Chart the development of virtual reality from 1950 to 2050 Essay

Chart the development of virtual reality from 1950 to 2050 - Essay Example This implies that virtual reality translates to near reality. Nevertheless, technical phrases have a straightforward description since it describes virtual reality as a three-dimensional atmosphere created by the computer, which an individual can investigate and interrelate with. The individual who interrelates with this virtual sphere or gets enormous inside its setting is able to influence things or perform a sequence of deeds. This individual generally applies goggles, earphones, gloves among various devices, and in this manner, the computer manages in any case three of the five common senses. Prior to supplying sensory input to the client, these gadgets in addition supervise the client’s deeds. For example, the goggles supervise eye progress and react accordingly through forwarding new video input (Vince, 2004: 4). History background of virtual reality There existed abundant debates unto the connotation and appropriate name of what remains presently known as the virtual ar ts, even prior to the growth of these idea commenced. Therefore, describing and knowing virtual arts is a significant feature in providing a concise account of its growth. Its naming fluctuated due to the brandling of its occurrence since virtual reality bore three models namely synthetic reality, virtual atmospheres, and supplemented reality. Nevertheless, the ideal naming of virtual arts has gone through alterations as the virtual art idea advanced. However, the description coagulated to â€Å"virtual† during the 1960s when computers surfaced, giving it a tangible meaning owing to computer visuality. On the other hand, the idea of reality cropped up when theorists questioned if something else existed excluding the discernible and quantifiable reality of virtual manifestation, and the idea concludes as reality owing to the sensible positivity it showed. This implies that virtual reality turned to the common phrase that befitted the idea, and during 1989, Jaron Lanier changed it through definition that comes out by the application of the newest invention of goggles, gloves and associated technologies (Yu, 2010: 310). The account of virtual arts has been current and abrupt. This is because, whereas its constituents have grown for almost forty years, operational virtual systems simply emerged lately on the screen (Mclellan, 1992: 24). Development of Virtual Reality Nevertheless, the past of virtual arts dates back during the middle of 1950s when a futurist cinematographer known as Morton Heilig constructed a multi sensory simulator known as the Sensorama. The gadget contained a stereoscopic exhibit, dischargers moving chair and speakers. These traits enabled the client to watch television in three-dimensional modes since it pre-recorded movie in colour and stereo. More so, the simulator contained binaural sound, moving air, odour and vibration practices. Although the simulator had the total of these modified features, it was not as associative as expected (Steed, 2002: 3). Later on during 1961, another group of engineers known asPhilco Corporation developed the first HMD bearing the name headsight. The helmet contained a video screen band a tracking system that had linkage to a closed circuit camera system (Will, 2009: 4). During 1965, Ivan Sutherland, a famous computer scientist imagined a further advanced method known as the eventual system, which linked the

Presidential Election 2012 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Presidential Election 2012 - Term Paper Example At the moment, the polls are very close. In the end, in November 2012, Mitt Romney will be elected president, and Barack Obama will have an early retirement. Barack Obama is a good man, but voters will conclude he is over his head. Voter decision-making processes President Obama took office in 2008, promising to bring hope and change to Washington. Voters were tired and exhausted after eight years under George W. Bush. The Republicans had trouble drumming up support. Obama was like a breath of fresh air. But immediately, his presidency faced major challenges. He had to decide how to deal with the fallout from the financial crisis which was still unraveling. He had to deal with Iraq and the auto industry. These were major challenges. Although President Obama has tried hard on the economy, the results, nearly four years later are not good. Unemployment is still very high. Many political pundits believe that the elections will largely come down to who is a better economic manager. Mitt Romney has many useful credentials as a businessman. Voters, when making a decision, are going to look to Romney’s strong economic credentials and Obama’s weak ones. That is part of the reason they are likely to choose Romney when push comes to shove. They are tired of the way Washington has become. Voters still don’t know who to vote for, the evidence suggests. A recent poll reported in the Washington Post showed that the race was still too close to call. The story concluded as follows: Given recent trends, Obama can point to a gradually improving outlook and Romney can cite his experience as a business leader and appeal to those concerned about their own financial plight. Obama still enjoys a big gender-gap advantage. And the polls show both Romney and Obama are strongly supported by their respective partisans. In most polls, Romney fares well among independents, although not decisively so. Of course, a lot more ups — and downs — lie ahead. (AP) Most critics agree that the better the economy does in the next few months, the better Obama’s chances will be with ordinary voters concerned about pocketbook issues (Dorning). This is something Obama’s people must be very concerned about. Campaign spending Both Romney and Obama are excellent fundraisers. In 2008, Obama used innovative techniques to bring in small donations. He used the Internet. Now he has a new advantage: incumbency. It will be hard for Romney to match him, as these recent figures show: Obama reported a bank balance of $104.1 million after raising $35.1 million in March. That included $7.5 million transferred from a joint fundraising account with the Democratic National Committee. Romney finished March with $10.1 million to spend after raising $13.1 million during the month, his best in the campaign. Through March 31, Obama raised $196.6 million for his re- election, more than twice as much as the cumulative $88.7 million collected by Romney’s campaign. One thing is for sure. This will be the most expensive campaign in American history. Both campaigns will raise hundreds of millions of dollars. With the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Citizens United will also allow outside parties to spend money, in an unaffiliated manner. This probably means more negative ads and untraceable smears. In the end, voters will probably say that they have had enough of Obama. He was given an opportunity to fix the economy but he has been unable to work well with Congress to pass major economic reforms. All he has done is to create more barriers

The Adobe Systems Incorporated Computer Science Essay

The Adobe Systems Incorporated Computer Science Essay This paper examines the multinational company, Adobe Systems Incorporated, its innovations, value added for its products, and competencies. The paper then examines the companys structure culture, leadership and strategy for deploying its products. Adobe Systems Incorporated Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American multinational computer software corporation founded in 1982 by former Xerox employees John Warnock and Charles Geschke; the current CEO is Shantanu Narayen, who acquired the position in 2005. Adobe is headquartered in San Jose, CA and is traded under the NASDAQ symbol ADBE. Adobes operates in many major cities in the United States; its international operations include China, India, Switzerland, Romania, Canada, and Germany. As of the third quarter of 2012, Adobe has a total revenue of $1.081 billion and a market capitalization of 16.88 billion. Adobe offers software products and services to users of operating systems and technological devices and is best known for Photoshop, Acrobat, and Flash. The companys business can be broken down into three segments: digital media, digital marketing, and digital publishing (Yahoo! Finance, 2012, Reuters, 2012) One of Adobes first product was PostScript, which is a programming language developed by Warnock and Geschke in 1982; at this time, Apple, Inc. was Adobes direct competitor. Adobe created Adobe Illustrator for the Macintosh computer in 1986 which helped to popularize PostScript; a version of Illustrator was later made for Windows in 1989. The company went public in 1986. Adobe introduced Acrobat (the PDF) in 1993, which is now the most widely used viewer and reader. The company has acquired many other companies during the early to late nineties and 2000s. Some of the well-known acquisitions include: Macromedia, Photoshop, Aldus, Omniture, and Efficient Frontier. Adobe competes directly with Apple, Microsoft, and Google (Adobe, 2012 Wikipedia, 2012). Sources and Types of Innovation A company can have one or many sources of innovation which can range from the companys culture, policies, practices, and creativity. I think in Adobes case, its sources of innovation come from creative talent, consumer and business needs, and acquisitions. Adobe started off with PostScript in 1982 invented by its two founders and it became popular because of laser printer in the 1990s (Wikipedia, 2012). The PDF file format, which evolved from PostScript, was invented by Warnock in the early 1990s. Even though there were several competing firms offering the same technology, Adobe was able to make the PDF a market standard because it made the PDF file format usable on the internet where the other competitors could not. As the internet started to boom in the 1990s the PDF became more and more popular (prepressure, 2011). Postscript and the PDF were developed for the print industry. Adobe Photoshop is well known today; thought this software was not directly developed by Adobe, the company saw an opportunity to market it. Photoshop was first developed by Thomas and John Knoll in 1987. John was unhappy with the graphics on the Macintosh computer at this time and he began writing his own code to make the Mac work they way he wanted it to, while Thomas was working on imagining process for his thesis. Both of the brothers started a collaboration and named their software Display. Unfortunately, when the brothers presented their software, now called ImagePro (then later change to Photoshop) to companies in 1988, it was rejected because many these companies were working on similar software or they just did not like the software. When the brothers presented the software to Adobe, the company was impressed with the program. The product was licensed and distributed by Adobe and the Knolls received royalties for this. Adobe added new features to the software with Thomas cod ing them; Adobe mass-marketed Photoshop in 1990 and the rest is history (computerarts, 2005). With these examples, Adobe was able to capture the need of the consumer and market and tweak the technology to make it better. The PDF and Photoshop may have been slow to take off, but Adobe came out the winner because it saw an opportunity to be successful. Adobe has acquired many companies since its inception in 1982 and the products of the former companies have made Adobe profitable. The most famous acquisition was Macromedia, the company that developed Flash and Dreamweaver for the web. Flash, which was first known as FutureSplash Animator, was developed Jonathan Gay in 1995. When Gay decided he wanted to partner with a bigger company, he approached Adobe with his software. Unfortunately, Adobe was not impressed and passed on it. Macromedia bought the program in 1996; fast forward to nine years later and the program would become Adobes own (Beach, n.d.). Adobe has made massive improvements to Flash since Macromedias acquisition in 2005, thus making the company profitable with this software as it is very widely known and used. Value Added for Adobes Products Adobe has added value to all of the products it has introduced to the market. The PDF for example offers many benefits for users. The look of a document is preserved when it is viewed on screen. PDF files can be shared easily among users and is easy and convenient to use. Users can view PDF files on all their electronic gadgets including smartphones and tablets. Not only is Adobe Acrobat easy to use, but it is also free to download. This format is used by individuals, companies and the government. Business and government websites uses this file format because it is easy to use, convenient, fast, and it makes documents easy to print. All of these factors adds value to Acrobat and for these reasons is a market standard internationally. Adobe Photoshop is internationally famous. When people hear or say the term photoshopped they are obviously referring to images that has been modified using Adobes program. Photoshop is used by millions of professional people internationally including fashion designers, photographers, architectures, graphic designers, animators, publishers, film and video pros, and web designers (photoshop.com, 2012). This software allows people to be creative and have freedom and control with their work. For example, marketers can use Photoshop to create an amazing ad seen worldwide. By using Photoshop, people create something that is valuable to them to share with others. Photoshop may have started off small, but the enhancements and features Adobe has added over the years to this software have made it very valuable to people. Adobe Flash may not have been an original idea of the company but like with Photoshop, the company has enhanced it and made it better. Flash is used in the gaming industry, advertisements, animation, and in web applications. This software is used on desktops and mobile devices, is convenient to users, and free of charge. Many web sites, including YouTube uses the Flash as this software has a large user base and it is easy to program (Wikipedia, 2012). Flash makes the internet come alive for many people and the user experience is enhanced when this product is downloaded. The software enhances the look of a webpage making it attractive to users. Adobe flash is slowly declining at the moment and many web developers are favoring HTML5 video. This new type of technology does not rely upon a plugin the way Flash does. Apple has been very critical of Flash because of its security issues and sluggishness and Microsoft did not support Flash in Windows 8. As a result of all these factors, Adobe will no longer improve the flash player on mobile devices and is favoring the HTML5 video (website design and creation, 2012). Even though Flash is declining, it still has a strong presence in the market as many still use this software. Adobe helps retailers, publishers, and marketers with digital solutions. These businesses use Adobe services and products to enhance their users experience to make it meaningful, personalized, and interactive. Most of these businesses communicate with their target audience through the web or on mobile or tablet devices. They are able to build their brand, manage and customize content, and gather customer intelligence. For example, Vanity Fair, uses Adobes Digital Publishing Suite to create a rich and interactive experience for its monthly digital publication on the iPad. American Eagle Outfitters uses Adobes Digital Marketing Suite, which includes Abobe Analytics to see where their customer traffic is coming from, to help the retailer understand what products their customers are looking at, and how their customers are responding to their market initiatives. The company uses these analytics to its advantage to make a difference for their customers online shopping experience. David Fin cher, the director for the film The Social Network, used Adobe Creative Suite during post production of the film (Adobe, 2012). Adobes software solutions and services have helped businesses all across the globe to become more efficient, productive and profitable, hence adding value to what it provides. Core and Distinctive Competencies Adobes core competencies include its software and its services. The company is able to provide distinctive products, services and solutions to its customers worldwide for their various needs. The products that Adobe delivers makes customer experiences fun and make their creative side thrive. The software that the company provides are some of the most used and recognized software in the world and cannot be imitated to work the same way or give users the same experience they would have when using Adobe software. Adobe has great talent as well including creative developers with their own core competencies and software engineers. The company is also very flexible as it dabbles in marketing, broadcasting, publishing, retail, financial services, and media and provides solutions and software for these trades. Adobes distinctive competency is its huge and impressive acquisition list, which is certainly a value-creation strategy for the firm. These acquisitions have helped Adobes businesses in publishing, marketing, and computing. As discussed before, Adobes acquisitions of Macromedia and Photoshop have made the company very profitable from the existing software of those two providers. Other examples include Omniture and Efficient Frontier Technology; both were acquired by Adobe in September 2009 and November 2011 (Wikipedia, 2012) respectively. Omniture is a web analytics company which helps clients measure users purchasing activities on the web (Hoovers, 2012). Adobe has incorporated Omnitures analytics software into its digital market business unit creating the Adobe Marketing Cloud (Adobe, 2012) Adobes marketing clients can use the software and solutions to help them track what their customers purchase or is viewing online in order to provide better services or have a better marketing c ampaign. Adobes acquisition of Efficient Frontier has also helped its digital marketing business by providing search engine marketing using the modern portfolio theory, and display and social media campaigns (crunchbase, 2012). Adobes clients can utilize the algorithms Efficient Frontier provides to increase their ad performance along with Adobe Dynamic Ad Targeting solution (adexchanger, 2011) to become more profitable. Adobes acquisitions is a smart move for the company because talent, resources, and capabilities are all pooled together making the company more valuable. With the existing software of the companies Adobe has acquired, costs are truncated because Adobe does not have to use its own resources to create these technologies; instead, the companies utilizes what it has acquired to make a better experience for its clients. These acquisitions have made the company evolve to make its brand name more valuable. Organizational Structure, Culture, and Leadership Fig 1.1 Adobes Organizational Chart Like many huge organizations in the business world, Adobe has a bureaucratic and centralized structure; it is a top down organization where the CEO is control and in charge of the companys strategic decisions. The levels of the organization and roles of the employees are clearly defined. According to Adobes website, employees are encouraged to be creative and to think outside the box. This would most likely be the slogan of any technology company because technology changes every day and becomes more complex as time passes; a person has to be creative when they work in this industry. Employees at this company often collaborate on huge projects, including the employees from Adobes acquisitions. The teams are inspiring and the individual talents are respected and recognized. Employees are encouraged to be ambitious where they can achieve their full potential. The growth within the company for an individual is endless. The company provides wellness and fitness program and good compensation and benefit plans. Adobe is committed to ethical and honest business practices and has a great deal of pride regarding corporate social responsibility and global corporate citizenship. Employees at Adobe participate in the local community and have a commitment to the environment. The c ompany value people as its greatest asset and the culture here is very open. Adobes CEO, Shantanu Narayen took his cue from Apple about leadership when he was employed by the company. He creates a common vision for the organization and challenges his employees by setting goals. He likes when employees use their creativity to come up with solutions to these goals. He believes that great work is motivating and leads to a great impact on the world. Narayen gives general managers at Adobe freedom to run their own business units the way they want. They are encouraged to grow and take risks and there is room for mistakes. The management team is encouraged to present ideas and discuss their insights into the business about what is working and what is not when there is the quarterly business is conducted; they are coached and guided by Narayen in the problem areas. The CEO thinks that managers being on top of the data is meaningless and wants to know more about what is keeping his managers up at night. Teams at Abobe are built by complementing peoples strengths by s urrounding them with people who can complement their areas of weakness. Narayen hires people who are highly intelligent, have a passion for what they do, and share the same values as Adobe as he believes these three qualities leads to success (Narayen, 2009). Strategy, Timing, and Deployment Since its inception in 1982, Adobe has always been where the action is. The desktop publishing era started at this time with laser printers, which used a program called InterPress developed by Xerox, however, this software was not very flexible. Warnock and Geschke developed PostScript at this time in a much simpler language and marketed it in 1984. When Apple developed its laser printer in 1985, it adopted Postscript to work with it. (Wikipedia, 2012). Adobes strategy here was to license and market its technology to OEMs such as IBM, Texas Instruments, and Apple. The strategy paid off because Postscript had become the standard for laser printers into the 1990s and it made Adobe very profitable. Postscript became a big hit with the publishing industry because it was extremely useful for professionals who were in the creative field (fundinguniverse, n.d.). Adobe acquired one of its major competitors in the desktop publishing industry, Aldus Corporation, the creator of desktop publishi ng software, in 1994 and now had rights to Alduss products with this acquisition (Wikipedia, 2012). Adobe was now a market leader in the industry due to its successful strategies. Adobe began to focus on creating new software when the internet began to boom in the mid-nineties. The company acquired Cencena Communications, Inc. in 1995 to strengthen its position in the market. Cencena developed communication and management tools for the world wide web and Adobe saw an opportunity. With Adobes creation of the PDF at this time and the web management tools of Cencena, the companies combined technologies helped to produce new solutions for customers and acquire a broader range of customers. Adobe was now able to integrate its software with companies such as Microsoft, Netscape, and ATT (The Free Library, 1995). When Adobe wanted to expand more rapidly into digital media, it acquired Macromedia in 2005, one of Adobes biggest competitors. Macromedia developed cutting edge software, such as Flash; once again with Macromedias and Adobes technology, Adobe was able to make its software evolve and capture new markets. Adobes current strategy involves focusing on digital media and digital marketing. The company is investing resources into HTML5 video and has acquired Nitobi, an open source software company (Adobe, 2012). When businesses and individuals need new and better solutions, Adobe steps in with its software and acquires companies that can help it evolve in the industry. Strategic partnership has always been this companys strategy and this is something Adobe does very well. Conclusion Adobe has done well as a corporation for the past thirty years. The company has developed amazing products during the past years which have had an impact on millions of people internationally and has added value to their lives and work. Adobe is able to understand what it customers needs and wants are and has catered to them with its excellent solutions and easy to use products; this has made the company become successful over the years. Adobes culture is open and encouraging and its leadership is supporting and inspiring. These factors are indicative for creativity in the company. Successful acquisitions have made the Adobe evolve with combined technologies and talent, which has led to new technologies and products for its customers. Adobes impact on the software industry has made it a powerful and well established corporation.

