A Human Service Professional Essay

A human service professional, plays a major role in society, working side-by-side with various professionals, and assumes a wide range of roles to assist individuals, groups, organizations and communities. Although human service professionals do not necessarily do in depth and psychotherapy, they are well-equipped to facilitate client change and growth typically by working directly or indirectly with clients around concrete tasks, objectives, and goals. A counselor, broker, advocate, case manager, community planner and behavior specialists are just few of the roles of a human service professional. (Lincoln University) Personal values, beliefs, prejudices and stereotypes can help the helping process when the client and the human service professional share the same idea or belief. The human service professional may be able to add to what the client feels or knows or enlighten the client in a positive way because of their personal knowledge or experience. On the other hand it could harm the helping process if beliefs are different. In this case study if the human service professional has any negative feelings about homosexuality, then Todd and Reggie may not receive the full help they are in search of. Although the focus is on getting themselves together, they came in as a couple with some relationship issues that they need to work on. If I were the human service professional on this case, I would be a little uncomfortable with the whole situation. Not only are they homosexual men but this is an interracial relationship. I personally do not fully agree with black and whites dating, although I am not racist. I also know that morally it is wrong to be in a same sex relationship but I do have a few acquaintances that are homosexual. After the initial negative thoughts have run through my mind I will be able to push that aside and get down to business. Honestly my biggest worry would be how they are treated by friends and family because those are the people who are most important and it seems as though those people are not there for Todd or Reggie. Given the situation that I’m the human service professional for Todd and Reggie I would ask Todd to tell me about his self, since he is more open than Reggie. Getting to know more about Todd is important because it gives me a look inside his life as far as where he came from to how he got to this point. I want to know about his relationship with his mom and why he feels she is emotionally abusive to him. This important because it â€Å"drives him to drink† and is one of the issues he is currently dealing with including substance abuse of cocaine. I would ask him how his sessions go with his psychiatrist and maybe get contact info to speak with the psychiatrist about Todd’s bipolar disorder. This is vital to know because he made need additional assistance controlling his disease. As for Reggie I would also ask him to tell me about his self. How he ended up in jail to the point where he is now, gives me a look into his life. It also helps me figure out what needs to be avoided to keep him in good terms with his parole officer. I also want to know why his estranged sisters will not speak to him. This is important because Reggie needs closure. If not speak to him for anything else, at least share with him the memory of his mother’s last days. I want to talk about his progress in the â€Å"STARS† program. Since he has not found a job yet, that may be something I need to assist him with. We also need to discuss why he has been violent toward Todd. For him to come with his partner to this meeting means he cares for Todd and wants help, so understanding their relationship will be helpful in helping them maintain one. Finally we should talk about why Reggie is uncomfortable with Todd’s behavior in public. This is important because he may be having issues coming to terms with his sexuality and if so, I need to help him overcome this feeling. Together I want to ask them about their relationship and what they want to come out of it. This is important because if they want to stay together as stated, both parties must be on the same page. Todd may have to accommodate to Reggie by toning down his behavior in public while Reggie will have to consider substance abuse counseling. Potential ethical issues with this case is the sexuality of the clients but Human service professionals provide services without discrimination or preference based on age, ethnicity, culture, race, disability, gender,  religion, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. Also obtaining or sharing information with Todd’s psychiatrist Human service professionals protect the integrity, safety, and security of client records. All written client information that is shared with other professionals, except in the course of professional supervision, must have the client’s prior written consent. A legal issue is the fact that Reggie is physical with Todd and although it was the past, if it happened again I must keep in mind If it is suspected that danger or harm may occur to the client or to others as a result of a client’s behavior, the human service professional acts in an appropriate and professional manner to protect the safety of those individuals. This may involve seeking consultation, supervision, and/or breaking the confidentiality of the relationship. Also Reggie smokes marijuana which is not good for urine tests with his parole officer along with Todd’s cocaine use. Human service professionals protect the client’s right to privacy and confidentiality except when such confidentiality would cause harm to the client or others, when agency guidelines state otherwise, or under other stated conditions (e.g., local, state, or federal laws). Professionals inform clients of the limits of confidentiality prior to the onset of the helping relationship. (NOHS, 2009) For Todd and Reggie I would recommend that they go to rehab because they both have addictions that need to be dealt with in order to move forward in the relationship and just life in general.

Understanding Work Related Injuries

Have you ever thought what would happen if you got hurt on the job or while traveling between offices or worse yet if you get sick because of the type of work that you are employed to do? If you sometimes think about this there is no need to worry. The reason that I say this because every company out there Federal and State alike are required to have workers compensation benefits. There are rules and regulation that are put into place to keep you safe while on the job or on the company’s property. The organization that oversees this would be the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that was developed in 1970 to protect workers from health and safety risks. Although all employers are overseen by OSHA there are a select few that are not these would be independent contractors, churches, domestic workers in private home settings, and federal employees (Valerius?Bayes?Newby?Seggern, 2008). Federal employers have their own compensation plans that are covered under the Federal Employees’ Compensation ACT (FECA). The first of four plans would be the long shore and Harbor workers’ compensation plans. This covers employees of in the maritime field. The second federal program would be the Black Lung Program. This covers employees that are employed or previously employed in coal mines. The third and final program is the energy employees occupational illness compensation program act. This covers employees or previous employees that have developed cancer and other serious illness from energy exposure. State worker’s compensation covers all others except federal employees, inmates employed by the prison; self- employed, for hire domestic, drivers under lease agreement, volunteers, independent, clergy and church members, and lastly agricultural laborers. No matter if you are a state or federal employee there are two different workers compensation programs that you will be covered under. The first one covers the medical costs that are incurred due to the injury; the second covers the lost wages that has come from the injury. When a person is injured on the job, on the company’s property, or performing a work related task they will be covered under workers compensation. If an employee is injured they need to inform their employer promptly so that proper medical treatment can commence. The employee usually needs to put the injury in writing also known as the first report of injury, the physician depending on the insurance may need to be the one to fill this form in. Once this is done the employer also has to file their own claim with the state workers compensation office as well as the insurance company (Workers Compensation- the Workers' Comp Service Center, 2009). Depending on the severity and urgency of the injury the insurance company may require a form to be filled out by the physician of record. The physician of record is the physician who first treats the employee. This physician is also responsible for determining the amount of disability and if and when the employee may return to work. The Physicians of Record must according to insurance company or state regulation must file a progress report at certain intervals of the treatment or when there is a change that will affect the disability status. Once the insurance company gets the claims that may be filed electronically depending on the carrier has to now issue a claim number and identify if the injury will or will not be covered by workers compensation. Once this is determined than the insurance company needs to notify the employer on the determination. If the claim is accepted than monies that the employee loses from not being able to work are sent right the employee with no income tax being withheld and all medical bills are paid. If the claim is denied by workers compensation than the employee is responsible for the medical bills and may submit the medical bills to their own medical insurance carrier to be paid, but the employee does not receive lost wages. No matter what the outcome is of the claim HIPPA rules and regulations are not strictly enforced to keep the privacy of the injured employee. However, most states allow claims adjusters and employers unrestricted access to the workers compensation files. Patient Health Information may be disclosed without the patient’s authorization. The employee cannot even ask that their information be withheld from the employer. References: Valerius?Bayes?Newby?Seggern. (2008). Medical Insurance: An. The McGraw?Hill. WokersCompensation- The Workers' Comp Service Center. (2009). Retrieved May 15, 2011, from WorkersCompensation.com: http://www.workerscompensation.com/ Valerius, Bayes, Newby, Seggern. (2008). Medical Insurance. In An Intergrates Claims Processing Approach, Third Edition (pp. 292 – 298). New york: McGraw Hill. WokersCompensation- The Workers' Comp Service Center. (2009). Retrieved May 15, 2011, from WorkersCompensation.com: http://www.workerscompensation.com/ Understanding Work Related Injuries Have you ever thought what would happen if you got hurt on the job or while traveling between offices or worse yet if you get sick because of the type of work that you are employed to do? If you sometimes think about this there is no need to worry. The reason that I say this because every company out there Federal and State alike are required to have workers compensation benefits. There are rules and regulation that are put into place to keep you safe while on the job or on the company’s property. The organization that oversees this would be the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that was developed in 1970 to protect workers from health and safety risks. Although all employers are overseen by OSHA there are a select few that are not these would be independent contractors, churches, domestic workers in private home settings, and federal employees (Valerius?Bayes?Newby?Seggern, 2008). Federal employers have their own compensation plans that are covered under the Federal Employees’ Compensation ACT (FECA). The first of four plans would be the long shore and Harbor workers’ compensation plans. This covers employees of in the maritime field. The second federal program would be the Black Lung Program. This covers employees that are employed or previously employed in coal mines. The third and final program is the energy employees occupational illness compensation program act. This covers employees or previous employees that have developed cancer and other serious illness from energy exposure. State worker’s compensation covers all others except federal employees, inmates employed by the prison; self- employed, for hire domestic, drivers under lease agreement, volunteers, independent, clergy and church members, and lastly agricultural laborers. No matter if you are a state or federal employee there are two different workers compensation programs that you will be covered under. The first one covers the medical costs that are incurred due to the injury; the second covers the lost wages that has come from the injury. When a person is injured on the job, on the company’s property, or performing a work related task they will be covered under workers compensation. If an employee is injured they need to inform their employer promptly so that proper medical treatment can commence. The employee usually needs to put the injury in writing also known as the first report of injury, the physician depending on the insurance may need to be the one to fill this form in. Once this is done the employer also has to file their own claim with the state workers compensation office as well as the insurance company (Workers Compensation- the Workers' Comp Service Center, 2009). Depending on the severity and urgency of the injury the insurance company may require a form to be filled out by the physician of record. The physician of record is the physician who first treats the employee. This physician is also responsible for determining the amount of disability and if and when the employee may return to work. The Physicians of Record must according to insurance company or state regulation must file a progress report at certain intervals of the treatment or when there is a change that will affect the disability status. Once the insurance company gets the claims that may be filed electronically depending on the carrier has to now issue a claim number and identify if the injury will or will not be covered by workers compensation. Once this is determined than the insurance company needs to notify the employer on the determination. If the claim is accepted than monies that the employee loses from not being able to work are sent right the employee with no income tax being withheld and all medical bills are paid. If the claim is denied by workers compensation than the employee is responsible for the medical bills and may submit the medical bills to their own medical insurance carrier to be paid, but the employee does not receive lost wages. No matter what the outcome is of the claim HIPPA rules and regulations are not strictly enforced to keep the privacy of the injured employee. However, most states allow claims adjusters and employers unrestricted access to the workers compensation files. Patient Health Information may be disclosed without the patient’s authorization. The employee cannot even ask that their information be withheld from the employer. References: Valerius?Bayes?Newby?Seggern. (2008). Medical Insurance: An. The McGraw?Hill. WokersCompensation- The Workers' Comp Service Center. (2009). Retrieved May 15, 2011, from WorkersCompensation.com: http://www.workerscompensation.com/ Valerius, Bayes, Newby, Seggern. (2008). Medical Insurance. In An Intergrates Claims Processing Approach, Third Edition (pp. 292 – 298). New york: McGraw Hill. WokersCompensation- The Workers' Comp Service Center. (2009). Retrieved May 15, 2011, from WorkersCompensation.com: http://www.workerscompensation.com/

