Patterns of World History Vol 1

â€Å"Humans and Ideas† Some of the most powerful ideas humans developed during early divination of 3000 BCE to 618 CE have been about techniques to improve living. New technological ideas from the invention of the wheel to the hand crank pump have transformed how millions of people live. The way technological ideas have accumulated over time and the effects they have had on society is one of the main themes of world history. Shortly before 3000 BCE, Mesopotamians invented a technological idea which ended in a writing system called cuneiform that increased communication, record keeping, and abstract thought.Through symbols written on wet clay tablets that represented objects and sounds, history could be recorded for the first time. Writing was a major expansion of the conceptual horizon of humankind that reached back to the first flaked stones, ornaments, figurines, and cave paintings in the Paleolithic (Von Sivers 44). Early metallurgists discovered that by adding tin to copp er they were able to make bronze which was much harder than copper and provided a sharper cutting edge which was the start of the Bronze Age (Lecture).By 2800 BCE Sumer entered into what is described as the protoliterate period where scribes would work with pictograms and official seals but there was still no official written language (Lecture). Harappan cities were unique to the 1700’s BCE due to the meticulously planned grid-like design that included a most elaborate urban sewer system for ancient times. Remarkably straight, brick paved streets ran in north/south, east/west axes forming square blocks of public buildings, temples, and markets in convenient locations.Houses had brick-lined indoor wells and primitive toilets emptying into terra-cotta cesspits whose overflow connected to the city’s drains and sewers (Von Sivers 80). Located several miles up the Sabarmati River from the Gulf of Khambat, Lothal was a large, perhaps the chief, of all trading seaports around 1700 BCE. Lothal central structure is an enormous basin, approximately 120 feet long and 70 feet wide. The location of Lothal on the Arabian Sea indicates a link between Harappan cities and trade that would have reached Mesopotamia and possibly Egypt.Lothal was also a famous regional craft center, with micro beads used for decorative craft items and jewelry as its chief product for internal trade and export (Von Sivers 80). Around 1700 BCE, the chariot and composite bow made their entry into the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean region, transforming armies who previously relied solely on foot soldiers. Black smiths mastered the art of iron making and incorporated iron into their chariot armies, in the form of swords, helmets, and protective armor (Von Sivers 53).The Shang Dynasty used the horse to drive chariots, which transformed the Chinese warfare for transportation, which linked disparate regions of China and helped the Shang to expand. It was a featured in art and poetry a nd thus offered a new symbol for artist and poets to work with. It will also link China to nomadic horse people from the north and west (Von Sivers 110). The people in Meroe mined, smelted, and forged iron which they were the first to do so in sub-Saharan Africa. The craft of iron smelting evolved gradually in Hittite Anatolia during several centuries after 1500 BCE.The possible spread of iron-working sills from the Middle East to Africa has not been satisfactorily proved. Iron workers in African villages adapted iron-making to local village circumstances. The production of iron, or greater import was the knowledge f how to forge the bloom-the combination of raw iron and slag- into an iron- carbon allow that was neither too soft nor too brittle (Von Sivers 165). Chariots and bows were introduced to the Shan army between 1300-1200 BCE. Around 1200 BCE, The Olmec crafted figurines, mask of clays, and made figurines from jade and serpentine.The Olmec heads were carved from 18 ton block s of basalt that were quarried 70 miles away from San Lorenzo. Large groups of workers shouldered beams from which the basalt blocks, weighing 18 tons on average, hung in slings. They carried these blocks to the coast and shipped them to San Lorenzo on rafts. There, sculptors fashioned the blocks into fierce-looking, helmeted heads, kneeling or sitting figures, and animal statues (Von Sivers 145). The Lydians are notable for having created in 615 BCE the first minted money in world history, coins made of silver and gold and used in trade (Von Sivers 199).The Achaemenids created an elaborate system of roads known as the royal roads around 550 BCE for communication and transportation of troops and trade. The Persian Empire in particular covered vast amounts of land, from Anatolia to Egypt and Mesopotamia, to modern day Afghanistan. The Persian Empire was both centralized and decentralized. One centralized aspect, as revealed by the roads, was the need to pay taxes and tribute to the s hahinshah, the emperor. Even more revealing is the style of the Persian roads, with distance markers at regular intervals, inns and depots indicating the sophistication of the Persian infrastructure.The centralization of the empire is further revealed by the regulation that local parts of the road had to be maintained by the local governors, appointed by the emperor; thus even to the local level the emperor had influe nce (Von Sivers 200). The Achaemenids achieved their conquests with the help of lightly armed; highly mobile mounted archers as well as heavily armored, slow-moving cataphracts-horsemen with protective armor consisting of iron scales sewn on leather shirts. Quilts and iron scales protected the horses. The archers fought with composite bows and the cataphracts, with 5-foot long, iron-tipped lances for thrusting.Infantry soldiers armed with bows, arrows, shields, and javelins provided support for the cavalry, complementing its tank-like thrust (Von Sivers 200). The Well- Field System was an attempt to untangle the more confusing aspects of land arrangement around 500 BCE. The Zhou was the first among many dynasties to attempt to impose a uniform system of land tenure in China. Each square Li(one li is about one-third of a mile), consisting of 900 mou(each mou is approximately one-sixth of an acre) was divided into a grid of nine plots.Individual families would each work one of the eight outside plots while the middle one would be farmed in common for the taxes and rents owed the landowner or local officials (Von Sivers 117). In the 5th Century BCE, sculptors began to explore physical movement, emotion, and individual character by Greek Painting and Sculpture. Greek vase paintings and sculptures achieved a remarkable wide range, from figures exerting themselves in their chosen sports to serene models of human beauty.Greek sculptors and painters abandoned symbolism and instead, embraced realism as their style of representation in which we call today p hotographic representation (Von Sivers 229). Craftspeople from the Chavin de’ Hauntar around 500 BCE made beads, pendants, stone tools and leather goods, but pioneered new techniques combining the wool from llamas with cotton to create a new blended cloth. They decorated it using new methods of dyeing and painting. Goldsmiths demised new methods of soldering and alloying gold and silver to make large ornamental objects.Small objects, such as golden headbands, ear spools, beads, and pins, signified prestige and wealth. Gold artifacts found in the graves of the wealthy attest to the value residents of Chavin placed on gold (Von Sivers 144). What technical and cultural development allowed the people of the Lapita culture to spread throughout the Pacific Islands? 500 BCE-200 BCE- The Polynesian Islands were settled in part due to sail and paddle-driven canoes, which were further improved by the addition of outriggers or double hulls.These boats improvements allowed the Polynesian s to sail further and reach some of the more distant islands. Cultural developments included the ability to retain elaborate, detailed mental maps of islands, ability to read wind patterns and currents, and retention of celestial information that allowed for navigation (Von Sivers ). The Silk Road was an overland trade routes that connected eastern and western Eurasia, beginning at the end of the fourth century BCE (Von Sivers 286).Mayans developed writing that was a complex combination of glyphic and syllabic script as early as 400-300 BCE. Mayan writing is a glyphic as well as a syllabic script, numbering some 800 signs. It is structurally similar to Sumerian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphic. The glyphic part consists of pictograms, one-word images of the most essential features of what is to be depicted. Glyphs as syllables consist of one, two, or three of syllabic glyphs, or syllabaries, are pronounced as a series of syllables.Given the mixture of pictograms and syllabaries, which is potentially immense, the complexity of Mayan writing appeared for a long time to be an insuperable obstacle to any effort at deciphering (Von Sivers 182). Around 300 BCE, The Upanishadic writers, or which one hundred are known, thought that the Vedic religion had become too distracted due to the thousands of gods. The Upanishads instead sought a monist, rather that polytheistic approach, and sought for a first principle, a universal truth that did not require the worship of many different gods.The Upanishadic writers were hermits who wanted to reach unity with the universal self, which would remove them from the cycle of rebirth and redeath that characterized earthly life. Salvation in this system was moksha, escape from reincarnation. This salvation was achieved through meditation and brief aphorisms becoming a vital part of a new evolving tradition (Von Sivers 248). Around 221 BCE, the Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of the Qin, accomplished a significant part of empir e and state building.These are several accomplishments of Shi Huangdi to include: building the Great Wall of China that was massive project stretching over 1400 miles to safeguard against attacks by nomadic people in the north; standardized weights, measures, and coinage; building roads, canals, irrigation, water conservancy projects; his tomb with life-sized warriors; use of conscripted labor; and the implementation of Legalism as the primary philosophy of the realm. Each of these was designed primarily to increase the centralized power of the Qin leader and his state.Babylonians were great mathematicians, who worked fractions, whole numbers and square roots as well as some of the elementary theorems of geometry (Lecture). Starting from the foundations of the Sumerians, the Babylonians made advances in arithmetic, geometry, and algebra. Buddhism, the most profound intellectual influences from India on the surrounding regions was in science and mathematics. During the period from th e second century BCE until the second century CE India was an importer of scientific and mathematical concepts from the Greco-Roman and Persian spheres.Greek geometry, made its way into northern India during this time. Concepts of Indian health regimens-some involving yoga discipline-along with the vast body of Indian medicine, with its extensive knowledge of herbal remedies, also seem to have moved west. In the area of mathematics and astronomy an important synthesis of ideas took place in the developing the first Indian calendars, which were based on the lunar months, through a year consisted of six seasons and an intercalary period was inserted every 30 months to make up the difference with the solar year.The Indians then adopted the calendar of the eastern Mediterranean and southwest Asia, which had a 7 –day week, a 24-hour day, and a 365-day solar year-along with the 12 zodiacal signs of the Greco-Roman world (Von Sivers 264). The earthenware produced during the Tang dyn asty 618 CE is among the most coveted in the world today. Perhaps even more impressive, by this time, too, artisans were producing a kind of â€Å"proto-porcelain† that, with increasing refinement, would be know in the succeeding centuries to the outside world as â€Å"china† (Von Sivers 284).Throughout history, humans have adapted their ideas to their environment and learned to overcome obstacles, thus paving the way for new elements of technology. Humans expressed themselves and communicated with one another in sophisticated ways through paintings, sculptures, and the decorative arts as well as writing, construction, and metals. Of more recent, humans invented writing systems that gave birth to many forms of literature. Humans have wrestled with ideas and beliefs regarding technology.

