Perfect competition and the consumer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Perfect competition and the consumer - Essay Example Thus the firms within this market become price takers. Freedom of entry: The market has a number of firms hence the entry into this market is absolutely open to all as the existing firms are unable to stop the new entrants. This however affects the market in the long run as the time taken to start a new business is time consuming. Perfect Knowledge: In these types of markets the producers have complete knowledge of the market. The producers are aware of all the aspects of the market like the prices, quality, and availability of product. The different competitions in the market affect the consumers in a number of ways. Every market has a structure very different from the other and the affects on the consumer are varied. In the assumptions that are mentioned above, it is clear how the market functions. The effects of perfect competition markets are many. Consumers of this market have a variety of choice since the product that is produced within these markets is homogenous i.e. identical products (Corchon, 2001). This gives the customers a better variety of choice and the customers do not need to choose between brands. Also since the companies are price takers, the chances of the companies charging extra for the product is completely mitigated and consumers can be sure of the pricing of the products. Also in these markets the consumers are fully aware of the prices, quality and availability of goods and cannot be cheated. This gives the consumers an upper hand as they are completely aware of the market conditions and the products within the market. In the case of monopoly, there is only one firm in the market. This makes the firms price makers. In this type of market the consumers do not have a wide variety to choose from hence they require accepting whatever is available in the market. This type of market structure is not very beneficial to consumers since the choice of products is not available and the

