Anthropology Essay Example for Free

Anthropology Essay Anthropology is the study of humans and society and cultures within that society. It studies how we as people evolve and change based on different locations in the world and different ways in which we are raised. Culture is learned through childhood and growing up watching how things are done and learning what actions are deemed acceptable. So when you are an anthropologist and step back to look at different societies, you are able to see difference between the same human in rituals, work, and the basic things they do to survive. Anthropologist look at different historical actions and the present day lives of citizens in culture to understand differences between themselves and the culture and society they are studying and may even take part in. Anthropology raises some issues within one culture while studying other cultures normal way of life. In order to understand what you are seeing and studying, you must actually watch or take part in other cultures and see what and especially why they do certain things. This can bring up questions of ethics. When people go to other places to study and learn other’s culture you must try to leave your culture and way of life behind. Anthropologists are not around to spread what they deem the best culture but to learn and understand what other cultures do and why they do those certain things. In the past, Anthropology was studying people far away from you with different types of lives and cultures. Recently, however anthropology has become the study of cultures you may actually take part in. Learning and improving upon yourself and your way of life. Anthropologists also study of all different things from the way culture is passed on, survives through the generations, and how people use culture in different societies to solve unexplainable events, disease, and way to act in a culture.

Mozarabic Religious Culture in Spain

Mozarabic Religious Culture in Spain People define art as something which has been molded from talent and skills. It is something made out of inspiration or something that the artist envisions. We consider the remnants of the past as arts, Greek potteries, ancient paintings or buildings, illuminated manuscripts and so forth. These objects may be admired and appreciated in several different ways but what we see may not be the view of the artist who made it centuries ago. There were relics of the past that has shown history. There are objects that we may consider today as an object of art but what we see is just a small fraction of what it has been to the people where it had been before. It may represent what culture it came from, what trials did the creator of the object had gone through to make something that would subsist through the years to be appreciated and be treasured in the present time. In most histories, there were always things found that represents what kind of life they have lived, murals that tells the sto ry of our ancestors existence just like a diary in the present time. In the history of Spain there existed a group of minorities which made an impact in the countrys history religiously and artistically. Mozarabs were Iberlian Christians living in Al-andalus, a nation in the Iberian Peninsula. The term Mozarabic is derived from the word mustarib or mustarab which came from the Arab root word araba, meaning in the active sense, to make oneself similar to the arabs or having assimilated Arabic customs or most specifically designating someone who had the appearance of an Arab, was indistinguishable from the Arabs, an would not stand out in the crowd of Arabs (Corominas 244). It was a term derived to call the Christians who lived in the control of the Muslim lands and avoid confusion among old Christians who resided in Al-andalus and other Christians. Although Spain was Muslim in that period (711-1492), Mozarabs were treated good-naturedly, though they remain unconverted to Islam and didnt actually enjoy equal rights. A few agreed to be converted to Islam to avoid the heavy tax being subjected to them. The conversion also opened opportunities for them to make a better living and alleviate their status in the society since they were in a Muslim community. They have adopted Arab customs, culture and Arabic language. Christians lived in a separate community; they had their own government, and paid a special tax in place of the requirement made of Muslims to serve in the army. There were Mozarab women who married Muslim men and their children were raised as Muslims. Mozarabic was the romance language they spoke (Hitchcock 12). This language was first documented in the Peninsula in the form of choruses or kharjas in Arabic and Hebrew lyrics called muwashshahs. Even though Arabs were driven out of Spain at the end of 15th century and the language has died out, it is sometimes claimed that Mozarabic has left its mark on the dialects of Southern Spain and Portugal. In their time, Mozarabs never call their language as Mozarabics nor themselves as Mozarabs. At times Christian communities prospered in Muslim Spain; these Christians are now usually referred to as Mozà ¡rabes, although the term was not in use at the time (Hitchcock 1978). Historians started calling them Mozarabs only in the 19th century referring to the Christians who lived under the Muslim rules in the Iberian Peninsula during the middle ages. The Mozarabs had ritual worships in the Catholic Church which was Mozarabic Liturgy. It was most celebrated on Sundays and on great feasts. The Mozarabic rite is the second-best most attested preserved documented liturgy in the Latin Church; the first is the Roman rite. The role of the Blessed Virgin Mary is emphasized in their rites more than that of the Romans. They were also the first to use ashes within the liturgical celebrations. Mozarabic Liturgy is also called Gothic-Spanish, Isidorian and Toledian (Gihr 334). Many of the existing manuscripts of these rites are in cathedral Chapter Library at Toledo. There were manuscripts found by the cardinal in the library of the cathedral in Toledo in 1502 as mentioned by Gomez to his edition of Brevarium Gothicum which was published in Madrid, 1775. These manuscripts were one of the magnificent Mozarabic arts preserved from their time. It was said that these manuscripts were written in old Gothic characters and related to the ancient Spanish Liturgy (Notes Queries 41). The manuscript was said to have a resemblance to the Roman Liturgy in every essential part. The Mozarabic Liturgy is an essential part of the Spanish Christian History. Their rites continued to be used in the five churches of Toledo until 1842 when the Spanish government suppressed the churches throughout the country and the number