Finance and Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Finance and Business - Essay Example Income Statement (per flight) (Fare Lowered) Average number of passengers per flight Average total revenue (212*280) Variable Costs Fuel costs Food and Beverage service costs (4*212) Commission to travel agents (10% of 59,360) Gross Profit Fixed Costs Fixed annual lease costs Fixed ground services costs Fixed flight crew salaries Operating Loss 212 59,360 (14,000) (848) (5936) 38,576 (53,000) (7,500) (7,000) (28,924) 3. Income Statement (per flight for Travel International’s offer) Number of flights by Travel International Revenue from Travel International Fixed Costs Fixed annual lease costs Fixed ground services costs Fixed flight crew salaries Operating Income 24 75,000 (53,000) (7,500) (7,000) 7,500 Report The calculations in the first part illustrate that Westcoast Air co. is currently incurring an operating loss of $31,012.5. This is mainly due to the fact that the costs are exceeding the revenues by a considerable margin. The seating capacity of the aircraft is 380; how ever, the average number of passengers per flight is even less than 50% of the aircraft’s capacity. This should be a symptom of worry for the Westcoast Air co. as it is not being able to efficiently utilize the capacity of its aircraft. The roots of this issue might lie somewhere in the marketing, advertising or service strategies of the company. Consequently, the average total revenue per flight is a modest $56,875.0. Though, it covers the variable costs of fuel, food, services and commission reasonably well, resulting in a Gross profit of $36,487.5; the problem arises largely because of high fixed costs. The annual leasing costs, constituting the bulk of the fixed costs along with fixed ground services costs and fixed flight crew salaries, result in a hefty sum of $67,500.0. An operating loss, which is the surpassing of revenues by operating costs, is considered to be a perilous warning sign for any business as it is an indication of discrepancies in the operating activitie s of the company. Thus, attempts should be made to tackle this problem on an immediate basis if the company wishes to survive in the market (Gibson, 2011). The company should lower the average one-way fare to $280 as it not only utilizes the vacant seating capacity of the aircraft by increasing the average number of passengers per flight up to 212, but it also reduces the operating loss incurred by the company per flight. When this measure is applied, the operating loss is reduced by $2088.5 to $28,924. The reduction takes place in consequence of increased revenues from increased customers. This proposal of cutting down the average one-way fare, by the Market Research Department of Westcoast Air is also significant because it indicates to the company, the path of eliminating the operating loss. Therefore, if the company makes further efforts to reduce its fare and increase its passengers, then a point will come when the company will be able to turn its operating loss into operating income. However, this turnaround depends on the accuracy of the projections made by the company with regard to fares and passengers. The analysis of financial results suggests that Westcoast

Mercantilism and liberalism and Israeli-Palestinian conflict Essay

Mercantilism and liberalism and Israeli-Palestinian conflict - Essay Example On the other hand, the basic tenet of liberalism as an economic school of thought is based on the invisible capacities offered by the economy. In this regard, the concept of liberalism creates a platform for fair and equal market practices, or with little government intervention (Goldstein, Joshua & Jon, 8). In a market environment guided by liberalism as a school of thought, the natural laws of demand and supply play a major role in regulating market activities and are believed to work effectively as compared to government implemented policies (Goldstein, Joshua & Jon, 8). According to Goldstein, Joshua & Jon 2006, one major similarity exists between mercantilism and liberalism; in these two schools of thought, the market seems as the driving force for an economy that intends to achieve a high level of development. In this regard, both theories provide unique ideologies that can be used to regulate supply and demand activities in the market as a core of economic development. According to the mercantilist ideologies, economies or states and markets have a high sense of relationship; this is because states are usually considered producers of resources and they assist markets in the process of remaining prosperous (Goldstein, Joshua & Jon, 14). However, in the case that a state-to-state relationship or interaction has to occur; there must be certain anticipated gains. These gains can be achieved through war. In this case, there must always be a winner and a loser, thus this ideology is based on a zero-sum gain (Goldstein, Joshua & Jon, 14). In relation to Liberalism theory, economic development processes are composed of exclusive players, basically two categories of players: The first category is made of states that positively interact with each other and the second category is made of the markets (Goldstein, Joshua & Jon, 14). Liberalism theorists believe that states relate with each other owing to the fact that they believe in