Anabolic Steriods Essay

Also known as Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids (AAS) Commentary Informative speech on characteristics of Steroids, and what effects they have on the human body. General Purpose: To Inform. Specific Purpose: To present facts concerning the use of Steroids. Joshua Stone Introduction: I. ATTENTION GETTER: Let me ask you something; would you take a pill to get bigger and gain muscle in order to do more push-ups or sit-ups on PT Test? Would you give yourself a shot to become faster on your 2 mile run? Of course someone would if they wouldn’t get caught. Some would say that in our profession as a Soldier it is always based on â€Å"WHAT IS YOUR PT SCORE†. Not on how well you do your job, or lead Soldiers. Now if you said yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ask yourself if you would do either of these two things knowing that you are putting yourself at serious health risks. In recent report, The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) uncovered an alarming statistic: more than a half million students in the 8th and 10th grade are currently using some form of anabolic steroids. Retrieved from http:\www.steroidabuse.org. II. PREVIEW POINTS: a. HISTORICAL PRESPECTIVE: 1. Definition in scientific terms 2. Origins and when discovered b. WHAT STEROIDS ARE AND HAVE BEEN USED FOR c. WHO USES STEROIDS AND WHY d. THE POTENTIAL PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS Body: I. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: A. SCIENTIFIC DEFINTION: Anabolic-androgenic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone. Testosterone, the natural male hormone that is produced primarily by the testes in men, is responsible for the androgenic (Masculizing, and the anabolic (Tissue building) effects noted during male adolescence and adulthood. Charles Yesalis Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise. (2nd ED.) 2000. B. ORGINS: According to the reference test anabolic steroids in sport and exercise 2000, experimentation with synthetic steroids on animals and castrated men began as early as 1911, and by 1935, the hormone testosterone had been isolated, chemically characterized, and the basic nature of its anabolic effects had become clear. It was shortly here after that oral and inject able preparations were made available to the medical community. II. WHAT ARE ANABOLIC STEROIDS USED FOR: A. THERAPEUTIC AGENT 1. Delayed puberty in boys ages 15 and older 2. Impotence and male climacteric symptoms 3. To treat breast cancer in women 4. HIV/aids patients to increase appetite, strength, body mass, and improved sense of well being. B. VETERINARY APPLICATION 1. Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids are widely used in veterinary medicine 2. Given to cattle to increase the rate of weight gain and improve feed efficiency. 3. Improve the performance of race horses. C. PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUG 1. The use of steroids by humans to enhance physical performance. They were apparently first used in WWII, according to William Taylor, M.D., in his  book Hormonal Manipulation, â€Å"steroids were said to have been administered to Nazi Troops in order to make them more aggressive and less fearful of violence. 2. It was in the next few decades that Steroids began to play a prominent role in Sports and Athletics. The muscle building effect of steroids has caused them to be widely used by body builders and other Athletes III. WHO USES STEROIDS NOW AND WHY The use of steroids to improve performance, strength, and size, is unregulated and illegal. This however does not stop people who wish to use the drug in this manner from obtaining it. â€Å"Use of Anabolic Steroids began with elite competitive athletes, but today it includes even high school students who are taking anabolic steroids for cosmetic purposes.† Kuhn C. Swartzwelder. Straight Facts for Athletes about Drugs, Supplements, and Training A. WHO 1. Athletes, men and women in almost all sports 2. Professional Athletes 3. College Athletes 4. High school Athletes 5. Olympic Sports 6. Bodybuilders B. WHY 1. Performance enhancing qualities 2. Warped self image 3. Self esteem issues 4. Dependency IV. THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF STEROID USE A. PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS: (Directly related to the actual doses consumed or injected: relatively low or extremely large amounts.) 1. â€Å"Beneficial† a. Increased Strength, b. Increased Muscle and body mass. 2. Adverse (Range from mild to severe) MILD a. Acne b. High Blood Pressure c. Liver Damage d. Disturbed sleeping patterns e. Baldness f. Testicular Atrophy g. Abnormal breast enlargements SEVERE a. Liver Damage b. Liver Cancer c. Cardiac Disease d. Heart Attack B. PHSCHOLOGICAL ALTERATIONS 1. Increased Self – Esteem 2. Addiction and Psychological dependency 3. Tendency towards hostility and violence 4. Extreme fluctuations in mood 5. Increased energy level 6. Increased ability to train with greater mental intensity 7. Uncontrollable temper characterized by â€Å"Explosive† aggressive behavior CONCLUSION I. Review main Points A. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: 1. Scientific Definition: Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids are synthetic derivatives or testosterone. Testosterone, the natural male hormone that is produced primarily by testes in men, is responsible for the androgenic (masculizing), and the anabolic (tissue-building) effects noted during male adolescence and adulthood. 2. ORGINS: When first discovered by 1935, the hormone testosterone had been isolated, chemically charactized, and the basic natural of its anabolic effects had become clear. B. WHAT ARE ANABOLIC STERIODS USED FOR 1. As a Therapeutic agent for medical patients 2. Administered to animals for veterinary application, as a means to increase size and efficiency of cattle and other farm animals, and also to improve the performance of race horses. 3. As a Performance Enhancing Drug, unrelated and illegally used by athletes. C. WHO USES STEROIDS AND WHY 1. Bodybuilders and other athletes 2. Because of the muscle building effect that anabolic-androgenic steroids produce D. THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF STERIOD USE 1. Physiological 2. Psychological FINAL ATTENTION GETTER: We as human society and as Americans are a culture that thrives on competition and being the best but remember Cheaters Never Win and Winners Never Cheat. So we might not always be the best but remember we are what the best wanna be. Bibliography: 1. www.steroidabuse.org 2. Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise. (2nd ED.) 2000 by Charles Yesalis 3. Taylor, W.N. Hormonal Manipulation: A new Area of Monstrous Athletes. 1985, McFarland and Company Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina and London. 4. Straight Facts for Athletes about Drugs, Supplements, and Training. By Kuhn C. Swartzwelder. Anabolic Steroids Also known as Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids (AAS) ATTENTION GETTER: Now let me ask you something would you take a pill to get bigger and gain muscle in order to do more push-ups or sit-ups on PT Test, or How about giving yourself a shot to become faster on your 2 mile run. Of course some would. We all know how everything in our profession as a Soldier is always based on â€Å"WHAT IS YOUR PT SCORE†. Not on how well you do your job, or lead Soldiers. Now if you said yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ask yourself if you would do either of these two things knowing that you are putting yourself at serious health risks. In recent report, The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) uncovered an alarming statistic: more than a half million students in the 8th and 10th grade are currently using some form of anabolic steroids. Commentary I will be informing you on characteristics of Steroids, and what effects they have on the human body. Today I will be covering Historical Perspective: Which will also include the Definition in scientific terms Origins and when steroids were discovered, What Steroids are and have been used for, Who uses Steroids and why What the potential Physiological and Psychological effects it can have on the Human Body 1. The definition of an Anabolic-androgenic steroids, are synthetic derivatives of testosterone. Testosterone, the natural male hormone that is produced primarily by the testes in men, Is responsible for the androgenic (Masculizing, and the anabolic (Tissue building) effects noted during male adolescence and adulthood. Charles Yesalis. Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise. (2nd ED.) 2000 Origin of Steroids According to the (reference test anabolic steroids in sport and exercise 2000), experimentation with synthetic steroids on animals and castrated men began as early as 1911, and by 1935, the hormone testosterone had been isolated, chemically characterized, and the basic nature of its anabolic effects had become clear. It was shortly here after in 1937 that oral and inject able preparations were made available to the  medical community. Hoberman JM, Yesalis CE. â€Å"The history of synthetic testosterone†. Scientific American 272, 1995. NOW THEY WE HAVE JUST DISCUSSED THE DEFINTION WITH A BRIEF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT WE WILL MOVE TO MY NEXT POINT..ANABOLIC STERIODS AND WHAT THEY ARE USED FOR. ANABOLIC STEROIDS USED for several different reasons and uses like: THERAPEUTIC AGENT Delayed puberty in boys ages 15 and older Impotence and male climacteric symptoms To treat breast cancer in women HIV/aids patients to increase appetite, strength, body mass, and improved sense of well being. VETERINARY APPLICATION Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids are widely used in veterinary medicine and also given to the cattle to increase the rate of weight gain and improve feed efficiency. It’s also used to improve the performance of race horses. Performance enhancing side of the drug is the use of steroids by humans to enhance physical performance. They were apparently first used in WWII, according to William Taylor, M.D., in his book Hormonal Manipulation, â€Å"steroids were said to have been administered to Nazi Troops in order to make them more aggressive and less fearful of violence. It was in the next few decades that Steroids began to play a prominent role in Sports and Athletics. With the muscle building effect of steroids which has caused them to be widely used by body builders and other Athletes. The use of steroids to improve the performance, strength, and size, is unregulated and is illegal. But this however does not stop people who wish to use the drug in this manner from obtaining it. â€Å"Use of Anabolic Steroids began with elite competitive athletes, but today it includes even high school students who are taking anabolic steroids for cosmetic purposes.† (Stated in Straight Facts for Athletes about Drugs, Supplements, and Training. By Kuhn C. Swartzwelder) Some of the personnel that are prime targets for using Steroids are Athletes, Men and women in almost all sports including Professional Athletes, College Athletes, High school Athletes in the Olympic Sports and of course Bodybuilders. So you might ask yourself why they do it, and why not stay natural but some of the Performance enhancing qualities are warped self image, self esteem issues, dependency. So let’s talk about some of the potential effects of Steroid use The first would be the Physiological effect: that is directly related to the actual doses (Consumed or injected: relatively low or extremely large amounts.) Now there can be some â€Å"Beneficial† effects that we all know and this is Increased Strength, Increased Muscle and body mass. Now there are some Adverse effects that Range from mild to severe to include but not all Some of the MILD effects are Acne High Blood Pressure Liver Damage Disturbed sleeping patterns Baldness Testicular Atrophy Abnormal breast enlargements Some of the more SEVERE effects can arrange from but not all Liver Damage Liver Cancer Cardiac Disease Heart Attack On the Psychological aspect there can be alterations to the Physical and mental state of the body. Increased Self – Esteem Addiction and Psychological dependency Tendency towards hostility and violence Extreme fluctuations in mood Increased energy level Increased ability to train with greater mental intensity Uncontrollable temper characterized by â€Å"Explosive† aggressive behavior FINAL ATTENTION GETTER: We as human society and as Americans are a culture that thrives on competition and being the best but remember Cheaters Never Win and Winners Never Cheat. So we might not always be the best but remember we are what the best wanna be. Bibliography: 1. www.steroidabuse.org 2. Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise. (2nd ED.) 2000 by Charles Yesalis 3. Taylor, W.N. Hormonal Manipulation: A new Area of Monstrous Athletes. 1985, McFarland and Company Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina and London. 4. Straight Facts for Athletes about Drugs, Supplements, and Training. By Kuhn C. Swartzwelder.