of parishes dropped. Another essential part of the Mozarabic Liturgy is the Mozarabic chant which has a significant influence from the Gregorian chants. It was also a period of musical creativity in the part of being liturgical, which was still preserved at present time. It was intended to be sung by males, in accordance with the Roman Catholic Tradition and was monophonic and a capella. There were four chant categories, recitation, syllabic, neumatic, and melismatic. Chants were considered a method for spiritual development; it can be performed individually or in a group. Chants may involve throat singing as in Tibetan Buddhists and chanting mantras which are particular to Hindus. In the time of the Moorish invasion in Toledo there was a clash in the liturgical rites because the king and queen preferred the Roman rites so in order to decide which of the two were most favored by heaven they agreed to choose their own champions to fight in mortal combat. But when the Mozarabs won, the king and queen were annoyed by their triumph and later came to a thought that it is not appropriate to question theology in the form of a combat. It is only through a miracle that they will determine heavens response. Believing that their rituals were exceptional they proposed to make another deal where the two liturgies were thrown into fire while each party prays to heaven. The one which will not be burned will be considered the most favorable to heaven. The Roman ritual came out scorched but the Toledan remained on the spot where it was thrown and remained without injury. The Mozarabic ritual was then preserved and followed for a long period by their descendants until the copies of the rituals were lost and no one was able to perform and understand the services which had caused disputation between them. Having the desire not to discontinue such significant custom, Don Francisco Ximenes, archbishop of Toledo, founded a Mozarabic chapel where Mozarabic services were to be celebrated. The chapel which still exists is ornamented with interesting Gothic frescoes which were still in a perfect stage of preservation. It represents various combats between Toledans and Moors, another is meticulously painted frescoes which shows the vessels that brought the Arabs to Spain(Gautier 127). One of the paintings represents the old Toledo during that time and information about the arms, costumes, weapons and architecture of their period in vast details. The cloisters, as well, were covered with frescoes. They surround a number of elegant and severe arcades of beautiful masses of vendure[à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] (Gautier 127). The cloisters were fittingly located near the church whe re you can walk about and reflect your thoughts without having to join in a ceremony or in a prayer. It was a peaceful and cheerful surrounding. The church in St.Thome at Toledo which was Moorish in all its details was classified as Mozarabic Architecture. There were many of the same class with horseshoe shaped arches and ribbed domes which were undoubtedly known as made by Christians but has Islamic influences (Fergusson 158). Mozarabic architectures has absence of exterior decoration, diverse in the floor plans, the majority of the structure is emphasized in the small proportions/ carvings (segmented, ribbed of horseshoe transept, etc.). It was known that Mozarabic arts and architecture were a fusion of Christian and Arabic influences whereas the adjective Mozarabic was derived. These practices were seen in the artistic church architectures and manuscript designs. There were various buildings in Spain with Mozarabic influence but there were ones which were purely Mozarabic. Some e xamples were the Iglesia de San Miguel de Escalada (fig.1), east of Leon; the Ermita de San Baudelio (fig.2), beyond Berlanga de Duero in Soria province; and Iglesia de Sta Maria de Lebeà ±a (fig.3), on the east side of the Picos de Europa mountains. Various churches with Mozarabic characteristics were built during religiously tolerant periods across Al-andalus. Eventually, most of them were destroyed or damaged in the years of conflict and persecution between different communities. An important characteristic of the Mozarabs was that they stick to their customs, cultures and religion although they were not allowed to build new churches. The eighth century is a fundamental phase for Christian culture in Spain where numerous architectural and artistic customs arose with influences from early Christian and Carolingian Art. When the Mozarabs migrated to north of Spain they established many monasteries where a certain change in the regions concept in architecture, sculpture and painting occur. Along with the changes in the traditional architecture there arose an illumination of manuscripts mostly from the Bible and the New Testament and Beatus of Liebanas commentary on the Book of Apocalypse also known as the Book of Revelation of St. John. It was the reason that Beatus of Liebana was known in the later decades of the eighth century. Beatus of Liebana was known a monk, theologian and geographer. He was also know to have written two other texts, being the co-author of the Apologeticum which is also known as the Letter of the Etherius and Beatus to Elipandus and as the possible author of the sixty-line acrostic hymn known as O Dei Verbum (Kinane 48). In his time, having studied the New Testament Apocalypse, he saw the signs which were to his belief the sign of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The Adoptionist movement which does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God is, to his view, the anti-christ. He wrote a letter to Archbishop Elipandus of Toledo about the error of his ways. To the latters annoyance, he wrote a letter to the Asturian abbot Fidel accusing Beatus of the sin of arrogance, being a lowly monk teaching ways to an Archbishop(Kinane 50). The archbishops words of sarcasm and name-calling might have served for Beatus to write the Apologeticum where he turned the Archbishops word back on him entwining words based from the Bible. He proved in his own logical form that Elipandus is the Antichrist which caused Doctrinal war and brought Elipandus to scrutiny throughout Europe. Beatus calculated the Second Coming of Christ based on the events in the Bible and had arrived to the conclusion that the 6th millennium from the time of Adam would be the end of days. In total, the Mozarabs religious culture had been of great influence in Spains customs and its arts and architecture. Although a minority group they have proved to have lived in what they believed and fought for it. They played an essential part in its religious history and had been a foundation of Christianity.

