Wednesday, October 16, 2019

NARRATIVE story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NARRATIVE story - Essay Example Only that morning, after my brother’s compulsion, I decided to get out of my room to go with him and my parents to the beach for some fun. At first I was very annoyed as I preferred to stay indoors and watch some television as it was a weekend. During the weekdays, I had enough and more school work to be done and got very little television time. So weekends are usually a television marathon for me and I would never go out. My brother and my father have a weekend routine which I thought was lame. They would go for swimming at a nearby club and invite me all the time. I always felt very nostalgic to swimming pools and the blue colored water spread across as if it were a blue blanket made me uncomfortable. But today, as the club was closed due to some maintenance activity, my brother had planned for this trip to a beach nearby and had compelled me to come. I thought I will just get some sun and stay away from the ‘deep blue sea’. After reaching there and watching eve ryone have fun, I was not able to control my rising yearn to hit the water. Unfortunately, failed to notice the board which said ‘this area is for strong swimmers only’. So, here I am dragged inwards toward the horizon by the strong waves. I opened my eyes and found that everything around me was different and that confused feeling was still there. I was looking around to figure out whether I was in heaven (hopefully). I could hear the sounds of people talking outside. I woke up fully to get back to reality. My brother was walking towards me and paid no attention to me. I was little bit ignited with this act, as I expected him to come and ask me how I felt after coming in close encounters with death. Instead, he just started hitting me with his towel asking me to get up. I got up, now fully awake, and was staring blankly at my brother who was yelling, ‘are you coming with us to the swimming club at least today?’ Just then everything hit

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Look at the Way Shakespeare Explores Relationships Between Men and Women in Measure for Measure Essay Example for Free

Look at the Way Shakespeare Explores Relationships Between Men and Women in Measure for Measure Essay When Shakespeare wrote Measure for Measure in approximately 1604, society was very sexist towards females and men were seen as the stronger sex, however Shakespeare included lots of strong female characters in his plays such as Portia in ‘Mercent of Venice’ and Lady Macbeth in ‘Macbeth’, he was aware that his plays wouldn’t change society and that unlimitedly, women are regarded as subservient to men. They were not allowed to vote, state their real opinions, go to university and they were never formally educated; their only expected roles in life were to run the household and provide children. Consequently, many men regarded their wives and daughters as possessions who were expected to abide by their husbands and fathers no matter what. When it came down to relationships with the opposite sex, virginity was regarded as a virtue and a prize. Men expected their wives to be pure in preparation for marriage and the women that had ‘succumbed to the pleasures of the flesh’ before they were married were considered ruined women. Men however were encouraged to learn the arts of seduction and some men of the higher class were sent to Italy to learn the art. In the society of Measure for Measure, men clearly use and abuse women. One of the main characters Angelo is placed in charge of the city in Vienna by Duke Vincentio. The Duke had been quite an easy going ruler who feels that it is time to clean up the Viennese society and administer a greater sense of honour. He chooses Angelo because of the strong characteristics and principles that he has make him stand out for being the perfect person to do so. Despite his name being a play on the word ‘angel’, he absurdly proves to be the villain of the play and along with several other male figures, he uses not only his gender but also his position of power, to exploit several members of the ‘weaker’ sex. When Angelo takes authority as ruler in the Duke’s absence he immediately wishes to make a mark. Unbeknown to him, the Duke has disguised himself as a Friar and has returned to Vienna to observe how Angelo administers ascendancy. Angelo initially comes forth as beyond criticism and determined to rule with an iron fist. When he discovers that a nobleman called Claudio has slept with his partner impregnated her, he orders Claudio be executed as an example to the citizens of Vienna, that such immorality will not be tolerated. The nobleman Claudio is introduced to us in Act 1 Scene 2. As he is being led away to prison, his friend Lucio asks the meaning of ‘this restraint’ and queries as to weather or not it is because of ‘lechery’. Claudio agrees that to a degree, his crime is