Lystrosaurus Facts and Figures

Lystrosaurus Facts and Figures Name: Lystrosaurus (Greek for shovel lizard); pronounced LISS-tro-SORE-us Habitat: Plains (or swamps) of Antarctica, South Africa, and Asia Historical Period: Late Permian-Early Triassic (260-240 million years ago) Size and Weight: About three feet long and 100-200 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Short legs; barrel-shaped body; relatively large lungs; narrow nostrils About Lystrosaurus About the size and weight of a smallish pig, Lystrosaurus was a classic example of a dicynodont (two dog toothed) therapsid- that is, one of the mammal-like reptiles of the late Permian and early Triassic periods that preceded the dinosaurs, lived alongside the archosaurs (the dinosaurs true ancestors), and eventually evolved into the earliest mammals of the Mesozoic Era. As therapsids go, though, Lystrosaurus was on the much less mammal-like end of the scale: its unlikely that this reptile possessed either fur or a warm-blooded metabolism, putting it in stark contrast to near contemporaries like Cynognathus and Thrinaxodon. The most impressive thing about Lystrosaurus is how widespread it was. The remains of this Triassic reptile have been unearthed in India, South Africa and even Antarctica (these three continents were once merged together into the giant continent of Pangea), and its fossils are so numerous that they account for a whopping 95 percent of the bones recovered at some fossil beds. No less an authority than the famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has called Lystrosaurus the Noah of the Permian/Triassic boundary, being one of the few creatures to survive this little-known global extinction event 250 million years ago that killed 95 percent of marine animals and 70 percent of terrestrial ones. Why was Lystrosaurus so successful when so many other genera went extinct? No one knows for sure, but there are a few theories. Perhaps the unusually large lungs of Lystrosaurus allowed it to cope with plunging oxygen levels at the Permian-Triassic boundary; perhaps Lystrosaurus was somehow spared thanks to its presumed semi-aquatic lifestyle (the same way crocodiles managed to survive the K/T Extinction tens of millions of years later); or perhaps Lystrosaurus was so plain vanilla and unspecialized compared to other therapsids (not to mention so petitely built) that it managed to endure environmental stresses that rendered its fellow reptiles kaput. (Refusing to subscribe to the second theory, some paleontologists believe that Lystrosaurus actually thrived in the hot, arid, oxygen-starved environments that prevailed during the first few million years of the Triassic period.) There are over 20 identified species of Lystrosaurus, four of them from the Karoo Basin in South Africa, the most productive source of Lystrosaurus fossils in the entire world. By the way, this unprepossessing reptile made a cameo appearance in the late 19th century Bone Wars: an amateur fossil-hunter described a skull to the American paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh, but when Marsh didnt express any interest, the skull was forwarded instead to his arch-rival Edward Drinker Cope, who coined the name Lystrosaurus. Oddly, a short time later, Marsh purchased the skull for his own collection, perhaps wishing to examine it more closely for any mistakes Cope may have made!