Sustainable Architecture And Passive Housing Construction Essay

Sustainable Architecture And Passive Housing Construction Essay In the daily life, a lot of people past by some of these words: sustainable architecture or green buildings; however, they dont the meaning of it. For that reason, Ive decided to write about passive housing, which is a type of sustainable architecture. But before starting discussing the topic, a brief introduction to sustainable architecture will be given. There are a lot of definitions for sustainable architecture; nevertheless, there are two definitions that simple and exact idea about it. The first one is Environmentally-friendly houses and commercial buildings that are designed and built using sustainable building technologies, sustainable building materials, and sustainable energy systems, that dont burden future generations with environmental and financial debts. (Sustainable Architecture) And other defection was defined by architect Robert Berkebile, Sustainable Architecture is a design that improves the quality of life today, without diminishing it for the next generation. (Sustainable Architecture) In short, sustainable architecture is a way of building house and commercial buildings to save the environment for the future. Sustainable architecture isnt a new technology. It started developing in Europe since almost 500 years ago. It started by simple idea, which indicates how houses can be cool in summer and warm in winter by using minimum energy. Now days, they have more complicated ideas such as: producing their own electricity and recycling waste. That is because of the new technological advances, human has been developing over the years. There are three types of sustainable architecture mostly common and they are: zero energy buildings, passive housing and law energy housing. Is sustainable architecture that important to be developing for all of these years? In fact, its an important factor of saving the environment from depletion. According to the National American Homebuilders Association, a typical, (non-sustainable) stick-built or wood-frame home was 2,085 square feet and required  more than one acre of trees/forest; moreover, the waste created during the construction of this typical home averages between 3 tons to 7 tons, for every new house built. It only saves construction materials, but also reduces the consumption of energy and water. Passive house have one main principle which is reduce the energy lost in the house. But how can it be done. Its done by isolating the building and using the energy of people and the households. Passive house is very energy efficient because it use only 10% of energy that regular house use. This amount of energy is used for heating, hot water, and household electricity. In May 1988, Professors Bo Adamson of Lund University, Sweden, and Dr. Wolfgang Feist of the Institut fà ¼r Wohnen und Umwelt (Institute for Housing and the Environment) had a conversation about the Passive House standard originated. As result of the conversation, they developed the concept of passive housing by doing many research projects which have been supported financially by the German state of Hesse. The first passive house buildings were built in 1990 in Darmstadt, Germany. The Passivhaus Institut (the passive house institute) was established in September 1996. The concept of passive housing became more commercialized and following the  European Union  sponsored  CEPHEUS  project in winter of 2000-2001. Moreover, in 2003 the first passive house was built in North America, Urbana, Illinois. Since the institute was founded, 15,000 passive houses were built worldwide. Most of these houses were built in Germany andAustria. Figure Time Line of the History of Passive Housing The Design of Passive Housing There are mainly two key elements from designing a passive house, which are the orientation of the building and the construction material. The Orientation of the Building: The first feature that should be considered before building a passive house is the orientation of the house that is because it is the key of the utmost energy production. Since the solar energy is the most reliable energy for the house, the house should be directed to the sun. On the other hand, the wind also should be considered because it can cool the house during winter. For these reasons, the house is directed to the east-west axis and most of the windows are ought to be on the south wall of the house. In this way, the house will get maximum of sunlight and minimum of wind entering the house. Although, these conditions work perfectly in winter, there is other condition should be thought of in summer which is shading. Shading is important because it reduces the sunlight getting into the house. This is the main technique that passive house uses to heat and cool itself. The Construction Material: Figure How passive house works? As any ordinary house, passive house has the same basic building material, but it is only enhanced to maximize the energy gained and minimize the lost. Concrete, bricks and stone are the basic material for building a passive house because they