Relationship between decoration and structure in architecture Essay

Relationship between decoration and structure in architecture - Essay Example Decoration refers to the process of making a construction aesthetical while structure refers to the basic features of the structures that enhance the usability and effectiveness of the constructions. The need to balance between the two is vital owing to the role and relevance of the two features in the appropriateness of constructions. Architectures must strive to uphold the two while recognizing the variation in the priorities that they must provide each of the two features as portrayed in the discussion below. Among the fundamental structural features, that architectures must consider in the design of a construction is safety. Structural, material and functional honesty is an architectural value that guides the operations of architectures as they design and carry out various constructions. Honesty of a construction refers to the ability of the construction to bear the load without self-destructing since such would endanger the lives of the users. The value dictates that a structure must display its true purpose and not be merely decoration. This implies that the value recognizes the need for constructions to be aesthetical. However, it gives priority to the functionality of structures. Before incorporating various decorative features into a construction, architectures must ensure that the structures are safe and uphold their actual value. In case a decoration is likely to threaten the safety of a construction, the value dictates that the architectures must overlook such decorative measure s. Honesty as a design value ensures that designers consider and employ appropriate features that will ensure that a structure is safe and stay functional for the time set during its design. When designing a story building for example, the designers must consider such vital features such as the height of the structure, which as well influences the depth of the foundation especially with appropriate consideration to the stability of the location. The

Old Testament Prophets Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Old Testament Prophets - Research Paper Example A study of the scriptures shows that Joseph and Mary were David’s descendants even though their family lineages are different. The fulfillment of the conditions of the covenant by man was very crucial since, fulfillment led to blessedness while failure to fulfill or obey led to discipline or curse. The prophetic message or utterance entails forth telling, which is the explanation of current occurrences and foretelling, which entails what will happen in the future. God’s relationship with the children of Israel through covenants necessitated the prophetic utterance of the Old Testament prophets, correcting them when they strayed and encouraging them when they felt discouraged. In the book of the major prophet Jeremiah, the results of violating the covenants are very well documented, denoting the very great relationship between the covenants and prophecy in the Old Testament.3 Words, prophecies, wars and blessings are all shown to take place in accordance to what God has said many years earlier. It is in the book of Jeremiah where the chosen people of God are taken into captivity, with Jeremiah earning the tag â€Å"the weeping prophet† as he weeps continually , warning of impending judgment to a people and Kings who disbelieve and even have him thrown into prison. The exile into Babylon was a very distressful happening but one that could have been avoided had the chosen race heeded prophetic utterance, where God had warned that one of the consequences of disobedience would be exile to other nations. Though the prophets were speaking with their own voices, they were giving forth Gods mind and counsel to the children of Israel. God Some of the covenants that God established with His people include the one that He made at Aden as narrated in Genesis 1:28 -30 where God gave man the responsibility to procreate and fill the earth, with a promise to bless him.4 Man was also given the responsibility of taking care of the garden of Aden, having domin ion over the animals and taking care not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which was at the centre of the garden. After man rebelled and ate of the tree of knowledge and evil, God made the Adamic covenant too, because the relationship between God and man changed since man had not kept his part of the bargain. 5 The serpent was cursed, God made the first promise of a redeemer, who would come through the lineage of Seth, Noah, Abraham, Isaac Jacob Judah and David. The woman was placed under the headship of man and would from then on suffer pain at childbirth. Man also suffered the loss of the garden of Aden where life was easy and henceforth got into a life of hard work due to the resultant cursing of the ground for his sake. He would from that time on suffer sorrow and have a shortened lifespan and also suffer the pain of death. God later made covenant with Noah after the flood which had been occasioned by man’s rebellion, leading to the destruction of the whole world with water except Noah and his family. God promised never again to harm his people with water, setting a bow in the sky to act as a reminder to man of God’

Was Realism a social movement as much as an artistic one Were the Essay

Was Realism a social movement as much as an artistic one Were the artists' messages and calls for changes of attitude more critical than the art itself Please use specific art examples - Essay Example The realists’ messages and calls were critical as they were equally portrayed in their arts. In the artwork of Gustave Courbet in 1856 entitled â€Å"Les Demoiselles du bord de la Seine† for instance, he painted two women resting under a tree. The color of the painting is prominently green which are contrasted by the red and white clothes of the women, usually common in Courbet’s era. The heavy lines of the painting give a smooth texture to the painting, giving it an almost photographic appearance that makes a viewer feel like he is looking at the scene himself and not just a painting. The balance of color and space in the painting does not only present what the painter wants to show but it also makes the artwork appealing to the eyes. As to form and shape, the painter was able to capture how the models would have looked like in real life, being true to their proportions without exaggerating features for emphasis. The painting also shows good spacing between the figures so that even though the plane used is two-dimensional, it shows a three-dimensional picture with the sleeping woman nearer the viewer and the second woman a little farther from the first. The trees also seem to be a distance away from the women, creating a realistic picture which is the message of

Hispanic Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hispanic Diversity - Essay Example Diverse workforce acts as a competitive advantage to the companies. To a large extent organizational performance depends on handling its diversity issues. For selling products and services companies needs to handle many diversity issues because of their wide range of diverse customers. Organizations need to know diverse language, cultures, customers etc for fulfilling the needs and requirements of their customers and employees. This facilitates the company in achieving their goals and objectives (Jose 141). When a company understands the diverse needs, expectations and requirements of its organizational members and customer then it can enhance its business process and services which facilitates the firm in improving its performance and holding its place in the competitive global market. People of different cultures and countries are presently residing in U.S. Spanish people are presently dominating the U.S market. Business people, students, serviceman etc reside in U.S. Other than Spanish, people from another country like China, Latin America etc reside in the U.S. the basic differences among these people are in their culture, customs, habits etc. Hispanic people have covered the maximum part of U.S market. Hispanic people are very much associated with their family, unlike the present American people. The Spanish and Latinos people take care of their parents when they grow old. But the people of other cultures residing in America are very much concerned about themselves. American society believes in individualism but Hispanic people believe in collectivism. People of different income level stay in the U.S which enhances the socioeconomic differences in this state (Maffi 140). The market and workplaces of U.S are characterized with all of these differences for which companies operating in U.S market are trying to manage diversity issues.

Researching Political Analysis Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Researching Political Analysis Report - Essay Example Thus, it came as a surprise when the 2001 and 2005 elections voter turnout statistics was announced. In the 2001 General Elections, voter turnout fell to a historic through of 59.4 percent followed by a slight increase of 61.3 percent in the 2005 elections. The 2001 results alone sent shockwaves throughout the British media and the political system. In a 2004 report by baston and Ritchie for the Electoral Reform Society entitled ‘Turning Out or Turning Off’, the authors opened with a note that the turnout of 3 out of 5 electors was the worst in its post-war record. The last time that the turnout results registered this percentage was in 1918 where many of the registered voters were just beginning to return after the end of World War I. For the first time since 1923, the total number of those who did not exercise their voting rights was larger than the number of voters that determined the winning party. Knowing all of this statistics, the British political system became worried and there was much generated fanfare. The main concern over the 2005 elections was not who wo n for what seat. Instead, it was how many cared to participate in the elections. Why is it that British voters are not turning up in polls? There are different, though not necessarily unrelated, theories explaining this social phenomena. Voter turnout is considered to be an index which can be used to assess the state of democracy in the country concerned. A decline in voter turnout can be considered as a decline in democracy. It can indicate that the political system is becoming authoritative and imposing such that the people are dissuaded or inhibited in exercising their voting rights. The legitimacy of the government is put into question because the decrease may imply lack of representation of certain groups. (Rose, 1997) Another plausible explanation is that it is due to the dissatisfaction of

