Clausewitz, Jomini, WWII and Operation Overlord Essay

Clausewitz, Jomini, WWII and Operation Overlord - Essay Example The paper tells that Jomini served in the Russian and French armies in the 19th century during the Napoleonic wars. He contributed largely on the terms used in modern U.S theory and doctrine. Jomini believed that war was a science and with careful study on rules one could discover its conduct. According to Jomini he depicted strategy as art of war upon the map, which comprehended the entire theater of war. â€Å"The main tactic being posting troops in accordance with the accidents of the ground, of placing them into battle, and art of fighting upon the ground, in contradiction to planning upon a map†. Jomini further stated that a defensive war had its advantages when wisely conducted. He depicted passive defense as being pernicious and the active on the other side accomplishing greater success. Jomini’s principle on political war was that the cause of defensive war is to protect the countryside that was being threatened by the enemy, and all operations to be designed to retard his enemy’s progress. This is to be achieved by increasing difficulties and obstacles in the enemy’s way, however taking care not to compromise one’s own army. The idea behind it was that for one to invade, he does so with intention of superiority. The defense on the other hand desires delay till the adversary is weakened by fatigues, marches and sending off detachments to his progress. These ideas by Jomini are important as they are the only ones that were worth considering when it comes to modern war, especially the strategy of exhaustion used to eventually strangle the Confederacy. (Archer 130). Williams in his book Lincoln and his Generals found that most of Jomini’s ideas were seen as misleading and isolated, in many cases would lead to high casualties, uncertain battles, and a war that drug on for so long (Williams 204). Clausewitz ideas on war According to Clausewitz war was a tragic and complex enterprise, always threatening to break away from human control (Archer 126). Bartholomees in his article states that much of what Clausewitz purported was either ordinary or 19th century specific with an exception of three ideas (Bartholomeees 21). First his encouragement of seeking battle. In his book he states that â€Å"†¦ pursuit makes up the second act of the victory and in most cases is more important than the first† (Clausewitz 267). According to his view, he sees war as a nonlinear phenomenon that is naturally unpredictable through analytical means (Bayerchen 86). The second idea that Clausewitz gave was attacking the enemy’s centre of gravity. This was to be achieved by attacking the enemy’s army then followed by seizing his capital and attacking his alliances. The final idea is the â€Å"how to†, which is a concept of the culminating point. Clausewitz defines culminating point as strategic attacks that lead to the point where the remaining potency is just enough to sustain a cover an d wait for peace. Past that point then tables turn and the reaction follows with force that is usually a lot stronger compared to the original attack (Clausewitz 82). Difference between the two theorists There are a lot of differences between the two theorists and their ideas but with only one that can be considered over the others. Their difference mostly came in because: Clausewitz theories mainly dealt with how to win the war unlike Jomini’s which emphasized on teaching the leaders how to fight their battles. Conclusion Jomini’

Inclusion Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Inclusion Programs - Essay Example As the report declares co-teaching methods are under constant research. The effectiveness in its completeness can not yet be ascertained as far as this model is concerned. But many a benefit are found to surface by co-teaching process. Co-teaching is a model in which a team of teachers get themselves involved in the development of heterogeneous learners. The team normally does not accept mere inclusion of students with disabilities in a general classroom. The team members assess, evaluate, and locate the actual needs of individual students and act after planning to meet their needs. This paper stresses that inclusion programs for students with disabilities in regular class rooms do not give any tailor-made solutions. However, the inclusion of disabled students in regular classrooms are widely gaining support among all concerned. Several factors are to be taken into account in the philosophy of inclusion. Some are: Age-appropriate placement, Social integration, Curricular expectations, Staff development, Team collaboration and classroom management. While giving much weight to the smooth running of the class, the legal support available for a parent to get his/her kid continued in the regular class room must also have to be considered without causing any damage to the general education process. Appraisal of parents with the fact that individual needs of the students with disabilities are keenly observed and strived hard to meet them to the maximum possible extent would ease the situations in many cases.