The Rainforest

Rainforest's are a tropical forest that are found around the earths equator. The rainforest is found in Idonesia, South America and west and central Africa. The average temperatures are about 25-30 degrees. The rainforests are important because they provide homes for animals, plants and human, they also stabilise the climate by absorbing carbon dioxide. However in the 21st century they are under threat because of logging for timber, mining, road building, pasture for cattle ranching, crops and settlements. This essay will be researching 4 statements on the valuable resources that the rainforest offers and if sustainable devlopment can truly be introduced in the rainforest. â€Å"The rainforest is a valuable resource and its preservation is important to us all† The rainforest provides homes for about 70 million people, it also provides habitats for over 50% of the earths species of plants and animals. It also contains many plants which could provide new drugs and medicines in the furture e.g. Curae is a poison on Waorani hunting arrows which we also use as a relaxant in modern surgery. The rainforest also stablise's the climate by absorbing carbon dioxide this also helps reduce the rate of global warming and they reduce soil erosion by intercepting the rainfall and also keep water courses free from sediment. If deforestation was to continue millions of animals and plants would lose their habitats and possibly become extinct. Thousands of indigenous people of the rainforest would lose their homes and their way of life. We would also lose many cures for dieases and medicines that we could discover in the furture. Lots of damage to the climate and the enviorment could also mean that global warming would increase at a quicker rate. â€Å"The indigneous people of the rainforest respond positively to the challenges of their natural enviorment and act as stewards of the forest† Their are about 250 million indigenous people and about 5 thousand tribes, two of the tribes are Maorani and Kayapo. They live of the forest by using it to make food medicines and products to sell to make money such as brazil nuts. The indigenous people should be stewards of the forest because they live there, it is their home and they lived there for thousands of years which gives them historical rights to the Rainforest, they also want to protect it from damage and the dieases people have brought in. â€Å"There are some people who wish to exploit the rainforest. Explotation of the forest has positive and negative effects.† Explotation of the rainforest can be negative and positive. Cattle ranching is positive because it helps feed the countrys own people and they can sell it to other countrys to make money, the negative side of it is the grass that grows in rainforest area is of poor quality and cattle do not thrive, also milk yields tend to be low and after a few years the land is no good. Logging is good because it gets us useful materials such as mahogany, sapele and lauan, which grow no where else in the world, the negative of this is one hactare of rainforest is cut down just to log one mahogany tree. The positive of mining is that we get many good and useful metals such as gold, silver, aluminium, iron ore, copper and zinc. The negative of it is many trees get chopped down and mercury which is used in gold mining causes contamination. Road building does not cause much deforestation but the settlements in its way do get destroyed, it does do a lot of good it allows people to get in and out of the forest easily and quickly. Oil exploration does alot of damage to the forest, many trees have to be chopped down for the pipe lines and disturbs the wild life. The toxic chemicals do alot of contamination to the rivers and soil. the positive of it is oil is a very useful resource. Farming is one of the largest causes of forest loss. Huge plantations of banana and African oil palm now stand where rainforest once did, often farmers form other places who do not the farming techniques needed for forest enviorments, which means the soil soon becomes depleted, requiring further forest to be cleared. Hydro-electric dams are enviormentally friendly but to build them a lot of forest is destroyed. The positive of all these things is that it means money for the devloping countries and also opens up lots of jobs for the local people. The negative of these things is that they all do at least some damage to the rainforest. â€Å"A balance can be achieved between sustained devlopment and conservation of the rainforest† National park areas would make money from visiting tourists and would protect an area of the rainforest. Brazil nut trade is a good way for the indigenous people to make money, they pick them with out harming the trees and then turn them into an oil, which they sell to the body shop and the body shop turns the oil into a conditioner. Rubber tapping is where a liquid called latex is extrated from plantation trees, the latex is then processed to make a solid material called rubber, it is then sold and exported to other countrys. Enviormentally friendly logging is where only the trees that they want are cut down with out damaging the surrounding enviornment. The definition of eco tourism is â€Å"responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.† there are seven principles to this: * Minimize impact * Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect * Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts * Provide direct financial benefits for conservation * Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people * Raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental, and social climate * Support international human rights and labor agreements Eco tourism is something everybody can participate in. Bibliography Bunce-Contexts Arnell-Geography Worksheets given to me by teacher

Hotel Industry in Songdo in South Korea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hotel Industry in Songdo in South Korea - Essay Example So in today's world of business amidst red ocean strategy, it is necessary to adopt appropriate marketing method to promote your business through various tools and techniques in order to attract more and more customers. (Kim and Renee, 2005)1 Singapore which is renowned international business hub known for its world class infrastructure facilities is also a growing tourist destination. In a study, it is identified that hotels of Singapore have adopted and integrated information technology into their marketing strategy which was successfully incorporated the technology into their marketing campaign. (Choon - Chiang Leong, 2001)2 Similarly Songdo International City which is touted as the next Asian business hub is attracting numerous international ventures to start their businesses of all types as the city provides best infrastructure, facilities along with diverse customer base. Songdo International City is planned in such a way that good portion of the place is given for the establishment of hotels only. (http://www.songdo.com) So the industries trying to open their hotel in Songdo city can ask nothing better than this. In order to support the decision of opening a new hotel at Song do and to decide on which strategic ma rketing method to use for the promotion of the hotel, two reputed hotels were selected for the purpose of interview. The present chapter consists of analysis of the interview through comparison of both the hotels strategy of approach towards marketing and how do they manage to attract customers. Data Analysis Rutherford and O'Fallon (2007) states that as strategic marketing is umbrella to lot many marketing methods, but strategic marketing for the hotel industry should be limited to its realms and genesis only. Further the argument of Fetch Waller was also highlighted by Rutherford and O'Fallon stating that definition of marketing should be broadened in order to include all the operational aspects of the hotel. Moreover Waller reiterates illustrated the relationship between marketing and operations as a continuing process without which the hotels cannot remain competitive. As hotels are 24/7 business, it is necessary to evolve , innovate and adopt new marketing strategy each and every time in order to stay in and above the competition. 3 The interviews were conducted in the marketing and sales department of two hotels situated in Songdo City namely 'Ramada' and 'Best Western Premier Songdo Park Hotel'. When asked about the motive behind establishing a hotel in Songdo city, both the personnel representing their respective hotels replied that the place is hub of business and will turn into Asia's next business hub that will attract lots of businesses, which means many more conglomerations, seminars, and other business related activities. (Interviewee Jang and Jang, 2009) So it is clear from the above details that it is a place where most of the business happens and target customers are the business organizations for the present and in near future as well. Regarding difficulties in establishing the business in Song-do, the Ramada hotel representative stated that the hotel is actually a takeover of the already established hotel with little bit of renovation but representative of the Best Western Hotel stated that they had to struggle to get the license for the casinos and other gambling games which limited their targeted customers to only business and tourists as casinos and gambling are not the integral part of the Korean culture. This statement

Strategic audit Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Strategic audit - Case Study Example The primary objective of the company had been to make a holistic improvement and incorporate everybody in this innovative drive. The company nurtured a corporate objective to occupy the leadership position in the home improvement retail global market. The business strategy aimed to diversify the business and to open new stores whereas the functional strategy attempted to provide better service. However the management failed to achieve the objective within the allotted timeframe. In 2006, the company framed a new strategy that was comprised of 3E’s; â€Å"enhancing the core† by improving the quality of products and services offered, â€Å"expanding the business† by entering different business operations and â€Å"expanding the market† by opening new stores in US as well as in the international market. None of these strategies were consistent with the mission, strategy and objective that were adopted by the company. This led to the non alignment of the internal as well as external environment. The company then adopted a policy that would improve store productivity, increase acquisitions and mergers, diversify the product and services offered to the clients, and open new stores. In reality, the company failed to implement its policies in all the occasions because they were not aligned with the mission, strategy and objectives. At present, the company has planned its mission, objectives, strategy and policies to achieve higher growth in the services provided by it. However the direct-to-consumer section contributes very little in the revenue portfolio of sales. The current policy is to open stores in 1500 locations. But the market in US is already saturated and the company managed to open only a few stores in the last 5 years. As on May 25, 2006, the company had 11 people in the board out of which 9 were independent. Hence majority of the board members were from external sources (as they belonged

Principles of International Business Management Essay - 1

Principles of International Business Management - Essay Example The ICT services sector is the fastest growing sector in the country, with software development, ITES, BPOs and call centres earning good deal of foreign exchange. Combined with low labor costs, highly skilled manpower and good investments in human capital India is fast exploiting the opportunities of the global economy. India has signed treaties with its neighbors and other countries in the Asian region and streamlined its trade with these countries with the help of Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, ASEAN and SAARC. But India’s main exporting arena remains the EU and America, as it gets good value for its products and services from these nations. India’s export figures for 2005-06 are US $ Million 103,090.54, while import figures are, US $ Million 149,165.73 (Govt. of India, 2007). The gap between import and export is not much compared to the situation prevailing in pre-liberalization era. During those days India’s exports used to be miniscule in comparison with its imports. But now the manufacturing industry has come to age, while clothing and items like pearls, stones have remained its forte for quite a while now. India’s export to EU Countries stand at US$ Million 23,120.38 as per the Government of India figures (2007). Main components of this export include; Imports to India from the EU nations on the other hand stand at US$M 25,704.03, while from North America this figure is US$M 10,374.61. This shows the edge in favor India in merchandise trade. India has signed bilateral and multilateral agreements to promote economic development through a continuous process of trade expansion, in the form of ‘India-EU Strategic Partnership1, US -India Trade Policy Forum and India-United States Commercial Dialogue2 to further the cause of the trade and industry requirements. The French economy is considered a developed economy as compared to

Public Policy Analysis - SARBANE OXLEY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Public Policy Analysis - SARBANE OXLEY - Essay Example Oxley. Over the years, the act has managed to establish a myriad of deadlines for its compliance. This act was adopted mainly to uplift the standards in corporate governance, analysis of securities and performance of audit work. According to Cohen, Dey & Lys (2007), before the introduction of this policy there were numerous Securities and Exchange Commission violations, gross lack of corporate quality control and ethical behavior in companies resulting in many corporate scandals and filing of criminal actions against corporations, shareholders, company directors, and finally company officers. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act came into effect in the wake of some of the nations enormous financial scandals. The Act is believed to initiate most of the dramatic changes to the federal laws since 1930s. It further prescribes punishment for violators of the Act ranging from prison sentences to multimillion-dollar penalties. The main idea that the editors of this act had in mind was to protect investor s by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws. Over the years, the government of the United States of America has adopted this policy and many security policies have been drafted in reference to this act. SOX applies to all public companies in the United States not excluding international companies that have registered equity or debt securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the accounting firms that provide auditing services to them. According to Bartlett and Richard the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has created new standards for corporate accountability and also new penalties for acts of incompliance. It has changed how corporate boards, executives and corporate auditors interact with each other. In addition, it also removes the common excuse of claiming that one was not aware of a mistake when he or she made it on matters pertaining to finances. This mainly involves the CEOs and CFOs, as it holds them accountable f or the accuracy and errors of financial statements (DMPL). The Act specifies new financial reporting responsibilities and these include adhering to new internal controls and procedures formulated to ensure that financial records are valid. The Act makes it a federal crime to for a company to force or manipulate an auditor into signing off incorrect financial statements thus preventing company directors and officers from obtaining personal benefits from dubious financial statements. Moreover, the Act stipulates that the board of directors in almost all public companies should have an audit committee. The committee is tasked to appoint, regulate, inspect and exercise control over the company’s auditing firm. As result the auditors are to directly report to the audit committee. Rationale for public policy-Market failure This highlights how the concept of market failure applies to ethical corporate governance to give an insight in corporate ethics’ authenticity in the mode rn corporation and the probability of the Sarbanes-Oxley achieving its desired results. When large companies like Enron, WorldCom and Tyco just to name a few were struck with enormous cases of corporate fraud, the necessity to find for an amicable solution was very vital. This is because millions of dollars were embezzled by the CEOs and CFOs through customized balance sheets. Companies incurred considerable loss of profits