one of being too lenient in terms of sexual activity and we recognize that this is a society where men and women are expected to show self-control before marriage. Claudio talks about his lover, Julietta with a certain degree of dominance; we learn he had ‘possession’ of her bed but in his justification it was ‘upon a true contract’ and it seemed the liaison was consensual. But also ‘upon a true contract’ could also mean that Julietta has donated herself to the dominant member of the relationship. Also this statement makes the ‘relationship’ appear to be almost a deal or an agreement in which has been made between the two characters. He also argues that they were as good as engaged but were waiting for the right moment to reveal the news to her family. Their sexual relationship is regarded by Claudio as ‘mutual entertainment’ and we realise that both can be held responsible for their crime however Julietta is now pregnant and they cannot hide their actions from others who can see the ‘shame’ of their union. In addition, the word mainly focused upon, is ‘possession’. This word once again reflects the sexism surrounding this era; in that the male is the dominant and most significant person. Therefore, it is clear that the women (being Julietta in this case) is almost an in-animate object, which is owned or ‘possessed’ by the man. Claudio’s sister, Isabella, is an aspiring nun and when she first heard about her brother’s arrest she snaps at Angelo with ‘make me not your story’. She honestly doesn’t believe that her brother has committed such sin and thinks it is all a story. When she comes to plead for her brother’s life, she is clearly virtuous and innocent; untainted by the ills of society and ready to offer up her life to God. Angelo is overtaken by his desires and attracted to her virtuous nature. He offers the proposition that Isabella ‘yield up’ her body to his ‘will’ and he in turn will grant a pardon for Claudio. The word ‘yield’ suggests Isabella should give in or cower before Angelo’s might as a man and as a ruler. It reflects how Elizabethan men thought of women as possessions, objects and caring about only their bodies and not their souls; that when it came to sex before marriage, women were meant to give up their bodies. Isabella is horrified and refuses, believing that by sacrificing her virginity, she sacrifices her soul. The word ‘will’ shows that Angelo dominates and expects to be obeyed in the ‘relationship’, despite her opinions or rights. As a man in a superior position, Angelo is used to being obeyed and his demands are to be met. This shows us that men treated women as objects to satisfy their needs. In light of how sexist this play has been, at the end of the play in scene 5 I become almost convinced of how vile the Duke is. He tries to portray himself as this great big hero when he helps Isabella save Claudio; but then injustices that by punishing Lucio so harshly. Prostitutes in those days were thought of as strumpets and marriage with such a person was a ‘sin’. So, Lucio is given an option to marry the whore he impregnated but he never has to repent for what he did. Actions like this in the Viennese society were highly frowned upon and this highlights even more how badly men thought about women in these situations because Lucio was devastated when the Duke told him his sentence. Isabella, originally on the verge of becoming a nun, finds herself about to marry the Duke. It is interesting that she is not given a chance to reply to the Dukes marriage proposal in the play. She is assumedly very content to become the spouse of the towns leader, mainly since he has saved her brothers life. But at the same time this situation reinforces her loss of sexual independence. The central conflict in the play revolves roughly around Isabellas rejection to follow the ways of the majority of the women in Vienna. Her marriage to the Duke confirms her virtue while denying her independence. There are no independent women in Measure for Measure. This is not strange, considering the setting and Shakespeares own era. But Measure for Measure gives its women characters even less freedom than other Shakespearean plays. Isabella is the one exception in that she refuses to respond to Angelos advances. However, she is still obedient toward the Duke, following all of his instructions. At the conclusion of the play, the Duke administers punishment to all of the people who have done wrong and rewards the good. Angelo is told to marry Mariana, and he escapes death at her request. The Duke probably does not want to execute Angelo, but wants it made clear that his crime deserves such a punishment. Marianas reward is Angelo, which she takes happily, although the Duke tells her that he is unworthy of her love. Claudio is allowed to marry Juliet, and Lucio is punished by being made to marry a prostitute. Marriage is not a specific punishment or reward; however in this situation it is definitely a punishment.

