Not a Laughing Matter: Effects of Tawa-tawa

Nigeria. Results ot the study snowed that botn the decoction and extract of E. hirta, at doses of 60. 4 mg/kg and 483. 0 mg/kg have a significant effect on the platelet counts of Sprague-Dawley rats. The RBC and WBC counts were not significantly affected, demonstrating that E. hirta does not affect the circulating RBC or the erythropoietic centers of the experimental animals, and it does not induce production or destruction of the WBC. The mean increases in platelet count in the decoction and ethanolic extract groups did not significantly differ, suggesting that oth preparations can be used for further studies.The difference in the mean platelet counts of subgroups who received the 60. 4 mg/kg and 483. 0 mg/kg doses was not significant as shown in Dunnet's test. This finding indicated that the platelet- increasing activity of E. hirta was not dose-dependent. The platelet-increasing activity of E. hirta was further evaluated by determining the effect of the plant material on stimulati ng platelet production in the bone marrow. In this evaluation, the dose and preparation (483. g/kg of the ethanolic extract) that produced the greatest numerical increase in platelet count during the initial evaluation was used. Anagrelide, a drug which inhibits the maturation of megakaryocytes into platelets, was administered to decrease the platelet counts of the test animals.After exposure to anagrelide, 483. 0 mg/kg of ethanolic extract was administered to 50% of the test population. Results of this further evaluation showed that the mean platelet count did not differ significantly in the group which received both anagrelide (125 pg/day) nd ethanolic extract of E. irta (483. 0 mg/kg) and in the group who were only exposed to anagrelide (control). This suggested that the platelet-increasing activity of E. hirta was not due to stimulation of the platelet production in the bone marrow. 0 In another study conducted by the students of St. Marys School in Davao, E. hirta was also foun d to increase the platelet counts of white mice (Mus musculus). E. hirta was prepared in a teabag form. The results of this study were not published, and therefore, no further information was obtained.In Nigeria, the effects of aqueous and methanolic extracts of E. hirta on platelet count, bleeding time, and clotting time were also investigated. The extracts of E. hirta were administered orally to albino Wistar rats. Platelet count, bleeding time, and clotting time were determined before, and at different time intervals after administration of the extracts. At 60 minutes, the aqueous extract reduced bleeding time by 54% compared to 49. 5% for methanolic extract, and the difference was significant.

Primary Stakeholders of Google Inc Essay

Introduction The American multinational enterprise, Google Inc., predominately leading the globe in internet services and products. They provide online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud storage, applications and other software. Their customers are advertising agencies and large businesses who pay to be exposed on the many free services Google offers to internet consumers. The largest shareholders Brin Sergey and Larry Page, founded Google while attending Stanford University. Google is the most universally used internet search engine, which allows them to gather interests and information about the consumers using their free services. Advertisers spend billions to strategically place their ads through Google because the free Google services accumulates personal interests and information needed to identify consumer demographics on the internet. In recent years the government and general public have raised concern about consumer privacy, as well as, the monopolistic presence in the internet market. Their shareholders are predominately internal making any external influence to the company improbable. Google employees are carefully selected and generally consist of newly graduated software geniuses; recently the media has criticized Google for the majority of their employees being Caucasian and Asian males. Google Inc. has a responsibility to manage its operations to maximize shareholders profits, but how well does it treat the other four primary stakeholders: the government, employees, customers, and general public. (Google, n.d.) Government Google has gained the government’s attention through multiple investigations over the years. In 2011, Google government officials from Europe joined the United States Congress to bring antitrust investigations against the Company. The next year in 2012, the Federal Trade Commission, FTC, conducted an investigation to gather evidence suggesting Google is a monopoly. Apple competes through SIRI and the app store as alternative search methods to  Google. Amazon holds the lead in product searches and Facebook is commonly used to search for trusted customer reviews by friends. The FTC was unsuccessful in proving their monopoly case and Google still dominates the internet/ computer market easily eliminating any start up competition. The Google business model makes sure no shareholder has a vote that could significantly impact the company, but the way media, government, and the majority of web users, interpret their activity could influence the company’s objectives. The FTC government agency has the influential power to investigate and bring media attention to the topic of Google’s seemingly unfair advantage in their market (Singer, 2012). Customers Approximately 99% of Google’s revenues are derived from businesses advertising on the free services it provides users. In Google’s system many advertisers bid on keywords. Popular keywords like â€Å"Miami Florida† are sold for much higher â€Å"value-per-click† than other less popular search topics. This revenue method allows Google to attract both large corporations and small business to place advertisements. The free services provided for Google users has destroyed markets. Decreasing the demand for products/ services like GPS, road atlas, and current traffic status by allowing the free anytime access to Google Maps. Google distracts its users with free services that make their life easier when Googles actual intent is selling individual attention and information about the users to advertisers. Google users are the product and not the customer. Through Google user’s searches and personal information like passwords saved in google chrome or contacts from gmail accounts, Google can deliver a product to advertisers tailored to their exact needs; people looking for shoes are delivered to shoe sellers, and people located in a certain town are delivered to local restaurants (Newman, 2011). Shareholders Google Inc. is a huge company owning 66 percent of its shares leaving 34 percent of the company owned by external shareholders. Founder Brin Sergey owns the largest amount of shares by an Individual at 21.8 million shares. There are less than five major external shareholders are institutions such as, FMR LLC, Vanguard Group INC, State Street Corp, Price T Rowe Associates INC, and Barclays Global Investors UK Holdings LTD. Unlike Microsoft, Intel,  and Apple; Google does not give cash back to its shareholders. Amazon and Facebook also do not yield cash dividends, but they are not as large, mature or as profitable as Google. If Google wanted to increase its shares a capital return program could be attractive to new investors. The cost of Google offer such a program would mean applying a payout of about 1.5 to 2.5 percent to compete with its peers. Google has three classes of shares: Class A gets one vote per share, Class B gets 10 votes per share, while Class C receives no voting privileges. Class B shares are only held by company insiders so Brin Sergey, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt own 92.5 percent of these shares, thus the majority vote (Niu, 2015). Employees Google is universally acclaimed as a great place to work. Its stock has soared 674% since its inception in August 2004. Their offices abound with areas designed to promote interaction, like a bowling alley in the California office or a pub lounge in the Ireland office. The search engine company provides its employees with a great health plan, legal aid, travel assistance, and a college reimbursement plan. If an employee dies, Google will continue to pay 50% of the deceased’s salary to his or her family for a decade (keep in mind they higher new graduates with an expected long life ahead of them). The California headquarters lobby is decorated with lava lamps, a piano, and search query projections posted on the wall. There are colorful fun exercise balls and bicycles for physical fitness in the hallways. Google receives 3 million applications annually and only higher about 0.2%, statistically Ivy League schools have a higher acceptance rate than Google. Engineers make up the majority of Googles employees and their salaries range from $ 100 thousand to $ 200 thousand. Engineering interns make approximately $ 7 thousand monthly (Unknown, 2014). Over all Google is more than generous when it comes to the treatment of their employees and promotes job low turnover (Waggoner, 2013). General Public According to Forbes magazine in 2013 four companies tied for first in corporate social responsibility: Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company, Google and BMW (Smith, 2013). Google has gained its popularity though the free services it provides all Google users. They have about $62.3 billion in cash and even after subtracting out its long and short term debt it has $57.2  billion. The majority of its profits, $41.8 billion, are held in foreign subsidiaries for tax avoidance. Being a technology based company, replacing hardcopies with electronic documents saves the company money as well as the preservation of the environment. Therefore google can brag about its efforts to achieve â€Å"green† status whether they are simply eliminating supply costs or have a general concern for the environment. Google has minimized the environmental impact of their services. Their carbon footprint is practically zero, but it doesn’t need an access amount of environmental resources (Google, 2015). Conclusion Google is a young, expanding, and profitable company. The government is concerned and continually investigating Google because of its controversial monopoly in the search engine market and antitrust based on the selling of user information. The general public and government should be concerned that Google invests approximately two –thirds of its cash overseas to avoid tax laws in the United States. The advertisement customers that Google provides as their revenue generating services are given information tailored to view ads strategically and that makes Google more successful than other internet marketing company. The shareholders of Google are mostly internal owners; no capital return programs have been established and all impacting votes are controlled by the internal shareholders only. The employees are treated extremely well compared to companies across the globe. Google will continue to grow based on its business plan, which brilliantly manipulates the general public users into thinking they are getting services for free while they make billions by selling adverting companies the information they want without breaking any laws. Google could treat the general public and government stakeholders better by improving user privacy and cease avoiding taxes. Bibliography Google. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google Google. (2015, 3). The Big Picture. Retrieved from Google: http://www.google.com/green/bigpicture/#/ Newman, N. (2011, May 29). You’re Not Google’s Customer. Retrieved from The Blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-newman/youre-not-googles-custome_b_84159

