Meth in Allegan County -- Spreading to West Michigan?

According to the Office of National Drug Policy, White House, about 1.3 million people used meth in the year 2002. Moreover, in 2001, 607,000 people used methamphetamine. The University of Arkansas reports that businesses in Benton County were losing an estimated $21 million annually because of meth, mainly due to absenteeism and lost productivity. Methamphetamine is a profoundly addictive drug that seriously affects health, families, businesses, social services, and the environment. Why is meth use on the increase

CONSTITUENT DIMENSIONS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: A STUDY OF NATIONALISED AND PRIVATE BANKS

Satisfaction of the customers is invaluable asset for the modern organizations, providing unmatched competitive edge. It helps in building long-term relationship as well as brand equity. The best approach to customer retention is to deliver high level of customer satisfaction that result in, strong customer loyalty. Satisfaction being a judgment, that a product or service feature or the product or service itself, provides a pleasurable level of consumption related fulfillment, is dynamic in nature. It is the result of interplay of a number of factors, which vary from one product/service category to another. Present study is aimed at exploring the determinant factors and hence developing dimensions of customer satisfaction for nationalized and private banks. Two-stage factor analysis was computed to arrive at the dimensions of customer satisfaction. The study revealed ten factors and five dimensions of customer satisfaction for nationalized and private banks respectively.customer satisfaction, private amd public banks.

Investigating the role of pulp chemistry on the floatability of the Cu-Ni sulfide ore

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-182).In this study, the Magotteaux Mill® system was used in order to control the grinding pulp conditions, consequently surface properties of the minerals, which in turn affect the flotation behaviors

Cross-cultural study of Maslow\u27s need theory of motivation

Abraham H. Maslow\u27s Need Theory of Motivation was subjected to a cross-cultural scrutiny to see if his theory has universal application. It was thus also intended, to make a contribution to his theory since today, global interdependence is no longer a matter of belief, preference or choice. Rather, it is an inescapable reality. To achieve this goal, an extensive Literature Survey was undertaken. It was found that his theory is more consistent with American value system. Nevertheless, if care is exercised, his theory can be useful in International context too, with some necessary modifications. This paper is directed to save managers from the perils of ethnocentrism, since it is the view of this writer and his counseling Professor, Dr. Anthony Kahng, that ethnocentric distortions are significantly reduced by intensive study of different cultures. The challenge for executives is to transcend blinders imposed by their home cultures, a formidable but essential task if operations in foreign cultures are to succeed. For real understanding of cultures, we must be able to explain social institutions, religious values and organizations, family and kinship system, and the status hierarchy of the country. It is these variables that channel behavior and give a meaning and functionality to relationships. Cross-cultural learning however, must be a continuous process and the need to learn never ceases. Managing relations between an organization and its cultural environment is largely a matter of accurate perception, sound diagnosis, and appropriate adaptation. Thus one basic purpose of this thesis is to enhance sensitivity of managers to cultural differences among people, in order for them to better cope with the realities of these differences for improved interaction and commerce within the world marketplace. Finally the author and his advisor wish to make a modest contribution to cultural synergy which can be best described as 1+1=3. It is two or more people, groups, or nations working together for a mutual benefit that is greater in quality and quantity than the sum of their individual efforts. In true synergy, nothing is given up or lost. It is in fact, a sound economic development which is not a zero sum game. Perhaps where missionaries, politicians, and the military have failed in promoting peace and prosperity by cooperation among nations, the 21st century cosmopolitan managers and technicians may succeed. Certainly, economic and community development on a planetary scale can only occur when human family learns to work together by capitalizing on its very divergences. As we grow in synergistic understanding and skills, we are in a better position to utilize effectively the resources of our own planet

Airlines Operation to Puducherry: Poor Patronage or Inefficiency of the Carrier?

Puducherry is a known tourist destination and if merged with the neighboring Tamil Nadu becomes largest tourist receiving region in the country. An airlines carrier SpiceJet  operated till recently in February last year, when it withdrew operations from Puducherry. Study revealed however that this flying sector has been making steady growth and making profits though not comparable with prime sectors of the airlines company. Despite the conducive environment, the airlines‟ choice of scrapping the route deserves research. The present study thus is a sincere attempt to study the viability of the Puducherry sector for airlines operation. For the purpose it examined the perception of travellers about the select quality aspects of air transportation prevailed in Puducherry viz. choice of air travel over other modes, time factor and cost or value for money. The study was conducted across occupational groups for future segmentation of the market. The data for the research was collected through primary survey at Bengaluru amongst passengers who travelled to Puducherry by air. Secondary data related to the study were collected from Puducherry airport and other internet sources.  The findings of survey revealed as respondents expressed their satisfaction about timing aspects of air travel; however the time to reach the airports in both Bengaluru and Puducherry is a concern that needs to be looked into by the local governments of respective states

The Need for an E-Commerce Platform for India

Tourism and technology are synonymous with each other. There is no operation in the tourism industry which so far has not been technologically driven. The Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India launched an ecommerce platform on July 25, 2007 in collaboration with Eviivo, a UK based online solution provider. This allowed domestic and international tourists to access information and book facilities online. The existence of a search engine on the home page of incredibleindia.org facilitated information search and upon selection, online booking facilities helped customers to book accommodation facilities. However, various tourism associations opposed the move of the MoT, Govt. of India. The associations, under the banner of a joint action group, demanded withdrawal of the e-commerce platform and cancellation of the appointment of Eviivo, UK. Subsequently, the government withdrew the decision owing to the pressure of the associations. As a result, the incredibleindia.org site at present does not have any flash banner for online booking. However, any such decisions of withdrawal or approval should be based on some survey and research. In this regard, in the present article the perception of operators as well as perspective tourists have been studied. The samples of operators and tourists in the Union Territory of Puducherry were selected as per the convenience of the researcher. The data collected through structured questionnaire were compared based on the Student’s T-test. The findings present the existence of significant difference between the operators and perspective tourists on the issues related to information search and property management solutions whereas there is no difference of perception of tourists as well as operators on issues such as online booking and payment gateway services, online market place for buyers and sellers and online marketing. Thus, the samples in Puducherry seem to have supported the move to have an e-commerce platform of the entire country as opposed to the move of their associations at national level. The findings have been substantiated with the related literature in the fiel

Economic and Environmental Aspects of SustainableTourism Development-A Conceptual Study

The term sustainable development is a commonly and widely used term in our contemporary world. The concept has gained popularity because it satisfies the urge of both its environmentalists and the developers. Sustainable tourism is considered as the meeting point of the developers and environmentalists even as both of them are quite skeptic about each other and criticize each other. Tourism which is an economic sector can eradicate  poverty to a great extent. But the overuse of the natural resources for the tourism activities always leads to the negative impact on the environment. So there is an urgent need to maintain the balance between development and environment; otherwise the ever grasping power of tourism and development will demolish the basic structure of the world. The aim of this paper is to study the dialogues of sustainable tourism with reference to environment and economy. The present article is a conceptual discussion of evolution and the issues of sustainable tourism under economy and the environmental heads and concludes that both environment and development have equal importance in the betterment and survival of the human societ