Thomas Hobbes Ieviathan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Thomas Hobbes Ieviathan - Essay Example Always he based his argument on the violent deaths of men on the hands of another man. He believed that the only way natural laws could work was only by submitting the commands t the sovereign. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Oxford 1996 Thomas Hobbes has his own reputation on political philosophy. He is widely known to be a thinker with so many interests in political philosophy. In the world of philosophy, Thomas H. is widely known for his defense on a wide range of issues that included Naminalist, empiricist, and materialist views in contrast to republic. In history too, he is also known to have translated Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian war in to now English which saw him later write his own history on the long parliament. Generally, Thomas H. is widely known for his participation in his intellectual life.1 His vision of the world is original and still relevant to the contemporary politics. His main concern is majorly the problems of the social and political order, which is how human beings can live together without fear or civil conflicts in our societies. He has ever insisted in giving our obedience to an account able sovereign person or group to determine every social political issue. Otherwise, what awaits us is a state of nature, which more closely resembles a civil war whereby everybody in any society is in a state of fear. It is due to Hobbes interpretations, which lead to so many controversies as to whether he sees human beings as merely egoistic or purely self-interested. He goes on to posits unconnected and primitive state of nature whereby men have the natural proclivity to hurt another man and have rights over everything even to one another’s body. This is what making me defends Hobbes in his argument whereby powers should be rested on the sovereign state. Power is entrusted to a certain group who ensures that there is law and order in that state and no civil wars2. In the early 1640s, this is the time when Hobbes started making an impac t with most of the philosophical writings and one of his own was the elements of law, whereby he started with the developments of the workings of the human mind and language also the political matters. One of his first published books on philosophy was the De Cive published in 1642, which encompasses three main aspects, which included Empire, Liberty, and religion. Later when in France Hobbes then wrote Leviathan and this book was published in 1651. Leviathan basically comprises of matters of scriptural interpretation and it is in this book where majorly his work evolves in. Leviathan is a book written by Thomas Hobbes during the civil war. Its concerns are basically on the society and the legitimate government hence taken as one of the examples of the social contract theory. He argues that social unity and civil peace can only be achieved through the establishment of a commonwealth through the social contract. This common wealth is then ruled by either a sovereign power or even a s ingle ruler who provides security to the common wealth. He is a man who has lived in fear, which then eventually led him to write the leviathan. In his book, He set out the foundation of states plus the legitimate governments, which are said to have originated from the social contract theory3. This book is known to have been written during the English civil wars. It was as a result of these evil

Best companies to work for Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Best companies to work for - Essay Example Additionally, the company also engages in advertising services, operating systems provisions hardware and enterprise product selling. People think of Google as the number one search company on the internet; it acquired that reputation by helping people find the right thing, summarizing it, and allowing them to go deeper. The company has an auction-based system of running ad words where the number of click-throughs generates revenues for users and itself. Furthermore, Google has an open source software platform; this relies on the Android system and enables users to apply it in various elements of service. It also has a range of products for business enterprises as well as a mobile segment of wireless services. Zappos is an internet retailer that specializes in the sale of shoes; it is recognized as the biggest online shoes store in the world. The firm started in 1999 under the leadership of Tony Hsieh, who is the current CEO as well as Nick Swinmurn. The organization was acquired by Amazon.com in a deal worth $1 billion, but retains its usual operations, leadership and independence. The firm is mostly known for its customer service with call-center employees having the freedom to use their own scripts in order to meet consumer needs. Google started in 1998 under the leadership of Larry Page and Sergey Brin; the firm later had one of the most successful public offerings with a record $1.67 billion being raised in the process. Currently, the firm has about 25,507 employees who enjoy working for the organization owing to its challenging environment as well as its casual approach to work. Likewise, Zappos now employs about 38,421 employees who enjoy the autonomy they access at work as well as the freedom. Google is a highly innovative company that models its human resources practices using this approach as well; everything in the company’s people management follows this strategy. First, of all its overall approach to people

Factors and contributors Essay Example for Free

Factors and contributors Essay People usually love to go by the shorelines, as these have been identified as the home of a variety of fish and other aquatic creatures (Department of Fisheries and Oceans-Canada, 2008). Many of the fish breed their young, and seek shelter and protection from predators (DFO, 2008). Hence the efforts of shoreline stabilization must be conducted to counter the effects of shoreline erosion (DFO, 2008). Shoreline erosion have varied causes, from natural causes such as wind driven wave action, a dearth in vegetation, ice and water (Marine Information Portal). Man- made factors contributing to shoreline erosion would include n of forests and vegetation and wash, or waves generated from passing boats (Portal). Most shorelines that have been affected by erosion usually undergo shoreline erosion will undergo some stabilization procedures to prevent it from being a threat to development on the waterfront (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration, 2007). Among the measures that are placed on a permanent basis are divided into several types. â€Å"Soft† or â€Å"non-structural† procedures bank on planting of plants and the use of sand fills, while â€Å"hybrid† techniques are deemed as effective stabilization modes to the conventional hard structures such as bulk heads or â€Å"rip rap† structures (NOAA, 2007). Shoreline erosion does not only affect marine life, destroying their natural habitat, turbidity of the water , and algae growth, shoreline erosion contributes to land loss and lowering of property values (Marine Info). But many factors go into determing the impact of shoreline erosion on the waterway (Marine Info). Factors such as the size of the watercraft, how far it is from the shoreline, and the speed when it passed the waterway, influence the degree of erosion on the particular waterway (Marine Info). Urban development has also taken its toll on the shoreline (Department of Boating and Waterways, 2002). In California, the erosion being experienced in North County in San Diego has been attributed to the rapid development pace of urbanization of the watershed area and the competing interests in society (Terra Costa Consulting Group, 2005). The effects of human interference in the natural ecosystem began with the damming the rivers for flood prevention, and creating recreational water facilities (DBW, 2002). These construction activities reduced the sand that would normally reach the coast, and that, along side with obstruction of sand development because of harbor construction activities, contribute to shoreline erosion (DBW, 2002). References Department of Boating and Waterways. (2002).California beach setting. Retrieved September 12, 2008, from http://www. dbw. ca. gov/PDF/Reports/BeachReport/Ch2_Setting. pdf. Department of Fisheries and Oceans-Canada. (2008). Fish habitat shoreline stabilization. Retrieved September 12, 2008, from http://www. dfo-mpo. gc. ca/regions/CENTRAL/pub/fact-fait-on/c4_e. htm Marine Information Portal. (n. d. ). Shoreline erosion caused by boat wake. Retrieved September 12, 2008, from http://www. marinfo. gc. ca/Doc/Erosion/Erosion_des_berges_En. pdf. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2007). Alternative shoreline stabilization methods. Retrieved September 12, 2008, from http://coastalmanagement. noaa. gov/initiatives/shoreline_stabilization. html Terra Costa Consulting Group. (2005). Appendix d: sediment/ erosion analysis. Retrieved September 12, 2008, from http://www. ci. solana-beach. ca. us/uploads/Appendix%20D%20Sediment-Erosion %20Analysis. pdf.