Challenges Of The United Nations Peacekeeping Operations International Law Essay

Challenges Of The United Nations Peacekeeping Operations International Law Essay Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work produced by our Law Essay Writing Service . You can view samples of our professional work here . Challenges Of The United Nations Peacekeeping Operations International Law Essay 1. War is said to be as old as the civilization. First World War was the proof of devastation that took millions of lives. After this, the League of Nations was formed to bring some ground rules to prevent aggression. But no sooner the First World War was over, the Second World War started and the world observed how helpless the League was to prevent misery. Then the United Nations (UN) emerged with the commitments to exterminate war, maintaining international peace and security, securing justice and human rights and promoting social progress and friendly relations among the nations. The UN charter was signed on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco by the 50 founding states for maintaining international peace and security through close cooperation. The UN started its true journey through the Peace Keeping Operations (PKO) in May 1948, with the introduction of United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTS O) in the first Arab Israel war. But due to the tension of the cold war era, UN could not perform its role. After the end of the tension when both the superpowers wanted to contribute to the world peace, the UN took its rebirth. 2. But there were some significant changes after the end of cold war. The classic interstate rivalry ended and more complex and cruel intra state conflict was emerged. Wars were fought to control power and resources in a single state and were not usually between states. Civilians, not the armed combatants, became the intentional targets of violence. Wars in the former Yugoslavia, Africa and Latin America saw huge number of civilian casualties compared to the killed and wounded in either the regular Armed Forces of a state or in the ranks of insurgents.   [ 1 ]    3. The Sri Lanka Armed force with her huge experience in the recent past has got an enormous potential in becoming one of the most important troops contributing nations in the world. Therefore i t is of great importance to analyze the present state of Sri Lanka Army in dealing with changed peacekeeping environment and how best it can adapt itself in meeting the new demand of the United Nations. RESEARCH PROBLEM 4. Sri Lanka is an island nation which has an Armed Force of a considerable strength. Unfortunately the emergence of terrorism put a huge challenge to the Army. At the very outset of the conflict with Liberation Tiger of Tamil Elam (LTTE), the political aim could not be set in accordance with the national interest which allowed the LTTE to grow and emerge as the deadliest terrorist in the world.   [ 2 ]   But after 2000, the leaders of the country could set the aim and strategy to defeat the terrorist once and for all. Thereafter we could experience the win of Sri Lanka Army over LTTE where the total leadership of the terrorist group was wiped out. This victory over terrorism is the testimony of the brilliant performance and professionalism of the Sri Lanka Army. 5. Because of the decade old involvement of the Army in the battle, the Sri Lanka Army could not participate in the UN missions where the neighboring countries of the region could establish their presence the arena. Though there were modest contribution, but it was not enough in comparison to the potentialities of the forces. As time went on, the peacekeeping environment changed in great extent with which most of the countries could adapt themselves. It seems that due to the non involvement in the peace missions, the Sri Lanka Armed Forces could not achieve expected proficiency in the peacekeeping fields. But the fact is, the Sri Lanka Army rather gained a unique expertise in dealing with the Intra State conflict which made them more suitable for dealing with changed peacekeeping environment.

Studying Broadcast Media. What Is The Difference Between Game Shows Essay

Studying Broadcast Media. What Is The Difference Between Game Shows Like Deal Or No Deal And The Weakest Link - Essay Example At present, distinction among two genres is getting blurred as reality television shows are mingled with these forms, thus presenting to the audience a game show experience with all elements of emotional appeal associated with reality TV (Holmes, 2006, p.53). 1990s have experienced a shift from the conventional adoption of US based television programmes in the UK broadcast media. After success of Who wants to be a Millionaire? (ITV, 1998-) British television paved the way for new innovative programmes in quiz genre especially The Weakest Link (2000 - ) as well as Deal or No Deal (Channel 4, 2005-). Both these shows being originally produced in UK helped TV industry to generate massive revenues by exporting the concept abroad. Game shows and quiz programmes have the inclination towards intermingling two slightly different genres in a single show e.g.in Deal or No Deal the emphasis is laid on the relation between the participants all integrated against a single banker making the format of the show half like a lottery game and half like a reality TV(Holmes,2006). The Weakest Link was produced by BBC. The emergence of this programme changed the quiz show genre in terms of game structure as tone of compeer was totally opposite to the traditional format, being more â€Å"nasty† (Holmes, 2008, p.109). ... The programme has been able to attract audience as questions motivate people to think that they also might be able to answer them. The concept of chain links is well anticipated but ramped values could be more influential is value gap is increased between two consecutive links. The ultra serious outlook of Anne Robinson adds interesting element to an otherwise predictable show format(UK Game Shows, 2010). Deal or No Deal format can either make contests millionaires or they have to leave empty handed thus all depend on the risk choices they make during playtime. The show had its origin by the Dutch production center named Endemol with first telecast in Netherlands in the year 2002. The show is broadcasted by Cheetah Television West, previously renowned as Endemol West of Channel 4. First programme was aired on October 31, 2005 and the show is in progress till date . The format of Deal or No Deal was then reproduced in almost forty countries encompassing United States (Holmes, 2008, p. 27). British television media exported format of The Weakest Link to Western Europe, New Zealand and Australia (Waisbord, 2004, p.361). Deal or no Deal gained international fame in 2006, improving public interest in game shows but still it did not threaten the popularity of knowledge based games (Holmes, 2008, p.55). In a broad sense both these programmes belong to the reality television. This genre make use of unscripted drama created on screen, in spite of professional actors, ordinary people participate in a contest situation where some monetary rewards are in store for the winner. Common programming formats include game and quiz shows (Hill, 2005, p.41). There exists a clear

The Malware writers and Hackers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Malware writers and Hackers - Essay Example The hacking of today began as ‘phreaking’ in the early 70’s. When John Draper’s toy whistle generated the 2600 Hz tone to authorize free calls from telephone exchanges, it was more a prank and a quirk of a ‘kinky’ mind than anything more serious. In the late 70’s, it turned a trifle more serious with de-coding of bank accounts for defraud. It was around this time that the colourful ‘Captain Zap’ emerged as arguable ‘inspiration’ for a generation of hackers when he broke in AT&T clocks and brought moonshine discounts to people during sunshine hours. Righard J. Zwienenberg, Chief Research Officer at security software vendor Norman Data Systems, recalled that in 1988 people were writing viruses and malware mostly to become famous. Many early infectious programs in those years were written as pranks and not intended to cause serious damage to computer systems. Trainee programmers learning about viruses and their techniques wrote them for practice or to test them. Since then it has moved into a more organized crime field. The very fact that there was public outcry against allocation of FBI resources against hacking in the US in the ‘80s speaks a lot for the trivial position it occupied in the public psyche; even the 1985 published Hacker’s Handbook encouraged hacking as a sport! ... acking in the US in the ‘80s speaks a lot for the trivial position it occupied in the public psyche; even the 1985 published Hacker’s Handbook encouraged hacking as a sport! More recently, since the rise of widespread broadband Internet access, malicious software has been written with a profit motive in mind. It speaks of a dangerous trend with malware authors monetizing their control over infected systems and turning that control into a source of revenue. For instance, since 2003, the majority of widespread viruses and worms have been designed to take control of users' computers for black-market exploitation. Infected "zombie computers" are used to send email spam, to host contraband data such as child pornography or to engage in distributed denial-of-service attacks as a form of extortion. Another strictly for-profit category of malware has emerged in spyware -- programs designed to monitor users' web browsing, display unsolicited advertisements or redirect affiliate m arketing revenues to the spyware creator. Tools of the trade get more toxic: Nothing exemplifies the evolution of malware writers and hackers better than the tools they deploy. The 20th century hacker’s kit consisted of a motley assortment of a BBC Model B and Sinclair Spectrum computer, a Prism VTX 5000 and Cumana modem, a portable monitor, an Epsom printer, disc drives and floppies and an electronic organ for creating tones for phreaking. Today’s hacker uses far more sophisticated technology to achieve his nefarious ends – botnets or networks of compromised ‘zombie’ PCs began to be tapped into in 2003. Malware writers who compromised the computers with Internet worms realized that they could be rented out to spammers for a fee. As botnets created from compromised desktop PCs grew, they

The Unrepentant Chocolatier Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Unrepentant Chocolatier - Essay Example This will directly lead to the generation of revenue from the intended target consumers over a longer period of time as compared to that of new products introduced by various other competitors in the market. The company has increasingly committed itself to the development and fulfillment of long term goals and is dedicated to a slow process of brand building for its products. The long term dedication shown by the company towards the brand building as well as its promotion efforts of Nespresso led to increase in the number of consumer conversion from high profile coffee selling brands like Starbucks to a more affordable cheaper alternative provided by the Nestle brand. This shows that the long term effort of the brand has helped to establish consumer connect for the global Swiss company. Weakness The global brand Nestle has been facing a severe shortage in sales for the bottled water products. The bottled water division which constitutes 10% of its entire business interest around the world has been declining sales figures from the established markets due to the impact of recession. Though there are chances of revival of the bottled water market with the bouncing up of the economy, there are also chances of facing increasing resistance from the environmental groups. The lineup of bottled water products is also a source of tremendous weakness for the company as the quality of the bottled water products is declining significantly. In the second quarter of 2009, the products of Nestle’ lost high percentage of market share to various competitors in the high value market that is existent in the United States. The impact of recession has also hit the consumers spending on the company’s product lines in the advanced economies. As a direct step towards the reducing of lifestyle costs, consumers are increasingly shifting to unbranded food items, which have taken a direct impact on the revenue generation cycle of the company. The investors in the share market are also highly concerned with the fact that Nestle might reinvest majority or the entire portion of the cash that it will be receiving from the divesting off the shares of its eye care business in building up and developing the company’s non profitable businesses. This has brought down investor confidence in the company’s processes of handling its own businesses and has reversely affected the company’s share prices in the equity market. The brand Nestle has also stirred significant investor skepticism as the investors feel chiefly that the company has become large as well as unproductive. Opportunities The brand of Nestle is increasingly focusing its attention on the research and development of functional foods, which have high health benefits. Reports by Pricewaterhouse Coopers significantly predict that the global market for functional foods is estimated to stand at $128 billion by 2013. Also, with the increase in market demand for the functional foods in th e European market, it can be increasingly assumed that it will be the new product lines surrounding the functional foods that will be acting as a significant source of revenue for the future and will promote strong growth for the company in the European markets. The brand Nestle has made investments towards the development of functional foods almost a decade ago. This particular early investment plan provides the company with an advantageous position as

