Trifles Gender Conflict Essay Essay Example

Trifles Gender Conflict Essay Essay Example Trifles Gender Conflict Essay Paper Trifles Gender Conflict Essay Paper Essay Topic: Trifles In the drama Trifles. at that place seems to be one struggle that stays consistent through the full drama. The struggle of gender functions between male and female. The drama itself is about the probe and slaying of Mr. Wright. Who has been found dead in his bed that looks to be a slaying from a rope around his cervix. The drama takes topographic point where the organic structure was found. inside the Wrights family. Investigating is County Attorney George Henderson. and Sheriff Henry Peters. Included in the drama besides is Lewis Hale a adjacent husbandman. and the married womans of Mr. Peters and Mr. Hale. The background of the drama was written by Susan Glaspell in 1916 as a adult female sensitive to feminist issues. An evident ground of why gender struggle is so apparent through the full drama. From the really start of the drama you can see the separation between brand and female. â€Å"The adult females have come in easy. and stand shut together near the door. † ( 1366 ) Susan Glaspell has a really good authorship manner in her stage way of giving the drama a cliff-hanging feel. From the really first line of the drama you can see the separation between male and female. â€Å"This feels good. Come up to the fire. ladies. † Says the County Attorney. â€Å"I’m not-cold. † responds Mrs. Peters. † ( 1367 ) Intriguing and thoughtful the struggle continues straight after. â€Å"not much of a housekeeper. would you state ladies? † says Hale. â€Å"Theirs is a great trade of work to be done on a farm. † Mrs. Hale answers and goes on to state â€Å"Men’s custodies aren’t ever every bit clean as they might be. † ( 1369 ) Continuously throughout the drama the adult females when asked for sentiments defend their sex. They stand their land multiple times. as if Susan Glaspell is seeking to acquire work forces of her clip to see life through a woman’s eyes and the prejudice differences. The work forces finish their probe up downstairs and continue upstairs to go forth the ladies to roll up and look into on some things at the petition of Mrs. Wright. The minute the work forces leave Mrs. Hale provinces. â€Å"I’d hatred to hold work forces coming into my kitchen spying about and knocking. † This line creates tenseness and animus of how the ladies feel towards the work forces. The ladies continue to speak about Mrs. Wright and the alterations they have heard about her over the old ages. â€Å"I heard she use to have on pretty apparels and be lively. when she was Minnie Foster. one of the town misss singing in the choir. But that-oh. that was 30 old ages ago. † ( 1370 ) This starts to arouse ideas of what could hold changed such a nice lady into a slaying suspect. The remainder of the scene is composed of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters seeking to make up ones mind if they think Mrs. Wright was truly capable of making such a hideous act. Mrs. Peters says â€Å" Mr. Peters says it looks bad for her. Mr. Henderson is atrocious sarcastic in a address and he’ll make merriment of her sayin’ she didn’t wake up. † ( 1370 ) They continue on in the probe and happen a comforter. Mrs. Hale says â€Å" I wonder if she was merely traveling to quilt it or knot it! † followed by a sarcastic response by the Sheriff â€Å"They wonder if she was traveling to quilt it or merely knot it! † ( 1371 ) It could now non be more apparent that the work forces do non take anything serious that the adult females are stating. As if they are naif and cognize nil a adult male could cognize. The work forces so proceed out to the barn to look for more grounds as if there could be something out at that place. The adult females stay in and go on to look around. They find a bird coop that has been broke unfastened and look to be handled approximately. â€Å"I s’pose possibly the cat got it. † says Mrs. Hale. â€Å"No. she didn’t have a cat† replied Mrs. Peters. ( 1372 ) This comes of import in the gender struggle subsequently in the drama as the work forces arrive back subsequently. The adult females continue on to garner things for Mrs. Wright while she is in gaol. They so make the startling find of the dead bird. Somebody-wrung-its-neck. ’’ Says Mrs. Peters. ( 1373 ) This both frightens the ladies and so they start to hear the work forces come back and conceal what they have merely discovered. â€Å"Well. ladies have you decided whether she was traveling to quilt it or knot it? † The County Attorney says. â€Å"We think she was traveling to-knot it. † Replied Mrs. Peters. ( 1373 ) A sarcastic inquiry from the work forces non cognizing this tied straight into the slaying. The County Attorney asks about the bird and the Mrs. Hale replied â€Å"We believe the cat got it. ( 1373 ) A much different answer so earlier in the drama when they knew she had no cat. The work forces so leave to look into back upstairs and give the ladies a minute to truly hold on the find they have merely made. After the silence. they talk about Mr. Wright how he would of hated the bird and hated kids. He hated vocalizing and referred to him as being the ground Mrs. Wright must of stopped. They lived out in the center of no where with non many contacts with anyone. and made a point to see the bird was all Mrs. Wright had.

You Shouldnt Even Think About Buying a Research Paper

You Shouldn't Even Think About Buying a Research Paper Its the night before your paper is due, and you havent even started. Are you tempted to go online to buy a ready-made project? Dont do it! This could ruin your academic career. Here are a few things to know about buying a paper. 1. It is plagiarism, which is an academic crime. Plagiarism comes in many forms, but the basic definition is claiming credit for work that is not your own. The punishment for plagiarism is different from place to place, but every college or high school should have an honor code to deal with academic crime.2. Chances are, youll get caught. Teachers are pretty smart. If you turn in a paper that you didnt write, there will be lots of things about that paper to tip off your teacher. The tone and the research will not match your past work. As for college professors- please! These people research for a living. Dont try to outsmart someone who went to college for eight or ten years! Theyll catch on.3. The work is not reliable. Of course, the web site that offers great papers will claim the work is original and reliable. That is advertising. Dont believe it! The sources could be fake, the research could be sloppy, and the format wont match the assignment.4. Papers are sold and re-sold. Just imagine turning in a paper that the teacher has seen before!5. A fake paper wont match the assignment. If you buy a paper, it probably wont match the teachers assignment exactly. Teachers often word their assignments in a way to make them less generic, so students cant cheat.6. There is software for catching plagiarism. Many university faculty have access to software that scans papers and compares them to thousands of papers available on the web.7. Sometimes, parts of papers are used in several papers. People who write papers to sell often use the same phrases or sentences in many different papers. You could buy a paper that is guaranteed to be one-of-a-kind, but that paper could still contain phrases from other papers. Plagiarism software will pick up on this!8. It costs a lot of money! Do you really want to spend a hundred dollars or so, just to get out of an assignment? Is it worth the risk?9. Its not worth the risk. Students are kicked out of school for plagiarism or honor code violations all the time. Once that happens, its on record for good. There goes your future.10. You wont learn anything! Seriously. When you cheat at school or college, youre really only cheating yourself. Sound cheesy? Just think about it. Youre going to have lots more assignments in the future, and you cant buy your way out of all of them. It will catch up with you, one way or another. Â   Take a Cheating Quiz!

Loophole in the Legal System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Loophole in the Legal System - Essay Example More specific questions regarding the influence of race on jury decision-making have also emerged from this spate of well-publicised cases: How does a defendant's race influence juror's perception and judgement How does the racial composition of a jury affect its deliberations and final decision Is the influence of race on jurors the same in all trails What difference, if any, would it make if more of the lawyers representing criminal defendants were racial minorities Studies show that Justices of the courts who served from 1789-1962 were socially atypical of the average American background: they came from upper-class families, attended the best law schools, were white male and generally protestant (Abraham, 1962; Ulmer, 1973). This unrepresentative nature of the courts can challenge the legitimacy of an institution. A judicial system of white men can be seen as producing only white man's justice. Another reason one can posit for the desirability of minorities in the judiciary is assimilation. America's heterogeneous population is clustered in groups that thrive along racial, religious, and national-background harmonization (Gordon, 1964). With the Hispanic population growing at a rapid rate, with blacks, Native American Indians, Asians, Jews, and White Anglo-Saxons, America, as a nation, faces the problem of how these groups can exist alongside one another. The United States is a pluralistic society.

