The Determinants Of Customer Satisfaction In Airline Industry Tourism Essay

The Determinants Of Customer Satisfaction In Airline Industry Tourism Essay Introduction Customer satisfaction has been established as a psychological concept that involves the feeling of customers well-being and pleasure which results from obtaining what he or she hopes for and expects from consuming an appealing product and/or service (Florian and Maren, 2007; Christian, 2005; Abraham and Taylor, 1999). While different scholarly write-ups have confirmed variety of approaches to the explanation of customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction in marketing, in a comprehensive work done by Abraham and Taylor (1999), they developed nine distinct theories of customer satisfaction: namely expectancy disconfirmation; assimilation or cognitive dissonance; contrast; assimilation-contrast; equity; attribution; comparison-level; generalized negativity; and value-precept (Oh and Park, 1997). Customer satisfaction and service quality have also been confirmed to be critical issues in most service industries, and are even highly important for Airline service providers that offer generally un differentiated products. For example, in the airline industry, the main approach to differentiation and the principal means by which one Airline can distinguish itself from another is service before and after sales services (Stafford et al, 1998). Otherwise, companies will be generally unable to differentiate their services based on market offerings because Airlines offer state-mandated standardized products/services. The recent emphasis on service quality and customer satisfaction in the Airline industry illustrates the increased importance Airlines are placing on customer quality and satisfaction (Halil et al, 2008). As such, service quality measurement and customer satisfaction are increasingly becoming important for service firms to stay in the business (Parasuraman et al. 1988). And these service quality measurements processes differs across different industrial domains, because the service manager will account for the unique nature of services, while different service attributes in each organizations are acting as determinants of customer satisfaction because of the complex interrelationship and dependability that exist between them (Fochen and Robert, 2003). Customer satisfaction, one of the central marketing objectives, is closely linked to customer loyalty, the likelihood of recommendation to others, cross-buying behavior; up-grading and lower price sensitivity (Anderson, 1994; Matzler, 2005; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990; Zeithaml, 2000). Literatures like Kurt et al (2006), have explore the dimensionality of price satisfaction as a means to determine customer satisfaction. In their paper, they empirically find that price satisfaction is a complex construct consisting of several dimensions, i.e. price-quality ratio, price fairness, price transparency, price reliability and relative price. Their analyses of these dimensions are given as thus; price transparency is defined as increasing access to information, access to more alternatives, more simplified transactions, increasing communication between customers and a general distrust and resentment among customers. They argued that as a consequence, customers will increasingly demand open, ho nest and complete information on products and prices. Thus, price transparency can be considered as an important aspect of pricing policy. They concluded that price transparency exists when the customer can easily get a clear, comprehensive, current and effortless overview about a companys quoted prices (Matzler et al, 2006). They also explained that price-quality ratio is when the consumers ascribe value to a product or service subject to their perception of two factors: perceived price and perceived quality, or, in other words, the price-quality ratio. They defined customer value as a cognition-based construct that captures any benefit-sacrifice discrepancy. They said if perceived quality exceeds perceived costs, customer value is high, if cost exceeds quality, customer value is low. In their conclusion, they explained that the buyers perceptions of value represent a trade-off between the qualities of benefits they perceive in the product relative to the sacrifice they perceive by paying the price. 1.1 Background of the study The history of Saudi Airline could be traced to 1945 when the then US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a Douglas DC-3 plane as a token gift to the then Saudi Arabia King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud. This event actually marked the Muslim Kingdoms gradual development in the civil aviation industry. The Kingdoms main carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines was founded in September 1946, which is fully owned and controlled by Saudi government under the control of the Ministry of Defense. In addition to the above development, the airline took extra two delivery of Boeing 720s in 1962, giving it an opportunity to officially register its operations on 19 February 1963. This continuous development has led into establishing the Kingdoms airline as one of the leading in the industry, especially Asia in particular (). In fact, Saudi Airline has been confirmed as the regions second-largest airline by turnover after the giant Emirates airline (). This is because Saudi airline has continuously remained larger than the Qatar Airways in terms of its revenue, and also rated larger than the current fast growing airline popularly called Etihad (). But if measured by the numbers of traffics in the region, the Saudi Arabian airline will still be number three behind the Qatar Airways and the Emirates (). Part of the arguments in favour of Saudi airline is that it is strategically located at the crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe and also serving as the largest country within the Arabian Peninsula (). But very important concerns among its transportation stakeholders is how to maximize this external opportunity in conjunction with its current population of about 28 million people that are still depending on few rail network and air travels, an issue that have been argued as a critical component to the economic development of Saudi Arabia (). Following this trend was why the Kingdoms government encouraged the idea of strategically allowing the privately owned low cost airline competitors to rival with the Saudi Arabian Airlines both in the domestic and international markets (). This initiative from the government was subsequently reciprocated by the private investors first through the establishment of NAS airline in February 2007, and Sama airline in Marh, 2007 both initially focusing on various trucks routes within the country (). 