt.† Explore this statement in regards to the play. 19. Discuss the role of Inspector Goole in the play. 20. â€Å"The responsibility lies with the older generation.† Discuss.

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