Risk Management on Solar Thermal vs. solar photovotaic system in the Dissertation - 1

Risk Management on Solar Thermal vs. solar photovotaic system in the Uk - Dissertation Example ulation Trend in UK 36 Appendix VIII – Trend of Oil and Gas Reserves 36 Appendix IX – Employment and Unemployment Trend in UK 37 Appendix X – Computation of 5 x 7 meters Solar Photovoltaic System Facing North, East, South and West 37 Introduction In UK, the renewable energy industry is rapidly expanding so as to minimize the volume of fossil fuels used in the production of electricity, and also reduce their associated carbon dioxide gas emissions for the purpose of reducing pollution to the levels or targets set by the governmental policy. As of 2008, the United Kingdom has been increasingly dependent over the use of renewable energy resources. In line with this, 5.5% (approximately 4.3 million tonnes of oil equivalent) of the total electricity that was generated in UK was produced from the use of renewable resources such as bio fuels (76.19%), wind power (14.29%), and hydroelectricity (9.52%) (Office for National Statistics, 2011). Even though the use of renewab le energy resources has been increasing, there is still a long way for the UK government to reach its goal of generating 30% of its electricity from renewable resources aside from decreasing its carbon dioxide emission by 40% by year 2020 (Department of Energy & Climate Change, 2011). (See Appendix I – Historical Trend of Electricity Generated by Renewable Resources in UK on page 22) It is a universal knowledge that the burning of oil and natural gas could produce and emit excessive carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide that could trigger global warming. To combat the global climate changes, the UK government decided to gradually shift from the use of non-renewable to renewable energy resources (Committee on Climate Change, 2010). Recently, the Committee on Climate Change announced that the Scottish Government will reduce the carbon gas emission by 3.5% annually between2020 to 2050 (Committee on Climate Change, 2011). As a result of increasing the use of non-renewable energy res ources, the annual emission of carbon dioxide throughout the United Kingdom decreased from 8.95 metric tons per capita in 1995 down to 8.6 metric tons per capita in 2007 (Federal Statistical Office Germany, 2010). (See Appendix II – CO2 Emission in UK on page 23) Renewable energy significantly contributes towards a low carbon economy and thereby, provides a secure supply of valuable energy. Numerous years of development and research in the field of the production of energy have introduced many renewable energy technologies however the progress of the renewable energy has been constrained by the various perceptions of the risk associated with such technologies. As of 2008, the Un

Electronic Health Record Essay Example for Free

Electronic Health Record Essay An Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a system of records that are electronically managed, providing longitudinal information of the patient’s health.   The information is generated during one or more encounters with the patient.   Information can be recorded and stored under several sections including demographics, encounters, interventions, treatments, immunizations, prescriptions, laboratory and imaging data, etc.   The EHR is not only a recording system, but also helps in clinical decision-making.   It has several features incorporated such as providing reminders, precautionary measures to be taken, alerts, evidence-based information, tips in improving prognosis and the quality of care provided.    An EHR system can function within one department of the enterprise, in the entire enterprise, or even between several enterprises within a nation or region.   EHR’s can be customized depending on the type of department requiring them and the purpose for its use (NIH NICRR, 2006 Gurley, 2004). Advantages of the EHR system:- †¢ Patient information can be stored for longer periods and would occupy lesser space †¢ Patient information can be accessed from any point in the hospital and also from one hospital to another, if needed †¢ Patient information can be secured and confidentiality can be maintained (as a particular user would be accessing the system with a username/password, and would get information only about his/her patient) †¢ Information can be updated from any of the user points †¢ Several features such as alerts, reminders, etc, which are very useful to the user can be enabled in an EHR system †¢ Built-in intelligence of the EHR would provide several benefits to the physicians such as providing evidence-based information, potential drug reactions, etc †¢ The quality of care can be improved †¢ The requirements and standards set by accreditation organizations, legislations and insurance companies can be more easily met using an EHR system †¢ Potential life-threatening situations and hazardous drug reactions can be better prevented and managed using an EHR system †¢ The patient workflow can be effectively managed if an EHR system is present †¢ Communication between several structures of the healthcare organization can be improved (faster and more effective) †¢ Depending on the needs of the hospital, a customized EHR can be enabled †¢ Risk assessment, management processes and error identification can be better enabled using an EHR system (NIH NICRR, 2006 Gurley, 2004). Disadvantages of the EHR system:- †¢ Initiating and maintaining an EHR system may be very costly for the organization (however, the improvements in quality need to be considered) †¢ Training healthcare professionals in EHR use may be difficult (as it requires some amount of technical knowledge) †¢ Getting competent with the EHR system requires a sharp learning curve †¢ The EHR systems incorporated from one hospital may be different from another, which may hamper the flow of information – Lacks standard architecture and terminologies (effective interconnecting links need to be considered) †¢ Staff members may find it difficult to adopt to the clinical changes brought about through incorporation of an EHR system †¢ Slow systems may affect the workflow †¢ Risk of the system being hacked and data misused (certain standards should be compiled with and protocols need to be followed) (NIH NICRR, 2006 Gurley, 2004).

Civil War :: American America History

Civil War Writing about recorded history should be a relatively easy task to accomplish. Recorded history is based on facts. Regardless of what time period one may write about, one will find enough information about that time of period. The key is to put everything in a logical and understandable manner. This paper will be about the Civil War. I will try, to the best of my knowledge, to discuss the North's and South's positions and Arguments for going to war, their initial military strategies and their strength and weaknesses. The paper will actually be a summary from chapter 10 of the book Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era By: James McPherson, "Amateurs Go To War". Before discussing the war itself, one must understand the Union's and the Confederate's arguments and reasons for going to war. Let's start at the beginning, when the South was first showing animosity for the North, which eventually led to sessionist ideas by the South. The Compromise of 1850 was drafted in response to the threat of a Southern Convention, because of Zachary Taylors decision to carve out two huge territories in the Far West and to admit them in the union as free states. Henry Clay drafted the compromise, which includes eight parts. "The first pair would admit California as a State and organize the remainder of the Mexican cession without "any restriction or condition on the subject of slavery". The second pair of resolutions settled the boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico in favor of the latter and compensated Texas by federal assumption of debts contracted during its existence as an Independent Republic. Clay's third pair of resolutions called for abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia but a guarantee of slavery itself in the District. As if these six proposals yielded more to the North then to the South, Clay's final pair of resolutions tipped the balance Southward by denying congressional power over the interstate slave trade and calling for a stronger law to enable slave holders to recover their property when they fled to free states" Battle Cry of freedom: The Civil War Era, McPherson James, (p.70-71). The Northerners hated the fugitive slave law, because in the past it was never enforced and it never gave a trial by jury to any runaway slaves. The only testimony heard was that of the slaveholder and he usually recovered his slave. Civil War :: American America History Civil War Writing about recorded history should be a relatively easy task to accomplish. Recorded history is based on facts. Regardless of what time period one may write about, one will find enough information about that time of period. The key is to put everything in a logical and understandable manner. This paper will be about the Civil War. I will try, to the best of my knowledge, to discuss the North's and South's positions and Arguments for going to war, their initial military strategies and their strength and weaknesses. The paper will actually be a summary from chapter 10 of the book Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era By: James McPherson, "Amateurs Go To War". Before discussing the war itself, one must understand the Union's and the Confederate's arguments and reasons for going to war. Let's start at the beginning, when the South was first showing animosity for the North, which eventually led to sessionist ideas by the South. The Compromise of 1850 was drafted in response to the threat of a Southern Convention, because of Zachary Taylors decision to carve out two huge territories in the Far West and to admit them in the union as free states. Henry Clay drafted the compromise, which includes eight parts. "The first pair would admit California as a State and organize the remainder of the Mexican cession without "any restriction or condition on the subject of slavery". The second pair of resolutions settled the boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico in favor of the latter and compensated Texas by federal assumption of debts contracted during its existence as an Independent Republic. Clay's third pair of resolutions called for abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia but a guarantee of slavery itself in the District. As if these six proposals yielded more to the North then to the South, Clay's final pair of resolutions tipped the balance Southward by denying congressional power over the interstate slave trade and calling for a stronger law to enable slave holders to recover their property when they fled to free states" Battle Cry of freedom: The Civil War Era, McPherson James, (p.70-71). The Northerners hated the fugitive slave law, because in the past it was never enforced and it never gave a trial by jury to any runaway slaves. The only testimony heard was that of the slaveholder and he usually recovered his slave.