1.2 Research problem Due to excessive subsidy of the transport system in Saudi Arabia, both the air and land transport marketers are strategically challenged on best approach to apply in order to efficiently acquire, service and retain profitable customers both within and outside the country (). This issue of subsidized fuel prices does not exclude the Saudi Arabian airline, but practitioners have continuously argued in favour of the need to remove the fare cap so that marketers can conveniently compete without any fear of fare restrictions (). This and many more are the reasons that experts believe serves as the primary cause of Saudi Arabia airline inability to strategically compete with other international airlines like the Emirates and the Qatar Airlines (). Sequel to the above practical issues in Saudi Arabia airline, several authors have argued that service quality can be a strong differentiating factor for any Airline that wants to boost up their market shares and profit position (Halil et al, 2008; Fochen and Robert, 2003; Dennis et al, 1993). Also very recent among the scholarly write-up on Airline Customer Satisfaction is Ekiz et al. (2006), that developed an alternative to SERVQUAL and called it AIRQUAL. They emphasized that this scale is to overcome the psychometrical application of existing problems in Airline Service Quality scales, as initially guided by Churchill (1979) and Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988). The findings of Ekiz et al (2006), through their AIRQUAL identified a scale of five distinct dimensions, i.e. (airline tangibles, terminal tangibles, personnel, empathy, and image) as a means to successfully manage and measure the quality perceptions of airline customers. Although, it is confirmed that they successfully developed the AIRQUAL scale, but evidences from other scholars shows that their findings failed to identified the impact of Airline price, solution quality, and employee job satisfaction on customer satisfaction, because these variables have been proven to be very significant in determining customer loyalty (Dean, 2007; Kau and Loh, 2006; Schiffman and Kanuk, 2004). Considering Ekiz et al (2006) and other authors limitation and given the importance of these dimensions to the Airline industry, this proposed study wishes to develop on the findings of Ekiz et al.s (2006) and other related literatures on Airline service quality and customer satisfaction. And studies like this will assist in determining the true behavioral intentions of airline customers in Saudi Arabia and the world at large. This proposed research work has develop an additional variable (Price) with specific reference to literatures like Kurt et al (2006), which has explo re the dimensionality of price satisfaction as a means to determine customer satisfaction. In their paper, they empirically find that price satisfaction is a complex construct consisting of several dimensions, i.e. price-quality ratio, price fairness, price transparency, price reliability and relative price. Besides service quality and employee satisfaction, another strong factor that has a direct bearing on a customers satisfaction with a service provider is the quality of the solution that the service provider provides for the customers business problem (Whyte, Bytheway, and Edwards, 1997). To achieve the intended purpose of this proposed study, below is a proposed conceptual framework for this research: Price Customer Loyalty Loyalty Customer Satisfaction Satisfaction Service/Product Quality Quality Solution Quality Employee Satisfaction Satisfaction + + + + 1.3 Research Questions The following questions are based on the issues discussed in the research problem by analyzing the practices of Airline industry in order to find out the impact of Price, Product/Service Quality, and Solution Quality on Customer satisfaction. These research questions are meant to get a feedback from Airline customers that patronize Saudi Airline and a comparable industry leader such as Singapore Airline on what actually constitute their Satisfaction and loyalty. How does Price/Fare affect Customer satisfaction in Airline Industry? How does Product/Service Quality affect Customer satisfaction in Airline Industry? How does Employee Job Satisfaction affect Product/Service Quality in Airline Industry? How does Employee Job Satisfaction affect Solution Quality in Airline Industry? How does Solution Quality affect Customer satisfaction in Airline Industry? How does Customer satisfaction affect Customer Retention in Airline Industry? 1.4 Research Objectives This primary objective of this study is to establish the interdependence of Price perception, Service Quality, Employee Job Satisfaction and Solution Quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. To achieve this, this study plans to measure the impact of metrics such as Price perception, Service Quality, Employee Job Satisfaction and Solution Quality on customers satisfaction and loyalty in the Airline industry. Equally included in the study objective is to test the mediating impact of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty, an issue the researcher believes will strong assist in better understanding the mechanism that are behind the relationships between the antecedents and outcome of customer satisfactions within the airline industry. The theoretical framework is based on market orientation approach as a means to exploring and establishing the relationship between Efficient Airline projects as the independent variable and customers loyalty as the dependent variable. To simplify this, the researcher has designed the following objectives to capture the research problem and provide answers to the research questions. To test a model that can explain the impact of Price, Service Quality, Employee Job Satisfaction and Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty. Research objective 2: To determine the mediating effects of Customer Satisfaction on Customer Retention/Loyalty. 1.5 Scope of the study The focus of this study is to understand what aspect of Airline operations determines Customer satisfaction. This research is limited to the Airline industry, where Saudi Arabia Airline and a leading Airline such as Singapore Airline will be selected for investigation with a set of sampling technique to explore the determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty. The focus of this research is limited to the airline industry, where selected customers from the airline industry will be investigated with a set of sampling technique to explore their perceptions of the airline services within tourism industry as a strategic part of tourism marketing. The theoretical background of the research is base on market orientation approach and customer satisfaction theories, while airline Tourism will be study from the perspective of the customers. The researcher is planning to structure this research study as a triangulated exploratory investigation that will integrate both qualitative and quantitative techniques, which will be primarily based on an in-depth interview with managers and professionals from the Saudi Arabia airline industry. 