Hotel project management

Hotel project management SUMMARY Kerrison Park Hotel in London, is a Part of Kerrison Travel group. GGTA, a French business conglomerate has recently purchased. The hotel is operating at a loss unlike other Kerrison Park hotels across the European mainland. The author will explain here how a project management approach will help the hotel to make changes to turn the loss making situation around. The Author has explained to the management of Kerrison Park Hotel the meaning of Project Management, the process involved in it, the tools and techniques used in it and the benefits of using a Project management approach in developing of the improvement opportunities. The Author has identified all the improvement opportunities of Kerrison Park Hotel, London, and done a detailed SWOT analysis which has given an insight to the problem and improvement areas along with the companys strengths and weaknesses. According to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Project is defined as a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or a service. The act of managing, controlling, coordinating, directing, etc is called management. Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet stakeholders needs and expectations from a project. Projects need to be performed and delivered under certain constraints. Traditionally these constraints have been listed as ‘scope, ‘time and ‘cost (Burke, 2003). PROCESS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Agree precise specification for the project. Plan the project time, team, activities, resources, and financials. Communicate the project plan to your project team. Agree and delegate project actions. Manage, motivate, inform, encourage, enable the project team. Check, measure, review project progress; adjust project plans, and inform the project team and others. Complete project; review and report on project performance; give praise and thanks to the project team. SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. After explaining all this the author has given recommendations as to how to develop those improvement opportunities identified in SWOT. INTRODUCTION Case Study Background: This case study refers to Kerrison Park Hotel in London, a Part of Kerrison Travel group. GGTA, a French business conglomerate has recently purchased this hotel as a part of a financial package that also involved the takeover of three aircrafts and routes serving Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Oslo. The hotel is situated 25km from Heathrow Airport and is well connected by public bus and Underground. The hotel is operating at a loss unlike other Kerrison Park hotels across the European mainland. The author has been given the role of a project manager to use his project management skills and investigate the hotels SWOT analysis and make a proper project plan to retain business and turn this loss making situation around. Aims and Objectives: Define the benefits of the Kerrison Park Hotel, London of adopting a Project Management approach towards the development of the improvement opportunities. Identifying these improvement opportunities within the hotel, recommend a project plan that should be tackled within the next 18 months. Research Methodology: The author has used a lot of secondary resources to research and collect data related to case material like books, websites, etc.. Initially all about Project Management is explained along with some techniques and their importance. Then a detailed SWOT analysis is done for the Kerrison Park Hotel, London. On the basis of this SWOT analysis a Project Plan is prepares and recommendations are given. There is no primary research undertaken for this report. MAIN BODY Kerrison Park Hotel in London, is a Part of Kerrison Travel group. GGTA, a French business conglomerate has recently purchased this hotel as a part of a financial package that also involved the takeover of three aircrafts and routes serving Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Paris and Oslo. The hotel is operating at a loss unlike other Kerrison Park hotels across the European mainland. The author will explain here how a project management approach will help the hotel to make changes to turn the loss making situation around. According to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Project is defined as a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or a service. The act of managing, controlling, coordinating, directing, etc is called management. Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet stakeholders needs and expectations from a project (Burke, 2001). Projects are executed and achieved under scope, time and cost constraints. These constraints when combined together form the Project Management Triangle. As these constraints are linked together therefore, the triangle would be affected if either of the constraints is changed. The advanced enhancement of scope, time and cost produces a fourth constraint called Quality. ‘Scope describes what must be done to produce the end result of the project, ‘Time constraint specifies the available time to meet the project and ‘Cost refers to the total amount available for the project completion. The main purpose of Project Management is to offer the appropriate tools and techniques that initiate the team to work towards the achievement of these constraints. Time The time required can be estimated through Work Breakdown Structure where each task is separately broken down into the time required to complete each task contributing to the completion of each component. Cost The cost constraint is estimated on variables like resource costs, labour rates, material rates, risk management, Earned value management, plant, equipment, cost escalation, indirect costs, and profit. Scope Scope describes the actual project to be accomplished and the end result. Quality of the actual output product is one of the major components of scope. The quality of the project is determined on the actual amount inputted towards the individual tasks. (URL: http://www.businesspme.com/uk/articles/rh/62/The-traditional-triple-constraints.html) PROJECT LIFE CYCLE: Project Management Life Cycle comprises four phases Initiation involves starting up the project, by documenting a business case, feasibility study, terms of reference, appointing the team and setting up a Project Office. Planning involves setting out the roadmap for the project by creating the following plans: project