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Role Of Franchising Tourism Essay

The Role Of Franchising Tourism Essay What is a franchise according to the American heritage dictionary franchising means using one that is granted to use a business model in a certain area for a fee. Well it does not matter how the transaction or agreements are done whether it includes license, joint venture, consulting and supply agreement, and dealership when these terms are included in the contract, its a franchise (Grueneberg Solish, 2010). Legally franchising is viewed as contractual arrangement between the two legally independent parties where the franchisee pays the franchisor for the right to sell the franchisors product or the right to use his trademarks in a given location for a specified time period (Francine  Lafontaine Kathryn  L.  Shaw, 1999). As franchising sector is growing at rapid pace franchisor should look for expansion in international market as the home market specifically developed countries like us Canada, Europe is becoming saturated. It is vital import for a firm to have a strategic pla n to successfully establish in global economy (Richard John, 2004). The global franchising prospect seems great as said by Hoffman and Preble (1993) after their global survey of global franchise association around the world. The survey came out true as according to the United States census bureau revels that in US total franchise business accounted for 1.3 trillion and total work force of 59 million the report also showed that Limited-service restaurants, sometimes called fast food restaurants, had the highest number of franchise establishments with paid employees (124,898), followed by gas stations with convenience stores (33,991), and full-service restaurants (30,130). Thus the data revels franchise in hospitality industry is observing massive growth (U.S.CensusBureau, 2010). The massive upward growth in information and technology and simple long distance travel has made the world a small and well interconnected. Organizations should and are taking advantage of these developments and trends to pursue a global expansion. As the global market around the world are opening up and the market in developed countries are at the point of saturation companies are trying to tap into these newly opened markets for example China with one quarter of world population and high number of mid income group is considered as most under-retailed country in the world (Richard John, 2004). The concept of franchise is flexible and basically suits service sector. Given that franchise relation are influenced to an extent to which the system can be transfer and sustain in local market in terms of product acceptance, local support and service (John, 1999). Thus due to consistent economic importance of franchise we can find lots of research and literature to help us understand the concept. Franchising is a major expansion strategy for hospitality firms into a global market, especially hotels and restaurants to name a few Marriotts, Hyatt, Hilton Accor, IHG, McDonalds, KFC are a very few examples. In global markets franchising add value to the chain by enhancing and understanding the local values culture and customs. Franchising is one of the two main types of operations of which the other one owning. Franchising provides restaurants and hotels with stable franchising revenue through royalties and fees regularly according to the agreement and the time frame of the period (Koh, Lee, Boo, 2009). Unlike most other service sectors, the hotel industry is generally capital-intensive and its logistics and supply chain can be as complex and difficult to manage as those in manufacturing operations. Thus for hospitality related organization, this can be a huge complication to an equity-based expansion model in various markets, particularly in the international market. Thus, it r aises the issue of the importance of the internationalization process through franchising as a non-equity-based expansion strategy(Alon, Ni, Wang, 2012). But as a matter of fact franchising in international market delivers a scope for rapid expansion and global presence and hotels do have potential to overcome the hurdles like cultural, linguistic, technical, legal, and employment problems commonly associated with franchising internationally. Hotel industry in particular is different among another service franchisee as it requires big financial investment to establish facilities to start the business. To give a rough idea the total investment required by Choice Hotels International ranges from $2.3 to 14.6 million, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) $2-20 million, Motel 6, $1.9-2.3 million, and Hilton 53.4-90.1 million due to such huge capital requirement makes acquiring and setup a franchise hotel a complex process (Alon et al., 2012). Franchising in Australia originated in a significant way in the early 1970s under the influence of the franchised US fast