Effects of Website Attributes on Customer Satisfaction

Effects of Website Attributes on Customer Satisfaction ABSTRACT This study investigates the important attributes of online web stores in e-commerce by examining the possible website elements that determine different aspects of the association between customers satisfaction and e-commerce website attributes. A questionnaire consisting of 24 items was completed by 60 respondents. The instrument for this study was developed on the basis of â€Å"SERVQUAL† using a 5 point Likert scale. There were five independent variables used in the study out of which two were included as a result of stepwise multiple regression model which are: websResponse (accounting for 26.3% of the total variance); and webCustomization (accounting for 5.1% of the total variance). Results of a stepwise regression indicated that two website attributes significantly predict customer satisfaction (31.4% of the combined explained variance). Within the five website attributes in E-commerce website dimension, â€Å"website response† correlated highly with customer satis faction (26.3% of the explained variance). The results of the study indicate that the two website attributes of e-commerce (website response and website customization) impact the customers satisfaction and other three do not have a significant influence. The study concludes with related implications and design guidelines to enhancing customer satisfaction of e-commerce. Effects of website attributes on customer satisfaction in E-commerce SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION The Internet is no longer a niche technology it is mass media and an utterly integral part of modern life. As our lives become more fractured and cluttered, it isnt surprising that consumers turn to the unrivalled convenience of the Internet when it comes to searching and buying product. 1.1 INTROduction to E-COMMERCE The rise of the WWW gives birth to new phenomena in our daily lives, one of which is e-commerce. The internet has played a vital and important part to encourage selling products and services online which makes life convenient for the audiences, which in an inter-connected world, is well, the whole world. E-Commerce is a subset of an overall e-business strategy consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet. E-commerce seeks to add revenue streams using the World Wide Web or the Internet to build and enhance relationships with clients and partners and to improve efficiency. E-commerce has given rise to the concept of completely online shops selling products and services, efficiently catalogued and available for the shoppers convenience. There are several websites that stock everything from lifestyle items, collectibles, books, electronic appliances etc. The level of e-commerce use can be measured by using an e-commerce capability indicator. E-commerce capability indicator by Molla Licker:  § No e-commerce indicates a company without e-mail or an Internet connection.  § Connected e-commerce represents a company that has an Internet connection and e-mail.  § Informational e-commerce indicates a company using a Web site to publish basic information about the company and its products/services in a static manner.  § Interactive e-commerce refers to the ability of users to search the companys product catalogue, make queries, and enter orders.  § Transactional e-commerce allows online selling and purchasing of products or services including online payment and customer service. E-business applications can be divided into three categories. First is an internal business system in which customer relationship management (CRM), Enterprise resource planning (ERP), and Human Resource management (HRM) type of systems are involved. Second is enterprise communication and collaboration such as content management system (CMS), business process management (BPM) and web conferencing etc. Third is e-commerce that includes Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce and Business-to-customer (B2C) e-commerce. Online shopping comes under this category on which this study is conducted. Several e-commerce service providers are available on web that provides professional customized web designing services that suit their clients needs. Some common applications related to electronic commerce are the following:  § Online Shopping (Web Shop)  § Online Banking  § Online Marketing  § CRM etc 1.1.1 Online Shopping Online shopping is the process consumers go through to purchase products or services over the services over the web. Online shopping is a type of business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. The term web shop also refers to a place of business where web development, web hosting and other types of web related activities take place (Web refers to the World Wide Web and shop has a idiomatic meaning used to describe the place). 1.2 service quality The level of service received on a web site. Dependent on reliability, responsiveness and availability of staff and the web site service. Service quality is comprised of five dimensions. These are:  § Tangibles: appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and written materials (Zeithaml, Bitner Gremler, 2006).  § Reliability: ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.  § Assurance: employees knowledge and courtesy and their ability to inspire trust and confidence.  § Responsiveness: willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.  § Empathy: caring, individualized attention given to customers. 1.2.1 Service quality dimensions in e-commerce systems Lets examine how customers judge the five dimensions of service quality in perspective of e-commerce systems. Tangibles refer to the physical appearance of an e-commerce website, its structure, layout, theme etc and referred as â€Å"website structure†. Reliability represented as â€Å"website adequacy† which provides the relevant and needed information provided by an e-commerce system when customer clicked or requested for. Assurance termed as â€Å"website security† refers as the trustworthy service provider that could include a well reputable website, reliable payments methods etc. Responsiveness is the prompt and relevant response to the specific request of users described by â€Å"website response†. Empathy knows internal customers as individual; understanding individual needs and concerns such as by providing recommendations that matches the customers needs which is termed as â€Å"website customization† in world of web. 1.2.2 service quality framework (SERVQUAL) SERVQUAL was originally measured on 10 aspects of service quality: reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding or knowing the customer and tangibles. By the early nineties the authors had refined the model to the useful acronym RATER.  § Reliability  § Assurance  § Tangibles  § Empathy, and  § Responsiveness SERVQUAL has its detractors and is considered overly complex, subjective and statistically unreliable. The simplified RATER model however is a simple and useful model for qualitatively exploring and assessing customers service experiences and has been used widely by service delivery organizations. 1.2.3 customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction refers to the extent to which customers are happy with the products and services provided by a business. Customer satisfaction levels can be measured using survey techniques and questionnaires. Gaining high levels of customer satisfaction is very important to a business because satisfied customers are most likely to be loyal and to make repeated orders and to use a wide range of services offered by a business. The basic definition of customer satisfaction says that Customer satisfaction is a term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is an abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product or service. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organizations products or services. 1.3 Customer Satisfaction Based on Perceived service quality of e-commerce systems The overall satisfaction of e-commerce customers can be attained by providing the level of service quality that customers perceive in that system. The five dimensions of service quality are tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The website structure of an e-commerce websites is all about the tangibility dimension. The reliability dimension in this study is measured by the attribute called website adequacy. The website response variable indicates the responsiveness dimension. Website security as another attribute of an e-commerce system refers to the assurance dimension and the empathy dimension described by the website customization The overall customer satisfaction is based on the five service quality dimensions representing various service attributes: tangibility, reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy. The detailed model used in this study is presented in figure A. The website design elements are characterized into five different types which are supposed to influence the five service quality dimensions. This study hypothesizes that some website attributes that are based on service quality dimensions has an impact on an online customer satisfaction. In other words, customers satisfaction level will increase if the e-commerce system provides a higher level of service quality through different website attributes. 1.4 Increased trend of Online surfing and shopping in Pakistan The trend of an online surfing is increasing rapidly due to the increased benefits by the use of e-commerce business environment. People visit e-commerce web sites not only for buying but for several other reasons and the smart retailer just should not only focus on boosting online browse-to-buy conversion rates, but should also try to grab the attention of an online visitors who came in for review so as they could become a customer later. Many people feel it comfortable to review the products through an extensive knowledge provided over the internet before actually buying a particular product. For this purpose, e-commerce website provides an interface to the buyers to write their reviews and share their after-purchase experiences. Thus, the e-commerce systems reduce the time and efforts required for the first step of information search in consumer decision making process. That is, by just few clicks a consumer can have a concise analysis for what matches his/her needs. There are some factors emerged as a results of the changes in lifestyle and habits of consumer which has promoted the trend of online searching and shopping in Pakistan. Some of these factors are lack of time, need of convenience and easy access to the desired object. Moreover, e-commerce websites facilitates the visitor in many ways to boost up online browse-to-buy conversion rate. Whenever a new customer lands on an e-commerce website, he/she must be having many questions in their minds regarding the products and services. A well-framed ecommerce site has an enquiry page for their customers. This gives the chance to the visitor to post an enquiry with your site. Main aim of this page is to gather all relevant and necessary information from the customers so that they can be given response in an apt manner. Within the past decade, e-commerce has matured and grown exponentially. The result: now there are many types of e-commerce payment methods available online. If your credit is bad and you cannot afford a merchant account, there are alternative methods of payments on e-commerce websites which can help you. The e-commerce systems give customers controlled access to the data they need. In other words, not only are you managing your relationship with your customers, you are giving your customers the tools to manage their relationship with you. THESIS STRUCTURE This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the problem about which the research was carried out and in general about the trends of online shopping in Pakistan. Chapter 2 is about the literature review and the theoretical background is developed. In Chapter 3, researcher describes the methodology adopted including sources of information and data collection procedure is discussed. In chapter 4, the empirical data collected through questionnaire is analyzed and results are concluded on the basis of a survey. In Chapter 5, Conclusions are drawn and necessary recommendations are suggested. 1.5 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM â€Å"Effects of website attributes on customer satisfaction in e-commerce.† The main purpose of this research is to find out the different attributes which encourage consumers to visit, search and shop on a particular website. 1.6 OBJECTIVE The purposes of this study are as follows: To identify the most important website element of e-commerce with respect to the customer satisfaction. To examine what is important to the customer regarding website attributes in e-commerce with perspective of website builders. 1.6.1 Possible Research Findings The research will also provide the following significances.  § Help the organization to better understand what customers expect in e-commerce and how those expectations impact customer attitude.  § The study will examine what the customer views as major attributes of website in e-commerce.  § Able to investigate the major customer attitudes associated with website structure in e-commerce.  § The study will indicate the link between the website attributes and the customer attitudes. 1.7 HYPOTHESES H1: Website structure has a significant association with customer satisfaction. H2: Website adequacy has a significant association with customer satisfaction. H3: Website security has a significant association with customer satisfaction. H4: Website response has a significant association with customer satisfaction. H5: Website customization has a significant association with customer satisfaction. SECTION 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction to e-commerce: The propagation of WWW has originated few facts in our daily lives, one of which is e-commerce. A transaction between two or more participants through an electronic medium is defines as e-commerce (Kalacota and Whinston 1997). As an e-commerce is rapidly raising field, therefore for accomplishing success in this market, a top quality information system is necessary (Margherio et al. 1998). An e-commerce system is designed by selectively integrating many technical (e.g. search system) or managerial (e.g. the level of information related to product) design elements (Lohse and Spiller 1998). It is still very difficult, if not impossible; to make use of all the design factors presently available for the e-commerce system although many design factors have been suggested to improve the overall quality of e-commerce system (Selz and Schubert 1997, Lohse and Spiller 1998). This is because of the recent arrival of new design factors resulted by an increase in the interest of Internet (Selz and Schubert 1997). The main goal of this paper is to explore important design elements that have significant influence on the customer satisfaction regarding the performance of e-commerce systems. In this paper, the study presents a conceptual model of e-commerce websites that includes concrete design elements, perceived level of website quality and the customer satisfaction (JINWOO KIM and JUNGWON LEE 2002). There is remarkable potential for e-commerce in developing countries. Online shopping makes it easy to find things, merchants and best offerings and thus economical in terms of time and effort offerings (Balasubramanian, 1997). According to the Malone et al (1989) communicating a same piece of information through communication networks results in decreased cost and improved speed. There is tremendous potential for e-commerce in developing countries because the use of an e-commerce can potentially reduce transaction costs. As per Malone et al (1989) observation, the search costs such as cost of identifying a market (from where to buy a product) and /or a product or service are likely to reduce with the use of e-commerce systems and can be defined as potential e-commerce cost savings. From an organizations perspective, e-commerce systems provide the organization with the better market reach and an ability to provide their customer a customized service that suits their individual needs and preferences. For example the exchange between â€Å"richness† and â€Å"reach† can be minimized by e-commerce (Evans Wurster, 2000). Richness refers to the quality and quantity of information in terms of accuracy, relevance, customization, etc. and reach measures the number of people who can be got in touch with that information. 2.2 Service quality dimensions: The overall customer satisfaction can be measured by the level of service quality of an e-commerce system that customer perceives. Some researchers (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1988) stated that consumer satisfaction or dissatisfaction is as an ancestor of service quality. Conversely, modern evidence recommends that it is an outcome of service quality (Woodside, Frey and Daly 1989; Cronin and Taylor 1992). Service quality attributes are the most important factors for the success of an e-commerce systems For example Liu and Arnett (2000) found that organizations that involve in e-commerce can only ensure the success of their system by keenly looking for the ways to improve their service quality. The customers decision whether to continue using a particular e-commerce system is based on the perceived quality of service (Bhattacherjee 2001) as the service quality impacts the overall satisfaction of a customer. Tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy are the five dimensions of service quality. (Parasuraman et al. 1985, 1991, Pit et al. 1995). The tool that is being used in this study to measure the dimensions of service quality is SERVQUAL According to Brown et al. this instrument has been proved valid and reliable and hence used in various domains. (Brown et al.1993, Fisk et al. 1993, Parasuraman et al. 1985, 1993). On the basis of previous researches, service quality despite being a main interesting field in services marketing for the past two decades (Zeithaml et al., 2000); electronic service quality is still in its early stages in research area. Reil el al in 2001concluded that there has been no theoretical conceptualization emerged for customer evaluation of electronic services that could have been accepted generally. Cox and Dale (2001) has supported this conception by the fact that most out of the dominant research on service quality cannot even be valid to e-business environment. By the year 2002, the existing studies on the determinants of electronic service quality were based on measuring B2C interactions (Gilbert, 2000; Barnes and Vidgens 2000, 2001 and 2002) and few exploratory researches on website quality and e-service quality by Zeithaml et al. In early stages of service quality research, researcher were required to find out what is service quality from customers perspective (Sasser et al.,1979; Lehtinen and Lehtinen,1982; Gronroos,1982). It was normally approved that the judgment of service quality came from comparisons between what customers feel a service provider should offer (expectations) and the actual service performance of the company (perceptions) (Zeithaml et al., 2000). This view was reinforced by Parasuraman Zeithaml (2000) and Berry (1985) in their study of service quality in different service industries with which they discussed the concept of service quality as a function of expectations-perception gap. Parasuraman et als, identified the 10 dimensions that customer uses in their assessment of service quality. These 10 service quality dimensions then shaped the source for the development of a scale (SERVQUAL) to measure service quality in direct service interactions. Research extended in other context and as a result refined the scale and reduced it to 5 dimensions (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles) Since the SERVQUAL scale has been widely used to measure service quality in many studies across a range of settings (IS Departments; Airlines; Universities; Ocean Freight Shipping; Professional Services; Health Providers; International Markets; Purchasing; Advertising; Banking; E-commerce). Initially the concept of services were created to capture the nature of service encounters (Meuter et al., 2000) which may not be sufficient to capture the characteristics of customer interactions with self-service technologies such as e-services (Dabholkar et al.,1996). Later on, many approaches have been proposed to study online service. (Gilbert, 2000; Gronroos et al., 2000; Parasuraman and Grewel, 2000; Kaynama and Black, 2000; Zeithaml, et al., 2000; ONeill, et al., 2001) proposed the use of existing service theory as a first type. The second type utilizes generated new categories for self-service technologies such as e-services (Szymanski and Hise, 2000; van Riel, et al., 2001; Wang and Tang, 2001; Ruyter et al., 2001). Third type develops information systems and web quality theory (Barnes and Vidgen, 2000; 2001; 2002; Aladwani and Palvia, 2001). These researches have centered on customer interactions with a variety of self-service technologies such as automated call centre technology, ATMs and Web sites and touch screen technologies. A redefined SERVQUAL instrument to measure the service expectations and perceptions of customers of Internet businesses was used by Gilbert in 2000 in which he concluded that to measure online service quality, the altered SERVQUAL scale was a practical instrument. The features that are useful, accurate, relevant and comprehensive information reflect the reliability of quality information (Bailey and Pearson 1983). Bailey and Pearson (1983) also identified that website reliability depends on to what level the information provided on the website about the product or service is true, precise and also depend to what level a customer can rely on a particular website that it provides enough amount of information available regarding each product. (Luedi 1997) stated that website personalization based on the ability of website to deliver individualized interface for a specific user which generated dynamically as per users needs. This may involve making purchase recommendations and /or providing the list of other relevant products that matchs the customer needs. This can be extracted through the previous data available regarding an individual user such as buying behavior, cart items and the current session contents. Providing customized services is the best way to create a loyal customer and make repeat visits on a website Luedi (1997). The concern over security continues to plague the online world. Variables like perceived security, reputation were included in this study to examine the customer attitude towards buying process. Even though the understanding of credit card transactions perceived secure like a waiters and waitresses, still security is the top concern of people who shop online (Salisbury et at. 2001, Luo 2002. Wilson and Abel 2002). Likewise security is the reason why people do not shop online (Luo 2002). The research variable of Security reflects trust in the online system and the variable reputation reflects trust in the specific vendor. Discovering whether vendors receive repeat business reflects the overall buying attitude of consumers. Overall customer satisfaction at online shopping measures which attributes helps the website meets expectations. 2.3 Website elements: The first phase of consumer decision making process that is the information search starts the minute customers look at the interface of e-commerce website and ends until they decide whether to place the purchase order or not (Schmid 1995). The role of website structure remains important during the phase of information search process such as site maps, navigation, content settings and layout of website etc. The content, structure and website elements should be portrayed explicitly on the e-commerce interface. Website structure that includes the presentation of design elements determines how the information is actually displayed on the screen to acquire the customer attention (Morris and Hinrich 1996). Convenient website structure defined as to what extent a customer feels that the e-commerce website is user friendly, simple and instinctive. (Ki-Han and Shin, 2008) Website adequacy describes the quality and quantity of the information provided in the e-commerce system. Content based on usefulness and comprehensiveness involves the type and scope of information to be included in the system (Morris and Hinrich 1996, Kim et al 1997). After the collection of appropriate information regarding the identified products or services, the contents must be placed in a well organized manner so that the customer can understand the interface easily (Gronroos 1982, Rosenfeld and Morville 1998). A well-defined and properly placed content is a feature of website which indicates the ability to made information easily available to visitors (Ki-Han and Shin, 2008). When adequate and reliable information has been properly dispersed across different web pages within the structure of the e-commerce website, an efficient interaction system must be provided to enable the customer to switch between different pages easily (Kim and Yoo 2000, Park and Kim 2000). Ballantine (2005) has found the impact of interactivity and product related information on customer satisfaction in an online trade setting. He argued in his study that the amount of product-related information affected consumer satisfaction of online shopping. An important design element that relates to the interaction system includes the involvement of website response and website customization ability. Website Customization is referred as the extent to which an e-commerce website can identify a customer and then modify the choice of products and shopping experience for that customer (Srinivasan et al., 2002). Cook and Coupey (2001) in their research argued that the improved accessibility of information on internet is likely to result in informed customers. And educated customers are able to make better quality decisions and will then experience more satisfaction with the visits and purchases they make. The connection between all of the five individual variables describes the basic architecture of web pages (Steinmetz and Nahrsted, 1995). The overall satisfaction of e-commerce customers can be attained by providing the level of service quality that customers perceive in that system. Satisfied customers have more potential to spread positive word-of-mouth (Gremler and Brown, 1999), and they avail further services (Zeithaml et al., 1996). The five dimensions of service quality are tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy (Parasuraman et al. 1985, 1991, Pit et al. 1995). Attributes related to the website structure such as physical appearance of e-commerce websites are represented by tangibility dimension. For example, the tangibility measures the appeal of the website design of e-commerce system presents to their customers. The ability of the website to provide the dependable, accurate service is represented by reliability dimension. (Pit et al. 1995). For example, the reliability dimension measures how often an e-commerce system provides useful and comprehensive information regarding the relevant products or services. The responsiveness dimension indicates how prepared the website is to promptly response the customer with the clicked option. (Parasuraman et al. 1991). For example, the responsiveness dimension measures how often an ecommerce system voluntarily provides services that are important to its customers such as less loading time. Or it can be measured by how often a website provides accurate and rich information after a user clicked a particular product. The trust and confidence encouraged in the customer by the information provided on e-commerce system refers to the assurance dimension (Parasuraman et al. 1991). For example, the assurance dimension can be measured by extent to which a website is able to give a secure feeling to an online buyer. The empathy dimension described as the individual attention to the customer that is being provided by the dynamic e-commerce website (Pit et al. 1995). For example this dimension measures how often an ecommerce system voluntarily offers recommendations that match to its customers needs in order to provide the individual customers benefit. In summary, the overall quality of an e-commerce system can be measured by the service quality level perceived by its customers and ultimately leads to the customer satisfaction (JINWOO KIM and JUNGWON LEE, 2002). Parasuraman, Zeithaml et al. (1988, 1991) in study on SERVQUAL found that the interactive elements of e-commerce systems are e-business features that help in building relationships with customer and are fall into five main sets that are tangibles, reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy. Due to the consistency of research findings stated in literature, it become easy to propose that the five main determinants of e-commerce include website structure, website adequacy, website security, website response and website customization (D. HORN, R. FEINBERG and G. SALVENDY, 2005). In an e-business structure, the customer interaction with the business is through the e-commerce website. Therefore, several original SERVQUAL items were modified to focus on e-commerce website. The definition of an empathy dimension was extended to include personalization or customization, which is the concept of web gurus as they believe the emotional connection between customer and web business (Peppers et al. 1999). The overall appearance and structure of e-commerce website shows its tangibility. The performance of promised services and adequacy of information explains the reliability of an e-commerce website. Responsiveness is the ability of e-commerce system to help and provide prompt response to the website user. The individualized attention and customized service provided by the e-commerce system to an individual customer is described as empathy. Security is the trust on an e-commerce system in protecting personal and financial information (D. HORN, R. FEINBERG and G. SALVENDY, 2005). The major factors that impact the customer attitude are the five main attributes of e-commerce system. The model in Figure 1 describes how these attributes of e-commerce system work together to achieve customer satisfaction. The satisfaction/dissatisfaction of customer is defined as an emotional response to a specific consumption experience (Swan and Oliver 1989). It is determined by to what extent a consumer perceives that the service fulfills his/her needs, wants or desires. Satisfaction is a â€Å"state† inconsistent in that a consumer can be â€Å"very dissatisfi