plan, resource plan, financial plan, quality plan, acceptance plan and communications plan. Execution involves building the deliverables and controlling the project delivery, scope, costs, quality, risks and issues. Closure involves winding-down the project by releasing staff, handing over deliverables to the customer and completing a post implementation review (URL: http://www.mpmm.com/project-management-methodology.php). PROCESS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Agree precise specification for the project: Often called the project terms of reference, the project specification should be an accurate description of what the project aims to achieve, and the criteria and flexibilities involved, its parameters, scope, range, outputs, sources, participants, budgets and timescales Plan the project time, team, activities, resources, financials: Plan the various stages and activities of the project. A useful tip is to work backwards from the end aim, identifying all the things that need to be put in place and done, in reverse order. Communicate the project plan to your project team: This serves two purposes: it informs people whats happening, and it obtains essential support, agreement and commitment. If your project is complex and involves a team, then you should involve the team in the planning process to maximise buy-in, ownership, and thereby accountability. Agree and delegate project actions: Activities need to be very clearly described, including all relevant parameters, timescales, costs, and deliverables in a plan. This plan will then be published to all team members and the tasks will be issued to all on the basis of their capability of their own forward planning Manage, motivate, inform, encourage, and enable the project team: Manage the team and activities by meeting, communicating, supporting, and helping with decisions. Your role here is to enable and translate. Face to face meetings, when you can bring team members together, are generally the best way to avoid issues and relationships becoming personalised and emotional. Communicate progress and successes regularly to everyone. Give the people in your team the plaudits. Conversely you must take the blame for anything that goes wrong never dump on anyone in your team Check, measure, review project progress; adjust project plans, and inform the project team and others: Check the progress of activities against the plan. Review performance regularly and at the stipulated review points, and confirm the validity and relevance of the remainder of the plan. Adjust the plan if necessary in light of performance, changing circumstances, and new information, but remain on track and within the original terms of reference. Complete project; review and report on project performance; give praise and thanks to the project team: At the end of your successful project hold a review with the team. Ensure you understand what happened and why. Reflect on any failures and mistakes positively, objectively, and without allocating personal blame. Reflect on successes gratefully and realistically. TOOLS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT: PERT: The Program Evaluation and Review Technique is a model for project management designed to analyze and represent the tasks involved in completing a given project. A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the project. Some Gantt charts also show the dependency (i.e, precedence network) relationships between activities. A work breakdown structure or WBS is a tree structure, that permits summing of subordinate costs for tasks, materials, etc., into their successively higher level â€Å"parent† tasks, materials, etc. It is a fundamental tool commonly used in project management The Critical Path Method, abbreviated CPM, or critical path analysis, is a mathematically based algorithm for scheduling a set of project activities. It is an important tool for effective project management. A Run chart, also known as a run-sequence plot is a graph that displays observed data in a time sequence. Often, the data displayed represent some aspect of the output or performance of a manufacturing or other business process. IMPORTANCE AND BENEFIT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH TO KERRISON PARK HOTEL, LONDON: Develops Exponential Effectiveness: In most organizations, people work on cross-functional teams to complete projects. When people from different departments know and understand a common Project Management process to get their work done, they can start to work together without having to design how they are going to do it. Empowers Individuals and Team Leaders: When there is a common, simple approach for Project Management and the correct tools are available throughout the enterprise, people are empowered to reach their goals, together and individually. Creates Institutional Memory: Industry standard Project Management practices require a critical project closeout phase that collects lessons learned and gives your organization powerful historical knowledge from across the enterprise. Realizes Return on Innovation: An easy-to-use Project Management methodology gives organizations a framework that makes it achievable for people to move from vision to action with a comprehensive project plan that supports their objectives. Turns Information into Insight: You capture best practices and know what is and isnt working in your organization, giving you a competitive advantage by turning information into insight. SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieving that objective. Here we need to do the SWOT analysis of the Kerrison Park Hotel, London which will help us further to make a Project Plan to make recommendations as to what changes are required by this Hotel to run successfully. Strengths: The Hotel has a very good location as it is just 25 Km from Heathrow and is well connected by Bus and Underground. Hotel owns a large reception area out of which a part can be used for other purposes. A large full functioning kitchen builds up the backbone of the hotel Hotel has 150 rooms. All rooms have ensuite facilities, tea and coffee facilities, satellite TV, Air-conditioner and mini-bar which shows it provides all the facilities which a normal 4star hotel should have. The double rooms have adjoining lounges. The hotel provides an elaborate English and Continental Breakfast which is considered to be the main meal of the day. Hotel owns a Big Conference and a banqueting suite with a