can absorb the energy from the sun fully and gradually. As result of the long period of energy absorbing, a phenomenon which is called lag happens. Lag is the warm sunlight which was absorbed during the day then released slowly during the night. There three types of windows glass and they are: one pane, two pane and three pane windows. One pane and two pane windows are commonly used in normal houses; however, three pane windows are used in passive house. Moreover, they are made from three glass panes which are split by air or Argon gas. This makes the window more insulated that prevents cold air getting in and decreasing the heat getting out. Because of the house is insulated, Mechanical Ventilation is used in the house to proved fresh air and heat. It gets fresh air from and takes out the polluted air from the house while it heat the fresh air by absorbing the heat from the polluted air. Also, all passive houses have solar panels that convert the sun light to electricity that serves the house. Moreover, some of the houses have wind tribunes which also provide it with electricity. The wind tribunes are installed only if the area where the house is built has sufficient amount of wind. There are many advantages of building house passively. The cost of electricity is very low which is about 100à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ a year. Also, it is eco-friendly because it uses less electricity and that lead to less consumption of petroleum product, nature gas, coal and wood. These products release a lot Carbon Dioxide (CO2) that pollute the air which leads to global warming. In addition, it improved the sustainability of the house. Furthermore, it helps people who have allergies by reducing their symptoms. It is reduced because the air ventilation system cleans the air from dust are pollution. However, there is one disadvantage of passive housing that is air tightness, so without an efficient air ventilation system that keep the air clean and preserve an excellent humidity percentage in the house. Conclusion To summarize, sustainable architecture is the way of building without harming the environment. There are many ways of sustainable architecture, and one of them is passive housing. It has one key principle which is minimizing the energy lost from the house. Passive housing is new trend which started in 1988. The standards of passive housing are set by Professors Bo Adamson and Dr. Wolfgang Feist. The standards of passive housing have two main ideas which are the orientation of the building and the construction material. The cost of passive housing is higher than a normal house by 5-15%. Eco friendly and cost efficiency are advantages of passive housing, but air tightness is a disadvantage.

Mother Teresa :: essays research papers

Matt Miller   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3-15-00 Mr. Thorp Morality Per. A Mother Teresa   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mother Teresa was a powerful woman with her missions and countless acts of mercy. Powerful leaders in our world today should learn from Mother Teresa and her countless acts of mercy, which she performed. Often men and women in powerful positions misuse their strengths simply for their own personal benefit. Mother Teresa is a perfect example of a modern day saint. Through her love and guidance of Jesus Christ, Mother Teresa proves to be savior. Now if you compare Mother Teresa to some of today’s wealthy politics and the way they conduct themselves, you will see a great contrast between to two. Mother Teresa does not work out of the intent to profit but instead out of her love to help others, like no other women our society has seen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mother Teresa used her power of love from God to help those in desperate need. Mother Teresa didn’t get paid for anything she did nor would she except money from organizations or donations. It was not like Mother Teresa had an overwhelming amount of money but she was simply a person who devoted her entire life to serving others and helping those in need. Many people may not have noticed it, but all Mother Teresa had to do was touch a person and that was almost enough. She helped thousands of people in poor countries with ailing diseases, but most importantly see touched the souls of common men. She made even the rich and selfish take a deep look into their lives, which brought out the best in everyone. When one person can captivate the world as she could, it makes you realize how very important she really was. It was not always what she did, but rather how she conducted herself while doing it. For all the many deeds she did, she never once asked for anythin g in return. Most leaders today are very selfish and are only contributing to society when they feel it looks good for their image.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leaders such as Mother Teresa should be highly respected for their accomplishments. It is people like Mother Teresa who give us all a new meaning to life. She truly proved that one person can really make a difference in the lives of millions. Mother Teresa set examples for future generations to continue her work. This shows how much of an impact she truly had.