1.6 Significance of the research Airline Industry has been chosen as the subject of this study because it will assist in identifying those variables that determine customer satisfaction and loyalty. To the Airline industry, this proposed research work will assist in establishing industry standard and assist the academics in developing alternative theories and models that will facilitate the general operations of the Airline Industry (Halil et al, 2008; Fochen and Robert, 2003; Dennis et al, 1993). Significance to the Academics Very important to the academics on this research is the detail explorations of the linkages that are between airline operational processes, service quality and contemporary customer satisfaction theories. Arguably, the existing literatures have implied that there exist a relationship between airline operation processes and customer satisfaction (), but till date there is very little published empirical research in this area that is looking at the impact of price, solution quality and employee satisfaction on customer satisfaction and loyalty. In addition to this, existing theoretical gaps have indicated that there is need for the academics to further explore, analyze, explain and expand the links between customer satisfaction theories and airline operation processes. Given the aforementioned, this research will be primarily contributing to the academics through its conceptualization and empirically testing the impacts of airline operational processes like price, service/product quality, employee job satisfaction and solution quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty within the airline industry. Through the developments of a measure that can determine the impact of airline operational processes on customer satisfaction and loyalty will provide the empirical methods for the academics in better understanding and able to predict the actual relationship that is existing between service quality and customer satisfaction theories within the airline industry. Measuring the impact of price will provide the knowledge to determine if increase or decrease in the prices of airline services will lead to better customer satisfaction and improved customer relationship performance or not. Significance to the Practitioners Airline management and managers will benefit by better understanding those factors that actually influence the relationships that exist between their operation processes and customer satisfaction and intention to repurchase. In particular, airline mangers will benefit from their understanding of how solution quality and price can affects their relationship with the customer, and how key attributes in airline services can be developed and supported by operational processes. Both the HR and Production managers will benefit how employee satisfaction can be of significant impact to their service quality and solution quality, specifically through their understanding of the key relationships that exist between airline operational processes and their customer relationship performances. The enhanced knowledge though this research would a long way assist the airline management decision-making processes when they are evaluating their customer relationship performances. In the final analysis, it is worth mentioning here that service quality cannot be separated from the concept of customer satisfaction. This is because the nature or characteristics of the service has also been found to influence the relative importance of the drivers of customer satisfaction (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2000). 1.7 Proposed Methodology and data collection process Though there are many methods of collecting data via survey. In this proposed research work, primary data for the intending statistical analysis will be collected through questionnaire design among the selected Airline customers in Saudi Arabia. The researcher is planning to adopt a second qualitative measurement to affirm research findings and assist in the interprà ©tations of the research results with the help of the Airline Experts/Managers. The Unit of Analysis is who or what that is being studied in a given research. Evidences from the social science research have established a unit of analysis as an organization, an individual, a social interaction or a group of organization/individual. Relating the above into this research, the unit of analysis are the Airline customers that will be surveyed. 1.8 STRUCTURE OF THIS STUDY Chapter one introduces the research topic determinants of customer satisfaction in airline industry and argues on the reasons for using price, service quality and solution quality, also included in it were statement of the research problem, the research questions, the research objectives, scope and limitations of the study and significance of the research. Chapter two will define the dimensions of service quality and offer the theoretical background of airline marketing through a series of literature reviews on tourism marketing and customer satisfaction. The theoretical background upon which the researcher plans to develop a theoretical framework and hypothesis in form of summary will equally be contained in chapter two. Chapter three will introduce the research methodology to be employed in this research, by providing a detailed qualitative and quantitative approach to be applied on each case study; and also contain the procedures for the selection of each case, data collection and discussion of data quality that will assist to determine the validity of the research. Chapter four will consist of the descriptions and analyzes of the practices of the airline projects in Saudi airline. The outcomes of the findings on Saudi airline will be presented for discussion in chapter five. While chapter six will analyze, discuss and make conclusions regarding the research questions and points to the theoretical contribution along with the managerial implications contained in the research. Also to be included in chapter six are the alternative recommendations as a direction for future research.

Neo-China Politics Essay -- China Economics Political Essays

Neo-China Politics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China is interested in modernizing itself while at the same time maintaining security' is the only general statement that can be made about China's foreign policy. To achieve these two ends, China is willing to ignore conflicts that do not substantially affect its development or security. Economic organizations are welcomed because they facilitate economic development but security multilateralism is employed only where feasible, resulting in most security concerns solved bilaterally. This case-by-case determination of policy results in China supporting the status quo in some issues while challenging it in others. To better understand China's foreign policy requires an investigation into these three characteristics. Post-Cold War Asia has been witness to a China that increasingly focuses its foreign policy on its neighbors rather than on a regional or global context. This stems from China's realization that free markets have triumphed over centrally planned economies and that a world revolution is not going to happen. This has two implications. One, China no longer needs to divert resources to involve itself in global politics since the proletarian revolution is not going to take place. Second, China needs to embark on a program of economic development and modernization (F. Wang p. 32 and J. Wang p. 80). China has decided that economic growth should receive first priority before any other concerns because of two reasons. One, economic growth allows China to upgrade its aging military by purchasing advanced weapons or developing new weapons based on the infusion of technology from consumer goods. Second and perhaps more importantly, economic development has become crucial to the Party's legitimacy to rule. During Mao's era, ideological fervor provided the basis of the Party's right to rule. However, since Deng Xiaoping's market reforms in the late 70's and 80's, the CCP has increasingly relied upon economic progress as a source of political legitimacy. The Party has promised economic prosperity in return for the undisputed right to rule. Any slowdown in economic growth could potentially lead to political instability. Therefore, all available resources are directed to maintaining a healthy pace of economic growth (Yu p. 186). At this point in development, China