separate bar and four syndicate rooms. The Hotel gets a regular business from the parent companys aircrew and passengers. The Hotel also possesses a successful In-house Laundry which also has a contract for companys airline uniforms which ensures fixed revenue. Weaknesses: The hotel is suffering from a low occupancy rate of 45% as compared to other hotels in the city with 65% on a typical day. It has an inappropriate and a weak marketing strategy as the hotel principally relied on tour operators who use the hotel seasonally and local corporate business, gained through minimal advertising. The computer systems on the front of the house have become obsolete and needs to be upgraded to be in sync with the parent companys airline reservation system. Many of the Hotels facilities were not marketed successfully because of poor coordination and irregularity within sales and marketing departments. Lack of security of cleaning stores and linen on floors and their distribution. Lack of regular preventive maintenance of rooms and corridors. Internal painting, re-grouting of tiles, etc. needs attention. Restaurant is not big enough with 90 covers to handle major rush hours during peak season. Lunch time business is poor. Garden side of the restaurant which can be used a n additional room in quite weekends was not publicised properly. The staff seems to be lacking the sales and service orientation. The department heads are given the responsibility for recruiting and training of staff members rather than a proper Human Resource Management system which leads to inconsistencies in approach and quality. Gymnasium is not well equipped and there is no swimming pool facility provided by the hotel. There is no health bar either where a guest could refresh himself after a workout. Opportunities: Since the Hotel has a good location, it can easily pull up the chartered tourism. Students and Backpackers use London as a base for visiting other parts of the country who can be wooed by attractive discounts and offers. Large reception area gives the opportunity to use a part of it for some other purposes for eg. Extending Coffee Shop. Laundry Business can be improved by recruiting more skilled staff and sign up more contracts on revised prices with airlines. Hiring more experienced staff and training the existing one will help in upselling in all FB areas. Coffee Shop is more popular than the restaurant and the bar and is also doing well, so the covers can be increased and it can be livened up for young clientele. There is a good opportunity to start a new buffet style menu in the restaurant after convincing the Head Chef of its advantages. Hiring more efficient and professional Sales and Marketing Team will help the Hotel to boost up its sales volume. The Human Resource Department have a lot of knowledge and experience of working in different cultures which makes it easy for the hotel to understand its staff better and provide them efficient training through proper communication and practice. Threats: The airlines are in doubt as to continue with the laundry contract with the hotel due to the high prices offered as compared to other competitor laundries. The FB staffs have a low skill level; and therefore it leaves the guest into a bad impression of staff lacking service orientation and hotels poor standards. Inappropriate Security systems might lead to loss by theft. Storage of food is disorganized and sometimes no stock rotation is done which can be very dangerous and also lead to wastage. Competition in terms of prices and facility given by other hotels is leading to lower occupancy rate which is not good at all for the hotel. There is no Job satisfaction due to which motivation is lacking in staff. RECOMMENDATIONS After completing this detailed SWOT analysis the author is clear about Hotels situation inside out. Now the author would like to give recommendations for how to overcome the problems and weak areas of the hotel in a Project Management approach. Following are the areas and the changes that need to be done in them: Reception: Since the front of the house systems are obsolete and 12 years old, they require an upgrading to cope up with the expected increase in the business and interface with the parent companys airline reservation system which will create ease of work and efficiency for the reception staff. Changing the system will also require hardcore training to the staff who are habitual of using the old system. This whole process will take about 3 months to come into existence. Accommodation Operations: Author would suggest to turn 20 twin rooms into double rooms which will help the reception to give out more options to the customers. Secondly 10 suites should replace either of the rooms for fulfilling special needs of the guests like honeymoon couples. This operation will take around 4-6 months. In House Laundry: The Laundry has shown a return on investment recently and is running successfully. It is suggested to add up more storage space and recruit more efficient staff. The hotel also needs to take into consideration the prices of the laundry as they are too high compared to competitors due to which it might lose its present contracts. Prices needs to be lowered down. This will take about 2 months. Housekeeping and maintenance: To Control the security of the cleaning stores and linen, the author suggests to put up security alarms and CCTV Cameras in all important areas where undesignated staff isnt allowed. The storage areas should be moved away from back door entry to avoid loss. The rooms need to undergo minor maintenance like internal painting, re-grouting of tiling, replacing shower curtains, etc. Carpeting on first and second floor corridor will be replaced and reinstated as soon as possible. This will take approximately 6-8 months to complete. Food and Beverage: The covers in the restaurant should be increased to at least 120 to cope up with busy hours. The idea of introducing buffet style of menu is very appropriate. The FB manager must convince the head chef about the advantages of buffet style menu for eg, it will save labour force and the guest would get a choice of wider variety of food. Various schemes like ‘Sunday English Roast Lunch or ‘Happy Hours should be introduced which will attract local clientele and families. This operation will take around 1 month to come into existence as there are no major physical changes taking place here. Since the Coffee Shop is very popular and generally remains busy