Turning Work in on Time (Work Ethic)

Completing and turning assignments in on time and when asked is vital to success throughout not only school, but in the work force as well. The implementation of any task at the desired time of a teacher or employer creates a work ethic that is required by any current or future choice of career or job. Employers value employees who understand and possess a willingness to work hard. In addition to working hard it is also important to work smart. This means learning the most efficient way to complete tasks and finding ways to save time while completing daily assignments. Doing more than is expected on the job is a good way to show that you have and know how to utilize good time management skills and don’t waste valuable time attending to personal issues not related to what is expected. Excuses are not accepted by anyone who expects something done a certain way, and the only way to make sure no excuses are made, is to do what is expected the right way, when expected. Doing so will not only prevent any totally avoidable consequences, but build a work ethic valued by teachers, professors, and employers everywhere. Compliance and the understanding that excuses are hardly ever tolerated will take someone much farther in life than always being late, lazy, and defiant. Dependency is directly related to the consistency of timing. Employers/teachers value employees/students who come to work/class on time, are there when they are supposed to be, and are responsible for their actions and behavior. Being dependable and responsible shows yours peers that you value your job or what is being taught, and that you are responsible for keeping up with yourself and the things that are expected of you. Reliability will build the foundation for trust from your peers, and confidence in yourself to work harder and be a successful employee or student that can be counted upon to complete a task efficiently.

Compare and Contrast the Education System in China

Compare and contrast the education system in China with the English education system After the appearance of culture, an important public service came into being, that is education. However, different countries have different forms of educations. According to the internet, it is found that there are many differences between them education system in China and English education system. The differences between these two education can be seen in terms of teaching style, subjects, and exams. The first difference is teaching style, which is the biggest difference caused by values and traditions.In China, students do not have group work. They only need to listen to the teacher and take notes. But English students have a lot of group work instead of only listening to the teacher and taking notes. Relative to China, the English teacher are friendlier and the class are more relaxed. In the United Kingdom, students express their opinions and focus on experimentation. However, in China, students mainly focus on the knowledge and the books, and try to remember everything that maybe contained in the exam. Thus, education in China and English education system differ in the aspects of teaching style.The second difference is subjects. In the United Kingdom, students can choose a few subjects in every term, and they do many practices. However, in China, students have tense load of subject and can have 6 – 10 subjects each term. English students focus on every subject, but Chinese students only concerned about some of the subjects which are related to exam. Therefore, the subjects taken in China and United Kingdom are different. A third difference is exams, which are used to test students’ learning outcomes or as an entrance of school. Chinese schools have a lot of exams both in universities and secondary schools.In the United Kingdom, some of the schools only have an entrance exam. Chinese schools enroll students based on entrance exam scores and previous results. Exams in United Kingdom are mainly made up of practical questions. But in China, it is mainly to check their memory. As mentioned earlier, education system in China and English education system differs in their exams. In conclusion, we can see that these two education systems differ a lot in teaching style, subjects and exams. It is difficult to decide which one is better. As far as I can see, measure an education system depends on its quality of education instead of the level of scores.

“50 first dates” Movie Review Essay

50 first dates was a fun and a colorful movie, which brings the audience into curiosity. The movie is about a guy named Henry trying to build a romantic relationship with a girl named Lucy. Henry before was in to short-term attractions to the tourist. He was afraid of commitment because of what he went through in college. He would jump from one sexual attraction to another not think anything of it. While Lucy who had a mental disorder called Goldfield Syndrome, which made her lose her short-term memory. Really had no chose on being in a relationship because she wouldn’t remember the person the next day. That all changed the moment Henry first saw her in the cafe. From then on Henry made all the effort he could give just to win Lucy’s heart. Despite the syndrome Henry managed to let Lucy know how much he loves her through a video tape that he takes every single day. In this way, Lucy will know what happened to her and the tape is used to remind her what she did the past days. Visual arts was important to Henry because without it he could’ve not let Lucy remember what happened to her. Besides the story of Henry and Lucy in 50 first dates, visual arts plays a big role in my life. Not only because it makes life more colorful, but to think that art can express itself into a greater way that is through what a man can see. Not only do the visual arts provide pleasure and creative inspiration, but they also help foster dialogue and bring important issues to the public eye.

Theory-Practice Gap Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Theory-Practice Gap - Research Paper Example This writing will focus on various measures proposed through which the gap between nursing theoretical frame work and practice can be decreased. Body According to a study conducted by Rolfe, the gap between the theory and practice of nursing is majorly caused because theorists of nursing arena have failed to take into account the real life practices of nurses and health care settings (Rolfe, 1993). He further stated that in order to decrease this gap the theorists need to identify and analyze different nursing situations that take place in real life and base their theories on these situations. He went further to develop a praxis in which what ever happens in practice of nursing is first identified and applied to theory and then theory is created, the created theory is learned in nursing educational settings by nursing students and then applied to real life situations when students transform into practitioners. According to Levin, the gap between nursing theory and practice can be dec reased by allowing a clinical practitioner to guide nursing students while they perform practical tasks during their educational sessions (Levin, 2010). Levin further states that the gap between theory and practice can be reduced by altering the learning and teaching system to constructivist approach while students are under the process of clinical practice educational sessions. When this approach is followed students gain new knowledge by gaining information from the past and present. When this kind of learning approach is applied to the field of nursing, nursing students gain experience by doing what they have learned or learn by doing. Sellman states that the gap between theory and practice is created not by theorists or by students, it is created by the authorities who do not allow the students to practice what they have learned through theory (Sellman, 2010). Sellman suggests that in order to decrease the gap between theory and actual practice, practitioners will have to work a ccording to the situation and have to experience that they do not need to rely on theoretical work in order to practice. This means that nursing students should not try to locate the rationale behind a particular incident taking place; instead they should focus on the cause and effect of practice. While practicing, they should not apply theory, instead they should learn through experience. Wilson in a report named Bridging the theory practice gap states that nursing students experience a gap between what they have learned and what they are practicing because they do not apply what they learn during their educational settings (Wilson, 2008). For this purpose Wilson proposed that while students are under the learning stage they should practice and they should be allowed to practice as nurses. While they will be practicing they will learn through experience and continuous communication with other nursing staff will assist them in gaining more knowledge. This means that students should be allowed to practice with senior nurses as this will help them learn more as they observe other practitioners. This will even assist the health care settings in having enough nursing staff while the demand for nurses are high. Brake in her study states that the gap between nursing practice and theory is caused because nursing students do not attend any other educational arenas other than their own educational setti

Teams and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Teams and Leadership - Essay Example Moreover, some of my personal attributes such as remaining calm and composed even during tough times, ability to delegate duties to people easily and self-confidence anchor the suitability of the role of chairman. The role of chairman needs someone who can be decisive when necessary, an example well portrayed when I had to decide and convince the team members that we needed a clear set of achievable objectives. This happened when we were having difficulties moving forward since every team member had different opinions and the argument was getting out of hand. The team members also listen and respect my inputs into the team just as I strive to give an ear to every team member. In regard to the above mentioned attributes, the example actions and outcomes can be used to justify my agreement with the role of chairman of the team who is the social leader of the group and is tasked with ensuring that all team members contribute fully (Fisher, Hunter & Macrosson, 2001). Part 2 For a team to perform successfully and fully achieve its objectives, it is imperative that all the Beblin’s roles are implemented when tackling tasks (Belbin, 2010a). Sometimes, despite clear roles and responsibilities, it can occur that a team is not performing at its best and falls short of its full potential. Absence of one or many roles in a team may have various implications to the team which could lead to underperformance or total non-performance of the team. Firstly, lack of implementation of all the Beblin’s roles can lead to a team becoming unbalanced and lacking focus. For example, lack of proper delegation of roles may lead to the team having to many people performing one role which may lead to unhealthy competition between team members thus derailing the team. Conversely, if no member has been identified to perform a certain role, the team may end up lacking in that field and fail to achieve its objectives. Secondly, if all the Beblin’s roles are not implemented when tackling tasks, the team may find that it is not able to get the job done or achieve its objectives. This is because those who are needed to turn the team’s ideas and concepts into practice are lacking. The team therefore becomes stagnant and fails to achieve its objectives (Beblin, 2010b). The team identified and delegated to the team members the roles of Coordinator or Chairman who was tasked with the overall social leadership of the group, Implementers who turned the ideas into practical actions and plans, Team Workers who were responsible for overseeing the general working of all members as a team, Monitor-Evaluators who analyzed the ideas and proposals presented by others and were also tasked with monitoring the overall progress of the team, Plants to come up with new ideas and approaches, and a Completer-Finisher to ensure that the team delivers in time and deadlines are met (Belbin, 2010b). The team, however, lacked shapers to ensure that the team did not become c omplacent or stuck when faced with a challenge. Therefore, the team was prone to become ineffective when faced with new problems. Lack of shaper in the team could lead to inertia and possibility of team members quitting due to lack of encouragement to push on and how to find the best approaches to solving problems. The team also lacked a resource investigator to lead the team in exploring new ideas and

Compare and Contrast between Saudi Arabia and USA Essay

Compare and Contrast between Saudi Arabia and USA - Essay Example In the education system, there are similarities and equal differences between America and Saudi Arabia. Indeed, the similarities manifest in freedom to choose institutions of learning, governments spending and provision of education for all including those with special needs. The differences manifest in literacy levels, stages of education, gender roles, role of religion, and attitude towards education. In fact, in both countries, education is a major priority and as such both governments allocates huge resources to the education sector. To this extent, both governments finances general education for both boys and girls, accords financial assistance to needy students and offers free post-secondary education to all. At the same time, both governments provide many learning institutions that are well equipped to allow for specialization and high quality education (Sedgwick, 2008). In addition, students in both countries are at liberty to choose the school or universities where they can join public, private, or home school. Furthermore, both countries create an enabling and competitive environment for the provision of education to students with special needs. ... In fact, in both countries, education is a major priority and as such both governments allocates huge resources to the education sector. To this extent, both governments finances general education for both boys and girls, accords financial assistance to needy students and offers free post-secondary education to all. At the same time, both governments provide many learning institutions that are well equipped to allow for specialization and high quality education (Sedgwick, 2008). In addition, students in both countries are at liberty to choose the school or universities where they can join public, private, or home school. Furthermore, both countries create an enabling and competitive environment for the provision of education to students with special needs. Nevertheless, there are huge disparities in the running of education systems between the two nations. Indeed, the level of attitude towards education varies in that while in America education attendance is mandatory, education atte ndance is a matter of choice in Saudi Arabia. Actually, education is uniform at primary and secondary levels.  In addition, the aspect of religion plays part in Saudi Arabian education system and has no effect in American education system. Actually, education in Saudi Arabia relates with religion where the school curriculum follows sharia law and Qur'an teachings. The issue of gender brings a huge difference between the two education systems. Saudi Arabia practices sex segregation according to sharia law thus offering single-sex schools while America offers multi-sex schools (U.S. Network for Education Information, 2001). Uniquely is the fact that though education is universal for both genders in America giving

Discussion 1 - Management''s Responsibility Coursework

Discussion 1 - Management''s Responsibility - Coursework Example There are many reasons that are associated with their failure and the management had an important part in its failure as it could be circumvented. Firstly, the business environment was risky because the timing of its new venture corresponded with the recession of 2007 when consumer spending had reduced drastically. Secondly, Tesco’s management decision to pull out of the market rather than giving time for consumers to recover from the recession. For Tesco, the external, macro-environment proved to be challenging when the firm decided to launch a new venture in the US. So, its decision making was crucially important for the firm to choose its course in the challenging environment. Many also blame the research and its analysis. Tesco’s interpretation of the collected data ignored the cultural context and the options consumers had if there were one-stop stores. However, the recession had greatly reduced their spending capacity of consumers and even though they had the time to shop at multiple stores, they had little money. (2) Caty has pointed out some important information regarding the credit industry. I agree with Caty that the management did not have much involvement in the decision for closing the branch. In this case, the orders came from the head office. Usually, the most profitable branches provide little reason for the corporate management to shut it down however this is not the only criteria for closing down a branch. In BankFirst’s case, the branch location was generating enough revenues to sustain it in the long run however the decision to close it down came from the head office located in another state. Perhaps the bank was trying to cut down its branches in that particular state as part of its strategy to focus on reducing market penetration to allow for another growth strategy. The credit card industry serves an important purpose as credit providers. Technology is one external factor over which the management has little control over although

