How the Ritz Carlton’s management objectives and goals allow for superior service Essay

Hotel industries are faced with a unique challenge in providing a constant level of service throughout many diverse countries. The time companies spend in creating a solid business plan will help them anticipate the tough spots, modify their approach and climb to the peak of success in the international marketplace (Brown & Gutterman, 2009). One particular hotel chain is The Ritz Carlton, owned by Marriott. The Ritz Carlton operates more than 80 hotels in 26 countries, driven by their motto, â€Å"We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen† (â€Å"Gold Standards,† 2012). They have created a business plan that has enabled them to achieve superior service throughout the world. When developing a plan for companies that operate internationally there are five factors managers must assess: demographic, economic, political, regulatory and cultural (Brown & Gutterman, 2009). Economic and cultural factors can take up the majority of an analysis for a region; however, in service based businesses demographics will play an equally important role. The Ritz Carlton’s target demographics are the wealthy elite members of society. Throughout the world this audience has a vast range of views, beliefs and expectations that the hotel needs to provide. As a result, all employees take a two-day cultural orientation followed by yearly certification to ensure their customers’ wants and needs are understood and met. This will guarantee the staff will provide customers with the best service. Understanding the type of environment a company is operating in will allow itself to develop a business plan that will achieve their desired results. Every company has different elements that make up their business plan. However, every business plan provides a company with direction, and markets itself to potential investors and partners. According to Robinson (2008), the Ritz Carlton focuses on a specific set of key success factors (mystique, employee engagement, customer engagement, product service excellence, community involvement, and financial performance). The corporate leaders then develop a set of priorities for each business unit to focus on. It’s important to remember for a plan to be successful it must be measurable and monitored. To meet this, each employee provides a set of data points which is filtered into one of the key success factors. In addition, companies can perform a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis to evaluate its current status. This allows the company to maintain a set of real-time information that is used to continuously monitor and update its focus. As a result, the company is able to provide the best support to their customers’ changing preferences. In order for this information to be understood and communicated, businesses need to have a solid organizational structure. As noted above, The Ritz Carlton leadership collects a series of information from its employees, and develops new goals. These goals can only be achieved if the managers and employees are able to understand the direction of their leadership. To achieve this every employee in every location participates in pre-shift meetings in which actions, events, issues and company philosophy are discussed (Robinson, 2008). This creates a complete cycle where everyone in the company is engaged, and helping the business to grow and adapt to a changing market. The Ritz Carlton hotel chain consists of a wide variety of employees operating all over the world. They are first able to develop a plan by understanding the demographics of a culture, but also provide a universal ambiance throughout each of its locations. Next, it develops a set of key factors to determine the direction of the company. Last but not least, a continuous circle of communication between all members of the company creates a clear focus that enables them to adapt to the changing needs of the customer, no matter where they are in the world. References Brown, R.l., & Gutterman, A.S. (2009) A short course in international business plans: Charting a strategy for success in global commerce. (3rd ed.). Petaluma, CA: World Trade Press. Gold Standards, (2012). Retrieved Sept 15, 2013 from http://corporate.ritzcarlton.com/en/ About/GoldStandards.htm Robinson, J. (2008). How the ritz-carlton manages the mystique. Gallup business journal, Retrieved from http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/112906/How-RitzCarlton-Manages-Myst

Choose a Topic from Your Personal Knowledge and Experience Essay

My whole wedding planning experience and the day I got married July 4, 2008 are the most memorable days of my life. The reason for choosing July 4 was because that was the day we became girlfriend and boyfriend. I realized it was time to get married after observing my boyfriend and getting to know him better, I decided he was the one with whom I wanted to share the rest of my life with. It was during the month of March when we picked out our wedding date. I noticed the time was nearing so quickly. Finally time to start planning. First I made an appointment with David’s Bridal to try on wedding dresses. One day while my husband was out working my best friend offered to take me. I then looked through a catalog and marked my favorite dresses. I am a very picky person. So I wanted my wedding dress to be the perfect one. I like to take my time in order to make a good decision. The Lady who brought out the dresses wasn’t helping much. It seems like she really didn’t care and I could walk out with any dress as long as she made a sale. I really liked one dress a lot. But it was time to go my appointment was over. I still wanted to try on more dresses just in case there was another dress way over the top beautiful. The lady said if I wanted to try on more dresses I should make another appointment. I finally left with a dress in mind. My next plan was to decide on where I wanted to get married. I began to do some local research on the Internet. I wrote down numbers and called. They were either all booked out or closed on July 4. I finally got too frustrated that I was thinking about canceling all my plans for a wedding and take a trip to the courthouse instead. No hassles and stress free is the way to be. I still wanted a wedding dress even to get married at the courthouse. I still wanted something special for us even though it was going to be the two of us. A few months went by getting closer to the date. One day my husband and I were taking care of errands when we pass a place that turns out to be a place to have a wedding. So we go check it out and really loved the place. It made us change our mind to have a wedding. A few days later I went into a store to look around at wedding stuff. There was a lady there that introduced me to her. Her name was Patty. She was really nice and really cared it turns out she does photography, catering makes cakes and more. Everything I needed. So one day my husband and I were driving around and I see this big yellow sign from the road. I tell him to turn around to see what it said. It was a big beautiful mansion. That read weddings, parties and graduations. We go in  there the lady shows the package plans available and gives us details. We were sitting with her at a round table. She just starred at us with those eyes that say sign the contract already. It didn’t seem like she realized that it was a big step to take. A lot of money and a lot of things to think about. We talked about it and decided to take the offer only 4 days left until July 4. We told my family about it and my mom was thrilled. On the other hand my grandma was saying we couldn’t plan a wedding in four days. Even though I was telling her I already paid for it and signed the contract. She thought it was too impossible for me. The lady patty told me from the store she could be my photographer. She also made my bouquet for me. My husband took me back to David’s bridal. I invited my two sisters to come along. I tried on a few more dresses while my husband stayed out in the car. He can’t see me until our wedding day of course. I picked out my necklace, earrings, and tiara. My sister bought me a veil as a wedding gift. I was ready to check out. I ended up buying the dress I liked from the first appointment. My husband and I went to look for rings that same day we went to zales. A lot of rings to choose from and I was stuck between two favorites. I finally picked out the one I liked so did my husband. Except I did something different he bought me an engagement ring to be my wedding ring. I like them better. We bought the rings and I decided 4 years ago Report Abuse Additional Details So we had to come pick it up another day. We were worried it wouldn’t be ready on the day of our wedding, But unfortunately it was. We went to the wedding rehearsal it was just me and him. My husband doesn’t speak english. So we practiced him saying the vowels. We decided he would just repeat after the minister on the actual wedding day. He sounded just like an american speaking. We then went over the walk one time and she said we were done. I expected more practice than that. I thought you practiced until you got it all down. This was our first experience and she didn’t even let us practice enough to get the feel. Well we finally left very worried with no good rehersal. I got some copies of the directions from map quest. I told my family about the wedding event. And where it would take place. I don’t know why but everyone was making up lame excuses. My Grandma said she couldn’t  drive in the dark. My aunt said there would be too much traffic. 4 years ago  to leave my ring with Zales to get it sized. My appointments turned out to be a disaster. So many things went wrong that it’s not even funny. The lady that waxed my eyebrows messed them up so badly. She left unwanted hairs everywhere. Then I made a spray tan appointment. I was supposed to start noticing change in the color of my body in two hours. I was so dissapointed there wasn’t even a difference. It was finally time to go pick up our rings. My ring was yellow it looked fake. I got upset started crying because the ring was so expensive and I wasn’t happy with it. I complained to them about the yellow ring. Thank God I had two favorites. I asked them if they could switch it out for the other one I liked. I felt so relieved when they said yes I could switch. Then they gave us a little bad news. They said when they were in the process of sizing the ring it shredded. They said it was a bad ring. They had to get him another ring but the same one and resize it again. 4 years ago A few other members in my family were coming up with excuses. That was really odd. My family was not supportive at all except all my sisters. My husband had to pay for the whole wedding. I didn’t even get any gifts. Now July 4, 2008 is finally here. I got my hair and makeup done by this old lady. She didn’t seem like she really cared either she just did an up do the way she liked it. She was also in a huge rush. She used makeup from the 1960’s literally. I could have done the work she did and better with the money she charged me. I started to get so emotional because I expected to look stunning. So here I am crying makeup and all. I got to my sister’s house looked in the mirror and said to myself not so bad after all. Did a few touch ups. Once I get my dress on everything will be all right. As random strangers tell me congratulations I’m starting to feel good. So here I am in shorts a t-shirt and wedding veil driving myself to my on wedding. 4 years ago It was about a forty minute drive. I only had about twenty minutes to get my dress on and have time to actually think. Well what do you know my sister forgot one of my under garments. So I had to wait for my husband to bring it  to me. He wasn’t even on his way yet. I should have already been in my dress. I put a few curls in my hair. It was time for it to start. My photographer got there with my beautiful twenty four red roses bouquet. She snapped a few pictures of me. Going down the staircase before anyone had seen me. So I’m walking down the aisle and I see my husband standing waiting for me. We said our vowels. We finally kissed I will always remember when he said to me â€Å"You look beautiful†. Everything turned out miraculously. Even though we had no idea what we were doing it all fell into place. It looked like we knew what we were doing and have already been married four times. 4 years ago You see through my wedding experience the planning and appointments can get stressful. Even though my family was not supportive they came to my wedding. I didn’t really care even if it was just going to be the two of us. I really showed my family I could do it. Nobody really cared but my photographer. She was the one telling us what to do even though it was not her job. To this day my Grandma’s always talking about how beautiful my wedding was. She always asks if she could borrow my pictures to show them off to people. Like at church work and family that didn’t get to come. So have faith in your wedding. As long as you and your other half stick together and believe everything will turn out great.

