Traffic Directors Day 2024 is on Sunday, November 3, 2024: why is november 26th the busiest shopping day of the year?

Sunday, November 3, 2024 is Traffic Directors Day 2024. Oktober Arsip Bulanan: Oktober 2011

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Spare a concept for that hectic and busy lives of traffic company directors everywhere. Being accountable for keeping our roads and traffic systems in great condition isn't any small order.

it isn't:

Claim: The day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year in the U.S.

Status: False.

Origins: The day after Thanksgiving is the day millions of Americans, enjoying a rare Friday off (and a dearth of football games on television), head for the malls to inaugurate the Christmas shopping season. "Black Friday" (as it is known in the retail industry, supposedly because it's the day retailers turn the corner and see their income statements move out of the red and into the black) is regularly cited as "the busiest shopping day of the year," but although it may be the day the greatest number of holiday shoppers traipse through malls, it isn't the biggest day of the year in terms of dollars spent:

Popular belief has it that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year.

These days many shoppers buy with the holidays in mind all year long. Decorations go up around Halloween, and some Santa Clauses arrive at malls before Thanksgiving. Some shoppers got an early start Thursday at a limited number of stores like Kmart and Wal-Mart Super Centers, which were open on the holiday. To be sure, there are still intense crowds on the day after Thanksgiving — led by the "doorbusters" who show up at dawn for early-bird sales.

"It's one of the busiest days in terms of traffic but not in sales," said Pam Rucker, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. "But the mystique is still there."1

"People just want to get out and do something on that day," said Jay McIntosh, director of U.S. Retail and Consumer Products for accounting giant Ernst & Young. "They do because of all of the incentives to shop, but many aren't buying."2

Sales figures spike on the day after Thanksgiving, drop sharply, then steadily increase throughout December. The result is that Black Friday generally ends up ranking as the fifth biggest sales day of the year at most (and sometimes less), behind the four days comprising the two weekends before Christmas. The day on which holiday sales peak varies depending upon which day of the week Christmas falls upon, but the highest sales day is usually either the last Saturday before Christmas or December 23.

According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, the top shopping days for each of the last twelve years have been as follows:

2004: Saturday, Dec. 18

2003: Saturday, Dec. 20

2002: Saturday, Dec. 21

2001: Saturday, Dec. 22

2000: Saturday, Dec. 23

1999: Saturday, Dec. 18

1998: Saturday, Dec. 19

1997: Saturday, Dec. 20

1996: Saturday, Dec. 21

1995: Saturday, Dec. 23

1994: Friday, Dec. 23

1993: Thursday, Dec. 23

how to become an air traffic controller?

How to be an Air Traffic Controller in India

What are the basic educational qualifications (degrees) needed to apply for the civil ATC entrance exam?

Engineering degree in Electronics/ Telecommunication/ Radio Engg/ Electrical/ Master’s Degree in Electronics OR equivalent, with First Class (60% or above)

What is the age limit required to apply for the civil ATC entrance exams?

Lower age limit is 21 years, while the upper age limit is 27 years

What are the kind of questions asked during the civil ATC entrance exams?

Written examination comprising of following 4 papers:

Elective Paper from Concerned Engineering Branch

General English

General Knowledge

Mental Ability (Numerical/Logic based)

What are the passing criteria for the civil ATC entrance exams?

Merit based selection

Standard reservation policy applies for SC/ST/OBC/Ex-Servicemen

Once the civil ATC entrance exams are cleared, what are the other parameters on the basis of which candidates are selected?

Voice test

Personal Interview

Medical fitness as per ICAO Annex-1

Once a final batch of candidates are selected, where are they sent for their further training?

Civil Aviation Training College, Allahabad, UP

What is the duration of this training and what are the various modules studied and practicals undergone during the training?

At present it is a year-long ab-initio training (Under revision to make it in two sections of six months each)

Modules:

Air Traffic Services

Aerodromes and Ground Aids

Air Legislation

Meteorology

Communication Procedures

Technical

Search and Rescue

Air Navigation

What is the cost of this training?