How Scholarly Articles Broaden the Students Understanding of Any Given Subject

How Scholarly Articles Broaden the Students Understanding of Any Given Subject Scholarly Articles Broaden the Students Outlook The student in higher education may ask: Beyond being required to incorporate them into my essays and papers, how are academic articles important? How exactly can they enhance my understanding of a subject? And don’t I get plenty of information from a course’s textbook? So Why Are They Important? A scholarly article is a short document written by an expert to convey and explore new information on a given subject. They are sources of high-quality information written by experts in a certain field – experts, by the way, who may have dedicated their entire life or career to exploring a subject. Scholarly articles, usually published by an academic press, are most always subject to a peer-review process, which means that in order for an article of this sort to be published a specialist or expert in the field must first evaluate its content, sources, and argument or analysis for quality and originality. This means that ALL the information conveyed in a scholarly article is credible, accurate and therefore beneficial to the student’s understanding of a subject and its real-world relevance and current applications. To put it plainly, scholarly articles, which are found in academic periodicals, are very advantageous to the student. Indeed most students will familiarize themselves with scholarly articles because students are generally required to include them in their research, their essays and their papers; students are usually required to evaluate an article’s content to expand on the topics they themselves are making in their academic work. But scholarly articles can also provide the student – perhaps one who may be struggling with grasping a subject or topic – with a general understanding of a subject. In some cases a textbook may only provide a student with a limited perspective on a topic or issue – while the scholarly article may offer differing viewpoints on a subject, perhaps providing both sides to a controversial subject, as well as explaining which side is more practical and why. They provide the student with the most up-to-date information on a subject, are good sources for generating ideas for papers and presentations, and are often briefer and sometimes easier to comprehend than maybe a textbook’s stale, one-sided and outdated approach in explaining a subject. Rather than providing a simple overview of the subject, which is the case with most textbooks, scholarly articles examine a subject, topic or issue in a practical way. An article of this sort reports on original research or experimentation, the kind usually only generalized in a textbook, and expands on that information and looks at a subject more in depth. The enduring purpose of these kinds of articles is to be made available to the rest of the scholarly or academic world. Scholarly articles can broaden a student’s understanding of a given subject or topic because those writing them are required to list the sources they used to write their article, in the form of footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies. The student looking to expand their knowledge on a subject can then look up any combination of these used sources, read them thoroughly, and as result will begin to familiarize themselves with a topic on several different levels. always strives to utilize top quality scholarly articles in its work. This ensures maximum quality and relevance of information that gets incorporated into our projects. For most disciplines the requirement is that all information should be no older than five years and from this stand, scholarly articles are an invaluable source of information. Feel free to contact us anytime and we guarantee you will get a quality product. is the service you can trust!

Construction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Construction - Essay Example The bridge is designed to carry pedestrians, livestock and vehicles. Short and medium spans are preferred to for this structure. Material commonly used for this type of bridge is wood planks. The bridge is fixed and does not allow any movement. Burr Arch Truss is composed of an arch and several kingpost truss design, fitting well for covered bridges. In the design, the arch bears all loads subjected to the bridge as the truss increases rigidity of the bridge. Although the kingpost can bear all loads, the design improves even balance of dynamic loads traversing the bridge in the span. The design offers a stable structure that supports greater loads than an arch or a truss alone. The truss supports are pinned at the left end while the right end is roller supported. The arch is fixed at both ends making the structure immobile. There are two models of Burr-arch truss; flexible and rigid. The flexible model works on the assumption of pin connections at brace and post ends. Its chords and arch are continuous, with fixed joints. For the rigid model, all joints are fixed. Load limitation of the structure is 44kN. Loads are applied at the midspan of lower chord and transferred to the quarter points of the truss (Journal of Bridge Engineering

Evaluation Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evaluation Research - Essay Example Maps, graphs or charts can be used to provide average (mean, mode and median) which is then employed in reporting results of a certain survey or experiment presented in the graphical displays. The mean, mode and median would be quite differing from each other depending on the data presented. Each will present a different result Sometimes graphical displays such as charts and graphs present ordinal data that does not require mean. Mean in this case becomes meaning less and would therefore present misleading information. Some graphs provide misleading information if they don’t provide the right scale which represents the actual variable. The use of magazines and newspapers sometimes give meaningless information with colorful pictures which are simple to represent survey responses and public opinion (Chudler, 2009). Therefore one has to be careful while reading these results. There is need to understand the nature of information being presented what most appropriate approach to present it. One has to be careful while making comparisons and as well use the independent variables to make comparisons. Descriptive statistics are employed in quantitative terms to describe the most significant data collection features. They are distinguished from inferential statistics or inductive statistics in that they target to summarize quantitatively a set of data instead of supporting inferential statements regarding population which are represented by the data. Even when inferential statistical analysis is used to analyze data and draw conclusions more general presentations are done with more formal analyses by use of descriptive statistics to provide the audience with a sense of the analyzed data (Supercourse, 2009). Supercourse (2009) further asserts that examples of descriptive statistics include measure of central tendency, measure of association, measure of dispersion, histogram and cross-tab as well as