does not feel that it has the resources to be involved in remote... ... cede to informal discussions on security to prove that China is a responsible international actor and because any refusal might result in China being left out of international decision making. However, except in the nuclear non-proliferation issue, China's new acceptance of multilateralism is based on a calculated tactical adjustment rather than a true fundamental shift in appreciation for multilateralism. China must feel secure in its new place as a global power before any true shift may occur. This can only happen if several conditions exist. First, Beijing must no longer feel threats of containment from its neighbors and the United States. Second, China must become content with its military power and begin to see preserving a status quo in military strength as desirable. Third, the outstanding territorial disputes must be resolved. Finally, the security of each Asian nation must become so intertwined that bilateralism becomes ineffective in dealing with rising issues. Until all these conditions exist, China will not truly embrace economic and security multilateralism, and the result will continue to be the incohesive, hypocritical foreign policy that China practices today. Neo-China Politics Essay -- China Economics Political Essays Neo-China Politics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China is interested in modernizing itself while at the same time maintaining security' is the only general statement that can be made about China's foreign policy. To achieve these two ends, China is willing to ignore conflicts that do not substantially affect its development or security. Economic organizations are welcomed because they facilitate economic development but security multilateralism is employed only where feasible, resulting in most security concerns solved bilaterally. This case-by-case determination of policy results in China supporting the status quo in some issues while challenging it in others. To better understand China's foreign policy requires an investigation into these three characteristics. Post-Cold War Asia has been witness to a China that increasingly focuses its foreign policy on its neighbors rather than on a regional or global context. This stems from China's realization that free markets have triumphed over centrally planned economies and that a world revolution is not going to happen. This has two implications. One, China no longer needs to divert resources to involve itself in global politics since the proletarian revolution is not going to take place. Second, China needs to embark on a program of economic development and modernization (F. Wang p. 32 and J. Wang p. 80). China has decided that economic growth should receive first priority before any other concerns because of two reasons. One, economic growth allows China to upgrade its aging military by purchasing advanced weapons or developing new weapons based on the infusion of technology from consumer goods. Second and perhaps more importantly, economic development has become crucial to the Party's legitimacy to rule. During Mao's era, ideological fervor provided the basis of the Party's right to rule. However, since Deng Xiaoping's market reforms in the late 70's and 80's, the CCP has increasingly relied upon economic progress as a source of political legitimacy. The Party has promised economic prosperity in return for the undisputed right to rule. Any slowdown in economic growth could potentially lead to political instability. Therefore, all available resources are directed to maintaining a healthy pace of economic growth (Yu p. 186). At this point in development, China does not feel that it has the resources to be involved in remote... ... cede to informal discussions on security to prove that China is a responsible international actor and because any refusal might result in China being left out of international decision making. However, except in the nuclear non-proliferation issue, China's new acceptance of multilateralism is based on a calculated tactical adjustment rather than a true fundamental shift in appreciation for multilateralism. China must feel secure in its new place as a global power before any true shift may occur. This can only happen if several conditions exist. First, Beijing must no longer feel threats of containment from its neighbors and the United States. Second, China must become content with its military power and begin to see preserving a status quo in military strength as desirable. Third, the outstanding territorial disputes must be resolved. Finally, the security of each Asian nation must become so intertwined that bilateralism becomes ineffective in dealing with rising issues. Until all these conditions exist, China will not truly embrace economic and security multilateralism, and the result will continue to be the incohesive, hypocritical foreign policy that China practices today.

Capital Punishment :: essays research papers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital Punishment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Should Christians support the death penalty? The answer to that question is controversial. Many Christians feel that the Bible has spoken to the issue, but others believe that the New Testament ethic of love replaces the Old Testament law. Old Testament Examples Throughout the Old Testament we find many cases in which God commands the use of capital punishment. We see this first with the acts of God Himself. God was involved, either directly or indirectly, in the taking of life as a punishment for the nation of Israel or for those who threatened or harmed Israel. One example is the flood of Noah in Genesis 6-8. God destroyed all human and animal life except that which was on the ark. Another example is Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18-19), where God destroyed the two cities because of the heinous sin of the inhabitants. In the time of Moses, God took the lives of the Egyptians' first-born sons (Exod. 11) and destroyed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea (Exod. 14). There were also punishments such as the punishment at Kadesh-Barnea (Num. 13-14) or the rebellion of Korah (Num. 16) against the Jews wandering in the wilderness. The Old Testament is replete with references and examples of God taking life. In a sense, God used capital punishment to deal with Israel's sins and the sins of the nations surrounding Israel. The Old Testament also teaches that God instituted capital punishment in the Jewish law code. In fact, the principle of capital punishment even precedes the Old Testament law code. According to Genesis 9:6, capital punishment is based upon a belief in the sanctity of life. It says, "Whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God, He made man." The Mosaic Law set forth numerous offenses that were punishable by death. The first was murder. In Exodus 21, God commanded capital punishment for murderers. Premeditated murder (or what the Old Testament described as "lying in wait") was punishable by death. A second offense punishable by death was involvement in the occult (Exod. 22; Lev. 20; Deut 18-19). This included sorcery, divination, acting as a medium, and sacrificing to false gods. Third, capital punishment was to be used against perpetrators of sexual sins such as rape, incest, or homosexual practice. Within this Old Testament theocracy, capital punishment was extended beyond murder to cover various offenses.