Regional Integration for and Against Articles Article

Regional Integration for and Against Articles - Article Example Regional integration is a powerful concept that enhances coordination and formulation of coherent operating policies in diverse facets of operation. It is set with an aim of advancing economic performance and achievement of exemplary benefits by the member states. Evidently, most of the countries are organizing themselves into various economic blocks, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), for example, in order to boost productivity and social coherence. The nations recognize that sound economic integration is a central pillar in ensuring absolute achievement of the aspired performance levels. Nations that seek to operate effective commercial activities with clear-cut goals should organize themselves into vibrant trading blocks. Hill (2005), a renowned writer and economist, gives insightful information that focus on the imperativeness of economic integration between nations as a performance measure. He asserted that nations with strong performance aspirations and expansion ideals should embrace conventional methods of engagement and execution of business operations. This is to facilitate the formulation of strong economic policies, trading guidelines, political agreements and creation of common markets. The elements are critical in advancing exemplary performance, since the development of coherent trading policies open up exchange of products with limited bottlenecks. As stated, building a vibrant economy with adequate job opportunities for the citizens, good infrastructure and ideal GDP performance cannot be achieved in isolation due to the present dynamic complications.

Scapegoate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Scapegoate - Essay Example Such story elements can easily be recognized through the variety of features. Moreover the story plot itself can be interpreted differently, when scapegoating moments are found, understood and properly adapted. This way a narration in a story of real person, Guillaume de Machaut, and tales told by fictional Sindbad the Sailor is similar. They both describe events that took place in front of their eyes. And they both narrate from their point of view – and so become subjective in their judgments. Moreover both of them where stressed at the moment of described events, and thus could not estimate situation thoroughly and adequately. They both where limited in their abilities to study situation widely and analyzed situation using information, gained from gossips and human beliefs. These facts influenced the truthfulness of both stories. In the Machaut’s case Jews eventually turned out to be unbelievably strong water poisoners – tough the poison of such quality didn’t exist in their times. And so they were prosecuted because of the prejudice. In the Sindbad’s case, every part of a story was accompanied by note that described a bright and frightening story, told to Sindbad by the other sailors. And that obviously could influence his point of view when he had met something he could not grasp. And thus real events in his story mixed up with gossips and Sindbad’s ignorance – and he added everything, described in Girard’s book, into sailor’s story: unbelievable monsters, probably undefeatable creatures, probably vicious person that definitely deserved death that Sindbad caused to him. Every his act, that become more aggressive with each part, was justified by means of scapegoating of both events and enemies. Still a giant fish could have turned out to be usual island that drowned according to an earthshaking. The famous sailor used bright examples of

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 94

Case Study Example Reason being; they possess the following advantages: they have unlimited access to information; agents on the ground; and direct contacts with factories. However, the sad thing is that importers have to incur the high costs of permits, shipments and inventory taking before selling. As a merchant/retailer, he will be able to get supplies from the local companies, brand them and even improve the quality of the products. Thereafter, she would sell them at higher prices both locally and internationally. However, the disadvantage associated with this is that there will be minimal control of exports; more companies will join the market; this will lead to enhanced policies and restrictions thus reducing profit margins.(The Chinese Fireworks Industry-Revised: page215 ) 2. The suitable point for jerry to enter into the industry is like a merchant. Because the Chinese products are of inferior quality compared to those from Japan and Korea, as a merchant he will obtain supplies from various local factories. Subsequently, brand them and improve on their quality (The Chinese Fireworks Industry-Revised: pg 219). He could then setup wholesale booths in the countryside. Thereafter, peddlers and other small-scale dealers would source the commodities from the market and sell in the surrounding communities. Consequently, he would avoid the low-profit margins as a manufacturer and brand identity loss. Given the reasonably good quality of Chinese product and cheapness, branding and better quality fuse replacement of the same products would render them at higher sale prices (The Chinese Fireworks Industry-Revised: pg

The Childs First Step, as Awesome as an Earthquake Essay

The Childs First Step, as Awesome as an Earthquake - Essay Example The poet is writing from the child’s viewpoint or from an observer’s viewpoint that the reaction to this would be so much discussed that it would seem as awesome as an earthquake (Sexton, 511). Poem Title: ‘Mother to Son’ by Langston Hughes Metaphor: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair (Line 2). What the Metaphor adds to the Poem: Here the poet is comparing life to a crystal stairway. Life for the mother has not been easy, as opposed to a crystal stairway where one can see where one is going at all times. Rather life has been rather difficult and there were times when she was not sure that the results of her efforts would be successful (Hughes, 508). Poem Title: ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ by Robert Frost Personification: The woods are lovely, dark and deep (Line 13) What the Personification adds to the Poem: Frost’s poetry is known for its natural themes, yet there are invariably two meanings attached to it. One is the literal meaning, which as the poem goes, makes absolute sense. But there is also another hidden and figurative meaning, one more philosophical, that one sees in his poems. Here the woods have been compared to life’s uncharted and unexplored pathways. They stand on the brink between what one knows and what one doesn’t. ... She explores daily life events in all their truthfulness. The message of the poem ‘Courage’ is that we see bravery reflected in life’s small actions such as walking or cycling without support, willing to bear the taunts of class fellows etc. Thus we should cherish these emotions and remember them because they contributed to our personality (Sexton, 512). One poem that demonstrates the desire to restrain emotion: ‘Mother to Son’ by Langston Hughes. Reasons for my choice: Although the mother is very candid in telling her son that life for her has been a tough experience, the message here is that the son should never give up hope but trudge through life’s dark and difficult passages with a positive demeanor and contrite heart. God helps those who help themselves. 3. Essay discussing the use of imagery in two of the poems read: Imagery is one of the main reasons why poems appeal to us. It is often said that we think in pictures and the appreciation of poetry and song by the literati as well as the man on the street show that this feeling runs across all sections of society. Taking Robert Frost’s ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ one can easily imagine the traveler, the horse, and the scene as they stop by the woods and the lake, taking in the beauty and contemplating what they have accomplished and what remains to be done. The eyes, ears, and mind can easily put the reader in the picture (Frost, 516). Similarly in ‘Mending Wall’, one can easily imagine Frost and his neighbor as they repair the walls that separate their gardens and backyards. The eyes and the mind can almost see the neighbors working to do this and Frost also gives a candid picture of pine trees in his neighbor’s lot while he has apples in his own.

A perspective on charity in the gospel of wealth a book by andrew carnegie Essay Example for Free