Editing Practices of Robert Loomis and Strauss-Gabel Essay

Editing Practices of Robert Loomis and Strauss-Gabel - Essay Example The editing practices and approaches between the two editors cum publishers are inconsistent. It is because they practiced editing at different generations and times. Loomis practiced editing earlier than Strauss-Gabel, who is to date actively involved in editing. Loomis approached the practice of editing in a classic and old-fashioned. His approach was understated as well as uncanny, polite as well as persistent and fierce/tough as well as tender. His approach in the practice of editing was thus diametrically opposed to that employed by Strauss-Gabel, which was less old-fashioned but instead more modern. She approached editing in a manner that was strictly tough, intimidating and offered stinging critiques. She believed it was the only way to get the best result from editing. Loomis, on the other hand, had a look warm approach of neither tough nor soft (Norton 67).In my view, the two editors shared a common strategy of getting the best results by actively collaborating with the writ er. Their editing practices, approaches, and techniques were aimed at working collaboratively with authors in the development phases of the books. It was to make sure that the editing and design of the book were best suited to for its marketing. It led to them becoming highly sought after by many authors. Their editing practices stood out from the rest and were highly successful. Their strategies and approach to the practice of editing has enabled them nurture writers and be a mentor for fellow editors in the general industry of publishing.

Black box Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Black box - Essay Example Communities as well as families can be deeply affected by the death of a member. A black box is a device or theoretical constructs with proverbial or given characteristic input, output and data transfer methods that are unknown or such-and-such constituents and means of operation. It is a closed computer program and its implementation is "opaque", hence the term black box. Â  Today the boxes store data on memory chips and are painted bright orange in order to make them easier to find amid crash debris or on the bottom of the ocean. Needless to say, these devices are well protected with good safety meaures. For instance, they have been equipped with self-activated ultrasonic beams that broadcast the boxs position underwater for up to 30 days. Today, most black boxes, majority of which are being manufactured by L-3 Aviation Recorders, in Sarasota, Fla., are capable of recording more than 250 types of digital data, or parameters, per second, and store them all for 25 hours before writing over them. In addition, the latest models of black boxes can also store 180 minutes worth of conversation, as compared to the 30-minute recording capacity of its earlier counterparts. Both kinds of data are stored in stacked semiconductor dynamic RAM memory boards. The information recorded, the sampling rate, and the order in which the data are stored differ from each black box.The hardwares and softwares needed to read and analyze the data from a black box are provided by the manufacturers. At times, the manufacturers even send a representative from the company to facilitate the analysis and interpretation of data from a black box.They may have their work cut out for them if the box is dented, twisted under high heat, or has damaged cable interfaces. In such cases, they must rebuild the interfaces or find other ways to extract data from the wreckage. If the box is damaged, it can take weeks or months to

Sweatshop labor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sweatshop labor - Essay Example The facts are evidenced in how 7 percent of trade around the globe today is with counterfeit goods. (Thomas, p 2). This type of manufacture of goods is involved with such tragedies as child labor, abusive conditions, along with ties to terrorism and organized crime. Law mentions how counterfeiting results in more than just low wages, but in manipulation and funneling of monies into illegal activities that pose as significant threats to society as a whole (Thomas, p. 2) Conditions that children workers are made to endure are horrific by any reasonable person’s standard. In fact, it should shock the conscience of U.S. consumers and businesspeople alike. One example that Dana Thomas found in Thailand was a plant that had young children who were being forced to make counterfeit handbags for sale to the more developed lands such as the United States. The children had their legs intentionally broken by sweatshop owners and placed in such a manner that no healing of the broken limbs would occur. The owners did this to force the children to work against their will in the production of counterfeit goods (Thomas, p.1). Advanced nations like America are contributing to the problem of sweatshop labor and seeking low cost goods at the expense of human health and decency issues. This is a major society problem as Jim Hightower points to in his article â€Å"The Price of Cheap Goods†. One issue that Hightower points out is that America has such a demand for low-cost labor that critical safeguards for workers are being ignored or bypassed simply due to economic demand and pressure for ever more cheaper labor costs and higher profits for the American based companies (Hightower, p.1) One example that Hightower mentions is that research at one Hong Kong area factory discovered that the workers at the plant will break or

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 26

Business Law - Essay Example Prior to commencement of the job, Peter receives a better paying job, and does not show up for work. John can go to court and claim the $500 initial payment on grounds that Peter has breached the contract. Such a claim would be referred to as contractual liability claim. It is common occurrence for businesses, individuals or organizations to get into agreement, often in writing, for the purpose of taking on the liability or a duty of some other entity. Usually the liability is something they would otherwise not have. Such an arrangement where one entity assumes or takes on the liability of another by contract is referred to as an indemnity agreement. Each state has diverse laws on indemnity laws though they usually override common law. Indemnity agreements often form the basis of a contractual liability claim. Contractual liability may come into play in several other scenarios. Examples of such scenarios include assumption of duty, assuming of liability, contractual liability insurance, breach of contract claims, and coverage by insurance. In the UK, contractual liability fall under the Unfair Contract Term Act of 1977, which is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, charged with regulating contracts by restriction of operation and legality of contract terms. In this case study, we are going to use ILAC method to better advice Simon on the best way forward in regards to his situation. ILAC stands for Issue, Law, Application, and conclusion. This technique provide a more logical way of addressing case studies. The facts of this case study are that Fernado and Arthur have sent Simon cheques of varying amount and expect, to receive the book. Also, Simon has since sold the book to a Gollum Book Ltd. According to misrepresentation2 concepts of contract law of England, it is possible to make a misrepresentation either by conduct or words although not all things done or said constitute

How Social Media Influences Your Shopping Essay Example for Free

How Social Media Influences Your Shopping Essay At the present time social media is the one of the most powerful ways to shop and advertise online via the use of web-based and mobile technologies; it transforms online communication into an interactive dialogue. Quester, Pettigrew and Hawkins (2011) defined social media as â€Å"media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques.† According to Vithoulkas, social media is more than just the hardware or software which enables it, instead he argues that it is more of a philosophy of communication where honest and transparency is required and information is shared and has the potential to â€Å"spread virally very quickly†. For the consumer, social media can be a continual bombardment of advertising and promotion every time we use communication modes, such as the internet or mobile, which may be infuriating for the consumer but increases the market exposure for the seller. This report intends to analyse the effectiveness of social media in influencing the general population to purchase more than presently before. When large companies, such as Pepsi, invest 50% of their annual advertising budget into Social Media it is obviously a worthy idea for the discussion of marketing professionals worldwide. The buyer behaviour system has been challenged in ranges of high involvement and low involvement alike. Consumer control is now the focus of consumption, when before it was heavily regulated institutionally. Although social media is an inescapable part of every day life it cannot be assumed that it will replace other forms of communication. A great number of people of all ages use social networking sites before purchasing a product, especially in high involvement purchases. Seidma (2010, p11) has demonstrated that the large majority of people are engaged in some form of social media, showing its considerable societal acceptance; Marketing magazine online tells us that â€Å"Facebook has more than 400 million active users. Every minute, 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. An estimated 5–10 thousand Twitter accounts are opened per day,† showing that when information is directly found by a population 20 times that of Australia there is serious product awareness to gain . Quester et al. (2011) stated that there are fives stages of decisions making processes prior to making the choice in buying a product or service. These include problem recognition, information search, evaluation and selection, store choice and purchase and post purchase processes. When consumers’ recognise a need or identify a problem which may exist, they then undertake an information search on the product or service with their behaviour influenced by internal and external factors, Consumers evaluate the various alternatives after they have gathered all information, and afterwards they make a selection of retail outlets for the actual purchase of the good or service. Lastly, the consumer compares the product performance against their expectations and decide whether they satisfied or dissatisfied with it. In last few decades, traditional media such as television, radio, newspaper has been the only way to promote and communicate with the target market, but now it appears that the trend has changed. As seen in diagram one (below) consumer control is now the driver in the marketing segment. As seen in chart one (below), it can be seen that on average people spend more time when choosing and product and general spend more money, suggesting that when purchasing online the products will be a high involvement purchase. Marketing Magazine online tell us â€Å"For 35% of shoppers, the process starts with online search; 30% of consumers read user reviews on retailer websites as a part of the shopping process.† In the U.S.A. alone there are 95 million people who admit to frequently using social-media in their purchase decisions. Hub Magazine found that more than 40% of American adults currently use social media as part of their shopping experiences, with further data showing most consumers increased in use of social media for shopping within an annual period. Hub magazine also found that 39% have strongly agreed with the statement that ‘they can learn a lot more about a brand by seeing what everyday people are saying about it online’ in comparison with only 22% percent of non-social media shoppers agreeing with the statement. This clealy shows us that Social Media can obviously affect buying habits. However, social media may not be the first choice for every business or organisation for their marketing strategy. In December 2009, COM Score released a report of their customer survey that showed peoples views on social media in comparison to traditional forms of media. Overall, they found that 28% of respondents were likely to notice advertising on social media and less than that 23% are likely to trust the advertisements they notice. Those numbers put social media websites at #5 on the list behind television, print, news and corporate websites. In the same findings it also showed that only 28% of those who had began their holiday shopping this season indicated that social media has influenced their purchases specifically consumers said their influences were: †¢ Reading a consumer-generated product review (13% of respondents) †¢ Reading an expert product review (11 %)  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Following a fan page on Face book to take advantage of special offers and deals (7%) †¢ Influence by a friend’s Face book status update referring to a particular product (6%) †¢ Following a company on Twitter to take advantage of special offers and deals (5%) †¢ A friend’s â€Å"tweet† about a product influenced their purchase behaviour (3%) Given the exposure to the internet that we in the western world undergo every day versus time spend watching television, it is odd that only 13% saw the high consumer involvement in reading reviews of products. What is even stranger is that these consumers have shifted from trusting expert reviews to peer reviews. In traditional media reputable sources were usually quoted to give weight to a certain product. It seems in the days of social media, peer influence has replaced the trustworthiness of reputable sources. Thus changing the buyer behaviour process. Social Media may influence and change the buyer behaviour process but it is not necessarily a replacement for tradition media. Although it is a change to the normal standards of media, it will never replace traditional media given the system of interaction in our society. The interesting thing, as discussed in this essay, is the change in the high involvement purchase process and the consumer control over purchases. It is effective to some degree, given the right target audience and consumer group, but in our society with the lack of general literacy (21.1% of the world are internet literate) and dramatic choices for consumers it is not the answer to the change of the consumer buyer process.