Costs are borne by the Airports Authority of India - the recruiter

Is there a possibility of a candidate getting disqualified midway through his training? If so, then on what grounds?

Yes, if a candidate is unable to secure 70% passing marks in two attempts in any of the modules, he/she gets disqualified

Once the training is complete, what posts are open to these students?

Junior Executive (ATC)

after two years promoted to Assistant Manager (ATC)

Do they apply for jobs individually? What is the employment-scene like these days? Do qualified students get jobs easily or unemployment still prevails?

Airports Authority of India (AAI) is the sole employer of the civil ATCs, in India (Some small players do exist e.g. HAL and small private airports who also recruit ATCs mainly from the AAI employees)

The training is imparted only after recruitment. So if one clears the training successfully he/she is guaranteed of the job

What is the starting pay scale for ATC officers?

During training, trainees are paid a stipend of INR 7500 pm with free lodging and boarding at CATC, Allahabad, UP

The pay scale for Junior Executive (ATC) is INR 8600-250-14600

Is the job transferable? If so, which authority decides the transfer of an ATC officer?

All India transferable by the employer (Airports Authority of India)

What are the negative and positive aspects of this profession?

Negative: High stress, Shift duties, Extra work load, Non availability of leaves, Lack of Social life due strange shift pattern and no standard festivals' leaves, very high professional risk etc...

Positive: Challenging environment, split second decision making, independent decisions, Work is not to be carried home etc...

What are the various ranks that an ATC officer can climb through?

Junior Executive

Assistant Manager

Manager

Senior Manager

Assistant General Manager

Deputy General Manager

Joint General Manager

General Manager

Executive Director (ATM)

As the Indian aviation industry is booming, what is the demand and supply for and of qualified ATC officers?

There is a shortfall of around 1000 ATC officers in India. Recruitments at the rate of 100 per year are expected in the coming years

Help!! What can I do to keep my "days and nights" right??

Don't try to conform your sleeping by what "everybody else" is doing. There is one reason for this sleeping pattern that I can think of and that is the difference between being a lark or an owl's sleeping pattern. Here are some examples:

Sleep Patterns

Question:

Ever since I was a young child, I have struggled against my natural sleep pattern, which is to fall asleep early (about 7 p.m.) and then to wake between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. This has always been a problem for me. I have tried everything, especially on weekends for social reasons, but I always slip back.

Question:

I usually feel exhausted after sitting through traffic coming home from work every day. By the time I get home I am still tired but keep myself awake until about 11 p.m. But by the time the sun goes down I feel so refreshed and am not able to sleep anymore. It feels like I am usually tired when the sun is out and feel I have more energy in the evening. Do you have any advice?

Answer:

There are clear differences between individuals in their sleep-wake rhythm and where it is placed within the 24-hour day. Most people live comfortably with the idea of sleeping eight hours from approximately 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. and being awake the other 16 hours.

There is a smaller group of people who awaken early and feel most alert then. They feel sleepy earlier than most others and they have been referred to as "larks." There is another small group of people of about the same number as the larks who have been called owls. Owls feel more alert in the evening, go to bed later, and sleep later in the morning. They feel sleepy in the morning and alert later in the day. These patterns are considered normal variants. Clearly if one is an owl or a Lark, different preferences and problems might be associated.

The placement of the sleep period in the 24-hour day can be altered by the use of very bright lights. For the lark who is considered to have an advanced sleep phase, the person is exposed to the light when they would usually go to sleep. For the owl who is seen as phase-delayed, the light treatment occurs on awakening at the end of the sleep period. Light treatment should not be undertaken without an evaluation by a sleep medicine specialist. -- Milton Kramer, MD, director of psychiatric research at Maimonides Medical Center, New York; clinical professor of psychiatry, New York University.

I have, in the past,been unable to sleep during the day when I worked a 12 hr. shift at a nursing home beginning at 6 pm and ending a 6 am. After about 3 months I had to quit because I found myself sleep deprived and as med tech my performance was not up to par, If you are not employed don't try to change this pattern but continue if it feels comfortable to you. It is not necessary to conform to the sleep patterns of others and it does not mean your is abnormal, but different.

God bless,

gatita_63109