A perspective on charity in the gospel of wealth a book by andrew carnegie Essay Andrew Carnegie, who wrote The Gospel of Wealth, had a particular view on how society should correctly work. He believed that with the wealth of millionaires, that he could recreate society to think of the rich as â€Å"trustees† to provide money to the poor. Carnegie gave away most of his capital to projects he thought that benefitted the community. He built over 2,500 libraries, endowed many parks, and he even gave money to universities and other foundations he thought would â€Å"improve the race. †Ã‚   Although I respect what Carnegie did for our culture, if I were a billionaire, I would pay more attention to the dire needs of the poor because I believe that this kind of giving contributes more to the common good. Within the first few paragraphs of The Gospel of Wealth, Carnegie summarizes that throughout time, things have been revolutionized for the better and have created a better community for the world, but the problem seems to be the proper administration of capital, so that the ties between the rich and poor can continue in a balanced manner. Because of the wealth administration problem, the gap that has been made between the rich and poor has created a lot of tension between the two classes. Carnegie noticed, â€Å"The contrast between the palace of the millionaire and the cottage of the laborer with us to-day measures the change which has come with civilization† (486). While we humans owe the progress of material conditions to manufacturing and improvements, it has created a market for competition. From competition, inequality rises and Carnegie believes only talented men can rise above everyone else and make more capital. However, men who have the talent to make large amounts o f money can be the benefactors of society. This is where Carnegie notes that if they have a lot of money they don’t know what to do with, it can be used for the well-being of the race. Carnegie’s main focus was to solve the problem of how to administer money for the common good. He believed in helping mankind progress through philanthropy. Carnegie thought of three ways to distribute his surplus money: â€Å" It can be left to the families of the descendants, or it can be bequeathed for public purposes; or, finally, it can be administered during their lives by its possessors† (489). The amount of poverty in the world is constantly on the rise. While communism was all for equality, it wanted to change human nature. However, Carnegie believed, â€Å" It is criminal to waste our energies in endeavoring to uproot when all we can profitably or possibly accomplish is to bend the universal tree of humanity a little in the direction most favorable to the production of good fruit under existing circumstances† (489). With almost unlimited wealth, Carnegie can be seen as generous because he built many libraries. However, the conditions he created for his workers were not ideal. In an article, Was Andrew Carnegie Generous? written by Daniel Putman, Carnegie is criticized as not being fair to his workers, but his help among the world outweighs his worker’s conditions. For example, Putman states, â€Å"Utilitarians may well rejoice at the results of what Andrew Carnegie did and it is quite likely that the good he did over time outweighs what his workers had to experience. But Carnegies generosity is tempered not by his lack of genuine motivation, nor by his attitude toward workers, but by the very specific fact that much of what he gave away was not his to give†. In fact, Carnegie’s wealth was only capable for him to achieve before the Roosevelt/Wilson reforms. While Carnegie had dreams of creating a better society and providing culture to all, his confidence in poor people was slim and he once said, â€Å"the man of wealth thus becoming the mere agent and trustee for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience, and ability to administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves† (493). I agree with Carnegie’s basic idea to create a better society by administering wealth among everyone, but I believe the money should be distributed to poorer people and their needs. For example, I would imitate many billionaires such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, have paired up within the past few years to give away half of their fortunes to charitable causes either during their lifetimes or in their will. If I had their money, I would consider doing the same thing they are doing: The Giving Pledge (created by the three billionaires mentioned above), has helped with n umerous amounts of issues that plague today’s world. They have worked with providing vaccines, schools and even hospitals to those in South Africa who cannot afford to provide those things to their families. Another example of a charity I would donate to is ‘GiveDirectly’. The point of this charity is to give money to poor people in Kenya with no strings attached. It’s a simple charity because it’s economics 101: poor people will know what they need and if they’re given the money for it, they will most likely go out and buy it. This is an example of how when poor people are given a little help, they are most likely going to succeed by using that money as an investment in themselves. Heifer International is also another example of charity that I would donate too. In African countries, Heifer gives animals to poor families so they provide food and reliable income. They can collect dairy products such as milk, eggs and honey which can be traded or sold at a market. This sustainable income allows for families to build schools, agricultural opportunities and forms a community saving that funds small businesses. Although one can appreciate what Carnegie has done for the world by building libraries and such, he did not address providing needs for poor people other than if he gave them money, they would most likely not use it to leverage themselves in society. In today’s world, Carnegie’s ideas might look generous on paper, but there are other direct issues that need to be dealt with harshly. Many millionaires have pledged or have already spent billions in trying to provide basic needs to poor people of almost every country by building schools and providing medical assistance. Other charities have given the resources needed to help poor people. These charities allow open doors for individuals and communities who are struggling to get their foot in the door to help themselves. Charity is a just a small lending hand that gives poor people leverage as well as creating new opportunities that contribute to the common good. Works Cited Carnegie, Andrew. The Gospel of Wealth. A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Writers. Ed.   Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford, 2013. 485-495.   Print. Putman, D. (2010).   WAS ANDREW CARNEGIE GENEROUS? THING, 9(26), 91-98. â€Å"World Hunger and Poverty Heifer Mission.† World Hunger and Poverty Heifer Mission. Np., n.d. Web. 12 May 2016.