Religion :: essays research papers

In 1886 the Catholic bishops of the United States published a pastoral letter entitled Economic Justice for All. There were two main reasons for this letter: first of all they wanted to illustrate an understanding of the nature and reason for economic activity from the view of the Catholic and theological thought; furthermore they also wanted to evaluate the workings of the American economy, both from a national and international point of view. As the letter states, â€Å"Every perspective on economic life that is human, moral, and Christian must be shaped be three questions: What does the economy do for people? What does the economy do to people? And how do people participate in it?† This pastoral letter symbolizes the most aspiring effort of the Catholic bishops of the United States. The bishops also put forth another aspiring effort to make the ideas and insights of people throughout the United States a reality. Even though the bishops of the United States were trying their best to make this a lasting and historical document, it unfortunately found a way to generate considerable controversy. There were critics who said that the bishops were going into an economic battlefield where they have little experience. However, this is a chance for the American people to help out and give their support to not only the bishops but the poor people too. The bishops were hoping that the Economic Justice for All will eventually have an impact, both on the political perspective and also the economic realities of the United States citizens. The Catholics in the United States hope that the social justice will set the stage for reflection and action for the future. Because of the many Catholics here in the United States the dioceses started to put forth their efforts in doing what was needed to get this program on its feet. This is what started the beginning of a new awareness of the relationship between the struggle for economic justice and the mission of th e church. Even though there were many people working hard the question still remains: When hard times start to arise will the American people create the opportunity for the poor to find a job in this economic and socialistically dominated world. If indeed the American economy is willing to accept, the pastoral can provide a powerful building block of the policies and programs which are necessary to create a society that will be for the justice for all.

Autism and Social Skills Essay

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that ranges from mild to severe impairments in communication, social interaction, and repetitive pattern of interest. Children with autism need early social skills support to develop their social interactions and understanding. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and socialization among young children and adolescence is one of the major impairments, along with language individuals have. Social skills groups are prearranged groups with, a direct goal orientated to engage young children and adolescences with the appropriate support, in the development of social skills. Social skills groups for young children and adolescences can be a viable tool, in helping children with ASD to learn how to socialize appropriately. The Socialization of young children with a diagnosis of ASD has shown some positive results. This pilot study was conducted in response to the heightened awareness and the need for young children with ASD to learn social skills. The parents of autistic children, the children that have a diagnosis of ASD and the facilitators of the groups, will engage the children in social sessions, in hopes to build social relationships. The parents will fill out questionnaires as to the progress they see their children making. This pilot study sets out to answer the following two questions. Is participation in a social skills group beneficial for young children / adolescence with ASD from the child’s, Parents and the facilitator’s perspectives? The second question posed was, is there any improvement in the autistic child’s ability to communicate or interrelate socially. Methodology Based on a review of literature on Autism, a psychologist and a clinical psychologist planed a structured 5-week program, for one-hour sessions, one day a week. Only children with a diagnosis of ASD were invited. The children’s ages ranged from seven to 18. Using the qualitative method, the parental focus group was used to gather data and answer two research questions. Each parent received three questionnaires developed for the purpose of this evaluation. One was a pre- questionnaire, to be completed at the beginning of the groups, the post questionnaire, at the end of groups, and a review questionnaire, to be completed six months following the social skills groups. The questionnaires were used for the parents to rate their child’s current level of difficulties. Results and Discussions The high cost of one on one therapy for autistic children has become too high for caregivers and the need for alternative approaches was necessary. Evidence suggested that social skills groups for autistic children would be an alternative Dunlop, Knott and Mackay (2000). The information gathered from parent questionnaires and through observations from the facilitators and the higher functioning adolescents with ASD showed there was a need for social skills programs. Some parents felt their children benefitted and others seen no change. The feedback was very positive and most of the participants would like the social skills groups to continue. There were several areas identified within the program that needs fine-tuning such as, smaller groups, the level or severity of ASD the children have, longer duration of sessions without summer breaks and addressing how to manage the challenging behaviors some of the autistic children displayed, which prevented them from engaging socially within the groups. There was no time for one on one interaction, to encourage those children that did not socialize during the five-week program. The facilitators observed this and felt that it was an important issue to address along with the other recommendations above, when planning social skills programs. I choose this article because I am a parent of an autistic child and I am always looking for new treatment methods. I like to stay informed of all the new research on autism to share with my son. I think there is a need to socialize all persons with autism and the ideal of social skills groups cannot hurt; it can enhance the quality of life for the autistic child.