food systems KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds which commenced operations here at the time. Increased intensity in business competition during the 1970s and early 1980s resulted in the failure of many small and medium sized businesses and encouraged growth in franchising. Franchising continued to grow at an accelerated rate during the 1980s. This was attributed to an increase in interest from the financial and public sectors (Frazer, 2000). Over the last two decades franchising in Australia saw a rapid growth and has developed into a highly significant and dynamic business activity The Australian franchise sector with 71000 units and 1,100 business format contributes AUD $ 61 billion to Australian economy in year 2007 thus these sector is of vital important top Australian economy (Scott, Lorelle, Jeff, 2010). Comparing the franchising sector in Australia and New Zealand is not new for years there has been a friendly rival among the two countries for title of most franchised country in the world. When the survey carried out New Zealand was more franchised than Australia with 450 franchise system and around 24000 franchise system which was 17% higher than Australia on per individual basis (Lord, 2011). Franchising in New Zealand is not taken seriously enough compared to other business due to lack of legislation and treating franchise as just a business deal. The franchise sector is substantially larger than many people realize, says Graham Billings, GM of the Franchise Association of New Zealand (FANZ). Current estimates suggest turnover of between $15 billion and $20 billion, representing between eight percent and ten percent of GDP (Moore, 2009). Taking into consideration the various hotel franchises across New Zealand and Australia gives a clear picture about the franchise investments in the market. Australia has the following well Known International hotel franchise: Swissotel * Hilton Accor * Radisson Four Seasons * Best western Hotel Sheraton * Marriott IHG * Shangri- La Hyatt * Starwoods * Choice hotels (expedia.com, 2012). These are the some of the many brands which have presence in Australian market when compared to the brands present in New Zealand which are: *IHG *Accor *Marriot *Hilton (expedia.com, 2012). Thus when compared the hotel franchise sector in both the countries Australia definitely has much mature market for franchising then New Zealand as many big hotel organization are yet to tap the New Zealand market like Hyatt, four-season, Shangri-La, Starwoods. To get a better picture of comparison between role of franchising in hotel industry in Australia and New Zealand lets compare two cities in both the countries. Instead of comparing between the cities like Sydney and Auckland will not give fair information as Sydney is far bigger Metro than Auckland. Hence we will compare the role of franchising between Auckland and Brisbane as they are equal in many aspects and also they are known as sister cities. With parks and botany gardens and population, urban area and economy almost similar to each other helps to compare the role of franchising easier and comparable to each other. Thus when searching for hotels on www.expeidia.com for hotels in Brisbane there are 145 hotels listed on web site the result for hotels in Auckland are 149, the search result shows the hospitality sector are very similar in both the cities. But when we see the ratio of number of five star category hotels the difference is more than double as Auckland has around 20 five star hotels as compared Brisbane has only 7. After comparing the brands owned by franchise as mentioned above the number shows a slight difference of Auckland having more number(9) of franchised hotels as compared to Brisbane(7). Hence if we consider the various factors like Number of visitors, density of the hospitality market and economy franchise sector in New Zealand is much denser and bigger than compared to Australia. This shows despite size and regulatory environment franchising has much in common on both the sides. Also when consider the basic hospitality franchising and various local franchised restaurants franchising in New Zealand has much denser network of franchising. It also concludes that the franchising process is market-sensitive and as a result market characteristics play an important role in affecting franchising operations. These factors may include, among others, the market segment, the degree of control, either by the hotel industry sector or by government policy, the risks and costs of entry, and similarities of cultural norms and business. In addition, other situational factors which that affect how hotel franchising is carried out in a market such as Australia and New Zealand which ar e mature and stable in both the countries, the level of technology infrastructure development in the market, and the overall economic and financial conditions in the financial market of Australia and New Zealand (Alon et al., 2012).