How Wars And Terrorism Affect Lebanese Vacation Industry Tourism Essay

How Wars And Terrorism Affect Lebanese Vacation Industry Tourism Essay Introduction The purpose of this thesis is to discuss how the Civil War (1975-1990), the July 2006 war, the assassination of Prime-Minister Rafic Hariri and terrorism acts like September 11, has affected tourism in Lebanon. Lebanon attracts tourists from every place in the world. Its adorable weather, natural sightseeing, rich traditions and culture and engaged financial trade market have created an environment ready to be enjoyed by foreigners visitors. Lebanon, was known as the Switzerland of Middle East before civil war (1960-1965). After that period the country had this image destroyed by that conflict and it has been hit by negative publicity due to a series of circumstances beyond its control, for example the September 11 act as well as foreigner media spreading the bad news and horrific pictures to all over the world (Kamalipour, 1995). The Lebanese Government has invested and worked on big projects in order to accelerate the progress in rebuilding the countrys infrastructure expecting that action would bring the tourism back to its peak. However the impressions of violence and terrorism, lack of security, language, ruins perceptions, and cultural barriers, low standard of accommodations, and inappropriate infrastructure still deters people from visiting Lebanon (Kanso, 2005). The war and terrorism affected not only the Tourism sector, but also the Economic one, leaving a big financial debt to Lebanon since there were no more income from the tourists and from the service-oriented businesses, according to data collected from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Economy Watch, 2009). One of the possible solutions that will be discussed in this study is the use of several communication tools within marketing advertising since the focus on reliable mass-media is crucial, such as: newspapers, radio, magazines, the Internet and the television. Stressing on the fully recovering of the tourism in Lebanon in order to leave the image that the war created behind, massive good publicity is essential to spread these messages and offering promotional advantages as part of a destination marketing communication campaign as well. This paper will also cover another alternatives in dealing with this challenge such as: promoting Lebanon as a tourist destination, reestablish the Lebanese title of the Switzerland of the Middle East and rise the tourism flow, so consequently improving the countrys economy. The promotion and restoration of Lebanon involves many factors not just physical but also political and in order to achieve the expected goals, a list of specific and several objectives has to be developed. Bringing Lebanon back to its old position as the top first tourism destination in the Middle East was a long run process, although not impossible to achieve. The study will cover the essential role of Tourism in Lebanons economy, development and stability as well the difficulties that the country passed through: from overcoming obstacles, political problems and traces from the war to a 1st tourist destination title achieved in 2009 (The New York Times, 2009). Methodology The methodology used to perform this study was done in 3 phases. 1) First was the collection of secondary data from the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism. 2) Intense workloads on articles, research on publications, books and news about the topic monitored by our supervisor. 3) Finalizing by analyzing, interpreting and writing the findings, outcomes and possible solutions. Tourism Scenario In the Middle East Middle East Tourism has experienced a significant growth in 2009 keeping its bright spot towards the rest of the world (AMEinfo, 2009). Data collected from STR Global (Smith Travel Research) between 1st January and 31st December 2009 proved the statistics: the Middle East hotels had reached the highest occupancy rate, average room rates profit and revPAR revenue per available room globally in 2009, according to Deloitte, the business advisory firm (AMEinfo, 2010). Even though the global economic crisis, followed by the H1N1 had slowdown the number of tourist arrivals in the Middle East, the UNWTO predicts a growth rate more than double to this region by 2020 compared to the other worldwide destinations (Bundhun, 2009). Middle East have been investing a lot of effort in order to attract all kind of tourists from leisure to business travelers. Monumental constructions, huge attractions, fantasy lands, rich culture and peculiar traditions are some of their special characteristics. The air traffic in the Middle East has also increased, and a good example of that is that its duty free spot was the only compared to other nations to show a significant growth in the region (Ligaya, 2009). Taking the example of Lebanon, in 2009 the country showed a considerable growth (2.000.000 arrivals approximately), due to several factors as: peace, stability and the fast development of several locations surrounding Beirut and other cities (Lebanese Ministry of Tourism, 2009). Lebanon Overview of the Country Civil War (1975-1990) There is no agreement between scholars and researchers on what was the real cause of the Lebanese civil war , but all what is sure that the war started in 13 April 1975 after the failed attempt to assassinate the leader of Maronite Pierre Gemayel and the ex-president of Lebanon by Palestinian gunmen which ended by the death of his bodyguard Joseph Abu Assi (Ghazi, 1997). In response to this crime, the massacre or Ain-el-Remmaneh incident happened, when a bus with Palestinian passengers was shoot on its way back from a conference to the refugee camp in Ain-el-Remmaneh which was a Christian part located in the east of Beirut , killing 26 Palestinians (Ghazi, 1997). In addition to the assassination of the ex-president Pierre Gemayel and the Ain-El_Remmaneh incident, the distinctions between the Christians and Muslims raised due to 2 factors: 1) the Maronites power was controlling the country 2) the lack of interest in the development of the Muslims areas. These were convenient reasons to start the civil war in Lebanon. The civil war started in 13 April 1975 after this incident between the Christian and the Palestinians. It lasted for 17 years. One year after, in June 1976 the Syrians joined the civil war in order to support the Christian against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Progressive Socialist Party which was under the Druze command. In January 1989 six-member committee on Lebanon were chosen by the Arab League which was guided by the Kuwaiti foreign minister to find a solution and stop the civil war. After several discussions, the committee organized a conference of Lebanese parliamentarians in Taif, Saudi Arabia, to study the Taif agreement which was approved later by the Lebanese deputies after coming back to Lebanon from the conference (Ghazi, 1997). The goals of the Taif agreement : Stop the Civil War Decide the Arab identity of Lebanon Make sure that Lebanon is an independent, sovereign, free country and final homeland for all the Lebanese. Clear the nations political organization as a parliamentary democracy. Make the socio-economic system a free economy (Krayem, 2003). Significant achievements have been recognized after signing the Taif agreement: The war was finished. Most of the Lebanese citizens got back to their normal daily life. State institutions restored their autonomy. The army was now integrated. The economic decline situation was controlled (Krayem, 2003). The 1975 1990 civil war destroyed Lebanons infrastructure and damaged its economy. And since Lebanons economy and the flourishing of its touristic sector is so correlated to its political stability, the tourism sector was totally ruined 180,000 visitors in 1992 one years after the end of the civil war compared to 2.4 million visitors before the civil war . The Lebanese government has been stressed with the renewal of domestic manufacturing, mainly the tourism sector which make 20 % of the countrys GDP before the civil war (Ladki Sadik, 2004). Tourism before the Civil War Lebanon The Switzerland of MIddle East The Lebanese title Switzerland of Middle East came due to the 30 years of abundance and prosperity, that the country experienced before the civil war (1975-1990). The tourism was one of the most important source of income to the countrys economy, besides the magnificent growth in agriculture. By that time, before the war, the country was worldwide well known for its financial, banking and business polo tourism. And Beirut as a trendy, modern and one of the most open-minded city in the region, was considered to be the Paris of Middle East (Lebanese Global Information Center, 2005). Tourism during the Civil War As we can see from the graph during the civil war Lebanon went through inflation and in the 1990 post-war period the inflation started to decrease. The same with the exchange rate which start to grow after the civil war stopped . Tourism after the Civil War After the end of the war in 1990, the country was ready to start its reconstruction, beginning by the government: electing a president(for the parliament and for the republic), followed by the re-structure of the army. In 1992, after the election of prime minister Rafic Hariri, a real economic plan was designed and proposed, known as Horizon 2000: The plan, known as Horizon 2000, actually consists of securing, over the period 1995-2007, a cumulative volume of public investments of $ 18 billion. These investments are estimated according to a econometric simulation model to generate during the same period in the private sector investments of $ 42 billion. These investments are expected to maintain an average annual GDP growth rate of 8 per cent. This in turn should raise Lebanons income level to the upper limit of the middle-income countries (Norkonmaa, 1995). The Ministry of Tourism started on a large assortment of actions between 1993 and 1994: Reactivating plans and deals with bordering countries to switch over travel tours were used to attract a lot of visitors a year Looking for industrial and financial support from regional and international organizations to accomplish development projects Structure a tourist database to present statistics on the percentage of travelers and visitors of tourist positions and follow up of the business performs in the industry Six tourism bureau in Arab and western centers resumed their activities after they were closed for a period of time Cheering the reinstallation of the local and the international festivals. Instruct employees for all the jobs which is related to the tourism sector like hotels, restaurants and all the attraction places. They opened Jeita grotto now being operated with recent technology Excused broken tourist services from taxes (Kanso, 2005). Between the 1991 and 1996 the development and the reconstruction process achieve significant levels, reaching an average of 6.5 percent growth in the GDP. Most of these construction was from huge sums of private investment, from the Lebanese emigrants and Gulf Arabs who were assigned to rebuild the inhabited and marketable buildings destroyed during the war (Republic of Lebanon, 2010). In 1996, Hezbollah the political and Islamist military organization decided to support the Ministry of Tourism in order to help the reinvigoration of the roman temple of Baalbek in Beka Valley, a major tourist destination in Lebanon. This measure was part of their strategic plan, in order to change their image towards tourist and citizens, and reinvent them not only as political group but as secure and indigenous social and cultural organization. However the United States government continued to intercept their citizens from traveling to Lebanon, whilst Hezbollah is still armed (Theodoulou, 1996). According to Heyer, in the year of 1999, the revenue generated from tourism activities contributed 7.3% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and an average growth of 14 percent between 1995 and 1999 proved Lebanons tourism was back on track (Heyer, 2009). However due to Israelian air strikes, the industry sector was prejudiced again in 2000 (Heyer, 2009). Because of Lebanons problem during several wars and conflicts, several Gulf cities as Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi replaced Beirut as a main playground destination in the Middle East, specially among the wealthy Arab tourists (Middle East, 2000), increasing significantly the tourism in these areas, leaving Lebanon years away far from development. The 15 years war, besides destroying physically the country, almost killed completely its economy. The tourism which was one of the main supports of direct income, was vanished for a long period and the political and government sectors collapsed. Besides the lives lost and those one injured, the damages, financially analyze were about U$ 5 billion (Norkonmaa, 1995). After the war stopped the tourism started developing again, and this time the country started receiving a special kind of tourist called the curious tourist. People who went to Lebanon they wanted to see the post war consequences, how is the life after the war and how the building were looking like (Raschka, 1992). The Russians arent coming, but the French, South Africans, Japanese, Greeks and Colombians are. They are all flocking to see what post war Lebanon looks like (Raschka, 1992). Lebanon lost a lot of tourists due to the war. The main reasons were that they were afraid to go there and also because everything was damage and destroyed. There was nothing to do there as an attraction but destruction. Tourists from the other countries were still few. The US is not encouraging Americans people to go and visit Lebanon because of its bad image created by the civil war. Before the civil war statistics showed that Lebanon had two million visitors in 1974, and after the war in 1992 (the first year after the war) Lebanon had 175,000 visitors, which was a big difference (Raschka, 1999). According to Abdul Hamid Fakhoury, President of Middle Eastern Airlines, his airline alone used to carry 1.2 million passengers, 85 per cent of whom were foreigners compared to 800,000 passengers carried in 1993 less than 25 per cent of whom were foreigners. All the industry in Lebanon such as Hotels, Port, Airport, and Travel agencies were affected by the civil war. According to the Lebanese Hotel owners Association 145 hotels were damage and in Beirut the number of hotel had fallen from 130 to 44 and the contribution of tourism to GNP which was 20 % before the civil war declined to 7.4% in 1977 visitors spend only 469272 nights in Beirut 1979 compared with 2307122 nights in 1974 which is the period of the civil war. The Middle East Airline lost a lot of profit LP14m in the 1975 and PL69.1m because of the civil war and in 1982 they were obliged to close for 115 days and five aircraft were destroyed. According to the Yearbook of tourism Statistics the number of visitors to Lebanon from 1998 to 2000: (World Tourism organization, Yearbook of tourism Statistics, 2004) The war not just disallowed Lebanon from following a violent tourism rules that assemble the ever-changing wants of the international tourist but from the other side formed a lot of problems like: All the tourism which was going to Lebanon transfer to Cyprus, Turkey and Egypt. A lot of European countries presented their nation a choice of incentives to promote national and local tourism. Tourist imitation of overcome towns, cities and war crimes have continued sturdy. All of these problems lead the tourist to think thousands of times before traveling to Lebanon and make the trip to Lebanon undesirable. Terrorism 9/11 Attack in the U.S.A. The terrible terrorism attack against the twin towers in New York City had a huge impact in political, social, cultural and economical sectors around the whole world, specially in the Arab Countries. After the incident, Middle East region was completely marginalized and stereotyped as a place full of terrorists, war and bomb-men willing to kill. (Kifner, 2004). The easy in-flow tourism between the USA and these countries was banned for a while and severe restrictions and security matters were adopted in order to avoid new attacks. (Kifner, 2004). Consequently, Europeans and Americans were not coming anymore to the Middle East after the attacks and the arabs were not going abroad to Europe and USA because of constant suspicion, airport prejudice and streets attacks. (Kifner, 2004). Due to this invisible barrier imposed by the American government, the wealthy Saudis and gulf arabs had to look for another place to spend their vacation time, once that even in their home country was not safe anymore because of security situation and compounds attacks (Kifner, 2004). So Lebanon was the choice of the majority of them, receiving huge real state development and international consulting companies. The country started experiencing a real tourism booming, and billions of dollars were passing through Lebanon. The Gulf Arabs chose Lebanon not only for vacation, but also for construction, building their multi-millionaire holiday-mansions everywhere in the country such as in the mountains, by the beach and in downtown Beirut (Kifner, 2004). In addition to that, big luxury hotel chains started occupying those empty areas where before were just ruins from the war and begin to build their resorts, hotels and Villas, increasing the value of the area by attracting new tourists (Kifner, 2004). In the airline industry, the increase was also significant. Middle East Airlines, the Lebanese airline company, had its first profit since its foundation. Surprisingly the attacks in the USA helped Lebanon a lot in its tourism reconstruction. The Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestinians raised hopes for a new era of tourism and prosperity in the area, with travelers making a circuit of historic and religious sites in the previously hostile countries (Kifner, 2004). Since the period where Beirut was known as Paris of the Middle East, before the civil war in 1990, the country didnt host this amount of investment and development. Prime Minister Rafic Hariris assassination Rafic Hariri, was a well-known lebanese entrepreneur, business-man and philanthropist. He was elected the Prime Minister of Lebanon in 1992, right after the civil war, being the one responsible for the physical and economic reconstruction of the country in the following years, until his resignation in 2004. His considerable accomplishments while Prime Minister made him a politician icon all over the world, specially among the Lebanese citizens (Rafic Hariri The Official Website). No single individual has played a bigger role in rebuilding the credibility of Lebanons economy around the world (Hennock, 2005). Being the most wealthy man in the country U$4 billion fortune -, helped Rafic Hariri to start Lebanons reconstruction with significant sponsors. He used his influences and business networking contacts to attract powerful friends from France, the Guld and Saudi Arabia and potential investors to Beirut, accelerating the economy again (Hennock, 2005). For Mr. Hariri, there was no queue of importance for the countrys needs during the post-war era. He initialized a massive reconstruction process effort, declaring everything as priority for the rebuilding process, such as: hospitals, schools, infrastructure (water, phones, electricity) and the economy. During May of 1994, The Prime Minister had a belief that if the downtown of Beirut was rebuilt, the life would be back to Lebanon. So he started a project to revitalize the Central District of Beirut (BCD), in order to achieve this goal. And after 16 years of the beginning of this project, the downtown in Beirut is still the core place of tourism in Lebanon, being the the meeting point for all foreigners, Arabs and Lebanese people. In addition to that it is the financial district and the countrys institutions polo location (Rafic Hariri The Official Website). Since the tourism of Lebanon is directly linked to the economy of the country, the Prime Ministers actions was crucial for the number of visitors to increase. The development of the tourism industry (as well as that of other sectors) was held back over the past few years because of the political stand-off between Mr Hariri and the president, Emile Lahoud, which was a reflection of the deeper struggle over Syrian domination of Lebanon (Business Middle East, 2005). Mr. Rafic Hariri was assassinated on February 14 of 2005. An explosion was detonated against the Prime Minister convoy next to Beiruts marina, right after he had left the Parliament. Besides him, another 20 people died during the attack, which since today has no authorship proofed (Rafic Hariri The Official Website). After his tragic death, the government decided to rename Beiruts International Airport with his name, since its upgrade was a project of the Prime Minister. The re-emerging tourism industry in Lebanon suffered a significant setback recently with the massive explosion that killed Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri and damaged a handful of Beirut hotels (Middle East, 2005). Even though Lebanon was down 10% in the tourism sector in 2005, more than 1.2 million tourists visited Lebanon (Martin Frost, 2006). Terrorism acts in Lebanon .. Why terrorism attacks Tourism? There are several motives to explain the fact that terrorists are attracted by the tourism. The first reason is that the tourism is the main source of income of many countries all over the world, so by damaging it, the core function of the economic basis of the nation stop working. Second, the tourism attractions are the best way for the terrorists to get their message delivered through out media coverage, getting the attention that they need. And third, this industry hasnt focus too much dealing with security matters because they believe that a simple security presence will push away the tourists (Tarlow, 2003). On the other hand, the implementation of security measures is not a cheap action, rising then the need to build a relationship between private and public sectors in the tourism industry. In addition to that the hospitality first obligation is the guest protection. Security must be developed in all segments, as technological investments, education and staff training. Security plus service and value for money will become the basis for 21st century success (Tarlow, 2003). Finally and perhaps the most important point, is the adoption of a risk management control. Avoiding unforeseen circumstances are less costly to the business. Well prepared companies face better the risks then others without any sort of management plan (Tarlow, 2003). July 2006 War This war is known as 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War. It started on 12 July 2006 and ended in 8 September 2006. The clash started when Hezbollah traversed into Israel and attacked an Israeli Defense Force (IDF). They killed three of the armed and kidnapped the other two and they went back with the prisoners to the south of Lebanon. After that the leader of Hezbollah Hassa Nasrallah announced that the prisoner were taken for the purpose of exchange hostages with Israel. From the other side the Israels Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that the response would be an act of war on Lebanon and assure that will be a sturdy war. Tourism Before July 2006 War After all the damages that were caused by the civil war, Lebanon rebuilt and developed its tourism from 1992 until 2005. Lebanon was again backing to the world tourism map. The country was ready again to receive over 830,000 visitors in 2001, a growth of 13% over 2000. Everything started again, occupancy in the hotels was very high, and tourists from all over the world were in the streets visiting the new Beirut. The government rebuilt everything. The restaurants started opening again every year; festivals were taking place in different areas like in Baalbek or Beit el Dine. During summer all the private beaches received a lot of clients from all over the world to enjoy the pleasant climate and a suntan. Most of the tourists were from the gulf countries. They usually come to Lebanon to spend their holidays and to enjoy the food, weather and of course the hospitable people. Some of them bought apartments and villas in Lebanon, so they can come whenever they want. All the restaurants in the downtown were crowded, and all the sightseeings and attractions were fully booked. Anyone who might want a special place, booking in advance is mandatory. The traffic in the city was significantly big. Cars were taking hours to move from one place to another. Consequently, taxi drivers were getting advantage of this situation because they started having an increase on their income with the tourists. So tourism in Lebanon prospered again after 17 years of war and damages. Unfortunately 1991 was not the last war in Lebanon. In July 2006 Lebanon had a conflict with Israel. Tourism During July 2006 War During the 2006 war everything change and all the hope disappeared. Reservations in the hotels were canceled, everything started to close and the tourists who already had their trip planned to visit Lebanon changed their flights and went back home or some of them changed their plan by going to The streets were completely empty, with no activities in the restaurants, nightclubs and pubs. Tourism After July 2006 War The 2006 war caused a lot of impact on Lebanons economical, environmental and of course on the tourism industry. The infrastructure was damaged specially in the South where the conflict was. The unemployment rate increased since most of the industries closed their doors and fired their employees. Lebanon got again the marginalized image of war and insecurity. Tourists got scared from coming to this country again. Lebanons tourism went back to zero point again. One of the most important impacts that this war left was in the environment. Israeli jet bomb the fuel tanks at the Jiyeh power station situated thirty kilometers south of Beirut leading to drip 10,000 to 15,000 tons of fuel into the Mediterranean sea reaching twenty- two areas over an extend of 150 kilometers out of Lebanon, in Syria seashore and Turkish and Cypriot water. It took almost two months for the Lebanese government to start the cleaning procedure. In the mean time most of the oil sank down and destroyed all the sea life killing the fishes that were the source of livelihood of a lot of Lebanese families. From he other side it affected the beach resorts occupancy, where most of the tourists Lebanese used to spend their summer time. Before the war started in July 2006 the hotels were almost fully booked, there were no available places or empty flights to come to Beirut. The prices started increasing due to the high demand. The Lebanese Ministry of Tourism was expecting more than 1.6 million tourists. The industry employed over 150000 people. During the war the priority of the government was in how to create a better image for the country and construct better infrastructure by improving the public transportation system, bringing more investment to the country. This would help to reduce the external debt. Unfortunately the priority of the government after the war had to change from improving to rebuilding the suburbs of Beirut, because Israel missed had destroyed them all. The small enterprises were highly affected by this war. Their owners who had taken loans from the bank to build their businesses were now accumulating debts due to the lack of economic activity in the city. Present days The huge investment of several luxury hotel chains into the region has bring Lebanon back on the destination scenario. The investors are now willing to inject capital in the country as they are optimist concerning the development of the economy. Beirut is now experiencing a boom in the tourism sector and Lebanons image nowadays has been all over the world again, but not because of its conflicts, destruction, kidnappings or wars, but because of its beauty, diversity, rich culture, cuisine and trendy characteristics. Beiruts sizzling nightlife, from gritty to glam, helped drive a record tourism year in 2009. Overcoming a reputation as a Middle East trouble spot, Lebanon welcomed nearly 2 million visitors last year, a 39% increase over 2008. It was the No. 1 destination for tourism growth in the world, according to the World Tourism Organization. (USA Today, 2010) The tourism in Lebanon in the year of 2009 experienced a significant growth. And according to the Ministry of Tourism, this happened because the war has cease bringing back stability to the country. Core companies from the hospitality sector are supporting and investing hard and closely to keep Lebanons image an position as first class destination and business polo in the Middle East. Besides that, there are several facilities that the country offer to the tourists, such as: -Direct air links to worldwide destinations. -Easy access to the country. -Ideal strategic location. -Archaeological and historical sites. -Beautiful and amazing natural sceneries. -Modern International Airport. -First class hospitality infrastructure. -Excellent services quality. -Cutting edge telecommunications and utilities. -Buzzing business, shopping and leisure environments. -Friendly, open minded and genuinely welcoming people (Lebanese Ministry of Tourism, 2010). In addition, another awards were received by the country, rising its image positively towards the world as a must-go tourist destination. In 2006 Travel and Leisure magazine ranked Beirut as the 9th city to visit in the world on its annual report. The Clemenceau Medical Center was ranked one of the 10 best hospitals for medical tourism in 2010 by the Medical Travel Quality Alliance. Jeita Grotto was selected to proceed in the competition of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. In 2009, the NY Times ranked Lebanon as the #1st on its 44 places to go list. From a non-existing tourism activity after war, to one of the 1st spots in the world, the country starts from scratch to rebuild his reputation, economy and tourism. Increase of 38.91% in comparison with January last year 2008 when the total number of visitors reached 1,332,551 visitors. Also an increase of 43% in the number of visitors from Arab countries that reached 785,985 visitors during the Year 2009, compared with 549,463 visitors for the last year 2008 (Lebanese Ministry of Tourism, 2010). Conclusion Although the conflicts and war has ended around 4 years ago, the image that Lebanon is a hazard country still persists. Tourists usually tend to point out the lack of security, inst