Factors Which Affect Peoples Travel Patterns Tourism Essay

Factors Which Affect Peoples Travel Patterns Tourism Essay This essay will discuss the extent to which the form and structure of the city, along with its transport network influences individual travel patterns. The different types of areas within metropolitan Perth will also be taken into consideration. Due to the fact that the size of a city correlates with its density, the densest cities tend to also be the largest cities, which will in turn mean that people living in such a city are expected to embark on longer commutes. According to Brindle, there is a small but significant relationship between residential density and car ownership: a large increase in residential density is associated with a small decrease in car ownership. It can also be deducted that the primary determinants of car ownership in a home include the size of the household, income, and the number of workers per household. Transit availability is also a significant factoring determining car ownership. (Brindle R 2003) Recent research shows that peoples travel behavior is related to certain characteristics of the built environment. This kind of travel behavior which includes trip-making frequency, distance and time travelled havebeen studied for a variety of land use patterns, street networks and streetscape design features. Table 1gives a synthesis of past research on urban form and travel behaviour relationship. Broadly, it can beobserved that studies related to urban form and travel patterns originate from diverse sources andencompass a variety of geographic scale and locations. To add to this diversity, many differentcharacteristics of urban form too have been examined in these studies and travel patterns have beenmeasured in a number of ways. This section brings together the urban form indicators used and results ofrecent studies concerning urban form and travel patterns.Travel patterns are a result of individual choice to pursue activity at another location, choice ofdestination, choice of mode, choice of route and time (Munshi, 2003). Thus travel is a function ofcharacteristics of the base location (origin of the travel) and the environment surrounding the baselocation. The surrounding environment to the base location has been studied in various terms, e.g.through distance to opportunities, like distance to city centre or sub centres. Distance to the city centrehas been studied in relation to travel distance and transport energy consumption by (Naess and Sandberg,1996; Stead and Marshall, 2001; Mogridge, 1985). Another indicator of the surrounding environment tothe base location is related to the mixing of land use as this is assumed to affect the physical separation ofactivities in the environment surrounding the base location and therefore is a determinant of travel Page 3 XIII Back to menu Retour ausommaire 3 demand. It has been mainly measured as the job ratio and has been studied in relation to journeyfrequency in (Ewing, 1995) as well as in relation to proportion of trips made by non-motorized modes in(Cervero, 1989). The proportion of residential to non residential use has also been studied in relation to atransport mode index in (Zhang and Guindon, 2006). An aggregate measure of land use mix (termed asdiversity) was examined by Cervero and Kockelman (1997), who report a link between land use mix andtotal non-work travel distance. The provision of local facilities and services may clearly reduce traveldistance and increase the proportion of short journeys capable of being travelled by non-motorizedmodes. Winter and Farthing (1997) reported that the provision of local facilities in new redevelopmentreduces average trip distances. Hanson (Hanson, 1982) reports similar findings, showing that theproximity to local facilities is positively associated with average distance taking into account averagesocio-economic characteristics of the trip maker. The type of neighbourhood at the base location is alsoknown to affect travel as reported in Cevero and Kockelman (1997). They found that neighbourhoodswith high proportion of four-way intersection and limited on-street parking abutting commercialestablishment tended to have an average less drive-alone travel for non-work purposes. Factors which affect peoples travel patterns Humans are naturally built to move around and travel. As soon as a person starts growing and has the strength, the person begins to go to various destinations and starts crawling around the house or running around, or walking to a friends house. As adults we frequently hurry to vehicles to go off somewhere. According to their age and other socio-demographic factors, people travel to various places by many modes. As it is though, the environment in which we currently live is planned for and traditionally suited to automobile travel. This narrow transportation planning vision compromises all of our travel decisions, but increasingly so for children and the caregivers who must provide them transportation to their important activities such as education and social events (Beauumont and Pianca 20023.2 Transportation Mode and Spatial Learning Although studies carried out by cognitive mapping researchers point to a connection between spatial learning, and travel patterns, not much can be concluded about the manner in which existing transportation infrastructures affect peoples travel patterns and route selection. Recent research suggests that transportation infrastructure and modal networks such as transit routes, sidewalks, local streets, bike lanes, freeway networks and roads does have an effects on the travel behavior and the development of cognitive maps.The hierarchical nature of both transportation networks and land use systems in an urbanenvironment can affect the cognitive mapping process. In general, the more significant aparticular pathway or landmark is to an individuals navigation, the more it will dominate thecognitive map (7). The hierarchies of pathways in a region, such as highway and freewaysegments dominating arterial and main roads, which in turn dominate local community andneighborhood street systems, contribute to the hierarchical organization of cognitive maps. Infact, individuals will recognize elements in the environment more quickly if primed by a cue Mondschein, Blumenberg, and Taylor6from the same portion of their regional hierarchy. Zannaras also found that the layout of a citysignificantly explained variations in the accuracy of wayfinding and location tasks (20). Sectorally-organized cities proved the more effective for remembering locations, whileconcentrically-organized cities made wayfinding and location tasks more difficult. Likewise,familiarity, or route learning, is clearly an important part of both route selection and modechoice because familiarity is dependent on repeated experience. Stern and Portugali highlighttwo aspects of route familiarity: [1] Familiarity with city structures, specific experience of a given locality in the city, and a general familiarity with the road hierarchy, signage, and traffic also affect peoples travel patterns. People who made use of different modes of transportation and travel tend to develop different degrees of familiarity with each transport system. This shows that individuals who use different transportation networks, will understand the same urban environment from differing perspectives. For example automobile users and transit users, will understand a given city in very different ways. Much of the scholarship on cognitive mapping has focused on drivers and the street andhighway network (22). This emphasis is likely due to the dominant role of automobiles as wellas the route flexibility associated with using the street network. Yet preliminary evidencesuggests that cognitive maps are differentially shaped by alternate transportation modes. Forexample, we know that individuals who rely on public transit or walking, on average, travelshorter distances and travel less frequently than those who travel by motor vehicle. Therefore,one can hypothesize that the scope of their spatial knowledge would be more limited anddifferently configured (by, for example, the network of transit routes) than those who rely onautomobiles and can travel longer distances at greater flexibility and speed. The quality and detail of spatial maps also may differ by mode. In a study of childrentraveling to school, active modes of travel, such as walking and biking, appear to contributemore to the development of spatial knowledge than passive modes of travel, such as beingchauffeured by an adult or riding in a school bus. Specifically, walking and cycling to schoolhave been found to increase knowledge of the environment in comparison to children who arebused (23). These results suggest that variation in transportation mode may result in verydifferent levels of functional accessibility for individuals from otherwise similar socioeconomicor cultural backgrounds. Finally, research also suggests that travel behavior is influenced by perceptions ofdistance which affect the decision to stay or goà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the decision of where to goà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[and] thedecision of which route to take (24). Cognition of environmental distance is influenced bypathway features, travel time, and travel effort which are substantially different depending ontravel mode (25). The characteristics of travel by transit, which include indeterminate waiting attransfer points and walking trips between services, may add to cognitive distance in a way thatauto travel does not.Drawing on a path-based theory of spatial learning, differences in cognitive mapsbetween socioeconomic groups may also be explained at least in part by the different travelpatterns of those groups. Certainly, adults in higher income households are more likely to havereliable access to automobiles. In contrast, over one quarter of low-income households do nothave automobiles and are transit dependent (26). But transit use is also high among adults inlow-income households with automobiles since oftentimes there are too few vehicles toaccommodate the number of household drivers. In addition to the well documented role that cognitive maps play in explainingwayfinding and route choice, we hypothesize that travel by different modes in more or lesstransit- and pedestrian-friendly areas systematically manifests in individuals cognitive mapsstructured more by transit networks (i.e. transit lines, stations, and stops) than by the arterials,Mondschein, Blumenberg, and Taylor7collectors, and local streets that make up urban street networks. In other words, a modallyspecific wayfinding experience significantly and systematically influences the formation ofcognitive maps. And these maps, in turn, influence trip generation, trip distribution, and modechoice The impact of differences in socio-demographics on personal travel behavior Individuals generate extremely complex travel-activity patterns as they participate in daily activities at different times and in different locations many researchers have conceptualized this observed behavior patterns as the outcome of choices made within constraints. The preferred activity choices utility maximization is employed. Maintenance of an individuals schedule is the key service, this helps activities to be scheduled, the individuals all have an agenda and all negotiate with other individuals to schedule social activities more especially negotiating about participants, location and time. Individuals update their state after participating in an activity and this depends on their satisfaction with their activity and no doubt individuals will come across new people as a result of this activities Another important service happens to be the maintenance of a personal network because just as their activities are influenced by their social network, their network in turn is influenced by their activity participation; individuals may visit or learn about new locations, they will also keep track of these locations they are familiar with, they will likely share them with others which is a form of influence Interaction design: interaction between agents are an important component of agent- based applications. Agents have agenda, interact and negotiate with others to schedule social activities and it includes participants, locations and time, agents interactionx have several components, the negotiation set ( the possible proposal) strategies, a rule to determine that the interaction is complete (Wooldridge, 2002) Fatima et, al (2002) explains three methods for dealing with issues in multi-issue negotiation: all issues discussed together, issues discussed separately or issues discussed one after the other. It has been shown that proposing complete deals at each step is computationally more complex because it has such advantage as pareto optimality (Fatima et al 2006). For the negotiation set, list of activity pattern has been developed including the activity purpose and location as well as indication of which acquaintances are likely to be involved and when interacting with colleagues likely during the week while weekend is for family visit In the model, it is difficult to decide issues independently eg the activity is likely to determine time, location etc and the order they should be discussed, should the activity or the location be decided first? However the choices sets for certain issues are decided independently. The protocol proceeds as follows the host proposes an activity to one or more of its acquaintances eg time and location could be there the respondent gives possible days and time they will be available, the host adjust the time to make it convenient for many to be available the respondent suggest location, the host creates intersection amongst those received, the host creates list bof potential activities, the respondent ranks them the host determinesa best activity based on every ones ranking and informs respondent of the details The effects of urban form and structure on personal travel behavior The relationship between city structure and travel behavior has been extensively researched by urban economists, geographers, and city planners. There has been a steady increase in the rate of car ownership and use in the twentieth century. There also seems to have been a steady decline in the use of transit and other modes, and the decentralization of both population and employment. Trends in travel and land use have complimented and re-enforced one another: growingcar ownership generated demand for highways, development of the highway systemchanged accessibility patterns, and population and jobs responded to these new patternsof accessibility (Jackson, 1986; Muller, 1981, 1995). By 1990, the suburbs of USmetropolitan areas were home to about 62 percent of the metropolitan population and 52percent of the jobs. At the same time, per capita car ownership and travel have reachedall-time highs (Pisarksy, 1996). 