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Learning and Development Essay -- Education, Family Participation

â€Å"All people want to be treated with respect, want to be valued and accepted, loved, and cherished, and made to feel they are making important contributions to society and that their wishes and desires are heard and respected (Berg and Steiner, 2003 as cited in Patel, Corter ad Pelletier, 2008, pp 23)†. Parents often feel this way and want to have a say in how and what their child is being taught. Partnerships between educators and families help parents be able to voice their own wishes and desires while allowing teachers and children to be valued, respected and accepted. This literature review will discuss what has been written in regard to family educator partnerships. Reference will be made to a range of literature on the topic of partnerships in a school and centre setting. Rationale for building effective reciprocal relationships with parents and whÄ nau The literature states that partnerships between parents and families helps children feel safe within the learning environment. Porter (2008) discusses how through interactions between parents and educators, educators gain access to knowledge and support and gain a sounding board for any concerns about the child. Children also gain ‘permission’ to develop confidence and trust with the teachers (Porter 2008). With trust and confidence with and in their teacher’s children feel a sense of safety which allows them to be able to engage in learning to their fullest ability. Arthur, Beecher, Dealth, Dockett and Farmer (2007) and Patel, Corter and Pelletier (2008) agree with Porter and add that parents and whÄ nau often have different values and expectations and that partnerships enable all involved to promote the sharing of information to enhance the children’s learning (Patel, C... ... the child’s learning. Educator should endeavour to ensure that the families’ culture is included in the centre or school. Studies have shown us that by included families into centres or schools children’s social and emotional development benefits greatly. Families often experience multiple stress in their life’s these stress can often affect their child’s learning and educators need to be sensitive to family situations. Educators should always maintain professionalism when dealing with parents. Educators should know their boundaries and should never yell or get into arguments with families members. Educators, schools and centres should be regularity reflecting on their own practices and policies. Challenging attitudes and beliefs allows educators to become more open to others attitudes and beliefs and allows educators to form effective partnerships with parents.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Ghost of Devils Den :: Ghost Stories Urban Legends Civil War

The Ghost of Devil's Den This ghost story was told by a nineteen-year-old Caucasian student at the University of Maryland. She is from the Baltimore Metro Area and lives with her mother and younger sister. I decided to approach her since she is a notorious lover of ghost stories and folklore. While we were hanging out with friends, I asked her to tell me a ghost story. As soon as I asked, her eyes lit up and she took me to the side, out of earshot of our friends. With great energy and enthusiastic facial expressions, she proceeded to tell me the following story about the Civil War site of the Battle of Gettysburg: My friend Carl was attending a reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg. He went to a rocky corner of the battlefield filled with boulders, called Devil’s Den, to take a picture of the battlefield. He took out his camera and as he was about to take the picture, he heard a voice say, â€Å"What you’re looking for is over there.† Carl looked up and saw a man who resembled a hippie, wearing a floppy hat, no shoes and had long hair, pointing somewhere in the distance. Carl looked to see where the man was pointing, and when he looked back the man was nowhere in sight. The Storyteller claimed she once watched a documentary on television about the ghosts of Gettysburg, and it told a strikingly similar story of a ghost in a floppy hat saying the same words to many tourists who were taking pictures at Devil’s Den. Similar stories have been told involving a man in a floppy hat at Devil’s Den. One tells the story of a woman visiting the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. After experiencing no paranormal activity, she sarcastically challenged any ghosts of Devil’s Den to come home with her. A few days later she saw a man wearing a floppy hat and loose shirt in her house. She saw this vision many times, but it would always disappear very quickly. She believed this was a ghost from Devil’s Den accepting her challenge (U.S. Civil War History and Genealogy). Another version of the story involves a man who was also visiting the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. He took many photographs throughout the day. In the afternoon, a soldier dressed in a floppy hat, gray clothing and â€Å"possessing an odor of sulfurous gunpowder† approached him (U.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Narayana Hrudayalaya