Cultural Norms Determine Emotions Sociology Essay

Cultural Norms Determine Emotions Sociology Essay Culture has been recognized by sociologists and anthropologists to carry a particular display roles or norms. These affect the supervision of emotions and establish commonality and predictable behaviour among individuals and their social environment in response to various emotional stimulations. Therefore, it is of primary importance to address the issue how and why cultural norms can determine the emotional status of people. Levy (1984) defines culture as an internalized system of controlling people in order to construct adaptive, integrated and sane attitude. Culture influences individuals in a multi-level perspective and shapes human beliefs, emotions and behaviour through various traditions, ethnic belonging and national identification. In this paper I will attempt to illustrate how cultural norms have a profound effect on peoples emotions and demonstrate a clear understanding of the interaction between emotional state of mind and the culture and where they are positioned in soci ety. We witness culture since we were born. We are learning about culture mainly through socialization. Caruso and Salovey (2004) examine culture on a macro lever, meaning how culture influence emotional expressions in different nations and ethnic groups. They conclude that cultural beliefs, symbols and emotional patters are shared by a complex system of processes called socialization. These are the key points and issues to be discussed in this essay which aims to illustrate the dramaturgical and structural perspectives on the sociology of emotions by contrasting them. On another level culture also provides shared symbols such as norms, language, traditions, customs and frame in this way the value, feelings and behaviour of its members. On a group level culture influences emotional process through the performance roles individuals have in society (Levy, 1984). In order for sociologists and anthropologists to comprehend and explain the emotional processes they have to study cultures from t he point of view of cognitive social psychology (Druskat and Wolff, 1999). Lazarus (1991) proposes that there are two phases of the emotional process. The first one involved awareness of the events and the second one represents the behavioural response to the emotions stimulated. Culture and social structure are interrelated. Both reproduce order and alter emotions during the course of interacting with other individuals. Lewis (2000) claims that there are at least five theoretical research traditions in the sociology of emotions which are related to the significant aspects of sociological analysis. Lewis (2000) enumerates the models as dramaturgical (Culture), structural (social structure), symbolic-interactionist (cognitive appraisal) and ritual and exchange (interaction) perspectives on emotions. I will concentrate on dramaturgical and structural ones. Dramaturgical approaches to the sociology of emotions focus on the importance of culture in supplying ideologies for emotions, feeling rules, knowledge and vocabularies. This structure is provided by Gordon (1981). According to him the elements of culture act as cognitive guidelines to what emotions might be experienced and conveyed in situations. An example of dramaturgical perspective on emotional sociology is made by Schmitt and Clark (2006). Their studies conclude how emotions are culturally decoded so as to when to feel and how to give raise to feelings. During the process of socialization individuals learn how to associate certain emotion vocabularies with particular situations and internal sensations. What makes the approach dramaturgical is that individuals are screened as performing on a stage, constructed by social structure (audience). Each person employs different cultural scripts in order to perform his role. In this sense people are dramatic actors, because they utilize their emotions to manipulate others through expressive control of their behaviour on the stage. People take advantage of the knowledge they store for the appropriate feelings and their displays and follow strategies to reach their goal. Through various manipulations of postures, language, role play, or talk individuals consciously apply dramatic emotional displays to gain recognition, favour, control or social status (Schmitt and Clark, 2006). Recent research in dramaturgy reveals that there are cases when social structure demands from individuals to express emotions that they do not feel. Hochsehilds (1983) research on flight attendants and bill controllers is an example and clear illustration how dramaturg y can be inseparable from emotions in a cultural and social context. The emphasis on culture in dramaturgical perspective aids us in understanding how emotional responses are learned and applied in situations. Another example of cultural displays and emotional management is given by Pierce (1995). Her research highlights that emotions can be gendered and this is so, because of the different social positions men and women occupy and the social roles they are expected to perform. She gives an example of male and female lawyers. Lawyers who are male are supposed to be aggressive, whereas, women are generally considered paralegals and are expected to be more nurturing. Dramaturgical perspectives of sociology of emotions involve emotions associated with already rehearsed social roles and conscious emotional manipulation. All sociological perspectives studying emotions involve social structure as part of the analyses. However, it is not only an analysis of the social structure, but also how relevant is the relationship between emotions and social structures. Theories and researches in the sociology of emotions often emphasize on a relatively small specter of social-structural properties. According to Lewis (2000) the most prominent theories in this direction, investigate micro-level power (authority) and status or prestige dissimilarities among individuals and emotions during the course of interaction, including stratifications, institutional spheres and macro-level processes. Berger and Webster (2006) create set of approaches that follow the micro-level order in interactions. They reveal that there are differences in relative power and in status among individuals. Berger and Webster conclude that the dissimilarities are forced by the existing social structures. In other cases they emerge in the cours e of the very interaction. Furthermore, the differences can be encoded in cultural beliefs for the people that stay high or low in the social ladder. Here too, like in the dramaturgical perspective, emotions generate expectations. Therefore, there is a similar characteristic in the two approaches. In dramaturgical as well