Deception Point Page 93

POTUS. She felt a sudden surge of hope. Something about POTUS struck Gabrielle as being a perfect Sexton password. Simple, positive, self-referential. She quickly typed in the letters. POTUS. Holding her breath, she hit â€Å"return.† The computer beeped. Invalid Password – Access Denied Slumping, Gabrielle gave up. She headed back toward the bathroom door to exit the way she had come. She was halfway across the room, when her cellphone rang. She was already on edge, and the sound startled her. Stopping short, she pulled out her phone and glanced up to check the time on Sexton's prized Jourdain grandfather clock. Almost 4:00 A.M. At this hour, Gabrielle knew the caller could only be Sexton. He was obviously wondering where the hell she was. Do I pick up or let it ring? If she answered, Gabrielle would have to lie. But if she didn't, Sexton would get suspicious. She took the call. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Gabrielle?† Sexton sounded impatient. â€Å"What's keeping you?† â€Å"The FDR Memorial,† Gabrielle said. â€Å"The taxi got hemmed in, and now we're-â€Å" â€Å"You don't sound like you're in a taxi.† â€Å"No,† she said, her blood pumping now. â€Å"I'm not. I decided to stop by my office and pick up some NASA documents that might be relevant to PODS. I'm having some trouble finding them.† â€Å"Well, hurry up. I want to schedule a press conference for the morning, and we need to talk specifics.† â€Å"I'm coming soon,† she said. There was a pause on the line. â€Å"You're in your office?† He sounded suddenly confused. â€Å"Yeah. Another ten minutes and I'll be on my way over.† Another pause. â€Å"Okay. I'll see you soon.† Gabrielle hung up, too preoccupied to notice the loud and distinctive triple-tick of Sexton's prized Jourdain grandfather clock only a few feet away. 113 Michael Tolland did not realize Rachel was hurt until he saw the blood on her arm as he pulled her to cover behind the Triton. He sensed from the catatonic look on her face that she was not aware of any pain. Steadying her, Tolland wheeled to find Corky. The astrophysicist scrambled across the deck to join them, his eyes blank with terror. We've got to find cover, Tolland thought, the horror of what had just happened not yet fully registering. Instinctively, his eyes raced up the tiers of decks above them. The stairs leading up to the bridge were all in the open, and the bridge itself was a glass box-a transparent bull's-eye from the air. Going up was suicide, which left only one other direction to go. For a fleeting instant, Tolland turned a hopeful gaze to the Triton submersible, wondering perhaps if he could get everyone underwater, away from the bullets. Absurd. The Triton had room for one person, and the deployment winch took a good ten minutes to lower the sub through the trap door in the deck to the ocean thirty feet below. Besides, without properly charged batteries and compressors, the Triton would be dead in the water. â€Å"Here they come!† Corky shouted, his voice shrill with fear as he pointed into the sky. Tolland didn't even look up. He pointed to a nearby bulkhead, where an aluminum ramp descended belowdecks. Corky apparently needed no encouragement. Keeping his head low, Corky scurried toward the opening and disappeared down the incline. Tolland put a firm arm around Rachel's waist and followed. The two of them disappeared belowdecks just as the helicopter returned, spraying bullets overhead. Tolland helped Rachel down the grated ramp to the suspended platform at the bottom. As they arrived, Tolland could feel Rachel's body go suddenly rigid. He wheeled, fearing maybe she'd been hit by a ricocheting bullet. When he saw her face, he knew it was something else. Tolland followed her petrified gaze downward and immediately understood. Rachel stood motionless, her legs refusing to move. She was staring down at the bizarre world beneath her. Because of its SWATH design, the Goya had no hull but rather struts like a giant catamaran. They had just descended through the deck onto a grated catwalk that hung above an open chasm, thirty feet straight down to the raging sea. The noise was deafening here, reverberating off the underside of the deck. Adding to Rachel's terror was the fact that the ship's underwater spotlights were still illuminated, casting a greenish effulgence deep into the ocean directly beneath her. She found herself gazing down at six or seven ghostly silhouettes in the water. Enormous hammerhead sharks, their long shadows swimming in place against the current-rubbery bodies flexing back and forth. Tolland's voice was in her ear. â€Å"Rachel, you're okay. Eyes straight ahead. I'm right behind you.† His hands were reaching around from behind, gently trying to coax her clenched fists off the banister. It was then that Rachel saw the crimson droplet of blood roll off her arm and fall through the grating. Her eyes followed the drip as it plummeted toward the sea. Although she never saw it hit the water, she knew the instant it happened because all at once the hammerheads spun in unison, thrusting with their powerful tails, crashing together in a roiling frenzy of teeth and fins. Enhanced telencephalon olfactory lobes†¦ They smell blood a mile away. â€Å"Eyes straight ahead,† Tolland repeated, his voice strong and reassuring. â€Å"I'm right behind you.† Rachel felt his hands on her hips now, urging her forward. Blocking out the void beneath her, Rachel started down the catwalk. Somewhere above she could hear the rotors of the chopper again. Corky was already well out in front of them, reeling across the catwalk in a kind of drunken panic. Tolland called out to him. â€Å"All the way to the far strut, Corky! Down the stairs!† Rachel could now see where they were headed. Up ahead, a series of switchback ramps descended. At water level, a narrow, shelflike deck extended the length of the Goya. Jutting off this deck were several small, suspended docks, creating a kind of miniature marina stationed beneath the ship. A large sign read: DIVE AREA Swimmers May Surface without Warning – Boats Proceed with Caution- Rachel could only assume Michael did not intend for them to do any swimming. Her trepidation intensified when Tolland stopped at a bank of wire-mesh storage lockers flanking the catwalk. He pulled open the doors to reveal hanging wetsuits, snorkels, flippers, life jackets, and spearguns. Before she could protest, he reached in and grabbed a flare gun. â€Å"Let's go.† They were moving again. Up ahead, Corky had reached the switchback ramps and was already halfway down. â€Å"I see it!† he shouted, his voice sounding almost joyous over the raging water. See what? Rachel wondered as Corky ran along the narrow walkway. All she could see was a shark-infested ocean lapping dangerously close. Tolland urged her forward, and suddenly Rachel could see what Corky was so excited about. At the far end of the decking below, a small powerboat was moored. Corky ran toward it. Rachel stared. Outrun a helicopter in a motorboat? â€Å"It has a radio,† Tolland said. â€Å"And if we can get far enough away from the helicopter's jamming†¦ â€Å" Rachel did not hear another word he said. She had just spied something that made her blood run cold. â€Å"Too late,† she croaked, extending a trembling finger. We're finished†¦ When Tolland turned, he knew in an instant it was over. At the far end of the ship, like a dragon peering into the opening of a cave, the black helicopter had dropped down low and was facing them. For an instant, Tolland thought it was going to fly directly at them through the center of the boat. But the helicopter began to turn at an angle, taking aim. Tolland followed the direction of the gun barrels. No!

The man, the woman and the moon Professor Ramos Blog

The man, the woman and the moon Reading the short story â€Å"there was a man, there was a woman† I first initially thought the story centered around two people, a man, and woman, who were going through difficulties and drinking in hopes that they would have the courage to finally speak out on how they were feeling. However, when discussing it with my peers and professor, I came to realize it doesnt necessarily state what the man and woman were feeling or if at all they were going through the same thing. For example, the man could be drinking to finally open up about something hard going on in his life. And the woman could be drinking to finally open up that she has been doing really well lately, or vice versa. Considering the author, Sandra Cisneros, left out those details is all about interpretation, and made me really question, if she did that because she wanted us to see ourselves, whether we are going through a hard time, or a good time in our lives and how the characters reflect that on ourselves. It a lso seems very parallel with their lives, how they are going through the same thing, going to the bar every Friday but in different weeks on Fridays in hopes that the alcohol in their veins would spark and lead to them being brave enough to open up about their lives, but yet the alcohol never does its supposed job, but then why do they still come back is also a rising question of mine. Which goes back to the initial question of, what is it they want to open up about, and is the author trying to convey a message through her characters. I chose this story because of my interests of the characters, both the man and the woman, who are nameless, and only motioned with a direct way of calling them ‘the man’ or ‘the woman’. The theme is in all actuality a correlated pairing and opposite parallel multifunction. The opposites are that they are the opposite gender to each other and that they both come to the bar on different Fridays because of their paychecks. But they both come for the same reason, and on Fridays with friends. With that being said, I think it wouldnt be hard to guess that only one of hem was going through a hard time, and the other a good time. Or that both of them were going through a hard time. The reason for the estimated response to their behavior would be that whenever their paycheck came to be they would go to the bar, and drink until they thought they would open up, but never did. It seems like they drink a lot if they hope alcohol would be a way for them to open up but th ey never do, so it doesnt seem very impossible, it actually seems likely that they drink a lot. It says â€Å" The man drank and drank with his friends and believed if he drank and drank, the words for what he was feeling would slip out more readily, but usually he simply drank and said nothing.† and the same parallel statement with the woman. Backing that claim, whenever they got their paycheck they would head to the bar, as if the minute they could get alcohol, they would get it, without any thinking involved and head to the bar. It seems they might have a drinking problem and rely on drinks for their sense of trying to open up. I can interpret two outcomes of the ending of the story which I thought was quite fascinating. Throughout the story, every detail of the woman had a parallel to the mans and vice verse, except on the ending. It tells that the woman would come home, and cry herself to sleep where the man would contemplate and stare at the moon, and swallow his tears. This could mean, that society makes it hard for men to open up and not share their feelings with anyone, not even themselves, so they dont even cry when no one is around. Yet the woman cried when no one was around, because she might have felt safe and comfortable to do so. Or this could mean that the man, had something happy to say because he didnt cry and that the woman didnt. Which wouldnt be hard to believe because the whole short story is rotation is pinned at the barrels of these two individuals and the selected whereabouts of their lives. Or it could mean that because the woman had something happy to reveal she cried because of the feelings of happiness, and that the man didnt cry and instead wallowed up his tears because of the fact that it was hard to open up about. The moon also seems to bring a=out o symbolic message in this short story, one of realizing that it was another parallel where they both looked into it at night, where one cried, and the other swallowed. The woman only looked at the moon and cried, but the man looked at the moon, thought about â€Å"those who had worshipped or loved, or died before that same moon, mute and lovely. Now blue light streamed inside his window and tangled itself with the glow of the sheets. The moon, the same round O. The man looked and swallowed† It seems like the man got more indulgence in this, and the author didnt make it subtle either. The difference of the ending is a clear divide and it could be into societys view of gender roles, or different placement of where they were at in their lives at the very moment. The answer is unclear on what exactly wa s happening and why the different reactions. Why did the man contemplate and swallow? And why didnt the woman do the same? Is it because they are going through different things? Or maybe its because of who they were are people, or maybe there is something that happened in the past that made them who they are, a hidden detail, that reveals why and how they had different reactions and why everything was parallel to each but the very strange ending. There are many things we can take into consideration, it seems like the both of them are in looking for something but no finding it, and it seems like it each other that they long for. It doesnt even have to be in a romantic way, but maybe just a friend who will understand, but because they have a schedule that they both pay credit to, they never met. This lesson may be teaching us that what we are looking for is there, if we not only look hard enough, but try different things, and challenge yourself to be uncomfortable in needs to grow. It also teaches us that no matter what youre going through, you are not alone, and the moon symbol helps portray that. That it is someone in the world right now, saving their sorrows for the moon, their laughs for the moon, their hearts and souls to bare in front of the moon before them. And that you are never alone.

