Friday, December 27, 2019

Global Warming And Its Effects - 867 Words

Global climate is the average climate over the entire planet. The planet is warming, humans are mostly to blame and plants and animals are going to dramatic lengths to cope. That s the consensus of a number of recent studies that used wildlife to gauge the extent of global warming and its effects. The global temperature record represents an average over the entire surface of the planet. It is caused mostly by increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Global temperature mainly depends on how much energy the planet receives from the Sun and how much it radiates back into space—quantities that change very little. Earth s climate has always changed; it is the rate of change that is of current concern to scientists. A one-degree global change is significant because it takes a vast amount of heat to warm all the oceans, atmosphere, and land by that much. Global warming doesn’t mean temperatures rose everywhere at every time by one degree. Earth s climate has always changed; it is the rate of change that is of current concern to scientists. For the last 45 years, global surface temperature rose at an average rate of about 0.17 °C (around 0.3 ° Fahrenheit) per decade. Since 1976, every year has been warmer than the long-term average. When I attempted to analyze both the positive and negative impacts global climate has on wildlife, there were not any positive impacts I could find. However, there were numerous negative impacts. For example, climate change is causing Arctic seaShow MoreRelatedGlobal Warming And Its Effects985 Words   |  4 PagesEnvironmental Science Professor Mahoney 11/11/14 Global Warming Over the last few decades global warming has become one of the biggest environmental issues of all times. Every year, global warming gets worse and it’s affecting the way people live, it is affecting the atmosphere in general, and other living organisms in our planet. Global warming is the gradual and increasing rise of the overall temperature of the Earth caused by the greenhouse effect due to the increased levels of carbon dioxide andRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects Essay1040 Words   |  5 PagesGlobal warming is directly causing the rise in temperature of the Earth. The melting of the polar ice caps causes some of the most pressing issues including the endangerment of species indigenous to this region and the rise of ocean levels. Global Warming Global warming is the steady rise of temperature of the Earth’s surface. What exactly causes global warming? Numerous sources fuel global warming, such as deforestation, permafrost, and even sunspots. Obviously, many factors contribute to thisRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects1331 Words   |  6 PagesGlobal Warming Global warming is the causation of the Glaciers melting, sea levels rising, cloud forests drying, and wildlife struggles today. Humans are making this possible because of their release of heat-trapping gasses known as greenhouse gasses by their modern devices. Global warming is the abnormal speedy increase in the Earth’s average surface temperature. It is believed that this is due to the greenhouse gasses that people release into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.The greenhouseRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects976 Words   |  4 PagesAs global warming, we understand that is the rise in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. It has been an immense concerning all over the world for the past decades since the current cycle of global warming is changing the rhythms of climate that humans, animals and plants rely on. Scientists have studied the natural cycles and events that are known to influence the change in climate to discover what i s originating the current global warming. However, the amount and pattern ofRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects1571 Words   |  7 PagesAs global issues today become increasingly controversial, many people are inclined to believe that Global Warming is an issue that can take a backseat to more significant issues that plague today’s society. The information presented throughout my research in regards to the rising sea levels and the melting of glaciers and ice shelves, highly indicates that it cannot. What many Americans fail to realize is that if sea levels continue to rise due to Global Warming, then more than half of LouisianaRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects1544 Words   |  7 PagesGlobal warming is one of the vigorously discussed topic on Earth today. According to a TechMedia Network, â€Å"Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to b e permanently changing the Earth’s climate.† (â€Å"Global Warming †¦ Effects†). We have been witnessing the change in Earth’s climate since past few years, and we are well aware of the consequences of climate change as well. Global warmingRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects1432 Words   |  6 Pageshas an effect on climate change and contributes to global warming. Yet people tend to turn a blind eye to global warming and label it as a myth, whether they do not believe in it or it is not in their best financial interest to believe in it. Let us take a closer look at global warming and the effects it has on our people, homes and environments. Global Warming has become a rising problem in our world’s climate. It’s time we show the initiative to understand the concept of global warming and showRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects928 Words   |  4 PagesGlobal-Warming Mother Earth is burning as we speak; humanity has killed our precious Earth. Global-warming is a vicious killer that was created by the humans on this Earth, and there s no way to cure it. We, as humans, have the power to cleanse the Earth, but instead we destroy it. Heat is absorbed by carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. A greenhouse gas absorb thermal radiation emitted by the Earth s surface. As the sun s energy reaches the Earth’s surface some of it goes back out into spaceRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects1416 Words   |  6 Pages Global Warming The earth is getting warmer, animals and their habitats are declining, human health is at risk and the cause of all this terror is Global Warming. Global warming will cause many parts of the world to change. In the next 50 years climate change could be the cause of more than a million terrestrial species becoming extinct. Sea levels will raise which means more flooding and is not good for the plants. With too much water the plants will die and herbivores will lose theirRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects1312 Words   |  6 PagesGlobal warming is presenting a lot of environmental and health problems to many countries. A lot of heat gets trapped on earth due to formation of a non-porous layer gases below the atmosphere. The worst effect is felt by developing countries, which are also geographically disadvantaged. The establishment of such countries is on low altitude areas. This position makes developing countries to be direct victims of floods from the melting snow at high altit ude areas. A lot of scientific research associates