Frederick DouglassNarrative and Its Influence

In 1845, many white people did not consider that a slave was able to write their own autobiography. However, William Lloyd Garrison's preface is an evidence for Douglass that he wrote the book by himself. Douglass was afraid to stand up and tell his story, since he had no education and no public speaking skills. Garrison wants us to keep in mind that the most famous black man in the country is a former slave. This was a way of convincing the crowd of the wrongs of slavery and that slaves can become as successful as Douglass did. Douglass was born in Maryland in 1817, as a slave. He educated himself and was determined to escape from slavery. He tried to escape slavery once, but it was unsuccessful. He later made a successful escape of slavery in 1838. Douglass told his story about his own life in order to describe a slaves’ life as one. Bringing up his own parents was a way of explaining how slavery avoids slaves from having ordinary families. When viewing the slavery of Afric an Americans, some will deny the negative effect it had on the African slaves. However, in his Narrative, Fredrick Douglass makes it obvious that some of the slaveholding characters are damaged by slavery. Slavery in the United States began soon after English colonists first established Virginia in 1607 and lasted as an authorized organization until the passing of the Thirteenth Abortion - Is It Moral or Immoral Abortion – Moral or Immoral? I would argue that abortion is immoral. Abortion is a debate that continues day in, day out, year in, year out. We have laws that have been set into place, yet the debate continues. The opposing sides in the debate each strongly believe they are right. The pro-choice supporters see a woman's right to choose as central to the debate. The pro-choice advocates see the life of the baby as the most important concern. Very little middle ground exists on the issue of abortion. I. When Does Life Begin? [1] "Development of the embryo begins at Stage 1 when a sperm fertilizes an oocyte and together they form a zygote." — England, Marjorie A. Life Before Birth. 2nd ed. England: Mosby-Wolfe, 1996, p.31 Regardless of his attire or the tune of his hum, Staples is still a black man; and to racist America the look of prestige or nonchalance has little significance. It is his complexion that labels him a potential rapist, mugger, or murderer, not his clothes, car, or cash. Aside from the racial components of Staples' predicament, the fundamental characteristic of accommodation for acceptance plagues many of us. Staples has embarked on his own battle. The old jeans-wearing, silent-walking Staples is now a person of the past, pushed aside for his "less-threatening" counterpart. In accommodating for others, our motives tend to be based around the concept that upon changing we will alleviate our problems, yet ironically such modifications elevate them. Author Adrienne Rich grapples with feelings of incompleteness resulting from her family's attempt to conceal her Jewish culture. In her piece appropriately titled, "Split at the Root: An Essay on Jewish Identity," Rich illustrates the disheartening truth lying behind identity conflict: the feelings of confusion, division, and discontent. Rich explored her Jewish past in hopes of discovering and glorifying her true identity. Inspiration was also drawn from Rich's need to escape the stereotypes, the stigmas, and her father's Rules of proportion in Architecture and Ancient Greece Proportion is the essence of architecture, and its roots can be traced back to even the ancient Egyptian times. The first recorded information about the theories of proportion comes from Pythagoras’s studies on geometry, ratio and the musical scale. This knowledge has been further explored in relation to proportions of things found in nature, such as the discovery of the golden ratio, and the modulation of the parts that make up the human body. This knowledge is documented in Vitruvius’s treatice, De Architectura, which contains valuable information about how architecture was perceived in these ancient times. His ideas of the ideal proportions of greek temples, and its relationship to the modular system of the human body is most evident in the flawless harmony of parts that make up the Parthenon. In the mid-5th century BC Pythagoras studied the Greek string instruments, called the lyre and he discovered that two strings with the same length, tension and thickness will sound the same. When the strings are at different lengths, they will most likely sound bad (or dissonant). However, he discovered certain string lengths that were different from one another, but they sounded good (or consonant) when played together. For example when he halved one string, he realised that the notes sounded the same, but at different pitches. This was the discovery of the octave, or diapason, and can be represented as a ratio of 1:2.

Autobiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Autobiography - Essay Example She taught me that people like practical gifts and one should always try to make others happy. My parents were very protective and this gave me less freedom to think of my own. Till my 20s I was under the protection of my parents and had no freedom to make decisions on my own. My father was a jovial man but he was extremely disciplined in his lifestyle. He wanted things in order and demanded the same from us. He was strict and we respected him and looked upon to his ideas and principles. My dad is a person who craved to spend time with us and care for us. I had a happy and pleasant childhood. I was a shy child in early years and got along well with my sisters and brothers. We used to spend most of the time playing games and going to school together and studying in a group. I was more close to my sisters than my brother as he was much younger than us. But we were extremely happy when he was born, as all of us were girls and there was no boy in our family. We were proud to welcome him and took great care of him as our baby brother. I had a happy childhood and had no complaints on it. We as a family often go on vacations and holidays and the memory of the same still remain in my mind. The most refreshing memory was that of the childhood summer vacation to beach in Morocco. I did my high schooling to elementary in Morocco and math was my favorite subject. High school was eventful and very exciting. During my studies I met my best friend who later became part of my family. I did my two year studies in Hassan University with chemistry and physics as main subject. I had to drop my studies due to financial problem and moved to U.S. in 1990s. My significant event was coming to USA in early 1990’s.I met my husband in 1994 and got married in 1996. He was a kind and funny person, but after few years of marriage we became more of friends than husband and wife and divorced in 2003. I always

Close reading assignment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Close reading assignment - Term Paper Example To begin with, let us look into the impressions created by the use of vocabulary and diction in the stanza. From the very first word one is likely to notice is Death. It is particularly vivid due to its capitalization and unexpectedness – indeed, few poems start immediately with death. Another grasping thing is that Death is humanized in the poem: it is He. This creates an impression that there is a woman (the speaker herself) and a gentleman who in a courteous manner â€Å"stops for her† and invites her to have a pleasant ride in a carriage. The pleasantry of the ride is evident given a particularly desirable element in the trip: Death and the speaker are accompanied by Immortality. This sounds as if there were one more pleasant and gallant companion – someone named Immortality. Thus, the two most striking things about this stanza is Death and He naturally complement each other. Death is a name of a gentleman and He is used to refer to him. The third striking th ing – Immortality – by its denotation contradicts Death. It means â€Å"no death†, in fact. Unlike death, immortality has a positive connotation and may be associated with such notions as paradise, eternal life, and blissfulness. The fact that it befriends Death and accompanies him enhances the positive feeling about the latter and gives it a positive connotation. On a deeper level, the vocabulary is fairly simple and even somewhat plain. Despite the fact that the poem was written in the 19th century, the words used in the poem’s first stanza would be familiar virtually to anyone today. At the same time, the choice of vocabulary in the first stanza is not accidental: it immediately introduces the reader to the rest of the poem. Namely, in Line 1: Because I could not stop for Death – Dickinson immediately introduces death and lets us know that the poem will be about death. While the use of â€Å"because† is not a typical way to begin a poem, or start a sentence in fiction/literary prose or colloquial conversation, the choice of this word is deliberate here. Use of â€Å"because† creates a feeling that a speaker provides a kind of explanation to the question that has been asked or to the future argument that will be discussed in the poem. The use of â€Å"because† suggests that the speaker engages the audience into accompanying him in an active and lively manner. The use of the expression â€Å"could not stop for death† expresses the idea that the poem’s speaker actually did not have a chance to choose when she would die. At its simplest, this phrase may mean that no one can ever know when he or she will die. Death capitalized means attribution of human nature to a non-human and abstract phenomenon – death. Further, the choice of words in Line 2 implies the following important things: death is he (in other words, a man or a gentleman), and what he does he does â€Å"kindly† (this is important for creating the overall mood of the poem, since it actually prevents fear in those who are reading the poem). Next, Lines 3-4 introduce one more actor in the poem – Immortality. Capitalization of â€Å"Immortality† may mean that Immortality is someone third that accompanies the speaker and Death. It may also mean that this word is particularly important, so not necessarily a humanized object.

Managing Information Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Managing Information Technology - Essay Example In addition, it does not require professional installation on the other hand it requires a local phone line and accessibility is restricted to upgraded telecommunication areas (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2009), (FastSurf, 2011), (Beal, 2010), (Miller, 2011) and (BroadbandInfo, 2011). Second high-speed internet connection option for homeowners is cable internet connection that allows the user to establish an internet connection using digital (coaxial) cables. Additionally, the speed of this connection varies from 500 Kbps up to 2,000 Kbps that is approximately 30 times quicker as compared to standard dial-up communication service. However, such kind of internet connection requires professional installation as well as internet speed is not for all time reliable. In addition, it is extensively available at reasonable price. Moreover, a lot of cable connection provides offer special packages if we sign up for cable internet connection (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, & Pe rkins, 2009), (FastSurf, 2011), (Beal, 2010), (Miller, 2011) and (BroadbandInfo, 2011). Another high-speed internet connection option for homeowners is satellite internet connection that allows the user to establish an internet connection via satellite dish. This type of connection offers the speed of 500 Kbps downstream that is still much quicker as compared to dialup.