Discuss the value requirements" needed to gain the Diploma of Social Work

In my essay I will discuss the â€Å"value requirements† needed to gain the Diploma of Social Work and give 6 examples from my own work experience that I think are relevant from a legal perspective. Within the essay I shall begin by defining the term ‘values'. Values are based on the belief that something is good and desirable, the acceptable standard of a person, group or society within. It defines what is important, worthwhile and worth striving for. Values are very much influenced by the views that people have about how society should be organised and how social relationships should be regulated. Values are distinguished from knowledge. Traditionally Social Work values for examples are user or client self-determination, acceptance, non-judgemental attitudes and confidentiality these can also be a guide of conduct and actions of social workers. Ref. : Dictionary of Social Work I'm working in a direct access hostel that accommodates homeless men. These men are suffering from either alcohol or drug addiction and also from mental health problems. One of my values is not to drink alcohol or at least only in a considered amount. Also using drugs is something, which I for myself consider is against my value-belief. The implication towards one part of my client group, those men who are dependent on alcohol, could be that I preach them you should not drink so much and to do this and that . I could treat them in a disadvantage way because I disagree with their lifestyle. Putting them down and may make them feel there are â€Å"low† or even worse, not worth my time. They might be all alcoholics, drug-addicts etc. but I still have to treat everyone as an individual and according to his or her needs. They may have all different reasons while they depend on alcohol and drugs (i. e. loss of partner, marriage breakdown, repossession of house or flat, bankruptcy). I look at one persons life and look what happen in their life, the problems they had and if there are pattern and solutions to help that particular person to do one thing or another. I can put my own life experience into account if it is relevant and may help. Each individual is also unique in their way. Every human being is different like a fingerprint is, so is every ones values and diversity's (i. . sexual orientation, religion, culture, nationality, skin colour, class and age). Every one likes to be respected but this in turn should be a value for each one to respect anyone else. To recognise all the differences in each individual in each different case and use these differences and to help to help themselves and that promotes the people's right to choose. People who are dependent on alcohol and drugs can not be treated all in the same way. They are all individuals and unique and got to be treated as such. I have to use their backgrounds or beliefs and can not apply the same remedy for everybody to cure them. In the hostel we also have Muslim residents, who do not eat pork because of their religious beliefs. We have to advise the canteen staff accordingly to this to prepare different meals for them that do not came in conflict with their religion. Also to share a room with somebody who keeps an animal is out of question for a Muslim, because in their religion it is seen as â€Å"dirty†, not clean. So I have to make sure to put him with somebody else or in a single room to respect and value his needs. A client or resident comes to have a word with me in private. But he wants that what is said in private does not to go any further than between the two of us. I have to tell him that in my position I can not guarantee this. Than I have to take what he says to me on board and consider if this kind of information can really be kept away form other members of staff. In my working environment I have the duty to share â€Å"information† with my other colleges, team-leader, counsellor and management. If for example he tells me that while he is drinking heavily he also becomes aggressive and might sometimes â€Å"blow his fuse† if anybody annoys him, but does not anybody to know because people may start to treat him differently. This is a matter where I have to pass this information on. Even if he has a right to privacy but in these kind of circumstances the staff and other residents are put in danger. Information has to be revealed to staff only and some sort of precocious measures have to be taken. But if there is only minor disclosures than it will be kept confidential. If one of the residents has HIV/Aids this is a matter of strict confidentiality and will not disclosed to anyone else within or outside the organisation, or recorded in the resident's file, without the person's permission. The only exception in that case is if life-threatening injury or illness occurs. Disclosure to medical personnel is essential to treatment. Also if major blood loss takes place and there is a risk of transmission to other residents or staff. The way we assist people to improve there lives simply starts with befriending, providing material and recreational resources. Also activities like scrabble, pool, table-tennis, chess groups, darts and competitions, video and bingo nights, photography, football, craft. Registering with GP's and also at occasions go for day trips to the seaside and visiting theatres. Organising IT courses and helping with finding a job and resettlement. Health care and counselling is also provided. I speak to residents about any kind of problems or help they may want and advise them about referrals to other hostels, benefits and personnel matters. I come a lot of times in contact with people addicted to drugs and assist them in the counselling process to try to get them of drugs By trying them to get off drugs it helps them to take control of their life and their life takes a different direction. I have to speak to a resident on a one to one basis that if he is taking drugs on the premises he will lose his right to stay at the hostel and as a consequence be evicted. This will hopefully protect himself from using drugs and also protect other drug dependent residents who want to become clean with their addiction, to falling back into old habits. We also help in a way that we give medical advice and medicaments to residents in collusion with medical staff. One incident happen not a long time ago where a white resident went into the lift and just as the lift doors were closing another four black residents jumped in. He then got out of the lift and soon as the lift went up he complained to me that he could not go with â€Å"these† residents in the same lift. I asked why, and he responded â€Å"you know what these black are alike†. I said no and asked him the same question but he refused to explain to me â€Å"why†. It was in my view a certain racist behaviour. But he was not racist verbally (he has not spoken out what he really meant by this), so there was nothing I could do except speak to him and let him know that the black residents may see this as racist act and it might be hurting them. Another incident involved myself with one of the residents making Nazi-salutes at one day and on the next giving head butting signs. At this occasion an incident report was made and the resident being giving immediately notice to leave within 24 hours. When I encounter any racism, discrimination or disadvantage I pull the resident by side or take him to the interview room and have a word with him. Depending how severe the incident was I have to write an incident report and this goes than to the team-leader or manager who than decides what action are be taken. Our hostel policy states no person will be treated less favourably than any other person because of their race, colour, ethnic or national origin, appearance, gender, sexuality, marital status, physical disability, health status, age, religious, spiritual or political beliefs or offending history (Ref. Bridge Housing Association, Equal Opportunities Policy). A lot of people say HIV/Aids is a homosexual disease. If I have a homosexual resident at the hostel and can not stigmatise them by saying all homosexuals must have aids and treat him in a totally different manner then anyone else. Also a lot of people assume that alcoholics talk a lot of rubbish, is not very coherent, falls all over the place and looks shabby. If I deal now with an alcoholic who have these appearance I could automatically assume there is no point for me really to try to deal with this person because he do not know what I'm talking about anyway. The drink has got to him and because of the problems I may associate with alcoholism I could treat them all in the same way. With this attitude and thinking he is not worth my time because he would not remember anyway what I'm talking about I would just do enough (paperwork) without giving him the help he might really need. When a resident is totally drunk I give a cup of coffee or support him to his bedroom where he can sleep for a while to get sober. When he is in a state where I can talk to him I will do so he in private with no other residents present. Just because the person does have an alcohol dependency I do not treat him as that. I treat him as a normal individual and treat him in a way that if I would be an alcoholic, the way I would like to be treated. To have values is a good thing because at enables you to set goals for yourself and to achieve objectives. But there is also a down side where other people values can come into conflict with my own.