1 This section is drawn from Giuliano, 2000.2 See reviews by Giuliano, 1995; Anas, Arnott, and Small, 1998; Pickrell, 1999. From a broad perspective, city form, structure, land use and transportation trends are quite closely related. However, the historical record does not necessarily provideuseful evidence for understanding land use and transportation at a single point in time,and the empirical research on relationships between daily travel and land usecharacteristics is far less clear. Metropolitan Size and DensityExtensive research has been conducted on the relationship between metropolitandensity and modal split, commute trip length and total automobile travel. Newman andKenworthy (1989a, 1989b, 1998) conducted comparative studies of per capita gasolineconsumption and metropolitan densities. A comparison of cities around the worldyielded a non-linear relationship of increasing per capita gasoline consumption withdeclining density. Their work has been extensively criticized, primarily because percapita fuel consumption is an indirect measure of auto travel and because they fail toaccount for many other factors which affect automobile use, such as the employment rateor household size (Gordon and Richardson, 1989; Gomez-Ibaņ ez, 1991). Pushkarev and Zupan (1977) documented a positive relationship betweenpopulation density and transit use, using data from 105 urbanized areas for 1960 and1970. Gordon, Richardson, and Jun (1991) found that cities with higher average densitieshave longer automobile commute times than those with lower average densities. Notingthat density is a measure of concentration, the authors conclude that shorter commutesindicate greater efficiency of low density urban form: decentralization of both populationand jobs allows people to economize to a greater extent in selecting their job and housinglocations. The effects of various transport networks and service patterns on personal travel behavior. The personal travel environment can be described in terms of such dimensions as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Location à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Access to the central-place system of the region (Christaller, 1933) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Access to work, shopping and leisure facilities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Provision of infrastructure facilities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Public transport supply à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Settlement structure and density à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Topographybut also in terms of certain configurations, such as suburban structures, urban blocks or de-tached house-settlements. As an outcome of this differentiation and of the functional separa-tion in general, the individual environments offer different opportunities with regards towork, shopping or leisure activities.This paper analyses the interactions between these spatial dimensions, the individual charac-teristics of the travellers and the observed travel behaviour. The Personal Travel behavior of various individuals is affected by transportation network and service pattern in a city. This personal travel behavior which includes both the short-term and long-term travel choices of individuals in the city constitutes some central elements like car ownership and season tickets for public transportation, as well as destination, mode, activity and choice of location. Going by recent research and literature, there hasnt been any consensus reached about the effects of city spatial structure on personal travel behavior. Generally, there are differeing opinions about thsis. Some studies suggest that the impact of transportation network and service pattern on personal travel behavior is rather small (Bagley and Moktharian, 2000; Schimek, 1996;Petersen and Schallabà ¶ck, 1995; Downs, 1992; Schmiedel, 1984). Some other studies lean towards the conclusion that at least some variables are dependent on the transportation network, spatial structure and service pattern obtainable in the city. (Ewing andCervero, 2001; Newman and Kenworthy, 1999; Wiederin, 1997; Holz-Rau, 1990; Sammer etal., 1990). Travel behavior is also affected by accessibility of facilities. this also goes to show the efforts of the surrounding residential area on individual travel behavior. If a person is able to reach a range of facilities within walking distance, then the probability of a locally oriented travel behavior with smaller distances will increase, as well as increased number of walking trips The reason for this contradiction is not a basic difference in the assumptions accepted, butrather the selected spatial variables and the approaches used. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Spatial structure: For example, some investigations concluding space- independence of travel behaviour characterise the spatial structure of areas only bythe number of inhabitants a variable known to have little explanatory power inother investigations, either. According to other studies the accessibility of facilities is one of the most important spatial variables (Kitamura, Akiyama, Yamamoto andGolob, 2001; Handy and Niemeier, 1997; Simma, 2000). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Approaches used: The question, whether the analyses are conducted at an aggregate or disaggregate level, has influence on the results. Mostly, the results at an aggregatelevel are more conclusive than the results at a disaggregate level. One reason for thisis that other factors influencing travel behaviour are normally not included in aggre-gate models. But especially these factors can be very important, as disaggregatemodels have shown (Bagley and Moktharian, 2000; Simma 2000).The remainder of the paper is organised as follows: First, the study area and the computationof accessibility measures is described followed by a description of the data source used forthe analysis. Then the modelling approach Structural Equation Modelling is briefly out-lined. The core of the paper is the discussion of disaggregate person-level models for twomain trip purposes (shopping and working). The results are summarised and interpreted in thediscussion. Based on this recommendations are given. 2. Study area: Upper Austria The general focus of the study the interactions between the spatial structure, personal char-acteristics and travel behaviour cannot be investigated without a specific spatial frame. Inthis case, the Austrian province (Land) Oberà ¶sterreich was selected for two main reasons. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Availability of suitable travel survey data: The provincial government of Up-per Austria conducted a very detailed and quantitatively rich travel survey in1992, whose data was available for the study. Additional spatial variables foreach municipality were added. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Small Austria: Upper Austria can be regarded as a scale model of Austria.All regional types which can be found in Austria also can be found in UpperAustria a big agglomeration from an Austrian perspective, alpine regions, in-dustrial areas and less developed rural regions. Page 5 2.1 General description Upper Austria is one of the nine Austrian provinces. It is located west of Vienna, east of Mu-nich and south of Prague. It has a size of 12000 km ² and about 1.3 million inhabitants. At avery general level Upper Austria can be divided into three parts into the Bà ¶hmische Massivin the north of Upper Austria, the Alpenvorland in the centre of the province and the Alps inthe south.The northern part of Upper Austria is disadvantaged in several ways. This area is neither wellsuited for agriculture nor for tourism. Additionally the border to the Czech Republic wasclosed for the five decades of the Cold War. As a result, the opportunities for industrial de-velopment after World War II were limited. The situation is different in the other parts of Up-per Austria. The Alpenvorland is the centre of agriculture and industry, including a number oflarge scale factory complexes in the main cities. Half of the population lives in the Alpen-vorland, and 13 of the 15 largest towns are situated here. The Alps, especially the Salzkam-mergut with its lakes and the skiing areas, are dependent on tourism, including second-homeownership.Upper Austria consists of 15 districts, three cities with district status (Linz, Steyr and Wels)and 445 incorporated municipalities. The respective district capitals are both centres of thelocal administration, as well as of shopping and industrial location for their area. Linz is thecapital of the province and by far its largest city. The 445 municipalities are very different intheir spatial, socio-demographic and economic characteristics. The provinces overall struc-ture can be characterised as follows (see Table 1 for a more detailed description of the spatialattributes). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Distribution of the inhabitants: 26% of the municipalities have less than 1000inhabitants, 40% of the municipalities have between 1000 and 2000 inhabitantsand further 18% of the municipalities have between 2000 and 3000 inhabitants.Only one municipality has more than 100000 inhabitants Linz. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Location of the municipalities: The location of a municipality can be describedby two distance-variables the distance to the relevant district capital and thedistance to Linz. For the districts along the border to the Land Salzburg, Salz-burg is the relevant main centre for employment and shopping. The distance toSalzburg replaces the distance to Linz for all municipalities, where more resi-dents recorded trips to Salzburg than to Linz. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Number of accessible facilities: The number of accessible facilities is a meas-ure for the supply of activity opportunities for a particular household. It is high,if a household can reach a shop, a supermarket, a bank, a post-office, a kinder- Page 6 garten, school, a pharmacy and a doctor in walking-distance (ten minutes). Itequals zero, if the household cannot reach any facility within this time. In everymunicipality there are at least some households which cannot reach any facilitywithin a reasonable walking distance. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Share of working women: Between 25 and 50% of the women in a municipal-ity are working. This variable is used in the models, because it characterises theimportance of the traditional nuclear family and the sex-specific division of la-bour within the municipalities. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Commuting: Because workplaces are mainly concentrated in Linz and the dis-trict capitals, people in the small villages often have to commute. In some mu-nicipalities more than 80% of the working adults are commuters. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Share of farms: In some communities, the agriculture is still dominant indicat-ing a relatively low state of development. The importance of the agriculture maynot only be shown by its share of employees, but also by the share of farmsamong all buildings. The latter variable is especially interesting because manyfarms are run by farmers on a part-time basis.Table 1Descriptive statistics for the municipalities of Upper Austria (445 municipalities) MeanStandarddeviationMinimumMaximumNumber of inhabitants308110530245208727Distance to district capital1710059Distance to Linz (Salzburg)46210143Number of reachable facilities (mu-nicipality level)2.61.407.2Number of reachable facilities(household)3.93.208Share of farms1912069Share of commuters62111584Share of working women3642550 These figures are calculated for each single municipality without considering the neighbour-ing municipalities and their attributes. Statements across municipal borders can be made byapplying accessibility-measures. Page 7 2.2 Accessibility measures There is a wide range of possible definitions for the term accessibility, such as the potentialof opportunities for interaction, the ease of spatial interaction or the attractiveness of anode in a network taking into Travel is derived from activities that involve people participating in things such as school, work, sport, shopping, social events leisure. Activities that is non-discretionary such as work and school can be explained in part by the travelers socio-demographic characteristics and generalized travel cost (Hackney and Marchal, 2007). Other things not easily predictable are long term decisions such as moving to a particular town, participating in other activities etc, the reported purpose for a large number of trips are social and leisure ranging from 25 to 40% for various countries (Axhausen 2006). Interest people in activities participation is as well driven by our changing use of information communication technology, the need for physically visiting places is drastically reduced by the use of internet for activities such as banking, shopping and participating in online communication or conversation and in overall, it affects peoples travel behaviors. People could change their activity schedules and their transport plans on the fly as a result of receiving information via a mobile phone whilst traveling or participating in an activity outside the home. A graphic representation of individuals and their relationship could be seen in social network, if these social networks are well understood it will lead to a better prediction of social activity schedules and forecast of travel patterns and demand for urban facilities more especially those that have to do with social and leisure activities. The understanding of these social networks comes in handy in influencing the urban design of residential areas and public spaces in order to encourage participation in social leisure activities in local communities. Trip destination is determined by the members of ones social network because that is where the social activities go towards. Mc Pherson et, al. (2001) defined homophile as principle that contact between similar people occurs at a higher rate than among dissimilar people, some of the attributes used as similar measures includes age, social class, occupation, abilities etc. distance plays a key role in the maintenance of relationships. McPherson et al (2001) claim that the most basic source of homophily is space because according to him we are more likely to have contact with those who are closer to us in geographic distance than those who are distant. People influence each other by providing information or observing behavior eg a friend tells you about a barbing saloon and you wish to go get a haircut there. Other factors that indirectly influence travel behaviors includes moving closer to ones workplace, family or choice of vehicle. Greater proportion of travel has to do with social/leisure purposes; there is every need to understand the reason behind these. Agent based modeling is commonly used for applications where the behavior and intentions of heterogeneous individuals as well interactions between individuals is required. Lists of attributes have been presented by Bonabeau (2002) and Macaland North (2006) that systems should possess in order for agent based modeling to be considered include; relationship form and dissolve, agents have dynamic relationship with other agents, agents have a spatial component to their behaviors and interactions . These are complex relationships and interactions between individuals and the individuals situated ness in an urban environment, each agent will have some level of satisfaction and will derive utility from sharing objectives, if along the line they are not satisfied with this current situation, then they will try to change it. The same applies to their involvement in the community, it depends on their needs The environment has a network representation derived from the actual road network. These links contain attributes for the actual distance and ideas of travel times for different modes. Nodes exist at a point in space and mostly contain location that represent where joint activities take place or can be undertaken; there are different types of location and each type has a set of attributes, the major distinction between private and public residence (eg museums, parks, restaurants, gyms etc) they have opening hours Personal social network defines each persons acquaintances, each pair has a type of relationship (eg friend, work etc) and can also tell how long they have seen each other, this model also contain neighborhood, here groups are formal and informal clubs that the individual is a member of eg special interest clubs, sports club etc, here the individual is effectively connected to many people, some connections may remain as friends even when the individual has left the club, t