Free College Admissions Essays: Try, try again! :: College Admissions Essays

Try, try again! Bedraggled, disheartened and blanketed with mud, I sat on the sidewalk blubbering while the tears dripped down my knee. As I watched the salty droplets trickle down my dingy leg and meld with the crimson driblets oozing from my ragged shins, I felt a certain overwhelming feeling of helplessness, of defeat. After a comfortable amount of time was spent wallowing in self-pity, my relentless attitude proficiently mustered the nerve to get back on my very first bicycle and give it another try. I was on my way to conquer one of my first acquaintances with adversity. " Excellence and success is not achieved in perfection but in knowing you tried your best." This is definitely the most powerful virtue that I've cultivated throughout the years. From learning to walk to learning to drive and all the obstacles that I faced in between I was always able to employ this adage and trust that belief in it would get me through whatever challenge I faced. As an innocent, radiant slip of a girl I embark ed on my first steps of life. I fell, and fell again until my bottom was bruised, I'm sure. Nonetheless, I never gave up, and was up and running around in no time! I was ready for bigger and better things. Before long it was time for school. This, by far, has been the most challenging endeavor midst the years. No matter what I always gave it my all and managed to remain a high honors student throughout a majority of my academic career until I was faced with an even larger task...high school. With problems developing in the family I became incredibly withdrawn and unfortunately, indifferent. By my junior year I was feeling so overwhelmed that, in essence, I surrendered to failure. I barely had the ambition to go to school let alone do well in my classes. I was accepting defeat and very low grades at that. Then, one day, a teacher said something to me that evoked thought, a second look at my situation. While staying after school, my English teacher said, "Jessica, you're a very intell igent girl, and you have the ability to achieve much higher grades, but you aren't trying which is sad because there are kids that try so hard and can't earn the grades that you're so capable of.