The Preventing Of Teenage Pregnancy

The Preventing Of Teenage Pregnancy Teenage pregnancy is a term used to address girls between the ages of 13-19 years who become pregnant (UNICEF, 2008).Teenage pregnancy and its resultant health issues are of concern worldwide. In Ghana, for example, according Keller, Hilton Tsumasi-Ankrah (1999), nearly 1/3 of the childbirths recorded in public hospitals occurred to women less than 19 years of age. Meanwhile, Guttmacher (2012) reported that in The United States of America, 750,000 teen pregnancies occur yearly. Health messages are crucial in effecting behavioural change of preventable factors on health (Mokdad et al; 2004). This message is created in an attempt to influence change in behaviour and can as well be used not only for changing adolescents sexual health behaviours, but also for informing and educating a larger population. This essay will address the following: chosen medium, the rational for the message addressing political issues supporting its use, the underpinning health belief model, ways of evaluating the success of the health message, its impact on a wider population and, the influence of nurses, other health professionals and lay persons on health promotion regarding teenage pregnancy. According to Guttmacher (2012), 3,312 girls become pregnant every 24 hours. Also, in every 26 seconds a teenage girl becomes pregnant and a child is born to a teen mother every 56 seconds. It is therefore sensible to explore the extent of teenage pregnancy and its impact. De Vienne, Creveuil Dreyfus (2009), believes that 70,000 teenagers die yearly from obstetrical complications, and 1 million infants born to adolescent mothers die before their first year of life. Although the majority of teenage pregnancies occur in developing countries, one million babies are born annually to teenage mothers in the developed world. According to (Adeyinka, Oladimeji, Adekanbi, 2010), in 2003 42/1000 births in the US were to adolescents. Furthermore, it has been reported that adolescents are at a higher risk for adverse outcomes such as preterm birth, low birth weight, pre-eclampsia, congenital anomalies, uterine rupture and infant death than their older counterparts (Phipps, Blume DeMonner, 2002) . In view of the health problems the world is confronted with as a result of teenage pregnancy, this message is aimed at creating awareness of the various causes and outcomes of teenage pregnancy. It also aims at promoting healthy sexual behaviours, to give the youth the skill and knowledge they need to refuse sex, delaying the onset of sex and to practice safer sex and to reduce the number of conceptions among adolescents (Kirby, 2007).The message will also help debunk certain ideologies and myths about sex education such as those with regards to certain words or body part being unmentionable and the taboos of sex education that influence the human sexuality negatively (Adepoju, 2005). Consequently, advances in communication strategies have changed how individuals access, assess, communicate and use information. Egger et al (1999), stated that health promotions are motivational and informative messages directed to one or more people. The idea of attaining improved health and a better quality of life needs tailoring our educational messages to the particular group of people it is intended for, taken into account the cultural practices of the community as such programmes involve community members who participate to define and solve the problems (Denison et al, 2009) Cultural, religious and traditional issues influence sexual behaviours. Personally, in my area of practice culturally acceptable sex education is given using, local dialects in folk songs, radio drama and role plays avoiding sexually explicit words. This way community values are respected as well as responded to. In recent years there has been a much stronger religious and political focus on the teaching of sex abstinence in schools than in the past years (Butts Rich, 2008). This is to add to the existing knowledge that most religious group preach abstinence before marriage e.g. Islam and Catholics even preach against contraception hence telling the youth to abstain from sex (Citizens Budget Commission, 2012). Contrarily, some social customs induce girls to stay out of school and enter into early sexual relationship were girls are given away in marriage at puberty (Keller et al; 1999). These observations considered a health promotion message using role play will inform the adolescen ts on causes, complications and prevention, of teen pregnancy and motherhood in a non-judgmental approach. Role play therefore, is considered the appropriate medium as it focuses not on acting but on the actions of the characters. It helps in the process of decision making and clarifies judgments and behaviours and lastly it encourages looking beyond the self and into another person in a close and more intimate manner than reading or lectures allows (Rowles and Russo, 2009). Role play is unscripted and a dramatic technique of message delivery that encourages people to improve behaviours that illustrate expected actions of persons in a defined situation (Lowenstein, 2007). In the delivery of such messages ethical issues could arise. Everyone needs to have equal access to care, thus