Effects Of Globalization On Cultures Cultural Studies Essay

Effects Of Globalization On Cultures Cultural Studies Essay With the economic, cultural and scientific development, globalization has also been greatly affected in these areas. The impact of globalization, peoples life and spiritual have great changes. Globalization process is irreversible, it is a necessary progress of human civilization and has important meaning, which is largely positive. However, there are also many negative effects that cannot be ignored. More evident in the culture, so we cannot allow free development of globalization, we need to retain our own national cultural characteristics, and cannot blindly follow. Design should preserve and promote cultural identity, because this is not only an economic issue, but more of a psychological impact to interior design. For example, we can use the design elements of their characteristics, to make these things integrate into society and more easily be accepted, to better meet peoples spiritual needs. Introduction Globalization is evidence since 1980s, with increasingly prominent in the world, a new phenomenon and that is the basic feature of the present era,. Globalization is our one of the most current topic of discussion, whether you are willing or not, it will affect you on your daily life or you jobs. Under the influence of globalization, we will find that the world is really getting smaller, information about people, economy, and cultural aspects are moving toward globalization. How can we not chase it and shares with the crowd? It has brought us too much influence, which of course has its good and bad aspects in it, we cannot follow or duplicate, it must have its own characteristics, especially in the design, should kept in their original culture and finding a goal to move forward to. 1 Analysis 2.1 The globalization effects in the culture Globalization is an objective development of human civilization process which result from the development of human society and civilization development. The process of globalization has greatly driven the development of global social productive forces, promoted the progress of human civilization. People need to calm down and think about the process of globalization on human civilization that is positive and negative effects arising. Strength of Western civilization led to globalization, many developing countries and regions to enjoy the civilization of Western science and technology while faced with the loss of the local cultural characteristics, as well as the risk of national culture. In addition to the positive effects of globalization, beyond the negative effects cannot be ignored, especially on the impact of Asian culture. Especially the impact on China even cannot be ignored. Globalization has accelerated Chinas economic development, but behind the development, the problems are evident. For example, the rapid development of rural areas have become urbanized, traditional architecture and culture under the influence of globalization because they have been making extensive damage instead of protecting them. A lot of traditional architecture has not been repaired due to their inexistence, those traditional cultural festivals have become very isolate is one example. In China there are many cultural festivals, with the involvement of Western culture, festivals, more and more Chinese people enjoy Western holidays, such as Christmas, Valentines Day, while the traditional Chinese festivals such as the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, etc.. are increasingly be ing left out. With less and less festive atmosphere, if it continues this way is bound to let go of traditional culture, it will be disappeared. Different Cultural in the worlds current characteristics of as exchange and dialogue, if under the influence of globalization with all the same culture, this world would be impossible to develop, and cultural needs of a variety of colors, guiding peoples lives in interior design course, we should keep this point of view, design changes out life, orientation of people, therefore I think that maintaining our own cultural characteristics, in the interior design is also very important. Many people have realized that globalization has brought in many unfavorable factors, and they have already begun to protect those cultural heritages. But as a major power, the Eastern China were lagging behind to many Western. They have long been protecting those old buildings. In 2 addition to those countries we can also see the Russian countryside, and in many rural areas, we do not see a lot of modern architecture being preserved, many places are not very much affected by globalization. This is what many countries would need to learn. The historical cultures and traditions that is being left behind by the ancestors, our future generations should understand and respect those certain awe, the same reasons for as in why we had the Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate Qu Yuan. Traditional culture is the valuable legacy of our Chinese ancestors, those who recorded the history of the text, which reveals the tolerance of the protocol, those who disseminated the teachings of truth, each is worth the same pride of China. It is often questioned whether everyone had inherited and carry forward the lineage of ancestors? When fashion trends spread, we are not paying homage to the Western custom of vulgar cultural fascination with madness, but we should learn to inherit Chinese tradition and absorb its teachings and philosophy. Many people now consider only the immediate economic interests of the various types of construction are operating together for commercial purposes, and they did not take it into considerations of the cultural impact. Nowadays, a growing number of urban people yearning for a more quiet and comfortable life, and often make use of holidays as break time and to relax. The sake of our future in this increasingly urban life can find solace in a spiritual place, we cannot be take into the economic interests at the same time on our cultural life. 2.2 communicate with culture into design With the acceleration of human civilization, human productivity, modern design is very active in all aspects of human life. Materials are relatively abundant, the quality of life people are increasingly high in demands, so design has to meet the peoples material needs and emotional needs, should the heavy responsibility to improve the quality of human life. Prominent feature of modern design is people-centered, attention to human needs and meet functionality, people may enjoy modern design with happiness and relaxation. Building and construction technology have constantly been improving very quickly over the years, new building is being constantly rising. The beauty of public space needs to reflect the cultural connotation, because today people have to spend most of the time to the use of public spaces. The beauty of public space, we need a complete plan, rich in content, aesthetic and noble Chinese 3 elements into the planning and design of public spaces which are a surging trend. Public space is an architectural core. For the movement of people the public space is a hub; for the use function that is a distribution point; for the spatial form that is an expression of architectural character. Eating space as a kind of public space, it occupied a very large place. Take restaurants interior design as an example, under the influence in a globalized economy, there has been a variety of fast-food restaurants such as McDonalds, KFC, etc.., in these restaurants all over the world interior design are the same, I do not want to say that kind of restaurant is bad, but in such a large environment, people tend to feel less comfortable and cozy in the place. The design of a good restaurant should provide enjoyment in the pursuit of economic interests, but also can reflect the colorful side, so the design of my restaurant, I will focus on peoples senses integrated into some of the traditional Chinese elements. Because in the context of Chinas history, it has deeper understanding of cultural life, but also a very good expression in interior design, the use of these things combined with traditional Chinese culture course, to achieve a balance which is moderation between culture and spaces. With the faster and faster of the modern life, western simple style impact on clothing, food, and other aspects. Also in the interior design, it has become a popular trend, but a kind of Chinese elements as part of our culture and tradition should be inherited. In the design of domestic and foreign, Chinese elements began to more and popular in the design concept. We can see many things used of Chinese element as usually in our daily life. The catering industry is an important part of public areas, it has very close connection to peoples lives, Eating food environment have a direct impact on peoples mood if it bad or good and, so I think why not joining the elements of national and the culture together in to the eating environment, so that it will be more grand. Because diet is also a culture, different countries have their own different food culture, under the influence of globalization, various fast food become very popular, We cannot deny that the various business opportunities brought by economic globalization, as the restaurants is moving forward for the purpose of commercial competition, if they can combine their own national characteristics, to create a dining environment more suitable to modern life, and which is most conducive to the long-term future development. Here are two examples to illustrate the traditional culture and environment, the combination of eating produce a better situation. The first case is a restaurant in Hong Kong, named OVOlogue.To restaurant, preserve and reuse the ground floor of the Cantonese verandah shop house built in 19th century,OVO endeavors to convert it into a chic and contemporary looking estery. OVOlogue, a fusion of OVO and dialogue, is a traditional Chinese restaurant filling the air with taste, art and heritage. Through interior design and selective artworks with unique characters, it successfully blends in history and modern Asian art into dining experience. OVOlogue coincides perfectly with the east-meets-west, tradition-meets-modern flavor. Another restaurant called shi shan xuan. East-meet-West is the design concept of this project. The space contains reception area, dining area and balcony etc. The design seeks to preserve and renovate the traditional Chinese style. Grey is the colour of Chinese characteristics and it dominates the dining area. The austere texture of hewn stone and the feminine quality of dining table create vivid contrasts. Interactive layers make for a unique and intimate spatial relationship. Natural lights are introduced in to the dining area and with austere and understated decorations, the interior and the exterior are perfectly integrated. The design represents peopleà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s willing of returning to nature and simplicity, as well as the peaceful and elegant lifestyle. 2.3 relating to design concept Recently, people abandon the illusion of fanaticism, longing for a comfortable life. Especially when people want to get away from the spinning of the world that only brings anxiety and fear, the ancient elements have a mysterious power that gives us the tranquility and calmness, and Sometimes it may not be recognized that the culture of the external forces have so powerful and deep to ones heart.The doctrine of the mean was the most faithful vision along the years in Chinas philosophy of life. The new generation try to achieve a balance between modern and classic that is also an art. Now I will combine the arts of this balance to my restaurants design concept, the use of cultural and natural to achieve this balance and coordination. This balance into the design is not only for aesthetics, but more importantly is to make the dining environment that changes peoples state of mind to be relaxed and enjoyable mood. 3. Conclusion Interior design development to a variety of styles has been the coexistence of diverse age, the 21st century interior design will be in the context of globalization, with a variety of styles. Many new ideas will come in at the same time, consumers are able to accept the different style, people will accept a variety of angles comprehensive design of various forms and styles, not just understand the simple meaning of a simplification. To truly comprehend the fine traditional culture of their own, only through the fusion of globalization, culture and design to compare the essence of the approach to international action, to give the design with a true national significance and quality. We will truly grasp the so-called The more national, the more global that we all know the profound meaning of the design concept. From the international point of view, understanding again, emphasized the concept of nation in the impact of globalization, but also to seek common ground while reserving differ ences, develop and retain something of national culture

Joseph Stalin Essay -- Biography Soviet Union European History

Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin was one of the biggest mass murderers of the twentieth century. From the purges in the Red Army to forced relocations, Stalin had the blood of millions on his hands. This essay is not going to debate the fact that this was indeed a brutal and power hungry individual, because he was indeed just that. I will on the other hand show you that through his way of governing the Soviet Union, he actually saved mother Russia from the German invasion in World War Two through his cunning and ruthlessness. Joseph Stalin was a very industrious person and used every means possible to better prepare his country for the coming war that he believed was inevitable. Wether it was diplomatic plotting, economic maneuvering, or just plain brute force, Stalin used every tool in his vast arsenal. The following are some of the more important decisions and methods that Stalin employed. Stalin was forced to consolidate his power through harsh means to better rule the Soviet Union. He ordered the five year plans to industrialize the nation and ordered one of the largest military build up plans ever. Stalin attempted many times to reach a diplomatic solution and ways to delay war with the Axis powers while at the same time trying to guarantee security from the West. Stalin wanted nothing less than to rule the Soviet Union and make her the greatest country in the world and he would stop at nothing to reach those goals. In his quest for leadership Stalin wished to consolidate his power in only himself, t hus enabling him to better rule the Soviet Union. Stalin's roots in politics go all the way back to him being expelled from the theological seminary in Tiflis, Georgia in 1899. This was where Stalin got his first real taste for politics and from that point on his political ambitions grew greater and greater. Stalin soon joined up with the Social Democratic Party and after the party split over ideological differences in 1903, Stalin joined the Bolshevik party under Vladimir Lenin. From 1903 to 1912 Stalin was arrested, and managed to escape, several times. He was exiled to Siberia from 1913 to 1917, returning only after the fall of the Tsar. With the fall of the Tzar and the country in the hands of the revolutionaries Stalin believed it to be the perfect time to come back and renew his political ambitions. Stalin was appointed Commissar of Nationalities ... ... military industry at the beginning of the war and up-to-date equipment was starting to be delivered to the front. The movement of the war industry east contributed to the lack of material but proved to be the saving grace of the army in the end. At the end the Soviet war industries were producing some of the best equipment in the world. In the end I do believe that through Stalin's leadership the Soviet Union was saved. Had it been under the leadership of the intended Communist bureaucracy it would have surely fallen. As we have seen in our country even simple matters can take forever to go into effect or get started under a bureaucracy. In that highly volatile and dangerous time period only an iron fisted rule could bring about change fast enough to due any good. True in the short term peoples right were trampled upon and millions died from famine, purges, and the war itself but in the end hundred's of millions were saved. Bibliography Robert Conquest, The Great Terror, (Toronto: Macmillan and Co. Ltd, 1968), p.123. Alexander Werth, Russia at War, (London: Barrie and Rockcliff, 1964), p.19. Isaac Deutscher, Stalin, (New York: Oxford University Pres, Inc 1967.