Analyzing Thailands Tourism Industry

Analyzing Thailands Tourism Industry Abstract In the present context of an increasingly globalized world, and the nature of the tourism industry, it is worthwhile to note if Porters Diamond framework still provides answers to the changing competitiveness of Thailands tourism and identifies success factors and factors detrimental to its competitiveness. A revised version of the Diamond framework has been proposed for the given context of tourism industry and Thailand state. This paper tries to analyze Thailands Tourism industry using this revised form of Porters Diamond Framework, identifying the various sources of competitiveness or the lack of it thereof. It attempts to identify key areas for improvement based on the above analysis and suggests solutions for the same. Keywords: Competitiveness, Thailand, Tourism, Diamond Model, Revised framework Introduction For any country tourism impacts not only revenues but employment and economic development as well. For Thailand, this is even more so. It is therefore important for Thailands tourism industry to be competitive not just in ASEAN region but globally. Subsequent to the success of Visit Thailand Year in 1987, Thailand, a small country in the Asia Pacific region became the biggest growth story in the region with a growth rate of 7 %. Subsequently its economy (GDP) grew at an astounding 10.9 %, 13.2 % and 10 % respectively in the next three years i.e. an average of 11.7 % from 1998 1990, about the best in the world. However, it did not maintain that growth subsequently, and its tourism industry faced many adversities. This paper will analyze the recent developments in the tourism industry to help understand the reasons for the same in todays context. Today when not only individuals, products, firms compete against each other but industries and nations themselves strive to outdo the competition, it becomes imperative to understand what it takes to beat the completion and stay competitive i.e. to acquires a good understanding of the determining factors of competitive growth. This paper proposes to do such an analysis for the tourism industry of Thailand. It also, argues a case for revising the Porters Diamond Model framework for the given context. Porters Diamond Model Framework Besides traditional resource advantages like land, location, labour, natural resources and size of population Porter (1990) argued that grouping or clusters of interconnected firms and stakeholders like institutions, suppliers and related industries provide competitive advantage which are not inherited and which can be acquired. To get a better understanding of the determinants for such attainment of competitive advantage, Porter (1990, 1998) provided the famous diamond framework (Fig. 1). This framework helped in the analysis of not only industries but also nations. The four vertices of the diamond indicated four groups of determinants. These were: factor conditions (also called input conditions), demand conditions, related and supporting industries; and firm strategy, structure and rivalry. These were the basic determinants. There were however two external or additional factors chance; and government. All these factors were not isolated but interconnected. Thus, demand and factors conditions were connected. So were the factors: related and supporting industries; and firm strategy, structure and rivalry. The national factors of production like natural resources, infrastructure and skilled labour are the key factor conditions. The nature of domestic demand for product and services chiefly define the demand conditions. The presence (or absence) of suppliers, related industries which are themselves competitive (internationally) form the related and supporting industries vertex. The domestic rivalry between the firms and the conditions that govern their formation, organization and management form the last vertex of the diamond in the framework. The framework is useful in identifying not only the sources of competitive advantage but also identifies key problem areas to be addressed. Oz (2006) illustrated this when identifying the sources of competitive advantage of Turkish construction companies in international markets. The success factors like dynamic domestic market, variables favourable to entrepreneurship, and intense domestic rivalry pressures effects were brought to fore along with the trouble causing areas like government induced hindrances, difficulties in financing and weak consulting and design engineering capabilities positioning of Turkey in the international arena. However, there are limitations to this framework and many researchers have combined this with other form of analysis like Rugman and Verbeke (1993) used SWOT for comparison, citing flaws like difficulty in making it operational i.e. of putting it in practice. It is noteworthy that this framework is been applicable to services as given by Lee and Spis to (2007). The case for the Endogenous Role of Government and Chance Apart from the limitation attributed to the diamond framework above, another flaw in it is that it does not include government as one of the basic factors but only considers it as an external factor despite the fact that it greatly affects all the other basic factors. To compensate for this Wickham (2005) re-conceptualized the framework for the Australian context. It had government as an integral basic factor at the centre of the framework, depicted as government surrounded by all the other factors as vertices of a hexagon with the chance factor in incomplete (dotted) lines giving it a separate identity as an external factor alone. He also suggested that the role of chance be considered in with new attention when applied to a regional economic model like that of the Porters Diamond. Fig. 1: Determinants of Competitive Advantage: Porters Diamond Model Framework Factor Conditions Chance Firm Strategy, Structure Rivalry Related Supporting Industries Government Demand Conditions The importance of government policy initiatives to promote and develop the industry can be seen for the tourism context in Prideaux (1996), who on examining growth trends of Taiwanese inbound tourism to Australia, studied the factors responsible for this and listed them as better air connectivity, promotions and organization of Taiwans travel industry. Suggestion was also made that repeat visitations would be greatly beneficial and to achieve better tourism prospects with Taiwan steps like forging links with operators in Taiwan, increasing frequency and connectivity of airlines, cultural education including language training, and customization of products to suit Taiwanese tastes should be undertaken. The importance of the study lies in the fact that it provides a model for Thailand to replicate with neighbouring ASEAN nations. It provides inputs as to what it should do to target a lucrative, individual nation like China. Clearly government policies and trade agreements with regional nations play a great role in determining the relative competitiveness of Thailand as a tourist destination. The role of government and chance here, for the Thailand tourism industry plays a crucial role given the recent history of Thailand it was the epicenter of the Asian financial crisis of 1997; it faced the Indian Ocean earthquake followed by Tsunami on 26th December 2004; it dealt with global recession post September 11, 2001 attacks, the financial downturn of 2008, SARS (and H1N1 Flu phenomena) and more recently domestic political chaos. These seem to have impacted tourism severely. This builds the case of chance being a critical determinant in the diamond model leading to the assumption that it should definitely be regarded as an endogenous factor and not just one having an exogenous role in the whole framework. Pine, Chan and Leung (1996) have outlined the impact of the Asian economic downturn and stated that the economic downturn which affected adversely the tourism industry has led to slowing or halting of many projects in the hospitality arena. It noted that intra-regional tourism had grown due to the regions strong economic growth. They further expect the tourism to be adversely affected (based on limited data); intra-regional tourism was expected to decline but increase from Europe and Americas in the light of the recent currency devaluations. Zhang (2005) has reported after analyzing industry data that Chinas outbound tourism got distributed as a result of the Tsunami. The South East Asian and South Asian nations lost out on many Chinese tourists to hitherto new choice of destinations. The perception of the region was one of high risk and this eventually led to loss in tourist numbers and revenue. The new destinations garnering attention even saw escalation in prices. Travel insurance was more sought as a result of the tsunami phenomena. Also, Ichinosawa (2006) provides highlights as to how Tsunami stigmatized Phuket as a tourist destination. Leiper and Hing (1998) studied unrelated four events in 1997-98 in the Asian context and the impact on the tourism industries of the respective nations. The events included huge forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Chinese takeover of Hong Kong, the triggering of Asian Economic Crisis with currency collapse in Thailand and social and economic unrest in Indonesia; and political and economic crises in Cambodia. These they inferred resulted in decline in international as well as domestic tourism. Thus, chance was a major factor here. Malhotra and Venkatesh (2009) have explored how vital it is to have contingency plans for crises and provide guidelines to proactively design a crisis management plan; even to take care when things go really bad. They compared Hong Kongs strategy and Thailands response to the Tsunami and the SARS outbreak. Based on such deliberations they advise having fluid structures and policies with regards to the organizational design, so as to effectively and timely deal with uncertainties of various kinds. They name various kinds of crisis, along with all their stages and depending upon the readiness of the affected entity (nation etc) determines the gap that needs to be filled in terms of crisis management. This they argue is the responsibility of the hospitality and tourism industry. The role of the government in formulating beneficial policies then becomes crucial given the above chance factor is so influential in the tourism industry. Thus, roles of chance and government are said to be cri tical in relation to the tourism industry. The influence chance has over government policies (and even governments themselves) implies that chance is way too important and thus should be regarded as intrusive, internal factor integrated with the whole framework of the diamond model. Clearly, for the case of a highly specific industry like tourism and a country where the government (directly or indirectly) holds more than half of its net capital stock (Phongsathorn, 2001), the government cannot be left out as just an exogenous factor. It is too important to be dealt as an influence. Thus, government should be thought of as an endogenous factor in the model. Also, government today has more a role of a collaborator than just an influencer or policy maker. Considering that the diamond framework has not been applied to services as it has been to manufacturing industries, and also less work is done specifically on the tourism industry using the model, the role of the external factors need to be seen in new light. Besides, tourism itself is such an industry which in the case of nations like Thailand may incorporate the whole country as the operating area. More recently, Pettus and Helms (2008) have included government in an endogenous role in the diamond model framework, while analyzing the case of Argentina. Though, Porter (1990) has opined that chance events are outside the control of the industry, nevertheless its effect can be negated. Also, prudent investment and preparation can actually prevent the occurrences of man-made disasters and reduce the probability of many untoward incidents. Besides, the operationalization of chance even outside the diamond as an external factor is also very difficult. It is noteworthy also that chance even affects the government and its role. In the scenario of much globalized world where two countries are not isolated anymore and the events in one country affects the other in a more significant way than ever before the model requires an upgrading. Thus, a case has been made for the exogenous factors Government and Chance to be treated as endogenous. Therefore, in effect the diamond model gives way to the proposed model (fig.2). Fig. 2: The Proposed Revised Porters Diamond Model Framework Factor Conditions Government Related Supporting Industries Firm Strategy, Structure Rivalry Chance Demand Conditions Research Methodology The study identifies the key variables that act as constituents to the various determinants of competitiveness of the tourism industry of Thailand. It also looks into the role played by Chance and the Government in altering the industrys competitiveness. For this, unforeseen events and government policies and their impacts were studied and extensive literature reviewed to achieve the above stated objectives. A couple of telephonic interviews with Thai people were conducted to probe into specific areas and to corroborate findings. Thus, primarily the analysis is qualitative in nature. Discussion and Analysis Factor Conditions Factor conditions like infrastructure have been in the governments eye along with the human resources. However, it is perchance that the multi-million dollar airports that were to be a gateway to Thailand and its scenic beauty was the centre of anti-establishment protests and subsequently two airports were then shut down. Thailands natural resources like beautiful beaches definitely provide a competitive edge. This factor condition is also one of the key variables for the tourism industry. Its spicy food, hospitality and exotic culture are inherent attractions. The significant external markets for the tourism industry are widely spread across the world and include major European countries, the U.S. and now even China. Thailands ideological commitment to liberalization and open economy has had major impacts on the industry dynamics especially over the long run. Knowledge resources also have grown. Capital resources which were an area for concern has been dealt well in recent times and policy measures for financial markets has made it more sound and less prone to international volatility in comparison to earlier years. Location is definitely an important issue here. Singapore and Taiwan are so important for global businesses because of their strategic location. Quality and quantity of highly skilled work force for the industry is also a huge concern. Serious policy initiatives are to be taken by the state in this regard. Recommendations include the continued development of various transport related infrastructure and maintaining and enhancing a skilled labour pool. The Tourism Authority of Thailand Travel Industry Portal provides online training for the industry personnel. Another facilitator for easy travel is a rail link from Suvarnabhumi International Airport to Bangkok by means of a sky train. This initiative reduces the travel time to 15 min and is greatly appreciated by travelers.  [1]   There is growth in the road linkages. The newly formed North South Economic Corridor links Thailand to other Asian countries by means of a twelve hundred km R3A road highway which links Thailand with Laos to China emerging from Chiang Rai in Thailand was developed successfully in 2009. Thailand is becoming known for its status as a definitive hub for regional aviation. It has strong aviation linkages and airlines presence. Now, many countries have more flights from Thailand than most others in the whole of Asia. There are weekly 131 direct by around 13 airlines connecting Middle East Asia. Thailand is served by over seven hundred flights per by charter, scheduled and low-cost airlines from all over the world. Thai Airways has also launched new routes to Abu Dhabhi and Jeddah form Bangkok. Tehran-Bangkok link has been proposed. Similarly, rival Emirates Airlines have inducted Airbus-380 aircrafts for its Bangkok route to provide daily service from the city of Dubai.  [2]   Human Resources: Labour Force Statistics 2009 (Source: NSO) Total population is 66.72 million of which persons who are aged below 15 are 14.15 million, and persons aged 15 years old and over 52.57 million. Total labor force (Available for work) 37.53 million. Persons not in labor force (Not available for work) are 15.04 million. Thus, employed persons are 36.50 million, unemployed persons are 0.78 million. Of these seasonally inactive are 0.25 million. Household workers are 4.93 million, students are 4.41 million, and others are 5.70 million. Fig. 3: Comparison of number of employed persons between Quarter 1 of 2008 and 2009 by Industry Unit: Million Persons (Source: Labor Force Survey 2009, NSO) The physical and natural beauty of the beaches and islands of Thailand are the greatest attraction for tourists. Thailands most popular beaches and island destinations include along the Andaman Coast: Phuket, Mu Ko Similan Marine National Park, Mu Ko Surin Marine National Park, Ao Phang-nga National Park, Krabi, Phi Phi Islands, Mu Ko Lanta Marine National Park, Tarutao Marine National Park; along the Gulf of Thailand: Cha-am (Hua Hin), Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan, Mu Ko Ang Thong Marine National Park, Ko Tao and along the Eastern section: Pattaya, Rayong Ko Samet and Ko Chang Marine National Park. The National Telecommunications Commission Act of Oct 2004 along with the earlier Telecommunications Business Act 2001 has done a lot to setup the competitive environment for telecommunications industry. The formation of the Universal Service Fund by CAT (Communications Authority of Thailand) and TOT (Telecommunications Organization of Thailand) has provided impetus to the development of the industry. This has been instrumental for the growth of the tourism industry of Thailand. Car (rentals), train, bus; taxi services are available for transportation. A host of other offerings are available for inland transportation which includes motorcycle taxis, Tuk-Tuks, tricycles, bicycles and Song Thaeo or the very popular pick-up trucks. Charter, scheduled and low-cost airlines make up the air travel avenues; cruises, boat, etc provide water transportation facilities. Railways provide access to a large network of destinations in Thailand, providing economical and efficient transportation. Firm Strategy, Rivalry Corruption and bureaucratic hurdles created by the government is another deterrent to it reaching its competitively superior position. Anti-trust policies of the Government are few and far between. There is a lot to be desired on this front from the Thai government. A recently enacted anti-competitive law had a monumental flaw in it as it did not apply to state-owned enterprises (that enjoyed monopoly). Environmental regulations are being looked into by the state. To be competitive on the global platform requires efficiently producing goods and services of value more than that provided by other competing nations. It is important for Thailand to do so for the tourism industry to make a mark for itself on the global platform especially when its productivity levels are low. Firms should lay emphasis on retention of and attracting intellectual capital. Within the industry as well as across the industry technology should be shared. The Trade Competition Act 1999 and thereby the Trade Competition Board helps provide fair trade. The General Agreement on Trades in Services (GATS) furthers this cause. However, the anti-trust policies are not very effective as these are biased in favour of the government. Also, the players pay a high price for the illegal or unethical practices of rivals. The governmental officials prove a bane as there is rampant corruption and cases of corporate cronyism provide hinder fair competition between the players. The rivalry is also relatively less intense than it could be to get more value for the consumers for the services offered. The local base of the competition makes the rivalry worthwhile. Employer and labour relations are adequately cooperative to discourage any untoward strikes or major hurdles in provision of productive output. There is adequate decentralization of various corporate activities and delegation of responsibility and authority is a prevalent phenomenon. However, the corporate boards leave more to be desired in terms of efficacy. The cry for greater privatization is justified as it would certainly help in making the industry more competitive. Greater role of the private sector would ensure better management and corporate governance practices, reducing the business related corruption highly prevalent today. This process could be expedited by better corporate control activities, maintaining ethical business standards, sharing management know how, devising incentive based compensation systems, applying performance based appraisal systems, and having collaborative partnerships with local players with an understanding that practices to be in the right spirit, having joint investments, etc. Considering the significant role of the government in this industry, Private public partnerships (PPP) could effectively achieve the requisite competitiveness for being one of the best globally. No doubt that if this is implemented properly over time then the incident revelations from CNNs survey of global travel and tourism that Thailand was the best on the basis of value for money amongst all countries in the Asia Pacific region would not be an isolated event but among a series of similar results. Turtle Conservation Plan in Mai Khao area which involved beach and reef cleaning also is a PPP initiative for environmental considerations. Interestingly, many hotels in Thailand have raised the quality standards in terms of environment friendliness by going smoke-free i.e. promoting anti-smoking measures. Thai Airways and Nok Air have decided to cooperate to boost up domestic traffic over specific routes like Bangkok to Phitsanulok, Bangkok to Ratchathani and Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son Already Thai Airways is part of the Star Alliance the worlds first major global airline alliance which aids its network operations. Demand Conditions The internal demand though grown is limited by the population size and disposable incomes. Reductions in prices have encouraged local demand in recent years. However, Thailand may not be able to charge the premium it did during the hey-days. And any further price increase will discourage domestic demand. However, the internal demand for Thailands tourism industry offerings has been seen to grow in recent years. Advantage for Thailand exists in the offerings in terms of varied services and a competitive value proposition vis-à  -vis other countries. Also, the active tendency of the local tourists to readily accept the latest offerings offered by the tourism industry makes the demand. A few regulatory standards for tourism based trade and environment are exacting in nature. Even the intellectual property rights and safety standards for online transactions are less than desirable providing less encouragement for innovation and stimulation of demand. However, not only does the internal demand conditions condition the industry to become competitive globally it provides an avenue for experimentation and more importantly provides revenues when global tourist inflows ebbs below expected levels. Increasing internal demand could then easily be used as a hedge for fluctuations in collections from international tourists especially during the off seasons. Specialized market segments for specialized services and distinctive benefit segmentation provides impetus to the internal demand and subsequently to the external demand. In this regard providing incentives for innovation and aiding multinational corporations should be the policies pursued by the industry. There are various activities that a visitor or tourist can undertake for pleasure. Thailand offers a wide array of such offerings which include shopping, golf, adventure treks, hill tribe visit, special cooking and food, elephant rides, special festivals and celebrations, spa, spiritual and religious insights and learning (especially Buddhism), meditation, water sports, etc. Water sports include diving, sailing, yachting, cruising, canoeing and kayaking, swimming and snorkeling, fishing, windsurfing, rock climbing and bouldering, jet skiing and wakeboarding. Medical-tourism and business events also form an integral part of the range of offerings. Many indigenous events attract visitors from within and outside the country thereby stimulating demand. Some key events that happened from time to time in Thailand are the Luang Phor Thuad and Sunflower Field Festival dealing with the first blossoming of sunflower at a distinguished temple and paying tribute to Luang Phor Thuad, Chinese New Year Fair where prayers are offered the Chinese way, and there are opera shows and a food festival for vegetarians, Chinese Lantern Festival where a competition for lanterns and its decoration is held, World Wetland Day involving environmental related activities and awareness, bird watching and games, Eco-tourism and Kasalong Flower Festival involving bonfire and camping activities, showcasing of rare species of wild flowers and visiting caves, Thailand International Kite Festival that showcases traditional kites from different regions, kite flying competitions, etc; Thai Sky Festival involving a show of Skydiving by skydivers from many countries, Traditional Gold Leaf Covering Ceremony at Kuiburi Temple involving prayers and religious rites and as the name suggests gold leaf covering, Blooming Lotus Festival providing a tour of the Lotus Pond and trekking, Hua Hin Jazz Festival where Jazz concerts are performed, Hua Hin Regatta involving a race of sailors, Hua Hin (Cha-am) Golf Festival involving golfing contests, Hua Hin Vintage Car Rally which involves parading vintage cars. Many sports events, trade events and festivals had been planned for attracting visitors to Thailand in 2009. Important among these were the 1st World Comedy Film Festival, Thailand Grand Sale 2009, Thailand Tourism Festival (TTF) 2009, LPGA Thailand 2009 (Golf), The 2009 Kings Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, 1st Asian Martial Arts Games, Loi Kratong, Candle Festival, Songkran Festival and the 14th ASEAN Summit. New attractions like Sirindhorn Museum and Phu Kum Khao Dinosaur Excavation site, Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium, Dragon Descendants Museum, etc have come up. It is interesting to note that Thailand was voted as the best sailing venue in Asia in a poll conducted by Top of The Gulf Regatta. Also, Phuket Kings Cup Regatta was the winner for best regatta in Asia. Thailand was also voted as the Asian Spa Capital for 2009 by AsiaSpa magazine. Also, Thailand won the Destiantion Spa of the year for Six Senses Destination Spa in Phuket. The major destinations chosen by tourists are (by region): Central Thailand: Ayutthaya, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Kanchanaburi, Cha-Am, Chachoengsao, Lampun, Nonthaburi, Petchburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuab Khiri Khan, Pranburi, Samut Songkhram, Saraburi. Southern Thailand: Koh Lanta Island, Koh Phi Phi Island, Koh Samui Island, Krabi, Phang Nga, Phuket, Trang, Chumphon, Hat Yai, Khao Lak, Koh Phangan Island, Koh Tao Island, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ranong, Suratthani. Eastern Thailand: Koh Chang Island, Koh Samed Island, Pattaya, Chanthaburi, Chonburi, Koh Kood Island, Rayong, Trat. Northern Thailand: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Sukhothai, Lampang, Phetchabun, Phitsanulok, Tak. North-East Thailand: Nakhonratchasima, Khon Kaen, Loei, Nong Khai, Ubonratchathani, Udonthani. Latest foreign technology is available to it and this should be made good use of by the industry players and the government. Use of ICT (info-communications and technology) in hotels and other areas is a step in the right direction. The following of the Star Rating methodology for hotel standards by Thailands premier hotels was a step in achieving quality and recognition. To the advantage of Thailand is the level of orientation of the tourists coming to Thailand and the internal tourists as well). These are more or less favourable for the state and should be capitalized upon. Thailand Travel Mart was a large showcase for travel and events held in June in Bangkok. Such events promote the internal demand significantly. Inadequate reliance on experts and professionals for managing the business and related aspects of the industry, poor managerial innovation, low level research and development activities for the tourism industry, provides a hindrance for Thailand to emerge competitive against other players compromising the very nature of its competitive advantage. The extents to which it brands its industry though much better now and steadily improving over the years even in quality, leaves more to be desired in this front. Basing compensation on incentives is another recommendation for the industry. Training staff, at various levels is required to put together a skilled workforce and efficient labour pool for the industry. Related and Supporting Industries The tourism industry is well connected and linked with industries like the transportation and hospitality. Specialty services and has also provided impetus to the industry. However, the stigma of child prostitution and Aids epidemic is still a major concern for the government of Thailand. Labour productivity of Thailand is also not competitive at all. The revenues per tourist to Thailand are less than many competitors in the region. Also, these have not gone up over the years. Understandably, this was due to the chance factor but nevertheless, it seems to compromise the competitiveness of the industry even further. The importance of the framework applied here is that it helps identify sources of competitive advantage. One specific area of interest is the formation of clusters. Domestic rivalry and geographic concentration enhance competitiveness of Thailands tourism industry. The six factors depicted in fig. 2 help the framework act as system. Scalability, magnification and upgrading help provide linkages and networks. These thus help in forming clusters which provide competitive advantage. Efforts should be made to build special business relationships with the various players. Partnerships and alliances between and across the industry could help get the maximum value to the consumer inevitably making Thailand more competitive and the formation of clusters more evident, thereby benefitting the industry greatly. Provision of incentives to encourage; and subsidies to support the entrepreneurial talent in the industrys core and related areas could benefit the industry in many ways including the adoption of innovative tools, techniques and methods and e