Las vegas Essay Example

Las vegas Essay Example Las vegas Essay Las vegas Essay there was really a crisp turnaround in December 1989 due to the gap of the Mirage in Las Vegas ( 21 ) . Statewide casino grosss for Nevada dramatically increased besides as a consequence of the new megaresorts opening. In 1989, harmonizing to the 1990 Annual Study of Financial Results and Reporting Tendencies: U.S. Gaming Industry, statewide casino grosss were $ 4.5 billion, a 10.2 per centum year-to-year addition over the $ 4.1 billion in grosss for 1988 ( 21 ) . In Nevada, the Las Vegas Strip represented 47 % of the province s entire casino/hotel grosss ( 21 ) . Casino grosss of the Strip s 27 operations besides passed the $ 2 billion grade, a figure in surplus of what the full province produced in 1979 ( 21 ) . This figure was a 6.4 % addition over the old twelvemonth ( 21 ) . In add-on, by the terminal of 1990, Las Vegas had the largest figure of hotel suites of any metropolis in US. Over one million square pess of convention infinite was besides added, cementing Las Vegas as a major convention finish. In the survey, Laventhol A ; Horwath predicted that though the sudden inflow of new suites and casino infinite would at first adversely affect the net incomes of some casinos, over the long term, with the exhilaration generated by these alterations, Las Vegas will emerge as an even more powerful magnet for touristry. They were right. By 1999, bet oning in Nevada represented 40 % of the entire US non-Indian casino bet oning market ( McGowan 30 ) . As a consequence of the new strain of ace casinos, Las Vegas has become the metropolis where there is merely excessively much to see and make in a few yearss. The mean length of stay in Las Vegas had a 12 % addition between 1998 and 1999, and there was an addition of 18 % in Las Vegas visitant disbursement between 1998 and 1999 ( 37 ) . The Las Vegas Visitor Profile Study showed that there was a 19 % addition in chancing budget, 14 % addition in lodging, 21 % addition in nutrient and drink, a 10 % addition in shopping, and a 21 % addition in show grosss ( McGowan36 ) . In 1999, Las Vegas gambling had a 18 per centum addition of in gambling gross, yet, had an even larger 31 per centum addition in non-gaming gross. ( 37 ) . The immense addition in non-gaming gross can be attributed to several chief factors, harmonizing to McGowan ( 37 ) . First, Las Vegas became a all right dining attraction- Las Vegas is now celebrated both for its inexpensive counters and five star, celebrity-chef headed eating houses. In add-on, Las Vegas shows have become more and more elaborate and expensive over the old ages, hosting top stars such as Barbara Streisand, Elton John, and Celine Dion ; there are besides forte shows such as the Cirque du Soleil shows, and of class, packaging events. There besides has been a enormous success in Las Vegas Strip retail shops. In 1999, 53 % of visitants shopped while in Las Vegas ( 37 ) . Social Costss of the Gaming Industry Despite the good and attractive economic growing, revenue enhancement gross, and employment effects of casinos, there are still many on-going concerns and arguments over the casinos doing chancing dependences, which result in damaging societal costs ( Walker 2 ) . The casino industry has maintained through the old ages that its merchandise is merely a signifier of amusement, much like watching athleticss or films, which besides have monetary values attached to them. However, research workers argue that chancing is basically different from other signifiers of amusement because of the societal costs of chancing dependences. A societal cost is defined as a â€Å"reduction in societal existent wealth†- the wealth spoken of here does non mention to hard currency money, but instead, whatever is valued by persons ( 88 ) . Addicted, pathological gamblers inflict high societal costs, which could really countervail the economic benefits of casinos. Many research workers have written about the societal costs of chancing dependence, which include: loss of income from missed work, decreased productiveness on the occupation, depression and physical unwellness related to emphasize, increased self-destruction efforts, bailout costs, unrecovered loans to pathological gamblers, unpaid debts and bankruptcies, higher insurance premiums ensuing from pathological gambler-caused fraud, corruptness of public functionaries, strive on public services, industry cannibalization ( that is, other industries suffer losingss due to casinos gap in a town or metropolis ) , and divorces caused by chancing ( Walker 87 ) . Thompson did a survey in 1997 about the one-year societal cost ( in dollars ) per compulsive gambler. He found that for one compulsive gambler, the societal cost is about $ 9,469. This includes therapy ( $ 361 ) , unemployment compensation ( $ 214 ) , bad debts ( $ 1487 ) , bankruptcy tribunal costs ( $ 334 ) , public assistance costs ( $ 334 nutrient casts and assistance to dependent kids ) , and condemnable justness costs ( $ 3,498 larcenies, apprehensions, captivity ) ( Walker 98 ) . These societal costs are unloaded unto others, and non paid by the addicted gambler, which is besides why Thompson did non include any figures refering money stolen by a compulsive gambler, which he considers to be a wealth transportation, non a societal cost. Walker and Barnett besides studied the emotional costs that pathological gamblers impose on to their friends and households ; these emotional loads can besides be considered to be societal costs ( Walker 101 ) . Bailout costs are non, harmonizing to Walker, considered to be societal costs, but this is merely another negative consequence of gamblers dependences. Identifying a Gambling Addiction A individual with a chancing dependence is non merely person who likes to travel and chance a batch ; there are several trials that can name a pathological gambler. The DSM-IV is a diagnostic instrument used in psychological science and psychopathology that classifies chancing dependences by inquiring a figure of inquiries. A individual is diagnosed as a pathological gambler if he or she can be described by five or more of the undermentioned conditions ( DSM-IV 1994, p. 618 ) : The person†¦ The person†¦ is preoccupied with gaming ( e.g. preoccupied with live overing past gaming experiences, disabling or be aftering the following venture, or thought of ways to acquire money with which to chance ) demands to chance with increasing sums of money in order to accomplish the coveted exhilaration. has repeated unsuccessful attempts to command, cut back, or halt gaming. is ungratified or cranky when trying to cut down or halt gaming gambles as a manner of get awaying from jobs or of alleviating a distressed temper ( e.g. , feelings of weakness, guilt, anxiousness, depression ) . after losing money gaming, frequently returns another twenty-four hours to acquire even ( trailing one s losingss ) prevarications to household members, healer, or others to hide the extent of engagement with chancing has committed illegal Acts of the Apostless such as Has jeopardized or lost a important relationship, occupation, or educational or calling chance because of chancing relies on others to supply money to alleviate a despairing fiscal state of affairs caused by chancing ( Walker 168-169 ) . ( Walker 168-169 ) . It is of import to inquire gamblers how the individual financed his/her gaming, and the maximal sum lost in one twenty-four hours, because clinicians rely on these estimations to mensurate the decrease in chancing activity station intervention ( Walker 120 ) . It is hard nevertheless, to deduce and cipher gaming losingss, because gamblers frequently do nt cognize how much money they have spent and who they have borrowed from ( because they ve borrowed from so many people ) ( 121 ) . Thompson and Schwer besides estimated the societal costs of chancing specifically in Las Vegas entirely. They estimated that 3.5 % of the population is a pathological gambler ( which translates to about 38,571 grownups ) , with an estimated cost per gambler of $ 10,053 per twelvemonth, and a entire estimated cost per twelvemonth of $ 387.8 million ( Walker 130 ) . Why the Argument over Social Costs Is Relevant Understanding the societal costs of chancing is indispensable to researching the success of casinos, because casinos frequently sharply market to consumers who have high chancing dependence rates within their communities. For case, casino operators sharply pursue Asians both domestically and abroad. These targeted demographics include the freshly affluent Chinese ( who have late become Las Vegas best clients ) , Asian-Americans, and recent immigrants from the Pacific Rim ( Rivlin ) . One major attempt to provide to Asiatic clients includes redesigning immense parts of casino floors in order to appeal to the gustatory sensations of Asiatic invitees. Harrah s Entertainment, which owns casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, has been a taste-maker in this field. In early 2006, Harrah s opened a gambling and dining country, inspired by Ming- and Song-dynasty architecture, at the Showboat in Atlantic City ( Rivlin ) . The company imported carven forests from China in order to make a twelve chemin de fer tabular arraies ( which is the preferable game for many Asiatic participants ) , and several tabular arraies for pai gow fire hook. Other casinos have followed suit, such as the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, which have besides built all-Asian chancing cavities. Due to these attempts, table game gross at the Showboat increased 35 % in 2006, which was an addition from $ 46 million to $ 63 million. The casino besides doubled its concern among its Asiatic participants. In Las Vegas, these successful alterations are besides being implemented- Asian-themed chemin de fer salons are distributing across Las Vegas, and this is entirely due to its popularity among the Chinese, harmonizing to William Weidner, the president of Las Vegas Sands ( which is the parent company of the Venetian ) . The ground for these high-cost alterations are because of high rollers, sometimes called giants, who are the improbably affluent V.I.P. s who will put on the line 1000000s of dollars over a individual weekend, or 10s of 1000s of dollars on one manus. 80 per centum of Las Vegas biggest giants are from Asia, most of them baccarat participants from China and Hong Kong ( Rivlin ) . Harmonizing to Weidner, the Asiatic client normally spends much more of their disposable income on gaming, and even is known to take their repasts in the chemin de fer salon. Mr. Weidner recognizes the importance of his Asiatic invitees and their money to his concern. He even travels to Hong Kong with an translator in order to plan his casinos with the advice of a feng shui maestro. The job with selling to Asiatic clients is nt with these giants from abroad, but with the aggressive selling tactics used to court less-affluent Asian-Americans. Las Vegas casinos create advertizements written in Asiatic idioms, and topographic point those advertizements in Asian community newspapers in metropoliss near Las Vegas ( Rivlin ) . They besides send out Mailers written in a receiver s native linguistic communication, and despatch particular coachs to any Chinatown within a twenty-four hours s thrust. Harmonizing to Dr. Fong, the co-director of the Gambling Studies Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, the impact of these attempts is major and widespread. Gambling is an tremendous portion of Asiatic civilization, harmonizing to Kent Woo, the executive manager of the NICOS Chinese Health Coalition in San Francisco, and Woo feels that casinos are working those civilizations and making dependences within the communities. Asiatic militants are really concerned, disquieted, and even highly angry over the selling attempts by casino companies, because surveies have suggested that Asians have higher rates of job chancing than any other groups. A long-run survey by Dr. Fong suggests that â€Å"Asians are three times every bit likely as other groups to develop a serious chancing problem.† It must be noted though, that this decision is based merely on a little sample of Asian-American gamblers populating in Los Angeles. Even still, the California authorities has seen fit to take stairss to assist the Asian-American community with their gaming dependences. The authorities created an Asiatic Pacific Islander Problem Gambling Task Force in 2004 ; the focal point of this group is to supply intervention and bar plans for Asian-Americans who can non talk English. It is of import to acknowledge that chancing brings about non merely societal benefits, but harmful societal costs every bit good. Casinos do impact the communities around them tremendously, and they rather perchance are even taking advantage of the failings of a certain community to chance, in order to drive up grosss and net incomes. Dr. Fong says, â€Å"If there s this concealed job of dependence that s non being addressed, and that s what we think is go oning, it will easy eat off at the cloth of the community† ( Rivlin ) .A Change in Focus- â€Å"What Happens Here Stays Here† Although Las Vegas gained its popularity as a touristry hot spot by going a family-friendly finish, in recent old ages the unofficial slogan of Las Vegas has been that â€Å"sin is in again† ( McMullen ) . In the early 2000 s, due to grok selling, Las Vegas enjoyed a Renaissance of kinds, in which there was a newfound moving ridge of popularity for casinos and chancing ( Bogomolny ) . In January 2003, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority launched a $ 58 million, 20-month run centered around the new tagline for the metropolis of Las Vegas: â€Å"What Happens Here, Stays Here† ( Thomaselli ) . This old catch phrase has invaded popular civilization, and Las Vegas one time once more had a new, successful image that redefined the metropolis. Billy Vassiliadis, CEO of R A ; R Partners, which created the run, says that the tagline has become so popular because he researched what it is that makes people want to see Las Vegas ; he found that Las Vegas had a â€Å"li berating capacity† for people- people go to Las Vegas to make and eat and see things they would nt woolgather of making back at place. The run consisted of sexy, high-strung â€Å"Vegas stories† commercials, which, harmonizing to USA Today s Ad Tracker, was the 7th most sympathetic run, and tied with Citibank for the most effectual run of the twelvemonth. Pleased with the success of the ads, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority rolled over R A ; R s contract for an extra five old ages, less than six months into the launch of the run ( Thomaselli ) . Not everyone loves and supports this run though- many company executives disapprove of the hedonism-encouraging run. Steven Hacker, president of the International Association for Exhibition Management, Dallas, said that this run is â€Å"not the most effectual message to direct into the concern sector, as executives are the 1s who decide where conventions are held ( Thomaselli ) . The image of a company may be blemished if the company holds their conferences and conventions in Sin City, where anything goes, and â€Å"What Happens Here, Stays Here.† However, harmonizing toTerry Jicinsky, senior VP-marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, â€Å"convention attending increased by 12.9 % in 2003 compared with 2002, and conventioneers non-gaming economic impact was up 11.8 % last twelvemonth compared to the old year.† Even with disapproval of the wickedness run from corporations, the usage of wickedness to pull visitants has made a strong rejoinder in Las Vegas- after all Las Vegas moniker is Sin City. An increasing figure of Las Vegas hotels and resorts are offering more adult-oriented adjustments and amusement ( McMullen ) . Las Vegas is traveling off from aiming households, and traveling towards marketing peculiarly to â€Å"twenty-and mid-thirtiess, who have no ties and want to truly botch themselves, † harmonizing to Erika Yowell, senior director, media dealingss for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau ( McMullen ) . The Numberss show that there has been success in marketing Las Vegas as an grownup resort area: the average age of visitants coming to Las Vegas dropped somewhat, to 49 in 2004 from 50 in 2003, with the largest addition in visitants in the 21-29 and 31-39 age sets ( McMullen ) . McMullen says that this could be attributed to the wildly popular â€Å"What Happens, Here Stays Here† touristry run, which encourages â€Å"adults to lose their inhibitions.† In add-on, hotels and casinos are marketing more to a great extent to grownups through magazines such as GQ, Playboy and InStyle. The Palms Casino Resort has enjoyed peculiar success in this Las Vegas Renaissance of flashiness, glamor, and wickedness, by utilizing advanced selling in order to aim the individual, big demographic. The four Maloof brothers, who are the billionaire co-owners of the Palms Casino Resort, are Masterss of selling ( Bogomolny ) . The Maloofs understood that competition is highly ferocious in Las Vegas, and that they needed to set up a trade name in order to pull clients and prolong their concern. The Maloofs started off by purchasing less-expensive existent estate non located on the dumbly jammed and competitory Las Vegas Strip. Then, after the resort opened ( to non extraordinary success ) , George Maloof convinced the manufacturers of MTV s The Real World to movie a season at the Palms ( Bogomolny ) . The Maloofs paid $ 1.5 million to restitute the twenty-eighth floor of their hotel, making a posh place for the seven aliens who would populate together and movie a world show together. Once the show aired in 2002, things turned drastically about, and the Palms became tremendously successful due to its appealing to youth. The history of Las Vegas success revolves around the hotel and casino industry aiming households and older visitants but the Maloofs â€Å"tapped into a badly underserved market in Vegas: youth† ( Bogomolny ) . With The Real World, the Maloofs revitalized the old image of chancing as â€Å"a fun societal interest, † and Las Vegas as the topographic point to bask one s young person. While the mean age of a Las Vegas tourer was 59 at the clip, the mean Palms hotel invitee was under 35. The success of the Palms came from their mantra to â€Å"get clients while they re immature, [ because ] you ll perpetrate them to your trade name for life† ( Bogomolny ) . The Palms continues to continue its hip image today by milking all the famous person connexions it can. The Maloofs do whatever they can to pull the â€Å"young, rich, celebrated and beautiful† to â€Å"pull in celebrity-obsessed customers† ( Bogomolny ) . In add-on, the Maloofs realized the importance of cross-promotion. The Maloofs own the NBA squad the Sacramento Kings, and so the Maloofs advertise at Arco Arena, which is where the Kings drama. After their carefully crafted success, the Maloofs have enjoyed the fruits of their labours they unveiled a $ 600 million enlargement of their comparatively little hotel ( the Palms opened with merely 425 hotel suites, compared to the mean 4,000 hotel suites of the hotels on the Las Vegas Strip ) ( Bogomolny ) . They constructed 599 condominium units adjacent to the hotel, and built an extra â€Å"347-room hotel tower themed with party suites and Playboy branded high-end sofa and retail locales, † and â€Å"46 mega su ites and sky penthouses complete with characteristics conducive to furthering the escapist outlook, such as excess sound insularity, private swimming pools, hearths and even basketball courts† ( McMullen ) . The Maloofs became the faces of the new Las Vegas, demoing the metropolis what it takes to regenerate and pull new types of clients in such a dumbly competitory industry. Many other hotel corporations have followed suit in aiming immature visitants. Beaks of America purchased Hotel San Remos on Tropicana Avenue, and spent $ 130 million to restitute and rebrand the 711-room belongings into a Hooters Casino Hotel ( McMullen ) . MGM Mirage has alter the image of Treasure Island, a 2,885-room hotel that opened in 1993, to that of an an exciting and energetic grownup atmosphere, every bit described as Tom Mikulich, president of MGM Mirage. Treasure Island, like several other casino resorts in Las Vegas, has reduced comfortss targeted towards kids, and added attractive forces appealing to more mature audiences. Mikulich says of the alterations to Treasure Island: We downsized our arcade, added a sultry cabaret, changed out the skull-and-crossbones pavilion for more modern-day signage and enhanced the plagiarist show to include the sexy Sirens of Treasure Island† ( McMullen ) . In add-on, there had been an increasing demand for more exciting night life, and the bing hotels took notice, constructing more cabarets and adult-themed shows. The MGM Grand, which opened in 1993, late opened a cabaret, Tabu. New York, New York, which has been in operation since 1997, offers a sexy Cirque du Soleil show called Zumanity. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, which opened in 1999, besides opened a cabaret named Body English. The new end of the 2000s was for Las Vegas hotels to convey in the immature late-night partiers to their belongingss. Effectss of the Recession on Las Vegas Tourism A ; Bet oning Numbers Even though Las Vegas has been one of the â€Å"fastest-growing cities in the U.S.† for twenty old ages, Las Vegas has non been immune to the economic downswing ( Stein ) . In fact, Las Vegas has been particularly hit hard by the recession ; in 2009, Las Vegas touristry and bet oning Numberss suffered record hits. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that in 2008, visitant volume was down 4.4 per centum to 37.5 million, tenancy rates went down 4.4 per centum points to 86 per centum, and the mean day-to-day room rate lowered 9.8 per centum to $ 119.19 ( Velotta ) . These lessenings can be attributed to stop dead recognition markets, increased unemployment, and volatile fuel monetary values, which resulted in decreased consumer assurance, and a lessening in disbursement for travel and touristry. The province Gaming Control Board reported its Numberss for the financial twelvemonth 2008 ( the last six months of 2007-2008 and the first six months of 2008-2009 ) , and bet oning win had its â€Å"steepest per centum diminution in history† ( Velotta ) . Clark County s bet oning win was $ 771.8 million, down 18.4 per centum from the same month a twelvemonth earlier. The Strip s win was down 23.2 per centum to $ 474.2 million. In the Southern Nevada submarkets, downtown Las Vegas win decreased 17.5 per centum to $ 41.3 million, the Boulder strip was away 9.2 per centum to $ 76.3 million, Laughlin fell 18 per centum to $ 37.4 million and Mesquite was down 25.1 per centum to $ 10 million. The touristry Numberss for December 2008 were in line with the province s gambling figures. Visitor volume decreased aggressively by 10.9 per centum to 3 million- this was 2008 s worst monthly per centum diminution ( Velotta ) . In add-on, Las Vegas tenancy fell 9.9 per centum points to 73.3 per centum, which is besides the worst monthly per centum diminution of the twelvemonth. December s mean day-to-day room rate was off 14.2 per centum to $ 96.39 ; this was the first clip in 2008 that the rate went below the $ 100 grade. This is particularly flooring when sing the fact that the mean day-to-day room rate and tenancy degrees in 2008 were at record highs a twelvemonth earlier. Las Vegas, which is the figure one convention metropolis in the U.S. , has besides seen a crisp lessening in convention travel ( Stein ) . Convention attending for December fell 4.7 per centum to 123,588, besides the worst month of the twelvemonth ( although to be just, December is traditionally the worst executing month for conventions ) ( Velotta ) . For the full twelvemonth though, convention traffic fell 5 per centum to 5.9 million. The figure of meetings held was down 16.7 per centum in December to 1,071. For the twelvemonth, it was away 5.8 per centum to 22,454. The lessening in convention traffic can be attributed to the â€Å"AIG effect† ( Stein ) . Sheldon Adelson, a bulk proprietor of Las Vegas Sands, and a casino fable, believes that portion of the ground why convention travel has taken a hit is due to Obama â€Å"vilifying† Las Vegas ( â€Å"Vegas Mogul† ) . In February 2009, Obama made the undermentioned remark: You ca nt take a trip to Las Vegas or down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers dime.† The combination of dirt over bailed-out banking companies such as AIG still taking munificent trips, and the fact that Las Vegas has become synonymous with a â€Å"good time† for grownups has led to what Adelson feels is an unjust onslaught on Vegas. He says, If you are traveling to revile Las Vegas because it s a great topographic point to travel, allow s revile all 30 provinces that legalized gambling What s the deduction here? That the authorities on taxpayer money will merely let people to travel to top ographic points where they will non bask themselves, where they are traveling to detest it ( â€Å"Vegas Mogul† ) . The recoil against corporate disbursals, and freshly image-conscious corporations declining to pass money to go to a topographic point nicknamed Sin City, has â€Å"worsened the travel slack, † and has led to the decrease of occupations as a consequence. Nevada s car traffic Numberss can besides state us how touristry has decreased in the province. December s mean day-to-day car traffic fell 2.5 per centum to 80,736 vehicles a twenty-four hours on all major main roads and 1.3 per centum to 38,586 vehicles on Interstate 15 at the Nevada-California boundary line ( Velotta ) .. For the twelvemonth, traffic was down 5.3 per centum on I-15 and other major main roads Las Vegas besides has the â€Å"highest foreclosure rate of any major tube area† ( Stein ) . Besides, the unemployment rate jumped from 3.8 % to 12.3 % in merely three old ages clip. Those who have been able to maintain their occupations are still enduring, because their pay depends on generous tips from the patronage. The lone cardinal index of touristry that increased in 2008 was room inventory- room stock list is up 5.7 per centum to 140,529 suites ( Velotta ) . However, this is non necessary a good thing for tourism- with more suites, local functionaries will hold to convey in even more tourers and visitants to Las Vegas in order to beef up the tenancy and ADR rates. The addition in room stock list was due to the gaps of the Palazzo, Wynn Encore, Aliante Station, Eastside Cannery, and the gap of a new tower in South Point on Las Vegas Boulevard South. In add-on, there are frozen building undertakings everyplace because casino proprietors borrowed manner excessively much money to construct hotels that were manner excessively large ( Stein ) . Nevada is about belly-up because it relies largely on taxing casino proprietors, with no aggregation of income revenue enhancements ( Stein ) . Due to the lessening in grosss in Las Vegas, the province of Nevada has been devastated. The lone infirmary malignant neoplastic disease flying for uninsured patients had to be closed down due to budget cuts, the Las Vegas Art Museum was lost, and there are empty, closed-down shopfronts everyplace, including the Neonopolis, a $ 100 million, 250,000 sq.ft. promenade. The province is so despairing that Steven Horsford, the bulk leader of the Nevada senate and â€Å"de facto caput of Nevada s government† tried to ordain a corporate income revenue enhancement, but was shot down ( Stein ) . Hope for 2010 The CityCenter Looking to the hereafter though, Nevada seems to be really hopeful that 2010 will demo better Numberss. Most of this optimism hinges on the gap of MGM Mirage s CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip in December 2009. The $ 8 billion CityCenter is described as an â€Å"extraordinary urban resort finish brought to life by eight world-renowned architects† ( â€Å"Vegas City Center† ) . It is a aggregation of hotel resorts, watering place, nightclubs, sofas, and bars, retail shops, abodes, eating houses headed by world-class chefs, dramatic architecture, theatres and shows, convention centres, dynamic public infinites, and art galleries. Conceived in 2004, the intent of the CityCenter was to â€Å"refine and redefine† Las Vegas as a new â€Å"cultural epicentre in the universe, a topographic point that travellers would seek out, much like the Guggenheim in Bilbao or the SONY Center in Berlin† ( â€Å"Vegas City Center† ) . The hope was that the CityCenter would go a topographic point for the community to garner. In add-on, the CityCenter is environmentally responsible- it is one of the largest ( at 18 million square pess ) sustainable developments in the universe. The CityCenter presently has six Gold LEED ® enfranchisements, which is the highest LEED accomplishment by any hotel, retail territory, or residential development in Las Vegas ( â€Å"Vegas CityCenter Earns† ) . Presently, the Vdara Hotel, Crystals retail and amusement territory, Mandarin Oriental, and ARIA Resort A ; Casino ( which has 4,004 technologically advanced guestrooms with floor-to-ceiling Windowss offering positions of the Las Vegas skyline ) have already opened ; The Harmon and residential tenancies are set to open in 2010. CB Richard Ellis Global Gaming Group released its 2010 Las Vegas Strip Forecast A ; Investment Guide, which forecasts per centum additions in overall Las Vegas Strip gross in 2010 ( â€Å"Vegas Strip Revenue† ) . The 85-page study said that overall Las Vegas Strip gross is expected to lift by 3 % to 7 % in 2010 ; this prognosis took into history assorted economic and operational factors, and most peculiarly the CityCenter gap and the impact this undertaking will hold on the Strip. 2008 and 2009 will be remembered as â€Å"two of the most disruptive old ages in the history of the Strip, † harmonizing to the Director of Gaming Research and Analysis for CBRE s Global Gaming Group and co-author of the study, Jacob Oberman ( â€Å"Vegas Strip Revenue† ) . Although Las Vegas Strip casinos are likely to go on sing gross and net incomes diminutions in 2010, future deductions for Las Vegas are positive. CBRE says that â€Å"investor sentiment will probably better as he adline market gross informations measured on a year-over-year footing turns positive. Additionally, market gross growing sets the phase for net positive occupation growing for Strip casinos in 2010, which bodes good for the local Las Vegas economy† ( â€Å"Vegas Strip Revenue† ) . In add-on, harmonizing to the Las Vegas Strip Forecast A ; Investment Guide, â€Å"10 % to 30 % of CityCenter s gross will be incremental gross for the market, while the balance is expected to come at the disbursal of bing Strip casinos. Strip casinos in being prior to October 2009 will see a gross diminution of 3 % to 6.9 % in 2010† ( â€Å"Vegas Strip Revenue† ) . A View against the Optimistic CityCenter Prognosiss Despite these positive prognosiss that the CityCenter will assist Las Vegas recoil in 2010, Jeff Weinstein ( the editor in head of HOTELS Magazine ) believes that the CityCenter will hold to cover with â€Å"serious turning pains† foremost ( Weinstein ) . Many of the condominiums in the CityCenter are still unsold, and the positive prognosiss seem a small unrealistic. Weinstein believes that the CityCenter would really â€Å"cannibalize business† from the other MGM Mirage undertakings on the Las Vegas Strip, and farther injury rates on the Las Vegas Boulevard. Until the economic system is in much better form, the CityCenter will fight. Weinstein believes that the 3-7 % addition in gross for 2010 as predicted by CBRE Global Gaming Group will non happen, and that the added 6,000 suites to hotel stock list due to the CityCenter will merely take to greater competition and more discounting, intending lower room rates in the terminal. As mentioned earlier, when there is more room stock list, it is harder to make full suites. Though the CityCenter has brought great economic benefit to Las Vegas already through the creative activity of 12,000 new occupations, the CityCenter will take clip to make the success that everyone hoped for. The CityCenter opened in the worst possible timing, and it is dubious that the universe will be leaping to see the CityCenter and pass their disposable income at that place. Weinstein hopes fierily though, that possibly in a few old ages clip, when the economic system is better, the CityCenter will be all it was expected to be, to assist Las Vegas make its highest potency. Las Vegas Unwavering Optimism The things that made Las Vegas a first gambling and touristry finish are the same things that are taking to its possible ruin today. Hsu suggests in her book, Legalized Casino Gaming in the United States: the Economic and Social Impact, that there are two local grounds why Las Vegas became so successful in such a short period of clip. The first is that Las Vegas â€Å"offers a synergy that can come merely from holding a concentration of chancing casinos in a individual location† ( Hsu 15 ) . The big casinos do non really vie with other large casinos ; instead, Hsu says, they work together to publicize and Las Vegas as a whole. The consequence is that Las Vegas has become the tourer experience, instead than bet oning at a peculiar casino† ( 103 ) . Large casinos besides are offering more and more services and better pricing of games and amusement merchandises because there is so much impregnation in the casino and hotel market in Las Vegas. The 2nd ground why Las Vegas has grown exponentially in merely a few decennaries is because Las Vegas â€Å"thinks large, † offering â€Å"overcapacity and an surfeit of both chancing and nongambling products† ( Hsu 101 ) . Las Vegas is a topographic point where everything the tourer wants to see and see is available in copiousness ; Las Vegas holds an image of degeneracy, wickedness, hedonism, and extravagancy. As a consequence of this luxury and ‘think large attitude, Stein notes that merely as Las Vegas was the â€Å"epicenter of the excessive ingestion of the past 20 old ages, now it s the deepest crater of the recession over the last year† ( Stein ) . However, in malice of Las Vegas being one of the biggest casualties of the recession, Las Vegas has ever been seen as â€Å"recession cogent evidence, † and so, as Joel Stein points out in Time Magazine, Las Vegas business communities are non taking the recession earnestly plenty. For case, Sheldon Adelson, the casino fable, believes that Las Vegas will bounce and that gustatory sensations have non for good changed due to the recession, because there is no manner America will halt making the â€Å"things they want to do† ( Stein ) . Adelson â€Å"does non believe that America is traveling to basically alter its values from extravagancy to thrift, † and therefore, will non alter his â€Å"strategy of utilizing high-end dining, elephantine suites and lavish convention infinites to pull customers† ( Stein ) . Adelson, who as mentioned before is the president of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. ( which owns the Venetian hotel, the Sands Expo and Convention Center and the Ventian Macao ) , has had his bank history about wholly wiped out last twelvemonth, losing most of his enormous wealth ( Stein ) . In 2007, and 2008, Adelson was the 3rd richest individual in the universe, with a net worth of $ 40 billion. However, by 2009 he lost $ 36.5 billion- â€Å"more than the GDP of half of the states in the world† ( Stein ) . Before the economic downswing, Bankss were â€Å"begging† Adelson to take their money ; Adelson obliged, took all he the money he could, and built a mini-Vegas in Macao, dubbed the Cotai Strip, every bit good as big casinos in Singapore. His debt-to-earnings ratio was a immense 6.8 to 1. Then, when the recession occurred, the bank loans stopped coming his manner and his stock monetary value decreased dramatically from $ 144 to $ 1.42 in March 2009, though it has increas ed back to around $ 12 ( Stein ) . His building undertakings were halted every bit good. In malice of these tremendous losingss, Stein observes that Adelson does nt look excessively crushed by his losingss. Adelson even said to Stein, A billion dollars does nt purchase what it used to. So it s non every bit tragic as one would assume.† When Adelson s married woman asked him to cut back on his disbursals, Adelson dismissed her, stating that he still had more money than they could of all time pass ( Stein ) . The optimistic and hopeful attitude that Vegas holds is alone to the people of Las Vegas. Neal Smatresk, executive frailty president and provost at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, says that the people of Vegas are non every bit down as those in â€Å"far less devastated cities† because Las Vegas very nature is a town â€Å"built on hopes and dreams† ( Stein ) . After all, chancing in itself is a game of hazards that people take because of their hopes and dreams that they will win the pot. However, though Las Vegas is the ultimate finish for escape, Las Vegas can non get away the sobering jobs and low Numberss that have come about due to the recession.Overview and Conclusion After the legalisation of gaming, the popularity of casino gambling exploded. Las Vegas became the premiere casino gambling and tourer finish in the United States, at an incredibly fast rate. Las Vegas became the ultimate topographic point to get away to and happen astonishing amusement, whether it was with one s households or grownups merely looking to bask all the decadent and hedonic things life had to offer. Las Vegas became what it was due to introducing selling and strong placement schemes. Unfortunately, the strong image of luxury that made Las Vegas a success is besides taking to its failures today. Las Vegas is one of the most oversaturated markets in the universe, with a astonishing figure of hotel suites, casinos, eating houses, shops, and other attractive forces in a densely-packed infinite. Harmonizing to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau, the entire hotel room stock list in 2004 was 131,503. By 2009, there were 15,000 more suites that were built, conveying the entire figure of hotel suites in Las Vegas in 2009 to 146,781 ( McMullen ) . Though casino gambling is an industry seen as being recession-proof, Las Vegas makes much of their money from non-gaming grosss, and Macau is get downing to outpace the Las Vegas Strip in bet oning grosss ( McGowan ) . Macau is pulling many of the Asian â€Å"whales† that have late sustained Vegas, endangering Las Vegas position as the casino bet oning epicentre of the universe. While Las Vegas image and attitude is that of hope, optimism, and dreams, the current economic state of affairs is both sobering and highly black. Room rates, tenancy rates, gambling and nongaming grosss, and travel Numberss are down all across the board. The really image of wickedness that brought a new, immature demographic into Las Vegas in recent old ages has besides led to a crisp diminution in convention travel, a immense beginning of gross and concern for Las Vegas. Lone clip will state if all those frozen building undertakings will be completed, tenancy and ADR rates can increase, and whether the metropolis of Las Vegas and the province of Nevada can retrieve from the lay waste toing blow of the recession.