the principle of justice must be considered and the nurse is to do good by providing the information and education they need but she has to seek consent from parents before she could go ahead. In developed nations parents can decide they dont want their wards to sit in for such programs according discussions by fellow students from the UK whereas from experience in Ghana one needs to just tell the head teacher when the nurse is coming. It is important to recognise that in carrying out the principles of beneficence and non maleficence, the question will be how much information is too much? Knowledge of when information given becomes unethical is important. Appropriate information must be presented in an age appropriate manner as there will be potential harm if a wrong and inappropriate message is chosen. An ethical dilemma will arise when a choice has to be made between stand ardised and acceptable programs that are available (Miller et al; 2011) e.g. teaching abstinence as opposed to safer sex practice. Inappropriate programs for a particular age group could easily be misinterpreted and result in the adolescent being misled as she perceives the information differently from the way the educator intended for the message to be received (Miller et al; 2011). Promoting the health and wellbeing of adolescents is a vital part of every society including health workers. Teenagers have been recognised to be at high risk of health-damaging behaviours such as teenage pregnancy (Jacobson Pill, 1997).Similarly, Reeve (2002) in his study revealed that healthcare providers have the potential to strengthen young peoples awareness of appropriate sources of help and information, comprehensive sex education programs and advice on sexual health. He also reported that, the introduction of contraceptive services delivered by nurses, as well as trained teenage advisors or lay persons will be associated with an increase in the number of people attending for advice and contraceptives. Contrary to these assertions Thomson Scott (1991), criticised that sexual health education at school has little or no relationship to the real choices and pressures around sexual health that affects the young women. Furthermore, Denison et al (2009), proposed that every agent of health care including lay persons/peers can partake in communicating the causes and effects of teen pregnancy by mobilising community members to participate in role plays which will illustrate causes, complications and where to get help whether in the community or the hospital setup. According to MARIE STOPES INTERNATIONAL (2012), in 1998 in England, the pregnancy of girls under 18years conception rate fell by 13.3% over 5 years. There has also been a shift in societys views about how best to tackle problems like high teenage pregnancy rates and poor sexual health amongst young people. Increasingly, from a personal perspective parents and professionals will recognise the need to offer teenagers with opportunities to talk about how they feel openly, skills and self-confidence they need to deal with the situations they face regarding sexuality. Also it will raise awareness in the community and at national levels which will in turn help them to strategise and tailor programs to help the youth to understand the way in which sex is, to help them know that relationships portrayed in the media are not always accurate and the appreciation of the challenges and responsibilities of parenthood. This includes supporting them delay early sex, equipping them to stay safe and healthy when they do become sexually active. Parents will play a more positive role in supporting their children on sex and relationship issues (Primarolo Merron, 2010). According to Sexual Offences Act (2003), in UK the age of consent for female and their male counterparts is 16 years. This means men who ha ve sexual intercourse with girls below 16years of age will be prosecuted. Meanwhile there are such clear cut age ranges and laws in Ghana expect for rape cases. Also support from national and international agencies may include development of national training standards on relationships and sexual health to provide a constant framework for local workforce development (Primarolo Merron, 2010). The evaluation of sexual health promotion programs has to be SMART-Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reliable and Time bound (Haughey, 2012). Assessments of sex education programmes can vary from changes in knowledge, attitudes and values to those of behavioural change including initiation of sexual activity and pregnancy rates (Fullerton, 2004). Arguably, initiation of sexual activity cannot easily be evaluated if the adolescent does not openly discuss it. Also clear statements given by students about the outcomes of unprotected sex and how those outcomes could be avoided at the end of the session (Vincent, Geiger, Willis, 1994). The aims of sex education are often motivational, relating to lifelong quality of relationships, as well as pregnancy and STI prevention (Fullerton, 2004). Moreover, studies have demonstrated that health decision making is a process in which the individual moves through a series of stages or phases. Interactions with persons or events at each of these stages influence the individuals decisions and