From what frequent activity do you derive your greatest joy Why is Personal Statement

From what frequent activity do you derive your greatest joy Why is this activity meaningful to you, and how does it shape your perspective on life (500 words or less) - Personal Statement Example Athletes were the epitome of power for me and, of course, I imagined myself playing. I never missed Yankee games and patiently waited for the day I would come to the stadium with my dad. However, it was not all I wanted to do in my life. Growing up, I was becoming more and more interested in the strategy of the game and baseball coaching seemed to be the best role I could have in my life. Everything changed when I had the opportunity to try myself as a coach in 11th grade. I started volunteering as a coach at the 68th Precent youth little league in Brooklyn, New York. I recollect this experience with a smile on my face because it was so great to help little kids to succeed. I was more than a coach for those kids; I tried to be a role model for them and showed that good deeds always paid back. Several children in my team had special needs and I felt really great helping them to boost their achievements in sport and in life making them more open for communication and new things. We shared many special moments with the team; even though not all of them were happy, there was a special atmosphere that surrounded our communication. All those kids reminded me of myself; I experienced the same problems, felt badly when I could not play well and was excited when my team won the game. Overall, I understood that baseball coaching was what I needed to do to be happy. This coaching experience explains many things to me. I realize that many things in life are not about winning. It is more pleasant to be happy and share happiness with other people. Brought up to be over-achievers, my generation often strives to win under any circumstances but sometimes victory does not make people happy. Victory does make people feel better for some time, but this feeling disappears and leaves nothing after it. All in all, I like baseball because it is more than a game where one should win. I treat this game as memories about my

Aircraft maintenance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Aircraft maintenance - Essay Example Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMT's) perform or supervise maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alteration of aircraft and aircraft systems in accordance with the provisions of Federal Aviation Regulations. As the aviation technology made it progress, it was necessary to bring in the maintenance of all the aircraft for it's prolong and safety use. From the time it started, aircraft maintenance has gone through series of changes. From basic to improvised and now the high-tech maintenance. As gradually the aircraft problem raised, maintenance also matured. The following context will discuss very briefly the journey of maintenance to the latest maintenance technology. Further paragraph will discuss how it has cooped with the latest technology and then the future of the aircraft maintenance. How to effectively improve the quality of the aircraft outfield maintenance management is a problem any management personnel seeking high profits in both developed and developing countries must be faced with, no matter what aircraft they maintain, military aircraft or civilian aircraft. Some of the several technologies used for aircraft maintenance are: The use of neural networks (NNs) to enhance onboard diagnostics and provide real-time damage detection for aircraft reconfiguration has been investigated. This research focus was a result of investigating new technologies to improve mission success and reduce life cycle/support cost resulting from a high percentage of cannot duplicate' and retest O.K.' maintenance actions occurring on some aircraft systems. Laboratory testing results have shown that future onboard diagnostics systems can use NNs to detect intermittent failure and false failure indications. The test instance featured an Ada-based NN running in an advanced vehicle management system computer (VMSC). Built In Test Equipment: The BITE is characterized primarily as a passive fault management and diagnosis built into airborne systems to support the maintenance process. Another technology use for aircraft maintenance, it functionality are Analysis of failure monitoring results, Reporting & Memorisation of failures, Management of tests. Central Maintenance Computer: The Central Maintenance Computer (CMC) for the 747-400 cockpit serves as a central collection hub for inter-system fault data sharing among aircraft monitoring systems, collecting and storing information on failed components and initiating component and system tests. Reliability Centered Management: RCM process described in the DOD/UAL report recognized three principal risks from equipment failures: threats to safety, to operations, and to the maintenance budget. Modern RCM gives threats to the environment a separate classification, though most forms manage them in the same way as threats to safety. RCM offers four principal options among the risk management strategies: on-condition maintenance tasks, scheduled restoration or discard maintenance tasks, failure-finding maintenance tasks, and one-time changes to the "system" (changes to hardware design, to operations, or to other things). After being created by the commercial aviation industry, RCM was adopted by the U.S. military (beginning in

What is the difference between civic nationalism and ethnic Essay

What is the difference between civic nationalism and ethnic nationalism Can the former exist without the latter - Essay Example In terms of self-determination, it is referred to â€Å"as having full statehood with complete authority on domestic and internal affairs† Miscevic, Nenad (01 Jun 2010 Whereupon, we come into the two theories of nationalism: the civic nationalism and the ethnic nationalism. What makes them different from each other, and could it be rightly expressed that the former can exist without the other? I believe that although the two kinds of nationalism are different from each other; civic nationalism emanates from ethnic nationalism because the former is a heritage that existed during the times of our forefathers; and that civic nationalism has gathered its principles from the experience of ethnic nationalism. Kuzio, Taras (January 2002, pp. 20-39) supports my assertion that civic nationalism could not exist without ethnic nationalism. He believes that the country’s ethnicity and civic universalism â€Å"is dependent on the evolution of its history from ethnic to civic state and nationhood and the depth of democratic consolidation† (Kuzio, Taras). He concluded in his study that evolution from ethnic to civic states does not depend on geogra phy but rather on the positive influence of international institutions, domestic democratic consolidation and civic institution building†. The West, he said has a long history of ethnic states, and that this factor makes its evolution also similar to the states in the East. Drawn from the explanations of Nikolas 2001, ethnic nationalism has ideological bonds from the native history and its people. It is differentiated from civic nationalism because its nationhood is described by its customs and traditions, religion and language (Hill, Richard C. 2003). Accordingly, the ethnic nationalists believe that â€Å"it is not the state that creates the nation but the nation that creates the state†. What make them stay together are the

Homeland security preparedness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Homeland security preparedness - Essay Example This can be seen in the increasing budgetary allocation to intelligence over the past few years. The United States intelligence budget (excluding military intelligence program) in 2010 was $ 53 billion. In 2009 it was $ 49.8 billion. The budgetary allocation was $ 47 billion in 2008, $ 43.5 billion in 2007 and $ 40.9 billion in 2006. According to one study of Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the Federal budgetary allocations (after adjusting for inflation) for Intelligence has increased by a third during the past decade. 8) To use the intelligence gathered, for making decision relating to national security that can lead to more effective and efficient utilization of the available economic and military resources of United States of America. The whole idea of using the umbrella term ‘home land security’ for defining security efforts to protect United States against terrorist attacks gained currency after the deadly and dastardly terrorist attacks on World Trade Center. The Homeland Security Act was passed in the year 2002. Under this act the new cabinet Department of Department for Homeland Security ( DHS ) was established. The National Strategy for Homeland Security defines homeland security as: â€Å" A concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks in United States of America; reduce the vulnerability of United States to terrorism ; minimization of damages caused from terrorist attacks; and to lead to immediate recovery from terrorist attacks, if they occur.† Before the September 11 attacks, the public policy on security made a distinction between domestic intelligence and foreign intelligence. The domestic intelligence activities were largely concerned with gathering intelligence for the purposes of law enforcement. The main objective behind Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA), 2004 was to integrate the foreign, military and domestic

Personal Narrative and First-Hand Observation Essay Example for Free

Personal Narrative and First-Hand Observation Essay Personal Narrative and First-Hand Observation in a Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, the Ballot or the Bullet, and Dance with the Devil By davidleny Personal narrative and first-hand observation are key components if an author wishes to be effective in his writing. Through the use of personal narrative and first- hand observation, the author is able to gain sympathy from or relate to the audience. Although it can be argued the use of these two components does not result in effective writing, it is proven to be true in Frederick Douglass A Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, Malcolm Xs The Ballot or the Bullet, and Immortal Techniques Dance with the Devil. In A Narrative Life Of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Frederick uses his personal life experience to demonstrate the inhumane brutality and mistreatment against the African American slaves. Douglass is effective in his writing and attracts the attention of the audience. For example, earlier in the narrative Frederick mentions how loving and caring his grandmother was and how she took care of and nurtured every slave child. Later on in the narrative he mentions that when his old masters die, his grandmother was isolated and taken away from her children to live alone in the woods in a mud chimney hut. Text 1) The use of Douglass personal experience with his grandmother captivates his audience because the African American enslaved community, whom this narrative at the time was directed towards, also had a grandmother who nurtured them. Likewise in The Ballot or The Bullet by Malcolm X, Malcolm discusses that even though people have differences, we all face the same problem. Malcolm expresses that whether you are Muslim, Baptist, or Methodist, we all are going to suffer the decisions of the man that is in charge of us. (Text 2) The audience is able to connect to his experience because e involved people of all religions. Malcolms experience allows the audience to become aware of what is to come and that they will all suffer the consequences. Malcolm is effective in his writing because he includes the rights of every human. The audience concerning their well being of is captivated and becomes aware of the situation. Furthermore in Dance with the Devil by Immortal Techniques, the artist reveals the truth that not everyone is good, that everyone has evil in them. The artists engagement of all races and of the welfare of the people gains the attention f the audience and is effective. For example, the artist says that the person right next to you could be the devil and that the devil consumes the hearts of the selfish and the wicked. (Text 3, Lines 1,2, and 5. ) His use of the devil as evil supports his belief that not everything is good. First-hand observation and personal narrative is required to have effective writing in order to grasp the attention of the audience. This is evident in Frederick Douglass A Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, Malcolm Xs The Ballot or the Bullet, and Immortal Techniques Dance with the Devil.