it is suggested to liven and pep it up in sync with the young and modern customers with some exciting decor, video games, darts, etc.. which will attract more people. We have the advantage of having coffee shop next to the large reception area. So it can be extended using a part of the reception area and covers will be increased from 50 to 70. Professional English speaking and permanent staff must be hired for the coffee shop as it will lead to good service and better guest satisfaction. The Coffee Shop menu should be renewed. This will take around 3 months to complete. Bar staff needs to be trained to be multi-skilled so that they can help in other areas when busy. A fool-proof method of controlling and counting sales should be introduced. A versatile drink list should be developed. Night porter facility should be provided to fulfil the needs of late night residents. This will again take around 1 month to come into existence. Gymnasium: It is suggested to install modern and state of the art machinery in the gym. At least 2 trainers should be employed. A proper changing room with modular fittings should be constructed with sauna, spa and a small swimming pool should be built up. Swimming pool will be a great attraction for the in house guests and local residents. The gym kitchen should be refurbished and spruced up and used as a sports bar offering health food and beverages.the Gymnasium and swimming pool will take a long time say around 12 months so should be started well in advance. Goods Delivery and Storage: Food storage in the main cold room must be organised using the FIFO (first in first out) system and keeping HACCP (hazard and critical control points) into consideration. Delegation of responsibility to the heads of the departments and supervisors is of utmost importance for all the storage areas as to keep a control on food storage, rotation, inventory keeping, etc.. The responsibility of the keys should also be delegated to either Head chef or FB manager. A proper inventory management system must be installed to analyse the sales level appropriately. This process will take 2 months. Management and staffing: a lot of emphasis needs to be put on the training and development of the staff as most of the staff is unskilled and unprofessional. A detailed training and development programme needs to be developed. The recruitment responsibility needs to be taken solely by the HR department in coordination with the Heads of the Departments to select only eligible staff. All the lousy and unskilled staff must be replaced by the professional ones. Work incentives and motivational schemes needs to be introduced to ensure job satisfaction and improved performance. Training and Development is an ongoing process so time cannot be calculated here. Replacing staff will not take more than 1 month. Sales and Marketing: First of all a strong, experienced and highly skilled marketing team needs to be hired as the previous one could not prove itself. Then coordination between Sales and Marketing needs to be built up by proper communication and regular meetings. All the facilities of the hotel must be advertised on websites, buses, trains, etc., showing attractive pictures of the hotel rooms, coffee shop, and gymnasium and highlighting the new facilities added. Promotion should be done at trade fares. Hotel must tie up with major tour operators. To increase the sales volume the hotel needs to revise its rack rate in accordance to competitors and give more discounts and attractive offers. Students and Backpackers can be wooed by good discounted rates and offers if they make the bookings in advance which will help hotel to increase its occupancy rate. The marketing team should also promote the in house laundry and get more orders from airlines to make additional revenue. Time Management: There are a lot of tasks to be done here. If we calculate the total time it will be more than 18 months, whereas we only have 18 months to get things done. So we need to manage our tasks in a timely order where two or more tasks can be done in a particular time side by side. The next important thing which we need to consider is that in what sequence the tasks will be accomplished. The activities should be put in such an order that they do not become a hindrance for one another and the hotels routine operations. The time that will be saved will indirectly save our costs as well. CONCLUSION The purpose of the report was to define to the hotel the benefits of adopting a project management approach towards development of improvement opportunities. Then these improvement opportunities were to be identified within the hotel and recommendations were to be given that prioritise and justify the projects that should be tackled within 18 months. The author would like to conclude that these purposes were solved by explaining in detail about the Project management, its process, tools and techniques. A detailed SWOT analysis is done to justify all the changes and improvement to be done in the hotel. Then the author has given recommendations for all that is to be done to retain the business and make profits. This will help the Kerrison Park Hotel to become a successful running Hotel in the city. BIBLIOGRAPHY A quick and comprehensive introduction to Project Management and its advantages Building the Buzz on Project Management (Available from URL: http://www.pmhut.com/a-quick-and-comprehensive-introduction-to-project-management-and-its-advantages-building-the-buzz-on-project-management) (Accessed on 11th March 2010) Burke, R. (2003) Project management planning control techniques (4th edition), England, Wiley Lock, D. (2000) Project Management (7th edition), England, Gower House Project Management Process, Techniques, tools, tips and training (Available from URL: http://www.businessballs.com/project.htm) (Accessed on 10th March 2010) Project Management Methodology: Project Life Cycle (Available from URL: http://www.mpmm.com/project-management-methodology.php) (Accessed on 10th March 2010) The Traditional triple constraints (Available from URL: http://www.businesspme.com/uk/articles/rh/62/The-traditional-triple-constraints.html) (Accessed on 11th March 2010) Wiest, J.D. and Levy, F.K. (1994), Management Guide To PERT/CPM (2nd edition), New Delhi, Prentice hall of India http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management, accessed on 19th October 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis, accessed on 19th October, 2008.