Main Location Criteria for Retail and Service Businesses Research Paper

Main Location Criteria for Retail and Service Businesses - Research Paper Example A careful and wise decision to choose a convenient and right location is critical to building competitive advantages too (Zimmerer, Scarborough and Wilson, 2008, p. 515). Retail stores and restaurants have to be located near to customers so that they can reach to the business easily, whereas manufacturers may find locations remote from the customer base in order to be cost-effective due to the availability of raw materials, availability of labor, taxes, regulation and overhead costs (Pinson and Jinnett, 2006, p. 39). It shows different business enterprises will be influenced by location element differently. Nearness to customers is highly important and critical to creating a competitive advantage for small retail whereas being remote from the customers to take cost-effective advantages is a way to achieve competitive advantage to the large manufacturers. A retail business that attracts a large number of customers due to its nearness to the people will obviously enjoy more advantages than its competitor who is away from customers and finds less number of customers. As Pakroo and Pakroo (2008) emphasized, the entrepreneurs are required to figure out how a particular location selection will or will not contribute to the success of the business and how it makes economic sense (p. 50). The location will make economic sense when it is really going to pay to the entrepreneur and generate more earnings than in the case if the business is located in some other locations. For a real estate business, the best three things are ‘location, location, and location. Katz and Green (2009) hold an opinion that the same is true with a small and service business too (p. 357). Location is meaningful when it is a good location for business so as to attract a number of visitors. Katz and Green (2009) emphasized that a good location is in fact highly dependent on the budget an entrepreneur can afford, the business philosophy and marketing niche he is seeking (p. 357).   Ã‚  

International Law & Humanitarian Issues Assignment

International Law & Humanitarian Issues - Assignment Example Some of the laws like the Antarctic treaty have so far been abided to by different nations. But the biggest challenge has been turning these international agreements, protocols into legally bidding laws has been difficult (Doyle,  2004). The reason behind the lukewarm reception of these laws if because invasive state of these agreements and approach towards a respectable common heritage. Issues like environmental protection through laws have been approached by conventions or declarations. These conventions have not been effective since they deal with establishment of framework on dealing with many of these pertinent issues. Conventions are not aimed coming up with substantive goals. Therefore, they have not been able to come up with results that could lead to formation of legal agreements. As a result, some countries have been hesitant in agreeing to the convention and protocols (Dunoff,  2010). Question 2 It is a known fact that the world belongs to mankind and it is this reason that the people argue that international laws interfere with. However, it is not right for international law to trump all property claims all over the world. This is because each nation is recognized in International laws on their sovereignty. The UN charter which forms the basis for all international laws respects peace and human rights. Therefore, the right to ownership of property forms part of the human rights. Moreover, the recognition of sovereignty of any state by the UN charter affirms the right to ownership of property by any person (Westra, 2007). It is only in rare cases that the UN charter and international laws trump up ownership of property by individuals or states. Conflicts over ownership of land, islands or territorial boundaries in the sea are resolved by use of international laws. These laws are supposed to protect and restore human rights and therefore these laws should not trump up ownership of land. For instance, the conflict over ownership of Abyei region in Sudan or the Mindanao Islands between Japan and China are being solved using international laws (Martin, 2006). Question 3 The regime of innocent passage tends to benefit countries which use the routes through shallows regions like straits. In most cases it is the coastal nation that tends to benefit from the regime of innocent passage. This is because this state or nation has the right to decide on the issue of regime of innocent passage. While on the other hand nations or people with interests in different sections tend to be harmed from the regime of safe passage (Dunoff,  2010). For instance, the long standing conflict over the Gibraltar islands as clearly shown the benefit of regime of passage to nations where their internal waters are also locations for passage. Nations with commercial or political interests can be harmed by the law of regime passage. For instance, trading or war vessels with intentions of conducting work in regions where other nations determine passage are usually harmed. The UN article 2(4) does apply in the case of regime of passage especially in regions like straits where other nations have jurisdiction other than passage (Westra, 2007). This is because unlike the high seas where sovereignty cannot be applied as is the case of regime of passage. Question 4 The question of who should be vested with governance due to the conflicts and problem facing the world is quite difficult. However, in my view I think that political leaders are best suited for making decisions in consultations with experts. Political

Module 1 Discussion Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Module 1 Discussion Questions - Assignment Example The membership fees are payable on a calendar year basis. Corresponding and observing members are not levied any fees. The membership for AMIA has been categorized as regular, student, trial, retired, corporate, and affiliates memberships. The membership fee for each category is $300, $40, $150, $75, and $450 per annum respectively. Each of these categories attracts unique benefits. For American Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), membership for half-day members is $935 per annum. Likewise, pre-symposium members have to pay 1,035 members and student members, $1,085, annually. For the Nursing Informatics Working Groups (NIWG), each membership category has a specific membership fee. For instance, publishing members pay $2,000 so as to make their articles available on NIWG website. The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) website offers a wide range of medical information, information about itself and its affiliates, its publications, and information on upcoming or latest developments. The website has also a portal designed to help members login to their accounts or for newcomers to open new accounts (IMIA, 2012) The American Medical Informatics Association’s website, on the other hand, contains information that relates to government affairs, healthcare industrial development, and general news items that are pertinent to AMIA. Healthcare educational programs and career information are other resources one can find on the website (AMIA, 2012). The Nursing Informatics Working Groups (NIWG) has information about itself, given that it is an organization that seeks to integrate nursing, information and knowledge on nursing and management information for the promotion of global and public health. Publications, summits, career guidance, nursing educational facilities and centers are some of the pieves of information that one finds on NIWG website (AMIA-NIWG, 2009). Both IMIA and NIWG offer great discounts to their members. For instance, while

28 Days Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

28 Days Final - Essay Example ound availability of more vegetarian options, fresh produce, as well as the growing culinary influence of lifestyles and cultures with plant-based diets, vegetarianism has become more accessible and appealing. Available data indicate that about eight million United States adults eat no poultry, fish, or meat. In addition, several million more have gotten rid of red meat but they are still consuming fish or chicken. Besides, close to two million people have become vegans; they have forgone animal flesh and animal-based products such as gelatin. Cheese, milk, and eggs (Davis 33). In today’s world, vegetarianism does not focus only on the potential nutritional deficiencies, but also entails consideration of a wide range of health, economic, and environmental benefits that relates to it. It is for this reason that I would like to be in the community of vegetarian and influence the society and my own life in positive ways. Before trying to become a vegetarian, I was fully aware that it might be a difficult endeavor. Nonetheless, I was determined to succeed in it and achieve the personal goals that I had set for myself. I adopted a number of strategies and followed a list of steps in trying to become a vegetarian. The first thing that I did was informing others about my intention to become a vegetarian. I particularly informed those close to me including my parents, siblings and friends. It is important to make those people around me aware of commitment of becoming a vegetarian. This is because they are the people who eat with me regularly and therefore they should be aware of my diet preferences and my commitment (Rice 26). While those close to me did not fully approve my attempt of becoming a vegetarian, they were supportive of my decision. I informed them of my decision to become a vegetarian was largely due to health, economical, and environmental reasons. However, I did not have any intention what soever to convert any of them towards my endeavor of becoming a

Facility Design in the Hospitality Sector Essay Example for Free

Facility Design in the Hospitality Sector Essay However this stage does not only involve the budget for finance but also time budget is an important aspect to be considered in which a time schedule is set and judged whether it’s appropriate or not. According to the project and development manager of Holiday Inn Harare all these stages have to be conglomerated in harmony to ensure sound facility designing. Also the area must be located in such a way that it will be easy to clean. It can be a container a wire cage, for papers one can have a cage bin but is it a bin for a food it should be a container which need to be closed since some food may contain liquids. More so containers help to protect the spread of diseases by preventing the rodents from entering the bin and then spread the diseases afterwards. For example in Meikles Hotel the use containers for storing their food waste in order for health reasons.