A Study on Funeral Rites Workers in Tamil Nadu

In the Hindu religion, the death of a person is followed by many rituals which have to be carefully attended to in order to pay the deceased person the last respects. Unlike many other cultures, which will either bury or burn the dead, the Hindu tradition believes in cremating the dead. This goes back to the belief that the human body is made up of the five elements earth, water, fire, air and space and shall return to those five elements after death. This happens much faster when cremated than when buried and is thus the better way to dispose of the dead body with respect and dignity to the deceased person. The Last Rites: When a person dies, the family and relatives prepare the dead body before taking it to the crematorium. For this they first wash the body and gather firewood to burn it. To prepare the wood, they take some sand and cow dung from nearby, mix it with water and paste it onto the wood. Often the family members will also put rice in the mouth of the dead person, symbolically showing the unity of the family; for the family members have taken care of that person and provided him with food while he was alive and will do so even after he is dead. They also use some dried leaves to put them with some more firewood on the body. According to the Hindu customs and tradition, the youngest son cremates the father and the eldest son does the same for the mother. The main work of the cremator is to attend to the dead bodies until they have fully burnt to ashes, with only the bones remaining whole. After the body is fully burnt, the cremators send a message to the family members and the sons will sacrifice their hair in order to pay their respects to the deceased person. Again, the younger son will let his hair be cut if the father died and the elder son if the mother died. To pay the barber for cutting the hair, each family member throws some money in a white cloth, which is then given to the barber. Three days after the cremation the family members sprinkle milk on the ashes and the remaining bones. This symbolizes finishing the circle of life and death. The human being has started his life with drinking milk and shall end it with milk too. Dark Uses: An interesting fact about the cremation was the use of the distilled blood which remains after the body is fully burnt. The thick, dark liquid is often collected by people for purposes of black magic use. This concentrated blood is then mixed with the blood of a cat, monkey, snake, dog and donkey and put on a cloth, which is then burned to obtain black ink with strong magical powers. People usually use the blood in order to obtain the love of the person they want to marry. For this purpose the black magicians will write the name of the person they want to marry with this black ink on a piece of paper and burn it in a copper plate. To make sure this will affect the right person, the person using black magic writes down the names of all the family members too. This is believed to succeed under all circumstances. The last Vettiyans: A musical tradition and a degraded low caste profession: As the feudal, caste-based organization of labor in village India has given way to capitalist market forces and wage labor relations, traditional low caste professions are beginning to disappear. One of these professions is the inherited, highly stigmatized office of funeral drummer and graveyard attendant, called Vettiyans. In Tranquebar, only one person from the Paraiyar caste is still serving as vettiyan, and even he dreams about a better future for his son. This article examines the gradual disappearance of the Vettiyans profession in Tranquebar and the neighboring villages in relation to the general changes in the economic, social, and symbolic status of the low castes. It looks into the ambiguous symbolic meanings of drums and drumming, and compares the Vettiyans profession to that of other drummers and musicians from the Paraiyar caste. The article focuses on the subtle cultural encounters between people, who belong to the same caste and share almost similar cultural backgrounds, but still define each other as ‘others’. It argues that the few remaining Vettiyans are used by their Paraiyar caste fellows as symbolic repositories of the negative, degrading connotations of untouchability and impurity that are still associated with their existence and which they vehemently strive to escape. The last remaining Vettiyans in Tranquebar also dreams of a better future for his son free from the regular abuses at the funeral ceremonies of mainly the fishermen community and from the social isolation at home in the Paraiyar street. He is therefore determined to be the very last Vettiyans in Tranquebar, despite the fact that his teenage son is a very talented tappu player, who often goes along with his father to play at local funerals. If the Vettiyans son manages to find an alternative source of livelihood, the Vettiyans profession will completely disappear in Tranquebar and with that a distinct musical tradition, which for centuries has been closely associated with the cultural and artistic traditions of the Paraiyar caste. Do you know that there are significant differences in the funeral customs among lower and upper caste families? I am talking about funerals in Tamil Nadu villages where the old customs are still practiced (not in metropolitan areas). In the so-called upper caste families, the dead body is taken to the final resting place without much fanfare. There is usually a small or large gathering of friends and family but the funeral procession is a sober, quiet affair. On the contrary, among the so-called lower castes (or untouchables or dalits), the funeral procession is accompanied by musical instruments and much noise. Do you know the reasons for this difference? I heard the following explanation years ago from Kumari Mainthan, a rather lesser known writer-speaker but with some good and original ideas. In the bad old days, lower caste families were not allowed to celebrate their wedding functions with music and gaiety. Only the upper castes were allowed that privilege. It bothered the lower castes and they longed for some gaiety in their functions too. So they decided to conduct their funerals with music and noise. This is the root for the diversity in funeral customs between the lower and upper castes. IMPORTANCE OF VETTIYANS: Importance of Vettiyans can be clearly explained through the following case. CHENNAI: It is not an easy end, both for the dead and their relatives who arrive at the graveyard located at Ambedkar Nagar in Tambaram as there is no employee or Vettiyans to do the final rites there for many years. The graveyard, located in the 20th ward at Tambaram, is more than five decades old and is under the control of the Tambaram municipality catering to the needs of both Hindus and Christians. Absence of a Vettiyans had raised many problems among the residents as the relatives have to make the pyre or bury the body themselves that sometimes leads to improper cremation or burial. Residents claim that the bodies were cremated in odd hours especially between 4pm and 1 am, as there is no one to maintain the yard or question the people. The five-acre site is used for cremation by over 10,000 families of Ambedkar Nagar, Bharathi Nagar, Avvai Nagar, MGR Nagar, Indra Nagar and Rajaji Nagar. According to the residents, at least two to three bodies were cremated a week there. There has been no Vettiyans or a watchman to maintain the graveyard for more than 20 years. We should bury the bodies ourselves and cannot obtain a burial certificate. The worst is, at times, stray dogs drag parts of bodies even as it is in the pyre,† said 40-year-old Prakash, a resident. â€Å"Sometimes, we won’t even know if the person being cremated had a natural death or committed suicide,â₠¬  the resident quickly added. Many local youth offer to cremate the bodies and take Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 but they don’t stay there till it burns completely, complain people. Repeated requests to the municipality to come up with halls to perform final rites and meditation have not been yielded any result. â€Å"We have invited applications for both watchman and Vettiyans job, but none approached us. But another ground with all facilities for funeral rites is under construction at West Tambaram. That will solve the issue once it’s ready,† said Lion E Mani, President, and Tambaram Municipality. HISTORY: In the Indian subcontinent, human bodies were either exposed to the elements of nature, and to the birds, or buried in the earth, in a river, and sometimes a cave or an urn. Centuries later, cremation became the usual mode of disposal of the dead bodies, with certain exceptions – the exceptions being bodies of infants, yogis, sadhus, and a few others. Cremation became popular due to the Hindu concept of detachment of soul from the body at the time of death, and the transmigration of the soul from one body to another. Stages: Hindu funeral rites may generally be divided into four stages: * The rituals and rites to be performed when the person is believed to be on the death bed. Rites which accompany the disposal of the dead body. * Rites which enable the soul of the dead to transit successfully from the stage of a ghost (preta) to the realm of the ancestors, the Pitrs. * Rites performed in honor of the Pitrs. Process Preparation of the body Immediately after the death, family members close the mouth and eyes of the deceased, and put the arms straight. The body is placed on the floor with the feet pointing towards the south which is the direction of the dead. An il lamp is lit and placed near the body which is kept burning continuously for the first three days following death. In Hinduism, the dead body is considered to be symbol of great impurity hence minimal physical contact is maintained, perhaps to avoid the spread of infections or germs. Most often the body is bathed by purified water, and then dressed in new clothes. If the dead is male or a widow then generally white clothes are used, whereas if the dead is a married woman with her husband still alive or a young unmarried girl, then the body is dressed either in red or yellow. Sacred ash (bhasma) is applied on the forehead of the deceased if they are worshippers of Lord Shiva (Saivites), otherwise sandalwood paste is applied to the forehead, if the dead was a worshipper for Lord Vishnu (Vaishnava). Further, a few drops of the holy Ganges water may be put into the mouth of the deceased so that the soul may attain liberation, also a few leaves of the holy basil (tulsi) are placed on the right side of the dead body. The body then may be adorned with jewels, and placed lying on a stretcher, with the feet still pointing towards the south or kept in a sitting position. The stretcher is adorned with different flowers including roses, jasmine, and marigolds, and the body is almost completely covered with the flowers. Thereafter, the close relatives of the deceased person carry the stretcher on their shoulders to the cremation ground. If it is located at a distance, traditionally the stretcher is placed on a cart pulled by animals such as bullocks. Nowadays vehicles are also used. Cremation: The cremation ground is called Shmashana (in Sanskrit), and traditionally it is located near a river, if not on the river bank itself. A pyre is prepared, on which the corpse is laid with its feet facing southwards; this is so the dead person can walk in the direction of the dead. The jewels, if any, are removed. Thereafter, the chief mourner (generally the eldest son for those who have children, husband for the childless married or brother for the unmarried) walks around the pyre three times keeping the body to his left. While walking he sprinkles water and sometimes ghee onto the pyre from a vessel. He then lights a small fire inside deceaseds mouth, this is known as mukh-aagni. The pyre is then set alight with a flaming torch. The eginning of the cremation heralds the start of the traditional mourning period, which usually ends on the morning of the 13th day after death. When the fire has consumed the body, which may take several hours, the mourners return home. During this mourning period the families of the dead are bound by many rules and regulations of ritual impurity. Immediately after the cremation the enti re family is expected to have a bath. One or two days after the funeral, the chief mourner returns to the cremation ground to collect the mortal remains and put them in an urn. These remains are then immersed in a river. Those who can afford it may go to special sacred places like Varanasi, Haridwar, Allahabad, Sri Rangam, Brahmaputra on the occasion of Ashokastami and Kanya Kumari to perform this rite of immersion of mortal remains. The preta-karma is an important aspect of Hindu funeral rites, and its objective is to facilitate the migration of the soul of the dead person from the status of a preta (ghost or spirit) to the abode of the ancestors (Pitrs)[citation needed]. It is believed that if this stage of the funerary rites are not performed or are performed incorrectly, the spirit of the dead person will become a ghost (bhuta)[citation needed]. The rites generally last for ten or eleven days, at the end of which the preta is believed to join the abode of the ancestors. Thereafter, they are worshipped during the sraddha ceremonies. Manual burning: The following is a general practice in India. The body is handed over to the Government officials at the crematorium. The officials will give consent to burn the body once you produce a doctors certificate of death. The person in charge of the actual burning covers the body with wooden logs and then with dried dung cakes. The face is closed at the last minute. The karta is given burning pieces of coal and he places the coal very tenderly on the chest of