Market Structure of the German and British Tour Operators’ Industry Through the Analysis of the Package Tour Prices in the Balearic Islands. Essay

Abstract: In this paper we study a sample of package tour prices of German and British tour operators in the Balearic Islands. One of the proposes of this study is to analyse if there are significant differences in price between tour operators due to different factors than those associated to the characteristics of the offer (first hypothesis). These differences in price have been showed in Sinclair et al. (1990) by British tour operators in the resort of Malaga and in Aguilà ³ et al. (2001) by German tour operators in Majorca. The main results point out differences in price between tour operators not associated with the characteristics of the package tour’s offer, that we interpret as an oligopolistic feature of the tour operators’ market. The genereted data is also useful to estimate the role that hotel chains play. Our second hypothesis is to contrast if the association of hotels in chains offset the tour operator’s market power. Keywords: German and British tour operators’ industry; Balearic Islands; Package tour prices. INTRODUCTION The Balearic Islands could be one of the regions that best symbolised the Mediterranean sun and beach holidays. This type of tourism emerged in the 60’s and supposed a turning point in the evolution of tourism. Before this date few tourist visited the islands and all of them were of the upper class, after 1960 the middle and lower class can afford vacations due to several economical and cultural changes. One of the most important changes was the package tour made by tour operators, who due to the volume and standardisation of the packages generated economies of scale, and so, lower prices to tourist who become to arrive in mass. European consumers showed a growing tendency to this type of vacation, partly due to lower prices that, for the same final product, could offer tour operators (Travel and Tourism Intelligence, 2000). This lower price is the result of a bulk negotiation with the different elements that compose the package tour, essentially: hoteliers and airlines. In the present paper, we will focus on the negotiation with hoteliers, as the main European tour operators are vertically integrated with charter airlines. The lack of studies on hoteliers-tour operators’ price negotiation is due to the non-availability of data related to this theme. So, although we consider that empirical evidence is necessary, our last choice was to arrange several interviews with different hoteliers to know about the price negotiation with tour operators. The results of these interviews highlight that operators who contract more room’s beds are those who get lower prices. Obviously, those operators are the large ones. So, we can start from the premise that large tour operators have market power on mass destinations. The main purpose of this paper is to study prices that tour operator s fix on the package tour brochures in order to determine if they operate in a competitive or oligopolistic market. If in the origin market operates under perfect competition, tour operators could fix a marginal-cost price, on the other hand, they could fix a price above the marginal-cost without losing market share if the origin market is oligopolistic. Anyway, the existence of economies of scale in sales, marketing and purchasing, mean that there are conditions, which strongly favour concentration in the tour operator industry (Williams, 1996). Both German and British tour operators dominated the European market in 1999, as seven of the ten main tour operators are of these nationalities (FVW Europà ¤ische Veranstalter in Zahlen, documentation 1999/2000). Moreover, in each country large tour operators have large market shares: in 1999 the seven large German tour operators have a 83% market share (FVW), whilst the four main British tour operators control the 86.6% of the Spanish market (AC Nielsen). On the other hand, the Balearics attract large numbers of German and British tourist, accounting for 70% of the total of foreign tourists in 2000[ii] and as exposes Williams (1996) the destinations that are dependent on the British and German markets are in fact locked into relationships with the powerful tour operators in these countries. The first propose (hypothesis 1) of this paper is to contrast the market power of these companies when selling the Balearic Islands. By the way, the hotel chains in the Balearic Islands, as an association of hotels, can negotiate lower prices with tour operators than an individual hotel, and thus, can offset the power of tour operators in the Islands. This is the last point (hypothesis 2) that we want to analyse in the paper. Dunning and McQueen (1982) argued that there are three conditions for the emergence of international hotel chains: 1) where there are net ownership advantages; 2) where there are locational endowments; 3) to internalise market transactions. In mass tourism the authors argued that the first two conditions do not exist, as the tourism product being sold is largely indifferent to branding and location factor endowment. We do not thing that mass tourism and hotel chains may not be held concurrently, as most Balearic hotels chains have internationalise and some of them are between the most important in the world. Resuming, in this paper we will examine the German and British tour operators’ industry through the analysis of the package tour prices o n the Balearic Islands and the roll that hotel chains play. The evidence that price could give is not enough, but a gut approach to analyse the tour operators’ package tour industry. The paper is divided as follows: in the next section, we first review the literature concern to tour operators, then we describe the data used in the paper. After that, we show some descriptive results of the package tour prices, in order to identify the influence of some relevant characteristics of the package tour on its price. Then, an analysis of variance is done to evaluate the statistical significance of the variables detected as significant in determining the price of package tours; and finally some observations on the package tour industry are offered before reaching an overall conclusion. LITERATURE REVIEW There are implicit statements between those who work on the tourism sector, that tour operators dominate mass destination markets and although there are numerous assertions of the importance of tour operators, there has been little detailed research on this topic. We thought that the package tour industry analysis is still at its beginnings, despite its relevance in most of the European markets. Several researchers have discussed the structure of this industry, but the conclusions in some cases have turned out to be contradictory. Sheldon (1986) argues that the US package tour industry is polarised into a few large stable firms and many small less stable firms, and conclude that the industry is contestable. Fitch (1987) presents descriptive evidence of market power in the UK package tour industry. Baum and Mudambi (1994) argue that the UK package tour industry is oligopolistic and prone to price instability. Taylor (1996) queries whether the UK industry is contestable or oligopolisti c and concludes that the UK market is contestable. Curtin and Busby (1999) expose that due to economies of scale, tour operators have enormous buying power (monopsony) as well as considerable control of the distribution and sale of their product in the market place (monopoly power). The above papers are based in theoretical arguments. Evans and Stabler (1995) use descriptive statistics to argue that the UK industry is segmented according to strategic groupings, where the large firms are oligopolistic and the small ones are competitive. Gratton and Richards (1997) introduce some empirical evidence on package tour prices and tour operators’ market shares. They conclude that the UK package tour industry is contestable, whilst the German is a stable oligopoly. Davies and Downward (1998, 2000) use econometrics, and the results gave empirical support to the Evans and Stabler thesis of strategic groupings. Concretely, they argue that the UK package tour industry is segmented by size. On the other hand, there are some papers that study the tour operators’ industry in destination places rather than in the origin markets: Taylor (1995) analyses the package tour price competitiveness in several Mediterranean destinations and concludes that the Spanish hotels are price acceptant, and emphasises the high tour operators’ negotiation power. Sinclair et al. (1990) examine the package tour prices in Malaga and conclude that there are significant differences in prices between UK tour operators. Aguilà ³ et al. (2001) study the German package tour prices in Majorca and come to the conclusion that there are significant differences in prices, no related with the package tour characteristics. Furthermore, due to the antimonopoly legislation, some concentrations between tour operators have been analysed by The Monopolies and Mergers Commission (the British authority on mergers and concentrations) and the European Commission (the European authority on mergers and concentrations). In 1988 The Monopolies and Mergers Commission investigated the acquisition of Horizon Travel by Thomson Travel Group and reported that the British tour operators’ market was competitive. They demonstrated that with the followings facts: the price competitiveness of the market, low profitability, relatively easy entry by new firm to the tour operating industry and higher prices in Germany and other European countries. On the other hand, in 1999 the European Commission investigated and blocked the acquisition of First Choice by Airtours alluding to several features that indicated a dominant position on the British tour operators’ market. By the way, other acquisitions between tour operators of different nationalities investigated by