as in the structural the differences in emotional stimulations are likely to occur in ethnicity, age, social class, or gender. Berger and Webster (2006) state that when individuals react in accordance with the expectations what depicts them as belonging to a certain hierarchy, they display and experience positive emotions such as pride, happiness. In contrast, those who were in low-ranking status, are predisposed to experience negative emotions, for example anger or fear. Individuals perceive that their low rank in their own fault and blame themselves, and that is the reason why they are affected by negative emotions and dissatisfaction. All these are consequences of structural arrangements which work quite unfairly. Social structure, therefore determines to a large degree the level of emotions and their polarity. Kemper (1978) comments that when individuals gain power their positive attitude and self-presentation grows accordingly. For Barbalet (1998) emotions are distributes unevenly and differently across segments of society, usually corresponding to each of the socio-economic status segments. People react emotionally in regards to their social standing and what advantages this brings them particular shares of money, power, or prestige something what they can not obtain in a lower social belonging. Fear is one of the emotions that Barbalet (1998) theorizes to differentiate between social ranking. Fear is generated from the lack of power. Usually individuals attribute this to their shortcomings. In his analysis Barbalet (1998) preliminary speculates that emotions are like most resources and consequently are distr ibutes unequally. Particular kinds of emotions emerge among some subpopulations and have rather predictable conditions. However, sociological theory will have to elaborate on the conditions determining those emotions and define the potential effects that they have on collective actions in society (Lewis, 2002). Lewis (2000) says that most of the structural theories on emotions are oriented to the micro-level, meaning that they examine situations and processes and face to face and daily interactions such are power or social status. But, micro-level course of actions happen within the context of macrostructural operations. In the structural theory of emotions in order for them to emerge, there needs to be interconnections between the micro and macro level of the structure. These differentiations were no present in the dramaturgical perspective. For the structural theory of emotions a whole category of individuals regardless of their gender, class belonging, race or cultural values, can experience very similar emotions, because they are placed in the same stratification system (Lewis, 2000). They are structurally identical, thereby, they are likely to have the same experiences, which creates similar emotional reactions. Cultural concepts determine in greater degree the emotional quality and the versatile emotions that people experience. While discussing various approaches, special attention was paid to dramaturgical and structural perspectives of the sociology of emotions. Examples were given illustrating the two methods and seeing that even though they differ they are similarities namely that emotions are the result of culturally translated elements. Integrated into the cognition processes, emotions are cultural just like traditions and values. We need to posses some cultural knowledge in order to recognize certain emotions. Evaluating emotions requires a comprehensive framework about different concepts of culture and cultural norms. Emotions are socially constructed just like cultural norms and we can say that emotional are also collectively directed because they transfer the inward relation of the individual with the surrounding social structures. Both approaches, the dramaturgical and the structural are based on the social organization of human behaviour and how it is controlled through the means of psychology. Cultural norms determine emotions, because they are socially organized activities, they are psychological phenomena and they involve human behaviour.

History of Modern Computers :: PC computers Technology History Essays

1945-Present The evolution of modern computers is divided into a few "distinct" generations. Each generation is characterized by extreme improvements over the prior era in the technology used in the manufacturing process, the internal layout of computer systems, and programming languages. There has also been a steady improvement in algorithms, including algorithms used in computational science, though not usually associated with computer generations. The following timeline has been organized using a logical breakdown of events and discoveries. First Generation of Modern Computers 1945-1956 With the beginning of the Second World War, governments sought to develop computers to exploit their potential strategic importance. This increased funding for computer development projects hastened technical progress. By 1941 German engineer Konrad Zuse had developed a computer, the Z3, to design airplanes and missiles. The Allied forces, however, made greater strides in developing powerful computers. In 1943, the British completed a secret code-breaking computer called Colossus to decode German messages. The Colossus's impact on the development of the computer industry was rather limited for two important reasons. First, Colossus was not a general-purpose computer; it was only designed to decode secret messages. Second, the existence of the machine was kept secret until decades after the war (Goldstine 250). American efforts produced a broader achievement. Howard H. Aiken, a Harvard engineer working with IBM, succeeded in producing an all-electronic calculator by 1944. The purpose of the computer was to create ballistic charts for the U.S. Navy. It was about half as long as a football field and contained about 500 miles of wiring. The Harvard-IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, or Mark I for short, was an electronic relay computer. It used electromagnetic signals to move mechanical parts. The machine was slow (taking 3-5 seconds per calculation) and inflexible (in that sequences of calculations could not change); but it could perform basic arithmetic as well as more complex equations (Stern 47). Another computer development spurred by the war was the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), produced by a partnership between the U.S. government and the University of Pennsylvania. Consisting of 18,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors and 5 million soldered joints, the computer was such a massive piece of machinery that it consumed 160 kilowatts of electrical power, enough energy to dim the lights in an entire section of Philadelphia.