Classroom Community Investigative Paper Essay Example for Free

Classroom Community Investigative Paper Essay Feeling a sense of community is important for almost anyone. Even now, in college, the students in the Elementary Education Program at Utah Valley University are in cohorts. Why? To help us find others who we have common interests with, and who can help us learn and grow into great teachers. Because being in an environment where we feel safe as well as feeling a sense of belonging is important. Developing a classroom community for elementary students is imperative. A student who feels comfortable in the classroom will be able to learn and grow because they will not be afraid to make mistakes in front of others, and they will learn to appreciate the opinions of others. The sooner a child learns to work with and value others, the better. This not only benefits a person during their school years, but is an important part of success later in life. One tool we have learned about this semester to improve classroom community is morning meetings. Though I have not personally seen an elementary classroom morning meeting in action, the evidence of its success that I have seen and heard from our guest speaker, Sylvia Allan, as well as what I have read in our text books and researched online, has convinced me to try morning meetings in my own classroom. Our morning meeting packet states that morning meetings build a classroom community, which may improve student test scores. That is great reason to try them. Earlier in the semester when we were introduced to morning meetings, I was so excited. My goal as a teacher has always been to value every student. I was thrilled to have been given a tool that would do just that. My focus for morning meetings will be to help each child in my classroom realize how important and irreplaceable they are. Morning meetings will help to create an atmosphere of trust, which is essential for optimal student learning. The responsive classroom. org states that morning meetings â€Å"Build community, increase student investment, and improve academic and social skills. † That is exactly what I hope to do with them. Using the morning meeting tool in our own college classroom has been an effective tool for me as a student. Because I transferred from another cohort this semester, I did not know anyone else in our cohort. Participating in morning meeting has given me the opportunity to learn more about the other people in our class. Learning about the similarities I share with these people has allowed me to make connections with some of the students in my class, and has made me feel more comfortable and more willing to participate. I plan to use the morning meeting format as it is presented in the morning meeting packet with a few modifications. The greeting, sharing, group activity, and news and announcements portions are all important for the children to get to know one another and feel comfortable in the classroom. However, I will probably just write the news and announcements on the board and briefly go over it with the class because I plan to be teaching older grades. I would also like to add memorization of a poem each day, as well as a fun saying a la Silvia Allan. I like these ideas because it gives me the opportunity to prove to my principal that morning meetings are not only effective in building a classroom community, they are academic as well. I plan to initiate full morning meetings into my classroom on the first day of school. Because I have not actually used them in an elementary classroom setting yet, I am not sure if I will do every component every day. For example, the greeting may have to be on Mondays only due to time constraints. I also may not do a group activity every day. I may use this time as an opportunity to work on a concept I noticed the entire class had a hard time with. For example, if most of the class had a difficult time learning a math concept the day before, I would have a student with a good understanding of the concept explain it to the class while we are in morning meeting while the positive classroom community juice is flowing. Hopefully, the students who are having a difficult time with the concept will feel less threatened because we are working on the concept during morning meeting time, not math time. So how does a classroom community lead to differentiation in the classroom? Having a classroom where students feel accepted and accepting allows the teacher to be able to make accommodations for students who need it because the rest of the class understands why they need it. One of my favorite â€Å"Hallmarks of a Differentiated Classroom† that describes this in detail is â€Å"shared responsibility for the classroom between teacher and students, in the goal of making it work for everyone†. When students feel comfortable in the classroom and care about their fellow classmates, students are willing to share their strengths with the rest of the class for the betterment of others. They also realize their limits and are willing to strengthen them by learning from other students. A classroom community is a very important part of a successful classroom. It gives students a place where they feel comfortable and are not afraid to make mistakes. Students who feel comfortable in the classroom are more willing to make mistakes and learn from them, thus giving them a better opportunity to achieve their full potential. I am excited to use morning meetings in my classroom to build a successful classroom community.