Theodore Roosevelt’s the Threat of Japan

Document: Theodore Roosevelt:  The Threat of Japan, 1909 [At Mt. Holyoke] Introduction: For my history assignment, I chose the document â€Å"Theodore Roosevelt’s The Threat of Japan†. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, modernization took place, bringing Japan to the height of power equivalent to a western power after defeating both China and Russia. United States was maintaining its policy of isolationism but was slowly transitioning to self interest imperialism, keeping control over countries with economic benefit such as open door policy with China.A summary of this article would be Roosevelt’s changing ideas of how US should change their foreign policy with regard to the dynamic change in the balance of world powers in 1909. My essay shall first examine the supporting points of the documents including the credibility of the source, reasons why Japan is a threat and immigration problems. Opposing points to mention would be that the document may be affect b y the mentality of white’s men supremacy. All things considered, I largely agree with the source and President Roosevelt’s analysis of Japan as a threat.Paragraph 1: Credibility of source The document is a primary source, written by Theodore Roosevelt himself at the point of time to Senator Knox, giving original evidence in light to our argument. I have two considerations with regard to the source’s credibility, the credentials of the author and the timeliness of the events. Theodore Roosevelt as the 26th president of the United States, have he assumed positions at the city, state, and federal levels before elected as president and was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.As he has a reputation to uphold alongside his prestigious titles, there is less likeliness of him to be bias in his reports. The documented concerns give factual material in line with the events happening at that point of time. It is true that â€Å"Japan has formidable military power† an d â€Å"considered themselves to be on a full equality† after their victory in the Russo-Japanese war in 1904-1905. There was also an immigration problem of Japanese â€Å"flocking by the hundred thousand into the US† and California legislature threatens to pass 17 anti-Japanese measures in 1909. As the ource is based on much concrete evidence as cross referenced with the timeline of events, I can claim that this document is credible to a large extent. Paragraph 2: Japan as a threat At the start of the 20th century, Japan came to be pictured as a political menace against United States, and her immigrants had been seen as a threat to American institution and economic security. Her victory in the Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War forced Roosevelt to see Japan as an equal. Meiji restoration where Japan combined Western advances with their own traditional values subsequently adopting modernization and military conscription.They view themselves as being encroached by foreigners under the unequal treaty system of the United States thus justifying Japan’s expansionistic intents. Examples would be Japan forcing its way through the Northeast China through the ownership of South Manchurian railway and formal control of Manchuria inherited from Russia. In the event of Portsmouth Treaty and the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese alliance in 1905, Japan used this chance to claim interest in Korea. Roosevelt acknowledged Japan’s military capabilities and is cautious when dealing with them.His famous â€Å"Big Stick Diplomacy† can be seen as he uses the concept of speaking softly, engaging in peaceful negotiation while having a â€Å"big stick†, a strong military. This is evident in the statement â€Å"treat Japan courteously that she will not be offended more than necessary† and constantly emphasizing the need of â€Å"keeping the Navy at the highest point of efficiency. † Roosevelt stressed harshly upon the need tha t the Navy needs to be strong in order to firstly keep Japan at bay through deterrence theory and secondly able to win wars if the need ever arise to.This shows that Roosevelt took Japan as a menace very seriously, and has placed in effect, measures that prevent the threat from manifesting. Paragraph 3: Japan’s immigration problems Since the opening of Japan from its self imposed seclusion policy in 1854, scholars have studied aboard to acquire Western teachings. The immigration problem manifested once Japanese started immigrating to Hawaii, Canada and US motivated by economic gains and evasion of military services. In the year 1900 alone, 12000 Japanese entered United States and by 1910 the population trebled to a total of 72,517.Although this bought a solution to their demand of cheap labour, another set of problems arise in the form of economic, racial and anti-Japanese agitation. Examples included would be San Francisco School Board implemented segregation of education sc hool between Japanese and American children, and â€Å"California legislature passing offensive legislation aiming at Japanese†. This background knowledge is coherent in identifying the social problems such as a â€Å"race problem and contest† is forecasted if nothing is done to keep them out.He understands that his people will not permit the Japanese to come in â€Å"as citizens and will not tolerate their presences. † US experienced widespread anti-Japanese sentiments and this is supported from evidence that Roosevelt received insults such as â€Å"an unpatriotic President, who united with aliens to break down the civilization of his own countrymen† by San Francisco Chronicle when he decided to back Japan up against segregation measures by other nations.However Roosevelt’s reasons was that he did not wish to create tension and friction between the relations of two countries and hope to continue with their peaceful diplomatic attempts to prevent a ny possibility of war. In essence, despite the anti-Japanese agitation of the people with their measures in place, Roosevelt found it hard to openly support them as he hopes to continue their mutual corresponding efforts in diplomacy and restrain from any form of conflict. Paragraph 4: White Men’s SupremacyAn uncertainty would be that Roosevelt may be slightly bias due to the prevalent widespread ideology of â€Å"White men’s supremacy† at that point of time. In the height of imperialism, the poem of â€Å"The White Man’s Burden† by Rudyard Kipling bought about feelings of superiority and condescending view over the less developed countries mainly Asia. The Whites have the obligation to rule over the indigenous population through colonialization and civilizing mission to educate them. The relationship between US and Japan was marked with tensions with regard to economic and commercial interest over Asia.Roosevelt may view Japan in a negative light such as an aggressor because he felt that only US has a legitimate rule and control over China, unlike an inferior Asian country like Japan However in Roosevelt’s analysis, the rest of the US has a different impression of Japan. He claims that â€Å"the moment everything is smooth and pleasant, there will be a clamor for a stoppage in the building up of the navy. † It can be inferred from Roosevelt that US is easily conceited and once they are in their comfort zone, they will forgot how big a threat Japan possess. Conclusion:In context to what we have learnt so far, it is most relevant to our lecture 6 of â€Å"Culture of High Imperialism – Japan†. Through the evaluation of this document, we have seen that Western power, US, have acknowledged the might of an Asian country, Japan. There have been a change in the balance of global power at that point of time and â€Å"White Men Supremacy† ideology was tested as Japan defeat Russia and China. United S tate’s President Roosevelt was forced to recognize â€Å"the whole question of our dealings with the Orient is certain to grow in importance† and there was a drastic change of perception of the social construct of the world.He highlighted Japan as a threat of interest and territory in Asia as well as creation of an immigrant problem of racial contest in Hawaii and parts of US. Roosevelt gave solutions such as â€Å"Big Stick Diplomacy† of building up the Navy and keeping it strong to deter Japan from attacking them. He stressed that Senator Knox should not lower his guard during moments of peace and overlook the job of keeping the Navy in its highest point of efficiency as well as controlling the emigration rate of Japanese into US.I have tested the source’s credibility and found it to be largely reliable and largely agree that Japan was a threat to US in the early 1900s and Roosevelt was correct to identify them as one and implement solutions to counter their aggression. 1496 words Bibliography Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966) David Cody, The growth of the British Empire, Associate Professor of English, (Hartwick College Paragraph 4) 1988 Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia et al.. The Making of the West, Peoples and Cultures.Vol. C. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. Mark Canada; The Ready Reference Handbook (49b) Martin, Gary. â€Å"Speak Softly And Carry a Big Stick† ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Mark Canada; The Ready Reference Handbook (49b) http://www. uncp. edu/home/canada/work/markport/best/evaluate. htm (Janaury 2001) [ 2 ]. Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966), 439 [ 3 ]. Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia et al.. The Making of the West, Peoples and Cultures. V ol. C. 3rd ed.Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. 712-13. [ 4 ]. Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966), 334 [ 5 ]. Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966), 333 [ 6 ]. Martin, Gary. â€Å"Speak Softly And Carry a Big Stick† [ 8 ]. Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966), 429 [ 9 ]. Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966), 437 [ 10 ]. David Cody, The growth of the British Empire, Associate Professor of English, (Hartwick College Paragraph 4) 1988 Theodore Roosevelt’s the Threat of Japan Document: Theodore Roosevelt:  The Threat of Japan, 1909 [At Mt. Holyoke] Introduction: For my history assignment, I chose the document â€Å"Theodore Roosevelt’s The Threat of Japan†. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, modernization took place, bringing Japan to the height of power equivalent to a western power after defeating both China and Russia. United States was maintaining its policy of isolationism but was slowly transitioning to self interest imperialism, keeping control over countries with economic benefit such as open door policy with China.A summary of this article would be Roosevelt’s changing ideas of how US should change their foreign policy with regard to the dynamic change in the balance of world powers in 1909. My essay shall first examine the supporting points of the documents including the credibility of the source, reasons why Japan is a threat and immigration problems. Opposing points to mention would be that the document may be affect b y the mentality of white’s men supremacy. All things considered, I largely agree with the source and President Roosevelt’s analysis of Japan as a threat.Paragraph 1: Credibility of source The document is a primary source, written by Theodore Roosevelt himself at the point of time to Senator Knox, giving original evidence in light to our argument. I have two considerations with regard to the source’s credibility, the credentials of the author and the timeliness of the events. Theodore Roosevelt as the 26th president of the United States, have he assumed positions at the city, state, and federal levels before elected as president and was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.As he has a reputation to uphold alongside his prestigious titles, there is less likeliness of him to be bias in his reports. The documented concerns give factual material in line with the events happening at that point of time. It is true that â€Å"Japan has formidable military power† an d â€Å"considered themselves to be on a full equality† after their victory in the Russo-Japanese war in 1904-1905. There was also an immigration problem of Japanese â€Å"flocking by the hundred thousand into the US† and California legislature threatens to pass 17 anti-Japanese measures in 1909. As the ource is based on much concrete evidence as cross referenced with the timeline of events, I can claim that this document is credible to a large extent. Paragraph 2: Japan as a threat At the start of the 20th century, Japan came to be pictured as a political menace against United States, and her immigrants had been seen as a threat to American institution and economic security. Her victory in the Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War forced Roosevelt to see Japan as an equal. Meiji restoration where Japan combined Western advances with their own traditional values subsequently adopting modernization and military conscription.They view themselves as being encroached by foreigners under the unequal treaty system of the United States thus justifying Japan’s expansionistic intents. Examples would be Japan forcing its way through the Northeast China through the ownership of South Manchurian railway and formal control of Manchuria inherited from Russia. In the event of Portsmouth Treaty and the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese alliance in 1905, Japan used this chance to claim interest in Korea. Roosevelt acknowledged Japan’s military capabilities and is cautious when dealing with them.His famous â€Å"Big Stick Diplomacy† can be seen as he uses the concept of speaking softly, engaging in peaceful negotiation while having a â€Å"big stick†, a strong military. This is evident in the statement â€Å"treat Japan courteously that she will not be offended more than necessary† and constantly emphasizing the need of â€Å"keeping the Navy at the highest point of efficiency. † Roosevelt stressed harshly upon the need tha t the Navy needs to be strong in order to firstly keep Japan at bay through deterrence theory and secondly able to win wars if the need ever arise to.This shows that Roosevelt took Japan as a menace very seriously, and has placed in effect, measures that prevent the threat from manifesting. Paragraph 3: Japan’s immigration problems Since the opening of Japan from its self imposed seclusion policy in 1854, scholars have studied aboard to acquire Western teachings. The immigration problem manifested once Japanese started immigrating to Hawaii, Canada and US motivated by economic gains and evasion of military services. In the year 1900 alone, 12000 Japanese entered United States and by 1910 the population trebled to a total of 72,517.Although this bought a solution to their demand of cheap labour, another set of problems arise in the form of economic, racial and anti-Japanese agitation. Examples included would be San Francisco School Board implemented segregation of education sc hool between Japanese and American children, and â€Å"California legislature passing offensive legislation aiming at Japanese†. This background knowledge is coherent in identifying the social problems such as a â€Å"race problem and contest† is forecasted if nothing is done to keep them out.He understands that his people will not permit the Japanese to come in â€Å"as citizens and will not tolerate their presences. † US experienced widespread anti-Japanese sentiments and this is supported from evidence that Roosevelt received insults such as â€Å"an unpatriotic President, who united with aliens to break down the civilization of his own countrymen† by San Francisco Chronicle when he decided to back Japan up against segregation measures by other nations.However Roosevelt’s reasons was that he did not wish to create tension and friction between the relations of two countries and hope to continue with their peaceful diplomatic attempts to prevent a ny possibility of war. In essence, despite the anti-Japanese agitation of the people with their measures in place, Roosevelt found it hard to openly support them as he hopes to continue their mutual corresponding efforts in diplomacy and restrain from any form of conflict. Paragraph 4: White Men’s SupremacyAn uncertainty would be that Roosevelt may be slightly bias due to the prevalent widespread ideology of â€Å"White men’s supremacy† at that point of time. In the height of imperialism, the poem of â€Å"The White Man’s Burden† by Rudyard Kipling bought about feelings of superiority and condescending view over the less developed countries mainly Asia. The Whites have the obligation to rule over the indigenous population through colonialization and civilizing mission to educate them. The relationship between US and Japan was marked with tensions with regard to economic and commercial interest over Asia.Roosevelt may view Japan in a negative light such as an aggressor because he felt that only US has a legitimate rule and control over China, unlike an inferior Asian country like Japan However in Roosevelt’s analysis, the rest of the US has a different impression of Japan. He claims that â€Å"the moment everything is smooth and pleasant, there will be a clamor for a stoppage in the building up of the navy. † It can be inferred from Roosevelt that US is easily conceited and once they are in their comfort zone, they will forgot how big a threat Japan possess. Conclusion:In context to what we have learnt so far, it is most relevant to our lecture 6 of â€Å"Culture of High Imperialism – Japan†. Through the evaluation of this document, we have seen that Western power, US, have acknowledged the might of an Asian country, Japan. There have been a change in the balance of global power at that point of time and â€Å"White Men Supremacy† ideology was tested as Japan defeat Russia and China. United S tate’s President Roosevelt was forced to recognize â€Å"the whole question of our dealings with the Orient is certain to grow in importance† and there was a drastic change of perception of the social construct of the world.He highlighted Japan as a threat of interest and territory in Asia as well as creation of an immigrant problem of racial contest in Hawaii and parts of US. Roosevelt gave solutions such as â€Å"Big Stick Diplomacy† of building up the Navy and keeping it strong to deter Japan from attacking them. He stressed that Senator Knox should not lower his guard during moments of peace and overlook the job of keeping the Navy in its highest point of efficiency as well as controlling the emigration rate of Japanese into US.I have tested the source’s credibility and found it to be largely reliable and largely agree that Japan was a threat to US in the early 1900s and Roosevelt was correct to identify them as one and implement solutions to counter their aggression. 1496 words Bibliography Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966) David Cody, The growth of the British Empire, Associate Professor of English, (Hartwick College Paragraph 4) 1988 Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia et al.. The Making of the West, Peoples and Cultures.Vol. C. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. Mark Canada; The Ready Reference Handbook (49b) Martin, Gary. â€Å"Speak Softly And Carry a Big Stick† ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Mark Canada; The Ready Reference Handbook (49b) http://www. uncp. edu/home/canada/work/markport/best/evaluate. htm (Janaury 2001) [ 2 ]. Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966), 439 [ 3 ]. Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia et al.. The Making of the West, Peoples and Cultures. V ol. C. 3rd ed.Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. 712-13. [ 4 ]. Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966), 334 [ 5 ]. Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966), 333 [ 6 ]. Martin, Gary. â€Å"Speak Softly And Carry a Big Stick† [ 8 ]. Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966), 429 [ 9 ]. Chitoshi Yananga, Japan Since Perry (Achron Books; Hamden, Connecticut, 1966), 437 [ 10 ]. David Cody, The growth of the British Empire, Associate Professor of English, (Hartwick College Paragraph 4) 1988