Media and Modern Society Essay -- Technology, TV, MP3 Players, Electro

The children of modern society differ on polar opposite scales as compared to children of previous generations. Anything that does not have an on and off switch is considered old fashioned and obsolete. Our society has trained children to surround themselves with electronic devices such as cellphones, MP3 players, gaming consoles and most importantly, television. Television plays a significant role in everyday life since it is more widely available than it was a couple of decades ago. The media is easily accessible through the television, allowing for positive and negative influences to take place. The main problems that parents of today's children face are that the children are becoming less childlike with video games and television taking up majority of their time; they are beginning to gain weight with the influence of junk food commercials and their social skills are beginning to fall by the wayside since they spend excessive amounts of time watching television or playing video g ames. Regulations on the content of food advertisements should be implemented by broadcasting authorities such as the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), and time restrictions together with critical monitoring of content should be implemented by parents in order to reduce the negative effects of television and video games on the children of modern society. With the constant reminder of the ubiquitous nature of media in modern society, children are becoming less and less childlike in their behavior and attitude. In Marie Winn's article titled â€Å"The End of Play†, she discusses the topic of how children today are losing traits of how we traditionally perceive children to behave and are becoming more like â€Å"tired business men†. (Winn, â€Å"End of Play† 81... ...and the inability for a child to function socially all have one common factor that ties them together. They are all negatively influenced by the presence of television and video games. In reality, the wide spectrum of the negative influences that burden television and video games can never be completely eliminated at once, but there are definitely solutions to combat the particular influences that pose as threats to the growing process of the nation's children, especially if they are easily preventable. Restricting and regulating the amount of time allowed to watch television or encouraging a healthy, active lifestyle as opposed to a sedentary lifestyle are such examples of solutions to preventable problems. The children are a very important fundamental to society because they are, after all, the ones who will run our future and generations after the next. Media and Modern Society Essay -- Technology, TV, MP3 Players, Electro The children of modern society differ on polar opposite scales as compared to children of previous generations. Anything that does not have an on and off switch is considered old fashioned and obsolete. Our society has trained children to surround themselves with electronic devices such as cellphones, MP3 players, gaming consoles and most importantly, television. Television plays a significant role in everyday life since it is more widely available than it was a couple of decades ago. The media is easily accessible through the television, allowing for positive and negative influences to take place. The main problems that parents of today's children face are that the children are becoming less childlike with video games and television taking up majority of their time; they are beginning to gain weight with the influence of junk food commercials and their social skills are beginning to fall by the wayside since they spend excessive amounts of time watching television or playing video g ames. Regulations on the content of food advertisements should be implemented by broadcasting authorities such as the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), and time restrictions together with critical monitoring of content should be implemented by parents in order to reduce the negative effects of television and video games on the children of modern society. With the constant reminder of the ubiquitous nature of media in modern society, children are becoming less and less childlike in their behavior and attitude. In Marie Winn's article titled â€Å"The End of Play†, she discusses the topic of how children today are losing traits of how we traditionally perceive children to behave and are becoming more like â€Å"tired business men†. (Winn, â€Å"End of Play† 81... ...and the inability for a child to function socially all have one common factor that ties them together. They are all negatively influenced by the presence of television and video games. In reality, the wide spectrum of the negative influences that burden television and video games can never be completely eliminated at once, but there are definitely solutions to combat the particular influences that pose as threats to the growing process of the nation's children, especially if they are easily preventable. Restricting and regulating the amount of time allowed to watch television or encouraging a healthy, active lifestyle as opposed to a sedentary lifestyle are such examples of solutions to preventable problems. The children are a very important fundamental to society because they are, after all, the ones who will run our future and generations after the next.

Private Hospital vs Public Hospitals

Concern over the quality of health care services in Bangladesh has led to loss of faith in low utilization of public health facilities, and increasing outflow of Bangladeshi patients to private hospitals. The public health sector is plagued by uneven demand and perceptions of poor quality. Countrywide, the underutilization of available facilities is of significant concern. For example, one study shows that the overall utilization rate for public health care services is as low as 30% (Ricardo et al. 004). Moreover, the trend of utilization of public health care services has been declining between 1999 and 2003, while the rate of utilization of private health care facilities for the same period has been increasing (CIET Canada 2003). The unavailability of doctors and nurses, as well as their negative attitudes and behaviors, are major hindrances to the utilization of public hospitals. The situation is further compounded by lack of drugs, and long travel and waiting times (HEU 2003a). What is particularly disturbing is the lack of empathy of the service providers, their generally callous and casual demeanor, their aggressive pursuit of monetary gains, their poor levels of competence and, occasionally, their disregard for the suffering that patients endure without being able to voice their concerns—all of these service failures are reported frequently in the print media. Such failures can play a powerful role in shaping patients’ negative attitudes and dissatisfaction with health care service providers and health care itself. The private health care sector also deserves close scrutiny as about 70% of the patients seek medical care from this sector (World Bank 2003). Between 1996 and 2000, private hospitals grew around 15% per annum (HEU 2003b). Benefits of going to private hospitals than public hospitals: 1. Reliability: Reliability refers to providers’ ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Private hospitals provides good compatible doctors in some cases they have foreign physicians or specialist, who gives treatment here in visiting basis. They have high-tech machineries which gives accurate and precise results. Supervision of patients is also good for patients who are admitted here. Where public hospital mostly runs with inter doctors who newly started their work. Their medical tests are not that much reliable, as due to inefficient staff and back-dated machinery. 2. Responsiveness: Private hospital staffs respond promptly when needed. The requirement equipments are available, functional and able to provide quick diagnoses of diseases. Also prescribed drugs are available and properly administered. But in public hospitals the response is not that much quick, with lack of proper equipments. The prescribed drugs are not that much available. 3. Assurance: here in private hospitals, with knowledge, skill and courtesy of the doctors and nurses can provide a sense of assurance that they have the patient's best interest in mind. They deliver their services with integrity, fairness and beneficence. In the health care system, assurance is embodied in service providers who correctly interpret laboratory reports, diagnose the disease competently, provide appropriate explanations to queries, and generate a sense of safety. But the public hospitals give a totally opposite impression. 4. Discipline: In Private hospitals the doctors maintain proper visiting schedules and that there are structured visiting hours for relatives, friends, etc. A clean and organized appearance of a hospital, its staff, its premises, restrooms, equipment, wards and beds are visible. The practices of paying ‘Baksheesh’ (an informal but small facilitation payment) are strictly prohibited here. Conclusion: This contention was largely supported since private hospitals obtained better ratings than public hospitals on most of the measures of responsiveness, communication, and discipline. These differences suggest that private hospitals are playing a meaningful role in society, justifying their existence, continuation.