Case Study Of Mobilink Management Essay

Case Study Of Mobilink Management Essay The running title of the study is primarily outlined as Impact of Training and Development on Employee Performance and the Organisation A Case Study of MOBILINK. In depth, the research will focus on how training and development affects the performance of both employee and the Organisation. Employees are progressively stipulating change, preferences, flexibility, and variety in their work; suggesting that with the de-layering of organizations and  empowerment  of individual employees, the future for both the organization and the individual employee depends not in the promotion to the successively higher levels, but rather in developing the value of the individual as human capital (Seidler, 1996). The value of human capital is improved by achievement of higher performance potential such as new tasks, functions, and KSAPs (knowledge, skills, abilities, personal attributes) (McGregor, 1988). The paper discusses in detail the research proposal of the topic. Training and Development (TD) basically deals with the acquisition of understanding, knowledge, techniques and practice. In this research proposal, the background and problem of the study are presented; the objectives of the study are originated. Here, crucial concepts, questions, theory and assumption are stated. Finally, the methodology to be used is defined. Research Problem: The key problem that will be discussed in this study is how TD affects the performance of both employees and the Organisation. The following research problems will be discussed in the course of the study. Discussion of the Employee Training and Development in MOBILINK. i.e. in what specific ways does TD improve the performance of the staff and organisation. Discussion about other supportive elements or approaches that enhance the Training and development requirements according to the globalisation. Conclude the effects as much as the benefits that the employee can get and the positive return for the business in carrying out of training and development. Furthermore, following will be the sub questions of the problem; To evaluate need and importance of Training and Development in the organization. To evaluate how Training and Development works, functions and processes in MONILINK. To investigate the new methods and techniques in Training and Development and their exploitation in the commercial sector. To gain more information about the business of Telecom sector at a large level corporation spanning multiple geographical locations in multiple countries. To become good introduction of my university in the commercial sector and open up doors for career in the T D field in the long term in the future. I will use the case study method that will permit my study to observe, evaluate and formulate its own analysis concerning to the subject of training and development. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the study is to simply establish the sound answer on the effects of the training and development on employees and the organisation. The research particularly looks at the employee training and development pattern within the  Organisation and their positive return to the business. Moreover, the study offer discussions made by other authors concerning with the employee training and development. The study believes that training has a big relationship on the level of understanding, knowledge, and skill of an employee. In other way, the training also creates a big advantage for the organization in their incorporation that can be admitted as part of the organizational system. In addition, the training can comes in different forms and should not be stick in one training strategy or techniques for there are many reasons that might trigger to its development. Objectives of the Study: The key objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of Training and Development at MOBILINK. In the literature of employee training and development, human resource is the utmost source of the development of a business. In the same way, it is essential to study the current practices in the company training and development that are meant to contribute to the improvement of the employees skills and organisational performance.   To deal with this objective, I will conduct a survey on the new employees views of their training under Mobilink. Moreover, the survey intended to find out if new employees were satisfied with their jobs in their first month in the company. In addition, management personnel will be interviewed to evaluate their views on constructive employee training and development patterns and on employee retention and attrition. Literature Review: Training and development is essential to organizations which seek to gain a competitive advantage through a highly skilled and flexible workforce, and are seen as a major element to high productivity and quality performance. A skilled workforce can increase productivity by producing a higher level of work with greater value. The organisations seek to ensure the availability of reliable workforce to aid in the realisation of its strategic business plan. To achieve this goal, the company should train and development career (Wilson, 2005). It is worth noting that different companies have different approaches to their business. Further, education seems to be the same for the students of the same profession. This has the indication that the ultimate skills and experience enjoyed by the employee reflects their training in a particular organisation (Wilson 2005,p.102).Employee engagement practices are instrumental in promoting employee commitment to the mission and objectives of an organisa tion. According to the principles of effective human resource management, training and Development of employees is one of the reliable tools of ensuring their satisfaction at the workplace (Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2009). This is due to the fact that training eliminates the demoralisation aspects brought by failure to efficiently realise ones expectations at the workplace. In addition, training gives employees an opportunity to achieve their professional career goals while earning a living. All these are important are important in meeting the social and economic responsibilities of both the individual and the organisation.Training and career development serves the important role of strengthening the reputation of an organisation. Reputation remains the best marketing tool for the products and services of any business. On the other side, the reputation of a company is defined by the effectiveness and reliability of its services to the customers (Aidele 2009, p.76). This means tha t an organisation should have in place a strong workforce to meet its market demands. This calls for engaging in employee training and career development since such is vital tools in promoting innovative solving of problems. Still, providing training and development gives the organisation the competitive advantage of identifying the best talent for its workforce as it eliminates certification qualifications to engage in seeking actual capabilities of its employees. Business leaders are always looking forward for the success of the organization and therefore, they should create a kind of strategy that can undergo the midst of challenges (Meek, 2007). Historically, the training suggests that there are benefits that the training might deliver in the entire organization. One predictable result is the improvement in the level of performance of the people. Another is the minimization of the organizational cost and the capacity of the employees to answer the consumer needs (Shea, 2008). Many people have seen Training and Development as inseparable but according to the report ,Developing the Developers by Megginson Pedler (1991) its been shown that most managers viewed Training Development as different and wanted to keep them as two separate terms. This report made the following definition; Training: The relatively systematic attempt to transfer knowledge or skills from one who knows to one who does not know. Development: Working with individuals or organisation to enable them to cross a threshold which has qualitative significance to them and their life. The significance of employee training and development has long been recognized as a critical matter for businesses (Ford et al., 1997).There are many elements involve in perusing the training and development in an organization. In organizational view, the active employee involvement and training is considered as one of the strategic concerns of the organizational leaders. Organizations personalized different training and development processes and procedures that can achieve the best result in the businesss sustainability. People, as the key for the organization, are the main target of the training therefore the training among the business leader help them to provide the valid reason in creating the appropriate decision for the entire organization and have a great impact on their managerial skills and styles (Johnson, 2001; Farvaque, et al., 2009) Furthermore, the training and development for some business analysts were considered as a partnership or enhancing the employer-employee relationship (2009). Human capital is treated as a key to success for all industries. Human Resource Management practices play a pivotal role to gain profitability and market share that ultimately enhance the organizational performance in the long run (Qureshi, 2006). But in the current scenario, enterprises are facing problems in terms of shortage of brilliant workforce, dramatic rise in Retirements, poaching of the key people by competitors, and increasing turnover. As the business environment becomes increasingly competitive, organizations need to focus on improving all areas of their business especially human capital because the performance of the people employed has a major impact on profitability (Lloyds, 2010).It is now commonly accepted that employees construct an important cause of competitive advantage for the organisation. As a result, it is important that an organisation should adopt best TD practices to get best utilization of its employees. The above trend has point to enhanced interest in the impact of HRM on organizational performance, and a number of studies have established a positive affiliation (Gelade Iivery, 2003). Research studies have demonstrated that training has a positive influence on organizational performance. Zwick (2006) stated that increasing the training strength has an optimistic and significant effect on establishment of productivity.In the same way Bartel (1991) also demonstrated a direct and positive relationship between productivity and training program. The amount of training is an important antecedent for firms who wish to improve their productivity (Savery and Luks, 2004). But Cunha (2002) found no significance of training on organizational performance.Moreover, effective staff training and professional development can help to produce positive youth outcomes and increase retention of youth workers (Fancsali 2002, Huebner et al.2003, Astroth et al. 2004, Hartje et al. 2007).There are many models of training and development that have made greater progress into organizational settings, which have began to have a greater impact on instructional design. Specifically, Instructional Systems Design (ISD), Human Performance Technology (HPT), Performance-Based Instructional Design (PBID), and Total Quality Management (TQM), all of which originate from research in the area of organizational development. Role of Theory: Training and Development has been increasingly used in the literature as well as in the business world as a critical concept redefining the borders between business, society and the state. Extensive literature exists on the concept of TD. For the purpose of my research, I will use the theories developed about it. Methodology and Methods: Research Approach: I will get most of my research information through the books, Journals, Internet and newspaper articles. Webster and Watson (2002) states that the major contributions are likely to be in the leading journals. It can also come from some Official documents provided by the clients such as information about their system, IT infrastructure, training facilities and others. Information can also come from official policy manuals, plans and other stuff which is not confidential for the company. Research Context: My case study will be focus on MOBILINK GSM Pakistan, exploring its methodology of Training and Development to streamlining and improving the efficiency of its employee and the organisation. Given below is the brief introduction of MOBILINK and the Training and Development techniques used in the organization: MOBILINK Introduction: MOBILINK GSM (PMCL), a  subsidiary of Orascom Telecom, started its operations in Pakistan in 1994, and has become the market leader both in terms of growth and having the largest customer subscribers of over 30 millions and growing. MOBILINK is the first cellular service provider in Pakistan to operate on a 100% digital GSM technology. Currently there are about five thousand employees in Mobilink among them 500 employee are on temporary basis or outsourced. Training and Development in MOBILINK: MOBILINK mostly trains its employees by On Job Training which means that the employees are trained as they perform their jobs and along with their duties. The manager or supervisor guides them how to perform their jobs and guides them about the effectiveness in the work. Internees are trained in various departments and then mostly hired by Mobilink itself and their training is basically teaching them the ropes and the basics of everything. On a general basis the training done in Mobilink can be divided into two categories: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Soft skill training à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Technical Training Graham Burke, One of the the President PMCL Mobilink, said ; Mobilink will offer proper training plans to its employees in order to make them more reactive to their responsibilities Sampling Plan: Sampling involves taking a certain number of people to get them contributed in the research by taking their views about a matter or conduction of interviews about the topic under research. To add to emphasis to the studys purpose to analyse respondents opinion, interviews will be conducted from relevant persons in Mobilink. Data Acquisition Method: Primary data will be collected by adopting a qualitative approach by taking different focus groups, this will provide insight and inform the interview process (Threlfall, 1999; Gilbert,2008). To add to emphasis to the studys purpose to analyse respondents opinion, interviews will be conducted from relevant persons in Mobilink, for this purpose I will spent about 6-8 weeks in Pakistan(My home country) in order to get my required data. I will conduct structured interviews from some of the employees in Mobilink.Interviews will be recorded. Observation sheet will be filled by the researcher during the interview whereas some of the modifications will be made if necessary to explore a particular issue irrelevant to Training Development. Project Planning: Time Scales: The part of the research dealing with data collection from secondary sources will take approximately 4-6 weeks. Compiling and analysing of data collected from interviews and observations will take 6-8 weeks approximately. Final research will provide the study hypothesis in 6-12 weeks approximately. Critical Success Factor: Broad level of secondary data on the subject of Training and Development will significantly satisfy the objectives of the study. In broader sense, good knowledge of their systems, their facilities and their performance improvement plans and there success in the failure in the achievement of objectives will be a major success factor in the research. Cost Implications: It will work not too cost effective. The main reasons behind the cost saving is that I already had a plan to go to Pakistan during my holidays and Mobilinks one of the main office exists in Lahore, Pakistan which is my hometown. Most of the offices from where I am planning to collect data are located in the walking distance or close proximity. This will save me cost of fare, or overnight stay which I may have had to face if the locations were away. To get users input, recording equipment will be used to record their responses, although it will cost a one time expense of purchase of equipment, but it will save cost of stationary and printing and paper cost that would incur if responses are collected on printed questionnaire or survey forms. Ethical Issues: There can be ethical issues around the data collection and use of data for research given that organizations provide access to their information which be sometimes beneficial for their competitors to give them undue advantage. However I will manage secrecy of the information I will obtain during and after the completion of the research. All other ethical standards will be followed during the research to gain information from company or its employees. The challenges expected to be faced are lack of trust on person from outside the organization in providing information. I will use top-down approach to overcome this issue. I will take management in confidence and agree them to share information with me that will take away a number of resistances from lower staff. Although I will keep good terms and deal nicely with all staff regardless of their ranks, still having management on my back will open up several doors for me which otherwise would proof difficult to open.