Its Time to Decriminalize Marijuana :: Marijuana Drugs Argumentative Persuasive Essays

It's Time to Decriminalize Marijuana Currently, drugs remain high on the lists of concerns of Americans and are considered one of the major problems facing our country today. We see stories on the news about people being killed on the street every day over drugs. To many people drugs are only an inner-city problem, but in reality they affect all of us - users and non-users. I believe that the negative affects we associate with drugs would be greatly reduced if the United States adopted a policy towards the total decriminalization of marijuana. The current drug policy of our government is obviously failing. Drug laws have created corruption, violence, increased street crime, and disrespect for the criminal justice system. Current drug legislation has failed to reduce demand. It's just too hard to monitor illegal substances when a significant portion of the population is committed to using drugs. (Inciardi and McBride 260) Marijuana comes from the hemp plant, which can readily be grown on fields across the nation and was cultivated heavily in colonial period. After 130 years of being legal, the potential problems of marijuana were brought into the public eye by Harry J. Anslingler, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and author of Marijuana: Assassin of Youth (Goldman 88). In his book, Anslinger portrayed images of Mexican and Negro criminals, as well as young boys, who became killers while under the influence of marijuana. With the added public pressure, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law made the use and dale of marijuana federal offenses. At this point marijuana was removed from the public eye, and heavy users included poor Negroes, migrant Mexicans, and Jazz Musicians (Himmelstein 3). Marijuana reappeared in the mid 1960's with the emergence of the "Hippie." Widespread objection to the use of marijuana remained because of the set of valued and lifestyles associated with it, but use appeared in colleges and among middle-class youths in the suburbs (Himmelstein 103). Marijuana became a symbol of a counter-culture, and youthful rebellion. As a consequence, marijuana use rose for the next ten years. Marijuana was becoming more accepted across the nation. As the users of Marijuana changed, the attitudes about the danger of Marijuana broke down. In 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act reduced the classification of simple possession and non-profit distribution from felonies to misdemeanors (Himmelstein 104).

Genteel People and Honest Hearts in Jane Austens Emma Essay -- Austen

Emma:   Genteel People and Honest Hearts  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Emma, Jane Austen gives us ‘only the surface of the lives of genteel people’?   Though not necessarily a commonly used term today, the meaning of ‘genteel people’ is easily assumed. Good birth and breeding are not necessarily the only ‘qualities’ of genteel people: simple generosity, courtesy and elegance can also apply, as well as marriage into the class. The majority of the characters in Emma to some extent expand this definition to provide exceptions to the rule or abuses of the title. In this way the characters provide an interesting answer to the question of whether or not Austen actually deals with genteel people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mrs and Miss Bates are genteel people and of genteel birth. They are well educated and well spoken and readily invited into the Woodhouse circle. This high class is illustrated at Boxhill during Mr Knightley’s vehement reprimand of Emma’s cutting remark: ‘she has seen you grow up from a period when her notice of you was an honour.’ Of course, they have since slipped in monetary value, but retain their social position nonetheless. Mrs. Elton has the money, but not the connections or character to be considered genteel. Her marriage to a vicar as Mr Elton has raised her a class, but she has clearly not had the breeding to be comfortable in such high society, as she shows by continually dropping Maple Grove into conversations, and justifying her talents: ‘well, my friends say†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Harriet Smith obviously is not genteel by birth, being the ‘natural daughter of somebody’ but Emma invents he r parentage for the sake of the love games. The original modesty and humility that Harriet enjoys are accentuated and extended under the careful care of Emma. Th... ...ane Austen. Harlow: Longman Literature Guides [series], 1988. Craik, W. A. The Development of Jane Austen's comic art: Emma: Jane Austen's mature comic art. London: Audio Learning, 1978. Sound recording; 1 cassette; 2-track. mono. Gard, Roger, [1936- ]. Jane Austen, Emma and Persuasion. Harmondsworth : Penguin, Penguin masterstudies [series], 1985. Jefferson, D. W. (Douglas William), [1912- ]. Jane Austen's Emma: a landmark in English fiction. London: Chatto and Windus for Sussex University Press, Text and context [series], 1977. Lauritzen, Monica. Jane Austen's Emma on television: a study of a BBC classic serial. Goteborg, Sweden: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis, Gothenburg studies in English, 48 [series], 1981.    Sabiston, Elizabeth Jean, [1937- ]. The Prison of Womanhood: four provincial heroines in nineteenth-century fiction. London : Macmillan, 1987.   