PEST Analysis Of AirAsias Essay

1.1Background AirAsia was set up by Dato’ Tony Fernandes in 2001. In December 2001, Fernandes and his partners set up Tune Air Sdn Bhd (Tune Air), an airline holding company then bought over AirAsia. Now, AirAsia has become one of the most successful airlines in the Southeast Asian region and the pioneer of low cost and no frills travel in Malaysia. The leading low fare airline in the Asia – AirAsia has been expanding rapidly since 2001, to become an award winning and the largest low cost carrier in Asia. With a fleet of 72 aircrafts, AirAsia flies to over 61 domestic and international destinations with 108 routes, and operates over 400 flights daily from hubs located in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. To date, AirAsia has flown over 55 million guests across the region and continues to spread its wings to create more extensive route network through its associate companies, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia. AirAsia believes in the no-frills, hassle-free, low fare business concept and feels that keeping costs low requires high efficiency in every part of the business. Efficiency creates savings which are then passed on to guests so that affordable air travel can become a reality. Through our philosophy of ‘Now Everyone Can Fly’, AirAsia has sparked a revolution in air travel with more and more people around the region choosing AirAsia as their preferred choice of transport. As AirAsia continuously strives to promote air travel, we also seek to create excitement amongst our guests with our range of innovative and personalized service. The aim of the investigation The aim of this analysis is to conduct a PEST and SWOT analysis in the context of AirAsia’s international business operations, identifying the major variables involved and the impact of the specific threats and opportunities confronted by AirAsia .Besides that, The purpose of this report is to identify its stakeholders and core competencies, carry out a investigation of its external environment, review a strategic analysis of Airasia to identify opportunities and threats it might face, and to isolate key strengths and any weaknesses that need dealing with. Moreover a SWOT analysis will be carried out to assess the extent to which its strategies are suitable to what is happening in its present environment. Finally, after  identifying competitive strategy a Strategic plan will be made to gain competitive advantage. Chapter 2 DISCUSSION 2.1 Company Overview AirAsia is currently one of the leading low cost airlines in South East Asia which has expanded rapidly and it’s still the second largest air carrier in Malaysia. It dynamic nature of business is based on domestic and international flights, holiday and business arrangements for its customers domestically and internationally around the region with the low fare, safe and convenience means of transportation. (www.airasia.com). AirAsia’s vision To be the largest low cost airline in Asia and serving the 3 billion people who are currently underserved with poor connectivity and high fares. AirAsia’s mission To be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family Create a globally recognized ASEAN brand To attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with AirAsia Maintain the highest quality product, embracing technology to reduce cost and enhance service levels AirAsia’s values AirAsia make the low fare model possible through the implementation of the following key strategies: SafetyFirst: Partnering with the world’s most renowned maintenance providers and complying with the with world airline operations. High Aircraft Utilisation: Implementing the regions fastest turnaround time at only 25 minutes, assuring lower costs and higher productivity. Low Fare, No Frills: Providing guests with the choice of customizing services without compromising on quality and services. Streamline Operations: Making sure that processes are as simple as possible. Lean Distribution System: Offering a wide and innovative range of distribution channels to make booking and travelling easier. Point to Point Network: Applying the point-to-point network keeps operations simple and costs, low. Products and Services offered By Air Asia In-flight services: †¢ Air Asia offer food and drinks on board programme . †¢ In-flight services customise meals and merchandise package upon request e.g. caps, T-shirts, and pants. Online services: †¢ Online booking makes it more convenient for its customers to book online anywhere anytime. †¢ Flight information is available to help customers make enquiries on flight schedules arrival and departure time and date. †¢ Chatter –flight: Created for a group of people, business travellers for purposes like meetings, conventions, leisure or even exhibition. Channels of distribution A number of alternate ‘channels’ of distribution may be available: Selling direct: †¢ Outbound sales forcer †¢ Via mail order, Internet †¢ Telephone sales Selling indirect: †¢ Agent, who typically sells direct on behalf of the producer †¢ Distributor (also called wholesaler), who sells to retailers †¢ Retailer (also called dealer or reseller), who sells to end customers Sales and Marketing AirAsia is an international company, and going global invites a lot of competition. AirAsia has to deal with the competition of local companies in the same field- Airline services. Competition for AirAsia would also be encountered in the virtual world-the internet. As they entered into the use of modern technology such as the public domain would invite competition on the global scale. Different localities and countries have different technological standards, and quality control policies, which AirAsia would have to adhere to, by adherence to these policies; certain intended developments may be possible in certain communities but not acceptable in others. According to CEO’s of the company, Mr. Fernandez, there are a lot workers or low pay salaries earners who would like to travel often to meet their families especially during special occasions but due to how expensive it was that time, their desire are not fulfilled. By introducing a low fare will give all those people opportunity to travel if not more than once in a year. This enables them to identify their target market. Reduced price sales  is one of the basics of securing a target market for AirAsia. They reduce their price to suit their class of customers Branding AirAsia went into intensive General advertisements and other high profile activities, which contributed to the high offering of their company’s image. They came with a brand â€Å" Now every one can fly† These points of contact with their target customer help them to build their image, which in turn created loyalty from their customers. Group Discounts and Offers Discounts or other offers can help exposure business to new customers, resulting in a sales increase . AirAsia is a ticketless Airline that allows customers to purchase their ticket online with at a discounted rate. They also have a scheme of group discount and this help to get more target market, especially internet based customers. 