Triple Bottom Lines And Sustainable Development Construction Essay

Triple Bottom Lines And Sustainable Development Construction Essay In this assignment, the notion of Triple Bottom Line (TBL) reporting is being analysed critically. The term created by John Elkington is being defined with its concept and general principles (social, environment, and economic lines) discussed in this report. Representations of TBL in the Business and Government Organisations sectors is further explored with its five different interpretations Wait and see, Packaging information for community right to know, stakeholder alignment, endorsing core principles, and holistic cultural perspective. The relationship between sustainable development and TBL is discussed in the report by considering the environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and social sustainability, with a backing example of the TBL Toolkit and the The Capital Works Sustainability Statement practiced in the city of Melbourne. Lastly, the application of TBL in sustainable construction and its indicators of social and environmental, and economic performance used in the construction sector are discussed in the report. Lastly, a case study has been done on Enviro-Cottage constructed in Spring Hill, Brishbane. The project has addressed TBL reporting considering the sustainable development and construction. INTRODUCTION Triple bottom line (TBL) reporting is becoming more common across many sectors of society. Although the concept was born out of the corporate and business world to report corporate social responsibility conveniently, it has been embraced by many organisations to give social and environmental agendas more prominence in the face of corporatist globalisation (Price, R n.d.). The term Triple Bottom Line was formed by John Elkington in 1997. Based in UK as a consultant to companies like BO, DuPont and the World Bank, John Elkington has been described by Business Week as a dean of the corporate responsibility movement for three decades (John Elkington 2010). Instead of the usual financial bottom line, Elkington define and the expanded baseline for measuring performance using social, environmental and economic bottom lines (Centre for ISA Information Sheet 7 n.d.). Elkington stated on his book, Cannibals with Forks that: The triple bottom line focuses corporations not just on the economic value they add, but also on the environmental and social value they add and destroy. At its narrowest, the term triple bottom line is used as a framework for measuring and reporting corporate performance against economic, social and environmental parameters (Elkington,, J 1998). Generally, Triple bottom line is an integrated management approach that consists of managing, measuring and publicly reporting performance in business and government sectors (Potts, T 2004). TBL also acts as a medium to discuss issues regarding the organisation and the community. According to A tool for measuring, communicating, and facilitating change in local governments by Tavis Potts, TBL is a correspondence and process for reporting on sustainability and using the results to engage communities in an ongoing discussion. For sustainable organisations this means balancing the needs of the organisation against the environmental, economic and social factors as depicted in Figure 1 to enhance the quality of life. Figure . Triple Bottom Line Model (Source: Triple bottom line: a ticket to the game or the emperors new clothes? 2005). Representations of tbl Business Sector In the business sector, the growing tension between increasing social values and conventional forms of value creation has forced consideration of sustainability (including TBL reporting). Pressure has been applied on organisations to be more socially and environmentally responsible in their pursuit of profit (Beilin, R Paine, M, Pryor R 2007). As an example, BP Australia reported that a TBL approach to business provides them with a sustainable competitive advantage and it is also a good business sense. It demonstrates to stakeholders the integrity of a business or industry, thus improving its reputation, increases investor confidence and enhances marketing and profit opportunities. Governments Sector Similar to businesses, local governments have adopted the TBL in response to community concern about issues of environmental sustainability. In the Governments sector, the field of organisational accountability has broadened. Government organisations must now consider the wider impacts of their practices on other local, regional, national and even global stakeholders (Beilin, R Paine, M, Pryor R 2007). Growing government interest in corporate social and environmental responsibility is expressed in policy at local, State and federal levels. TBL reporting has changed the appearance of the role of government in regulating private businesses and industries. TBL has come to demonstrate good public relations in government organisations with its integrated focus on social, environmental and economic outcomes of practice. Principles of Triple Bottom Line The three vital aspects of corporate and government performance are based on Triple Bottom Line are the economic, social and environmental line. TBL is also interpreted in 5 ways in business and governments sectors. The Economic Bottom Line The economic bottom line is the organisations record of economic performance (revenue and profit) and integrity. Even though the companies are still making profits in the business, profit is viewed as the economic benefit enjoyed by the employees and community as a whole within a sustainability framework. The Social or People Bottom Line The social bottom line is the organisations record of social or people performance as it affects employees, consumers, and communities. This also refers to fair, ethical, and beneficial business practices toward employees, community, and country in which a corporation conducts its business. The Environmental Bottom Line This is the organisations record of performance as it considers all the issues related with environmental concerns. The goal of 21stà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ century companies is to not only help protect the environment by producing Green or environmentally responsible products but also to have their own sustainable, environmentally sound business operating practices. This means organisations are to function in an environmentally responsible approach, such as taking steps to reduce their own environmental footprint, consuming less energy and little or no non-renewable resources, and producing less waste. Five interpretation of TBL Five broad categories capture the current diverse state of TBL performance measurement and reporting in Australia according to Triple Bottom Line Measurement and Reporting In Australia. The five categories are more to show the diverse business rationales and analysis of community expectations for triple bottom line measuring and reporting (Suggett, D, Goodsir, B 2002). Wait and see Wait and see is the category where organisations are satisfied with their present approaches to communication and accountability. Examples of such companies are Fosters and Woolworths. This may due to the reason that a change is not necessary in their business priority, and there is a sense of potential benefit as it is still early in their business to use the TBL approach without understanding the directions of the business. Packaging information for community right to know By observing the community right to know attitude and supporting the notion of greater responsibility to the community for their business performance, other organisation make an obligation to their stakeholders to be open and transparent. To meet this commitment, they collect and package internal information or report for external audience. This report shows the values they seek to meet, their performance against those standards and a description of their activities. Examples of companies practising this approach of TBL in environmental reporting are Wesfarmers and Orica. As they keep on collecting data, reporting and verifying approaches, those organisations do not see that a change in approach is required to embrace social or economic scopes. Stakeholder Alignment This approach analytically seeks the relationship between stakeholders expectations and corporate strategy. In order for TBL reporting to drive maximum value, it is necessary that the information reported aligns with business strategy and objectives and accurately reflects the focus of the company activity. This serves to strengthen the significance of companies developing indicators in a structured way that reflects their objectives and the requirements of key stakeholder groups. As the stakeholders could be the shareholders, investors, employees, customers, suppliers, the community and government, organisations practicing this approach will be required to set up new management systems and in a long run is intensive on the business resource. One example is the WMC. WMC continues to expand in this direction and a number of other companies have embarked on the first steps, such as Westpac and ANZ. Endorsing Core Principles A few organisations outline their response to stakeholder expectations into values that guide their business activity: sustainability principles. Examples of organisations are Rio Tinto and Shell. This approach is directed at integrating these core principles into management practices. Holistic Cultural Perspective Organisations in private ownership define their business purpose and their commitment to sustainability values and accountability as a whole. Their business success depends on this cultural perspective. The Body Shop is the often-quoted example and the Co-operative Bank in the United Kingdom. Sustainable development Sustainability is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while at the same time preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only for the present generations, but also for future generations. Sustainable development ties together the concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the social challenges (Sustainable construction gives a competitive edge n.d). Conceptually, sustainable development can be broken down into three constituent parts: Environmental sustainability Economic sustainability Social sustainability Sustainable development is often portrayed as the act of balancing economic, ecological and social concerns, and the triple bottom line is commonly used internationally to prove corporate performance on sustainability and its approach to sustainable development in the corporate world. However, in sustainable development, triple bottom line also concentrates on the external structure of development and excludes the internal structure of development. In other words, TBL also focuses on technological, economic and institutional development while excluding cultural and personal development (Riedy, C 2003). As an example, the City of Melbourne is using TBL approach to accomplish the goal of sustainable development. The city has developed a TBL Toolkit which includes checklists, guidelines, templates and case studies for the application of TBL decision-making and reporting (Triple-Bottom-Line Evaluation Approach Shows Promise for Local Government 2004). Part of this tool is the The Capital Works Sustainability Statement and it is a rating system that recognizes the degree to which a project contributes to the Councils sustainability objectives. The Capital Works tool is being applied to different ways, such as the bidding of capital works, budget approval process, and evaluating criteria against of capital works. Through this TBL approach, councils are able to demonstrate responsibility and transparency in decision making and administration. Moreover, TBL approach in the public sector including local government has helped to develop global standards and procedures in reporting decisions at all levels (Triple-Bottom-Line Evaluation Approach Shows Promise for Local Government 2004). Application of tbl in sustainable construction Construction activities worldwide consume 40 per cent of all raw material exploited globally (Sustainable construction gives a competitive edge n.d.). For this reason, the use of sustainable building materials can help improve the global environment significantly. The public demand for sustainable solutions is growing, and in the years to come contractors who are able to document that they build sustainably will have a strong presence in the market. In order to make construction sustainable, one has to practise TBL in order to consider the environmental impacts of extraction, transportation, processing, fabrication, installation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of these materials. It is easy to understand why TBL has received acceptance in sustainable construction. Indicators of social and environmental performance are used to diversify work and practices of construction sector. TBL allows organisations to assess quantitatively and qualitatively how they are achieving their key performance indicators (Triple bottom line: a ticket to the game or the emperors new clothes? 2005). TBL has been applied to the construction sector in the UK where the phrase Sustainable Construction has been coined. The UK Government is seeking to apply sustainable development practices to the construction industry. Leading construction companies in the UK, USA and Europe now report annually on social and environmental performance as well as financial performance. Jim Lammie, director of Parsons Brinckerhoff in a speech on sustainability of 8 September 2004 said that over 77% of construction companies in the UK had a sustainable development policy to deal with regulation, competitive edge, client policy, enhanced reputation, legal risks and future investments as well as addressing ethical obligations. Lessons from the construction industry overseas have a place for Australian construction companies who want to outperform their counter-parts in an increasingly aware society. Implementing daily practices to elicit performance under TBL can be as simple as adopting recycling programs , giving to the workforce through university sponsorship programs and adopting best practice voluntary standards. When a full assessment of practices are made construction players may find that they are already carrying out sustainable practices but are not reaping the reward through reporting their practices to stakeholders. Truly sustainable construction practices may mean assessing projects and work practices with TBL in mind (Triple bottom line: a ticket to the game or the emperors new clothes? 2005). The triple bottom line concept of sustainable construction could be achieved through the application of sustainable design principles at early stages of planning and construction. By making these decisions beforehand, it creates a home that is safer, more secure, flexible, comfortable, environmentally-friendly and cost-efficient in a long-run. A sustainable construction project is designed and constructed to include the principles of sustainable design which attempts to balance soc ial, environmental and economic considerations (Sustainable Homes Triple bottom line 2008). The triple bottom line approach to sustainable construction is a balanced integration of social, environmental and economic design factors. Social Sustainable buildings are designed for the people considering access, safety, security and design that consider the clients future needs throughout the different stages of lives young families, older users or users with varying abilities. Sustainable constructed building is safe, easily adaptable to suit a diverse range of needs and comfortable for people with varying abilities and at different stages of their lives, especially the elderly with our ageing population (Sustainable Homes Triple bottom line 2008). Socially sustainable construction can also strengthen social networks and allow people of every age and ability to participate in their community throughout their life. An aesthetically pleasing and stimulating built environment will reinforce the sense of well being of residents and people in the local community of the building. The local community and streetscape should also be considered, ensuring sympathetic development, enhancing the streetscape and community function (Tr iple bottom line in housing n.d.). Environmental Sustainable construction are resource efficient by incorporating sustainable management of water, energy and waste efficiencies, as well as other features such as passive solar design by considering the orientation, ventilation, insulation, shading and building materials (Sustainable Homes Triple bottom line 2008). Resource efficiency is also related to water efficiency in the building, waste efficiency of materials used during construction, and energy efficiency through good passive design and high star-rated green technology appliances and lights. It is also associated to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption. Local market for materials should be considered as well (Triple bottom line in housing n.d.). Besides that, resource efficiency equates to lifestyle benefits for residents of the buildings in terms of improved thermal comfort (social sustainability) and reduced running costs for the home (economic sustainability). Economic Economic sustainability means designing and construction to make a house more cost-efficient in a long-run, considering the selection of low maintenance materials. Extra expense during construction should be provided for longer term operating cost savings as it is important to obtain the choices of design and material right the first time and removes the need to make additional costly changes later. Installation of solar panels or water tanks will also add instant value to a property (Triple bottom line in housing n.d.). The consideration of the local market in the selection of building material suppliers can optimise costs through reduced transportation expenses to the site. Other economic savings can also be done with the amplified focus on the embodied energy that building materials may represent in their journey from the source, through refinement, product manufacture and transport to eventual use on-site in the construction of the home (Sustainable Homes Triple bottom line 2008) . Sustainable construction could cost efficiently over time by improving the design and construction features and the use of low-maintenance materials Usage of appliances with high energy-star ratings that reduce the ongoing costs of running your home should be encouraged. By practicing sustainable construction, energy and water bills are lower and potential future modification costs are greatly reduced, thus making the home more adaptable over its life cycle. Case study: Enviro-Cottage Enviro-Cottage is constructed in Spring Hill, Brisbane. It was built as a workers cottage in the late 1800s. During 2008, the houses were transformed from a traditional Brisbane cottage into a sustainable development for inner-city living. Figure . Conceptual drawing of Enviro-Cottage. (Source: http://www.envirocottage.com.au) Enviro-Cottage as shown in Figure 2 isnt a new, purpose-built house unlike other display homes. It is a renovation project that highlights the simple, technological and the necessary construction methods to help make a home more efficient by using less electricity, water and other resources, while improving how people live in the available space. Some of the ideas are very simple and easy to apply in any home renovation or construction projects to reduce its environmental footprint. Examples of sustainable construction methods used are passive design, thermal mass and solar orientation (Enviro-Cottage n.d.). Other revolutionary sustainable ideas are the installation of solar cell technology, water tank and grey water systems, glass technology, kitchen and laundry appliances, taps and showers, insulation, flooring, paints and other finishes, heating and cooling systems, and energy efficient lighting. The Spring Hill Enviro-Cottage Project has addressed the TBL reporting (Triple bottom line in housing n.d). Examples of the Enviro-Cottage TBL report considerations included in the sustainable development and construction according to Our Brisbane are: Social sustainability Enviro-Cottage is constructed to be multi-purpose. Its multi-use design is suitable for people from different background, such as families, professional couples, or people with disabilities, young couples to families with older/independent children The cottage is constructed using the local Tuff stone to tie to Spring Hills heritage and preservation of the heritage streetscape Open front aspect to connect with local street life Open design to aid easy internal and external surveillance High security features to all doors and windows with simple and consistent locking systems The set back garage is designed and constructed to de-emphasise the role of the car Addition of two off-street parking options takes two cars off the crowded local street Preservation of the heritage streetscape Environmental sustainability Maximum use of passive solar design aspects, taking advantage of natural energy flows, and minimising the scale of overlaid systems lighting, cooling etc No air conditioning required or other mechanical heating or cooling systems Capture, use, recycle and re-use of as much rainwater as possible, inclusion of grey water processing system Generation of required energy needs through onsite photovoltaic system and where possible provision of clean renewable energy back to the community Use of environmentally preferred materials eg. no use of rainforest or old growth forest products Re-use of the existing 1800s building to reduce consumption of new materials Use of materials with a lifespan equivalent to the projected life of the building Source local products and materials where possible, minimising energy used to transport materials Economic sustainability Use of passive solar design and selected enviro-products will drive future operating costs down to a minimum Modular design, flexible usage model, and choice of long lifespan materials, minimising any requirements for future renovations, minimising ongoing construction costs The Enviro-Cottage project has demonstrate sustainable development through TBL reporting and the project signified sustainable living ideas, solution and options which can be in most construction even when it is challenged with the many constraints facing such renovations such as council building codes, existing dwelling condition and design, and smaller block sizes. Conclusion In conclusion, the TBL concept demonstrates responsibility to stakeholders in terms of economic, social and environmental impact. The idea behind TBL reporting is sustainable success which will benefit the organisations. Benefits include better reputation and increased confidence, benchmarked performance, increased operational efficiency, stakeholder satisfaction, and improved risk management of the business. TBL reports may have different representations in the business and government sectors, and each of the sectors has different interpretation of TBL. TBL reporting is one way organisations can add value to their daily practices of their business. In terms of sustainable development and construction, TBL is the union of the three constituent parts social, environment, and economic. TBL is commonly used to prove corporate performance on sustainability as it covers accountability in an economic, social and environmental sense.