Single-Sex Education

Term Paper April 2, 2010 Single-Sex Education Have you ever been sitting in a classroom and wondered what it would be like to have an entire class with just girls or just boys? What about an entire school? The drive for gender equity in American education occurred during the 1970’s and 1980’s, which was pushing coeducation forward. The Title IX legislation, passed by Congress in 1972, sharpened public awareness of equity issues that were related to gender.Public concerns about sexual freedom; a rise in unmarried–especially teenage– pregnancy; and the growth of sexually transmitted diseases led to a reconsideration of coeducational guidelines. In the late 1970’s, researchers began to note the higher levels of women academic achievements at single-sex colleges compared to coeducational institutions. In a 1992 published report, the American Association of University Women questioned whether or not coeducation was the best way to achieve the higher leve ls of accomplishments for young women.They claimed that women were more likely to be ignored in class discussions and subjects to threats of sexual harassment. Educational reformers were concerned about the low academic performances of young African-American males. They began to explore the possibility of all-male academies, to provide an environment that would be free of distractions in which these students could focus on achievements. (Rury, 2008) When tolled together, the numbers are not in favor of single-sex education because ninety-six percent of private schools are coeducational (Kennedy, 2010).Kennedy stated that only one point eight percent of girls and two point two percent of boys are educated in single-sex schools (2010). But this could be because out of the ninety-three thousand public schools in America, only two hundred and forty-one of them even offer single-sex classes (McNamara, 2006). According to CBS Evening news reporter, Melissa McNamara stated, â€Å"Three ye ars ago, Woodward Elementary near Orlando, Florida, separated boys and girls. The school's standardized test scores have jumped for both genders.After two years of same-sex classes, seventy-one percent of students beat the national average in reading, and seventy-nine percent beat it in math (2006). † The first academic source I found that directly relates to my topic is called â€Å"Effect of single-sex education on progress in GCSE,† written by Eva Malacova. A recent study found that boys in single-sex schools do better on average GCSE, while girls on total GCSE scores. If you do not know what GCSE is a public examination taken by sixteen year old school pupils in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland at the end of Year Eleven.Another study was done that showed boys performed better in single-sex grammar schools compared to their peers in mixed schools. Also lower ability boys did better in single-sex comprehensive schools than coeducational schools. (Malacova, 2007) A nother study that was done, reported that girls in single-sex independent schools achieve on average 0. 179 GCSE points more than those in coeducational independent schools for prior performance, but they achieved 0. 175 points lower progress on average for grammar schools. The same study also stated that boys in single-sex independent schools seem to achieve on average 0. 04 GCSE points more than boys attending coeducational independent schools, but they achieved 0. 273 points lower progress on average for grammar schools. In conclusion for this academic journal source, girls that attended single-sex independent schools achieve higher progress from GCSE when compared to peers in coeducational independent schools. It was the same for boys, as it said that boys in single-sex independent schools seem to achieve a higher mean GCSE score compared to their peers in coeducational independent schools. (Malacova, 2007)The second academic article I found was entitled â€Å"Single-sex school ing: is it simply a ‘class act’? † written by Georgina Tsolidis and Ian R. Dobson. They stated that single-sex education will not provide students with the full range of curriculum options, role models, and experience of each other, which make an easier successful social interest into future study and work. This source stated that the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education reported on a study by the National Foundation for Educational Research which discovered that both boys and girls did significantly better in single-sex schools than in mixed schools. Tsolidis ;amp; Dobson, 2006) The final academic journal source I found is, â€Å"Cross-school Mentoring: training and implementing a peer mentoring strategy† by Gill Pyatt. This journal talked about a mentoring program that United Kingdom has been using that started early 1980’s and then was later improved after Topping combined a variety of practices. The program has Year Seven students , ages eleven to twelve, from a United Kingdom inner-city girl’s school, get cross-mentored by Year Twelve, ages sixteen and seventeen years old, from another local girl’s school. (Pyatt, 2002)The Year Twelve girls had to go through a training program that lasted a total of twelve hours, to advance them for what was to come when they were start mentoring and throughout the mentoring program. The training consisted of listening skills which taught them to become better listeners, how to find solutions to the Year Seven girls’ problems, and confidentiality. The program also taught the Year Twelve girls how to look at it from the Year Seven girls’ perspectives and how to encourage the younger pupils to recognize and read moods of other people, adults and peers. Pyatt, 2002) After the training program the Year Twelve girls were introduced to the forty girls that they were going to mentor of Year Seven. The four Year Twelve girls mentored the five Year Seven g irls which occurred weekly, throughout the summer, for seven weeks for about a quarter of an hour on every occasion. As the autumn term came a new team of four mentors was recruited from the Year Twelve group and twenty new Year Seven students were chosen. (Pyatt, 2002)By the end of the autumn term it was agreed that the cross-mentoring program had been very helpful, beneficial, and was a complete success. The program benefitted both the Year Seven girls and Year Twelve girls. Especially the Year Seven girls though because they gained more self-confidence and had a more settled beginning to their new secondary stage of education. The current project was said to continue for years to come and there are plans to expand the mentoring strategy to include identified students from Year Eight