2.2Core competencies: Computer Reservation System (CRS) AirAsia’s CRS (Open Skies by Navitaire) has helped it to grow at a dramatic pace in the past couple of years. Tony Fernandes, CEO AirAsia described that Navitaire’s Open Skies technology has truly enabled Airasia’s growth from 2 million passengers to 7.7 million passengers in less than two years. Open Skies scaled easily to accommodate our growth. It is an integrated web-based reservation and inventory system. It includes Internet, call center, airport departure control and more. It is a direct sales engine that effectively eliminates the middleman (travel agents) and the sales commissions that need to be paid to them. Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) AirAsia has recently (May 2005) opted for a full fledged ERP system implemented by Avanade consultants. By implementing this package AirAsia is looking to successfully maintain process integrity, reduce financial month-end closing processing times, and speed up reporting and data retrieval processes. Self Check In With the use of the new self check in service a quicker and more convenient way to check in using mobile phones, laptops etc, connecting to the internet. This system is easier and faster for customers and their family to  check in at or before they get to the airport without having to queue up at the counter to check in. Air Asia credit card Air Asia offers a choice of credit card facilities to fit in their customers travel life style be it business, leisure, training or holidays. With an Air Asia credit card a customer can purchase any goods or services while travelling anywhere in the world online. Go Holiday services Air Asia has a product called Go Holiday, with the help of E-commerce Air Asia is able to display their coverage maps, holiday resorts, first and average class hotels, car rental services, and activities in different countries with their different rates and prices on Air Asia’s web page.. Using E-commerce, customers are able to select and make a holiday and travel arrangement with a hotel of their choice and class, a pick up car and even medical services. And payments for all this can be done on the internet using credit cards or other online E-payment methods ahead of travel time. Foreign workers and Contractors strategy AirAsia also target most foreign workers from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Macau who may not afford the expensive flight home and offer them the cheap fare which attracted most of them as would go home very often without paying much. 2.3 The Competitors Companies in all industries have direct as well as indirect competitors. Direct competitors in the aviation industry are companies that offer flights to similar destinations on comparable terms of travel. Direct competitors include: Malaysia Airlines: offering flights in same routes . Singapore Airlines: offering flights on same routes between London and Kuala Lumpur. Thai Air : operating flights between Bangkok an Kuala Lumpur. Air Srilanka: operating flights between Colombo and Bangkok. AirAsia are facing strong competition with major international and national airlines on the market shares In contrast to other airlines ,AirAsia offers better value for money 2.4Analysis of Environmental Factors In analyzing the macro-environment, it is important to identify the factors that might affect a number of vital variables that are likely to influence the organization’s supply and demand levels and its costs (Kotter and Schlesinger 1991). The external environment of any organization can be analyzed by conducting a PEST analysis. The acronym PEST is used to describe a framework for the analysis of a range of macro environmental factors including the Political, Economical Social and Technological environment. PEST Analysis for AirAsia: Political Flying outside Malaysia is difficult. Bilateral agreement is one of the main obstacles in the way of low cost carriers. Landing charges is also another big influencing factor on costing of low fare airlines. The low- cost airline industry in south-east Asia has been underdeveloped because the aviation market is tightly regulated by bilateral air rights agreements. Threat of terrorism, people is afraid to fly after the September 11 terrorist attacks incident. Economic In spite of strong competition from Malaysian Airline (MAS), AirAsia’s low-cost carriers offering cheap tickets and few in-flight services are gaining attraction in the region. Current recession hit the aviation business. But with this economy slowing down, more people will want to enjoy its cheap tickets. Oil prices is another regulatory factor for this type of airlines. If oil prices go high, it is very difficult to control cost of operation. Social Passengers are reluctant to board a no-frills airline for a long-haul flight. Increasing world’s population, tourists and number of educated people helpful for the growth of aviation industry. Outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has scare people to fly. AirAsia commit to â€Å"Safety First†; comply with all regulatory agencies, set and maintain consistently high standards; ensure the security of staff and guests. Technology AirAsia provides online service that combines air ticketing with hotel  bookings, car hire and travel insurance. To help keep costs in check, Air Asia has pushed internet booking services. AirAsia also recently introduced GO Holiday, the airline’s online programme where guests can book holiday packages online in real time AirAsia has bought in A320 to replace Boeing 737. The Airbus A320’s improved fuel efficiency and extra capacity which leads to better performance and reliability. SWOT analysis for AirAsia Strengths Low operational and maintenance cost by having a single aircraft type fleet i.e. from Boeing 737 to Airbus A-320. Economy of scales benefits. Low operating cost due to being No Frill, online reservations system, quick check in etc. There is huge untapped market in the region, especially for business travellers and â€Å"for-the-first-time-flying† segment. As