the European Commission have been expected not to operate against the competition (Airtours/Frosch Touristik and TUI/Thomson). At this point, we consider that the European Commission do not investigated the market power that this macro European tour operators can have in a nearly future on some destinations, as the Balearic Islands, where almost 20% of the tourist are carried by Thomson and TUI, nowadays belonging to the same touristic group. THE DATA The data used in this paper is from 28 German and 20 British tour operators’ summer 2000 brochures[iii]. The brochures describe in detail the characteristics of each offer (hotel category, proximity to beaches, swimming pool, etc) and give an overall price, not giving a price to each element of the offer. Many of the characteristics described in the brochures are related to the hotel star rating[iv], regulated by law. However it should be stress that the star rating don’t constitute an exhaustive description of the hotel, so there are other characteristics that impinge on package tour prices. Concretely, we consider: zone, hotel star rating, beds in room, type of board, proximity to a population centre, picturesque surroundings, lift, child care, playground, air condition, TV, SAT, garden, entertainment, no smoking areas, swimming pool, tennis, bicycles, sports, sauna, gym, golf, room sea view, mini bar, proximity to a natural area, proximity to beaches, total rooms and floors of the hotel and exclusive to the tour operator. Tour operators’ package tour prices for the same hotel vary depending on the specific characteristic of the offer (beds in room, type of board, zone, etc) and of other facts, concretely transport cost, length and time of the year. As in Aguilà ³ et al. (2001) we consider, from the point of view of price competitiveness, the influence on prices of product’s characteristics rather than transport cost and time of year for the present analysis. Thus, the present analysis focuses on offers for a stay in one-to five-star hotels in the Balearic Islands, considering only prices for the first week of August 2000 (high season) and with departure from Dà ¼sseldorf and Gatwick. The high season was chosen because that time of the year (May-October) is when more tourists visit the Balearic Islands. Nearly the 50% of the tourist that visit the Islands concentrate in the months of June, July and August[v]. The selection of the first week of August was arbitrary. The choice of Dà ¼sseldorf was based on the fact that it moves 20.9% of the German tourist that come to the Balearic Islands; and for the British tourist, Gatwick was chosen because it canalise 29.9% of British tourist[vi]. Comparisons between nationalities are workable because a charter flight’s mean price from Gatwick or from Dà ¼sseldorf to the Balearic Islands do not present significantive differences. We really thought that our data is suitable to analyse the tour operators’ price structure in the Balearic Island. Our previous statement is based in the fact that 8921 tour operators’ offers associated with 693 hotels were analysed, while 713 hotels is the official number of re gistered hotels in the Balearic Islands. Furtehrmore, the fact that nearly 90% of hotel rooms are contracted by tour operators in the Balearic Islands allow us the inference of the results to the industry. ANALYSIS OF THE PACKAGE TOUR PRICES Our first hypothesis to contrast is if there are differences in price due to tour operators and thus, not associated with the characteristics of the offer. The second hypothesis is to analyse the role that hotel chains play in the determination of package tour prices .We first realize a descriptive analysis, to carry on with an analysis of variance. Thus, allow us to isolate the effect that tour operators and hotel chains have on prices, estimating if there are differences and the kind of differences. Descriptive analysis Tour operators The variability of the prices of the packages offered are due to several factors, some of them associated to the characteristics of the offer and some related to the tour operator that organise the package tour. To analyse our first hypothesis we have to isolate the tour operator effect by homogenising the offer. We can only compare prices between tour operators if the offers are homogenous. Hotel star rating, type of board and beds in room are expected to be, in a first approximation, the main causes of price variability. So, the offers that we consider are in a double room with half board in a three stars hotel. Figure 1 and 2 present the box-plots of the price in this market segment for each tour operator for each nationality[vii]. In figure 1, it can be seen that, Niag Reisen’s, FTI’s and Club Blaues Meer’s median price is in a range clear above the rest, while SLR and Ãâ€"ger Tours, and TUI and C&N present similar distributions. Insert Figure 1 about here In the case of British tour operators, figure 2 shows that the positions of the price distributions have a clear order: Airtours’ price distribution is above the rest, then go Thomas Cook and Virgin and finally, Cosmos, First Choice and Thomson are third in the ranking. Insert Figure 2 about here A careful reading of this information allows the inference of factors other than hotel star rating, type of board and number of beds in a room in price determination. Although other factors determining price are considered in the analysis of variance, these results point to a differential effect associated with the tour operator. Once we have highlighted the differentiation effect of tour operators, we carry on with its analysis. We don’t have to forget that tour operators are intermediaries between the hotel industry and the holiday’s consumers. Its control capacity of the market in a zone or in a demand segment could be reflected both in hotels, through a low price negotiation, and with customs, offering higher prices in the brochures. The first one, regrettably, can be estimated trough the data, but we can explain the possibilities that tour operators have when they establish the package tour price. If they have market power in destinations (we assume that large ones have) will obtain lower prices per room. At this point, in general terms, tour operators have two alternatives. First, they can establish lower prices in the brochures, so its mark-up will not benefit, but consumers; on the other hand, tour operators can raise mark-up and get beneficiated. The first choice will show market power with respect to hoteliers, whilst the second will state market power with respect to hoteliers and clients. To focus on its control capacity and its influence on prices, we have created a new variable: product concentration degree that measures the importance of each tour operators’ offer by nationalities in each market segment, according to star rating and type of board. It has been calculated as the percentage of the number of offers that each tour operator realise in each hotel star rating and in a specific type of board, regarding the total number of offers in this segment. A 10.9% value for this variable to Neckermann’s three stars hotel and half board offers, mean that the 10.9% of the package tour’s offers in three stars hotels and half board are realis e by this tour operator. A dispersion graph between this variable and the mean price by hotel star rating and type of board are shown in figure 3 for British tour operators and in figure 4 for German. Insert Figure 3 about here The dispersion graph shows a positive relation between Product concentration degree and the average price by star rating and type of board of British tour operators’ offers. The Pearson coefficient (0.384) confirms that the relation is significantive and positive. Insert Figure 4 about here The same results are obtained with German tour operators, with a Pearson coefficient of 0.293, but although the coefficient is significative and positive, the general picture is not so clear. So, the general conclusion for both nationalities is that as the Product concentration degree increases the average price by star rating and type of board is higher. Our first preliminary conclusions of this descriptive analysis of tour operators are two: 1) There are differences in price among international companies. 2) As the control of a market segment by a tour operator increases, it can fix higher prices. Hotel chains The association of hotels in chains is seen, among other factors, as an intention to offset the European tour operators’ growing market power (Bardolet, 1990, p.228; Doxa, 1988). Regarding to hotels chains and its capacity to offset the tour operators’ market power, we have created a dummy variable with further information called agreement with ttoo which takes three categories: 1) the hotel doesn’t belong to a hotel chain, 2) the hotel belongs to a hotel chain and it have some kind of agreement with tour operators and 3) the hotel belongs to a hotel chain and it have any agreement with tour operators. Once we have obtained the dummy, we have calculated the mean difference between each category for offers in a double room with half board in a three stars hotels. We expect to observe that offers in hotels that belong to hotel chains are more expensive than those related to offers in hotels that don’t belong to hotel chains, as they are able to negotiate higher prices with tour operators and thus, tour operators charge this higher prices to consumer. Nevertheless, the brochure price analysis reflect diff erent results, as are showed in the following tables: Table 1: Mean price for German package tours |Mean price |No chain |Chain without agreement |Chain with agreement | | |(92985) |(93257) |(90827) | |No chain | |-272 |2157 | | | |(0.7) |(0.254) | |Chain without agreement | | |2430 | | | | |(0.06) | Table 2: Mean price for British package tours |Mean price |No chain |Chain without agreement |Chain with agreement | | |(149896) |(148909) |(139707) | |No chain | |986 |10189 | | | |(0.7) |(0.03) | |Chain without agreement | | |9202 | | | | |(0.01) | Tables 1 and 2 show the mean price for each category in brakets, the difference mean prices between categories and its significance in brakets. The results are very explicit and present the same pattern in both nationalities, offers in hotels that belongs to hotel chains with agreements with tour operators have lower average prices than those that don’t have agreements or don’t belong to hotel chains. The results are significantive for British offers, however, for German offers, while the price average difference between hotels with or without agreements is on the limit of the 5% significance, the price average difference between hotel with agreements and those that don’t belong to a hotel chain is not significantive. On the other hand, there are non significantive average price differences between hotels that don’t belong to hotel chains and those that belong to one without agreements. The obtained results can be interpreted as follow: hotel chains that h ave any kind of agreement with tour operators are more concerned in obtaining higher occupancy rates than higher prices, that can mean lower occupancy rates. Thus, if offers are cheaper in those hotels, they could have higher occupancy rates. Supporting our thesis, Dunning and McQueen (1982, p. 86) explained that: â€Å"hotels associated with tour operators will also presumably be able to plan and maintain higher occupancy rates because the parent company is in a control position in channelling tourist towards its own hotel.† The conclusions obtained with this descriptive analysis of the hotel chains were at a first glance unexpected, but relevant as the package tour prices fixed in the brochures, reveal that what involve negotiation power is not the hotel chains per se, but the association with tour operators. Analysis of variance The analysis of variance will allow us to compare the importance that different characteristics of the offer have on the overall price, as well as differential effects linked to the tour operator and hotel chains. The first one was detected in preliminary works as Sinclair et al. (1990) and Aguilà ³ et al. (2001), while the second one is a new attribution to this field. Its seems appropriate to consider, given the previous results, as determinants of the package tour price the hotel star rating, the type of board and the number of beds in the room. Although the main characteristics of the package tour are covered by this variables, the brochures specify in detailed each offer and this information is available in our data to improve the analysis. Some of this can be superfluous, in terms of its relationship to the category of the hotel or its redundancy. This is the case, for example, with a characteristic such as a satellite TV and TV in rooms or child care and playground. Nevertheless, descriptive analyses also state that the tour operator, the variable product concentration degree and the variable agreement with ttoo have so mething to say about the final price of a package tour. With this specification, the signification of tour operator can’t be put down to characteristics of the offer not completely covered by the hotel star rating. The variable used to analyse the differences was the price of the package tour specified in the brochure. Table 3 for British and in table 4 for German show the results of an analysis of variance of the variables that turn out to be significant. Table 3: Analysis of variance of the variable price of British package tour. |Dependent Variable: price | | | | |Source |DF |F-ratio |Pr>F | | | | | | |Model |44 |281.67 |0.000 | |Residual |2297 | | | |Total |2341 | | | | | |R square=0.841 | | | | | | |Variables |DF |F-ratio |Pr>F | | | | | | |Intercept |1 |5157.82 |0.000 | |Beds in room |2 |291.38 |0.000 | |Hotel star rating |4 |210.05 |0.000 | |Type of board |3 |118.78 |0.000 | |Tour operator |14 |89.09 |0.000 | |Zone |10 |35.64 |0.000 | |Product concentration degree |1 |20.61 |0.000 | |Number of floors |1 |8.79 |0.003 | |Room sea view |1 |21.98 |0.000 | |Mini bar |1 |102.02 |0.000 | |Air condition |1 |19.67 |0.000 | |Playground |1 |15.66 |0.000 | |Picturesque surroundings |1 |258.13 |0.000 | |Proximity to a natural area |1 |44.20 |0.000 | |Swimming pool |1 |37.23 |0.000 | |Sauna |1 |64.95 |0.000 | |Golf |1 |18.98 |0.000 | Table 4: Analysis of variance of the variable price of German package tour. |Dependent Variable: price | | | | |Source |DF |F-ratio |Pr>F | | | | | | |Model |58 |323.94 |0.000 | |Residual |6467 | | | |Total |6525 | | | | | |R square=0.742 | | | | | | |Variables |DF |F-ratio |Pr>F | | | | | | |Interseccià ³n |1 |5892.90 |0.000 | |Beds in room |3 |418.40 |0.000 | |Hotel star rating |4 |991.06 |0.000 | |Type of board |3 |79.31 |0.000 | |Tour operator |22 |21.89 |0.000 | |Zone |14 |42.70 |0.000 | |Product concentration degree |1 |100.21 |0.000 | |Agreement with ttoo |2 |6.57 |0.001 | |Number of floors |1 |30.51 |0.000 | |Room sea view |1 |187.33 |0.000 | |Air condition |1 |10.82 |0.001 | |Mini bar |1 |78.96 |0.000 | |Sat |1 |51.88 |0.000 | |Playground |1 |55.09 |0.000 | |No smoking areas |1 |9.26 |0.002 | |Proximity to a natural area |1 |71.38 |0.000 | |Swimming pool |1 |5.40 |0.020 | As can be observed in the above tables the variable agreement with ttoo appears only significantive for German package tours. However, the variable product concentration degree appears significantive and positive for both nationalities. This result show that the great control of a market segment by a tour operator in the Balearic Islands allow it to exert a great market power fixing higher prices and thus, reveal the oligopolistic features of this market. The identity of tour operator appears for both nationalities significantive. Aguilà ³ et al. (2001) explained this results in two ways. First, it is possible that there are characteristics not observable in brochures, which would be associated with the level of quality of the services offered by the tour operator. The second explanation points to the monopolistic nature of competition in this type of market. Sinclair et al. (1990) attribute the differences in price to the greater effectiveness of certain advertising campaigns or th e inability of smaller companies to take advantage of the economies of scale that the large ones enjoy. The first explanation of Aguilà ³ et al. (2001) refers to variables as flight schedules, degree of attention, and so on. In our sample this factors has been taken into account. So, the rest of explanations given by authors to this fact reveal, in a wide range, an oligopolistic feature of this market, especially among large tour operators, that permit them to have different strategies one another. Obviously the specific strategy of each tour operator is unknown, but the analysis of the parameters estimated (table 5) offer us an overall strategy, that has been contrasted by the companies portfolios. Table 5: Tour operators estimated parameters |Phoenix |-10370 |Thomson |-21473 | |LTU |-6340 |First Choice |-14170 | |ITS |-5504 |Cosmos |-11381 | |Alltours |-5196 |Thomas Cook |-4879 | |Dertour |-5193 |Virgin |0 | |C&N |-2571 |Airtous |18065 | |SLR |-334 | | | |TUI |0 | | | |Club Blaues Meer |1166 | | | |Frosch Touristik |5070 | | | |Niag Reisen |6346 | | | |Ãâ€"ger Tours |9518 | | | German data is richer in terms of size of tour operators than British data, and so, we can observe large tour operators: TUI, C&N and LTU; medium: Dertour, FTI and ITS; and small: Alltours, Club Blaues Meer, Niag, Ãâ€"ger, Phoenix and SLR. However, British data is composed by large tour operators: Thomson, Airtours, Thomas Cook and First Choice; and medium: Cosmos and Virgin. Although the mark up of each package tour sold is not so high, the total number of packages sold determine its benefits. Therefore, rather than benefits, market shares are the objective of tour operators. Generally speaking, small German tour operators fix higher prices, except Phoenix and Alltours. This fact is due to its lower capacity of negotiating prices with the supply side, and the relative exclusive distribution system created by large tour operators. When the tour operator is unable to reduce its costs due to its size, must fix higher prices and have lower market share. By the way, TUI is the German an d European tour operator with great market share and is, among large tour operators, the one that fix the highest prices. Its growing strategy through expanding in other markets, allow TUI to increase its market share without reducing prices. That is, TUI can fix higher prices without losing market share. The rest two large tour operators: C&N and LTU fix prices lower than TUI. C&N could follow a lower prices strategy to rise its market share and challenge TUI leadership. On the other hand, LTU has been acquired by REWE in January 2001, so the low prices in summer 2000 can be interpreted as an attempt to gain clients and rise its market share (LTU has reduce its market share dramatically from 1994 to 1999). Finally, we have the medium tour operators: Dertour, ITS and FTI. The first two fix lower prices in an attempt to rise its market share. Medium tour operators don’t have the great negotiation power that large ones have, and so, don’t obtain low prices in the negotiation with the supply side, but if they want to become large they have to obtain clients and then fix in the brochures low prices. The last one, FTI, has during the last years internal problems that conduce to its acquisition by Airtours. This problems can be associated with the high price fix in summer 2000. Alltours, despite its classification as a small tour operator, is among the small ones, the one that have the greatest market share, and we can put its strategy on an equal foot with ITS and Dert our. On the other hand, Airtours is among large British tour operators the one that fix the highest prices. This tour operator is the second in terms of market share both in the British and in the European market. Just like TUI, Airtours has grown through the expansion to