Thomas Jefferson Essays -- essays research papers

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 on his family’s plantation in Shadwell, Virginia. The third of six children his parents raised him modestly and his father schooled him to be a gentleman. The young Jefferson suffered an emotional shock, when at the age of 14 his father Peter Jefferson died. The young Jefferson was the first male of the family and so he received the bulk of his father’s assets, leaving him with a sizable fortune. He received his early education along with his sisters and cousins near the family farm, and later was sent away to be tutored by a professional teacher in foreign languages and more advanced sciences and math. Beginning in 1760 Jefferson began attending the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. While there he began studying such enlightenment thinkers as Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Isaac Newton, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke. His admiration for these men became even greater as he began to make his way in life. Once he finished his college education Jefferson decided he wanted to pursue a career in law. To achieve this he began studying for the bar exam under a practicing lawyer George Wythe. After completeing his studies he began establishing a law practice out of his home in Shadwell. Then in 1768 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses where from the very start he made his presence known. If first proposal to the body was to establish procedures for the emancipation of slaves, an idea quickly shot down. He remained a member of the house until its dissolution in 1774 by the colony’s British Governor Dunmore. The same year plans were made to hold a continental congress of all the colonies. In preperation for this meeting Jefferson wrote an essay called A Summary of the Rights of British Americans, in which he voiced his thoughts on the rights of men. Due to illness he was unable to attend this meeting, but its widespread publishing lead to his nomination to the second Continental congress. During the 1776 meeting of the second Continental Congress Jefferson wrote one of the most famous documents in American history, the Declaration of Independence. This document would become the basis for the writing of the Articles of Conferderation and eventually the United States Constitution. Another document written by Jefferson that would become an integral part of the federal Constitution would be ... ...umed the office of vice-president. Jefferson’s first act as president was to tell Secretary of State James Madison to withhold the midnight appointment of William Marbury to the office of Justice of the Peace of the District of Columbia. Marbury sued for the appointment President Adams had given him and Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in his favor. The case Marbury vs. Madison set the precedent of the courts right to judicial review of the other branches of government. Jefferson went against his belief in strict Constitutional interpretation several times during office as president, the first time was when he authorized the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Though the power to purchase the land was not given to him as president in the Constitution he went ahead with it because he felt that it was in the best interest of the nation. He went against his beliefs two other times when he went along with the 1804 impeachments of Federal district judge John Pickering and Supreme court judge Samuel Chase. The constitution states that â€Å"treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors† must be committed to warrant this, but both men were impeached by the Senate due to erratic behavior.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Macie Marr Mrs. Curran English 4/5 1/12/13 The Bhopal gas tragedy The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident in India, considered one of the world's worst industrial disasters. It occurred on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance made its way in and around the shantytowns located near the plant.Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259. The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release. Others estimate 8,000 died within two weeks and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases. A government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. November 1984, most of the safety systems were not functioning and many valves and lines were in poor condition.In addition to this, several vent gas scrubbers had been out of service as well as the steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes was nonoperational. Other issue was that, Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC which was much more than what safety rules allowed. During the night of 2–3 December 1984, water entered Tank E610 containing 42 tons of MIC. A runaway reaction started, which was accelerated by contaminants, high temperatures and other factors. The reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel pipelines.The resulting exothermic reaction increased the temperature inside the tank to over 200  °C (392  °F) and raised the pressure. This forced the emergency venting of pressure from the MIC holding tank, releasing a large volume of toxic gases. About 30 metric tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) escaped from the tank into the atmospher e in 45 to 60 minutes. The gases were blown in southeastern direction over Bhopal. The initial effects of exposure were coughing, vomiting, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation. People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant.Those who ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride. Owing to their height, children and other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations. Many people were trampled trying to escape. Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours. There were mass funerals and mass cremations. Bodies were dumped into the Narmada River, less than 100 km from Bhopal. 170,000 people were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries. 2,000 buffalo, goats, and other animals were collected and buried. Within a few days, leaves on trees yellowed and fell off.Supplies, including food, became scarce owing to suppliers' safety fears. Fishing was prohibited causing further supply shortages. Within a few days, trees in the vicinit y became barren, and 2,000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of. On 16 December, tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the remaining MIC. This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal. The Government of India passed the â€Å"Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act† that gave the government rights to represent all victims, whether or not in India. The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes, blepharospasm, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting.The causes of deaths were choking, reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema. Findings during autopsies revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema, tubular necrosis of the kidneys, fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis. Immediate relieves were decided two days after the tragedy. Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period along with ration cards. Madhya Pradesh government's finance department allocated 874 million (US$15. 91 million) for victim relief in July 1985. Widow pension of 00 (US$3. 64)/per month (later 750 (US$13. 65)) were provided. They government also decided to pay 1,500 (US$27. 3) to families with monthly income 500 (US$9. 1) or less. As a result of the interim relief, more children were able to attend school, more money was spent on treatment and food, and housing also eventually improved. From 1990 interim relief of 200 (US$3. 64) was paid to everyone in the family who was born before the disaster. In 2007, 1,029,517 cases were registered and decided. Numbers of awarded cases were 574,304 and number of rejected cases 455,213.When the factory was closed in 1986, pipes, drums and tanks were sold. The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there, as are storages of different residues. Isolation material is falling down and spreading. The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals. In 1982 tube wells in the vicinity of the UCIL factory had to be abandoned and test s in 1989 performed by UCC's laboratory revealed that soil and water samples collected from near the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish. Several other studies had also shown polluted soil and groundwater in the area.Till this day chemicals abandoned at the plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater. Whether the chemicals pose a health hazard is disputed. Contamination at the site and surrounding area was not caused by the gas leakage. The area around the plant was used as a dumping ground for hazardous chemicals and by 1982 water wells in the vicinity of the UCIL factory had to be abandoned. UCC states that â€Å"after the incident, UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the direction of Indian central and state government authorities.