subsequent behaviour (Rosenstock, 2005). As a matter of fact, behavioural change is a difficult process which starts with enabling change in personal behaviours of individuals by giving them the knowledge to do so through education (Bellamy, 2004). The health belief model posits that people who perceive themselves as susceptible to negative outcomes are more likely to reduce risky behaviours than those who do not see themselves at risk (Janz Becker, 1984). The model postulates four conditions that predict a health related behaviour; perceived susceptibility, perceived seriousness, perceived benefits and barriers (Janz Becker, 1984). Perceive susceptibility refers to ones perception of the likelihood of contracting a health disease or condition (Witte et al; 1996) or becoming pregnant in this case. It helps individuals to adapt to healthier lifestyles. The more the teenager perceives the outcomes of teenage pregnancy, the more they will try to avoid it. Witte et al (1996) again stated that perceived severity will be the teenagers belief about the implications of a health risk. The perception of severity is often based on the health information given or knowledge about the severity of a condition and difficulties it will create on general wellbeing. If she thinks of it as a serious issue she will try to avoid getting pregnant. Also, the concept of perceived benefits is the teens judgments of the value of the action that will lessen the risk of getting pregnant. Usually, teenagers will practice healthier lifestyles when they believe a new behaviour will lessen their chances of getting pregnant and suffering the consequences (Janz Becker, 1984). This assertion of Janz Becker is not always the case as some will wait to be in that particular situation before they take action. On the other hand, as most teenagers dont change their lifestyles easily, perceived barriers are their own assessment of the difficulties in embracing a new behaviour. Amongst all the perceptions, perceived barriers are most important in defining behavioural change (Janz Becker, 1984) because if they are able to overcome these barriers their behaviours will change. Cues to action are pieces of information which are given out with the intention of triggering decision-making actions. They could be internal or external e.g. informational flyers, advertisements on television or internal symptoms of an illness (Witte, 1996). Lastly self efficacy, measures the degree of the reaction taken to prevent pregnancy and that they are able to perform the recommended reaction to avert the risk. Teen pregnancy and motherhood is a serious problem affecting adolescents which can causes health and social problems. With empowering the youth through education, teen pregnancies and its related problems can be prevented. From a personal view point, it will be acceptable to say that proven programmatic answers to this dilemma are likely to be dissatisfactory. The point is not that sexuality education and contraception education cannot be helpful, but that without more help from the society at large, their impact may be small. On the contrary, an intervention that starts by affecting behaviour in a self-effacing way may ultimately generate changes in behaviours. Behaviour is contagious and teens, in particular, are extremely influenced by what their friends do or say. This suggests that programs are not to be judged on the basis of their immediate effects only but also on their peer culture reorientation potential.

The Army and Environmental Compliance Essay example -- Environmental I

The Army and Environmental Compliance Since the inception of National environmental awareness and protection policies in the 1970’s, the Army has had to adjust how it conducts training. The development of Army environmental compliance programs, policies and strategies enable the Army to fulfill federal and state requirements governing the use of natural resources, while balancing the need for essential training to maintain combat readiness and relevance. As a direct result of positive environmental stewardship, inclusion of environmental compliance enables the Army to provide continuity of operations while protecting the environment. United States Environmental Policy The modern day involvement of the United States Army’s responsible environmental stewardship began over 40 years ago and continues unabated today. The catalyst was the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), signed into law in 1970, which established national policy for the protection of the environment. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2011), the Council of Environmental Quality was created to ensure federal and state agencies assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions through scientific analysis and that decisions made include public involvement. Thus, the NEPA process provides the public with information about the Army’s decisions and a mechanism to become informed and involved in actions that impact their environment, health and quality of life. Department of the Army regulation 200-1, Environmental Protection and Enhancement (2007), requires â€Å"the Secretary of the Army to serve as trustee for the natural and cultural resources managed by the Army†. This designation also includes responsibility... ..., Vol. 65, No. 81, April 26, 2000 (p. 24595). Retrieved from http://www. archives.gov/ federal-register/executive-orders/2000.html Office of the Assistance Secretary of the Army for Installations and Environment. (2004). The Army Strategy for the Environment. Washington, D.C. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.asaie.army.mil/Public/ESOH/doc/ArmyEnvStrategy.pdf U.S. Army Environmental Command. (2011). About us. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://aec.army.mil/usaec/aboutus.html U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). National Environmental Policy Act. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.epa.gov/compliance/basics/nepa.html#federalrole U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Committees (2008). Military Training Compliance with Environmental Laws. Retrieved May 19, 2012, from http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08407.pdf

Case Study Geog

Case study: Chances Peak, Montserrat, 1995-97 – an LEDC Plymouth covered in ash from volcanic eruptions on Montserrat Montserrat is a small island in the Caribbean. There is a volcanic area located in the south of the island, called Soufriere Hills. The volcanic peak in this area is called Chances Peak, which had been  dormantdormant:  A volcano is classed as dormant when it is temporarily inactive but not fully extinct. for over 300 years. Then in 1995, the volcano began to give off  warning signs  of an eruption (small earthquakes and eruptions of dust and ash).Once Chances Peak had  woken up  it then remained active for a period of five years. The most intense eruptions occurred in 1997. During this time, Montserrat was devastated by  pyroclastic flowspyroclastic flow:  A pyroclastic flow is a very hot mixture of volcanic debris that flows downhill at high speeds.. The small population of the island (11,000 people) was  evacuated[evacuated:  removed or s ent away  ]  in 1995 to the north of Montserrat as well as to neighbouring islands and the UK. Despite the evacuations, 19 people were killed by the eruptions.This is because a small group of people chose to stay behind on the island and watch over their crops. Volcanic eruptions and  laharslahars:  A lahar is a destructive volcanic landslide or mudflow, consisting of a mixture of volcanic debris, mud, rock and water. have destroyed large areas of Montserrat. The capital, Plymouth, has been covered in layers of ash and mud. Homes and buildings including the only hospital, the airport and many roads have been destroyed. The graphic shows the progress of the eruption and its impact on the island. Montserrat – eruption progress and impactShort-term responses These include evacuation, money for compensation and redevelopment from the British government, unemployment due to the collapse of the tourist industry, and abandonment of the capital city. Long-term responses These include a volcanic observatory to monitor the volcano, the building of new roads and a new airport, an expansion of services in the north of the island, an exclusion zone in the volcanic region, and a growth in tourism based on the presence of the volcano. Volcanic activity has calmed down in recent years and people have begun to return to the island.

Case on Air Deccan

Case Study Strategic management Evaluation II AIR DECCAN: REVOLUTIONISING THE INDIAN SKIES Air Travel in India For decades, air travel in India was meant for the most elite and powerful in society. An overwhelming majority of travellers who could not afford the prohibitive air travel fares, preferred to journey on trains and buses. The revolutionizing effects of liberalization swept India with dynamic changes in the aviation sector. From being a service that few could afford, the sector has now graduated to being a fiercely competitive industry with the presence of a number of private and public airlines and several consumer-oriented offerings. In ten years of competition in the aviation sector, private airlines have changed the rules of the game, and they now account for more than 60 % of the domestic aviation market. More and more middle class families in India now prefer air travel to the more traditional travel by train. In 2003, 10 million Indians travelled by air domestically. In 2004, 25 million took to the skies within India and 6 million Indians travelled abroad. The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation estimates that the domestic Indian market will add 5 million passengers every year for the next five years, growing to 45 million passengers by 2010. Today, the relationship of domestic to international travel stands at 40:60 whereas in 1994 it stood at only 25:75. But taking into account a growing middle class with increased and increasing purchasing power, there are 200-210 million potential spenders. The Indian population grows at a rate of 8% per year. Around 100 million travellers every day on state-owned Indian Railways, If air travel bites into even a small percentage of this huge pie, that’s still clearly a tremendous growth opportunity. The entry of budget airlines like Air Deccan, the introduction of cheap airfares by other domestic carriers, combined with rising incomes and consumption of the middle class as also their growing aspirations, have created this new paradigm: Air travel is no longer for the elite. Air Travel Market The new entrants have caused a shift in the market share for the old hands. The three legacy airlines, Jet Airways, state-owned Indian and Air Sahara, saw their market share slipping in first quarter of this year. Jet Airways, still the leader, found its share of market volumes slipping with 34. 