the departed. Then the face is covered with cloth. The funeral party returns home after this. The person in charge takes care of the further burning. He ensures that the body is fully burnt. Electric burning: The body is kept on a bamboo frame on rails near the door of the electric chamber. The door is opened, the frame is moved, the body is put into position and the frame is pulled back. Then the operator turns the switch on. The target temperature is around 500 degrees Celsius. The chamber coils are kept on right from the morning, body or no body. It takes around an hour for the body to burn. The black smoke can be seen from the very tall chimney above the chamber. (Here also, the karta puts the burning pieces of coal on the chest of the body before the body is pushed into the chamber). The ashes are given to the karta. Again there are some mantras and work on the ground. Once over, the karta goes to a water body, such as a beach, and immerses the ashes in the water (sanjayanam). For electrical burning the body should not be bathed. Hindu Rites amp; Rituals: After the death of a family member, the relatives become involved in ceremonies for preparation of the body and a procession to the burning or burial ground. For most Hindus, cremation is the ideal method for dealing with the dead, although many groups practice burial instead; infants are buried rather than cremated. At the funeral site, in the presence of the male mourners, the closest relative of the deceased (usually the eldest son) takes charge of the final rite and, if it is cremation, lights the funeral pyre. After a cremation, ashes and fragments of bone are collected and eventually immersed in a holy river. After a funeral, everyone undergoes a purifying bath. The immediate family remains in a state of intense pollution for a set number of days (sometimes ten, eleven, or thirteen). At the end of that period, close family members meet for a ceremonial meal and often give gifts to the poor or to charities. A particular feature of the Hindu ritual is the preparation of rice balls (pinda) offered to the spirit of the dead person during memorial services. In part these ceremonies are seen as contributing to the merit of the deceased, but they also pacify the soul so that it will not linger in this world as a ghost but will pass through the realm of Yama, the god of death. CHAPTER 2 INTRODUCTION amp; RESEARCH METHODOLOGY GENERAL INTRODUCTION: A funeral is a ceremony of sanctifying or remembering the life of deceased person. It comprises of many complex belief and various types of practices followed by peoples of various community. This event of sanctifying or remembering is on the hands of FUNERAL RITES WORKER (VETTIYANS). It is a service motive work which involves lots of ethical values and customs on religious aspect. This work is very dangerous and hazardous work but there is no proper recognization given to them neither from society nor from government here the importance and need of this study arises. In the Hindu religion, the death of a person is followed by many rituals which have to be carefully attended to in order to pay the deceased person the last respects. Unlike many other cultures, which will either bury or burn the dead, the Hindu tradition believes in cremating the dead. This goes back to the belief that the human body is made up of the five elements earth, water, fire, air and space and shall return to those five elements after death. This happens much faster when cremated than when buried and is thus the better way to dispose of the dead body with respect and dignity to the deceased person. When a person dies, the family and relatives prepare the dead body before taking it to the crematorium. For this they first wash the body and gather firewood to burn it. To prepare the wood, they take some sand and cow dung from nearby, mix it with water and paste it onto the wood. Often the family members will also put rice in the mouth of the dead person, symbolically showing the unity of the family; for the family members have taken care of that person and provided him with food while he was alive and will do so even after he is dead. They also use some dried leaves to put them with some more firewood on the body. According to the Hindu customs and tradition, the youngest son cremates the father and the eldest son does the same for the mother. The main work of the cremator is to attend to the dead bodies until they have fully burnt to ashes, with only the bones remaining whole. After he body is fully burnt, the cremators send a message to the family members and the sons will sacrifice their hair in order to pay their respects to the deceased person. Again, the younger son will let his hair be cut if the father died and the elder son if the mother died. To pay the barber for cutting the hair, each family member throws some money in a white cloth, which is the n given to the barber. Three days after the cremation the family members sprinkle milk on the ashes and the remaining bones. This symbolizes finishing the circle of life and death. The human being has started his life with drinking milk and shall end it with milk too. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: There is a strong stigma on the Funeral Rites Worker through the ages. Most of the time they were all alone in the cremation ground and detached from the society. Though it is a dangerous and hazardous work government not provided any schemes and policies to the Funeral Rites Worker especially in rural setup. NEED OF STUDY: As per the Indian constitution Article 14 All human beings are equal in the eyes of law but these community people were highly exploited by the other people in various aspects like social, economical, political, psychological etc†¦.. Hence the need of this study arises. Definition: A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, respecting, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. Customs vary widely between cultures, and between religious affiliations within cultures. The word funeral comes from the Latin funus, which had a variety of meanings, including the corpse and the funerary rites themselves. Funerary art is art produced in connection with burials, including many kinds of tombs, and objects specially made for burial with a corpse. GENERAL OBJECTIVE: * To study the status of Funeral Rites Worker (Vettiyans) SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: * To study the living condition of F. R. W (Vettiyans) * To study the livelihood conditions of the respondents * To study about the social capital of the respondents * To study the grievances in relation to the respondents * To study the government initiatives towards the respondents * To study the F. R. W in human right perspective * To study the nature of service of the respondents To study the impact of caste on F. R. W * To study the problems and issues related to respondents in various aspects like health, psychological, economical, life threat. * To study the policy and legislation frame work for F. R. W (Material culture) RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: 1. FIELD OF STUDY. This study was conducted in Tiruvalangadu block, Thiruvallur district, Tamilnadu. This consists of 48 villages. 2. PILOT STUDY. The researcher done his pilot study on 18th July 2012 to know about the research area and to collect information from the local funeral rites workers of Tiruvalangadu block at Thiruvallur district. This pilot study was very much useful to know about the (FRW) i. e. in regional language VETTIYANS. This visit helped the researcher to frame the interview schedule to collect data. 3. RESEARCH DESIGN. The researcher adopted descriptive design which is used to describe more clearly about the research topic because the researcher felt that this design will help the researcher to fulfill the objectives of the research. 4. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE. The samples were segregated under area sampling. The researcher selected each respondent from each village; hence it is called as area sampling. 5. TOOL FOR DATA COLLECTION. Collection of data is the basis for any statistical analysis and the data collected must be accurate. Researcher adopted interview schedule to collect data. 6. SOURCES OF DATA. A. PRIMARY DATA These are the actual information’s which are received by the researcher directly from the field of research. These data’s are collected by the researcher for a specific purpose B. SECONDARY DATA Secondary data’s are available generally from the published and unpublished materials. The researcher collected data from the available books, journals, magazines, newspapers and in relevant websites. . PRE-TESTING. The pre-testing was conducted by the researcher on 6th January 2013, with 3 respondents from three villages. 8. ACTUAL DATA COLLECTION. The actual data collection starts from February 9th to 24th in Thiruvallur district, Tiruvalangadu block. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: 1. It was very difficult to collect the information from the FRW because most of the time they were using alcohol. 2. Availability of the respondents. 3. Finding the right man is too much difficult. CHAPTER – 3 ANALYSIS amp; INTREPRETATION EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION OF THE RESPONDNTS TABLE 1 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION OF THE RESPONDNTS| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| | ILLITERATE| 41| 77. 4| | PRIMARY EDUCATION| 8| 15. 1| | HIGHER SECONDARY| 1| 1. 9| | Total| 50| 100| | | | | | | | The above table and figure shows the educational qualification of the respondents. Almost majority of the respondents who involved in the funeral work are illiterate, i. e. 77. 4 % of the respondents were not studied at all. 15% of the respondents stopped their education in the primary level itself. Out of 50 respondents only 1 respondent studied higher secondary level. TABLE 2 MARITAL STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| | MARRIED| 49| 98| | WIDOW| 1| 2| | Total| 50| 100| | | | | | | | MARITAL STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS This table shows the marital status of the respondents. From the above table and diagram we come to know that 98 % of the respondents were married and 2 % of the respondent is widow. TABLE 3 COMMUNITY OF THE RESPONDENTS| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| | SC| 40| 75. 5| | ST| 10| 24. 5| | Total| 50| 100| | | | | | | | COMMUNITY OF THE RESPONDENTS This table and chart shows that 75% of the overall respondents were coming under the category of schedule caste. Remaining 25% of the respondents are schedule tribes. This chart and table helps the researcher to prove the hypothesis that the funeral rites work is seemed to be a caste based job. TABLE 4 OCCUPATION OF THE RESPONDENT| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| | FARMER| 10| 18. 9| | COOLIE| 28| 52. 8| | LABOURERS| 12| 22. 6| | Total| 50| 100| | | | | | | | OCCUPATION OF THE RESPONDENT This chart helps us to find that 53% of funeral rites workers are working as a coolie. 3% of the respondents are working as a laborer and 19% of the respondents are farmers. Apart from the funeral work they are working no run their day to day life. TABLE 5 TYPE OF RESPONDENTS FAMILY| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| | NUCLEAR| 48| 96. 2| | JOINT| 2| 3. 8| | Total| 50| 100| | | | | | | | TYPE OF RESPONDENTS FAMILY This table and chart shows that out of 5o respondents 48 respondents ar e living as a nuclear family. Only 2 respondents are living in joint family. TABLE 6 ANNUAL INCOME OF THE RESPONDENT| | NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| | BELOW 24000| 50| 100| | | | | | | | ANNUAL INCOME OF THE RESPONDENT This table and figure clearly tells us that all the 50 respondents i. e. 100% of the respondents are earning below 24000 per annum which is very low in the present economic situation. TABLE 7 RELIGION OF THE RESPONDENTS| VARIABLE| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| | HINDHU| 50| 100| | | | | | | | RELIGION OF THE RESPONDENTS This table and diagram shows the religion of the respondents. After data collection we come to know that all the respondents who are engaged in this cremation work are coming under Hindu religion. TABLE 8 MOTHER TOUNGE OF THE RESPONDENTS| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| | TAMIL| 48| 90. 6| | TELUGU| 2| 3. 8| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| MOTHER TOUNGE OF THE RESPONDENTS This table and diagram represents that the local language or the mother tongue of the respondents. The output is 48 respondents are speaking Tamil and 2 respondents speaking Telugu. TABLE 9 BOUNDNESS OF FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE RESPONDENTS| | NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| YES| 37| 69. 8| | NO| 13| 24. 5| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| BOUNDNESS OF FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE RESPONDENTS This diagram and chart represents the boundness of the family members with the respondents. After data collection we come to know that 37 respondents replied that they are having good relationship with the members of the family but rest of the respondents i. e. 13 respondents said that they are not recognized or there is no proper good relationship between the respondents and other family members. TABLE 10 NEIBHOURS RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPONDENTS| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| GOOD| 19| 35. 8| | BAD| 31| 58. 5| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. | NEIBHOURS RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPONDENTS This table implies the overall relationship of the respondents with their neighbors. The researcher come to know that 40% of the respondents only having a good relationship with their neighbors, but 60% of the respondents felt that they are not ok i. e. the relationship between them and neighbors. The same was represents in the diagram. TABLE 11 ENJOYING COM MON CELEBRATION WITH VILLAGE PEOPLES| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| YES| 7| 13. 