A Good Friday Celebration Essay

In many an(prenominal) countries of the world that celebrate easterly, we think of dressing in our best clothes and qualifying to church to pass our respects to delivery boy. If non Catholic or deliverymanian, we think of a nice peaceful verbal expressionreal day with bunnies, east wind Egg Hunts for the kids, and a nice day to barbeque with family and fri finishs. Mean opus, on the other side of the world in a pocketable country do up of thousands of islands is Philippines, a country that contains a majority of illiterate religious battalion, mostly Catholics and Christians, whom celebrate Easter in a oftentimes more(prenominal)(prenominal) conventional sense finished suffering re-enactments. This yearly celebration of the death of Christ merges traditions of the Catholic Church with Filipino fellowship superstitions. So why do Filipinos go against the church wishes to emulate the agony when devotion is cl early a major component in their lives? Many of the p eople infix for penance, others as a sign of hand for their prayers to paragon, some to honor their vow they do to themselves and God, and others just for the baffle whilst the church goals and clapperclaw out in objections of corporal punishment. unfortunately for the church, tradition trumps the advice of the bishop and church drawing cards annually. Months ahead the scheduled re-enactments of the crucifixion begins, many of the participants testament start forging their pull in three-inch, innocent steel nails (as seen from the mental picture on the on the bottom left(a), above, interpreted in 2011). The nails calculate to frame the mans face whose eyes interpreted glazed over and his overall appearance to be burdened with eld of suffering. The points of the nails confront the sharpness of the object, exposing the mans tolerance for physical discomfort. The vulnerability steern by Erik de Castro, captured the devotion and the mans grub work for his chance to show his God his faith through his own crucifixion during adept Friday. In the early morning of frank Friday, thousands of people in the Philippines posit ready for the celebration by first attending church because going home to cook a feast maculation a hardly a(prenominal) hundred people start to get ready for the parade before the crucifixion.During this time, many local and foreign tourists start line drive the streets, making the religious ritual into more of a gimmick, which calculates to raise tourism. At just about mid-day, the participants start their journey through the towns and cities to the crucifixion site. Participants exit wear white and go away thrash about their stickers (as seen in the photo on the right) for every sin they gravel performed passim the course of study. These worshipers willing not only whip themselves with bamboo and rope but wear crowns of thorns on their headsmade of barbwire, as shown in the photo below and walk bargonfoot to th e consecrated ground where the crucifixion portrayals come alive. The photo above shows the beauty of unison through the color of pants and the contrast of the blood, the isobilateral lines the men ar in, and the whips going indorse and forth during the infliction of pain for sins. If you look closer, one mans back is not nearly as damn as the rest rendering us to question if he doesnt have as many sins or if he is trying to cheat pain and scarring by not whipping himself with as much force as the others.In the flight of an interview with a ordinal year veteran of the ritual, Arturo Bating, a faith leader in his community, has stated that he does the annual ritual because it was a vow he had made to God so that He will spare his family from sickness. While another twenty-sixth year veteran, Ruben Enaje, stated that he started harming in the crucifixion ceremony because he believes that God was watching over him when he survived after falling from a mental synthesis during wo rk. Countless other devotees participate for reasons of atoning for sins or to pray for the sick or a better life or advance thanks for what they believe were miracles. From these veterans, we contribute witness how these folk superstitions ties in with the traditions of the Catholic Church. just now why does the Catholic Church object to a tradition of crucifixion re-enactments? nigh like Amparo Santos, meanwhile, believe It was not my will, it was Gods will and claiming to have authentic divine messages while hanging on the cross.But many church leadershiphip are unconvinced which is somewhat ironic for them being men of the Church and where stamp and faith in the divine miraculous is part of their job description. Church leaders like Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Pampanga encourage the meditation of Christs death rather than the self-flagellation and crucifixions expatiating that the practices are an imperfect imitation with doubtful theological and social significanc e. Bishop David also states that most of those who get themselves crucified or those who hurt themselves are the un-churched. In other words, the Bishop is saying that the people who are most likely to participate in emulating crucifixions are the baptized Catholic people who hardly attend church services, which seem to be an unfair way to descry the Catholic devotees.In final consideration, nearing the end of the parade and coming to the crucifixion site, a multitude of on-lookers gasp and hold their breaths while they admire the participants go through the hurt torture of nails through their palms and feet while exhausting a crown of thorns. What we can take away from the two photos above, is that women, although quite uncommon, can too be seen participating in the traditional crucifixion. The photo on the left shows more of how the Filipino tradition is beseeming more gimmicky to attract tourists by the assistanters dressed in costumes as Roman soldiers, while the image on the right, shows more of the traditional ritual, where people come together to help crucify the people wanting the experience or doing it for a reason wholly their own. While church leaders slide by to object, we can see that tradition will outrival the advice of the Church to end crucifixion re-enactments.Works CitedAFP. Filipino fanatics re-enact crucifixion for Good Friday. 6 April 2012. 15 January 2013 . Bernardino Balabo, Julian Labores and Djay Lazaro. Tradition Trumps Church Teachings. 4 April 2011. 14 January 2013 . Press, Associated. 17 crucified in Philippines in Good Friday re-enactment. 6 April 2012. Chicago Sun-Times. 15 January 2013 . Press, Assoicated. Philippine Worshippers Endure Crucifixion for Good Friday. 21 March 2008. Fox News. 14 January 2013 .