9%. Indian at 23. 9% and Air Deccan at 10% followed suit. Low-cost airlines are certainly giving a tough time to full service carriers whose market share has dipped, as has their revenue. Fares have been slashed drastically and both Jet Airways and Indian are wooing the consumers with special schemes and promotions. Several new entrants such as Air Deccan, SpiceJet, GoAir, Kingfisher and Paramount have begun to dot Indian airspace, garnering a market share of more than 31% in the first quarter of 2006. The leader among this brat-pack is clearly Air Deccan – the airline has doubled its market share to 15. 2 per cent. Kingfisher and SpiceJet have captured a market share of 8. 3 per cent and 6 per cent respectively. Coimbatore-based Paramount Airways has publicly confirmed garnering 0. 3% of the market. Jeh Wadia’s GoAir is also going great guns by cornering 1. 6% of the air traffic in a short time span. These airlines took to the skies after the first quarter of last year. All the airlines have seen an increase in the number of passengers carried in the first quarter. With all the start-ups planning significant increases in capacity this year — Kingfisher (fleet may go up to 20 planes), Deccan (38 planes), SpiceJet (12/14 planes), Go (7/9 planes) and Paramount (10 planes) — the market is set to sizzle. The market is gearing up for an adventurous ride of price wars as six more low-budget airlines waiting in the wings – Jagson Airlines, King Air, Mega Airways, Indus Air and Megapode Airline. IndiGo has made its entry as well, with ambitious plans to induct 100 aircraft into its fleet. According to analysts, airfares will continue to nosedive, as nearly 200 new aircraft will be added to the existing 250 aircraft in the country. All this translates to further downward revision of fares and packaged offers for passengers. Lessons The case is replete with illustrations of how Captain Gopinath crafted the company from scratch. He went on a ‘boot strapping' mode, which is the hallmark of a successful entrepreneur. The constancy of purpose, focus and humility are evident. His ability to sense opportunities from chance encounters (such as a visit to the USA or the Southeast Asian countries) are out of the ordinary experience. These and many other qualities are a ‘must have' list of qualities of a successful entrepreneur. Anyone aspiring to succeed in an entrepreneurial venture will do well to emulate these qualities, among others. Rise of Air Deccan â€Å"It hit me like a ton of bricks. This country has a population of a billion, but only 15 million air passengers. May be the time is right. If one billion people can fly, and we get a miniscule percent of the market, imagine how big that will be? It's not an impossible dream. † – Captain Gopinath, in The Hindu, Sunday, August 15, 2004 Air Deccan, India's first Low-cost Airline (LCA), started off with more of a whimper than a bang in September 2003 with an aborted maiden flight from Hyderabad that didn't quite make it off the ground when a fire broke out in one of its engines. Adding to the embarrassment was the presence of the then Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Pratap Singh Rudy and other senior Indian politicians on the flight. The press had a field day criticizing the ‘maestro behind the mayhem ‘Captain Gopinath, the Managing Director of Air Deccan. There were many prophesies of doom by competing airlines and industry analysts who were convinced that the bad publicity with which the airline took off would drive away customers. Captain Gopinath, however, remained unfazed and calmly went about doing what he did best succeeding at the task that he had set out to do. Making a shaky start with just two ATR turbo-prop aircraft in September 2003, Air Deccan now operates 75 flights a day to around 32 destinations in India and has increased its fleet to three Airbus 320's and seven ATR 42's. This flock of aircraft is constantly growing. As of March 2004, Air Deccan has recorded annual revenues of $120 mn (Rs. 5520 mn) with a passenger load as high as 83% across sectors and some routes like Bangalore-Hyderabad and Bangalore-Goa, recording 100% loads (Exhibit 1 and 2). In December 2004 Captain Gopinath cut a deal with Airbus, the world's largest manufacturer of civil aircraft, for the purchase of 30 A320 aircraft valued at over $1. 