2| | NO| 43| 81. 1| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| ENJOYING COMMON CELEBRATION WITH VILLAGE PEOPLES This table and diagram shows the respondents common celebration with the other members. It seems that only 7 respondents said that they are enjoying the common celebration in the village as like others, but 93 respondents said that they are not invited and they are not enjoying the common celebrations in the village. TABLE 12EARNINGS IN FUNERAL WORK| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| 2000 PER DEATH| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| EARNINGS IN FUNERAL WORK This table represents the income of the respondent per death for the cremation work. All the respondents said that they get Rs 2000 per death. TABLE 13 SATISFACTION OF THE RESPONDENTS| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| YES| 37| 69. 8| | NO| 13| 24. 5| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| SATISFACTION OF THE RESPONDENTS This table and diagram shows the satisfactory level of the respondents who are engaged in the funeral work. 37 respondents said that they are satisfied with the present occupation and 13 respondents are not satisfied in this work. TABLE 14 RESPONDENTS ENGAGED IN ASSOCIATION| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| YES| 11| 20. 8| | NO| 39| 73. 6| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| RESPONDENTS ENGAGED IN ASSOCIATION This table and diagram shows that respondents membership in association. 11 respondents are engaged in the associations. 39 respondents are not engaged in any kind of association. TABLE 15BENEFITS RECIVED FROM THE ASSOCIATION| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| FEES FOR CHILDREN| 3| 5. 7| | INSURANCE SCHEME| 5| 9. 4| | ACCIDENT CHARGES| 3| 5. 7| | NO| 39| 73. 6| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| BENEFITS RECIVED FROM THE ASSOCIATION This table represents the benefits received by the respondents from the associations. Only 11 respondents received benefits. Out of 11 respondents 3 respondents received fees for their children education from the society. 5 respondents received insurance from the association. 3 respondents received accident compensatation charges from the association. TABLE 16 AVAILING GOVERNMENT SUPPORT| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| NO| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| AVAILING GOVERNMENT SUPPORT This table represents the availability or support of government to the respondents. All the respondents said i. e. 100% of the respondents said that they are not getting any support from the government. TABLE 17 COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| WELLS| 20| 37. 7| | LAKES| 19| 35. 8| | PONDS| 11| 20. 8| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES This table represents the usage of common property resource of the village by the respondents. All the respondents replied that they are using the common properties of the village like wells, lakes, ponds etc TABLE 18PROBLEMS FACED BY THE RESPONDENTS| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| VOMITING| 13| 24. 5| | FIRE ACCIDENTS| 23| 43. 4| | RESPIRATORY PROBLEM| 10| 18. 9| | COUGH| 3| 5. 7| | OTHERS| 1| 1. 9| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| PROBLEMS FACED BY THE RESPONDENTS This table shows the risk faced by the respondents in funeral work. All the respondents said that they faced some kind of risks. 13 respondents said that they will get vomiting sensatation while engaged in the funeral work. 23 respondents faced fire accidents. 10 respondents having respiratory problem. 3 respondents having cough. TABLE 19 RESPONDENTS UNDERGONE TREATMENT| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| YES| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| RESPONDENTS UNDERGONE TREATMENT This table represents the respondent’s undergone treatment for the health problems while engaged in the cremation work. All the respondents i. e. 100 % of the respondents undergone treatment. TABLE 20 PLACE OF TREATMENT| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| PHC| 24| 45. 3| | G. H| 26| 49. 1| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| PLACE OF TREATMENT This table shows the place of treatment where the respondents undergone the treatment. 45% of the respondent’s undergone treatment in the public health centers. 55% of the respondents undergone the treatment in the government hospital. TABLE 21 AWARNES ABOUT INFERIOR JOB| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| YES| 28| 52. 8| | NO| 22| 41. 5| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| AWARNES ABOUT INFERIOR JOB This table represents the awareness level of the respondents. 53% of the respondents said that they know that this cremation work is the inferior job. 7% of the respondents said that they don’t know that this is the inferior job. TABLE 22 AWARNESS LEVEL ABOUT BASIC WORK OF HUMAN BEINGS| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| YES| 17| 32. 1| | NO| 33| 62. 3| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| AWARNESS LEVEL ABOUT BASIC WORK OF HUMAN BEINGS This table represents the awareness level of the respond ents. 32% of the respondents said that they know that this cremation work is the basic work for human beings. 68% of the respondents said that they don’t know that this is the basic work for human beings. TABLE 23 AWARNESS LEVEL FRW IS WEPON TO SAFEGUARD THE BELIFS| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| YES| 20| 37. 7| | NO| 30| 56. 6| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| AWARNESS LEVEL FRW IS WEPON TO SAFEGUARD THE BELIFS This table represents the awareness level of the respondents. 38% of the respondents said that they know that this cremation work is a weapon to safeguards the beliefs of the traditions of the family. 52% of the respondents said that they don’t know that this is a weapon to safeguards the beliefs of the traditions of the family. TABLE 24 NEW GENERATION RESPECTING FRW| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| YES| 26| 49. 1| | NO| 24| 45. 3| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| NEW GENERATION RESPECTING FRW This table represents the relationship between the respondents and the new young generation peoples. 49% of the respondents said that there is a good relationship between them and new young generation. They said that they are also respecting them. 51% of the respondents said that there is a no good relationship between them and new young generation. They said that they are also not respecting them. TABLE 25 DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS RESPONDENTS| VARIABLES| NO. OF. RESPONDENTS| Percent| Valid| YES| 29| 54. 7| | NO| 21| 39. 6| | Total| 50| 94. 3| Missing| System| 3| 5. 7| Total| 53| 100. 0| DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS RESPONDENTS This table and diagram represents the level of discrimination faced by the respondents by other members. 55% of the respondents said that they faced discrimination in the society. 45% of the respondents said that they didn’t face any discrimination in the society. Chapter – 4 Main findings MAIN FINDINGS: 1. It was found that 78% of the cremation workers are illiterate. 2. Almost 95% of the funeral rites workers are married. 3. It seems that 100% of the respondents who are engaged in the cremation work are coming under the schedule caste and schedule tribes caste. 4. All the cremation workers are engaged in the additional occupation to meet their day to day life expenses. 5. Majority of the funeral rite worker are engaged as a coolie to earn additional income. 6. All most majority of the funeral rites worker i. e. 97 % of the cremation worker living as a nuclear family. 7. Majority of the funeral workers are earning below 24000 per annum. . Most of the cremation workers are following the Hindu religion. 9. After proper and systematic analysis we come to know that Almost 30% of the respondents’ families are not supporting them or we can say that there is no proper boundness between them. 10. Almost 59% of the respondents are not supported by the neighbors. 11. Funeral rites workers are not allowed to engage in the common celebration of the village. 12. 74% of the cremation workers are not engaged in any kind of association. 13. Government is not considering these people as human beings. Government is also not providing any kind of support to them. 4. All the cremation workers are highly affected by the health problems. 15. Funeral rites workers are not getting any safety measures due to this they are spending their major portion of income for medical expenses. 16. Based on the analysis this cremation work is caste based occupations. 17. There is no proper reorganization to these peoples since this job is the basic work for human beings and it safeguards the customs and belief. 18. Casteism plays a vital role in this job. 19. Finally we can say that they are the poorest of the poorer Chapter – 5 Suggestions and conclusion SUGGESTIONS: 1. Government should look after these people, who are engaged in the inferior job. It is the responsibility of the government to take care of each and every individual in the society, but the whole cremation workers community is suffering a lot. 2. Government should impose some laws to safeguard the funeral rites workers. 3. Special allowances, schemes, policies should be implemented to protect the funeral rites workers. 4. Government should properly supply the required materials which are required for the cremation work. 5. All the cremation grounds should come under the surveillance of the local supervisor or local authority. . Government should provide proper medical facilities and free health checkups to the cremation workers because it is highly hazardous job. 7. Severe punishments should be given to the general public who are discriminating the funeral rites worker. 8. Government should introduce some income generation program to the cremation workers to meet their daily expenses because it is a low income job. 9. Being this job is safeguarding the customs and beliefs of the traditional and cultural families, but the payment which is given to the cremation worker is very low. So government should increase and standardized the charges to support the cremation workers. 10. More number of associations must be formed. Funeral rites workers should take necessary steps to appeal any kind of support from the government or government supported agencies. 11. Ngo’s should come up to work for the welfare of the funeral rites workers. 12. Fixed salaries and uniforms should be provided to the funeral rites workers. APPENDIX A STUDY ON STATUS OF FUNERAL RITES WORKERS IN THIRUVALLUR DISTICT TIRUVALANGADU BLOCKS TAMILNADU- 631210 INTERVIEW SCHEDULE DEMOGRAPIC DETAILS: 1. NAME: . AGE: 3. EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION: A) ILLITRATE B) PRIMARY C) HIGHER SECONDARY D) UG/ PG E) OTHERS 4. MARITIAL STATUS: A) MARRIED B) SINGLE C) WIDOW D) OTHERS 5. COMMUNITY: A) SC/ST B) BC C) OC D) FC E) OTHERS 6. OCCUPATION: A) FARMER B) COOLIE C) LABOURERS D) BUSINESS E) OTHERS 7. TYPE OF FAMILY: A) NUCLEAR B) JOINT C) EXTENDED D) OTHERS 8. FAMILY DETAILS: S. NO| NAME amp;RELATIONSHIP WIT H HOF| AGE| QUALIFICATION| OCCUPATION| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 9. ANNUAL INCOME: SOCIAL CONDITIONS: 10. WHAT RELIGION YOU FOLLOW A) HINDHU B) MUSLIM C) CHRISTIAN D) BUDHIST E) OTHERS 11. WHAT IS YOUR MOTHER TOUNGUE: 12. IS YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS ARE CLOSE TO YOU A) YES B) NO 13. IF NO WHY? 14. HOW IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR NEIBHOURS B) GOOD B) BAD C) SATISFIED D) NOT SATISFIED 15. HAVE YOU ENJOY JOINING THE COMMON CELEBRATION IN THE AREA WITH ALL THE PEOPLE A) YES B) NO 16. IF NO WHY? SOCIAL CAPITAL: 17. HOW MUCH YOU EARN IN FUNERAL WORK A) 1000 B) 2000 C) MORE THAN 2000 18. HOW MUCH ARE YOU EARNING IN OTHER ADDITIONAL OCCUPATION: 19. DO YOU SATISFIED WITH YOUR PRESENT OCCUPATION C) YES B) NO 20. IF NO, WHY? SOCIAL SUPPORT: 1. ARE YOU ENGAGED WITH ANY ASSOCIATION A) YES B) NO 22. IF YES WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE ASSOCIATION 23. WHEN IT STARTED 24. BENEFITS YOU RECIVING FROM THE ASSOCIATION 1) 2) 3) 4) 25. HOW MANY MEMBERS IN THE ASSOCIATION 26. ARE YOU GETTING ANY SUPPORT FROM THE GOVERNMENT OR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES D) YES B) NO 27. IF YES, WHAT TYPE OF SUPPORT COMMON PROPERTY RESOURSES: 28. ARE YOU AVAILING OR USING THE COMMON RESOURCES IN THE VILLAGE E) WELLS B) LAKES C) PONDS D) BORE WELL E) OTHERS 9. IF NO, WHY? RISK amp; NATURE: 30. WHAT TYPE OF RISK YOU FACED IN FUNERAL WORK F) VOMITING G) RESPIRATORY PROBLEM H) COUGH I) OTHERS J) FIRE ACCIDENTS 31. HAVE YOU UNDERGONE ANY TREATMENT? 32. IF YES, WHERE? K) PHC L) G. H M) LOCAL MEDICAL PRACTIONERS N) OTHERS 33. IF NO, WHY? 34. WHAT IS THE PROCESS IN YOUR WORK OR NATURE OF WORK 35. WHAT IS YOUR PSYCHOLOGICAL FEEL WHEN YOU ARE ENGAGED IN THIS WORK. HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE: 36. DO YOU THINK, THAT THIS IS A INFERIOR WORK? O) YES B) NO 37. IF YES? GIVE 2 REASONS 1. 2. 38. DO YOU KNOW THAT FRW IS A BASIC WORK FOR HUMAN BEINGS P) YES Q) NO 39. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE THE WEAPON TO SAFEGUARD THE CUSTOMS AND BELIEF OF THE TRADITIONS? 40. DOES THIS GENERATION OF PEOPLE RESPECT YOU? R) YES S) NO 41. IF NO? WHAT IS THE REASON 42. DO YOU FACE ANY DISCRIMINATION IN THE VILLAGE T) YES U) NO 43. IF YES? WHAT KIND OF DISCRIMINATION 44. DO YOU BELIVE THAT THIS IS A CASTE BASED OCCUPATION? V) YES W) NO