Alka Seltzer Dissolving at Different Temperatures Essay example -- Alk

Alka Seltzer Dissolving at Different Temperatures The variable that I will change will be the temperature of the water that the Alka Seltzer is put in. For my results I will measure the time taken for the Alka seltzer tablet to completely dissolve in water at different temperatures. Input variables: * Varying surface area of Alka-Seltzer tablet, i.e. if cut into smaller pieces or crushed it will increase the surface area. (If the surface area is increased (more powdered) the rate of reaction also increases. This means that there are more collisions between the solid and liquid.) * Amount of tap water H2O used, i.e. volume (ml). * Amount of Alka-Seltzer tablets used, i.e. quantity of tablets. (one is used) * Number of times the solution is stirred. (If the solution is stirred more there are more collisions between the particles therefore the reaction is speeded up.) * Temperature of Water-Â °C. (As the temperature increases so does the rate of reaction. By increasing the temperature, particles move faster, i.e. they have more energy. So, they collide with more energy and more frequently.) * pH of Solution: Water has pH of 7 at 25Â °C. As the pH decreases, i.e as the solution increases in acidity, the rate of the reaction increases as well. Output Variables: ----------------- Rate of reaction depends on all the 6 points I have stated above: ----------------------------------------------------------------- * If the surface area of the tablets is increased by crushing, the particles around it in the solution will have more area to work on, and the rates of reactions will increase because there will be more collisions. Complete reaction will finish faster. * The more amount of water used as we increase the temperature, the quicker the tablets will dissolve because there will be more water particles to collide with. So the rate increases. * If the amount of tablets being used is increased for the same amount of water, i.e as concentration increases, rate will increase as well because there will be more collisions between particles. * If the water with Alka-Seltzer tablets are stirred during the reaction, then the rates of reactions will increase because the particles will be forced to make contact with each others and react much quicker, rather than take their time to make contact, and therefor... ... water bath could have been used, because I could set it to my required temperature. Also it would mean that the solution inside it would reach the exact temperature or close to It., and not increase or decrease once the water inside it has reached equilibration. It was also very difficult for me to observe exactly when the Alka-Seltzer tablets had totally dissolved and consistently decide this for every result obtained. This was probably the main factor that would have decreased the accuracy of my readings. To avoid this happening I would have needed to use specialized piece of equipment which would tell me exactly when the tablet was dissolved Overall, I can come to firm conclusion from my results that support my prediction and background knowledge that: As the temperature increases, less time will be required for a reaction to take place i.e. the rate of reaction increases. To improve the experiment overall I could use distilled water to avoid inaccuracies related to the hardness of tap water. I believe I should get a straight line curve. Another improvement I could have made is to increase the range of the temperatures investigated. (10Â °C to 100Â °C).