How does ICT affect both family and society? :: ICT Essays

 « There may be a reduced number of manual jobs. This is because computers and machinery can be used instead.  « ICT allows you to work from home. This is an advantage of no travelling and being able to live in any part of the country.  « There may be a reduction of jobs available because of the decrease in manual work. This would cause an increase in unemployment.  « The use of ICT gives the opportunity to work for yourself. It also makes it a lot easier than doing the work manually.  « There is the need to continually update worker skills, especially those who no longer spend year after year doing the same job.  « ICT can create new and interesting jobs. These can include jobs such as a computer programmer. This would also may work more enjoyable.  « With the increase in ICT there is the de-skilling or elimination of some office jobs. How will the new ICT system affect the family? A new ICT system is likely to affect the family in question, in different ways. However, it is likely to make the life of these people a lot easier and more manageable. It also allows you to be more organised. A Computer is especially helpful to school children and those who work. This is because using a computer is less time consuming, than compared to the manually writing everything up. It therefore makes life easier. Copies can be easily made meaning the family will not have to spends hours upon end rewriting documents. A new ICT system would allow the family to have improved communications around the world. The system would be equipped with the Internet and email service providers, such as Microsoft Outlook and Lycos. These facilities would allow the family to communicate with the rest of the world more easily. MSN messenger would be useful to children in the family and would also be convenient for work. The use of email is both quicker and more convenient than writing a letter. You can receive many attachments that you may have sent yourself or other people have sent. Email is a reasonably secure way of communication because you need a password to access your account. It is also useful because you can access your email from any server. You can also keep in contact with the family, no matter how far away they live. The family would have access to news on everyday events etc, via the Internet search engines and encyclopaedias. A new ICT system would allow the family to produce documents, databases, images, recordings etc. This is a lot less stressful than

Bell LaPadula

In recent years, the Bell-LaPadula model has been employed more and more in scientific Since publication, the Bell-LaPadula model has helped in the advancement of science and technology by providing a mathematical basis for the examination of laboratory security. Moreover, this model is a major component of having a disciplined approach to building secure and effective laboratory systems.The Bell-LaPadula model can also be used to abstractly describe the computer security system in the laboratory, without regard to the system's application.The goal of modern security research is to facilitate the construction of multilevel secure systems, which can protect information of differing classification from users that have varying levels of clearance. There are some deficiencies inherent in the Bell and LaPadula model, and there have been efforts to develop a new approach to defining laboratory security models, on the basis that security models should be derived from specific applications. Project Aims and Objectives:The objective of this research is to ascertain the ways in which the bell-lapadula model can be applied to Laboratory Information Management Systems. Laboratory automation occurs when the application of technology is used to reduce the need for human intervention in the laboratory. This makes it possible for scientists to explore data rates that otherwise may be too fast or too slow for proper scientific examination. Moreover, the research was also aimed to investigate the possible practical applications of the Bell-Lapadula model in library information management systems (LIMS).The main intention of this modern security research is to facilitate the construction of multilevel security systems, which can protect information of differing classification from users that have varying levels of clearance. Since publication, the Bell-LaPadula model has helped in the advancement of science and technology by providing a mathematical basis for the examination of l aboratory security. Moreover, this model has been major component of having a disciplined approach to the building of effective and secure laboratory systems.Project Outline: Literature Survey: The use of the Bell and LaPadula Model has been successful in modeling information that is relevant to security, even though this success might be responsible for the vagueness of the model about its primitives. This vagueness can also be examined with respect to the theory that the Bell and LaPadula Model and Noninterference are equivalent. Laboratory automation makes it possible for scientists to explore data rates that otherwise may be too fast or too slow to properly examine.Therefore, an automated laboratory reduces the need for human intervention and creates a more efficient environment in which human beings and technology can interact to produce a great deal more information and accurate data that was not possible prior to automation. Its approach is to define a set of system constrain ts whose enforcement will prevent any application program executed on the system from compromising system security.The model includes subjects, which represent active entities in a system (such as active processes), and objects, which represent passive entities (such as files and inactive processes). Both subjects and objects have security levels, and the constraints on the system take the form of axioms that control the kinds of access subjects may have to objects. (http://chacs. nrl. navy. mil/publications/CHACS/2001/2001landwehr-ACSAC. pdf)While the complete formal statement of the Bell-LaPadula model is quite complex, the model can be briefly summarized by these two axioms stated below: (a) The simple security rule, which states that a subject cannot read information for which it is not cleared (i. e. no read up) (b) The property that states that a subject cannot move information from an object with a higher security classification to an object with a lower classification (i. e. no write down). (http://chacs. nrl. navy. mil/publications/CHACS/2001/2001landwehr-ACSAC. pdf)These axioms are meant to be implemented by restriction of access rights that users or processes can have to certain objects like devices and files. The concept of trusted subjects is a less frequently described part of the Bell-LaPadula model. Systems that enforce the axioms of the original Bell-LaPadula model very strictly are often impractical, because in a real system, a user might need to invoke operations that would require subjects to violate the property, even though they do not go against our basic intuitive concept of laboratory security.For instance, there might be need in the laboratory to extract an UNCLASSIFIED paragraph from a CONFIDENTIAL document for use in a document that is UNCLASSIFIED. A system that strictly enforces the properties of the original Bell-LaPadula model might prohibit this kind of operation. As a result, a class of trusted subjects has had to be included in the Bell-LaPadula model, and is trusted not to violate security, although they might violate the property.Laboratory systems that are based on this less restrictive model usually have mechanisms that permit some of the operations that the property would normally not allow. It should also be noted that a number of projects have used the Bell-LaPadula model for description of their security requirements, although strict enforcement of the Bell-LaPadula axioms without the implementation of trusted subjects turns out to be overly restrictive in these projects. Thus, there has been widespread introduction of these trusted processes to implement the concept of trusted subjects.There are also some limitations involved in the use of the Bell-LaPadula model, including an absence of policies for changing user access rights. With this model, there can be secure and complete general downgrade, and is it is intended for systems that have static security levels. The Bell-Lapadula model would b e a suitable idea for Laboratory Information Management Systems because the model focuses on data confidentiality and access to classified information, in contrast to some other models that describe rules for data protection and integrity.Clear and concise access rules for clinical information systems spells out by this model. Furthermore, it reflects current best clinical practice, and it’s informed by the actual threats to privacy, its objective is to the maximum number of records accessed by any user, and at the same time the number of users who can access any record and this has to do with controlling information flows across rather than down and at the same time a strong notification property should be enforced.I will also discuss its relationship with other existing security policy models available, and the possibility of its usage in other applications where information exposure must be localized, which ranges from private banking to the management of intelligence data , and much more. Another area in which laboratories could benefit by using the Bell-Lapadula model is the multi million dollar drug industry, which requires a high level of security and confidentiality since drug research sensitive, and results or findings in an ongoing research may sometimes need to be kept from unauthorized persons.Description of the Deliverables: This research will be conducted by investigating the possible practical applications of the Bell-Lapadula model. This would be conducted and tested physically and objectively. A prototype will be built in order for it to be properly tested, since it is practical. The testing stage will involve programming codes for different levels of security and the objective is to find out if security can be breached at any stage. Evaluation Criteria Evaluation of the involve the Resource Plan:The equipment, software, and other materials necessary to complete the project, how they are to be provided, and what the financial costs will be, such as travel. Project Plan and Timing: Anticipated milestones and interim deliverables. A detailed timetable (schedule) of the stages, including the estimated finishing date, is a must. Stages will be reviewed with the sponsor and Dissertation Advisor. Don’t simply list the stages of the project and their timetables, but supply information what is done in each of them with special emphasis on the last stage of the project.Risk Assessment: A description of what obstacles may arise and contingency plans to meet them. One aspect that should be considered here is the availability of the software and hardware you intend to use and, if you need to interface several pieces of software, whether this is known to be possible. Quality Assurance: How progress on your project will be monitored and how success at each stage will be assessed. This may include, but should not be limited to, the formal project assessments.

Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Philip G. Satre, CEO of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. , had steered the company to a new direction and created a new competitive advantage for the company. In 1998, Gary Loveman joined Harrah's as chief operating officer (COO) and helped the company to change from operations-driven company that had its properties operate as â€Å"standalone business,† to a marketing-driven company that focused on the target customers and build loyalty under Harrah's brand. By December 1999, Harrah's had 50% growth in revenue and 100% growth in stock price and profits, which the results were significantly better than the industry. However, Satre had two questions for Gary Loveman and his team. He wanted to know how much percentage of the marketing dollars was accounted for this success and was these marketing efforts sustainable. Phillip Satre became CEO of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. in 1984. His first sustainable competitive advantage was to focus on customer. The first CRM system was the Winner's Information Network, which collected and analyzed data based on customers' play. The strategy was a success until mid 1990s when there were more competitors entered the market with better and flashier properties. The company launched the Total Gold program in fall 1997, which focused more on increasing customer royalty. After Gary Loveman joined the company in 1998, the data he analyzed was showed that customers had little loyalty to the company, so the company's main focus was to increase customers' loyalty. In order to succeed, Loveman introduced three major plans: changing the organization structure/ building the Harrah's brand, delivering extraordinary service, and exploiting relationship marketing opportunities. The new CRM was recreated and consisted of two components: Database Marketing (DBM) and the Total Gold Program. DBM could precisely predict â€Å"customer worth† – how much the casino expected to win from a customer. This system helped Harrah's to identify its potential great customers. It also helped Harrah's to develop customer centric approach to direct marketing, which comprised 3 phases to a customer relationship: new business, loyal and retention. The Total Gold Program was created to assist and support the cross-market visitation patterns of the customers. The Total Gold Program increased Harrah's cross-market revenues from 13% in 1997 to 23% in 2000. It also helped Harrah to create true royalty program which motivated customers to set goals and explained clearly for how to achieve them. Harrah's main focus was to increase customers' loyalty, so the metrics that could be used to assess its performance were customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. As far as how much percentage of the marketing efforts had contributed to the overall performance which could be measured by using return on investment metric. This competitive advantage probably sustained until the competitors introduced similar programs, which Harrah's might have to come up with new innovations. However, Harrah's had excelled in customer intimacy and also did very well in product leadership, which put Harrah's in better position than its competitors.