other countries and the product diversification. This two facts allow Airtours to fix higher prices without losing market share. Although, Airtours is not the market leader in Great Britain (place hold by Thomson), it behave as it was. The acquisition of Thomson by TUI in 2000 due to financial problems can explain the low prices of the British leader. To sum up, except the small tour operators, the three tourist groups that control the European market fix the highest prices. So, although they have market power with the supply side and obtain the lowest prices in the negotiation, these prices are not diverted into low package tour prices. Therefore, large tour operators have market power both in origin an in the Bal earic Islands. We can reflect our thesis with a more general model that show the implications of the price elasticity on mark up. The theory stars with the premise that profit maximizing firms with market power set price (P) as a mark up over marginal cost (MC), which mark up depends on the elasticity of demand ((), where ( is defined to be positive. Thus: [pic] At this point, we consider that the introduction of an aggregate measure of the competitive conduct in the tour operator industry is a great deal (See Papatheodorou, 2001), but we go further arguing that tour operators perform in two related but different scenarios: destination and origin countries. In the Balearics Islands tour operators are the demand side and the hoteliers are the supply side. Tour operators are price sensitive, so its demand is quite elastic, and thus the hoteliers’ mark up is lower. So, hoteliers are concerned in occupancy rates. On the other hand, in the origin countries: Germany and UK, tour operators are the agents that supply the package tour to the consumers, so they operate as the supply side and the consumers are the demand side. Consumers behave in to different ways when decide where to expend their holidays: 1) Type 1 consumers don’t have any special destination to go and will go to the cheapest one. 2) Type 2 consumers want to go to the B alearics. Type 1 consumers are very price sensitive, its demand is elastic and so, tour operators’ mark up will be lower; contrary, type 2 consumers are less sensitive to price, so tour operators’ mark up rises. This second type of consumers are more attractive both for tour operators and hoteliers; the first ones can rise its mark up, whilst the second ones obtain a loyal tourism. Although, the mass market tour operators’ industry as a whole is characterised by small margins, this differentiation between consumers highlights the impact of loyal consumers on margins and question the statement that tour operators put destination-based business (above all hoteliers) at a bargaining disadvantage because they have obtained the initiative in persuading their clients which destination to visit.  ¿Which type of tourism have the Balearic Islands? Cladera (2002) shows that both German and British tourists repeat its holidays in the Balearic Islands (67.65% and 78.11% r espectively in 2000). This figures point out that the Islands are a destination that tourists claim and can drive us to tell that the Islands have a type 2 consumers, but we can be in front of a type 1 consumer if the reason of visiting the Balearics is the price, so we have to carry on investigating the reasons for the visits. Aguilà ³ et al. (2002) observe that the main reasons for choosing the Balearics as their holidays destination for German tourist are: clime (20% of answers), beaches (15.9%), environment and hotel quality (13.4%), transfer facilities (7.4%) and price (6.7%). British tourist give more importance to price (11% of answers), but the most relevant reason is still the clime (21.2%). Environment and hotel quality represent 12.1% of answers, whilst beaches are only a 10%. This figures can be observed by another perspective, specifically, by the number of people who have marked each of the reasons. Doing that we can observe that clime is the main reason, marked by 80.2% of Germans and 84.6% of British. While the 63.6% of Germans showed beaches as a coming reason, only a 40% of British consider beaches as a reason. Price is influent in the decision for only the 26.9% of Germans, while British are more concern about prices, 45.3%. Environment and hotel quality is marked by 53.9% of Germans and by 48.3% of British. Transfer facilities (29.7%) and night atmosphere (22.5%) is more important for Germans than for British people (12.6% and 15.5% respectively). Furthermore, Cladera (2002) analyses the number of tourist who have selected the price as a rea son for choosing the Balearics differentiating by first-time tourists and loyal ones. Cladera conclude that the 34.6% of first-time German tourists and the 45.5% of first-time British tourists consider the price one of the reasons of visiting the Islands, whilst only a 20.2% of loyal German tourist and the 43.1% of loyal British tourist. This figures show the relative less importance of price as a reason of spending the holidays in the Balearic Islands as much the Islands are visited. After this analysis we are able to answer the question: tourist who visit the Islands are mostly loyal tourists and the main reason for choosing the Islands is not the price, although British people are more sensitive to prices than German people. CONCLUSIONS This paper has had two main objectives: 1) Examine the influence on the package tour prices of the identity of the tour operator. 2) Determine the role that hotel chains play on the determination of the prices. These have been studied through the price structure of tourist packages in the Balearic Islands offered by a representative sample of German and British tour operators. The conclusions reach after the analysis permit us to state in connection with hypothesis 1 that: 1) the differences in price between tour operators are due to the different strategies that tour operators follow to gain market share, 2) large tour operators have market power both in origins and in the Balearic Islands and 3) The type of tourist who visit the Island succeed in increasing mark up both to tour operators and hoteliers. We really believe that large European tour operators have market power both in origin and in destination markets, although the strategies of each tourist group can make the market seem competitive. Debbage (1990) also consider this when argued that the suppliers are potentially able to reap the advantages of their oligopolistic and oligopsonistic power to the detriment of consumers and destinations. Relative to hypothesis 2 we can conclude that the fact that a hotel belongs or not to a hotel chain is not appreciared by fixing higher prices in the brochures, that could show a great negotiation power towards tour operator. However, the obtained results reveal that offers in hotels that have any kind of agreement with the tour operator are in mean cheaper. That results permit us to conclude that hotel chains are more concerned in high occupancy rates than in high prices per room. It could be interesting in future research to complement or contrast the methodology used here with alternative approaches to confirm the results reported in this paper. ANNEX Figure 1: Package tour prices for offers in a double room with half board in a three stars hotel by German tour operators Figure 2: Package tour price for offers in a double room with half board in a three stars hotel by British tour operators Figure 3: British tour operators’ dispersion graph by star rating and type of board Figure 4: German tour operators’ dispersion graph by star rating and type of board BIBLIOGRAPHY AGUILÓ, P.M, J. ALEGRE y A. RIERA (2001) â€Å"Determinants of the Price of German Tourist Packages on the island of Mallorca†. Tourism Economics, vol.7, issue 1, pp.59-74. BARDOLET, E. (1990) â€Å"Demanda Turà ­stica y Marketing Turà ­stico†. Papeles de Economà ­a Espaà ±ola, vol. Baleares, pp. 219-230. BAUM, T. y R. MUDAMBI (1994) â€Å"A Ricardian analysis of the fully inclusive Tour Industry†. The Services Industries Journal, vol.14, n º1, pp. 85-93. 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Wallingford: CAB International. ———————– END NOTES [i] Los tres profesores son miembros del Departament d’Economia i Empresa de la Universitat de les Illes Balears. [ii] Govern de les Illes Balears (2000) â€Å"El turisme a les Illes Balears, dades informatives, any 2000†. [iii] Terramar, Spanien und Portugal; Neckermann, Young and Sport; Neckermann, Flugreisen; Neckermann, Family; Condor Individuell; Air Marin, Spanien und Portugal; Fischer Reisen, Flugreisen; Kreutzer; Bucher Reisen; Smile anf Fly; Jahn Reisen; Maris Reisen; THR Tours, Jet and Bett; THR Tours, Urlaub Mal Anders; Tjaerborg; FTI; FTI, Preis Pardise; ITS, Spanien und Portugal; DER, Der Sonnenseiten; Alltours, Flugreisen; 1,2 Fly; TUI Schà ¶nen Ferien; TUI Schà ¶nen Ferien Free World; Ãâ€"ger Tours,Sommer 2000; Club Blaues Meer Reisen, Mallorca; Shauinseland Reisen, Belearen; Niag Reisen, Mallorca; Phoenix, Flugreisen Sommer 2000; Airtours, Summer Sun; Archers Direct, Summer Sun; Price Beaters; Cosmos, Summer Sun; JMC, Summer Sun; JMC, Select; JMC, Ess entials; Club 18-30; Skytours; Thomson, Summer Sun; Thomson, Small and Friendly; Thomson a la Carte; Club Freestyle; Portland Direct; Just; Virgin, Summer Sun; Sovereign, Summer Sun; First Choice, Summer Sun; Eclipse, Summer Sun; 2wentys. [iv] Sinclair et al (1990) point out that hotel rating is a gut indicator of the services and facilities that the hotel offers. [v] Conselleria de Turisme (2000) [vi] Govern de les Illes Balears (1999) â€Å"El turisme a les Illes Balears, dades informatives, any 1999†. [vii] In each of the boxes, the central line indicates the median of the distribution, while the height of the box represents the inter-quartile range, the area is proportional to the frequency of observations. The feet extend (at most) up to 1.5 times the inter-quartile range, aiding the detection of observed extremes (marked as circles).