Deception Point Page 73

Corky leaned forward to look at her. â€Å"Please don't tell me your new theory is that NASA took a fossilized rock up in the space shuttle and sent it hurtling toward earth hoping nobody would notice the fireball, the massive crater, or the explosion?† Rachel had not thought of that, although it was an interesting premise. Not feasible, but interesting all the same. Her thoughts were actually closer to home. All natural atmospheric elements. Clean burn. Striations from racing through the air. A faint light had gone off in a distant corner of her mind. â€Å"The ratios of the atmospheric elements you saw,† she said. â€Å"Were they exactly the same ratios you see on every other meteorite with a fusion crust?† Corky seemed to hedge slightly at the question. â€Å"Why do you ask?† Rachel saw him hesitate and felt her pulse quicken. â€Å"The ratios were off, weren't they?† â€Å"There is a scientific explanation.† Rachel's heart was suddenly pounding. â€Å"Did you by any chance see an unusually high content of one element in particular?† Tolland and Corky exchanged startled looks. â€Å"Yes,† Corky said, â€Å"but-â€Å" â€Å"Was it ionized hydrogen?† The astrophysicist's eyes turned to saucers. â€Å"How could you possibly know that!† Tolland also looked utterly amazed. Rachel stared at them both. â€Å"Why didn't anyone mention this to me?† â€Å"Because there's a perfectly sound scientific explanation!† Corky declared. â€Å"I'm all ears,† Rachel said. â€Å"There was surplus ionized hydrogen,† Corky said, â€Å"because the meteorite passed through the atmosphere near the North Pole, where the earth's magnetic field causes an abnormally high concentration of hydrogen ions.† Rachel frowned. â€Å"Unfortunately, I have another explanation.† 87 The fourth floor of NASA headquarters was less impressive than the lobby-long sterile corridors with office doors equally spaced along the walls. The corridor was deserted. Laminated signs pointed in all directions. LANDSAT 7 TERRA ACRIMSAT JASON 1 AQUA PODS Gabrielle followed the signs for PODS. Winding her way down a series of long corridors and intersections, she came to a set of heavy steel doors. The stencil read: Polar Orbiting Density Scanner (PODS) Section Manager, Chris Harper The doors were locked, secured both by key card and a PIN pad access. Gabrielle put her ear to the cold metal door. For a moment, she thought she heard talking. Arguing. Maybe not. She wondered if she should just bang on the door until someone inside let her in. Unfortunately, her plan for dealing with Chris Harper required a bit more subtlety than banging on doors. She looked around for another entrance but saw none. A custodial alcove stood adjacent to the door, and Gabrielle stepped in, searching the dimly lit niche for a janitor's key ring or key card. Nothing. Just brooms and mops. Returning to the door, she put her ear to the metal again. This time she definitely heard voices. Getting louder. And footsteps. The latch engaged from inside. Gabrielle had no time to hide as the metal door burst open. She jumped to the side, plastering herself against the wall behind the door as a group of people hurried through, talking loudly. They sounded angry. â€Å"What the hell is Harper's problem? I thought he'd be on cloud nine!† â€Å"On a night like tonight,† another said as the group passed by, â€Å"he wants to be alone? He should be celebrating!† As the group moved away from Gabrielle, the heavy door started swinging closed on pneumatic hinges, revealing her location. She remained rigid as the men continued down the hall. Waiting as long as she possibly could, until the door was only inches from closing, Gabrielle lunged forward and caught the door handle with just inches to spare. She stood motionless as the men turned the corner down the hall, too engaged in their conversation to look back. Heart pounding, Gabrielle pulled open the door and stepped into the dimly lit area beyond. She quietly closed the door. The space was a wide open work area that reminded her of a college physics laboratory: computers, work islands, electronic gear. As her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, Gabrielle could see blueprints and sheets of calculations scattered around. The entire area was dark except for an office on the far side of the lab, where a light shone under the door. Gabrielle walked over quietly. The door was closed, but through the window she could see a man sitting at a computer. She recognized the man from the NASA press conference. The nameplate on the door read: Chris Harper Section Manager, PODS Having come this far, Gabrielle suddenly felt apprehensive, wondering if she could actually pull this off. She reminded herself how certain Sexton was that Chris Harper had lied. I would bet my campaign on it, Sexton had said. Apparently there were others who felt the same, others who were waiting for Gabrielle to uncover the truth so they could close in on NASA, attempting to gain even a tiny foothold after tonight's devastating developments. After the way Tench and the Herney administration had played Gabrielle this afternoon, she was eager to help. Gabrielle raised her hand to knock on the door but paused, Yolanda's voice running through her mind. If Chris Harper lied to the world about PODS, what makes you think he'll tell YOU the truth? Fear, Gabrielle told herself, having almost fallen victim to it herself today. She had a plan. It involved a tactic she'd seen the senator use on occasion to scare information out of political opponents. Gabrielle had absorbed a lot under Sexton's tutelage, and not all of it attractive or ethical. But tonight she needed every advantage. If she could persuade Chris Harper to admit he had lied-for whatever reason-Gabrielle would open a small door of opportunity for the senator's campaign. Beyond that, Sexton was a man who, if given an inch to maneuver, could wriggle his way out of almost any jam. Gabrielle's plan for dealing with Harper was something Sexton called â€Å"overshooting†-an interrogation technique invented by the early Roman authorities to coax confessions from criminals they suspected were lying. The method was deceptively simple: Assert the information you want confessed. Then allege something far worse. The object was to give the opponent a chance to choose the lesser of two evils-in this case, the truth. The trick was exuding confidence, something Gabrielle was not feeling at the moment. Taking a deep breath, Gabrielle ran through the script in her mind, and then knocked firmly on the office door. â€Å"I told you I'm busy!† Harper called out, his English accent familiar. She knocked again. Louder. â€Å"I told you I'm not interested in coming down!† This time she banged on the door with her fist. Chris Harper came over and yanked open the door. â€Å"Bloody hell, do you-† He stopped short, clearly surprised to see Gabrielle. â€Å"Dr. Harper,† she said, infusing her voice with intensity. â€Å"How did you get up here?† Gabrielle's face was stern. â€Å"Do you know who I am?† â€Å"Of course. Your boss has been slamming my project for months. How did you get in?† â€Å"Senator Sexton sent me.† Harper's eyes scanned the lab behind Gabrielle. â€Å"Where is your staff escort?† â€Å"That's not your concern. The senator has influential connections.† â€Å"In this building?† Harper looked dubious. â€Å"You've been dishonest, Dr. Harper. And I'm afraid the senator has called a special senatorial justice board to look into your lies.† A pall crossed Harper's face. â€Å"What are you talking about?†