and Year Nine. Pyatt, 2002) There are multiple sociological view points that a person could use to describe single-sex education. The first view point a person could use is the functionalistic view. T he functionalist theory could be applied to single-sex education because it limits the amounts of sexual temptations that normal coeducation high schools students have to deal with. This will then result in you getting a better grades because you will not have to worry about how pretty you look or how you can make yourself to look more sexually attractive.Furthermore males will not feel the urge to try to impress the women and to be physical fit and perfect. From both the male and female perspective, it reduces the amount of stress that normal coeducational high school students have to put up with. Single-sex education also provides fewer distractions that can be created by the students of the opposite sex, which can, in the end, increase your grades because you will be provided with a lot more opportunities to work harder and longer on your school work. The second view point a person could use is the conflict view.The conflict theory could be applied to single-sex education because usually only the people that are supplied with enough money and are well off are able to have their children attend to these schools. If you really think about it, how many people with money problems or of middle class have children that attend a single-sex school? Single-sex schools tend to be very pricey and cost way too much for people of middle class and below to afford. Usually only the rich are sent to these schools, which only enables well off people and students to usually only associate with other well off people or students.Another view point a person could use is from a religious view. A religious view point could be applied to single-sex education because it makes it easier to assist students to prolong their practice absence. This is because they are only attending school with students of the same gender so it limits their options of places to meet boys and to date. Single-sex schools also gives support to and helps with premarital sex. This is also because they are no t attending school with the opposite gender which enables them to focus more on other things such as academics, athletics, and other activities.In single-sex schools students that already have boyfriends or girlfriends will be less temped and will have fewer opportunities to be able to cheat on their boyfriend or girlfriend. The culture I selected was the United Kingdom. The similarity between the United Kingdom and the United States on the topic of single-sex education is an obvious fact, which is that students that attend the schools are the same. Another thing they have in common is that in both places the studies usually showed that single-sex schools was the better choice because the boys and girls had higher test scores.The difference between the United States and the United Kingdom is the number practicing single-sex teaching has shot up in the United Kingdom in the last four years from seven to two-hundred-and-twenty-three. As opposed to the United Kingdom, in the United Sta tes the overall trend is in the opposite direction because in the last decade one-hundred-and-thirty independent schools that were single-sex schools have either become coeducational schools or closed down. In the state sector the number of single-sex schools has fallen in the past forty years from nearly two-thousand-five-hundred to just over four-hundred. Asthana, 2006) When I search the internet I found, and got the following information from Marian High School’s web page at marian. dev, an all girl school called Marian High School located in Northwest Omaha; it is the only Class A, college-prep school for girls.The school is also religious and says that it is committed to teaching and living the six core values, which are inspired by our sponsoring order, the Servants of Mary. At this school, the web page also said, you are enforced to wear a uniform which consists of either a uniform sweatshirt, Dennis hunter green top with he school’s logo, or club sweatshirt or shirt for the top. For the bottom half of the uniform you have to wear either a Dennis, black watch, plaid skirt or skort that is not shorter than the extended finger tips, zipped and not rolled at the waist or Dennis khaki slacks or khaki walking shorts that is not shorter than the extended finger tips. One way single-sex education is depicted into the media is through the television show â€Å"Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. † In the show all the children attend a single-sex school.This television show supports what I said earlier about how usually only the people who are well off are able to send their children to single-sex schools. In the show the dad, Phillip Banks, is very rich because he is a judge. In the show, it obviously demonstrates how rich the Banks are because they live in a mansion, have a pool, have a pool house, and even have a butler named Geoffrey Barbara. Another way single-sex education is depicted in the media is through â€Å"The Amy Oliver Show: Single-Sex Education. In this podcast it is mostly about encouraging single-sex education and talks about various topics. Some of the topics are the options, who should decide whether or not you go to a single-sex school, and Title IX and single-sex education. (Kasic, 2008) In my own views about single-sex education in light of the information I have just reviewed I found out that single-sex schools seem like the better choice when looking for a better education. Numbers obviously have proved my point about when separate girls and boys do better with their studies then when together.I do agree that, especially girls, sometimes focus more on how sexually attractive we are or how to look more attractive than we do on our school work, which I think is really sad. I also know that in school kids can get sexual temptations to want and feel the need to skip class to go screw around with a person of the opposite sex in the library or backstage or something. As for suggestions for social change that I would make if change seems to be needed, the only thing I could think of is to somehow have social events, like once a month or so, that included an all boy’s and all girl’s school.This way they will develop some type of social skills with the opposite sex without having to see them and trying to impress them every day. This way they will not have to put up with the distractions the opposite sex causes for the other or the sexual temptations that normal coeducational high school students have to go through five days a week.