Definition And The Pros And Cons Of Globalization Management Essay

Definition And The Pros And Cons Of Globalization Management Essay Globalisation describes the process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of political ideas through communication, transportation, trade and the rapid increase in the share of economic activity taking place across national boundaries. The term is most closely associated with the term economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, the spread of technology, and military presence. The term can also refer to the transnational circulation of ideas, languages, or popular culture through acculturation- cultural exchange. Singapore has evolved today as one of the flourishing nations of the world and it is regarded to be a global business nation as it is the home to about 7,000 multi- national companies. Singapores strategic location in South East Asia and infrastructure arrested the attention and encouraged many industrial companies and foreign investors to set-up businesses in Singapore, which started Singapores journey of globalisation. Singapore is a corruption free nation with high international standard machinery, well trained workers, a good world culture and an environment aptly suited for trading or business purpose. Singapore, despite once being an island country, has managed to progress rapidly. In the last ten years of the twentieth-century, Singapore has transformed into a recognisable global city through the process of nation-state building. This led to an increase in the migration of people at all levels of the economy which enabled Singapore to sustain a competitive economy. Although Singapores economy managed to prosper, its people were weighed down with numerous issues like structural unemployment and the increasing income inequality. Hence, the Singapore government came up with ways of maintaining and managing a sustainable economic growth in response to the issues. Social Effects of Globalisation in Singapore The phenomenon of Globalization is comparable to a double-edged sword. In society, globalization has the power to aggravate or alleviate existing social issues. Globalisation in Singapore has caused a lot of social problems. There is an increase in gamblers and the setting up of the two casinos in the past year has caused an increase in the number of problem gamblers. There is also an increase lost of national identity in youths as they are introduced to the outside world and start to move out of the country. It has also affected Singapores culture as foreigners bring in different cultures and people in Singapore, especially the youth have become more inclined towards the Western culture and may not appreciate the Asian culture as much anymore. As more people immigrate to other countries, there will be fewer Singaporeans to defend the country. When more foreigners immigrate to Singapore, it will further worsen the problem of ageing population in Singapore as well. Globalisation has also caused an increased gap in the income of the well off and not so well off people. However, globalisation has also helped Singapore in many other different ways. Globalisation encourages Singaporeans to increase their knowledge and upgrade their skills to keep up with the ever changing world and the advancements of technology. The casinos have also improved Singapores economy as it attracts a lot of tourists. Foreigners bring in talents that can also improve the standard of the workforce in Singapore. Therefore, globalisation can bring both positive and negative effects to the society in Singapore. Foreign Workforce in Singapore Foreign workforce in Singapore refers to the non-cititzen workforce in Singapore. As Singapore globalizes, more and more foreigners are coming into Singapore as there is a need for foreign workforce in Singapore so as to sustain the economy of Singapore and also for the benefits of improving our workforce as Singapore globalizes and becomes a global trading hub, there is a need to improve and sustain our workforce by having a foreign workforce. Foreign workforce in Singapore is divided into two parts: the skilled workforce and the unskilled labour. Unskilled labour refers to unskilled workers who mainly work in the manufacturing, construction, and domestic services sectors. The majority of them come from countries such as India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Thailand, as part of bilateral agreements between Singapore and these countries. Skilled workforce refers to foreigners with professional qualifications or acceptable degrees working at the higher end of Singapores economy (Yeoh, 2007). According to statistics from the Financial Times in 2010, it states that the foreign workforce make up about 34% of Singapores population, thus, proving that Singapore has a big foreign workforce. Skilled workers and professionals accounted for 13.4% of Singapores total foreign workforce, while unskilled labourers accounted for 86.6% of Singapores total foreign workforce. Research Methodology We did our research using the internet, newspapers and several books that were found in the reference section of the National Library. We did our research and found information from online journal articles and forums through the web. We also found information from other sources like magazine reports as well. Analysis of Research Skilled Foreign Talent Workforce Foreign talents in Singapore come to Singapore with their knowledge from their country and take up jobs that require special training for its satisfactory performance.   They usually have high qualifications and expertise in their job field. Their monthly income has already a minimum threshold of S$2500. Engineers, accountants, scientists and people from the research and development fields are examples of the skilled workforce foreign talents make up in Singapore. They mainly come from more developed countries like China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan. Specialized occupations that include neurosurgeons and doctors make up for the job expertise Singaporeans lack. Unskilled Labour Workforce Immigrants from countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines and Pakistan come to Singapore and fill up lowly skilled jobs that require practically no training or experience for its adequate performance. Singaporeans are unwilling to take up these lowly skilled jobs as they do not sound attractive, have low wages, long working hours and require large amounts of manual work. Such jobs include manufacturing, shipyard and shipbuilding, construction and services, as well as in private households as live in domestic workers. Foreigners constitute 45% of the manufacturing workforce, and 61% of the construction workforce. Unskilled labourers with recognized skills and qualifications earned about S$1800 monthly. Unskilled workers make up the majority of Singapores foreign workforce. Comparison between Skilled and Unskilled Workforce 1. Safety Skilled Skilled immigrants are highly valued as they are important for the countrys growth. They are treated with great respect and are taken care of when they come to Singapore. However, be it skilled or unskilled labor in Singapore, everyone is taken care of properly and the government keeps the place as safe as possible, keeping the crime rate as low as possible. The government maintains a stable and peaceful society and cares for the peoples safety, be it locals, skilled or unskilled immigrants. Unskilled Majority of the unskilled workforce in Singapore is not invited by the Singaporean government to work in Singapore. Rather, they come to Singapore on their own in search of jobs to support their families back in their homelands. Upon arriving in Singapore, they usually acquire jobs that do not require much skills or knowledge. Since these foreign workers do not specialize in any key areas, they hold less importance to Singapores economic growth, hence they are not as protected by the government as compared to the skilled workforce in Singapore. The population of unskilled workforce in Singapore, though, still lead generally safe lives in Singapore as a whole. Although there are still various risks involved in the type of work that these unskilled foreign workers do like construction works. Therefore, they are not as protected by the Singaporean government as the skilled foreign talents are. 2. Housing Skilled Skilled immigrants are given privileges unskilled immigrants do not have. Skilled immigrants with university degrees, professional enough to hold high ranks in the company, high qualifications, are able to bring in their family into the country as long as their family members are eligible for a dependant pass and they do not have to pay levies (Yeoh, 2007). The government also has policies for such foreigners to gain citizenship more easily as well. Unskilled In terms of housing, the unskilled workforce in Singapore do not get to live in comfortable houses, as do the skilled workforce in Singapore. In most cases, these unskilled foreign workers live in simple rooms, with not much in them. There is no need for luxurious accommodations, as most of them only stay for a short period of time to work in Singapore, and do not stay in Singapore permanently. However, in some extreme cases, a number of these unskilled foreign workers are crammed into a small apartment with poor living conditions. These workers have much to put up with in terms of their living conditions; hence not all of these workers get to live comfortably. Therefore, as compared to the population of skilled foreign workforce in Singapore, the population of unskilled foreign workforce does not live as comfortably, instead, they are subjected to worse living conditions. 3. Types of Jobs Skilled Foreign talents in Singapore possess professional skills in their respective fields. Due to Singapores limited resources and low birth rates, there is a need for foreign talents to help the country keep up with the economy growth and its hopes for reaching out to the global economy. They fill up jobs that require skills which locals lack. With the lack of skills, Singapore will not be able develop and improve, which explains the need for foreign talent in Singapores society. In 2006, close to 13.4% of foreign workers are skilled. They take up high ranking jobs in marine industries, research and development, manufacturing and many more which require specific skills or knowledge. Unskilled The unskilled or semi-skilled foreign workforce in Singapore usually takes up jobs such as construction workers, maids, garbage men. This is because these jobs do not require prior or extra knowledge to complete, and these workers can be easily taught to do these jobs. 4. Healthcare Skilled Healthcare in Singapore is generally well taken care of, be it for the skilled or unskilled workforce. Germs are able to spread and it would not be pleasant when diseases are spread around the country. Healthcare services are easily available in Singapore. However, there are no healthcare subsidies for foreign immigrants. This is due to the fact that the government wants to influence the locals to support and encourage the immigration policy. Unskilled In general, foreign workers that fall under the category of being unskilled or semi-skilled have health checks conducted by the Singaporean government every now and then, to ensure that these workers are not carrying any dangerous diseases that could potentially spread to other Singaporeans and cause a pandemic (Yeoh, 2007). By ensuring that these foreign workers are relatively healthy, the Singaporean government is also keeping Singaporeans safe, hence the state of health of the unskilled or semi-skilled workforce in Singapore is important to the government. 5. Country of Origin Skilled Foreign talents in Singapore come from countries like United States of America, Britain, France, Japan, South Korea and Australia (Yeoh, 2007). Skilled foreigners can come to Singapore for various reasons. They come to Singapore and treat her as a stepping stone to advance towards better developing and more successful companies in other countries like the United States of America. However, there are also some skilled immigrants who come to Singapore because of the better living conditions. They are able to bring their family members to Singapore, where there is good education and healthcare. They are not as valued in their country as compared to in Singapore due to the fact that there are people who are better than them, so they come to Singapore to advance, where they will be valued greatly for their knowledge and skills. Unskilled Unskilled or semi-skilled foreign workers in Singapore usually come from countries such as China, Bangladesh, India, Philippines, and Indonesia. This is because the cost of labour from these countries is cheap, as compared to the cost of hiring skilled foreign talent. These workers are willing to work irregular hours under tough conditions to provide for their families back in their homelands. Workers that come from Bangladesh and India work as construction workers most of the time, and workers that come from Philippines and Indonesia work as maids most of the time. 6. Salaries Skilled Skilled immigrants in Singapore monthly salary starts from about $2500 and can be more than $7000 (Yeoh, 2007). This is because they have valuable skills that are able to help companies in gaining profits. They have professional skills locals do not have and hence, they are able to be successful when they come to Singapore. Unskilled In comparison with the population of skilled foreign workforce in Singapore, the population of unskilled foreign workforce in Singapore has generally lower salaries, usually below $2500 (Yeoh, 2007). This is because these foreign workers do not bring to Singapore new skills or new knowledge that can help Singapore to grow economically, hence their labour is not as valuable as the skills and knowledge that foreign talents bring to Singapore. Also, these workers receive low pay because they are willing to accept these low pays, hence their pays often do not increase. Therefore, unskilled foreign workers have lower salaries than skilled foreign talents. Advantages and Disadvantages of Foreign Workforce in Singapore: Advantages of the Foreign Workforce in Singapore: The foreign workforce is vital for Singapores economic growth and development. The foreign workforce in Singapore is divided into two segments, foreign talent and foreign workers. The Singaporean government has always stressed the importance of immigrant workers to Singapores economy and development. With the presence of the foreign workforce in Singapore, there is exposure to external influences like cultural exchange. It is a unique feature of Singapore, and allows local Singaporeans to interact with the foreigners that come into Singapore from different parts of the world, with different backgrounds and cultures. This hence allows local Singaporeans to understand these foreigners more, which leads to an understanding of different cultures and backgrounds. With better relations between both sides, this will lead to more opportunities for business deals between foreigners and Singaporeans, as