Evolution- Should You Believe in It? :: essays research papers

-This essay is not mine- THE question â€Å"Do you believe in evolution or in creation?† is more than a matter of idle curiosity. The answer that one gives will be deeply reflected in his attitude toward his fellowman, his moral values and his outlook on the future. 2 Belief in evolution is not new; it did not originate with Charles Darwin. But, following publication, in 1859, of his book The Origin of Species, the supporters of the idea have greatly increased in number. In those lands where considerable emphasis is placed on â€Å"science,† the teaching of evolution holds a prominent place in school textbooks. It is introduced in the early grades, and repeated and enlarged upon year after year. 3 It is the desire to find more evidence for this teaching that has also been a prime moving force in the exorbitantly expensive space exploits of the nations. To NASA’s planning chief, Wernher von Braun, the flight of Apollo 11 was â€Å"nothing less than a step in human evolution comparable to the time when life on earth emerged from the sea and established itself on land.† And Science magazine, in its special issue of January 30, 1970, revealed: â€Å"The search for carbon-containing material on the lunar surface is not only a component part of the study of the origin and history of the moon, but an important step in our understanding of the early stages of chemical evolution leading to the origin of life.† So it was with keen anticipation that rock samples were brought back to the earth and carefully analyzed for any traces of life, present or past, but the lack of publicity given to the results was a reflection of the disappointment felt by advocates of evol ution. Still they push on farther, and at even greater expense. Why? In an article entitled â€Å"Future in Space—From Moon to Mars,† U.S. News & World Report announced: â€Å"One of the main goals of such an expedition is to search for evidence of life on the planet.† 4 The basic idea of evolution is that all the plant, animal and human life on this earth had its origin in one-celled life forms that developed in the sea hundreds of millions of years ago. Though some profess to believe that a Creator began the process, this is not true of the majority. Evolutionists contend that the ancestors of man included both apelike beasts and fish.

Natural disaster case study

There were many problems but the main issue was in the following: The Decision making In both incidents was not rational Lack of planning for unexpected problems, although as mentioned In the two cases weather problems can be predicted approximately, so a solid plan should have been made. Problem Justification Although Roomer's decision is a legal and rational decision from his point of view, yet it was not an ethical one and it was biased.His decision was utilitarian it was meant for the greater good for the company not taking into consideration the rights of the customers and he didn't care which affected the image of his company in the media, this will eventually lead to decrease in the revenues for the upcoming years as the company have lost its image. Same goes for Melanin, his company was not prepared for a predictable environmental factor although they claim to be the best in customer service among all the other companies.They didn't only fail in managing the crisis when happe ned which is a failure and a lack of planning but also their reaction after the problem was not rational. In spite of the negative feedback they achieved they didn't try to make It up and apologize, they offered a refund which more people though weekending, Melanin Insisted that they didn't make a mistake that they should recover which again defiantly affected the goodwill of the company and cost him his job.Suggested Alternatives Nationwide First Alternative For Nationwide, they could have called for Press conference with all the media and admit that they won't be able to provide everyone with all their money as this way they would bankrupted, instead they would work on helping their customers based on the severity of their case giving priority for those who suffered total loss. Evaluation of this solution: Pros: This way Nationwide will help Improve their Image which will assure a better relation with customer and thus more revenues In the future Cons: Nationwide will suffer from a short term financial crisis.Second Alternative Nationwide would pay the full insurance amount of money to those who agree on signing a long-term contract with Nationwide. Evaluation of this solution: Pros: This will help the families damaged from the hurricane and will guarantee Nationwide a steady Income on a long period of time Cons: This Solution will cost Nationwide a lot of money which will put them In a serious financial risk.Third Alternative For Nationwide, after the damage have happened they could have Issued a press release explaining why they had to take these actions and offering help to the homes, they could do so by partnering with a furniture provider who would be interested in reliving the damaged families also. Evaluation of this solution: Pros: this attempt will show Nationwide trials to help the society which will help their image of Nationwide however with a lower cost.Cons: Nationwide will try to fix the problem by paying money along with another company which will decrease the cost, ND help in repairing the damage done for their image Recommendation: I would go with the first alternative, as it will lead to a win-win situation for most of the customers in addition to Nationwide. It will also help in fixing the damage done to the goodwill of the company.Stubble Stubble, should organize a press conference showing their sincere apology and compassion to the pain their passenger had to endure as result of this unexpected event and announcing their plan to avoid these incidents in the future Evaluation of this solution: Pros: This way the company will save its image and goodwill which will assure a teeter relation with customer without having to endure a financial crisis Cons: Some customers may not accept the apology asking for compensations.Second Alternative Stubble should send a personalized apology to each person who was trapped on their planes accompanied with an incentive of free miles to be used in the next year. Pros: Stubble this w ay will gain the respect of their customers saving their goodwill, and ensuring that a percentage of them will use them during the next year which leads too profit for them. Cons: It will be a financial liability on the company for the short period of time, having to distribute all the free miles.Third Alternative Full refund to the passengers who were affected, with a press conference explaining the reasons behind the problem and the procedures taken to avoid it in the future. Pros: This way will help Stubble to protect their reputation, and retain their customers. Cons: refunding all the passengers will be a financial burden. Recommendation I would go with the second alternative, as it will help in the damage control for the reputation of the company with a guarantee that at least a percentage of them will be using their services in the next year, with a minimal amount of money invested in this process.