Q1 &2 Would you describe this heart hospital as successful? Explain why. If successful, what were the elements that made it successful? If not yet successful, what else should NH be doing? â€Å"A dream of making quality healthcare available to the masses worldwide† Narayana Hrudayalaya was established by Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty in 2001 with this mission. Its main focus was to provide affordable cardiac care to the masses. It has followed a hybrid strategy of attracting paying patients by virtue of its reputation for high quality combined with a relentless focus on lowering its costs of operations whenever possible.In 2004, the proportion of patients who paid NH's full price to those that cannot afford to pay was about 60:40. Following this strategy, they priced their general ward patients for OHS at Rs. 110000. This charge is the lowest in the country where the average cost of OHS in a private hospital is Rs. 250000. At the upper end, patients who opted for executive wards pai d Rs 140000 – Rs 195000 for private rooms instead of general wards. To add to it, they offered the Karuna Hrudaya package for financially constrained patients at Rs. 65000 per OHS.For patients who could not even afford this, they helped arrange funds through the Narayana Hrudayalaya Trust's general corpus or by seeking external donations. The treatment across all the packages was the exactly identical. Since their inception, the number of in patients and out patients as well as catheterization and surgeries has constantly increased as shown in the below table: InpatientsOutpatientsCatheterizationSurgeries Total%age Growth (YoY)Total%age Growth (YoY)Total%age Growth (YoY)Total%age Growth (YoY) Apr 01 – Mar 024242-9875-2116-1842- Apr 02 – Mar 03722670%1086310%336759%274249%Apr 03 – Mar 041026242%1538242%477742%357030% Apr 01 – Mar 04-142%-56%-126%-94% This has helped them achieve a breakeven of Rs. 90000 for OHS. By performing tests and operations in large numbers, they are able to achieve economies of scale and thereby reducing their costs. Following this wal-martisation of health care, with which they performed almost 8 times the surgeries and cathetarisation compared to other Indian hospitals. They have managed to perform more CABG surgeries a year, have morenumber of cardiac surgeons and greater average surgeries per surgeon than even few of the top ranked US hospitals.NH boasted of a 1. 27% mortality rate and 1% infection rate in CABG procedures as against 1. 2% and 1% in US respectively which further emphasises the quality of treatment being provided by NH. Further they have also reduced their costs for buying medical supplies and equipments by bulk ordering for their AHF hospital at Kolkota and NH at Bangalore together. This has increased their bargaining power enabling them to get discounts of 30%-35% in their purchases. They have also used new technologies like digital x rays and comprehensive hospital management to im prove their efficiencies and reduce costs.They have also adopted newer medicines like Biocon’s cardio-diabetes products which offer similar health benefits at much cheaper costs as compared to other similar medications further decreasing their overall costs. By keeping the administration team lean, NH also avoided the usual problem of corruption that plagued corporate hospitals. With the help of careful planning and internal financial controls to gauge the ability to fund below cost surgeries, NH has been able to optimise the number of subsidized surgeries to be performed.In order to further achieve their goal to reach the bottom of the pyramid, they have also effectively used telemedicine techniques with the help of a large number of general practitioners providing teleconsultation to the patients who would not have received the treatment otherwise. The fully equipped Mobile Cardiac Diagnostic Lab increased their penetration in the rural areas to ensure that best possible di agnosis was available onsite. It also conducted outreach camps which were organised by local associations like the Lions Club and Rotary Club.On an average each camp screened 400 people a day, none of whom was required to pay either the hospital or the organisers. They also set up the Yeshashwini Health Insurance Scheme which provided benefits to 1. 7m farmers at extremely low costs of Rs 5 per month. Q3. Is the insurance scheme successful? Explain why. What are the challenges going forward? Yeshashwini Health Insurance Scheme was launched in 2002 for the 1. 7 million farmers. Just for Rs. 5 a month, cardholders had access to free treatment at 150 hospitals in 29 districts of Karnataka for any medical procedure costing up to Rs. 00000. Government also contributed Rs. 2. 