How Can I Avoid Literal/Verbal Translation from My Native Language When Writing an English Essay Essay

As a foreign English learner, , I constantly make grammatical and structural errors when writing in English even though I started learning English at a very early age and have a relatively better speaking and listening ability among my peers. In fact, many Asians, Mandarin users like me in particular, encounter such problem a lot when writing in the English language. As a consequence, I want to find out the main reason that causes me to write in English with the inverse (Chinese) structure all the time. In other words, I want to know why I constantly â€Å"think† in my own language and translate it into English instead of directly â€Å"think and write† in English simultaneously. That is, as stated in the title, to avoid literal/verbal translation from my native language when writing in English. In the first part of this essay, discussion will to focus on illustrating the core concepts of how humans form and convert grammatical structures into English. In the second part, a brief research conducted by myself will be used in support of the main question of this essay, which is the methodology to resolve writing difficulties for foreigner English speakers. Last but not least, an overall analysis in regard of the topic can be found in the final paragraph. The objective of this essay is to observe the influence between a Mandarin user’s native language (mother tongue) and the English language in terms of logical thinking process and psycholinguistic perspectives as well as avoiding literal or verbal translation from my the language. This is an interesting however less discussed topic in terms of English learning method. I sincerely hope English learners, particularly foreign learners, can more or less understand the existing problems that can likely bother us, also, â€Å"can generate some interesting data to show the need to explicitly stimulate bicognitive and bicultural development in Chinese EFL learners†(Gonzalez, Virginia, Chen Chia-Yin, and Claudia Sanchez 627-52). The thinking process We can discover a nearly inevitable process, regardless of its use, before writing a formal essay. That is, in fact, the process of sketching a rough idea (abstract) of what specific concepts we are going to talk about or what type of audience we want to persuade. For instance, suppose our topic is â€Å"My Family†. Undoubtedly, the first thing that comes into our mind is a picture consists of mother, father, and children. This is inevitable as we tend to â€Å"picturize† abstract words into actual images that we have already acquired from our experience (database) in the past. Later on, after these approximate frames are set up, a complicated process will start interpreting the picture into the language we are familiar with. To simply put, the input (given topic) needs to be processed in order to obtain (write down) the output. Understanding the process, we can further apply the idea to foreign languages. Take myself as an example. Chinese is my native language whereas English is my second (foreign) language. Based on the thinking process demonstrated earlier, the process for me to convert â€Å"English topic† into â€Å"English sentences† is to first convert â€Å"English topic† to â€Å"Chinese topic†(since there is no such database known as â€Å"English† in the past), and then picturize â€Å"Chinese topic† into â€Å"Chinese sentences†, and finally translate those sentences into English. What a tough work it is! Yes, indeed, as a foreign language learner, especially a beginner, this is actually the fastest way to deliver message. However, after such a long process, we experience another problem—the translation is still in â€Å"Chinese† linguistic structure! For this reason, our brain starts modifying the structure, again, based on our â₠¬Å"database†. (I will further explain the importance of â€Å"database† in a while) The modification process So the modification process starts. Our brain starts searching for the most native way of expressing the idea in English. Yet, if no such word or structure was learned in the past, it is very likely that we would simply output the most similar or the most â€Å"literal† translation of the sentence. In this case, many common grammatical and improper structures can be easily observed, such as saying â€Å"What can I make?† instead of â€Å"What can I do?†(make and do both have the same meaning in Chinese) Of course, people can still understand what the writer tries to indicate, but on the other hand it can sometimes cause great misunderstanding between the author and the audience. Research This survey is conducted on the basis of 57 effective samples, representing participants from more than three different education levels and 3 Mandarin-speaking countries. Questions 1 through 5 are general information used to analyze the background of participants. Questions starting from question 6 are divided into two contrary tracks. Track A is designed to investigate those who had encountered literal/verbal translation difficulties whereas track B is for those who seldom have difficulties writing what they intend to illustrate. In this research, a few phenomena can be discovered. According to the responses of question 6, apparently over 70% of the participants have had a hard time translating what they really wanted to express into English. As for question , 62% think such writing difficulty is mainly due to the lack of vocabulary while in question , interestingly, more and more people tend to utilize resources through internet. From here, we can see the importance of technology in terms of learning and gathering information. On the other hand, however, Track B shows that those who seldom or never have literal/verbal translation problems believe reading is also important and that looking up dictionary helps them avoid literal/verbal translation problems. Some suggestions are listed in question and which include extensive reading and writing, have peer editor to review his/her essay, and even â€Å"fall in love with the language.†