Economic Crisis Management in Hospitality and Tourism Industry

INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY, GURGAON Issues in International Hospitality and Tourism Management U 54082 Module leader: Ms. Bandana Rai Submission: ECONOMIC CRISIS IN HOSPITALITY & TOURISM INDUSTRY Submitted by: Pavitra Mehrotra Student Id: 010109029 Abstract In the recent scenario, hospitality and tourism sector has become an important part of daily life but which is now experiencing multiple challenges because of the global economic crisis.Besides tourism, many other industries are in a position to create affluence and economic development opportunities, which also considered difficult to develop. After a significant reduction in 2009, tourism industry boomed strongly in 2010 and 2011 the international tourist arrivals were predictable to increase considerably. As tourism is a steadily growing sector, and a more globally connected, which is already indulged with a maximum population, so in such environment it is often considered di fferent to think about Crisis Management. Related essay: Relationship Between Hospitality and Tourism Accompanying material: Advertising in Tourism IndustryBut this thing is often neglected and also mostly considered a task to be only thought upon when Crisis actually takes place. Purpose This research study is done to know how financial crisis occurs in tourism industry and how it can be overcome. So this research article named Economic Crisis in Hospitality and Tourism Industry will tell about the impact of economic crisis on this industry and the recommendation to overcome it. Methodology It was an attempt to determine the impact of Economic Crisis in Hospitality Industry, and its main objectives were: * To investigate negative effects of economic crisis in this industry. To investigate the possibilities and importance of preventive crisis management within corporate framework. * To recognize the importance of crisis planning and organizational measures. Keywords: hospitality, tourism, crisis, economic uncertainty, growth, and tourism market Paper Type: Research Paper Introduction The word â€Å"crisis† is derived from the Greek word â€Å"krisis†, which means differentiation. (Dirk, 2003). In legal terms, crisis was used to describe the differentiation i. e. eparation between actual and proposed situation. National economics was the first to use crisis for its operations. Their business administration started to look into the matter when the conditions were getting worse due to shortage of crude oil in 1970s. The company was unable to solve this oil shortage due to lack of situation management, so this laid the consequence of coping with crisis. Crisis Management, the term usually refers to change of tasks and procedures done when a crisis materialize.Different types of crisis management and correlating activities are categorized in regards to the process and differentiation between different phases. Crisis Management as a system refers to the group of people who are responsible for crisis management activities. Mainly middle and lower level e mployees and the external factors join with the upper management as essential part of crisis. Although crisis management has abided through various attempts of explanations and theories, but till now none of the standards have been found to overcome it.Crisis management should be implicit as a preparation to avoid uncertain damage or negative effects. Taking the process of crisis management into consideration, the prevention of actually surviving with the crisis is acknowledged. Therefore, both the activities of prevention and struggling should be comprehended to crisis management as should be apprehended as a comprehensive management problem. This part of crisis management is dependable on crisis terminology, both part of regular official planning are also independent from it. Literature ReviewAs quoted by Krystek and Schulten â€Å"Business administration predominantly terms crisis as a process that negatively influences the development of a company to a considerable extent† (Krystek, 1987; Schulten, 1995). According to this the crisis either endangers or makes the survival of the affected company impossible. In words of Burtscher, â€Å"†¦ a company should only be spoken of when the achievements of existential or dominant goals, which are decisive factors in the survival of the entire system, are seriously endangered. † (Burtscher 1996, p. 31).Another group of authors Sonmez, Bachmann and Allen in 1994 defined tourism crises in even more concrete terms as â€Å"†¦ any occurrence which can threaten the normal operations and conduct of tourism destination’s overall reputation for safety, attractiveness, and comfort by negatively affecting visitors’ perceptions of the destinations; and, in turn, cause downtown in the local travel and tourism economy, and interrupt the continuity of business operations for the local travel and tourism industry, by the reduction in tourist arrivals and expenditures. (Sonmez et. al. 1994, p. 22). Later after 2 years in 1996, Scheler defines crisis management as: â€Å"†¦. measures of all types which allow a business to cope with a suddenly occurring danger or risk situation in order to return as quickly as possible to normal business routine. † (Scherler, 1996, p. 17). Another author Weinberg and Konert in 1985 argued that ‘†¦subjectivity experienced through the product, the service, the contribution made to the consumer’s quality of life†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Weinberg and Konert, 1985, p. 85).Years later Haedrich in 1998, proved that in year 1991, ‘only 40. 6 percent of the companies interviewed were in a position to implement their planned competitive strategies unhindered by social demands. The onset of a negative event will increase this number even further. (Haedrich, 1998). Luhmann also quoted â€Å"†¦that risk assessment and the readiness for risk acceptance is not only a physiological but mainly a social problem. We behave as it is expected by the relevant reference groups or as we-whether in accordance with or against the opinion-are socialized’. Luhmann, 1991, p. 11). According to Romeo ‘if a high degree of object-specific involvement exists, it can be assumed due to the greater load and a strong discrimination effect in comparison to positive stimuli. (Romeo, 1991). Another author Krielkamp described risk as ‘the possible negative consequences of the consumer’s behavior as perceived by the consumer. Seen from this point of view, risk during the travel decision is the deviation that can exist between the expected and the final, subjectivity experienced tourism product.If this perceived risk exceeds a certain tolerance value, the consumer tried to reduce this risk using reductions techniques product than for a material product. (Krielkamp, 1998). According to Ritchie and Crouch, it is important for the tourist to know the dangers that exist in a destination in order to adjust their behavior and, secondly, to set these in relation to the usual danger at the location. (Ritchie and Crouch, 1997). Tschiderer’s defines the holiday location product as ‘a bundle of market services, which are made up of constant core part and a derived variable offer’.And the natural offer as a core service of the service bundle, ‘with a few exceptions, is the core of holiday tourism and, therefore, the deciding element of the services’. (Tschiderer’s, 1980) â€Å"ECONOMIC CRISIS IN HOSPITALITY & TOURISM INDUSTRY† Tourism has an important impact on economies, societies and cultures of countries. From boosting economic growth to improving the social fabric and material resourcing to improve living conditions, the tourism has started to act upon.It’s obvious that tourism contributes to economic and social process, but the strength of action differs remarkably from region to region depending upon the level of Obviously, tourism contribution to economic and social progress, the strength of its action differs significantly from country to country depending on its level of development and the regimen attended on them. As with the most industries hospitality and tourism sector is also experiencing number of challenges as a result of global economic crisis.The industry is feeling the impact of a reduction capital market and non-mandatory spending by both corporate and individual customers. Tourism has suffered a lot during the global economic crisis; there was a turn down of 4% of international tourist arrivals in 2009, and revenues from international tourism fell by 6% by 2009. Motivations of travel for 2011 have been to traditional tourist destinations (58%), while 28% wanted to discover new destinations. (Global Financial Crisis Bulletin, Protiviti, 2009) Based on existing forecasting, the quarterly increase in hotel RevPAR is not expected until the second the second quarter of 2010.Corporate travel which ac counts to 18% of airline revenue has also decreased consecutively as companies all around the world are getting determined to reduce costs. With partial expansion contingencies, many hotels and companies are looking forward to improve the capability of their sales and marketing expenditure and maintaining prevailing brand value so as to gain customer loyalty and market share. According to a new report of UNWTO â€Å"2011 International Tourism Results and Prospects for 2012† during the year 2011 tourist arrivals grew up by about 4% to a total of 980 million.As published in the report, in 2012 the same will continue to grow, at a slow pace most likely very close to one billion tourists. The increase in 2011 was 4. 4% (980 million in the year 2011, compared with 939 million in the year 2010). (Universitatea Danubius Galati, 2012) Tourism development during Global Economic Crisis Tourism industry in the recent decades has proved to be an important element in the economic growth. The increasing number of tourists, tourism business growth, but also being an area that is still a major employer in the labor market motivates positive development of the global Hospitality & Tourism sector.The involvement of tourism industry in global GDP is striking 9% with only slightly smaller than the banking sector representing 11%, but higher than the automotive industry that is 8. 8%. This figure is itself very impressing, but taking into consideration the global situation becomes even more valuable. The year 2011 was characterized by a deadlock in the global economy that seems to recover in a series of events leading to political instability in countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and natural disasters, also as in earthquakes in Japan.The global economic crisis of 2008-2009 had a momentous impact on international tourism industry, the most severe so far in the last decades. International tourist arrivals declined by 4% and international tourism receipts by 6%. In 2010, the sector rebounded strongly (international tourist arrivals grew by 7%) demonstrating the resilience of tourism demand. (http://www. unglobalpulse. org/projects/rivaf-research-economic-crisis-tourism -decline-and-its-impact-poor) The Impact of Economic Crisis on Tourism and Hospitality Worldwide:Businesses have reported a declination in sales of lodging, food service; events and other hospitality products and some have closed their doors forever. The declination has resulted not only from smaller number of customers in hotels, restaurants, conference and convention centers, etc. , but also from a momentous decline in the average expenditure per guest (Pizam, 2009) The decline in international tourism in 2009 was felt globally, but specifically affected destinations with a higher dependence on the European and US source markets.All world regions suffered a decline in international tourist arrivals with the exception of Africa. By income level, low-income countries have been less adversely affected by the global crisis and have recovered comparatively faster. Business tourism was more affected than other segments, but available information does not allow for a detailed impact analysis by a segment. Employment in tourism was less impacted and tended to recover quicker than in other economic sectors according to data on employment in hotels and restaurants (the available proxy used in there port to evaluate the impact of the crisis on tourism employment).The recession had caused serious problems for luxury hotels all around the world. However, many hotels in international markets, especially the ones catering to leisure travelers, were not as much of affected. The popularity and growth of the luxury hotel sector in recent years commend that a strong return may not be idealistic (Barsky, 2009). (UNWTO, 2010) More specifically: * Europe ended the year 2009 by 6% declination. Destinations in Central, Eastern and Northern Europe were predominantly poorly affe cted, as compared to the results in Western, Southern and Mediterranean Europe that were relatively better. Asia and the Pacific (? 2%) showed an unexpected rebound. The second half of 2009 measured a 3% growth, reflecting enhanced regional economic results and scenarios. * In the Americas (? 5%), the Caribbean returned to growth in the last four months of 2009. * The Middle East (? 6%), though far-far better from the growth levels of previous years, had a positive second half in 2009. * Africa (+5%) was a strong performer, with sub-Saharan destinations doing particularly well business. (Q Finance, 2012) Crisis Handling StrategiesThe further area of crisis management concerns with the application of basic courses of action for crisis handling. The basic aim of crisis handling strategy is the pressure of the developments of the effects caused by negative consequence of global economic crisis. The forms of a crisis handling strategy can be either of the two i. e. Offensive handling an d defensive handling. 1. Offensive handling strategy: The aim of an offensive handling strategy is to timely and systematically implement the measures that eradicate and contains the cause and the effects related to identifying the problem area.To make this handling strategy work the organization must be prepared, intended and independently, to accept all the parts of activities, particularly customers, stakeholders and the state, that something has not worked as anticipated. An essential part of the offensive handling strategy is the attempt to eradicate the causes of the problems. Despite large number of efforts, there will remain always some problem areas for which this is not possible; for example, natural disasters. In such cases, a long-term well thought-out offensive strategy can be used to agree to and capitalize on the event. Dirk, 2003) 2. Defensive handling strategy With a defensive handling strategy, it is taken in consideration without knowing the consequences and knowl edge of the circumstances, not to act upon them, but to wait to react in order to bring the situation under control. The aim is to elude the crisis as far as possible and not to strengthen the circumstances with an individual’s action. In practice, the defensive handling strategy can be often observed. This is certainly also affected by the verity that offensive handling strategy and information given come with unknown attention in the preliminary stage. The greater scope with regard to handling and structuring but also the sensibleness of voluntarily talking on social responsibility means that an offensive handling strategy has a lot going for it. If the crisis is understood in such terms, it offers the chance to develop the organization further and ensures the influence in the various spheres of activities. † (Dirk, 2003) Crisis Planning and Organizational measures Planning is defined as a constructive process that defines how the organization’s stakeholders wa nt to see a future process to be developed.Hence planning is the opposite of brain-storming, ad-hoc decisions that are dependent on chance. In the crisis process and implementation process, there are three discrete stages i. e. Generic Planning, Contingency Planning and Preventive Planning (WEU, 1995). 1. Generic Planning- it reclines planning basis for possible crisis situations. The aim is to identify fundamental requirements and potentials. In addition, the ensuring planning stages should be made simple and plans that speed up the process. The questions that are related to organization’s structure as well as to the workflow organization that are much influence and unwavering by it.Generic planning is followed by the predictable investigation of certain crisis synopsis. The basic aim is to work out and evaluate different privileges in order to keep them accessible as tactics of action. This outline of planning is also known as ‘alternative planning’ or emergenc y planning. 