5 for every Rs. 5 paid by every farmer. Dr. Devi Prasad chose to utilise the existing government infrastructure in the form of state controlled cooperative societies. Prior to the scheme, it was estimated that the av erage occupancy of hospitals was only 35% although the state boasted 30 private medical colleges each with 500 beds; actual occupancy was low reflecting the lack of affordability rather than a lack of infrastructure.Research by the NH team estimated that only 8% of the policyholders would require medical procedures, thus the total funds collected were expected to cover the cost of treatment for those in need. Most common use of the scheme was for non surgical treatment. Non surgery procedures formed 80% of the procedures conducted through the Yeshashwini scheme. It was mostly used for low cost treatments of around Rs. 2000 that people would otherwise have forsaken due to lack of money for treating non life threatening conditions. Thus the scheme was successful in increasing the health of the poor farmers.In ts 1st year, nearly 9000 people underwent various operations and a further 35000 received out patient treatment. By early 2005, the scheme included around 25 lakh members. From J une 2003 to March 2004, around 12% of the surgeries and 16% of the angiograms at NH were performed under the Yeshasvini scheme. Collection of the monthly premiums, tracking monthly payments and issuing Yeshashwini member cards was done through the post offices. This enabled a smooth functioning and also increased its outreach as people are generally more willing to trust government agencies than private organistions.The operation though initiated by the trust, was later on handled by a 3rd party administrator. Q 4. How should you advise Dr. Shetty regarding the three lines of business-the heart hospital, the health city, and the insurane scheme for the poor? Which should he pursue? Which, if any, should he drop? Is there anything else he should be doing? The 3 lines of business of NH are: ?Heart hospital and all the associated activities. ?Yeshashwini Health Insurance Scheme ?Vision of the Health City The first 2 lines are very successful and running with great efficiency and reach. The first phase that is the current heart hospital is running successfully. With the successful implementation of good operations management model, Narayana Hrudalaya has cut on its operating costs manifolds as compared to other hospitals in India. Thus, it has been able to sustain itself while maintaining the philanthropic vision to serve the underprivileged and provide treatment to them at an extremely affordable cost. The implementation of the insurance scheme has also been very successful and has been able to serve its purpose to a large extent.The plan for the Health City is still in a very nascent stage and special focus needs to be given to it. The health city would require a larger pool of competent doctors, nurses and technicians. Thus more focus needs to be given to the training programs. Apart from the existing diploma in cardiology etc, NH should focus on more institutional tie ups to cater to the larger demand for the Health City. Also, NH can concentrate on increasing its existing outreach for the Yashashwini Health Insurance customers. Currently the scheme caters to only farmers who belong to state cooperatives.Seeing the success of the scheme, NH can consider reaching out to artisan self help groups as well like what Jaipur Rugs does. The scheme can also be made available to the unorganized workers like domestic help in cities of Karnataka. Currently, NH is also considering coming up with a similar modified insurance scheme for teachers. This can be further expanded to other rural demographic segments such as traders, government employees, etc since they already have an established brand in these areas and hence can easily capture the market.Angioplasty procedure is currently not covered under Karuna Hrudaya scheme. NH can make adjustment to the price charged for general ward patients in order to include the procedure under the scheme but at a discounted operationally feasible cost. NH enjoys a popular philanthropic image among the people and h as managed to garner strong support from the government for its various social initiatives. Hence, it should try to influence the government to increase the government spending on healthcare in order to further strengthen the frail healthcare system of the nation.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

The once called beautiful Canadian Geese is now nicknamed the monster in Canada

The once called beautiful Canadian Geese is now nicknamed the monster in Canada. They are now the most widespread species of its kind in North America. They are turning into a continent- wide problem, which are causing people to be frustrated. The increase in their population is causing drastic measures. Their droppings are contaminating the environment. They are destroying plants and crops, and causing disturbances in the neighborhood. If no possible solution can be found to solve this problem, it can be a disaster. Canadian Geese were supposed to be an endangered species in the early 1900's due to the hunting of geese by hunters. (Shilts) There were hardly any geese left in the late 1970's until suddenly some were discovered again. Scientists were so overjoyed that they raised the geese in captivity and then let them go where they once lived. (Herbert) However this was a huge mistake. Their population had increased over the years. Not by a few geese more each year but 11, 000 to 70,000 estimated which was a noticeable dramatic increase. When the geese population stopped migrating, they began to double every five years. As a result, from 70,000 geese at the beginning, it has now increased to 3.5 million and more. (Herbert) The geese population had increased over the years because of a steady and large food supply