A critical review of a story in the press Essay

The story I have chosen to review is about Derek Bond, a 72 year old pensioner from Bristol. Mr Bond was arrested by South African authorities, when he arrived for a family holiday with his wife in South Africa. Mr Bond was detained at the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on suspicion of being one of America’s most wanted criminals; the alleged crime a $4. 8 million telemarketing fraud. Fortunately, for Derek Bond it was a case of mistaken identity. Eventually he was released, with the help of media intervention after a traumatic three week ordeal, locked up, in a South African prison. The story broke in a television news broadcast by the BBC six o’ clock evening news, on Tuesday 25th February 2003. The story was published by the newspapers the following day, 26th February 2003. The two newspapers I have chosen to compare the story are, The Guardian, and The Daily Mirror. The Guardian is a politically left-of-centre broadsheet newspaper aimed at professional middle- class Britain. The Guardian uses formal vocabulary to report on the facts of a story it is writing about. The Guardian costs 55 pence to buy, and provides, national and international news, policy and politics section, finance, sport, theatre, art reviews, and finally human interest supplements. The Guardian offers extremely good value for money, over an average of 35 pages. In contrast, The Daily Mirror is a politically left-of-centre tabloid newspaper aimed at working- class Britain. The Daily Mirror uses informal vocabulary consisting of common words that are easily understood. This would indicate that it’s aimed at a lower readership, than The Guardian. The Daily Mirror costs 32 pence to buy, and provides, national news, showbiz gossip, advertising, holiday offers, horoscopes, television listings, finance, and, finally sport. On average, the reader will get 60-70 pages of coverage. ANALYSIS DAY ONE – THE GUARDIAN The coverage of the story began on Wednesday 26th February 2003. It was placed on page three of the newspaper on a day when front page news headlines focussed on, â€Å"War rebels challenge Blair,† about the up and coming war on Iraq. The article, in question was headlined, â€Å"The Name’s Bond – but is he a fraudster wanted by the FBI or a Bristol family man? † The headline was printed black on white, with an approximate letter size of one inch. The effect of this is a play on the catchphrase of James Bond 007 spy films, to create mystery and intrigue, and grasp the readers’ attention. Two feature photographs 5†³ wide, and 8†³ long, in size are placed directly beneath the headline. The photograph on the left hand side, of the real fugitive is in black and white print. This image shows him looking very sombre, similar to an FBI, â€Å"Mugshot† photograph. In contrast, the photograph of Mr Bond is in colour, portraying him as a respectable family man dressed in evening attire, smiling and looking very healthy. This obviously shows the contrast in style between the two men. A further two photographs appear directly beneath Mr Bond; one of the police station, in Durban where he was held, and the other a photograph of his three children. Both photographs are in colour and approximately 3†³ wide and 2†³ long, in size. The reason behind these two photographs is so the reader is given an insight where Mr Bond was held, and too see the look of pain and disbelief, on the faces, of his children. A sub-heading occupies the top left hand corner, which summarises the whole story. Emotive words have been used, â€Å"Victim,† and â€Å"Theft,† to attract and engage the readers’ attention. Different styles of typography have been used across the whole page. For example, a bold print dropped capital letter, one inch in size, at the beginning of the opening paragraph, to draw the eye of the reader, to the introduction, and not browse over the story to the end. Directly beneath the photograph of fugitive, Derek Sykes, alias Derek Bond, a different style of typography has been used, to show a comparable section in which comparisons are made between, what Mr Bonds family claim, and what the FBI claim is true. This has been highlighted by the use of a sub-heading in red bold print. In addition to this, bullet points have been used to divide the statements. ANALYSIS DAY ONE – THE DAILY MIRROR The coverage of the story also began on Wednesday 26th February 2003. The story was placed on page nineteen of the newspaper, in contrast to The Guardian where the story was placed on page three. This means that The Guardian, considers the story of rather more importance, than The Daily Mirror. Two totally different headlines stole front page coverage, firstly, â€Å"Is Richard the No 1 VILLAIN in TV soap history? † Secondly, â€Å"MUTINY- 100-plus Labour rebels to defy Blair over Iraq. † This is typical of a tabloid news headline; TV soap is given priority over the Iraq crisis. The story began with a bold print capitalised headline, â€Å"THE NAME’S BOND †¦ † The letters are one inch in size. The headline is similar to The Guardian, but leads the reader on to the next part of the page. The typography of White on Black has been used to highlight two sub-heading statements, which are as follows: â€Å"Is he a toupee wearing $4. 8m fraudster and one of the FBI’S most wanted criminals†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Or a balding 72-year-old wine-tasting Rotarian who lives in Bristol? † Each statement has a letter size of half an inch, and is placed in a 3†³ squared black box, creating maximum effect of the WOB. Directly beneath the first statement is a round photograph of fugitive Derek Sykes, in black and white, 3†³ in diameter. The photograph used by The Daily Mirror, is identical to The Guardian, but is scaled down in size and a different shape. In addition, a photograph of Mr Bond is placed directly beneath the second statement. Basically, this reveals who, The Daily Mirror thinks is the real, and false, fugitive. Furthermore, a photograph of Mr Bond’s children appears beneath the main headline, which is black and white, and 2†³ squared in size. The photograph is different to the one used by The Guardian; it’s in a different place, and in addition is not posed. It seems to have been taken by chance, rather than with consent from the family. ANALYSIS DAY 2 – THE GUARDIAN By the following day, Mr Bond had been released as the FBI’s mistake was acknowledged. The story on day 2 is given front page priority. A sub- heading in red bold print is placed as a footnote; the footnote reads, â€Å"Good news for Mr Bond,† followed by a brief summary, and the reader is directed to page 3, where the story continues. In addition, to the footnote a cartoon caption appears next to the directional pointer, which is sarcastically laughing at the incompetence, of the FBI.