The Journey to Teaching Essay example -- Essays Papers

The Journey to Teaching My philosophy on education In taking this course there is one overwhelming fact that has become clear to me- Teaching is an ongoing process in which I will be te Student,as much as I am the Educator. My philosophy on education has greatly expanded from doing all that I can to help children learn, to a string of many ideas, and thoughts, which will shape my classroom. These are what i will discuss in this reflection. Lisa Delpit and her book Other People's Children, was influential to helping shape my educational philosophy. In her book, Delpit draws attention to educating minorities, and gives many examples as to why it is so hard. One reason is the language barrier between the teacher, and his/her students. I feel that from reading this book it is necessary for teachers to understand that culture impacts many of the ways our children speak. Delpit gives an example of this when discussing a conversation between a white teacher and her black student. The teacher is correcting the black child on how to say "brother." The student is reading to the teacher and he pronounces the word "bruvver," at which time the teacheer stops him and tries to get him to say the word in proper dialect (Delpit, 1995, p.59). There are a few problems that Delpit raises with doing this. First she says that you do not allow the child to gain confidence in their reading, and second, the child is interrupted continuous ly. Therefore the child will not be able to advance in the same manner as the other students who can read in the proper dialect. Culture plays a tremendous role in educating our youth, not only directly, like the example above, but also in the relationships between parent and teacher. Delpit ca... ...to a classroom, and embracing differences will help to create a multicultural room, full of respect and individualism. Each teacher has indifidual thoughts and beliefs, which they will bring with them to establish their own classroom. Although these values may not be the same for everyone, we need to respect them, because if we do not allow teachers to teach in their own way, then we are in fact telling them we don't trust their capabilities. This course has helped me gain an incredible amount of perspective on teaching, and there is one thing that I learned on the first day of class that will stick with me always. I think it sums up the every day routine that a teacher goes through, and will help me maintain my principles and strength through the most trying times. "BEWARE AND BE BOLD," never give up on a student, and never be scared to stand up for what I believe.