Chapter 10 is a chapter that attempts to discus

Chapter 10 is a chapter that attempts to discus the seemingly ambiguous concept of equality. It contains a discussion of how equality is realized in law, public policy, and society in general. Furthermore, the discussion focuses on the three different conceptualizations of equality. These are equality under the law, equality of opportunity, and equality of material well-being. The main argument of this chapter is that equality of material well-being has emerged as the dominating factor in the formulation of policies. In order to prove his point, the author discusses each of the conceptualizations and how they are related to each other. The chapter contains a lengthy discussion of equality under the law. It discusses how the laws of a society must disregard various categorizations and consider people as individuals. Basically, this is the backbone of equality as perceived by many. It is with this conceptualization that the evil of inequality such as racism, sexism, homophobia and others are commonly argued with. Furthermore, the author discusses how equality under the law or the lack of it has been demonstrated in U.S history. The author recounts the discrimination that different groups have received and he identifies the presumably dominant group as being white, male, and predominantly Protestant. He argues that it is such group that has used the law in order to maintain its dominance and keep other groups subordinated. The author further argued that equality of opportunity and equality of material well-being are inseparable and dependent on each other. It is because opportunities to rise in the ranks of social mobility are dependent on the resources that one has. The author paralleled the evolution of the conceptualization of equality to the various stages that the civil rights movement has undergone. In its earliest days, the focus of the movement was on eradication of laws that subordinated African-Americans. In other words, this referred to attacks on denials of equality under the law. In the second stage, the civil rights movement focused on fighting for equal access to values and facilities that are supposed to be available to the general public. This constituted their battle for equality of opportunity. Now, the movement is in its third stage, the battle for proportional equality or equality of material well-being. To demonstrate how the focus shifted to proportional equality, the author recounted the laws that were deemed to be in support of the achievement of equality such as the fourteenth amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These laws were used to generate policies that meant to end inequality on various fronts specifically education and employment. For instance, the fourteenth amendment led to the end of segregation in public schools. On the other hand, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 led to the creation of EEOC which pressed for ending discrimination in terms of employment opportunities. Having read the chapter, it is my view that equality, in all of its three conceptualizations, is all one and the same. Having one means having the others. The achievement of such cannot be the sole responsibility of the government or the law. It requires the concerted effort of the whole society. I agree with the author that today, the battle for equality has shifted to the battle for proportional equality. The achievement of such indeed reflects the fulfillment and realization of the two other conceptualizations. Equality must not only be reflected in the law. It does not only favor those who have long been discriminated. Equality is the right of everyone. Thus, every member of society must make an effort towards the realization of it.