there will be respect of each sides cultures and differences, hence leading to Singapores economic growth and development. The interaction between the locals and foreigners also helps increase the awareness of locals of the different cultures. This allows the locals to practice racial tolerance in their daily lives which promotes racial harmony is Singapores multi-racial society. Singapore aims to be a vibrant multi-cultural global trading hub working with people from a diversity of cultures and backgrounds. This factor will attract more foreigners to set up companies and businesses and invest in Singapore, which will provide more job opportunities for local Singaporeans. Singapores main resource has always been its people. However, as Singapore has a low birth rate and Singapores main resource of people has been depleting in the recent years, there is a need for more highly-skilled foreign workers to fill up the highly-skilled jobs. This will also help develop Singapore into the talent capital of the global economy. Advantages of the Skilled Workforce in Singapore The skilled workforce in Singapore, also known as foreign talents, refers to highly-skilled foreigners with professional qualifications or acceptable degrees working at the higher end of Singapores economy. With so many foreign talents coming in to take up highly-skilled jobs with high wages, this is a source of competition for locals. Many locals feel that these foreign talents, who are more successful in their jobs, are snatching their jobs and source of income from them. With the highly-skilled foreign talents, there will hence be less job opportunities for local Singaporeans. Based on research conducted by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), three out of four jobs in the past five years went to foreigners. This will motivate local Singaporeans to perform better in their jobs, and pushes them to seek self-improvement, to match up to the standards of the highly-skilled foreign talents. This is caused by the sense of competition for jobs between them and the foreign talents, making them want to put in more hard work, so that their jobs will be secured. Local Singaporeans feel challenged by these highly-skilled workers, and this will lead to improvement and higher efficiency of jobs as they will strive harder to do better than the foreigners, thus leading to an improvement in Singapores economic growth and development too. With Singapores economy prospering and growing, this will in turn attract more foreign branches and companies to invest in Singapore, as Singapore has a growing position as a regional and local global trading hub. Therefore, foreign talents, also known as the highly skilled workers, will lead to Singapores economic growth and development, as it actually pushes local Singaporeans to seek self-improvement. With more of these foreign talents coming to Singapore and taking up highly-skilled jobs, it helps in Singapores economic growth and development. Given Singapores aspirations to become a major player in a globalized world, Singapores main economic strategy is based on being home to a highly-skilled workforce, which will be consisted of the highly-educated local Singaporeans, together with the foreign talents in Singapore. Therefore, the highly-skilled foreign workforce is vital to Singapore for economic growth and development. The presence of foreign talents will lead to Singapores economic growth and development, as they bring new expertise and knowledge to Singapore, and help increase the productivity and efficiency of local Singaporeans by providing such new knowledge. This leads to Singaporeans learning and developing new skills, so that Singapore can improve and become more competitive in the global market, hence resulting in Singapores economic growth and development. Advantages of the Unskilled Workforce in Singapore The unskilled workforce in Singapore, also known as foreign workers, refer to semi-skilled or unskilled workers who mainly work in the manufacturing, construction, and domestic services sectors. In Singapore, foreign workers are needed to take up jobs that local Singaporeans refuse to take up, due to the fact that these jobs are low-skilled jobs with low wages and irregular working hours, for example, construction workers, toilet cleaners and road sweepers. However, these jobs are required to maintain Singapore in its clean and orderly state, and to ensure that Singapore will continue to prosper, grow and develop. Therefore, it is important that there are people to fill up such job positions. As locals refuse to take up these jobs, foreign workers are needed to take them up. Only if Singapore is in its clean and orderly state, and has new buildings and developments, with a strong workforce, it can be seen as a potential market to invest in, and attract foreign companies to set up businesses in Singapore. Furthermore, if foreign workers are available in handful here, more companies will be inclined to set up their factory bases in Singapore, as they can hire these foreign workers to work for them, with lower wages and longer working hours. This hence leads to Singapores economic growth. Therefore, the foreign workforce is vital for Singapores economic growth and development. Disadvantages of the Foreign Workforce in Singapore A large majority of Singaporeans feel that foreigners are putting up stiff competition for jobs in Singapore, hence threatening the livelihoods of Singaporeans. Local Singaporeans feel that the foreign workforce in Singapore is snatching away jobs and their source of income from them. Based on research conducted by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), three out of four jobs in the past five years were taken up by the foreign workforce. With an increasing number of jobs being taken up by the foreign workforce in Singapore, the unemployed, especially sole breadwinners, will be unable to support their families, leading to more families being in a state of poverty without jobs. This leads to Singaporeans becoming increasingly worried and concerned over the issue of the foreign workforce taking over the available high-skilled jobs in Singapore, leaving them with only low-skilled jobs. Additionally, due to a lack of social integration between local Singaporeans and foreigners, this will lead to discrimination of the foreign workforce by locals, with increasing dislikes between the two parties. Many Singaporeans already have preconceptions of foreign workers, as they do not have enough interaction and understanding of the foreign workers in Singapore, which stems from a lack of social integration, which might lead to future conflict. A lack of social integration leads to negative generalisations made towards foreign workers, without a clear understanding of them. Such negative generalisations will lead to the debate between Singaporeans over the issue of the need of foreign workers in Singapore, as they bring in both advantages and disadvantages to Singapore, and such debates will make foreign workers unhappy too. It might cause tension between parties if such negative generalisations are continuously believed in, and this might lead to future conflicts as well. Disadvantages of the Skilled Workforce in Singapore With the skilled workforce, also known as foreign talents, in Singapore, local Singaporeans feel threatened that their source of livelihood is being taken away by people who are not even Singaporeans. This causes Singaporeans to have less jobs to choose from, leading to Singaporeans discontent towards the foreign highly skilled workers. This in turn causes a lack of social integration between the foreigners and local Singaporeans, and they will not be able to bond together as one Singapore. Hence, both parties will be unhappy with each other and the foreigners will not be able to integrate into Singapores society despite working in Singapore for many years. This might lead to future conflict and disagreement with Singaporeans about the influx of the foreign workforce in Singapore. Therefore, foreign workforce will lead to disadvantages in Singapore too. Locals views towards foreign workforce Now, in Singapore, 34% of Singapores 4 million strong population are actually foreigners. Despite having been around in Singapore for decades, working hard to earn a living for their families back home, some locals are uncomfortable with them, some are prejudiced against them, while some have nothing against them. However, despite some local Singaporeans not approving of having foreign workforce in Singapore, and being prejudiced against the foreign workforce in Singapore, and not treating foreign workforce as equals, there are still people who approve of it and think that the foreign workforce is essential and vital to Singapore as be it skilled or unskilled, they contribute to Singapore economically and socially. Singaporeans are aware of the increase of foreign workforce in Singapore. There are both positive and negative views of these foreigners. Singaporeans are aware that they are able to learn a lot of news things culturally as they communicate with these foreigners. This enables them to learn things they otherwise would not have learnt and lets them learn new things while working which will promote racial harmony in Singapore as the people become more culturally sensitive towards one another. Singaporeans are also aware that foreign workers help create jobs for them as they come to Singapore with international companies which will be able to create more job opportunities for locals. Foreign workers also come up with more effective methods of working so productivity can be increased. This will help Singapore to not only advance, but also to advance even faster and keep up with the rest of this ever changing world. This enables the Singapore companies to learn from them and get valuable information from their expertise, thus being able to help Singapore to press forward and change when there is a need to. In some cases, having a skilled workforce also helps the locals to work better. This is because everyone has a natural tendency to want to do better than others, therefore, the presence of foreigners will spur the Singaporeans to want to work better than their foreign counterparts and so improving the productivity of that company and Singapore as a whole. Singaporeans are also glad that there are unskilled foreign workers to help to fill up jobs which are avoided by many Singaporeans, especially the youths, as they are picky about jobs and if the job does not provide an income they perceive as acceptable, then they will not take up the job. These jobs mostly do not require any prior training, and as such, have low salaries and odd working hours, resulting in these jobs being shunned by those finding a job and in the end, these jobs are left to the unskilled foreign workers to take up. However, there is still disapproval of having foreigners in Singapore. Some Singaporeans are also unhappy about foreign workforce in Singapore as they see them as competition for jobs. They lose their jobs when they are not competent enough and when the company values foreign talent. When a certain industry consists of mostly foreign workers, locals also feel discouraged from taking up jobs in the sector as they are afraid of being the minority. They also start to think that foreign talents are full of themselves. However, even then, lowly-educated locals are unhappy as foreigners also take away their jobs and more uneducated locals become unemployed. Locals also start to worry that they soon have to also compete with the foreigners for jobs, housing, medical care and other needs. They see the increase in foreign immigrants and the reason for increasing property prices. To make things worse, foreigners are getting similar benefits as locals as well. Having unskilled foreign workers commonly in a certain neighborhood may also cause people who stay in that area to feel uncomfortable and insecure as there is the common perception that these foreign workers may be a criminal or may turn into one. This has caused many Singaporeans to feel unhappy when there is a dormitory for foreign workers set up in their area as they find them a nuisance as they hang around the residential areas. Gradually, it has caused some people being prejudiced and discriminating against the foreign workforce in Singapore. Foreign workforces views on locals Foreign immigrants come to Singapore in search for better jobs and living conditions. However, some are welcomed while some are not treated well. Singaporeans have stereotypes for foreigners and they are prejudices against foreigners as most locals see them as bringing more problems into Singapore. As a result, social integration of these foreigners into Singapore has not been very good and the foreign workforce here in Singapore do not have the chance to integrate into Singapores society and mix around due to these views that Singaporeans have of them. They have difficulty integrating into the society due to the language barrier, the difference in culture and lifestyles. Despite their efforts to integrate, they face cold and unfair treatment by Singaporeans. Despite all of this, they have to cope with surviving in a new foreign place and their work. However, despite all of that, there are still people in Singapore who approve and think that the influx of foreign workforce into Singapore is essential and important for Singapores survival and economic growth if Singapore wants to become a regional and global trading hub. The unskilled labour will also take up the jobs that Singaporeans dont want but are vital to keep Singapore in its clean and orderly state. Only with these jobs done will Singapore be progressing and maintaining its orderly state and this will all contribute to Singapores economic growth.   Thus, some Singaporeans welcome foreigners and treat them nicely. Therefore, there are mixed views towards the foreign workforce in Singapore. Conclusion The many opportunities and resources being easily available has always been a strong advantage of globalization. However, the rapid speed at which globalization is occurring and its unintended consequences have proven to be detrimental to society to a certain extent and caused problems which requires government intervention to be resolved. In Singapore, Globalisation has resulted in issues like the significant influx of a huge number of foreign workforces in Singapore, which has both advantages and disadvantages towards Singapore. It is also evident that Singaporeans have discerning views towards this issue. Some feel they aid our economy nut others think they introduce competition and cause social problems. Globalisation aids in building up a competitive and knowledgeable population. However, its dire consequences bring about a host of problems which, if spirals out of control, can outweigh this. The pressure is hence on the Singaporean government to strike a fine balance between achieving the full advantages of globalization and countering the unavoidable side-effects. Limitations of Research Not all sources are reliable and accurate and while we were doing our research, there were many biased reports found on the foreign