and safely protected from the hunters. Another reason was due to decrease in predator numbers. The predators such as coyotes, cougars and smaller predators in cities and suburbs didn't usually attack Canada geese because of their large sizes. Secondly, hunting was also not allowed anymore in cities and suburbs so the geese could live for a long time and grow many healthy goslings. People also love feeding them and geese are not scared of humans anymore as they used to. (Herbert) As their populations increases, problems start to occur. They are contaminating our water supply with their filthy slimy green droppings. One goose poops 5-9 times a day, and imagine 80,000 geese contaminating the water supply, it could get pretty gross. Other problem with increased population is that geese love short grass near water. If the grass runs out, they go tearing up other people's lawns. Problems with the geese seem to get worse each year. The geese no longer fly in a V- formation, which is a sentimental symbol of the passing season. They now live as if they have adapted to life in our cities. They even forget how to migrate in winter. They have enjoyed their lives in the environment over the years, that they want to continue having a peaceful life, but would people allow it? The answer is probably not. That's what a lot of angry people are saying now. Farmers are mad at the geese for destroying their crops. Some countries have lost over 300,000 dollars in crops because of the Canada Geese. They eat all sorts of crops and in fact, they could wipe out a field in no time. (Herbert) People with nice lawns and yards definitely want the geese to move away. They pull grass out of the lawn leaving hideous holes on the ground, which do not please the homeowners. Angry drivers are not happy with geese causing traffic jams in the highways. When drivers honk the geese, they just ignore the drivers and even honk them back. Annoyed walkers are not thrilled to have droppings stuck to their footwear whenever they take a walk. A large number of citizens are not pleased with the geese. There are a lot of them around the cities and suburbs. People can't even have picnics without stepping on any geese droppings just like the joggers. School's sport teams sometimes have to cancel games since the field is too messy. People who love going to beaches can't go to them since the beaches are closed because of the droppings of the geese. (Herbert) In fact, if humans do not cut the numbers of geese, our water will one day be too sickening for humans to drink. Geese are now posing a health threat because they can carry germs like salmonella and giardia. (Springston) However, they don't pose as much threat as other wildlife animals. According to the rate for Canada geese, they are not measurable which means they aren't really dangerous. Nevertheless, they do make water dirty, which will still be a huge problem to humans. Lots of solutions are thought of to get rid of the geese without hurting them in any way. People try to make loud noises, spray the grass with some chemicals, and even make plastic owls to scare them. On the market, there are lots of deterrents to work against the geese. They make plastic alligators, chemicals, metallic, iridescent streamers and try to use swans. However, nothing lasted for long. Some thought of â€Å"shipping the geese off to a distant, remote the new home, clean up the dropping on the lawn and problem would be solved† (Bond). They even try to ship them elsewhere but it doesn't work at all. So now a broad, long-term strategy is being developed. However, there will have to be many more polluted lawns before geese and humans settle into peaceful co-existence. (Bond) Federal wildlife agencies, the companies who reintroduce Canada geese back to wildlife, want to trim the population which is 3.5 million and is still increasing by 1.16 million geese in the coming years. They will start at places where they allow permit lethal means, which means trapping, nest destruction and roundups. (Herbert) Some other companies want to increase hunting geese, which may be a solution but will need lots of money to do so. However, this creates lots of other problems because there are limits to killing geese. The geese are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1916, which limits hunting seasons and the number of geese an individual hunter may kill. (Herbert) Companies who are trying to prevent harming the geese are now trying to train dogs to chase them away. â€Å"In fact they are the hottest thing in goose management,† says an urban biologist John George. Using dogs to chase the geese away will be a good temporary solution. However it won't work for long because geese are smart birds. They will eventually find a solution to not get scared just like humans try to find a solution to eliminate them. (Miller) So after all, reintroducing geese back into the society may be a regret to a lot of people. Yet it is also the humans' fault for not watching them closely and carefully enough. Their droppings are infecting the environment, and are destroying crops, and causing disturbances in the neighborhood. They are part of a human problem that has gone wrong but one day, a solution will overcome the geese problem, making both the geese and humans satisfied.