4 bn. The delivery of these new aircraft will commence in 2007. While the airbus will operate on trunk routes, the smaller airports will be connected with ATR's. The company has signed a deal with ATR for supply of 30 aircraft over the next few years, of which half will be on lease and the rest will be purchased. A distinctive strength of Air Deccan vis-a-vis any of the big three airlines in the country (Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Sahara) is its ability to penetrate into the small towns of India. This provides the company almost an exclusive access , to 75% of the population of the country that lives in small towns and rural areas. Air Deccan has been instrumental in getting the Government to open up many of these small town airports, some of which had fallen into disuse over the years. In contrast to the swanky airports of the big cities Such as Mumbai and Chennai, these more modest cousins need very little investment on the part of the government to recommission them and the ‘airport terminal’ is often no more than a tin shed or a thatched hut. But according to Captain Gopinath, ‘What the hell, they serve their purpose’. This obsessive focus o costs and functionality is perhaps what best epitomizes the philosophy of the main behind Air Deccan. The Low Cost Business Model: A popular mantra Air Deccan triggered the race to the bottom in the low cost sector. Their model forced the industry to move from having simple economy, business and first class fares, to multiple slab tariffs such as apex fares, internet auctions, special discounts, bulk purchases and last day fares. Some of the tariffs offered are so low that they have brought airline fares neck-to-neck with upper class railway fares. This low cost model is two-fold: offering connectivity between smaller cities and major metros and making air travel a feasible option to a new class of passengers. The features and benefits of the model are listed in the table below: Features| Benefits| Ticketless travel & Online ticket sales| Reduction of huge costs of printing| No international offices| and processing tickets. | Use of secondary city airports| Lower landing and parking costs in| No frequent flyer points| secondary city airports| No free food & beverages/in-flight magazines| High seat capacity due to nil storage of food| No club lounges| Minimal training (of pilots) and| Same aircraft types | maintenance (of spares for different types of aircrafts) costs. | Separate ticket for each sector/flight|   | No premium class|   | Short haul flights| Quicker turnaround and higher aircraft utilization | Challenges and constraints still persist: * India is a very cost conscious society, hence market is very sensitive to air fares * Internet based solutions limited-Bandwidth restrictions and low internet penetration * Changing needs of the business traveller puts more pressure on the travel agents to offer wide variety * Travel agents still the first choice for air bookings * While aviation is centrally managed, the regional structure of India’s government and regulations, combined with the often regional management of airline companies, has created a fragmented market for corporate travel. STRATEGY The challenges that the company has to face are now only beginning. In the initial stages of the company, many of the established players (Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Sahara) would have trivialized the company and not expected it to reach the level it has reached now . Suddenly, the company has appeared as a big dot on the radar screen of  these well-established players. The existing paradigm is that running an airline requires large funding, something that Captain Gopinath lacked. Hence, the existing players would have concluded that this venture was bound to fail. However, there was a lot of  entrepreneurial creativity manifested by Captain Gopi that helped him make his dream a reality, and today Air Deccan is a force to reckon with. Besides, many other ‘me too' low cost airlines are already on the anvil. The Government and the realities are also things to reckon with. Participant teams may identify other challenges as well. How Captain Gopi and his team will deal with all these identified challenges will make observation interesting. Strategy as per the porter’s force model: Kingfisher Red Oct. 17–MUMBAI, India — Kingfisher airlines has signed up with Air-Deccan to buy out the Bangalore-based low-cost airline's extra ASKMs (available seat kilometres) on category 2, 2A and 3 routes. The Vijay Mallya promoted airline will buy about 800,000 ASKMs for the months of October and November, which will enable it to continue its expansion on the metro routes. The DGCA guidelines require airlines flying on the primary routes to fly a certain percentage of their total flights on other, less popular routes. Growth: Indian Travel is on a roll†¦here’s why In India, travel and tourism activity is expected to grow by 8. 0% per annum in real terms between 2007 and 2016. As per World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), India will emerge as the second-fastest growing tourism economy globally between 2005 and 2014, second only to by China. Successful promotions such as the Tourism Ministry's hit â€Å"Incredible India† multimedia campaign and the budget air travel boom are reckoned to have contributed to the tourism gold rush. Summary: Indian Skies are experiencing a new dawn: * Rising income and consumer confidence in key markets-personal travel demand on an increase * Travel liberalization gathering pace * Leisure travel increasingly more affordable * Low Cost Carriers are reshaping air travel, leading to regional liberalization * Branded hotels with air routes have discovered India in exotic places like Goa and the North East * Airport privatisation of Mumbai and Delhi progress and confidence develops in creating tourism infrastructure