Free Essays on Reader Opinion Of “Pattern Language“ By Christopher Alexander

While reading the book â€Å"A Pattern Language†, I first thought the author was setting out to do was almost an impossible task. The introduction stated that there the keys to rural living to metropolitan existence could be summarized into 253 combinable patterns. I had a hard time grasping the understanding of what he was going to accomplish with the information he was providing. Questions such as how is someone going to place a town, city etc. in a box of 253 combinable patterns. I researched the Internet to see what others were saying about the book and their attempted to explain just how the book applied to them and their project. I noticed a common thread among the many and various sites that I viewed. The famous 253 patterns were moved and shifted by the authors in an untrusting manner. The author â€Å"Christopher Alexander† has made a bold move by placing limits on how small to large scale projects should be designed/set-up to work in a â€Å"Society†. W hether the application is technology, architecture, towns, cities or your new house, he has stepped up to the plate and has stated just how you can optimally organize your project. I will categorize two types of readers that I feel will be exposed to this book. First are the â€Å"hands off thinkers†. These are the people that use their brain for about 70% of the workday. They do not prefer to be exposed to the actual work as an original, but more of a doubting or justifiable agreement type. The second is the â€Å"forced reader†. They will not willingly choose or select a book of this caliber but will be coerced into reading the book as a favor to a supervisor or work place hype about the depth and passion of the author. The definition of the â€Å"forced reader† will offend the â€Å"hands off thinker† because they are dedicated to the process of working through the thought process. Here now lies the problem with the â€Å"hands off thinker† and the â€Å"forced readers† that will be e... Free Essays on Reader Opinion Of â€Å"Pattern Languageâ€Å" By Christopher Alexander Free Essays on Reader Opinion Of â€Å"Pattern Languageâ€Å" By Christopher Alexander While reading the book â€Å"A Pattern Language†, I first thought the author was setting out to do was almost an impossible task. The introduction stated that there the keys to rural living to metropolitan existence could be summarized into 253 combinable patterns. I had a hard time grasping the understanding of what he was going to accomplish with the information he was providing. Questions such as how is someone going to place a town, city etc. in a box of 253 combinable patterns. I researched the Internet to see what others were saying about the book and their attempted to explain just how the book applied to them and their project. I noticed a common thread among the many and various sites that I viewed. The famous 253 patterns were moved and shifted by the authors in an untrusting manner. The author â€Å"Christopher Alexander† has made a bold move by placing limits on how small to large scale projects should be designed/set-up to work in a â€Å"Society†. W hether the application is technology, architecture, towns, cities or your new house, he has stepped up to the plate and has stated just how you can optimally organize your project. I will categorize two types of readers that I feel will be exposed to this book. First are the â€Å"hands off thinkers†. These are the people that use their brain for about 70% of the workday. They do not prefer to be exposed to the actual work as an original, but more of a doubting or justifiable agreement type. The second is the â€Å"forced reader†. They will not willingly choose or select a book of this caliber but will be coerced into reading the book as a favor to a supervisor or work place hype about the depth and passion of the author. The definition of the â€Å"forced reader† will offend the â€Å"hands off thinker† because they are dedicated to the process of working through the thought process. Here now lies the problem with the â€Å"hands off thinker† and the â€Å"forced readers† that will be e...

Gifts Is the Most Beneficial Promotion Strategy

Use of Promotion Items/Gifts Is the Most Beneficial Promotion Strategy Promotional items/gifts are articles of an organization which are often branded with the logo of that organization and used and used for communication and marketing purposes. Such items are given away to promote products and services of an organization.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Use of Promotion Items/Gifts Is the Most Beneficial Promotion Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Promotional products such as pens, coffee mugs, T-shirts and others with the name of a business imprinted on them are very effective when used for that purpose, (Huff 279). Recently, promotional products have been proved to be the best choice of promoting business enterprises image, products brands and services. In fact, various studies have come up with Statistics that support this fact. Moreover, they are the promotion alternatives compared to other traditional promotion strategies. The major advantage of mostly used promot ional items is that they can reach a wider market and they can be used on a daily basis by anyone for example, pens and key holders and others. Consequently, they are very effective and beneficial to business enterprises. However, though such products are the best option, it must be clear that other promotion methods such as trade shows, exhibitions, TV and Radio advertisements, internet sites and others are also effective and should not be ruled out. Therefore, this paper examines some of the benefits of promotional gifts which make them unique from other promotion strategies as illustrated by various studies. In addition it should be understood that these products can also be detrimental to the business if not used well. In view of that fact, it will also be prudent to focus on some of the harmful effects that can be caused by such items in this paper. Promotion gifts are beneficial to a business in various aspects, which makes them a better option from the other promotion methodo logies. To start with, these items are very effective in making the recipients remember the products and services of a company, (Hart et al. 38). This fact is well illustrated by a study that was conducted in America in the year 2006 by researchers from university of Louisiana and university of Texas on effectiveness of promotional products compared to other traditional methods, (PPAIDIM, 2011). The study involved collection of data on responses by recipients of promotional items/gifts given by companies. The findings of that research showed that approximately 76.1% of those given promotional gifts could recall the name of the business imprinted on these items. Surprisingly, they even could recall the names of those companies even after twelve months since when they were given. From these results it is easy to deduce that such gifts create visibility for a company which can lead to traffic and eventually help to increase level of sales. Those findings also illustrate the importance of putting the name and contacts of a firm on the items. Such approach will ensure that when clients want to contact the company, they have ready details from the items. In addition, these items facilitate the recipients to be seeing the name of the firm regularly. Therefore, these items serve as a reminder to the clients and this helps to keep long-lived connection.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another benefit of promotional items is that they help to create a good impression or image of a company, its products and services to clients, (Hart, T. et al. 38). This can be confirmed by the findings of the research illustrated earlier that was conducted by researchers from university of Louisiana and university of Texas, (PPAIDIM, 2011). Statistics derived from this study showed that those respondents who had been offered with gifts were likely to recommend the donor companies compared to those who had relieved nothing. Significantly, that group had a more positive image which was evident from their comments. These facts explain that use of promotional items do not only give a firm a corporate image but they also enable it to build lasting relationships with would be clients. Consequently, the recipients of these items are likely to talk more about your business and the quality of your services, (Hart et al. 38). It has been found out that most clients find promotion gifts very useful. Consequently, they form emotional attachment to them eventually to the products and services of the firm offering them those gifts. As such, they foster a sense of goodwill in the clients mind. In the year 2004, a study had been conducted by L. J Marketing Research on the impact of promotional gifts on performance of business in America, (PPAIDIM 2011). The data collected from this research indicated that 75.4% of those who were given promotional items kept those items since they found them useful. Further, 73 % of the respondents who found the gifts indicated that they used them at least once every week. In addition, 45.2% of that group claimed to have been using the product at least once every day. More interesting 52 % of the recipients did business with the advertisers who gave them the items afterwards. In short, those products are very useful in enhancing a sense of belonging to the recipients. Eventually, such clients feel emotionally indebted to the firm and always choose that firm among other similar firms. Therefore, the impact of promotional items is dipper than it seems to be on sight. Promotional products help to reinforce the impact of other promotion strategies on the recipients. A good example is the findings of the study conducted by L. J Marketing Research. During that study, the researchers divided population from a certain region into three groups. They went to promote products of a certain company to the three groups. That event involved trade shows where individuals form one group received two gifts each, those from the second group received one each and no gift was given for those from the third group, (PPAIDIM 2011). The researchers later measured the level of remembrance of three groups to the events of trade show and knowledge of the products that were being advertised.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Use of Promotion Items/Gifts Is the Most Beneficial Promotion Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The findings indicated that the group that was given two gifts was four times able to remember the event and all related details compared to the one that was not given gifts. In addition, respondents that were given gifts had goodwill towards the company while those who were not, the opposite were true. Also there were significant differences between the first and the second group, the first group ranking hi gher in this aspect. This means that promotional gifts are very influential and more so when used conjunction with the other available advertisement methods. Therefore, it is recommendable for businesses to complement other advertisement methods with these means. However, as Hart, T et al (38) explains, promotional items may have harmful impacts to the image of your business. This would happen if these items lead to detrimental effect to the recipient or to the environment. For example, mugs used as promotional items that have sharp edges may injure the user, usually a client or a potential client. In such a case, the injured person will develop a bad image of all products associated with the logo on the mug. In fact, such a person is likely to preach against the products or services of your business. Similarly, shirts, pens and other items made from nylon and other inorganic materials could be injurious to the environment especially if they are thrown away for disposal. But if a co mpany uses items that are not harmful, it will have ruled out possibility of the negative effect. Secondly, promotional items can harm the image of a company if they last only for a short period of time and they get used. Such items create bad impression to the users towards the promotional items. They eventually equate such items to the products of your business. For example, if you give low value batteries as promotional items to promote an electronic sales business, this could prove more harm than good to your business. Such batteries will get used after a very short period of time as it is used by a potential customer. Possibly, the client or potential client will have feeling that your electronic products are of such low value, (Huff 279). However, this will only require a company to make a wise choice of durable products. That way, its good image will not only be maintained, it will also improve. Finally, promotion items may not be effective if they are not related to your bus iness products or services. This calls for careful selection of such items. For example, use of mouse pads of a computer as gifts to advertise a computer sales business can be very fruitful. Similarly, choosing pens to promote a bookshop is a good option and can be very effective.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More But choosing pens as promotion items to advertise the services of a restaurant may not very effective, (Huff 279). But this is easily treated through making a choice of items that are related to the brands of a companys products. In short, these points explain that though promotional items have a wide range of benefits, they can cause more than good sometimes If not used well. Conclusion Promotional items can be quite beneficial if one wants to use them to promote your business. They will help circulate the name of the business while at the same time helping to draw customers to the business. Evidently, they are very influential in making the recipients remember about the business, its product brands and services. Secondly, they are very effective in enhancing a good image of the business to the recipients. As such, they can be used to lure new clients to the business. In addition, they help to, maintain the existing clients. Remarkably, such products help the create sense of goodwi ll in the mindset of a client. Emotionally, the client feels obligated to purchase the products of that business enterprise other than form other similar business enterprises. Lastly, these items produce quite impressive results when combined with other methods of advertisements. They greatly support the impact of those methods. Though these promotional items are largely beneficial, some circumstances have been examined in which they might be harmful to the business. This would happen if they are harmful to the user or the environment. Still, they can display a bad image of a firm if the are not durable. Finally, they may not be effective when they are not related to the products of a firm. They thus fail to produce the desired result and end up being costly to the firm. Therefore, though promotional gifts may have harmful results, they are largely beneficial. As explained earlier, it should be understood that the other promotional methods such as tradeshows, exhibitions media adver tisements and others are effective and cannot be ruled out. However, various no study indicates those strategies surpass the use of promotional gifts. Hart, Ted, Capps, Adrienne and Bauer, Mathew. Nonprofit Guide to Going Green. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Print. Huff, Priscilla. Make Your Business Survive and Thrive!: 100+ Proven Marketing Methods to Help You Beat the Odds and Build a Successful Small Or Home-Based Enterprise. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2006. Print. Promotional Products Association International and Dynamic Image Marketing Systems (PPAIDIM). Power of promotional products, Dynamic Image Marketing Systems Inc, North California, USA. 2011. 21 March, 2011. https://www.slideshare.net/guest71c04f/power-of-promotional-products-1176037