Some People Think That Personal Happiness Is Directly Related to Economic Success. Others Argue That Happiness Depends on Completely Other Factors. Discuss Both of the Views and Give Your Own Opinion Essay Example

Some People Think That Personal Happiness Is Directly Related to Economic Success. Others Argue That Happiness Depends on Completely Other Factors. Discuss Both of the Views and Give Your Own Opinion Essay Example Some People Think That Personal Happiness Is Directly Related to Economic Success. Others Argue That Happiness Depends on Completely Other Factors. Discuss Both of the Views and Give Your Own Opinion Essay Some People Think That Personal Happiness Is Directly Related to Economic Success. Others Argue That Happiness Depends on Completely Other Factors. Discuss Both of the Views and Give Your Own Opinion Essay Essay Topic: Opinion Some people believe that happiness is related to economic success because only money can make people’s life more enjoyable. When it comes to economic success, the majority of people believe that money means a luxurious life. To begin with, if someone owns great success on economic, that means he can spend more money on whatever he likes and spend more time on his hobbies. Emotionally, money can buy happiness at least to some extent. That is to say, you can buy things that you like in order to fulfill your needs and vanities and this makes you feel happier. You can also enjoy the best education and social welfare. Thirdly, economic success implies high social class and status, which can make people feel happy and respectable. Opponents, however, hold the view that happiness does not depend on economic success but completely other factors. First of all, numerous studies show that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, income, work performance and health. The happiness exists not only because economic success makes people happy, but also because positive affect engenders happiness. What’s more, It is indisputable that there are millions of people who still have a miserable life and have to fact the dangers of starvation and exposure, but some of them sill lead a happy life because they keep the happy spirit. Last but not least, money can not buy everything, such as friendship, true love and health. You can buy things corporeal, but you can never spend money to ask for more time. In the final analysis, both sides have sound foundations. However, if asked to make a choice, I will not hesitate to assent to the latter. I firmly believe that happiness is not only related to economic success but also links to other factors which are much more significant.

The Role of Islam in African Slavery

The Role of Islam in African Slavery Slavery has been rife throughout all of ancient history. Most, if not all, ancient civilizations practiced this institution and it is described (and defended) in early writings of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians. It was also practiced by early societies in Central America and Africa. The Quran prescribes a humanitarian approach to slavery: free men could not be enslaved, and those faithful to foreign religions could live as protected persons, dhimmis, under Muslim rule (as long as they maintained payment of taxes called Kharaj and Jizya). However, the spread of the Islamic Empire resulted in a much harsher interpretation of the law. For example, if a dhimmi was unable to pay the taxes they could be enslaved, and people from outside the borders of the Islamic Empire were considered an acceptable source of slaves. Although the law required owners to treat slaves well and provide medical treatment, a slave had no right to be heard in court (testimony was forbidden by slaves), had no right to property, could marry only with permission of their owner, and was considered to be a chattel, that is the (moveable) property, of the slave owner. Conversion to Islam did not automatically give a slave freedom nor did it confer freedom to their children. Whilst highly educated slaves and those in the military did win their freedom, those used for basic duties rarely achieved freedom. In addition, the recorded mortality rate was high this was still significant even as late as the nineteenth century and was remarked upon by western travelers in North Africa and Egypt. Slaves were obtained through conquest, tribute from vassal states, offspring (children of slaves were also slaves, but since many slaves were castrated this was not as common as it had been in the Roman empire), and purchase. The latter method provided the majority of slaves, and at the borders of the Islamic Empire vast number of new slaves were castrated ready for sale. The majority of these slaves came from Europe and Africa there were always enterprising locals ready to kidnap or capture their fellow countrymen. Black Africans were transported to the Islamic empire across the Sahara to Morocco and Tunisia from West Africa, from Chad to Libya, along the Nile from East Africa, and up the coast of East Africa to the Persian Gulf. This trade had been well entrenched for over 600 years before Europeans arrived, and had driven the rapid expansion of Islam across North Africa. By the time of the Ottoman Empire, the majority of slaves were obtained by raiding in Africa. Russian expansion had put an end to the source of exceptionally beautiful female and brave male slaves from the Caucasians the women were highly prized in the harem, the men in the military. The great trade networks across North Africa were as much to do with the safe transportation of slaves as other goods. An analysis of prices at various slave markets shows that eunuchs fetched higher prices than other males, encouraging the castration of slaves before export. Documentation suggests that slaves throughout Islamic world were mainly used for menial domestic and commercial purposes. Eunuchs were especially prized for bodyguards and confidential servants; women as concubines and menials. A Muslim slave owner was entitled by law to use slaves for sexual pleasure. As primary source material becomes available to Western scholars, the bias towards urban slaves is being questioned. Records also show that thousands of slaves were used in gangs for agriculture and mining. Large landowners and rulers used thousands of such slaves, usually in dire conditions: of the Saharan salt mines, it is said that no slave lived there for more than five years.1 References Bernard Lewis ​Race and Slavery in the Middle East: An Historical Enquiry, Chapter 1 Slavery, Oxford Univ Press 1994.