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Symbolism in Franz Kalfkas The Metamorphosis Essay

Symbolism in Franz Kafka’s â€Å"The Metamorphosis† In Franz Kafka’s â€Å"The Metamorphosis†, the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, in desperate need of appreciation, took the responsibility and obligation of maintaining his unappreciative family member’s every day life. While traumatic instances occur, the limits of the family’s loyalty and sympathy for Gregor’s needs are rejected by the ones he cherishes the most. Obviously, one can notice the unconditional love Gregor shows his family, but the profound transformation he physically endures leaves him now as his family’s burden (SparkNotes Editors). Although many instances occur throughout Gregor’s transformation that shows new profound realization of his unsympathetic family, one can analyze the many†¦show more content†¦Although transforming into a giant disgusting bug, Gregor still has to eat. Even though Gregor’s family is still flabbergasted by the events that had taken place, sympathy lingers throughout the family in at tempt to feed him. In the beginning of his transformation, Gregor’s family, mostly Crete, earns to leave him a variety of food to explore his preference of meals (SparkNotes Editors ). This action comforts Gregor with emotions of love and hope that maybe his family will one day accept him, but this does not last for long. The need to feed Gregor grows less important day by day to where Gregor becomes very weak from the lack of nutrients. In this story the importance of respect between Gregor and his father frequently exist ( Huffenenglish). In the beginning, one can see that Gregor speaks about the daily uniform his father wears that reminds Gregor of the despair and pity he has for his father and the loss of his family’s business. After the physical transformation the respect drastically shifts. Therefore, Gregor’s father is superior to his well being because of Gregor’s in capabilities. As time past, Gregor notices his father asleep and the uniform that was once a reminder of Gregor’s pity for his father was present once more. His father’s uniform was ragged and scuffed as he was mentally from all the pressures he had consumed since Gregors transformation. According to Altshuler â€Å"before

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Total Compensation Strategy free essay sample