Novel Eu3+-doped Garnet-tpye Tellurate Red-emitting Phosphor

Novel Eu3+-doped Garnet-tpye Tellurate Red-emitting Phosphor A novel Eu3+-doped garnet-tpye tellurate red-emitting phosphor with high thermal stability and color purity Introduction The garnet-related family Li3Ln3Te2O12(Ln=Y, Pr, Nd, Sm-Lu) have been extensively studied as promising solid electrolytes for application in solid state rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for the last few decades [1-4]. In 2006, OCallaghan et al. developed garnet-type Li3Ln3Te2O12 (Ln = Y, Pr, Nd, Sm-Lu) to investigate the relationship between Li site occupation and Li ion conductivity [1]. The lattice constant increases with increasing Ln ionic radius in Li3Ln3Te2O12. These Li3Ln3Te2O12 garnets have exhibited a fairly low ionic conductivity of ∠¼10−5 S cm−1 at 600  °C with a high activation energy (>1 eV) [3]. In 2014, the crystal structures and conductivity data for the most of perspective Li-ion solid electrolytes based on garnet-type metal oxides have been recently reviewed by Thangadurai et al. [4]. Garnet host lattices are of considerable interest due to their wide applications as laser hosts and as phosphors for white light emitting diodes [5]. For example, trivalent rare earth doped Y3Al5O12 (YAG) is one of the widely used systems of compounds for solid state lighting applications. Meanwhile, some new garnet-type compound can be constructed based on the garnet structural model, such as the green-emitting Ca3Sc2Si3O12:Ce3+, the orange-emitting Lu2CaMg2(Si, Ge)3O12:Ce3+, and the green-emitting Ca2LaZr2Ga3O12:Ce3+phosphors [6]. Therefore, the development of phosphors based on garnet-type materials is of great interest. As an important activator, the europium ion is one of the most studied lanthanide activators because of its singular luminescence properties, exhibiting pure red emission transitions with a series of sharp lines arising from the excited state 5D0 to the lower energy state 7F0-6. Eu3+ ions exhibit pure magnetic and electric dipole transitions which make it a very s ensitive probe for the rare earth ion site structure/symmetry. 5D0→7F2 electric dipole (ED) transitions around 610 nm are highly hypersensitive, which is highly sensitive to the symmetry of the Eu3+ sites in the lattices; however, the magnetic dipole transitions (5D0→7F1) are not affected by the environment, and their emission intensities are often used as an internal standard [7]. However, luminescence properties of Eu3+-doped garnet-type Li3Gd3Te2O12 have not been studied yet. In this work, red emitting phosphors Li3Gd3(1-x)Eu3xTe2O12(x = 0.01-0.30) were synthesized by the conventional solid-state reaction. The structure, composition and photoluminescence properties of Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+ phosphors were investigated. In addition, the luminescence quenching of Eu3+ doping concentration and CIE on the photoluminescence spectra were demonstrated in detail. 2. Experimental Procedure    The synthesis of Li3Gd3Te2O12 phosphors doped with Eu3+ ions was carried out via a high-temperature solid-state reaction method. Li2CO3 (99.99%), Gd2O3 (99.99%), TeO2 (99.9%), and Eu2O3 (99.99%) as raw materials, they were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich without further purification and thoroughly mixed in an agate mortar. The mixtures were sintered in air at 900 °C for 10 h. when the reaction was end at 900 °C, the products were cooled down to room temperature without cooling devices. Finally, white powers were obtained by grinding. The relevant reaction formulas are as follows: 3Li2CO3+3(1-x)Gd2O3 + 4TeO2 + 3xEu2O3 + 2O2 = 2Li3Gd3(1-x)Eu3xTe2O12+ 3CO2 The crystal structure of phosphors were characterized for phase formation by using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis with a Philips XPert MPD (Philips, Netherlands) with Cu KÃŽ ± radiation (ÃŽ » = 1.5418 Ã…). The diffraction patterns were scanned within angular range of 10-70ËÅ ¡(2ÃŽ ¸). The morphology and size of the phosphors were measured using a scanning electron microscope (SEM, JEOL JSM-6490). The photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra of the samples were analyzed using a Hitachi F-4600 spectrophotometer at room temperature. The temperature-dependent PL spectra of the phosphor were recorded in air on an Edinburgh FLS 920 spectrometer equipped with a 450 W Xe lamp. Results and discussion Li3Gd3Te2O12 belongs to the cubic crystal system, space group of Iad (No.230), in the structure of Li3Gd3Te2O12, Gd3+ and Te6+ cations occupy the 8- and 6-fold sites, and Li+ ions are located exclusively in the tetrahedral (24d) sites, respectively. As shown in Fig. 1, this structure can be considered to be formed from two interpenetrating, body-centered lattices composed of edge-shared distorted [GdO8] cubes [8, 9]. One of these frameworks composed of Gd (black sphere) and O (red sphere) is shown in Fig.1(b) along with selected polyhedra to illustrate the linkages between the [GdO8] units. Tellurium in the [TeO6] polyhedra is accommodated in an octahedral site that shares edges with an edge-linked [GdO8] dimer.   Fig. 2 shows the observed, calculated, and patterns of the Li3Gd2.55Te2O12:0.15Eu3+phosphors, confirmed from Rietveld analysis using GSAS software. The final refinement converged with weighted profile of χ2 = 1.086, Rp = 24.4à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦, and Rwp = 33.9à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ for Li3Gd2.55Te2O12:0.15Eu3+. It is clear that all the diffraction peaks of these samples are in good agreement with the pure Li3Gd3Te2O12 (JCPDS 22-0683) and no second phase can be found, indicating that each sample is purity phase and that the substitution of Gd3+ by Eu3+ do not significantly influence the crystal structure. Li3Gd3Te2O12 belongs to the cubic system, and the lattice parameters are calculated to be a = b = c = 12.41 Ã…, V = 1911.24 Ã…3, which are consistent with the literature [1]. As the similarity of valence and the ionic radii of Eu3+(r = 0.95 Ã…, CN = 8) is the closest to that of Gd3+(r = 0.94 Ã…, CN = 8), the doped Eu3+ is supposed to substitute for the Gd3+ sites [10].   SEM analysis was carried out to investigate the surface morphology and particle sizes of the synthesized phosphor powder. Fig. 3 shows the representative SEM images of two different concentrations of Li3Gd3Te2O12:xEu3+(a, x = 0.05; b, x = 0.20). It seemed as if these small spherical particles combined together to form big crystallites. The size of particles is found to be in micrometer dimension. Meanwhile, the result indicated that doping content of Eu3+ content in Li3Gd3Te2O12:xEu3+from 0.05 to 0.20 mol did not alter the particle size and agglomeration. The grain size of phosphors is important for their applications in commercial WLEDs. In general, for practical bepowdering applications, the phosphors with micron particles can feed well the commercial demand for WLEDs. Therefore, a long ball-milling step is required to break up the agglomerations and improve the quality of the phosphor powder. Figure 4 shows the excitation spectra of Li3Gd2.55Te2O12:0.15Eu3+ monitored at 613 nm emission (5D0→7F2) at room temperature. The broad band of 200-300 nm (No.1) centered at around 275 nm is called as charge transfer (CT) band which is ascribed to the charge-transfer state (CTS) transition of O2−→Eu3+ ions. The position of this band mightily relies on the host lattice. A sequence of sharp excitation bands(Nos.2-11)between 300 and 500 nm was attributable to the intra-configurational 4f-4f transitions of Eu3+ in the matrix, namely,7F0 to 5FJ, 5H6, 5H3, 5D4, 5L8, 5G3, 5G2, 5L6, 5D3, and 5D2at wavelengths300, 314, 321, 364, 368, 381, 386, 396, 419 and 466 nm respectively [11]. The strongest absorption band located at approximately 396 nm occurred from the 7F0→5L6 transition of Eu3+ ions. A suitable red-emitting ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV-LED) phosphor should exhibit an absorption of around 400 nm (LED excitation wavelength). Obviously, the Li3Gd3Te2O1 2:Eu3+phosphor has a potential value for white lighting device. Upon 396 nm excitation, the PL emission spectrum of the Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+phosphors was measured as presented in Fig. 5. Clearly, the PL emission spectrum was dominated by a strong red emission with a center of about 613 nm due to the 5D0 →7F2 transition. Meanwhile, there also existed some relatively weak excitation peaks at 570, 596, 655 and 709 nm which are attributed to the 4f-4f transitions of Eu3+ ions from the excited state of 5D0 to 7F0, 7F1, 7F3 and 7F4, respectively. Generally, the local symmetry of Eu3+ site in the crystal lattice can be mostly reflected by Eu3+ emission profile. When Eu3+ ion occupies a crystallographic site with inversion symmetry, its magnetic-dipole 5D0→7F1 orange emission is dominant, while the electric dipole 5D0 →7F2 red emission dominates when possessing the non-centrosymmetrical site [12]. Thus, the I0-2/I0-1 emission ratio can be used in lanthanide-based systems as a probe for the local surroundings of a cation. As shown in Fig . 5, in comparison with that of the 5D0→7F1transition, the emission intensity of the 5D0→7F2 transition was much stronger, and the I0-2/I0-1 ratio was about 4.84. They demonstrated that the Eu3+ ions occupied the low symmetry sites with non-inversion centers in Li3Gd3Te2O12 host lattice. This ratio value is larger in comparison with those of the other Eu3+-doped phosphors. This larger ratio is favorable to improve the red color purity. The intensity of luminescence in phosphors is usually affected by the variation in concentration of activators. Dependence of PL emission intensity of Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+ phosphors on dopant concentration can be seen in Fig. 6. None of wavelength shift or peak was observed for a new site at high Eu3+ concentrations. The emission intensity of the phosphor initially increases up to 15 mol%. The maximum intensity is observed at 15 mol% and after this it starts decreasing. The decrease in the emission intensity is due to concentration quenching effect. The concentration quenching of luminescence is observed when the energy transfer from one activator to another. Blasse has pointed out that if the activator is introduced solely on Z ion sites, xc is the critical concentration, N is the number of Z ions in the unit cell and V is the volume of the unit cell, then there is on the average one activator ion per V/xcN [13]. The critical transfer distance (Rc) is approximately equal to twice the radius of a sphere with this volume: The critical transfer distance of the centerEu3+ in Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+ phosphor by taking the appropriate values of V, N, and xc (1911.24 Ã…3, 8, and 0.15, respectively) is 14 Ã…. The intensity of multipolar interaction can be determined from the change in the emission intensity. The emission intensity is related to the emitting level which has the multipolar interaction. The emission intensity (I) per activator ion is given by the formula [14]: where χ is the activator concentration; Q is a constant of multipolar interaction and equals 3, 6, 8, or 10 for the nearest-neighbor ions, dipole-dipole, dipole-quadrupole or quadrupole-quadrupole interaction, respectively; and K and ÃŽ ² are constants under the same excitation condition for the given host crystal [14, 15]. Then we use this equation to fit the experimental results of the relationship between integrated emission intensity and Eu3+ concentration. The curve of lgI/x vs. lgx in Li3Gd3Te2O12: Eu3+ phosphor based on Fig. 6 is shown in Fig. 7. The figure clearly shows that the relation between lgI/x and lgx is approximately linear and the slope is about -1.0. The Q value calculated based on the linear fitting using Eq. (2) is 3.0. This finding indicates that the concentration quenching of the Eu3+-site emission centers is caused by the energy transfer around the nearest-neighbor ions in the Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+ phosphor. The similar phenomenon has been reported in the Sr1. 7Zn0.3CeO4: Eu3+ phosphor [16]. Both the maintenance of the chromaticity and brightness of white light output are favored by a lower-temperature quenching in the solid-state lighting application. Figure 8 represents the temperature-dependent PL spectra of Li3Gd3Te2O12: Eu3+ excited at 396 nm from 300 K to 460 K. The PL intensity almost unchanged with increase of temperature from 300 K to 460 K. The temperature dependence of the integrated emission intensities normalized at the 300 K value. The sample remained at about 82% of the intensity measured at room temperature, even the sample was heated to 420 K (the temperature at which LEDs typically operate). The thermal quenching temperature T50, the temperature at the 50% emission intensity, was above 500 K for Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+. The Eu3+-activated Li3Ba2Gd3(MoO4)8 red phosphor shows lower quenching temperature and only remain 60% of the room temperature emission intensity at 200  °C. The good thermal quenching performance is similar with K2Ba5Si12O30:Eu2+, BaTiF6:Mn 4+, Sr3Lu0.2(PO4)3:0.8Eu3+phosphor [18-20]. Furthermore, the emission wavelengths showed no shift with increasing temperature. The small decrease in the emission intensity and good color purity stability at higher temperature indicates that the phosphor Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+ has good thermal stability and can serve a potential red emitting phosphor for white LEDs. In order to clarify the thermal quenching behavior and to calculate the activation energy, the Arrhenius equation is fitted to the thermal quenching data of Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+ [21]: Where I0 means the initial intensity at room temperature, I(T) means the intensity at   temperature T, c is a constant, k is Boltzmanns constant (8.62 10−5eV/K), and Eais the activation energy for the thermal quenching process fitted with the thermal quenching data. The inset in Figure 9 plots ln[(I0/I)−1] versus 1/T for Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+. Linear regression showed that the thermal activation energy Ea for quenching was calculated to be ~ 0.22 eV. The thermal quenching of the emission intensity of Eu3+-activated phosphors was due to the excited electrons easily jumping into the CTS band after absorbing thermal energy at high temperatures, which the probability of non-radiative transition may increase. Thus, the emission intensity of Eu3+-activated phosphors decreased with increased temperature [22, 23].    The emission spectra of Li3Gd3Te2O12:0.15Eu3+ and commercial Y2O3:Eu3+ excited at 396 nm were then compared in Fig. 10. Remarkably, the integral emission intensity of Li3Gd3Te2O12:0.15Eu3+ was 3.03 times than that of Y2O3:Eu3+. The CIE chromaticity coordinates of the phosphors were calculated to be (0.642, 0.332) for Li3Gd3Te2O12:0.15Eu3+ according to its PL spectra, which are shown in the CIE 1931 chromaticity diagram in the insets of Fig. 10. It was found that the CIE coordinates of the present red phosphor are more close to those of the NTSC standard CIE chromaticity coordinate values for red (0.67, 0.33) standard value, which is better than those of the commercial red phosphors Y2O3:Eu3+ (0.49, 0.32) [24] and Y2O2S:Eu3+ (0.65, 0.36) [25]. Furthermore, to better understand the red emission of the Eu3+-activated Li3Gd3Te2O12 phosphors, the color purity was calculated according to the following expression described by Fred Schubert [26]: where (x, y) denotes the CIE coordinate of the synthesized compounds, (xi, yi) presents the color coordinate of the white illumination and the (xd, yd) is the color coordinates of the dominant wavelength. The dominant wavelength point can be calculated from the intersection of the connecting line between the equal energy point and the sample point. The color purity of Li3Gd3Te2O12:0.15Eu3+ (0.642, 0.332) phosphors is determined to be around 92.6%. This indicates high color purity and excellent chromaticity coordinate characteristics. The inset image in Fig. 10 shows that strong red emission was observed with the naked eyes when Li3Gd3Te2O12:0.15Eu3+is under a 365 nm UV lamp. Conclusion A novel garnet-type red-emitting phosphor Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+ was prepared by the convenient solid-state reaction. The excitation and emission spectra and the dependence of luminescence on temperature were studied. The excitation spectra indicate that this phosphor can be effectively excited by near-UV light, which matches the emission wavelength of near-UV-LED chips well. The phosphor shows intense red emission, which has a high quenching temperature and can keep a stable color purity with elevated temperature. The optimum dopant concentration of Eu3+ ions in Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+ was around 15 mol%, and the critical transfer distance of Eu3+ was calculated to be 14 Ã…. The concentration quenching is probably caused by the energy transfer among the nearest-neighbor ions in the Li3Gd3Te2O12:Eu3+ phosphor. Because of its good excitation profile and stable luminescence properties at high temperature, Eu3+-doped Li3Gd3Te2O12 phosphors are a potential red phosphors for NUV chip-based WLEDs and display devices.