Dashain

Dashain ( ) is the 15-day national (religious) festival of Nepal,[2] It is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese Hindu of all castes throughout the globe. It is not only the longest festival of the country but is also the one which is most anticipated. The festival falls around September–October, starting from the bright lunar fortnight and ending on the day of full moon. Dasain is also popularly referred to as Bada Dasain, Dashera, Vijaya Dashami etc.Throughout the country the goddess Durga in all her manifestations is worshiped with innumerable pujas, abundant offerings and thousands of animal sacrifices for the ritual of holy bathing, drenching the goddess for days in blood. This festival is also known for its emphasis on the family gatherings, as well as on a renewal of community ties. [2] People return from all parts of the world, as well as different parts of the country, to celebrate together. [2] All govern ment offices, educational institutions and other offices remain closed during the festival period.Dashain commemorates the victories of the god and goddesses over the demons. IT symbolizes the victory of the good over the evil. Mahishasura, a demon, had created terror in the dev-lok (the world of gods). All the gods and saints prayed to the Adi-Shakti in order to kill Mahishasura, Goddess came as Durga emerged and killed the demon thus saving everyone from terror. [3][4][5] The first nine days of Dashain symbolizes the battle which took place between the different manifestations of goddess Durga and the demon Mahishasura. The tenth day is the day when Durga finally defeated Mahishasura.Goddess Durga is worshipped throughout the country as divine mother goddess. Throughout the festival people pay homage to the various forms of the Supreme Goddess, Durga. The festival is important since it reminds everyone of the universal principles of truth, justice and virtue that must prevail over deception, injus-tice and wickedness. It is believed that if she is worshiped properly and pleased then good luck is bound to happen. However, if the goddess is angered through negligence then misfortunes are said to happen. Dashain is the biggest festival for the Hindus.The followers of Shakta cult take it as the day of falling of demon Mahishasur by goddess Durga. For non-Shakta Hindus, this festival symbolizes the victory of Rama over Ravana, the characters of the epic Ramayana. The Buddhists remember this day as Emperor Ashoka of the Indian subcontinent abandoned violence on this day and entered the path of Buddhism. In the Kathmandu Valley, among the Newars, the festival is known as â€Å"Mohanee†, with slight difference in rituals and significance, thus more than often confused with the Dasain. Day 1: Ghatasthapana The tika (in red color) and jamara (green color) used in Dashain.Ghatasthapana marks the beginning of Dasain. [6] It literally means installing a pot which symbolizes Goddess Shakti. It falls on Aswin Shukla Pratipada, the first day of the bright half of the lunar calendar in the month of Ashvin. On this day the kalasha is filled with holy water which is then covered with cow dung and sewn with barley seeds. Then, the kalasha is put in the center of a rectangular sand block. The remaining bed of sand is also seeded with grains. The priest then starts the puja by calling goddess Durga to bless the vessel with her presence.This ritual is performed at a certain auspicious time which is determined by the astrologers. [7] Goddess Shakti is believed to reside in the Kalash vessel during the Navratri period. The room where all this is done is known as the ‘Dasain Ghar’. Generally, outsiders and women are not allowed to enter the Dasain Ghar. A male family member worships the Kalasha twice every day, once in the morning and then in the evening. It is kept away from direct sunlight,[8] and holy water is offered to it every day, so that by the tenth day of the festival the seed will have grown to five or six inches long yellow grass.This sacred grass is known as ‘Jamara’. These rituals continue till the seventh day. Day 7: Fulpati Fulpati is a major celebration occurring on the seventh day of Dasain. On this day the jamara to be used by the royal family is brought from Gorkha palace, their ancestral house. The Fulpati (jamara and the other items that is necessary for tika) is brought after a three day walk from Gorkha district which is about hundred and sixty nine kilometers away from the valley of Kathmandu. A parade is held in the Tundikhel ground in Kathmandu. 