Geographic Information About Morocco

Geographic Information About Morocco Population: 31,627,428 (July 2010 estimate)Capital: RabatArea: 172,414 square miles (446,550 sq km)Bordering Countries: Algeria, Western Sahara and Spain (Cueta and Melilla)Coastline: 1,140 miles (1,835 km)Highest Point: Jebel Toubkal at 13,665 feet (4,165 m)Lowest Point: Sebkha Tah at -180 feet (-55 m)Morocco is a country located in Northern Africa along the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is officially called the Kingdom of Morocco and it is known for its long history, rich culture and diverse cuisine. Moroccos capital city is Rabat but its largest city is Casablanca. History of Morocco Morocco has a long history that has been shaped over decades by its geographic location on both the  Atlantic Ocean  and the Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenicians were the first people to control the area, but the Romans, Visigoths, Vandals and Byzantine Greeks also controlled it. In the 7th century B.C.E, Arabic peoples entered the region and their civilization, as well as  Islam  thrived there.In the 15th century, the Portuguese controlled the Atlantic coast of Morocco. By the 1800s, though, several other European countries were interested in the region because of its strategic location. France was one of the first of these and in 1904, the United Kingdom officially recognized Morocco as part of Frances sphere of influence. In 1906, the Algeciras Conference established policing duties in Morocco for France and Spain, and then in 1912, Morocco became a protectorate of France with the Treaty of Fes.Following the end of World War II, Moroccans began to push for independence and i n 1944, Istiqlal or Independence Party was created to lead the movement for independence. According to the United States Department of State in 1953, the popular Sultan Mohammed V was exiled by France. He was replaced by Mohammed Ben Aarafa, which caused Moroccans to push for independence even more. In 1955, Mohammed V was able to return to Morocco and on March 2, 1956, the country gained its independence.Following its independence, Morocco grew as it took over control of some Spanish-controlled areas in 1956 and 1958. In 1969, Morocco expanded again when it took control of the Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south. Today, however, Spain still controls Ceuta and Melilla, two coastal enclaves in northern Morocco. Government of Morocco Today the government of Morocco is considered a constitutional monarchy. It has an executive branch with a chief of state (a position that is filled by the king) and a head of government (the prime minister). Morocco also has a bicameral Parliament which consists of the Chamber of Counselors and the Chamber of Representatives for its legislative branch. The judicial branch of government in Morocco is made up of the Supreme Court. Morocco is divided into 15 regions for local administration and it has a legal system that is based on Islamic law as well as that of the French and Spanish. Economics and Land Use of Morocco Recently Morocco has undergone several changes in its economic policies that have allowed it to become more stable and grow. It is currently working to develop its service and industrial sectors. The main industries in Morocco today are phosphate rock mining and processing, food processing, the making of leather goods, textiles, construction, energy,  and tourism. Since tourism is a major industry in the country, services are as well. In addition, agriculture also plays a role in Moroccos economy and the main products in this sector include barley, wheat, citrus, grapes, vegetables, olives, livestock,  and wine. Geography and Climate of Morocco Morocco is geographically located in Northern Africa along the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Algeria and Western Sahara. It also still shares borders with two enclaves that are considered a part of Spain - Ceuta and Melilla. The topography of Morocco varies as its northern coast and interior regions are mountainous, while its coast features fertile plains where much of the countrys agriculture takes place. There are also valleys interspersed between Moroccos mountainous areas. The highest point in Morocco is Jebel Toubkal which rises to 13,665 feet (4,165 m), while its lowest point is Sebkha Tah which is -180 feet (-55 m) below sea level.The climate of Morocco, like its topography, also varies with location. Along the coast, it is Mediterranean with warm, dry summers and mild winters. Farther inland, the climate is more extreme and the closer one gets to the Sahara Desert, the hotter and more extreme it gets. For example Moroccos capital, Rabat is locat ed on the coast and it has an average January low temperature of 46ËšF (8ËšC) and an average July high temperature of 82ËšF (28ËšC). By contrast, Marrakesh, which is located farther inland, has an average July high temperature of 98ËšF (37ËšC) and a January average low of 43ËšF (6ËšC). Sources: Central Intelligence Agency. (20 December 2010). CIA - The World Factbook - Morocco.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mo.html Infoplease.com. (n.d.). Morocco: History, Geography, Government, and Culture - Infoplease.com.  infoplease.com/country/morocco.html United States  Department of State. (26 January 2010). Morocco.   state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5431.htm Wikipedia.org. (28 December 2010). Morocco- Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco.

AFA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

AFA - Essay Example Hegel asserted that African did not have the capacity or the spirit to steer development. However, the transformation that Africa has gone through is proof of the true of African spirit that chose to rule itself after European. The statements of Hegel were appreciated a century later by Hugh Trevor-Roper. Trevor-Roper’s compilation, The Rise of Christian Europe, likened the history of Africa to darkness, and the present Africa has undeniable traces of Europe history. The purpose of this essay is to debunk the mythical and stereotyped assertions made by Hegel and Trevor-Roper. The present Africa has made remarkable history by holding on to social, political and economic practices that trace back to the pre-colonial era. The transformation social-cultural institutions have gone through cannot escape notice. Hegel and Trevor-Roper ignore the rich traditional culture that existed before the scramble for Africa. The family unit recognized unequal role between men and women in the family unit. Men were considered as protectors and breadwinners in the family while women tended to children and farms. The superior role of men was appreciated in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria South Africa where the societies were patriarch in nature (Archive.unu.edu).The family units did not undergo many transformations despite the coming of European and Asians from as early as 1800s. The West Africa nations retained the male supremacy and any attitude or practice that favored the role of the men in the society. However, post-colonial periods features family units where both and women have equal roles. The adoption of European religion has played a crucial role in setting modern trends within the African family units. There are communities that embrace male supremacy but are gradually orienting to the new wo rld order on equality. Indigenous African education system featured practices and customs that were taught by the older

Sustainability and Waste Management in uk catering industry Dissertation

Sustainability and Waste Management in uk catering industry - Dissertation Example .. 3.0 Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4.0 Result and Findings†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 5.0 Discussion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6.0 Conclusion and Recommendation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7.0 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8.0 Figures and Tables Figure 1: UK Catering Services Providers’ Perception of Environmental Pollution†¦ Figure 2: Common Hindrances to the Implementation of Sustainability Policies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Table 1: Factors Influencing Effective Waste Management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 1.0 Abstract/Introduction This paper investigates the factors affecting sustainability and waste development in UK catering industry. Efforts are made to explain the current level of awareness of the environmental pollution. Some dramatic ways to manage the waste are appropriately highlighted. This is done with a great emphasis on the governmental challenges in confronting the menace of environmental pollution and waste management. ... Elaborate literature review is conducted to buttress the fact that the threat of waste and environmental pollution is real. The methodology employed for this study is an integration of qualitative and quantitative. Questionnaires were handed out to randomly select catering services providers. And the corresponding results and findings from this study are clearly presented and utilized in discussing the continuous danger environmental pollution poses on UK catering services. Appropriate conclusion and recommendations are provided at the end of this paper. 2.0 Literature Review Sustainable development has recently become a hot topic for discussion in most businesses. According to the World Commission on Environment and Development Report (1987, P. 43), sustainable development is defined as â€Å"meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.† We can use the resources from the ecological system based on the availab le capacity of the resource base, and making sure that the wastes we create do not threaten the capacity of that particular ecosystem (Jennings and Zandbergen, 1995, P. 1019). Although some companies want to reduce environmental problems, two different perspectives are just holding back the progress (Hoffman, 2000, P. 9): The traditional aspect is concentrated on the debate about the observation of environmental legislation and the firms’ social responsibility. Second, the managers must accept that the firm’s overall strategy and environmental concerns inevitably must go hand in hand. Then, they need to find a way that satisfies the objectives of economic competitiveness and environmental protection at the same time. The environmental policy is guided by