Medicine in the Middle Ages :: essays research papers

Medicine in the Middle Ages We are very lucky today. When we are sick we go and see the doctor, and he or she can usually make us better with the use of medicine. It wasn‘t like this in the medieval era. People didn‘t live very long at all. Two out of every 10 babies died in the first year of life and most people didn‘t live past 40. Wealthy people, who could afford trained doctors might live up to 10 years longer. There weren’t many trained doctors in Europe in the Middle Ages . In Paris in 1274 there were only 8 doctors and about 40 people practising medicine without any official training and they didn’t really understand how the body worked and why people got sick. When making a diagnosis doctors might consult medical books, astrological charts and urine samples. Some doctors believed disease was caused by bad smells or small worms, or the position of the planets or stars. They also charged very high fees, so only the rich could afford them. Although surgical operations were performed, they did not know about sanitisation and there were no anaesthetics. Most patients died from infection or shock. Many people didn’t believe in medicine at all. The most commonly used treatment was prayer. Ordinary people relied on methods their parents and grandparents used, such as lucky charms, magic spells and herbal cures. Some of the herbal cures were quite useful. The monks who looked after sick travellers in the monasteries were very skilled in using herbs. Some modern medicines are based on the herbs used in medieval times. In the 13th century Kings were believed to be able to cure illness, particularly the skin disease scrofula, just by touching the ill person. During the 14th century most of Europe was struck by a devastating disease called the Black Death, or bubonic plague. This disease was carried by flees which lived on rats. When the rats died, the flees jumped onto humans and spread the disease. Even though the Black Death was controlled in Europe by 1351, it came back regularly over the next 150 years. Dr Medi Evil has kindly agreed to come to the school today to help solve some of your medical problems. Hello everyone. Now Rachel, I believe you have the fever. This is because you have too much blood. I will put blood sucking leaches on you and this should fix your problem.