2. Contingency Planning- In brief, contingency planning for predictable events enables the organization to get a boost up start that fundamentally helps the company to be more reliable about their decisions in critical situations like under pressure.The planning process in terms of detailing is limited to economic and human necessities as on the well as within boundaries of imagination. So a lot of attention is required when it concerns with situations for which there is very short reaction time left. 3. Preventive Planning- Whenever a negative is prevailing on an organization, then preventive planning is used. Depending on the need with which the task should be completed, i. e. depending on the speed with which the crisis is increasing, this can only happen through the adaptation of various option plans.The aim of these option plans, which are made up on the outline of preventive planning, is the application and preparation of feasible solutions to the increasing crisis situation. For all planning actions of preventive planning, the findings and result of previous steps and also the contingency planning are used as an initial point of start. Although these rare results of the applied contingency are being used in this application, the use of the least part of the contingency plan considerably shortens the preventive planning process.It is important to think through crisis planning and organizational preparation in good times as it is to be implemented in reality. With its implementation, one of the essential factors for a successful crisis management is met (Mileti and Sorensen, 1987; Reilly, 1987) Conclusion In 2011, world tourism has emerged fully from the crisis, say experts unanimously. Trend of increasing profits and the number of tourists will continue over the next few years, and this year could be even set a new record for number of trips, reports World Travel Monitor Forum.As shown in the statistics world tourism industry activity increas es in importance. The main index, tourist arrivals, is increasing, and sales in 2011 of 4. 4% are significant. According to the WTO officials, tourism is very important in emerging economies, tourism affects the entire economy by reducing debt, trade deficit and creating jobs. Besides the critical economic dimension, tourism is very important socially and culturally, favoring communication between different cultures, it can have an influence on mentality and geopolitical developments worldwide. Bibliography * Barsky, J. 2009). Luxury Hotel and Recession: View from around the World. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. lhw. com/download_s/230. pdf. [Accessed 25 October 12] * Burtscher, J. G. (1996). Wertorientiertes Krisenmanagement, Diss. * Dirk Glaesser, 2003. Crisis Management in the Tourism Industry. Edition. Butterworth-Heinemann. * Haedrich, G. (1998a). Kommunikationspolitik. In Tourismus- Management (G. Haedrich et al. , eds) pp. 379-403, de Gruyter. * Krielkamp, E. (1998). Stra tegisches Planung in Tourismus, In Tourismus- Management (G. Haedrich et al. , eds) pp. 287-324, de Gruyter. Krystek, U. (1987). Unternehmungskrisen. Gabler. * Luhmann, N. (1991). Soziologie des Risikos. de Gruyter. * Pizam, A. (2009). The Global Financial Crisis and Its Impact on the Hospitality Industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28, 301 * Protiviti. 2009. Global Financial Crisis Bulletin. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. protiviti. in/en-US/Documents/Newsletters/Global-Financial-Crisis/FinCrisis_Bulletin061909. pdf. [Accessed 24 October 12]. * Rirchie, B. and Crouch, G. (1997). Quality, price and the tourism experience. In Quality Management in Tourism (AIEST, ed. Vol. 39, pp. 117-39, AIEST. * Romeo, J. (1991). The effect of negative information on the evaluations of brand extensions and the family brand. In Advances in Consumer Research, Proceedings, (R. Holman and M. Solomon, eds) Vol. 18, pp. 399-406. * Scherler, P. (1996). Management der Krisenkommuni kation. Helbig & Lichtenhahn. * Schulten, M. F. (1995). Die Erlebnis-gesselschaft. Campus Verlag. * Sonmez, S. F. , Backman, S. J. and Allen, L. R. (1994). Managing Tourism Crises. Clemson University. * Tourism and Hotels Industry | Market Analysis and Trends – QFINANCE. 2012.Tourism and Hotels Industry | Market Analysis and Trends – QFINANCE. 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Tourism industry is always helpless to various crises and disasters, and its growth has been badly affected due to unpleasant situations.This paper was part of a research which has been conducted in Penang and uses qualitative research methodology. The level of impacts was different for industry and their businesses decreased for a certain period of time. It was found that the recent economic crisis formed many negative impacts for businesses in Penang and various strategies have been applied to lessen the negative effects. The paper also argues that the crisis had consequent effects and created many challenges for tourism industry. Key Point-2Recent economic and financial crises that affected tourism industry from 2007 through 2010 and further has thrown considerable attention on the role that crisis measures play in tourism. (Hall, 2010). The scope and size of impacts were so severe, that the World Tourism Organization estimated that international tourist arrivals fell by 4% in 2009, and many destinations in the world reported negative growth. As Penang is a mature tourist destination in Malaysia was also affected by recent global economic crises. Attracting many international leisure and business tourists gives threats and opportunities to this destination.Threats because these markets highly depend on global economic situations; and variation in the number of arrivals can create negative impacts for tourism industry. Comment and analysis The above study tells us that tourism industry in Penang was struck by global financial and economic crises. However they were not equal for different hospitality industrie s in Penang, although they approved that the crisis created many opportunities for their business. It is also important to note that although economic crises affected Penang as a tourist destination.Tourism business in Penang also looked at this crisis as an opportunity for organizational learning and they obtained valuable experiences on how to manage the difficult situations. They also believed that there is an immediate need to develop a tourism crisis management plan that integrates all tourism business in the State as the industry is very delicate to external factors. Article Summary-2 Carmen Babaita, Marilen Pirtea, Andreia Ispas (2010). Professional tourism – before and after economic crisis in the hotel industry from Timisoara, Romania. WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics. , pp. 10 Key Point-1 This article demonstrates information on the concept of proficient tourism and its associated terms and how the global economic crisis has affected this valuable segmen t financially, particularly in tourism industry. The research was conducted in two periods: before and during the economic crisis and targeted 13 hotels of 3 and 4 stars from the hotel market in Timisoara. The study projected a series of related research regarding the tourism and services from the hospitality field, which was in the position of finding new ways to attract and retain business customers.Also according to authors Hotels surveyed in 2009-2010 except for a 4 Star Hotel said they were affected by the financial crisis. Key Point-2 According to the article, the competitive advantages for Romania as tourist destination were unusual destination markets; location in Central-Eastern Europe, the existence of large international hotel chains; knowledge of English by a large part of the young population; upcoming professional specialization of the Romanian companies with the opportunity to become trusted partners for any global organizations, also placed in Romania.Taking into acc ount the addition of the professional travel motivation in the definition of tourism and tourists, there were numerous clashes of opinion, having prevailed the opinion that professional tourism produces the same economic effects at the destination of the traveler or visitor as the recreational tourism; these effects can be: an increasing or a stimulating economic activity, an increased turnover of firms specialized in tourism benefits and an increased revenue from tourism balance. Comment and analysisAccording to the above study, it can be analyzed that the economic crisis had a major affect on the hotel market activity in Timisoara. The hotel management has always been in a position to find intellectual and resourceful solutions to attract customers, which are scarce and more demanding. Accommodation are still limited, their number is significantly lower to the accessible needs. Starting a project with European funds that include design, site plan of new hotels, even hotel chains, could be the key to improve job prospects, the number of events, business tourists coming to western markets.Article Summary-3 Protiviti: Risk and Business consulting. (2009, June). Impact of the Economic Crises on the hospitality, tourism and leisure industry. Publisher U. S Available from: http://www. protiviti. com/en-US/Documents/Newsletters/Global-Financial-Crisis/FinCrisis_Bulletin061909. pdf [Accessed: 17/09/12. ] Key Point-1 The current article discusses about the analysis of existing conditions faced by the hospitality, travel and leisure industry, along with a review of the significant issues the management should have concentrated as the economic rises continues to run its run as an economic recovery begins. According to the article the financial crises has impacted both domestic and the domestic i. e. U. S market as well international travel market. The occupancy ratio of domestic travelers to international travelers is approximately 4:1 (83 percent v/s 17 percent). In r esponse many hotels have reduced number of guests, which is one of the largest expenses at both the hotel and corporate levels. Key Point-2With limited expansion opportunities, many hotels and companies are looking to improve the effectiveness opportunities, many hotels and companies are looking to improve the effectiveness of their sales and marketing spend and maintain existing brand value to gain customer loyalty and increase market share. Their strategies include print and online advertising, and marketing directly to national groups that initially have arranged events at their properties. As in other industries, cost management and controls spend have become important areas of focus for owners and operators.Centralizing or outsourcing business processes (e. g. , payroll, accounts payable) is among numerous strategic initiatives hospitality management is undertaking. Comment and analysis Based on the article it can be concluded that companies are using different strategies to ma intain themselves during the global economic crises. For firms in hospitality and tourism industry, it is important for management to maintain customer expectations, manage to maintain customer expectations, manage costs, optimize cash flows and working capital, and maintain debt obligations.Additionally, many in the industry are using the current economic crisis as an opportunity to gain market share. Through increased marketing and advertising initiatives, companies are striving to maintain existing customers while also positioning themselves to be top-of-mind for industry consumers once the economy begins to recover. Summary-4 Crises Management in Hospitality Industry: Case of Croatia Cizmar, Sanja: Vlahov, Antonio. An Enterprises Odeyssey. International Conference Proceeings: 1576-15-89, 4, 20. Zagreb: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business. (May 26-May 29, 2010)Key Point-1 This article tells us about the 2009 economic on the hospitality in Croatia. It tells tha t a strategic approach to the crisis management in the hospitality industry both on government and private level sectors. On government level, the article examines the overall process of dealing with the crises as well as pre-crises planning. The research findings tell that the Croatian government, got failed in the pre-crises management but in tourism sector it handled the crises in a very effective way, thus assuring the country tourism results in the year of global economic crises.A survey done in on a small fraction of Hospitality companies in Croatia, revealed that top level managers understood the importance of crises management measures and also they were regular in their implementation. The authors also concluded that global economic crises cannot be stopped but, the impact on hotel industry can be limited both by private organizations and public sectors. Key Point-2 In 2009, world economy has faced a rare crisis, activating severe recession that critically affected tourism industry.In Croatia two percent drop of overall tourist arrival, and one percent increase of overall overnights has been recorded in 2009 in comparison to 2008. The drop in tourism receipts of Croatia has been much stronger than the drop in the arrivals, and is expected to reach 15. 5% compared to next year. A typology of crises, which is important for further discussion in the paper, is based on the types of domains or origins or causes of the crises. Complexity of the crises’ origins affects that lifecycle and duration of the crises, thus impacting its intensity and impacts to organizations. Since tourism industry is very ulnerable to different crisis, the scope of crises impacts in tourism is multilevel. Out of all 24 crises management measures, 14 measures have significant correlation between managers have significant correlation between managers’ perception of importance and its usage. Four measures belong to group ‘operation, investment, and environmentâ₠¬â„¢ and three measures to group ‘human resources’. Comments & Analysis This article analysis’s the way of coping with the economic crisis on government and company managerial level in the hospitality industry of Croatia, with regards to 2009 economic crisis.In deep economic crisis as it was in 2009, which has had a significant impact on the hospitality industry market and financial position, only synchronized actions of government and companies’ management may generate positive results in crisis prevention and especially in a phase of coping with the crisis. Empirical survey shows that top managers of Croatian hospitality companies’ management may generate positive results in crisis prevention and especially in a phase of coping with crisis.The survey should be done on the same sample of hospitality companies in order to reveal which company has succeeded to recover operational performance in a shorter period. Parallel, the research should aim to r eveal which group of crisis management measures generates the fastest recovery of companies operating performance in a post crisis period. Article Summary-5 Carmen Babaita, Marilen Pirtea, Andreia Ispas (2010). Professional tourism – before and after economic crisis in the hotel industry from Timisoara, Romania. WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics. 7, pp. 10Key Point-1 This article demonstrates information on the concept of proficient tourism and its associated terms and how the global economic crisis has affected this valuable segment financially, particularly in tourism industry. The research was conducted in two periods: before and during the economic crisis and targeted 13 hotels of 3 and 4 stars from the hotel market in Timisoara. The study projected a series of related research regarding the tourism and services from the hospitality field, which was in the position of finding new ways to attract and retain business customers.Also according to authors Hotels sur veyed in 2009-2010 except for a 4 Star Hotel said they were affected by the financial crisis. Key Point-2 According to the article, the competitive advantages for Romania as tourist destination were unusual destination markets; location in Central-Eastern Europe, the existence of large international hotel chains; knowledge of English by a large part of the young population; upcoming professional specialization of the Romanian companies with the opportunity to become trusted partners for any global organizations, also placed in Romania.Taking into account the addition of the professional travel motivation in the definition of tourism and tourists, there were numerous clashes of opinion, having prevailed the opinion that professional tourism produces the same economic effects at the destination of the traveler or visitor as the recreational tourism; these effects can be: an increasing or a stimulating economic activity, an increased turnover of firms specialized in tourism benefits an d an increased revenue from tourism balance. Comment and analysisAccording to the above study, it can be analyzed that the economic crisis had a major affect on the hotel market activity in Timisoara. The hotel management has always been in a position to find intellectual and resourceful solutions to attract customers, which are scarce and more demanding. Accommodation are still limited, their number is significantly lower to the accessible needs. Starting a project with European funds that include design, site plan of new hotels, even hotel chains, could be the key to improve job prospects, the number of events, business tourists coming to western markets.