What Is Meant By Smart Power And How Does Its Application By The Obama Essay

What Is Meant By Smart Power And How Does Its Application By The Obama Administration Differ From The Use Of Hard Power By The Bush Administration - Essay Example These terms are descriptions of the way that American governments deal with other states, especially those states which do not agree with American views. Hard power is the use of forceful tactics such as military actions or economic sanctions. It shows how strong America is, and imposes American views on other people. If the other countries involved are weak, then this can be very effective and President Bush used this kind of approach at the beginning of his first term of office. The invasion of Iraq is a classic example of hard power at work. This tough line was also an important part of President Bush’s election campaign in 2004: â€Å"the Bush administration achieved a greater advantage over Democrats in general and Senator John Kerry in particular on this issue than on any other in the 2004 presidential race.† (Campbell and O’Hanlon: 2006, p. 119) After the 9/11 attack on New York, it was possible to present hard power as a defence tool, not necessarily an a ct of aggression. This made it more acceptable to the American public. Sometimes, however, the opposite of hard power, i.e. soft power is a better approach. People know that America is strong, but they might be more impressed by gentle approaches like aid and support, with diplomatic summits and exchanges of views. America’s culture and image are also aspects of soft power.

Impact of information technology on Hotel Business Essay

Impact of information technology on Hotel Business - Essay Example Hence, these changing information technology trends in hospitality industry force all economical hospitality firms to practically take advantage of any innovative technology that can offer their business considerable perfection in forms of greater customer satisfaction and employee efficiency. There are numerous researches have been conducted to determine the impact of information technology on hospitality industry. In this scenario, a research that was carried out in Australia by (Lee et al., 2003) declared that the information technology has significant influences over the capability of hospitality firms in order to facilitate their workers, increase efficiencies, enhance service quality, gain competitive edge, effectively build and maintain associations with customers, and increase overall business productivity (Karadag & Dumanoglu, 2009; Lee et al., 2003; Galen et al., 2003). This paper discusses the potential impacts of information technology on hospitality industry. In this sce nario, this paper will discuss the information technologies that are being used by the hospitality industry to manage their business operations.... Many researches show that information technology has become a key driver of growth for the hospitality industry in the past few years. In addition, up-to-date tools and software applications for carrying out tasks such as flawless communication and distribution of operational information, synchronized inventory access, and collection of important performance data, have changed the structure of hotel and restaurant business. As well, one of the biggest advantages of this process has been the improved customer experience and satisfaction, leading to higher devotion. In this way, information technology has augmented earnings for hospitality industry, and also helped them in saving expenditures on a long-standing basis by minimizing the human resource and enhancing the quality of service and business performance (Pandey, 2010). Historically, the business processes of hospitality firms have been managed using cards, manually, or paperwork at the front desk in order to keep up a correspond ence with old and existing customers. In this scenario, hoteliers were mainly at the compassion of the needs of guests to get there, and on their own efforts and staff to be there for possible surges or extended deficiencies of tenancy. Without using information technology supported methods hospitality industry was facing serious problems. In this scenario, (Nikolis, 2008) discuss some of the important areas of the hospitality industry which has been improved by the information technology. According to (Nikolis, 2008), the basic reason that information technology has turned out to be significant is its usefulness for the billing. In view of the fact that traditional paper-based and manual data entry was slow, time-consuming and ineffective, and