Learning Team Assessment Through Flexnet Course

Learning Team Assessment Strategies Paper and Presentation Introduction With Flexnet course being one of the best flexible course design it therefore means that the learners can always log in online anytime for the classes and complete their coursework within their own pace. These has helped in cases of diverse students as they all can log in at different time and study and finish their work on time without any worries. The only deadline that on the students will be the fact that when the class ends the assignments should all be done and completed at that time.In some cases they are flexible and they can only attend the physical lectures at least once. When it comes to assessment it presents a challenge especially for a course where the students enrolled are diverse like in our case. That means each of the student has different and varying learning styles, and also the experience in the healthcare is varied so do the ethnic and cultural background of each of the five students who are employees at different hospital having different systems. The evaluation and assessment methods that we shall use will not be different from the ones held in the physical campus.Assessment Methods for FLEXnet course With the class having five different students, each is expected by the end of the course to have; been able to identify patient confidentiality issues, identify various types of work-related harassment and the consequence of such actions, and be able to relate the need to maintain confidentiality of patient information and proprietary organizational information to work-related situations. Therefore various method of assessment can be used to know whether the objectives have been achieved or not.Some of the assessment methods that can be used for this course include: Timed Tests: For the timed tests to be administered the learners have all to be online as the tests can only be offered on the Learning Management System platform. With the timed tests the students will not have assignment deadlines instead the students will only sit for the exams when they are ready and once they start the exams, there is a limited time they are expected to finish the test. The timed- tests will normally consist of multiple choice questions, questions that require short answers, true or false questions and even atching questions. For example the types of work-related harassment would be very appropriate for this type of questions as most answers required will be short and precise and also the aspect of true or false questions can be relevant in this case. Since most of the time will be spent online and the course itself is offered online, the administration of questions and even grading is done automatically with the Learning Management System which will mark each students work automatically.This means that it will be very convenient and can be adopted and implemented very fast especially since the instructor will spend little time grading the tests done by the studen ts thereby, reducing the time spent by the faculty in assessment instrument development and grading. The test scored will be done objectively without the aspect of human subjectivity and error. For a group it will be appropriate to use this in some units in the course. The main disadvantage will be basically measuring the students’ ability superficially and therefore it will not match the specific objectives of the course.In cases of the five different students it will not be easy to check the changes that would need to be made for the objectives to be achieved just by referencing to the timed test. Projects: When a project is given the main objective of it will be to help the student in learning and understanding a concept. The instructor can decide to give the students different numbers of responsibilities that they need to research for example the students would be told to research on the patient confidentiality issues and therefore they will use the hospital as the places of research interviewing both the patients and the doctors.The main purpose of the project will be to enable the students to analyze the information given and go ahead and think even outside the box and finally they will present their work in a structured manner in this case the project will be written, compiled and submitted to the instructor. For projects as a mode of assessment means that the project will have to be either handed in personally during the physical session or they can be sent over to the instructor.By using the projects the instructor will be able to get the students perspectives in the learning process on the given assignment as such it is student-centered therefore the students will be motivated and active when doing their own research. The project on the downside can be costly for the students and also time consuming and requires a lot of labor while doing the research and in the end it becomes quite intimidating to the students. In addition it will require tra ining on how to conduct the research on the instructor’s part.Writing Essays: Essays can be set in such a way that every topic that is taught during the course can be assessed through it. In the five students case the topics like work-related harassment will require an essay on it. By writing an essay the main activities that the students will do will be research and also participate in thinking critically on the said topic as much as they will be expected to possess effective writing skills. By having the writing skills, the students will be assessed on the basis of their skill level and also the mastery of the topic and the unit given.The submission of the essays will mostly be through the email or the FLEXnet platform that the faculty is using. The students will be creative when it comes to essay writing and also the essay will be summative or formative depending on the scope required by the instructor. The essay on the instructor’s part will have to be meticulously designed if it is used to assess the student’s ;earning outcome and also consideration should be given on the student’s ability therefore the instructor should not be subjective.Quizzes: For the course, quizzes will also be relevant as they will be testing the students’ knowledge especially after a portion of the units and course given has been completed. The quiz will be shorter than the timed tests and their purpose will be to allow the evaluation of the student’s learning by the instructor and for the students’ part, they can use the quizzes as a way of self-assessment to know how well they have learned and understood the area set