Property Law as Applied to Rural Retreats Essay

Property Law as Applied to Rural Retreats - Essay Example As the discussion stresses this agreement restricting Rural Retreats’ use of Easy Access constitutes a significant instrument that crucially affects the proper use of the lot, where its abandonment in the part of Rural Retreats will negatively affect the well-being of its purchasers and successors in title. The importance Easy Access holds as a car park for the estate constitutes what Sec. 29 of the Land Title Act of 1994 as crucial to â€Å"ensure that the register is an accurate, comprehensive and useable record of freehold land in the State.† This paper declares that no registrable interest exists for Nohrain in this case, the registrar should have registered details about Easy Access being a car park, which cannot be used for other purposes or sold, without the lot owners’ consent. In order to protect his interests to the parking lot, Nohrain, preferably with the cooperation of the other lot owners in the estate, has two options: he can make an appeal by virtue of the Land Title Act for the registrar to correct the register to Easy Access and include the provisions included in the sale of the lots regarding Easy Access, or Nohrain can lodge a caveat on Easy Access to prevent the property from being sold or modified in its terms of use. Nohrain has rights to the easement because as the agreement between Olga and the Council provides, Olga, together with her family, occupiers of her lot, and successors in title, which includes Nohrain, are included among those who will benefit from the free water supply.

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 64

Discussion - Essay Example oblem identifies significant effects on the students, with possible secondary effects on the students’ ability to concentrate on their studies and the students’ health. An empirical study of 195 students established significance of homesickness and effects such as depression, sexual behavior, and consumption of alcohol. The study that focused on moderation effects of religion on impacts of homesickness established significance of religion (Longo, 2010). Other effects of homesickness are isolation, inability to focus on studies, and stimulation of preexisting psychological disorder among students (Thurmber and Walton, n.d.). The data establishes significance of homesickness among college students and identifies its burden on students’ academic potentials and their health. I believe that effects of homesickness such as involvement in irresponsible sexual behavior, as Longo explains that more than 30 percent of his research participants engaged in unprotected sex, e xplains risks of sexually transmitted diseases while depression suppresses the students’ cognitive potentials. Longo, G. (2010). Homesickness in college students: The moderating effect of religiousness on the relationship between homesickness and Maladjustment. Retrieved from:

At-Will Employment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

At-Will Employment - Essay Example In 1980, the Supreme Court of California, in a landmark case that involved ARCO, endorsed this rule as articulated earlier by the court of appeal. The actions that resulted from employees became known as Tameny actions in California for wrongful termination that violated public policy (Barbash et al 11). Several statutory common law exceptions have been in existence since 1959. The common law protects employees from retaliation from an employer if they are ordered to perform something illegal. The burden of proof, however, remained with the employee. The legislature of Montana passed the WDE Act that, although purporting to preserve the concept in law, expressly enumerates wrongful discharge actions in legal basis (Barbash et al 12). It was the only state in the US that chose to modify the at-will employment rule, doing so in 1987. Why it exists Employment with a firm is at-will, meaning that employment is bound to be terminated at whichever time with or sans notice or cause (Barbash et al 20). This also means that a firm can terminate one’s employment at any time by either issuing or not issuing cause or notice. Additionally, the firm may also require altering the status of employment, hours of employment, the schedule or demotion at its own discretion with or sans cause or notice. While the firm will generally adhere to progressive discipline, they are not obligated or bound to do this. As an employee employed at-will, in any manner, an individual does not have a guarantee that they will be employed for a particular period (David 20). No one at the firm, with the exception of the president, in a signed contract can make any promise or representation to an employee that they are anything but an at-will employee. Supervisors, managers or employees, who make such representation or promise to an employee, are not authorized to carry out this duty. Exceptions For at-will employees, there are exceptions given to the general rule. Under public policy in the l aws of a majority of the states, an employer cannot terminate employment of an employee if it is a violation of a public policy that is well established by the state (Ford et al 52). For instance, employers may generally not fire employees if they make a compensation claim since the policy that requires them to pay compensation to the workers as clearly set out by state statute. Terminating employment for the reporting of illegal activity is also a violation of public policy. Another exception has to do with retaliation or discrimination. Under federal law, employers may not use discrimination when terminating an employee based on disability, age, national origin, sex, religion, color or race (Ford et al 53). Many municipalities and states also prohibit employee termination based on sexual orientation. The employer may also not fire an employee as an act of retaliation if they make a complaint regarding harassment or discrimination. A different exception is related to implied contra ct. At times, the conduct or words of an employer could create the implication of an agreement limiting the ability of that employer to terminate the employment terms of an employee at-will (David 54). For instance, when the employer’s handbook on employees states that, the employee is liable for termination for a cause that is just;

Sociology- Sex Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sociology- Sex Paper - Essay Example n (1994), DSM-IV defines transvestite fetishism as a ‘heterosexual male who cross-dresses over a period of at least six months.’ This male also has ‘recurring sexually arousing fantasies.’ The DSM-IV adds that an individual can only be diagnosed as having transvestite fetishism if ‘significant distress or impairment in functioning, with or without gender dysphoria,’ is associated with the cross-dressing. (Bordan and De Ricco1997) The DSM-IV itself differentiates between an individual who can be diagnosed as having transvestite fetishism and one who has a gender identity disorder. For one to be diagnosed with gender identity disorder one would have to consistently portray‘cross-gender identification’. This portrayal would include ‘symptoms such as a stated desire to be the other sex, frequent passing as the other sex, or the conviction that he or she has the typical feelings and reactions of the other sex. (Bower 2001) What is more, approximately 66% of male transsexuals prefer strong hetero-sexual males. In fact they refuse homosexual partners. (Bower, 2001) Therein rests one of the major differences between transsexuals or individuals with gender identity disorder and homosexuals. Homosexuals as the name implies are individuals of the same sex involved in sexual relationships whereas male transsexuals prefer to engage in sexual relationships with hetero -sexual males rather than homosexuals. Likewise the transvestite may or may not desire to engage in sexual relationships with homosexuals. Moreover, researchers have noted that males with gender identity disorder may be attracted to males, females, either sexes or neither of the sexes. Amazingly, though females identified with gender identity disorder are nearly always attracted to only females. (Bower 2001. p 2) Homosexuals may be classified into two main categories, namely, ‘the effeminate homosexual’ and the ‘drag queen.’ (Bower 2001) Although the effeminate homosexual has

At-Will Employment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

At-Will Employment - Essay Example In 1980, the Supreme Court of California, in a landmark case that involved ARCO, endorsed this rule as articulated earlier by the court of appeal. The actions that resulted from employees became known as Tameny actions in California for wrongful termination that violated public policy (Barbash et al 11). Several statutory common law exceptions have been in existence since 1959. The common law protects employees from retaliation from an employer if they are ordered to perform something illegal. The burden of proof, however, remained with the employee. The legislature of Montana passed the WDE Act that, although purporting to preserve the concept in law, expressly enumerates wrongful discharge actions in legal basis (Barbash et al 12). It was the only state in the US that chose to modify the at-will employment rule, doing so in 1987. Why it exists Employment with a firm is at-will, meaning that employment is bound to be terminated at whichever time with or sans notice or cause (Barbash et al 20). This also means that a firm can terminate one’s employment at any time by either issuing or not issuing cause or notice. Additionally, the firm may also require altering the status of employment, hours of employment, the schedule or demotion at its own discretion with or sans cause or notice. While the firm will generally adhere to progressive discipline, they are not obligated or bound to do this. As an employee employed at-will, in any manner, an individual does not have a guarantee that they will be employed for a particular period (David 20). No one at the firm, with the exception of the president, in a signed contract can make any promise or representation to an employee that they are anything but an at-will employee. Supervisors, managers or employees, who make such representation or promise to an employee, are not authorized to carry out this duty. Exceptions For at-will employees, there are exceptions given to the general rule. Under public policy in the l aws of a majority of the states, an employer cannot terminate employment of an employee if it is a violation of a public policy that is well established by the state (Ford et al 52). For instance, employers may generally not fire employees if they make a compensation claim since the policy that requires them to pay compensation to the workers as clearly set out by state statute. Terminating employment for the reporting of illegal activity is also a violation of public policy. Another exception has to do with retaliation or discrimination. Under federal law, employers may not use discrimination when terminating an employee based on disability, age, national origin, sex, religion, color or race (Ford et al 53). Many municipalities and states also prohibit employee termination based on sexual orientation. The employer may also not fire an employee as an act of retaliation if they make a complaint regarding harassment or discrimination. A different exception is related to implied contra ct. At times, the conduct or words of an employer could create the implication of an agreement limiting the ability of that employer to terminate the employment terms of an employee at-will (David 54). For instance, when the employer’s handbook on employees states that, the employee is liable for termination for a cause that is just;