The Pearl Essays -- Literary Analysis, John Steinbeck

In history there are a variety of tragic events that influence everything that surrounds them, such as World War II. World War II changed societies, recast intellectual assumption, altered racial and gender relations, and more. (Lee 5) Because of World War II, it helped the author John Steinbeck into writing the novel The Pearl. In the novel the main setting of the story took place in Mexico, as well as the Gulf of California. This setting was chosen by the author because â€Å"Indians of Mexico had been under the domination of people of Spanish decent† (Barron’s14). In the story you can see the different styles of living compared to rich and poor. Kino and his family didn’t have much money and were established at the bottom of the social class. Kino lived where â€Å"across the brush fence were other brush houses, and the smoke came from them too, and the sound of breakfast† (Steinbeck 2). On the other hand the upper class live a different lifestyle compared to Kino. Where the doctor lived he had money and was located â€Å"where the brush houses stopped and the city of stone and plaster began, the city of harsh outer walls and inner cool gardens† (Steinbeck 5). The reader can clearly see the two different styles of living in the novel. In the novel the characters are div ided into different social classes depending on how much money they have. Steinbeck created characters that fit the setting. In order for Steinbeck to figure out what kind of characters he wanted in his story he was an â€Å"observer of human nature† (Barron’s 1). The majority of Steinbeck’s characters were â€Å"down and out, isolated and oppressed† (Barron’s 1). The author wanted to show the struggle between the rich and the poor. By keeping this theme Steinbeck created the charac... ...any money. I, I alone in the world supposed to work for nothing† (Steinbeck 7). This shows the doctors greed for money. All the doctor cares about is if his patients have the money to pay for his work, otherwise he doesn’t have any sympathy for anybody especially Kino’s race. The doctor grew up as â€Å"a race which for nearly a hundred years had beaten and starved and robbed and despised Kino’s race† (Steinbeck 6). Cleary the doctor is similar to the Americans and how they treat other ethnicities because of their differences. Kino was treated the same way the Mexicans were. They both were judge for who they were and their own beliefs. Clearly there was a similarity to what happened in World War II and The Pearl, Kino and the Mexicans were mistreated throughout and had to face the hardships in life struggling to survive with their families.

Consumer Decision On Phones :: essays research papers

Due to the speed of technological advances nowadays, it is increasing difficult for anyone to predict the marketing strategy for an electronic device. As for telephones today, they are becoming more and more sophisticated in both capabilities and application of these capabilities. A potential buyer is nevertheless confronted with decisions – cordless or non-cordless, caller ID or no caller ID and so on. Well, by analyzing this market through an economist’s point of view, the quality of product almost always grow directly according to price. To analyze the 1999 phone market fully using the neoclassical approach, many factors would have to be discussed. As discussed in the Time article by Katie Hafner, â€Å"Everything but a Dial: Phone Choices†, telephone prices ranges are related to their capabilities. The amount of consumption of these various goods solely depends on the price and the utility that consumers receive from purchasing the product. When deciding to purchase a telephone, a consumer would most likely to separate telephone capabilities into different categories first and then choose from a selection of phones that best suit their needs (their utility). The amount of goods sold by a company would depend on the price of the phone and how it competes with other companies in the market. Therefore, in order to effectively market a new line of telephones, the capabilities of a telephone and its price must be taken into consideration. First, a research must be done on consumer preference and what population it would be served. Empirical data must show a significant number of demand for a specific capability before the production is run (ex. whether if there are enough couch potatos in United States that desire a telephone which is integrated into a remote control for the television). Second, the price of the new product must be competitive in the market. By comparing the new line of product to its competitors, the price should be set at a level that is weighted according to its unique functions. Henceforth, it is with these above factors in consideration that a company will be able to do business more successfully. Since this is not a perfect world, consumers do not have perfect information about the products they have purchased. In addition, there are important issues that the neoclassic theory of consumer demand failed to address above. The neoclassic theory of consumer demand cannot predict the demand for new products and explain the theory of ‘want creation’ through advertising and effective marketing.

Characteristic of a research study Essay

1. Reliability is a subjective term which can not be measured precisely but today there are instruments which can estimate the reliability of any research. Reliability is the repeatability of any research, research instrument, tool or procedure. If any research yields similar results each time it is undertaken with similar population and with similar procedures, it is called to be a reliable research. Suppose a research is conducted on the effects of separation between parents on class performance of the children. If the results conclude that separation causes low grades in class, these results should have to be reliable for another sample taken from similar population. More the results are similar; more reliability is present in the research. 2. Validity is the strength with which we can call a research conclusions, assumptions or propositions true or false. Validity determines the applicability of research . Validity of the research instrument can be defined as the suitability of the research instrument to the research problem or how accurately the instrument measures the problem. Some researchers say that validity and reliability are co-related but validity is much more important than reliability. Without validity research goes in the wrong direction. To keep the research on-track define your concepts in the best possible manner so that no error occur during measurement. 3. Accuracy is also the degree to which each research process, instrument and tool is related to each other. Accuracy also measures whether research tools have been selected in best possible manner and research procedures suits the research problem or not. For example if a research has to be conducted on the trans-gender people, several data collection tools can be used depending on the research problems but if you find that population less cooperative the best way is to observe them rather than submitting questionnaire because in questionnaire either they will give biased responses or they will not return the questionnaires at all. So choosing the best data collection tool improves the accuracy of research. 4. Credibility comes with the use of best source of information and best procedures in research. If you are using second-hand information in your research due to any reason your research might complete in less time but its credibility will be at stake because secondary data has been manipulated by human beings and is therefore not very valid to use in research. A certain percentage of secondary data can be used if primary source is not available but basing a research completely on secondary data when primary data can be gathered is least credible. When researcher give accurate references in research the credibility of research increases but fake references also decrease the credibility of research. 5. Generalizability is the extent to which a research findings can be applied to larger population. When a researcher conducts a study he/she chooses a target population and from this population he takes a small sample to conduct the research. This sample is representative of the whole population so the findings should also be. If research findings can be applied to any sample from the population, the results of the research are said to be generalizable. 6. Empirical nature of research means that the research has been conducted following rigorous scientific methods and procedures. Each step in the research has been tested for accuracy and is based on real life experiences. Quantitative research is more easy to prove scientifically than qualitative research. In qualitative research biases and prejudice are easy to occur. 7. Systematic approach is the only approach for research. No research can be conducted haphazardly. Each step must follow other. There are set of procedures that have been tested over a period of time and are thus suitable to use in research. Each research therefore should follow a procedure. 8. Controlled-in real life experience there are many factors that effect an outcome. A single event is often result of several factors. When similar event is tested in research, due to the broader nature of factors that effect that event, some factors are taken as controlled factors while others are tested for possible effect. The controlled factors or variables should have to be controlled rigorously. In pure sciences it is very easy to control such elements because experiments are conducted in laboratory but in social sciences it becomes difficult to control these factors because of the nature of research.

Electronics Human Resources Management (E-Hrm)