Shakespeares Macbeth as a Tragic Hero Essay -- Macbeth essays

Macbeth as a Tragic Hero According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, "The best tragic plot moves the hero from prosperity to misfortune, occasioned not by depravity, but by some great mistake he makes. The plot of Macbeth follows these basic guidelines; throughout the play we follow the path of the main character as his life is torn apart as a result of the colossal mistake he makes when he kills Duncan. It is for this and the many ensuing reasons that we can say that Macbeth accurately portrays the image of a tragic hero as outlined by Aristotle. Aristotle's first guideline for an effective tragic hero is someone that is basically good. While Macbeth does not exactly make sound moral decisions, toward the beginning of the play his conscience is fighting against his greed, and this demonstrates that he does have a basic level of goodness, although towards the end it is difficult to find it. For example, Macbeth says, "We will proceed no further in this business; he hath honored me of late, and I have bought golden opinions from all sorts of people..." This seems to be his conscience speaking out against the proposed killing of Duncan. It is, however, a very feeble protest, but this is probably due more to the passive tendencies he harbored before the first killing than to a lack of inner goodness. Macbeth was probably a good man in the beginning, but because he is easily influenced and as a result of his inability to make good decisions, it is easy to lose sight of that basic goodness that is undoubtedly in him. Aristotle also states that a hero should be lifelike. Although he never states exactly what he means, it is usually interpreted to mean that a tragic hero should seem like a real human b... ...whole mess in the beginning- in battle. In conclusion, these numerous different factors lead me to say that Macbeth can accurately be called a 'tragic hero'. Even at the most basic level of tragedy it is true, because there is a definite feeling of pity for him. Despite the fact that he ruthlessly murdered numerous prominent individuals, including his own king, there is still a sense of pity. While the audience ultimately feels relieved that Macbeth is justly punished at the expense of his own life, there is the feeling that he was really just a good guy who made some bad choices and got pulled into something way over his head. For this reason we sympathize with him, and out of the realization that this situation could quite possibly happen to any of us, fear and pity him as well. All these factors combined prove that Macbeth really is a tragic hero.

The Christian Stand Taken in Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Stowe’s Christian Stand in Uncle Tom's Cabin  Ã‚     Ã‚   The nineteenth century proved to be a period of turmoil for women and the role they would play in an ever-changing America. Women contended with not only hard living in the domestic sphere, but were impacted by the undercurrent of slavery issues. The Anti-slavery movement and Women’s rights movement were bringing forth a new dimension of writers taking hard positions on these issues. Harriet Beecher Stowe became one of the country’s most well known writers who bridged these factions together with her famous book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Her position was not from the perspective of women’s rights as much as the rights and freedom of slaves. Stowe appealed to the basis of Christian beliefs and maternal instincts more than that of the assertive and vocal Women’s movement. She deftly steps aside from the more liberal feministic ideas, instead focusing on more traditional aspects of the role of women, particularly mothers. It is through this mode tha t she cries out against the insidiousness of slavery. The role of mother represents not just a domestic maternal figure confined to family, but also a universal figure who is led by Christian beliefs with compassion and empathy towards all who are suffering. The origins of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s beliefs began as a child. Although her mother died when Harriet was five, her mother left an undeniable impact on her children (Adams 20). The image of Roxena Beecher, Harriet’s mother was of a saintly woman who embodied all aspects of a virtuous loving mother. Roxena Beecher had many children and lived in struggling, difficult conditions, much the way Harriet did when she became a mother. According to one biographer, when Roxena died, "she be... ...ns, and not one legal right to protect, guide, or educate, the child of her bosom!"(Hedrick401). The weapon of motherhood is Harriet Beecher Stowe’s strongest ally and her most devout companion. Works Cited Adams, John R. Harriet Beecher Stowe. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc. 1963. Hedrick, Joan D. Harriet Beecher Stowe A Life .New York: Oxford UP, 1994. Hedrick, Joan D., ed. The Oxford Harriet Beecher Stowe Reader . New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Roberson, Susan. The Stowe Debate Rhetorical Strategies in Uncle Tom’s Cabin . Ed. Mason I. Lowance, Ellen E. Westbrook, and R.C De Prospo. Amherst: University of Massachuetts, 1994. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. " The Minister’s Wooing."" Life and Letters of Harriet Beecher Stowe." The Heath Anthology of American Literature Gen. Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1998.   

How Is Friar Lawrence Presented in Romeo and Juliet Essay

During the play of Romeo and Juliet, the characters show love in many different ways. Some characters fall in and out of love very quickly in Romeo and Juliet. For example, Romeo is in love with Rosaline at the start of the play, which is presented as an immature action. Today, we might use the term â€Å"puppy love† to describe this. Romeo’s lover Rosaline is shallow and nobody really believes that it will last, including Friar Laurence: Romeo – â€Å"Thou chid’st me oft for loving Rosaline† Friar Laurence – â€Å"For doting, not loving, pupil mine†. In the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses religion in describing the first love & sight of Romeo and Juliet. Such as â€Å"good pilgrim† when Juliet first responded to Romeo’s compliment, this show religious use. However during Romeo’s & Juliet’s first meeting they share a sonnet to express each other’s first love for one another, â€Å"The gentile sin this† is a very ironic line because it’s end result is death. Just before Romeo & Juliet share their first kiss, Juliet exclaims herself as a saint â€Å"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake† – Juliet is saying that her prayers have been answered. Romeo described Juliet as a saint â€Å"O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do†, this means she’s seen holy by Romeo. During the first Balcony scene Shakespeare introduces the example of love from the first meeting of Romeo & Juliet, example such as â€Å"Dear saint†. Romeo says â€Å"Juliet is the Sun†, which is describing Juliet as a special part of the universe the centre of everything, for example, without the sun life would not be able to exist also life revolves around the sun and it seems to make Juliet seem brighter and more important. During the beginning of the fight between Tybalt and Romeo, Romeo pleads with Tybalt to not to fight â€Å"I do protest I never injured thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise† Only Romeo knows of the love and marriage between himself and Juliet. Tybalt, Juliet cousin is now part of Romeo’s family, and does not want to hurt/ kill him for the future love between himself and Juliet. Tybalt emphases his anger with horns on his costume in Romeo & Juliet the film. Also Tybalt does not know about Romeo and Juliet so he decides he wants a fight. After Romeo exits and Tybalt kills Mercutio Romeo enters and kills Tybalt, this questions Juliet over Romeo; does Romeo prefer friends of family? Romeo expected the death sentence, but the decision was to only banish him, he acted badly to this ecision – â€Å"Ha! Banishment? Be merciful – say death†, He would rather prefer death because he’d be with Juliet when she dies than never see her again – â€Å"Let me ta’en, let me be put to death† During the 2nd balcony scene Romeo says â€Å"more light and light, more dark and dark our woes† this means that whenever there’s more happiness, there will always be darkness in the ba ckground, and their love is gradually being taken over by darkness making them scared. During the dying scene Romeo sees Juliet as being dead. â€Å"Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die† Romeo exclaims that finally their love has been overrun with sin and wrong doing in life, the only way for them to be together is in death. When Juliet wakes up and realises Romeo is dead, she takes her own life because if she cannot be with her lover Romeo in life, than they shall share death â€Å"O Happy dagger!  This is thy sheath, – there rust, and let me die† she is happy to take death over life with sin. In conclusion Romeo and Juliet’s life was only taken from them because of the selfishness immaturity between themselves. Also Friar Lawrence should not have encouraged them to go forward with Juliet pretending to die. However because of the many sin’s Romeo and Juliet had committed, they would have probably chosen death over life.

What Makes Rock Stars Popular?