it is low cost airlines, it can target customers who are currently using non-aircraft modes like, Bus, Trains, car to travel to distances. Weakness Huge investment to purchase air planes and implementing latest technologies there is high amount of operational cost. Rising fuel price. Increased the operational cost. The flight times are more or less limited to 2.5 hours. So they cannot operate flights of longer duration without any Frill, so No-Frill becomes impossible to implement for passengers. Opportunity Low fares offer by AirAsia has encourage people from all walks of life style to fly. Especially, during economy down turn. Airbus A320 would encourage greater passenger capacity and offer comfortable service to customers. Introduction of SMS booking allows customer to book their seat at anytime and anywhere. With the commitment in ensuring the security of staff and customers, customer will have more confident to fly via AirAsia. Threats There are more no-frills airlines may take off in Asia to meet increasing consumer demand following the success story of Malaysia’s budget carrier AirAsia. Singapore Airlines plans to launch a budget carrier, they see the success of AirAsia. They know how big the market is and how good the opportunity is in Asia. Travelers may not choose AirAsia if they are to  travel long distance flight. They will prefer airlines such as MAS or SIA which provide better services. Demand to fly decreased via terrorism and outbreak of the SARS. 2.5 Marketing Plan Cost advantages activities: AirAsia already introduced cost advantages activities. Some of them describe below: Utilising one type of aircraft (Boeing 737-300 which will be fully replaced with Airbus A320) results in reduction of maintenance cost (one of the major expenses in airline industry), scheduling cost, administrative cost, and inventory of parts. Creative and low-cost advertising significantly reduces marketing cost. On the other hand, AirAsia direct sales through internet, call centres, walk-in airport sales, and sales offices significantly reduce the commission fee to travel agents as AirAsia only assigned its sales to limited travel agents AirAsia assigned multi-skilled cabin crews (2-3crews/flight), cost-effective training, performance based reward and incentives systems Target Market: Low- income Customers and tourism segment Malaysia emergence as a regional business and tourism hub has provided AirAsia plenty of room for growth and has fuelled regional air passenger traffic. Transit passengers Kuala Lumpur is the operational hub for AirAsia, which is the best connection point between Europe and Asia/Australia has supported the growth of their business. AirAsia has been using this â€Å"connection point† to promote their business. 2.6 Proposed Strategy for further expansion of AirAsia Extending New Routes: Extending current services into new markets may be helpful to further growth of this company. It is possible to achieve this strategy by launching existing services into new geographical area or new market segments. Adding new routes and destinations are possible; especially there is growth Malaysia and East Asia tourism. Activities related to this strategy: Marketing research Feasibility Study Contract with hotels and tourist agency at new destinations Finding out strategic partner Marketing new routes and destination Time frame and cost: It will take 1 to 2 years to start a new route and estimated cost around $200 million to new aircraft and for marketing cost. Organizational change: Recruiting new employees Arranging training for new employees Opening new office in new destination Evaluation criteria: New destinations are implemented to achieve new market development. Flight number in new destination is the best way to measure result of this strategy. Private Suite for business customer: Introducing new services into existing markets implies product development. This strategy involves the development of fresh competencies and requires business to expand customized services which can apply to current markets. That’s why Emirate Airlines introduce high quality first class private lounges to attract business travelers. Activities related to this strategy: Technical and feasibility Study Allocated budget Contract with a company to install new facility. Installation and modification of aircraft’s onboard facilities Time frame and cost: It will take 6 months to 1 year to complete installation new facilities in a single aircraft and estimated cost around $0.2 million to new aircraft and for marketing cost. Organizational change: Recruiting new employees to serve business customer Contract with new or existing company for catering service for business customer. Evaluation criteria: Quantitative measurement of this product would be number of booking or occupancy. Chapter 3 CONCLUSION 3.1 Conclusion By studying PEST, SWOT and marketing analysis, it could be said that AirAsia  is situated in standard cycle markets where it get competitive advantage for its business policy and strategy. Providing customers with superior products and services with low fare is synonymous to the AirAsia brand. However, it is necessary that Airasia should re-evaluate its strategies and focus on core values and competencies. For this why, AirAsia should reconsider their market and specific routes to obtain value other than price and survive the competition. From this study, it is possible to say that still there is some other option to expand this company. Adding new route and introducing business class suite may be suitable option for AirAsia for further growth. 3.2 Recommendations To remain leader in the market in serving customers, AirAsia has to re-evaluate their current strategy. Recommendation for improvement can be outlined as follows: AirAsia should make any major changes to their strategy after proper technical and feasibility study to avoid unnecessary risks. Oil price is a big factor to low fare airlines. So this company should make longer contracts with fuel suppliers for more stability As Airasia operates their fight very frequently, so they should have a spare aircraft at each location to avoid delays. AirAsia should consider environmentally friendly operation system as such as carbon offsetting to save environment. REFFERENCE Daniels, J. D. & Radebaugh, L. H. (1998), International Business ‘Environments and Operations, 8th edition, Addison-Wesley, USA. Peng Mike W, 2006, Global Strategy, Thompson, United States Porter Michael E, 1998, Competitive Advantage, The Free Press, United States. Websites: www.airasia.com www.navitaire.com/res