Compare how the two television programmes Essay

This is an attempt on her bulge to appear up-to-date, with Hollywood speak, and is excessively a modality for her to patronise Saffy and is symbolic of their relationship. Gimme Gimme Gimme is concentrate on around a hetero sexual woman and a homosexual man, with the contrast between them being the discover element of the argue, The humour here is ofttimes more direct than that of absolutely Fabulous, with immense vehemence on sexual innuendos and crude elements. Gimme Gimme Gimme transgresses boundaries, with the two protagonists (Linda and tom turkey) subverting tralatitious gender roles.They resemble a married couple, but in reverse Linda is manful, while Tom is effeminate. Tom is middle-class and cultured, and sees Linda as beneath him in the millennium Special, he describes her as frighteningly schools class. He is also houseproud, as risen by his Christmas sack and his dismay when Linda broke the decorations (Whatever happened to Timothy manoeuver? ) He giv es the impression of intelligence and often loses assiduity with Linda, also finding her crude humour similarly much on occasion You know, sometimes you lick me physically sick. In contrast, Linda is very masculine and uncultured, big and direct, yet also childlike and nai ve. She is pl personally of get-go intelligence and enjoys insulting Tom I aint homophobic, I just cant stand em. She a great deal calls him homo, but in reality this is probably a term of endearment. Although she pretends to shun him, Linda and Tom are dependant on distributively other, as shown by the scene where Linda is about to go out and Tom clings to her. Lindas naivetiRegarding her father is a point of humour as in her look he can still do no wrong. Her words Daddy wouldnt lie to me mold to mind a small child. Tom frequently uses abbreviations such as ridic and phenom, which adds to his camp image, and strengthens the audiences perception of him as a stereotypical hardy man. Lindas character, as well as separate with Tom, also has elements of contrast within herself her surname (LaHughes), suggests a far more upmarket woman than she is, and the way in which she dresses is at odds with her naiveti.Gimme Gimme Gimme has strong elements of sexual frustration in both characters , although Tom desires a long-term relationship and domesticity, and Linda simply wants a man. some(prenominal) the house in utterly Fabulous and the bland from Gimme Gimme Gimme are not domesticated, but for different reasons muggins and Eddie are forever and a day out at work or parties, but Tom and Linda are always at home simply because they pass water nowhere else to go Phone a bloody booster dose? What if you havent got any friends? intertextuality is present in both comedies from the obvious in Gimme Gimme Gimme (Linda and Toms discussion of Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire and her referral to the Royle Family as Yankee ponces), to the more subtle use of Western medicine in Absolutely Fabulous. Both programmes involve nonadaptive parent-child relationships, although at that place is a difference in that Lindas relationship with her father is off-screen, and Saffy and Edinas is very much on-screen.Both also have children in Eddie is a wild teenager and Linda is a spoilt young child. Masculine women are present in both, in the form of fall guy and Linda, although both are masculine in different ways and take on different roles. The use of flashbacks in two episodes ( pocket-sized Opening and Millennium Special) sum up the attitudes of the two programmes Gimme Gimme Gimmes shows how the protagonists want life to be, and the show is based upon them wanting better lives.The flashback in Absolutely Fabulous shows how life sued to be, and the characters here are biography in the past. A key difference is that Eddie and Patsy truly believe they are in ensure of their lives and are happy, whereas Linda and Tom are perfectly advised of the fact that they are goin g nowhere. While Absolutely Fabulous is a satire, there is also a fantasy element about Patsy and Eddies uninhibited, hedonistic lifestyles. Both shows characters are representative types of society, and there is an absence of men in both the of import theme of both shows.However, in Absoultely Fabulous this is shown to be a positive thing and Patsy and Ednia show no need for them, however Gimme Gimme Gimme is about its protagonists loneliness, and is focus on around their quest for men (hence the title. ) Gimme Gimme Gimmes humourous representation of gender is based upon stereotypes, role thong and class contrast, whereas Absoultely Fabulous plays on the common judgment of how a mother should be, the traditional values they have and womens independence. Both shows use subversion of roles to great effect in their comic representation of gender.