Introduction Electronics Human Resources Management (e-HRM) is one of the most critical tools for analyzing businesses for the next step in business strategy. Even the tiny, no more than 30 staff in an office is necessary to explore the advantage of using e-HRM to achieve higher efficiency. Many companies do not understand how much time and cost they are spending on traditional human resource management (HRM) tasks until they brainstorm and try to save their time.E-HR can provides valuable potential for a wide variety of uses including employee self-service, the production of reports, the sharing of information and the administration of functions (Pass, 2002). VHR offers a network-based structure built on partnerships and typically mediated by information technology(IT) to help an organization acquire, develop and deploy intellectual capital(Lepak and Snell,1998). Therefore, e-HRM is evaluating to be its information technology(IT) field .One of the major reason why using e-HRM is tha t global competition is giving more and more stress on managers in United State to increase the speed and the quality of decision making. Moreover, providing more funding in information technology usually result in faster and better management decision making. ( Broderick, R. & Boudreau, J. W. ,1992) More and more senior managers started to use e-HRM to improve the performance in Human Resources .Hussain, Wallace, and Cornelius (2007) discovered that the norm, irrespective of company size can be increased gradually for senior HR professionals implementing the systems of e-HRM and this had led to the HR profession providing a value-add for the company. The main objectives of this paper are to: -Understanding the Electronic Human Resource Management -Types of Electronic Human Resource Management -Theoretical Perspectives -Example of using Electronic Human Resource Management The paper is written as follows.First and foremost, we provide a understanding basic concept of e-HRM ,how it w orks and the uses of computers. Then we will describe the three types of e-HRM and explain the theoretical perspectives with example. Lastly, we recap the conclusion and provide suggestions for organization in the future. After reading this paper, we will see the importance of implementing electronic Human resource information systems. a. Structure of your paper 1. Present the major concepts or real world problems you want to address Understanding Electronic Human Resource ManagementNowadays, the concept of e-HRM is still unclear no meter how senior mangers frequently using them. In fact, e-HRM is the (planning, implementation and) application of information technology for both networking and supporting at least two individual or collective actors in their shared performing of HR activities. (Strohmeier, S. , 2007). The aim of e-HRM is to provide the potential improvement of services to HR department stakeholders. Apart from this, the operating and transferring of computerized HR in formation is also called electronic human resource management.It offers companies to reduces costs and provide more sufficient information to employees in a shorter and more efficient way. Especially in economic downturn, it becomes the key for companies to be more efficient in every section of their business. The majority of the computer applications are to manage employee personal records and payroll. A common payoff to such investments was more efficient information management. Type of Electronic Human Resource Management Three major type of e-HRM like operational, relational and transformational were revealed by Lepak and Snell (1998).Operational e-HRM is involved in supervisory function like employee personal data and payroll. Many Human Resources activities such as pay and benefits service to the Internet are rearranged by many firms in order to achieve higher efficiency (Perrine, 2001). In traditional way, the basic salary, commission, wages, and benefits were recorded and ca lculated by manual writing on paper at a certain time interval. However, the internet offers an instantaneous way for employees obtaining information on separating into salaries, deductions and accumulated balances.The information of Wages, other benefits and salary can be directly achieved by downloading from the payroll, benefits and compensation databases. (Ngai, E. W. T. , Law, C. C. H, Chan, S. C. H. , & Wat, F. K. T. , 2008) Relational e-HRM is focused on supportive business operations. Incidentally, training, recruitment, performance management are examples of under Relational e-HRM.. In recruitment and selection, online recruiting is the trend nowadays. (Bussler and Davis, 2001; Kumar, 2003)The information of the job seekers is stored in the information system.The method of screening out of suitable candidates is no longer by human eyes, but enters the keywords for identifying the basic requirement. Moreover, performance appraisal will not only be evaluated at a period of ti me, but can easily be followed up online by not tracking only one databases such as supervisors, peers, customers or subordinates. (Ngai, E. W. T. , Law, C. C. H, Chan, S. C. H. , & Wat, F. K. T. , 2008)One of the major reasons in using e-HRM is that the use of internet support for the function of training and development. (Kirrane,1990).It can save the time of teacher in recording the a series of lessons once and upload it on the e-Learning for the candidates to learn by themselves. Besides, the reference books can be printed out as a PDF file and uploaded it on the databases system for candidate or researcher further educations. As a results, the education materials like recruiting teachers, reserving rooms for teaching or ordering the books can be reduced gradually. Hence, it can save the cost in training section. On the other hand, it increase the efficiency and effectiveness .Transformational e-HRM is covered the area of HRM activities with a strategic character, for instances, know management, strategic re-orientation. Know management is about organizations using new method to engage the problems of innovation and competitiveness. (Swart and Kinnie, 2003). It is possible to create a change ready workforce through an integrated set of web-based tools that enables the workforce to develop in line with the company’s strategic choices or to have paper-based materials. (Huub and Tanya ,2004) Theoretical PerspectivesWell defined theory can become the critical part in research and development. In this paper, we will discuss them briefly. New institutional theory (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983) provides adequate and developed possibilities to explain the connections of the context and the structure of e-HRM. Transaction cost theory(Williamson,1994) explains the structure and the connection of the economic consequences of e-HRM. In the other words, organization should consider the institutional arrangements according to the cost effectiveness.Example of using Electronic Human Resource Management In cost leadership objectives, cost reduction in different aspects such as reporting, monitoring the status of applications and transaction operation is the main concerned of many senior professionals. In order to reduce the administrative cost effectively and efficiently, computerization can exclude the layers of paper writing and decentralize administrative work. As a result, administrative standardization, accuracy and the controls will also be improved. Conclusion 2.Present the theories and models that you want to use to analyze the concepts or problems based on your real world experiences 3. Analyze the concepts or problems by using these theories and models 4. Present your conclusions Reference Pass, C. (2002),†How one company has embraced e-HR†,HR Focus,Vol. 79,pp. 1-3. Broderick, R. & Boudreau, J. W. (1992) Human resource management, information technology and the competitive edge, Academy of Management Executive, 6(2), 7-17. Lepak,D. P and Snell,S. A. (1998),†Virtual HR:Strategic human resource management in the 21st century†, Human Resource Management Review,Vol. , pp. 215-34 Hussain, Z. , Wallace, J. , & Cornelius, N. E. (2007). The use and impact of human resource information systems on human resource management professionals. Information & Management, 44, 74-89. Strohmeier, S. (2007), Research in e-HRM: Review and implications. Human Resource Management Review, 17, 19-37. Ngai, E. W. T. , Law, C. C. H, Chan, S. C. H. , & Wat, F. K. T. (2008), Importance of the Internet to Human Resource Practitioners in Hong Kong, Personnel Review, 37, 66-84. Huub and Tanya(2004)†E-HRM: Innovation or Irritation.An Explorative Empirical Study in Five Large Companies on Web-based HRM† Kirrane, D. E. (1990),†Machine learning†, Training and Development Journal,Vol. 4, pp. 24-9. Kumar, S. (2003),†Managing human capital supply chain in the internet era†, Industrial Managemen t & Data Systems, Vol. 103, pp. 227-37 Swart, J. and Kinnie, N. (2003),†Sharing knowledge-intensive firms†, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 60-75 Williamson, O. E. (1994). Transaction costs economics and organization theory. In N. Smelser & R. Swedberg (Eds. ), Handbook of Economic

Rosa Parks

Harris 1 Diamond Harris English II Mr. Love 21 September 2012 I'm doing my report on Rosa Parks. What Rosa Parks did changed people from the very moment she did it. It sent a powerful message to people that she was tired of being second-guessed by people. When the white man told Rosa Parks to get to the back; when she didn't. She basically changed history after that moment. Rosa Parks stood up for what she believed in and nothing more. Mrs.Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, Febuary 13 ,2012 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Parks, Rosa and Steele Elaine) She was the first child of James and Leona Edwards McCauley. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) Her brother, Sylvester McCauley, now decreased, was born August 20, 2015. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) Her mother worked as a carpenter and her mother as a teacher. (Reynolds, Brain) At the age of two she moved to her grandparents' farm in Pine Level, Alabama with her mother and younger brother, Syvester. Reynolds, Brain) When she is at age eleven she's enrolled on the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls ( Miss White's School for Girls) a private institution. (Parks, Rosa; Steele Elaine, and Reynolds, Brain) After finishing Miss White's School for Girls, she went to Alabama State Teacher's College High School. (Parks, Rosa and Steele Elaine) She was unable to graduate because her mother became ill, therefore she continued to take care of their home and take care for her mother while her brother. (Parks, Rosa and Steele Elaine) Syvester worked outside of the home. Parks, Rosa and Steele Elaine) After attending Alabama State Teacher's College, the young Rosa settled in Montgomery, with her husband, Raymond Parks. (Reynolds, Brain) The couple joined the local chapter of the NACCP(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and worked quietly for many years to improve the lot of African-Americans in the segregated south. ( Reynolds, Brain) She worked as a secretary for the Montgomery, Alabama branch of t he NAACP. (McWilliams, Thelma) She had attended the Highlander Folk School six months before her arrest. McWilliams, Thelma ) On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Parks, while she in the sitting black section of bus, she refused to obey a public bus driver's orders to give her seat to a white man and over to the back of the bus to make extra seats for whites. (McWilliams, Thelma ) I know someone had take the step and I made up my mind not to move. (Moncur, Michael) Rosa was tired of being a second-class citizen and stood firmly. (McWilliams, Thelma ) She was arrested, tried and convicted for disorderly conduct and for violating a local ordinance. (McWilliams, Thelma )Rosa Parks was nationally recognized as the â€Å"mother of the modern day civil rights movement† in America. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) After the arrest black people of Montgomery and sympathizers of other races organized and promoted a boycott of that city bus that lasted 381 days. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was appointed the spokesperson for the Bus Boycott and taught nonviolence to all participants. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) Contingent with the protest in Montgomery, others took shape throughout the south and the country. Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) They took form as sit-ins, eat-ins, swim-ins, and similar causes. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) Thousands of courageous people joined the â€Å"protest† to demand equal rights for all people. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) In 1957, Mrs. Parks and her husband moved to Detroit, Michigan where Mrs. Parks served on the staff of U. S. Respresentative John Conyers. (Reynolds, Brain) The Sounthern Christian Leadership Council established an annual Rosa Parks Freedom Award in her honor. Reynolds, Brain) In Febuary, 1987 she co-funded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institure for Self Development with Ms. Elaire Eason Steele in honor of her husband, Raymond (1903-1977). (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) The purpose is to motivate and diect youth not targeted by other progams to achieve their highest potential. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) The Institure sponors an annual summer progam for teenagers called Pathways to FreedomPark. ( Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) President Clinton presented Rosa Parks with the Presidental Medal of Freedom in 1996 and she also received a Congressional Gold Medal in 1999. Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) â€Å"The Rosa Parks Story† was filmed in Montgomery, Alabama May 2001, an aired Febuary 24, 2002 on the CBS television network. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine)†I have learned over the years that one's mind, this dimishes fear; knowing what must done does away with fear† ,quotes Rosa Parks. (Moncur, Michael) I remember going to sleep as a girl hearing the Klan ride at night and hearing a lynching and being afraid the house would burn down. (Reynolds, Brain) Rosa Parks Harris 1 Diamond Harris English II Mr. Love 21 September 2012 I'm doing my report on Rosa Parks. What Rosa Parks did changed people from the very moment she did it. It sent a powerful message to people that she was tired of being second-guessed by people. When the white man told Rosa Parks to get to the back; when she didn't. She basically changed history after that moment. Rosa Parks stood up for what she believed in and nothing more. Mrs.Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, Febuary 13 ,2012 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Parks, Rosa and Steele Elaine) She was the first child of James and Leona Edwards McCauley. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) Her brother, Sylvester McCauley, now decreased, was born August 20, 2015. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) Her mother worked as a carpenter and her mother as a teacher. (Reynolds, Brain) At the age of two she moved to her grandparents' farm in Pine Level, Alabama with her mother and younger brother, Syvester. Reynolds, Brain) When she is at age eleven she's enrolled on the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls ( Miss White's School for Girls) a private institution. (Parks, Rosa; Steele Elaine, and Reynolds, Brain) After finishing Miss White's School for Girls, she went to Alabama State Teacher's College High School. (Parks, Rosa and Steele Elaine) She was unable to graduate because her mother became ill, therefore she continued to take care of their home and take care for her mother while her brother. (Parks, Rosa and Steele Elaine) Syvester worked outside of the home. Parks, Rosa and Steele Elaine) After attending Alabama State Teacher's College, the young Rosa settled in Montgomery, with her husband, Raymond Parks. (Reynolds, Brain) The couple joined the local chapter of the NACCP(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and worked quietly for many years to improve the lot of African-Americans in the segregated south. ( Reynolds, Brain) She worked as a secretary for the Montgomery, Alabama branch of t he NAACP. (McWilliams, Thelma) She had attended the Highlander Folk School six months before her arrest. McWilliams, Thelma ) On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Parks, while she in the sitting black section of bus, she refused to obey a public bus driver's orders to give her seat to a white man and over to the back of the bus to make extra seats for whites. (McWilliams, Thelma ) I know someone had take the step and I made up my mind not to move. (Moncur, Michael) Rosa was tired of being a second-class citizen and stood firmly. (McWilliams, Thelma ) She was arrested, tried and convicted for disorderly conduct and for violating a local ordinance. (McWilliams, Thelma )Rosa Parks was nationally recognized as the â€Å"mother of the modern day civil rights movement† in America. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) After the arrest black people of Montgomery and sympathizers of other races organized and promoted a boycott of that city bus that lasted 381 days. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was appointed the spokesperson for the Bus Boycott and taught nonviolence to all participants. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) Contingent with the protest in Montgomery, others took shape throughout the south and the country. Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) They took form as sit-ins, eat-ins, swim-ins, and similar causes. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) Thousands of courageous people joined the â€Å"protest† to demand equal rights for all people. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) In 1957, Mrs. Parks and her husband moved to Detroit, Michigan where Mrs. Parks served on the staff of U. S. Respresentative John Conyers. (Reynolds, Brain) The Sounthern Christian Leadership Council established an annual Rosa Parks Freedom Award in her honor. Reynolds, Brain) In Febuary, 1987 she co-funded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institure for Self Development with Ms. Elaire Eason Steele in honor of her husband, Raymond (1903-1977). (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) The purpose is to motivate and diect youth not targeted by other progams to achieve their highest potential. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) The Institure sponors an annual summer progam for teenagers called Pathways to FreedomPark. ( Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) President Clinton presented Rosa Parks with the Presidental Medal of Freedom in 1996 and she also received a Congressional Gold Medal in 1999. Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine) â€Å"The Rosa Parks Story† was filmed in Montgomery, Alabama May 2001, an aired Febuary 24, 2002 on the CBS television network. (Parks, Rosa and Steele, Elaine)†I have learned over the years that one's mind, this dimishes fear; knowing what must done does away with fear† ,quotes Rosa Parks. (Moncur, Michael) I remember going to sleep as a girl hearing the Klan ride at night and hearing a lynching and being afraid the house would burn down. (Reynolds, Brain)