9] The royal Kalasha, banana stalks, jamara and the sugar cane tied with red cloth is brought by the Brahmans from Gorkha which is led by the royal priest's military platoon. Hundreds of government officials gather together in the Tundikhel grounds in conventional formal dress to witness the event. The king observes the ceremony in Tundik hel while the fulpati parade is headed towards the Hanuman Dhoka royal palace. Then there is a majestic display of the Nepalese Army along with a celebratory firing of weapons that continues for ten to fifteen minutes honoring Fulpati.The Fulpati is taken to the Hanuman Dhoka Royal palace by the time the occasion ends in Tundikhel. However, since 2008 when the monarchy system was removed from the country, the two-century old tradition is changed so that the holy offering of fulpati goes to the residence of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has taken over the king's social and religious roles after the fall of the royal government, as he is believed to be ruling the nation and not the king. Day 8: Maha Asthami The eighth day is called the ‘Maha Asthami'.This is the day when the most demonic of Goddess Durga’s manifestations, the blood-thirsty Kali, is appeased through the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of buffaloes, goats, pigeons and ducks in temples throughout the nation. Blood, symbolic for its fertility, is offered to the Goddesses. Appropriately enough, the night of this day is called Kal Ratri (Black Night). It is also the norm for buffaloes to be sacrificed in the courtyards of all the land revenue offices in the country on this day. The old palace in Basantapur Hanuman Dhoka, is active throughout the night with worships and sacrifices in almost every courtyard.On the midnight of the very day the Dasain Ghar, a total of 54 buffaloes and 54 goats are sacrificed in observance of the rites. After the offering of the blood, the meat is taken home and cooked as â€Å"prasad†, or food blessed by divinity. This food is offered, in tiny leaf plates, to the household Gods, then distributed amongst the family. Eating this food is thought to be auspicious. While the puja is being carried out great feasts are held in the homes of common people. Day 9: Maha Navami People standing in queue to visit the Taleju Bhawani MandirThe ninth day is called Maha-navami which literally means the great ninth day. This day is the last day of Navarati. Ceremonies and rituals reach the peak on this day. On this day, official military ritual killings are held in one of the Hanuman Dhoka royal palace called the Kot courtyard. On this occasion, the state offers the sacrifices of buffaloes under the gunfire salutes. This day is also known as the demon-hunting day because members of the defeated demon army try to save themselves by hiding in the bodies of animals and fowls.On this day the Vishwakarma, the god of creativeness is also worshiped as it believed that all the things which help is in making a living should be kept happy. Artisans, craftsmen, traders, and mechanics worship and offer animal and fowl blood to their tools, equipment, and vehicles. Moreover, since it is believed that worshipping the vehicles on this day avoids accidents for the year all the vehicles from bikes, cars to trucks are worshiped on this day. The Taleju Te mple gates are opened for the general public on only this day of the year. Thousands of devotees go and pay respect to the goddess this day.The temple is filled with devotees all day long. [10] Day 10: Dashami An elder member of the family putting Tika to the younger one The tenth day of the festival is the ‘Dashami'. On this day, a mixture of rice, yogurt and vermilion is prepared by the women. This preparation is known as â€Å"tika†. Elders put this tika and jamara which is sewn in the ghatasthapana on the forehead of younger relatives to bless them with abundance in the upcoming years. The red also symbolizes the blood that ties the family together. Elders give â€Å"Dakshina†, or a small amount of money, to younger relatives at this time along with the blessings.This continues to be observed for five days till the full moon dur-ing which period families and relatives visit each other to exchange gifts and greetings. This ritual of taking tika from all the el der relatives (even the distant relatives)helps in the renewal of the community ties greatly. This is one reason why the festival is celebrated with so much of vigor and enthusiasm. Before the collapse of the monarchy system in Nepal, thousands of people ranging from the ministers, diplomats and general public used to gather in the old royal palace to take the tika and blessing from the king who is considered to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu.However after the collapse of the monarchy system the president