Choosing a Coursebook and Teaching Materials for ESL

Choosing a Coursebook and Teaching Materials for ESL Finding the right coursebook is one of the most important tasks a teacher needs to undertake. This quick guide will help you in your decision-making process and point you to some of the resources on this site that can help you find the right coursebooks and supplementary materials for your course. Tips Evaluate the makeup of your class. Important considerations include the age, final course (are the students going to take a test?), objectives, and whether the class is made up of students learning for work purposes or for a hobby.If you are teaching a standard test course (TOEFL, First Certificate, IELTS, etc.) you will need to choose a coursebook that specifically for these tests. In this case, make sure to choose the coursebook based on the age of the class. Dont choose a book that prepares for another test as these tests are very different in construction and objectives.If you are not teaching a standard test course, are you going to teach a standard syllabus or do you want to focus on a specific area such as conversation or making presentations?Standard syllabuses require books that will cover grammar, reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.If you are teaching a non-standard syllabus class, maybe focusing on one skill set, youll need to get some resource books for your classroom work. If you would like to take a different, non-grammar based, approach then take a look at either the lexical approach (focusing on building language skills from vocabulary and linguistic forms) or the Brain friendly approach (focusing on bringing a wide variety of learning types into play).If you are going to teach a Business English or ESP (English for Specific Purposes) course you will need to not only find a standard special English book but also use the Internet as a means of finding specific information and content related to the industry.You may also want to consider using the software as a means of extending the possibilities in the classroom.

How I Messed Up On My First Jobâ€and What You Can Learn From My Mistakes!

How I Messed Up On My First Job- and What You Can Learn From My Mistakes! â€Å"Why?† This is a question asked by children incessantly all over the world. â€Å"Why† is an essential inquiry into how the world works. It seems some â€Å"why† questions are acceptable signs of curiosity, whereas others are met with â€Å"Because I said so.† As adults, it’s the same way. We are encouraged to get to the source of the â€Å"why† in science, for instance, but when we are given a task by a supervisor, we are often discouraged from asking why; managers can see the question as an affront to their authority. Do you get offended when someone asks you why? Are you afraid to ask because you might be considered recalcitrant? Consider this story. My First Job As a high school student, I got my first â€Å"real† job as a cashier at Carrot Top Pastries, a small bakery known for making the best carrot cake in New York City. After receiving brief instructions on how to use the register, I set out on my first day of work. Very quickly, I determined that it would be much faster to hit the â€Å"no sale† button to eject the cash drawer, rather than to enter in the amount of every purchase and go through all that extra work! After all, I was a math whiz at the Bronx High School of Science and knew how to make change! I didn’t need the cash register to tell me what to do! Things went on like this for several days before the owner of the bakery discovered she had no record of what had been sold at the end of each day, and no way to balance the accounting. Oops. From this experience, I took away that I am fallible, often in the moments when I thought I was being most impressive. That hurt. I also learned that not understanding the â€Å"why† behind a task greatly increases the possibility of error. Carrot Top laid me off after a couple of weeks, not due to my erroneous ways but because of a strike at the telephone company across the street- the source of most of the bakery’s business. Still, I left that job with a humility I had not experienced before. Good Managers Explain Why Later in life, I became a manager (in a role that kept me at a safe distance from cash registers). I learned that when employees understand the big picture- the â€Å"why†- of what they are doing, they are more motivated, loyal, and productive than when they are simply given a task to do. If the Carrot Top manager had told me from the get-go that entering amounts on the cash register was how they tracked their sales and balanced their books, I would not have made the mistake I made. When I am managing, or even editing, I make a concerted effort to explain the why behind my instructions and what value the task at hand will bring to the project, client and/or organization. In March, I was in charge of putting materials together to distribute at a workshop. Part of the work my assistants were doing included cutting some of the materials. I explained to them the importance of presentation, what the materials were for, and when they would be handed out. I also stood there while the assistants started the project to do quality control. The results were beautiful! What If It’s â€Å"Obvious?† Admittedly, explaining â€Å"why† is often easier said than done. In my role, often the reason for an instruction is so obvious to me that I can’t even conceive someone else would not automatically understand. It’s often when I skip over a â€Å"why† that mistakes get made. That’s what happened with my manager at Carrot Top. I would assert that as the person doing a task we have some responsibility too. Now, when someone gives me instructions that don’t make sense to me, or when I think I have a better idea of how something should be done, my first response is to ask â€Å"Why?† Sadly, this question is not always met with enthusiasm, as some people like to have their instructions followed unquestioningly. While I understand that perspective, as a manager I would always prefer people to ask me why they are doing something before they go ahead and do it their way- or before doing it my way but resenting it. I encourage all of you to ask and answer the question â€Å"Why?† when it will create communication flow and/or prevent unplanned, potentially dangerous system changes! A Tragic Note In writing this article, I did a Google search for Carrot Top Pastries and discovered that the owner committed suicide a couple of years ago. From what I could gather, she was feeling desperation in the face of a landlord dispute for the store she had owned for 30 years. This ending truly has me asking â€Å"Why?†

The Impact of the Ottoman Empire on Europe's and Turkey's Essay

The Impact of the Ottoman Empire on Europe's and Turkey's architecture, gouvernment and life - Essay Example The major areas where the Ottoman caused impacts in Europe and Turkey include architecture, government, and general life of the citizens. This research paper focuses on how the Ottoman Empire changed and influenced the architecture, politics and social life in Europe and Turkey. The Ottoman Empire constituted one of the three empires that were most outstanding in the world. The other two empires of the world along with the Ottoman Empire were the Roman Empire and the British Empire1. The Ottoman Empire acquired several benefits from the already established states of Turkey. The states had already underwent a lot of establishment, thus, the Ottoman Empire used some of their resources for internal growth and development. One unique feature about the empire was that it was always attracted to ways of life of the West. Additionally, the Ottoman Empire did not have any prejudgements about anyone and bore with all forms of religious and ethnic groups within its operation regions. The founding, rising and advancement of the Ottoman Empire underwent actualisation using a well-designed plan and program. The plan for actualisation was founded on the principles of both spiritual and worldly realities in the state philosophy. The success and influence of the Ottoman Em pire was possible due to sharing the central and local leadership responsibilities with all ethnic and religious colleagues. The history of Ottoman Empire has its tracings back to a Turkish tribal chieftain known as Othman (Osman). The Seljuk Empire in Anatolia collapsed in the late thirteenth century, which led to it being divided into many states. Sogut was one of the states and its founder was Ertugrul. Osman was his son and it is after his death he took over and built the Ottoman Empire. The empire was grounded on the Islam religion. It was during the fourteenth century that he founded this empire originally known as Osmanli, but later through an evolution in