Festivals in Davao Region Essay

Held annually in the city of Tagum, Davao del Norte during February 21-27, Musikahan Festival also known as Musikahan sa Tagum, is a distinct cultural event celebrating Filipino excellence in music through composition, performance and production, providing the youth with more opportunities in the music industry as its goal. Local government of Tagum provides musical instruments to public schools aiming to amplify music appreciation and enhance the skills in performance of the youth in the field of music and prepare them for a bright future in music career. Also, Tagum City facilitates the participation of local barangay units in various music competitons not only to enrich cultural literacy but also as an opportunity to gain support in the development projects of local communities. Musikahan Festival is a weeklong musical celebration that also aims to promote Tagum City as the Music Capital of Mindanao and have now finally made a mark in the music scene as Department of Tourism have officially included the event as one of the country’s pride festivals .Already earning popularism, the city of Tagum plans to bid for a Guinness Record for the longest nonstop live concert in the world. Current holder of the title is Japan with a record of 184 hours. About 5,000 members of contingents from the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, Marawi, Cotabato, Butuan, and Davao, of participants alone not including the visitors, compete in various musical contests which is expected to triple the income of business establishments in Tagum City. Musikahan Festival also aims to provide employment and livelihood for the townspeople. The City of Tagum claims that visitors who would take part in the celebration will be the cause for the city to have substantial multiplier effect to its businesses for they are sure to buy goods in the markets. Revelers can avail food at reasonable prices as booths are scattered in almost every part of the venue during the Musikahan Festival. Holding of the event is also an opportunity for tourism investments for hotels and malls, which is continously flourishing along with the city’s development. Among the festival’s highlights are the Battle of the Bands which divided into three categories: Folksong / Acoustic / Bossa Nova, Reggae / Ska / Emo, and Pop / Rock / Alternative category, the Drum and Bugle Corps / Chorale Competition category, and the Marching Brass Band Competition. Kadayawan Festival From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival in the city of Davao in the Philippines. Its name derives from the friendly greeting â€Å"Madayaw†, from the Dabawenyo word â€Å"dayaw†, meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful. The festival is a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living. Indak-indak sa Kadalanan. Indak-indak sa Kadalanan. Kadayawan Festival 2012 Kadayawan Festival 2012 Kadayawan Festival 2012 Davao Events and Festivals Davao, Philippines offers visitors a rich array of events and festivals throughout the year that highlight its unique cultural identity and history. HotelTravel.com highlights the key events and festivals in Davao from month to month, providing visitors with a huge choice of possible choice to play that once in a lifetime holiday around. Each one brings to life why Davao is so representative of people from Philippines. Click the events and festival links below for further information. Davao has a busy calendar of events which includes both holidays that are celebrated by the entire nation and a variety of celebrations that are exclusive to the region. Religion plays a big part in local festivities, with the largest events generally revolving around Roman Catholicism. Below are the most popular festivals enjoyed across the Davao region. January New Years Day: Davao’s residents celebrate the arrival of the New Year with a day off work and the chance to relax and enjoy get-togethers with friends and family. Araw ng mga Natibo: otherwise known as the Day of the Natives, this distinctly regional event sees members of the Tagacaolos, B’laans and Manobo tribes come together to celebrate their respective cultures through performances of ethnic singing and dancing, and the unusual spectacle of horse fighting. February People Power Day: Davao’s residents join the nation in enjoying a public holiday in remembrance of the 1986 People Power Revolt. March Araw ng Dabaw: Davao City celebrates the historic event when the city received an official charter. For a week, the locals enjoy a variety of festivities including horse fighting, ethnic rituals, a beauty contest and grand parade. April Easter: Locals are predominantly Catholic and so attend Holy Week services, culminating in Mass on Easter Sunday followed by celebrations with family and friends. Bataan Day: Davao locals enjoy this national holiday in remembrance of those who gave their lives in battles against the Japanese for control of the Bataan peninsular at the start of WWII. May Summer Island Festival: the third week of the month sees this popular event based at Samal Island in Davao. Locals and visitors assemble to enjoy cultural performances, banca racing and water sports competitions. June Santacruzan: locals don brightly coloured outfits and re-enact St Helene’s discovery of the cross of Christ. The event takes place in the residential areas of Belisario Heights and Lanang, which can be found a short distance north of Davao City. Tabanogan Festival: the feast of St Peter is celebrated in Davao with a number of festivities, among the most notable being the kite flying competition in which locals showcase their talents in this age-old activity. Independence Day: the 12th of June is a national holiday and sees residents of Davao enjoy a day off work to celebrate the country’s anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain. July Araw ng Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental: this is the annual celebration of Davao’s division into the three independent provinces of del Sur, del Norte and Oriental. A variety of festivities are enjoyed including horse fighting displays, beauty pageants and tribal dance performances. Filipino-American Friendship Day: the formal Declaration of Independence from the United States is celebrated across the country on the 4th of July. Davao residents enjoy a day off work. August Araw ng mga Bayani: otherwise known as National Heroes’ Day, this is a public holiday enjoyed by all on the 26th of August. Kadayawan sa Dabaw: in the second week of August, this festival is enjoyed by locals with a variety of events including a beauty pageant, ethnic performances, a fruit and flower show and more. September Osmeà ±a Day: this national holiday commemorates the now deceased fourth President of the Philippines, Sergio Osmeà ±a. October Ramadan: a small percentage of Davao’s residents are Muslim and therefore celebrate the Islamic month of abstinence called Ramadan. Locals eat sparingly and avoid indulgences of any kind for the duration of the period. November Eid ul-Fitr: the Muslim residents of Davao mark the end of the Ramadan period with get-togethers and family feasts. Bonifacio Day: the birth date of Filipino revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio is celebrated by residents of the Davao region. December Lopez Jaena Day: the life of Graciano Là ³pez Jaena, one of the country’s most significant historic figures, is celebrated on the 18th of December. Christmas: beginning on the 15th of the month and lasting until the 31st, Paskuhan sa Dabaw is the country’s official Christmas season. The period is marked by a variety of festive events. New Years Eve (Bisperas ng Bagong Taon): is the official end of year celebration and sees a variety of festivities enjoyed across the Davao region. Davao City is particularly lively, holding various parties and putting on fireworks displays in a number of locations.