in the quiz.When the student scores a low grade on the quiz the student will know that a particular topic was not well understood and therefore he or she can go back and read the said topic or the chapter taught previously. This will give the student an opportunity to prepare for the timed test when the unit has been covered. Just like the timed-tests the instructor’s time is saved and the work is reduced as he or she has to do minimal mark in terms of grading and setting the exam as the quiz is marked automatically be the FLEXnet platform software. Evaluation of the students on an individual levelFor Maria Sanchez who is fluent in English and Spanish, during the lessons essay writing would be the most appropriate mode of assessment as she has mastery of the language and the prior health care work experience will offer her a vast opportunities to put the experience in a written perspective for the instructor to gauge her skill level of understanding. For the projects will be relevant too with the experience she has it will work to her advantage as she is able to interact with staff members in the healthcare sector that she has worked in.Maria is able to analyze given topic objectively. With Olga Bartold being new in the United States and furthermore coming from a German speaking country w ith no experience of working in the healthcare environment, special attention will have to be given to her. This is further made by the sense that Olga is not fluent in English but fluent in German. If the course has no extra language option it will imply that in the beginning emphasis will be laid on the quizzes and timed tests for her.The quiz will be simple and so will be the timed tests especially the true or false/ yes or no questions. Furthermore the online tests will have to be manually changed in order to give Olga ample time to complete the exams. With time the essay will be introduced with simple topics and areas for her to cover. If there is a language option then it will be prudent to provide the lessons in both the English and German language for her. Projects will be complicated unless submitted in German since it will look intimidating for her. With Dr.Ranzin having a vast experience in the healthcare environment, it will be easier when it comes to the assessment of D r. Ranzin. This is made better by the fact that the language of instruction will be English and Dr. Ranzin knows the language very well. By the virtue of the experience that the doctor possess, the most appropriate method of individual assessment will be through project work as that data can be collected from the healthcare work station that he used to work in. Essay too will be relevant after each and every portion of work done.Joe Antone will not have a language problem apart from the fact that he does not have prior working experience in the health care environment therefore he will have difficulty in getting the correct concept of essay writing and project writing. More time will have to be given to him in relation to that but it will be perfectly okay for him to attend and sit for the quizzes and timed tests even without prior experience as the answers are normally short and some are provided in the multiple choices.Just like Dr. Ranzin and Maria Sanchez, Martha Scott is also e xperienced when it comes to working in the healthcare environment therefore it will be relatively easy for the concept to be taught to them as they all know what it entails in the healthcare systems differently. For the language factor since she is from Midwest she should be fluent on the English language and therefore any method of assessment whether by quiz or project it is expected that Martha will be able to tackle the assignment given.Conclusion When it comes to assessment methods several factors have to be put into consideration. In our FLEXnet course the language and the experience will be a factor on how the course will be offered and since the course is supposed to be flexible, each student’s needs, will have to be considered for an equal learning outcome in each and every given unit. This is to enable all the objectives set to be achieved. References Jackson, N. , Jamieson, A. & Khan, A. (2007). Assessment in medical education and training: A practical guide. Abingd on: Radcliffe. Mayer, I. , Mastik, H. , & International Simulation and Gaming Association. (2007). Organizing and learning through gaming and simulation: Proceedings of Isaga 2007. Delft: Eburon Michaelsen, L. K. (2008). Team-based learning for health professions education: A guide to using small groups for improving learning. Sterling, Va: Stylus.

The Scene book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Scene book - Essay Example Nevertheless, redemption desires emerge in Gaitskill’s protagonist while sex desires are seen as a theme in the Dybek’s protagonist characters. However, combining the two stories as a single unit through creative and critical analysis, negotiation technique is acknowledged as a driving pulse for both stories, even though, the end goals of the characters used by the authors are different (Williford & Martone, P. 232). On a broad front, Dybek’s story creates a visual scene of a first sexual encounter with a teenage boy to build tension as a stirring need to his sexual fulfillment desire. Anxiety is manifested through systematic memories of the teenage boy first sexual encounter. However, pressure remained as a central focus of the story by the arrival of the police investigating the dead of a young pregnant girl although the impulse was significantly changing. Conversely, negotiation appears in twofold generating both arguments and disagreements independently. For the first scenario, a boy and a girl negotiation perspective is used to demonstrate negotiation technique in action while in the second case, negotiation is seen as an internal debate that point out the protagonist anticipation of unfulfilled sexual desires. In simple terms, negotiation technique demonstrates a shifted tension from uncontrolled desire to an acceptance of a situation that Sandra Scofield calls ‘’peaceà ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ regarded as a sign of the end of a conflict (Williford & Martone, P. 189). In comparison, Gait Skill’s story (â€Å"Tiny, Smiling Daddy†) illustrate a shift of pulse and conflict through the character’s anxiety of her daughter’s self-magazine article contents that touches the main character. However, the interactive negotiation reveals the character’s overall unhappiness and his personal relationship from an immediate conflicting event to internal conflicting