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll—these are just three of the many words always associated with a rock star. While it may be stereotypical, these phrases stand witness to the rise and fall of rock stars. Depending on the sound that a group would like to be identified with, identifiers of cool factor and talent is also highly variable. Oftentimes, what is cool is dictated by the image portrayed by the group. On some instances, what is cool for the group may not be the same with the audience. In terms of talent, a group may feel that they have the power to carry out either an all new sound, or one that is imitated or inspired from another group. The audiences, however, has determinants which sounds become famous, and if renditions should be welcomed or not. Thus, it is not safe to identify which between the rock stars or the audiences have the final say as to who and what becomes famous. However, there is still a way to measure what makes it big in the rock arena. What makes rock stars famous? attempts to zero in on the probable reasons behind the success and failure of rock stars. Throughout the paper, different rock stars and rock bands will be studied. Their backgrounds will be analyzed and, where applicable, highlights on their lives and careers will be discussed in an attempt to create a picture of the successful rock star, and the not. In the process, the paper aims to identify the key elements of becoming a famous rock star. More than becoming famous, it will also be important to point out why some rock stars become icons and stay idolized, while others proceed to the back door unnoticed. In the end, the paper hopes to conclude if the fame factors increase or decrease the chance of a rock star to become an icon. Reality Bits The world stood witness to the rise of many rock stars. With varying sounds, looks, and styles, it will be entirely difficult to compare rock bands side by side. While comparisons will be good to identify key points and similarities, it will only be beneficial when involving rock bands with striking similarities. It will be good to look at each band to identify both the good and the bad points of their careers. Black Sabbath. Kurt Cobain confessed that the hippest rock band ever would be Black Sabbath. (Hochman and Hilburn, 1992) Led by the legendary Ozzy Osbourne, the group has inspired many later rock bands whose love for playing rock music was infectious. The group played rock at a time when punk was in vogue and love for new wave was rising. Yet when they reunited to play in the 80’s, a new generation of fans began clamoring and singing Black Sabbath. Guns and Roses. The group behind the powerful emotional line Sweet Child O’ Mine, Guns and Roses was voted 13th on the Greatest Bands of All Time list. Greatest Rock Band of All Time, 2007) Reinventing themselves into emotional rock, heavy metal, punk, and back again, GnR created a solid fan base whose loyalty remained sweet all through the years. Kiss. Apart from their intriguing face paints, Kiss is well loved because they can arouse their fans to have fun in their performances. The incredible merchandising that followed the fame of this rock band is also unfathomable. (Matheson, 2005) If anything, Kiss was a good mixture of showmanship, sound, and creativity put into play for an awesome rock band. Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page is praised and adored by fans, his rhythms remembered and played repeatedly everywhere. The group which some aptly calls simply Led Zep has every right to be treated so. The powerful sound that the group creates has been dubbed incomparable. Fan Evster2012 (2008) claim that Led Zeppelin also play in such a way to please the audience, a plus factor. Soulful musicality wins Led Zeppelin a prime spot in rockers’ hearts. Metallica. Ranked first by the online community in the Greatest Bands of All Time list (Greatest Rock Band of All Time, 2007), Metallica enjoys a following from different generations of music patrons. Showmanship is one determinant on how Metallica survived the highly competitive rock band industry. They epitomized the look and the act of a real rock band. Nirvana. The sudden death of the vocalist Kurt Cobain may have put the success of Nirvana to a halt, but it did not deter loyal fans from continuing the legacy of the band. Up until now, Nirvana songs are being played, sang, and revived. Merchandise bearing album covers, Cobain’s portraits, and the band as well keeps selling until today. Bereaved fans remain reminiscent of Cobain, even including him in stories and bragging works signed by him. RH, 2008) Pantera. Pantera was on their lean years when their lead guitar man Darrell Abbott, or Dimebag, has been shot and killed. However, the legacy of Pantera raged on. Records kept selling and the songs are still being covered by new rock players. (Lyman, 2004) Merchandise also keep bringin in revenue, and collectors stay loyal to the Pantera generation that they have come to k now and love. Pearl Jam. Matheson (2005) hosted a survey which revealed that Pearl Jam is considered as the greatest American rock band of all time. There are many reasons for Pearl Jam to be chosen. The voting community pointed out that Pearl Jam had the sincere love for what they are doing, the creativity to shift between sounds while still maintaining their identity, their power to keep selling albums and keep getting new following and so on. Put simply, Pearl Jam is the number one for many. Slipknot. If there is anything striking about the slipknot, it is their unrestricted costumes. Adding up to their showmanship and the unique sound that the group creates, Slipknot is always remembered by fans and non-fans alike as the band in masks. Masks have been a striking identifier to the band that I even became an album cover. (D’Angelo, 2004) The Rolling Stones. First was the band, then a mean series of rocking years, then a magazine. Until now, Mick Jagger and the rest of the Rolling Stones never fail to delight. They are even in the concert film by Martin Scorsese. (Ansen, 2008) Fame Factor Looking at how these rock bands and rock stars caught the spotlight, several common denominators may be seen. From these factors, it will be easy to see which ones are needed by an aspirant to become known in the field. Looks. For rock bands, the look does not necessarily mean good looks. The rock band look pertains to the style that the group decides to adapt. Many rock bands plunged into using weird-looking costumes. Kiss, which used face paints, paired with heavy hairstyles and often leather getups got the right look to match their sound. Slipknot’s use of different masks added up to the mystery of the band, and the dark and scary yet fun and fearless image that they are trying to portray. Ozzy Osbourne’s trademark long hairdo and sunglasses also helped identify him and his band whenever they perform. A trademark look also gives a band the chance to shine through the highly saturated music industry. Rock bands often had the grunge look expected of them. By creating a new look different from the others; even if it is still grunge, the group is still remembered. Sometimes, it may reach a point when the looks are remembered even if the names are not. In any case, creating a unique and striking look which fits the group and the audience is beneficial for a rock band. Sound. More than the looks, the sound is also a determinant of success among rock bands. At first, it might seem easy to sing rock. To begin with, there is none of the strict tone and voice measures present in other musical genre. Especially when the band is creating their own line and brand of music, they then become boundless by musical measures—they can cross the line between noise and music and nobody will care. Yet there are things that need to be noted to ensure that the sound of a rock band is appealing to the audience. Pearl Jam’s constant reshaping of their music is a reason why they stayed on the top. Matheson, 2005) Creating a sound inspired by another band, especially one that is iconic, also has its good and bad sides. When a band decides to create a sound similar to another, it is easy for the band to be remembered and to get into the ranks. However, comparisons can never be avoided. This puts the starting band into more pressure to sound as good as the one they are imitating. On top of it, if the new band is not able to stand true to the expe ctations of the old band’s standards, it can have a negative impact on the starting band. Gadgets and Effects. Something that rock bands can never live without are gadgets and effects, as these help them create new sounds that improve their performance. Often, fans enjoy hearing new sounds that other rock bands have never showcased before. Fans who have the inclination to play musical instruments also get excited to hear and try to imitate new sound effects. Without gadgets and effects, it is difficult for bands to create distinct sounds from their instruments. Showmanship. Apart from what the band produces on stage, it is equally important to know what the band does and how they do it. This is called showmanship, and this is yet another important factor for rock bands to become popular. Kiss, Pantera, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath fans swear on how good these bands were at performing. Much of this performance entertainment can be credited to the quality of the band’s showmanship. Thus, to be a good rock band, one should also have the moves. Loyal fan base. Loyal fans help the band stay alive for eternity. This is exactly what happened to many old bands whose fame and popularity was replenished when new generations of fans started giving tributes to them. As Everson and Shay (nd) puts it, in internet marketing a fan base produces a steady stream of traffic and gives a sense of authority and prestige to the owner of the site. The same thing happens to rock bands. A fan base offers and solicits support for the band, even way after the band has stopped playing. Attitude and the love for music. The online community who voted for Pearl Jam as the best rock band ever stated that the top reason is that they concentrated on the craft rather than the fame. This shows that it is important for fans that the band loves their music and stays like that even despite of being popular. Matheson, 2005) Led Zeppelin had the same attitude. Having started the band in a sudden interest and sense of urgency to put one up, the members played and worked with the joy of playing in their mind, a revelation that members now recall and smile about. (Fricke, 2007) True Test of Fame Becoming a famous rock band is more like passing through a series of sifters. In th e beginning, there is a crowd of new rock bands trying to get their five minutes of fame. The audience listens to each and pick out the good ones. These are the ones who get through the fame test level one. At this point, the chosen ones are yet to enjoy the mainstream. They often only have a small fan base. The second selection happens when the bands try to exceed their territories. When bands get more fans and are listened to by more people outside their own zones, they go up one level in the fame meter. Those who do not make the cut will either have to wait for some other time, or rest. Then, everything follows. The really good bands get to sign contracts and produce albums. The others who have the funding may decide to produce their own albums, even if they are not too good. Some will venture into music television. Some will become producers themselves. This has been the story of Jonathan Coulton, also known as JoCo. He may not be the big thing—yet—but his music prowess is currently the talk of the town. Like any other rock stars, Coulton was a dreamer. Being a rock star is just another dream for him. Yet, he did not allow this dream to go unnoticed. Following his bliss, he resigned from his job in a software firm and concentrated on writing music. Today, his loyal fan base gives him many things to be thankful about, except the money. Coulton’s songs can be downloaded in exchange of donations. (Sites, 2008) Coulton’s story goes to show that being a rock star is not about the money. He is popular, but not rich because of it. He is popular because he loves his music, he loves his fans, and he aims to inspire. There is no assurance that Coulton, despite his positive music, will be offered million-dollar contracts, but the spot that he claimed in the otherwise crowded music industry is a mean feat to be happy about. (Sites, 2008) Yet the ultimate test of fame lies after the spotlight has died down. When the lights are out and only the memories of the band are left, the really good bands get to be remembered. This has been one among the many measures of fans to Pearl Jam’s success. (Matheson, 2005) Years after the band has stopped playing, their records are still echoing the lives of people who play their songs. This says a lot about the rock band becoming an icon. However, as James Dio of Black Sabbath puts it, inspiring new players should not be so much of an issue. Icons should stay humble and concentrate on the music. As for the new players, more than being inspired by the music, they should also be inspired with what beautiful things a rock star can do—more than the sex, drugs, and rock and roll. (Hochman and Hilburn, 1992) Conclusions It is cool, yet difficult, to be famous. This is why those who are trying to get in the fame wagon are trying everything good, new, and eclectic to get a piece of the pie. The rock band arena is not an exception. Everyday, new groups form, play, and try to get famous. Yet, only the really good ones remain. Many rock bands have tried to claim a spot and won. In analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, it became apparent that these bands have common denominators. These same points are useful for rock bands who are trying to get famous. A unique and interesting style is important as much as sound. These two allows the audience to identify the band. Gadgets and effects help a band improve their sound. Showmanship gives the band a chance to prove that they are good and serious at what they are supposed to do, which is entertaining the viewers. Attitude is also a key consideration. A good manager is also tantamount to a band’s success, because they control the activities of the band. Overall, a loyal fan base is equally important because without fans rock bands will also have no careers to begin with. Recommendations Despite the stereotype that cannot be taken away from the image of a rock star, it is never bad for a group to aspire to be a rock band. However, it requires discipline and perseverance for a rock band to become and stay famous. Because the music industry is always on the look for new talents, rock bands should always stay abreast on the developments of their craft. This does not mean that they need to purchase new gadgets all the time. However, it is necessary for bands to reinvent themselves according to their environment and the interest of their fans. Much of the credit should also go to the fans. This requires the right attitude. Bands should remember that the fans keep them alive. Thus, they should keep proper distance but still be warm to the fans at all times. At one end, it should also be noted that even if rock bands are identified with sex, drugs, and rock and roll, it is not a factor to become famous. One can get the image, without really taking on the risks.