Tourism And Its Impact On Nation Branding Tourism Essay

Tourism And Its Impact On Nation Branding Tourism Essay How a country is perceived, both domestically and from abroad, from the quality of its goods and services, to the attractiveness of its culture and its tourism and investment opportunities, to its politics, economic policies and foreign policy, can be shaped under a brand. In this section, we will focus on tourism, its impact on nation branding, its effect on GDP and the benefits of tourism branding. In the latter part of this section, we are going to analyse the tourism industries of India and Malaysia, their successful tourism campaigns, and further scope of improvement in the respective areas. We will also try to enumerate what are the major constituents of a tourism industry in any country and their relative importance, in the two countries taken as our focus areas. The early history of tourism tells us that people travelled from one place to another mainly because of food or shelter. But in due course of time, large scale mobility of people was caused by the natural elements of human pressure, livelihood or a better standard of living. In the words of UNESCO, tourism is a traditional instrument, which enables culture to be rehabilitated and made known to the rest of the world. Tourism has become a popular leisure activity. International tourism activities have grown by leaps and bounds in the past years.   With the dismantling of national boundaries, the tourism scenario is changing. There is a steady growth in the number of tourist arrivals and more satisfactorily the average spending of foreign tourist has gone up. Tourism is vital for many countries such as Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia and Maldives and last but not the least, India. The associated goods and service industries in these countries have sprouted to aid the tourism industry. These include transportation services, hospitality services such as accommodations including hotels and resorts, and entertainment venues like amusement parks, shopping malls and casinos etc. It is universally accepted that government promotion of tourism is a good idea that brings excellent return on investments. It generates jobs like no other, and its development also leads to development of infrastructure, education and related industries. However, promoting tourism successfully requires setting a context that will allow the tourists to appreciate what is on offer. THAT context is the brand or the overall image of a country. If a country is widely viewed as secure, modern, clean and efficient, chances of getting tourists to frequent attractive destinations are good. If a nation is known for its unique features whether they be cultural, manmade or natural, there will a positive curiosity towards them encouraging tourists to discover first hand something new. On the other hand, if a country is known for civil war, crime and corruption, inadequate infrastructure or unfriendly population, inviting tourists to your country is a mammoth task. They either require pretence of not existing, or there will be a lot of convincing to be done that it doesnt impact the travel experience in any adverse manner. Tourist choice behaviour is one of the most needed studies by today. Tourists take into account the various factors in terms of facilities, local attractions etc, before choosing their destination. Local attractions, accessibility, facilities are some of the factors that generate tourist flow to a particular location. Absence of any of these facilities may deter the tourists from travelling. Hence, tourism has to be seen in totality and as comprising of its constituents mainly attraction, hospitality and the transport facilities in the country. We are going to look at each of them in the following pages. The model that this section follows is as under: Attractions A  tourist attraction  is a place of interest where  tourists  visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities. Attractions are the major factors, which ensure the flow of domestic or international tourists to a specific place. Some examples include historical places,  monuments,  zoos,  aquaria,  museums  and  art galleries,  botanical gardens, buildings and structures (e.g.,  castles,  libraries, former  prisons,  skyscrapers,  bridges), national  parks  and  forests, theme parks  and  carnivals,  living history museums,  ethnic enclave  communities,  historic trains  and cultural events. The history of attractions has often been inextricably linked with the development of travel industry in any country. It can be assumed generally that older attractions (either manmade or natural) were not designed to appeal to travellers. Some of the best examples include the Tajmahal, Niagara Falls and the Pyramids. Most modern tourist attractions on the other hand, have been purpose-built for visitors, like theme parks or casinos. However, in the Asian context, this may differ as the attractions are generally perceived as more elaborate culture and history. The definition of attractions has been changing over time; and a few broad classifications of tourist attractions can be as follows: Natural Man-Made Outdoor Indoor Heritage Based Purpose Built for tourism Special Global Events Local Festivals/Events Drawing Power (high) Drawing power (low) The growth of small local attractions has also been manifold due to an increase in the number of independent off-beat travellers. Interest in exotic destinations and wildlife has led to the development and upkeep of modern zoos and safari parks. The continuing trend of increased leisure time, greater mobility and more disposable income has led to a boom in the attractions sector. Parallel attractions like theme parks have also emerged, and a number of shopping centres and waterfronts have become tourist attractions in their own right. Culture and Tourism Culture is a human construct, existing in representations and understanding by the people. Culture defines a society in a way which makes it different from the next. Contemporary societies are not isolated, insular entities. There is a constant exchange of ideas, beliefs and faiths; travel and tourism undoubtedly play a significant role in this. Culture and creative industries are being increasingly used to promote destinations and enhance their competitiveness and attractiveness. Many locations are now developing their tangible and intangible cultural assets as a means of developing comparative advantages in an increasingly competitive tourism marketplace. People, when they visit a country or a destination or a city, are always keen to visit the sites that are important, the places of distinction, the question is always what is there to see, what is there to experience and the destinations provide further encouragement through the printed material, the information, the brochures that they provide to visitors. There are also wider benefits of developing relationship between culture and tourism such as enhanced image and support for the cultural sector. Culture creates distinctiveness in a crowded global market. Local communities are beginning to come together to develop cultural products for tourism rather than competing directly with one another. New policies are likely to feature new structures and projects involving public-private partnership and bringing together a wider range of stakeholders to use culture not only to make destinations attractive for visitors, but also to promote regions as destinations to live, work and invest in. Local communities are not only hosts; they define the sense of the place, providing cultural experience for tourists. Culture in all its forms is likely to figure strongly in the tourism product and promotion of most regions, even those which have traditionally relied on their natural assets, such as sun and beach or mountains, for their attractiveness. Destinations are also trying to increase their comparative advantage by adding to their stock of cultural attractions. They are also trying to develop their intangible culture and creativity. Culture creates authenticity and distinctiveness in the global tourism market. In this regard, tourism experiences that can connect people and visitors to local cultures are very important. In many cases, destinations are also linked to specific cultural events (e.g. connected to famous places, people or historical events) which can also play a catalyst role in this development. The Cultural Heritage of India is a vibrant mosaic of lively and magnificent colours. Indian Culture encompasses a unique blend of food, fashion, festivals, dance and music that spellbound the four corners of the world in its euphoric nature.  India is a popular destination and boasts a cultural heritage that is worth exploring. As a tourist one has many choices to explore from cuisine to dances to music. All diverse in nature encompass to form the culture of India. Very few countries in the world have such an ancient and diverse culture as Indias. Dating back to over 5000 years old civilization, Indias culture has been enriched by successive waves of migration which were absorbed into the Indian way of life. The Indian culture comprises of Indian music, Indian Dance, Indian cuisines, costumes and Indian Festivals.   Internet has also become a universal tool which offers the possibility to tourists to package destinations and events with accommodation and travel. Architecture and Tourism Because tourism is such an enormous industry, which involves monuments, museums, and other special purpose buildings, it is not a phenomenon that can be controlled. It always stands within the cultural and political conditions of the environment, and the tastes and habits of tourists thronging a place. Everything from historical monuments to exotic holiday destinations has been redesigned and packaged for mass consumption. As a result, the histories of specific sites have been re-conceptualized. Some have been preserved and celebrated, while others have been left to decay. Monuments like the Tajmahal or the Cellular Jail were not built for tourist purposes; however they have been converted into one now. A more contemporary example of construction for attraction, and certainly one that is totally synonymous with its location is the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The association is incredibly strong and more amazing given the fact that Eiffels structure to celebrate the Worlds Expo was designed for disassembly and should have come down in 1909 after just 20 years. Possibly the biggest construction sites of all are to be found today in the Middle East which has made huge strides to develop other sources of wealth including tourism, by constructing hotels and islands. Dubai has made the biggest splash, with the Burj Al Arab embedding deep in everybodys psyche. One of the best architectural tourism spots in the world is China. Chinese architecture ranging from the various dynasties that ruled it has undergone a great evolution. People recognize Chinese architecture from  The Great Wall of China  and the beautiful pagodas. But there is more to Chinese architecture than that. People who are interested in  architecture  will find China to be a virtual unexplored region which has some of the best monuments and buildings.   China  is a country of architectural marvels both ancient and modern and it is one of the best tourist destinations for people who love architecture.   Some notable Chinese architecture that are a must see are Terra Cotta Warriors in the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang in Xian, the Hanging Temple, Forbidden City etc. In Budapest, an eastern European country, architectural tourism has been promoted very well. Monasteries, churches, caves, Basilica etc are some well known attractions which pulls throngs of tourists here annually. History and Tourism Tourism is a powerful economic development tool. Tourism creates jobs, provides new business opportunities and strengthens local economies. When heritage and history is paid attention to and used to our advantage, it also helps to protect a nations natural and cultural treasures and improve the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. In the past, the tourism industry saw its primary role as marketing ready products to travellers, such as package tours to Mumbai. But countries are now looking for new ways to attract travellers, and today culture and history are more likely to overlap than any other domains. A concrete example is India, which with its potpourri of different religions and faiths, is a centre for people from countries following similar faith. Tourists from countries like Thailand, Indonesia or Burma (which follow Buddhism as well) desirous of visiting Bodhgaya are attracted to the history and heritage of the country. This can be exploited to promote history and heritage tourism making India a lucrative destination for people sharing the same faith. Also an example is the International Kite Festival held in Gujarat every year, which is slowly turning into a big crowd puller year after year. Cashing in on the history of a place and promoting heritage tourism refers to travelling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and the present. Food and Tourism Food is something an increasing number of us remember from our travels. Like never before, holiday makers are choosing where they go by what they can put in their stomachs. Food is a manifestation of a destinations culture which can be invaluable for giving travellers a hands-on experience. You can open a different door with every meal. The last few years has seen an incredible shift in the way holidays are created and marketed, and that is because people demand authentic experiences. Eating traditional dishes is considered very important on a holiday. People also willingly miss meals in their hotel or resort to try out local restaurants. Tourists are becoming more experimental as well as sophisticated in what they eat during a vacation. Supermarkets have also played a major role in making foreign foods more available. Food festivals are another crowd puller. Singapore hosts an annual food festival each July celebrating a different aspect of its culture. The colourful opening of the  West Bengal Tourism  and  Food Festival  is a reflection of the states positive efforts to boost the tourism sector.   Indian cuisine ranges from the simple and bland to the lavish and complexly pungent. Each region has its specialty cuisine, though some dishes are available throughout the country. All the states have their own signature dishes which are world famous and tempt the tourists to visit those states, for having an authentic experience. Indian sweets and various varieties of tea, especially Assam Tea, boost tourism in India. The cooking styles and flavours of every region of India is unique and differs from each other. While Kashmir is famous for its 24-course banquet- the Wazwan; coastal Goa, Kerala and Bengal specialize in fish, seafood and coconut-based dishes. Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are the best states to taste vegetarian specialties. Bengal, Bikaner and Delhi are particularly famous for sweets. Food tourism includes all unique and memorable food experiences, not just four star or critically acclaimed restaurants. Price is not necessarily indicative of quality. According to industry research, true food tourists are perfectly happy at a roadside cafà © in the middle of nowhere, as long as there is something memorable about their visit. Transport Relevance Though transportation as a topic can be discussed independently, tourism cannot thrive without travel. Transportation is an integral part of the tourism industry. It has been largely due to the improvements in mobility that tourism has expanded to such a stage. Transportation links various cities and countries in some cases. Tourism is all about travel, and the role of transportation in its operation cannot be overemphasized. Accessibility and tourism activities have broken barriers and opened formerly off-the-beaten-track areas to visitors through aggressive marketing of some far-off paradise with the availability of transport. It is, more often than not, seen as only that part of tourism which is in charge of bringing the tourists to their destinations; provide a means of getting around the place and leaving it once the stipulated duration is over. In fact, the transportation system of a tourist destination has a huge impact on the tourism experience which explains how people travel and why they choose different forms of holidays and destinations. Access to tourism sites relies heavily upon the state of infrastructure, and the efficiency of the public transport system. Tourists arriving at international cities need mobility and few decide (or can afford) to hire private  transport. Because of this, the public  transport  system is an essential service for this population, especially in cities large enough to need bus, metro and train systems. However, in congested cities with weak public  transport  networks, the influx of tourists exerts additional demand pressure on the  transport  system. Modes Available There are five modes of transportation, based on the physical characteristics of the service offered and the right of way over which a transportation carrier operates. These are air, highway, rail and water, arranged in decreasing order of speed. All modes of transportation are regulated in some manner, be it economic or non-economic. Economic regulation has been reduced in a number of transportation markets in recent years, beginning with domestic airline deregulation in the United States in the late 1970s. Since then, many other countries have deregulated their national transportation systems to some degree, including air, highway and rail. Internationally, economic regulation has been reduced in some markets, with the European Union being a prime example of including not only air but other modes as well.   Passenger transportation plays a critical role in determining the success or failure of nearly every segment of tourism. Without a reliable and economic form of passenger transportation to, from and within a destination, enticing tourists to visit that destination may be very difficult. Island economies like Hawaii, Andaman Islands or Malaysia are almost fully dependent on air transport access. Off-beat destinations The transportation carrier may also become a destination in its own right, such as a few cruise liners in areas like Singapore, Malaysia, Caribbean and the Mexican Riviera. Other forms of transportation serving as destinations include Palace on Wheels, The Orient Express etc. For about the past four years, the travel industry in Asia and the Pacific has been undergoing a dynamic change, and the growth of low cost carriers has been cited as the single most important factor currently shaping the regions airline industry. Thus at the same time, tourism has also had a major impact on transport modes and networks through its ability to supply additional motivations for leisure and business travel. Due to the intensity of worldwide competition and product parity, positioning strategies will become a strategic weapon for tourism destinations. Tourist destinations, for example resorts which can be fairly similar, can succeed in developing strong and differentiated brands through excellent access to transportation facilities. Transport policies and decisions of governments can play a big role in the destinations available to tourists. If the public sector does not cope with the demand in terms of transport infrastructures, tourism industry might not develop in those regions. Hospitality Hospitality  is the relationship between guest and host, or the act or practice of being hospitable. Specifically, this includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers,  resorts, membership clubs, conventions, attractions, special events, and other services for travellers and  tourists. Hospitality is about compensating/equalizing a stranger to the host, making him feel protected and taken care of, and at the end of his hosting, guiding him to his next destination. Cultures and subcultures vary in the extent to which one is expected to show hospitality to strangers, as opposed to personal friends or members of ones  in-group. The tourism industry has several components food, accommodation, place of attractions, transportation etc. All these components are related to hospitality. Hospitality and tourism experiences have important emotional dimensions that traditional marketing tend to underplay. By understanding the hospitality-based transaction between guests and hosts, marketers and commercial operators can deliver customers experiences through which to build customer loyalty and a robust business better able to withstand. The guest and host relationship has a long tradition, pre-dating modern hospitality and tourism businesses by thousands of years and universally evident across all societies. Hospitality creates an impression of hosting and hospitableness, which prioritizes guest experiences. The Indian civilization is one of the oldest on earth, and like every culture has its own favourite stories including some on hospitality. That of a simpleton readily sharing his meagre morsels with an uninvited guest, only to discover that the guest is a God in disguise, who rewards his generosity with abundance. That of a woman who lovingly cooks up all the  Khichdi she can afford, for everyone who is hungry till one day when she runs out of food for the last hungry person to whom she offers her own share, and is rewarded by the god in disguise with a never ending pot of Khichdi. Most Indian adults having grown up listening to these stories as children believe in the philosophy of Atithi Devo Bhava, meaning the guest is God. From this stems the Indian approach of graciousness towards guests at home, and in all social situations. Benefits of Tourism Branding While many regard branding as simply creating a new look and tagline, if done correctly, a genuine brand management strategy should positively influence all aspects of a nation. The reputation of the country we live in, work and study matters. An attractive and distinctive identity makes it easier for a city (and its citizens) to be preferred in any competitive setting because the place is seen to have qualities that resonate positively with key audiences and can enhance the well-being of its citizens. We can retain different campaigns for a country. They can include exports, education, foreign trade etc. All these should contribute to a clear identity of a nation. It is the tourism promotion in whatever form (advertising, PR, websites etc) that will have the biggest impact on the attitudes to a nation. Tourism is the acceptable public face of a national brand. Clarke (2000) has identified six benefits of branding related to tourism destination products (TDPs): As tourism is typically high involvement, branding helps to reduce the choice; Branding helps in reducing the impact of intangibility; Branding conveys consistency across multiple outlets and through time; Branding can reduce the risk factor attached to decision making about holidays; Branding facilitates precise segmentation; Branding helps to provide a focus for the integration of producer effort, helping people to work towards the same outcome. Impact on GDP Focussing exclusively on India in this section the tourism industry has contributed enormously in the flourishing graph of Indias economy by attracting a huge number of both foreign and domestic tourists travelling for both leisure and business purposes. As per the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 by the World Economic Forum, India is ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd overall, moving up three places on the list of the worlds attractive destinations. It is ranked the 14th best tourist destination for its natural resources and 24th for its cultural resources, with many World Heritage sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative industries in the country. India also bagged 37th rank for its air transport network. The India travel and tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019. The hotel and tourism industrys contribution to the Indian economy by way of foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows were pegged at US$ 2.1 billion from April 2000 to March 2010, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). According to the Travel Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 brought out by the World Economic Forum, the contribution of travel and tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be at US$ 187.3 billion by 2019. The report also states that real GDP growth for travel and tourism economy is expected to achieve an average of 7.7 per cent per annum over the next 10 years. Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate US$ 51.4 billion (nominal terms) by 2019. Furthermore, the sector which accounted for 6.4 per cent of total employment in 2009 is estimated to rise to 7.2 per cent of total employment by 2019. Deeming the growing rate of the tourists arrival in the country, the Indian tourism industry designed a wide spectrum of holiday packages and cheaper airfares to attract more tourists. The booming success of Indian tourism industry has led to a drastic change in the hospitality department as well. The increase in the ratio of tourists resulted in the increase of room rates and also setting up of a wide range of hotels and other residing areas. The Indian tourism industry offers online booking system, one of the basic proofs of technological advancement in this sector. These online bookings are applicable for booking the air tickets via Internet by logging on to the website and also booking the hotel room of the place to be visited. The Role of Tourism Industry in India GDP also features medical tourism that includes traditional therapies like yoga, meditation, ayurveda, allopathy and other conventional systems of medicines is currently estimated at USD 333 million and is most likely to reach USD 2.2 billion by the year 2012. Analysis of India as a preferred tourist destination Tourism is the largest service industry in India. As we have seen in the previous section, it plays an extremely important role in the Indian economy by direct as well as indirect impact. Countries such as USA, UK, Singapore, Thailand and Australia feature high on the list of favourite tourist destinations. Which leads us to the million dollar question Where does India stand among other Preferred Holiday Destinations? India is a Land of all seasons, where beauty beckons, culture echoes, diversity delights and tradition talks. Those who reach India are greeted with a gracious Namaste, Namaskaaram, Vanakkam or Sat Sri Akal denoting warmth, hospitality and respect a tradition in tune with the countrys age-old motto Atithi Devo Bhava where the guest is treated as God. The Incredible India campaign focuses on the hospitality of our country, and the pristine and undiscovered lands it offers. The campaign has been running successfully for some time now, and has succeeded in pulling both domestic and international travellers to Indian destinations. Graciously endowed with mist clad mountain ranges, deep blue seas, enigmatic deserts, golden beaches, emerald green valleys, palm fringed backwaters on the one hand and unique art forms, exciting fairs and festivals, interesting pilgrim centres, exclusive heritage sites, royal forts, majestic monuments, architectural marvels and exotic flora and fauna on the other, this legendary land is unique in all aspects it is no wonder that India has emerged as one among the Top Five Tourist Hotspots of the world, with a tremendous increase in tourist traffic all through the year. Many factors have been collectively responsible for boosting our countrys economic reserves and the impact of Indias economic growth on tourism is increasingly being felt in niche sectors. India abounds in attractive and well-preserved historical sites, ancient monuments of architectural grandeur and not-so-ancient mosques/durgahs, churches and places of worship of other diverse faiths. India is also known for some of its fine beaches like Goa, Mamallapuram, Kovalam, Pondicherry, Puri-Konark etc. In addition island tourism has been developed at Andaman/Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. All across the country are wildlife sanctuaries whose areas extend over several thousands of square kilometres, where wildlife can be observed in their natural surroundings. Each sanctuary supports several species of wildlife, being well known for one particular species. In some cases, there are rare or even endangered species. India is a land of fairs and festivals with atleast one fair in each day of the year. These fairs and festivals add colour to the social life of Indian people. Some of the important fairs and festivals are Pushkar fair in Rajasthan, Crafts Mela at Surajkund, Holi in North India, Pongal in Tamilnadu, Onam in Kerela, Baisaki in Punjab, Bihu in Assam, Dance festivals at Khajuraho and Mamallapuram etc. India has a treasure trove of handicrafts for any discerning shopper, in truly remarkable variety of styles and prices. Over the years, India has developed world standard accommodation infrastructure for entertaining the visitors. There are about 60,000 classified hotel rooms in India and about 35,000 rooms are under construction. These hotel rooms scattered in various cities are of varying price range. Some of the major hotel chains in India are the Oberois, Taj Group of Hotels, Welcome Group of Hotels and India Tourism Development Corporation Hotels. Despite the fact that India has a wealth of amazing places waiting to be seen and appreciated and an unbeatable tourism potential, India receives far lesser tourists compared to other relatively smaller countries. Most foreigners who visit India for the first time are heard complaining about Over priced Hotel rooms Corrupt autos and taxi drivers waiting to take them for a ride, literally! Lack of proper infrastructure Confusion and chaos at the airport Unhygienic conditions etc Probable Areas of Improvement India is well known for personal bonding and relations with their tourist customers. What will be promising for India is the effectiveness of proactive relationship building strategies undertaken by India. India should focus on building and maintaining strong tourist relationships. It should also note that the selection and training of tour guides who are directly dealing with the tourists is undertaken properly. Accordingly, the holiday destination managers may undertake certain measures to improve the status of the dominant factors, which will ultimately lead to the improvement in visitors perception towards India as a tourist destination. Hence expertise and communication, and familiarity with tourists are the most effective relationship-building strategies. The next effective strategy could be investing in