of the country who is considered the head of the state has been continuing the trend by offering the tika to the general public and ministers. [11] The last day of the festival which lies on the full moon day is called ‘Kojagrata' Purnima. The literal meaning of Kojagrata is ‘who is awake'. On this day Goddess Laxmi who is believed to be the goddess of wealth is worshiped as it believed that goddess Laxmi descends on earth and showers whoever is awake all night with wealth and prosperity. People enjoy over the night by playing cards and many more.Animal sacrifices are often the norms during this time, as the festival commemorates the mythical bloody battles between the â€Å"divine† and â€Å"demonic† powers. The proponents of animal sacrifice interpret that this sacrificial act as the symbolic sacrifice of our animal qualities, but those who are compassionate to the sacrificed victims think otherwise stressing that the sacrificial act is nothing but an excuse to fulfill the appetite for food/meat. [12] Forms of celebration 1. One gets to know that Dasain is around the corner when they see kites all over the sky.Flying kites has been a very important part of celebrating Dasain in the country as it is considered to be one way of reminding god not to send rain anymore. [13] Not only the children of the family but during the festival you can see people of all ages in their roofs flying kites. Colorful kites of different shapes and vo ices shouting out ‘Changa Chet' (this phrase is usually used when one is successful in cutting the other person's kite) fill the days during the festival. 2. Playing cards is another way of celebrating Dasain. Gambling is illegal in the country but it is usually permitted in public places only during this festival. 13] While children are busy flying kites during Dasain, the older members of the family pass their time by getting together and playing cards with each other for money and fun all day long. 3. Buying and wearing new clothes is an important part of the festival. As many people are living in the villages and are below the poverty line and for them it is often the case that new clothes come only with Dasain. [13] Almost all the shops in the country have festival offers and discounts. This makes shopping more attractive to people. Clothes is the item which has the highest sales during the festival. 10] Children playing on traditional bamboo swings 4. Bamboo swings are c onstructed in many parts of the country as a way of celebration. These bamboo swings is called ‘ping' in Nepali. These kind of swings present the best of local culture, tradition, community spirit and fun. [14] These swings are constructed with the help of community members using traditional methods which make the use of ropes made from tough grass, bamboo sticks and wood etc. Theses swings are normally constructed a week before Ghatasthapana and dismantled only after the festival of Tihar which comes after Dasain.Heights of some swings exceed twenty feet and one can swing really high. One can see people of all ages enjoying in the swing. It is specially famous with the children. 5. Different kinds of fairs and celebration events are also organized during the festival. Usually small fairs are organized in the villages with the Ferris wheels for children and other items of entertainment for the adults. However, in the city it is the commercial fairs and celebration events that is usually organized. 6. Thousands of animals such as buffaloes,ducks,he-goats, etc. are slaughtered in Dasain every year.It has been considered an important ritual since it is believed that the goddesses are appeased by such sacrifices. Almost all the temples, specially the Durga and Kali temples of the country are offered with thousands of sacrifices. Asthami and Navami are the days where the sacrifices reach the peak. While thousands of animals are sacrificed to appease the goddesses, people also slaughter animals for the purpose of feasts. Since a large number of feasts and gatherings are organized throughout the fifteen days of the festival, the demand for meat goes up considerably.Hence to meet the demands the slaughtering of animals becomes considerably high and necessary during the festival. However, for the past few years the animal rights activists in the country have been continuously opposing these acts of slaughtering of animals in such a manner. They have been requesti ng people to stop such inhuman acts of killing the innocent animals and instead have suggested them to offer fruits and vegetables to the Goddesses since they believe that it is mentioned no where in the Hindu religious books that such sacrifices appease the gods and goddesses.