Once the goal has been fully achieved, aligning to the mid to top range in the relevant market Base salary Oriented to the internal quality rating, the strategic relevance and the value-added contribution of the position Figure: Total compensation approach Harmonized with relevant markets (prevailing market practice) Employee In the results, the developed total compensation strategy fulfills, among other things, the following objectives from a company and managerial viewpoint: Objective Supporting the orientation of the business units Result Positioning in the relevant market Strengthen performance and results orientation Variable compensation elements Flexibility in adapting to changed business situations Success- and results-dependent elements Enable organizational change Flexibility of the compensation elements Promote motivation and loyalty Price fairness and transparency Engaging and retaining qualified executives and specialists Figure: Development of a total compensation strategy Flexibility and breadth of the salary bands and market conformity of the total compensation Human Resource Management 4 Total Compensation Strategy Step by Step The Kienbaum approach for the development of a total compensation strategy is ideally based on the following steps: Project steps Core questions and elements  » Which compensation structuring elements reflect the demands of the future business development? Analysis of the framework conditions 1 2 3 4 5  » Which specific advantages are offered by corporation-wide standards vs. We will write a custom essay sample on Total Compensation Strategy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page individual structuring possibilities?  » Are specific regulation requirements in existence?  » Which framework conditions are needed for structuring using existing regulations? Specification of principles and guidelines  » Defining management and operative levels  » Taking into account international consistency  » Establishing the compensation structure  » Taking into account value-orientation  » System for the agreement of objectives and performance evaluation  » Defining salary bands  » Establishing demands according to global principles  » Reflecting on the advantages and disadvantages of different points of view  » Defining useful and necessary parities  » Solution suggestions for the harmonization of the structures  » Developing transfer scenarios Systematization and harmonization Formulation and adoption of a total compensation strategy  » Transfer to global principles  » Defining roles and responsibilities  » Defining corporation-wide policies and principles  » Defining regional/local policies and principles  » Developing transfer scenarios  » Dealing with asset protection / adjustment measures  » Developing communications concepts  » Creating brochures and supplementary information  » Deploying a global compensation committee  » Defining IT support  » Roll-out in pilot countries/regions/remaining countries Communication and implementation Figure: Project steps for developing a total compensation strategy Human Resource Management 5 Why Kienbaum?  » We listen to you before taking action Keeping in mind the developments within your sector, your own objectives as well as the prevailing company culture, we develop relevant solutions covering every aspect of compensation. Listening carefully is consequently an important part of our work.  » We take your individual situation into account management system for approaches that are suited to your company, that meet your specific requirements and that harmonize your company culture. Our first task as your partner is to gain an insight into your company. Together with you we develop a tailor-made performance  » We develop solutions that meet with approval  » We accompany you right to the goal We recognize possible solution paths and develop these together with you. The depth of our consultancy expertise enables us to cut through complex facts. We support you in implementing solution paths that will lead you to your desired goal. We are also happy to support you in the practical implementation. The biggest assets of a company are its employees. We develop and implement solutions that meet with the approval of both the management and the employees and that motivate them to work towards achieving their company’s goals. Our work is done when we are all convinced by the results. For us, a convincing result comprises flexible systems that are useful for you in the long term and that can easily be adapted to future developments. We support you actively in your communications. Total Compensation System Success- and performance-oriented Compensation Systems (Performance Management, shortand long-term Incentive Systems) Job Evaluation Systems (Grading Systems)

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Why Choose Abstinence Essay Example For Students

Why Choose Abstinence Essay Through out the years, pre-marital sex has become more and more accepted in our society. It is depicted everyday in magazines, television shows, and movies. Because of this wide portrayal and acceptance of pre-marital sex, many more teens and young adults have chosen to engage in sexual activities. According to a 1992 Centers for Disease Control study, 54 percent of American high school students (61 percent of boys and 48 percent of girls) say they have had sexual intercourse (Lickona 84). One out of ten U.S. teenagers become pregnant every year and approximately 416,000 teens have abortions (Donovan 28). Also, one in four children is born out of wedlock, compared to one in twenty in 1960. Because of the rise in pre-marital sexual activities, there has also been a rise in the number of people infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Twelve million people are infected with STDs each year, and of these infections, 63 percent are under the age of 20 (Lickona 316). Many people believe that the answer to these problems with adolescents and young adults lies in the teaching of sex education in the school systems. However, what type of sex education works the best? Advocates of comprehensive sexuality education believe that their approach seeks to help young people understand sexuality as integral to their identity and enables them to make responsible life long decisions (Brick and Roffman 90). There are more than sixty main stream organization that support this approach through their membership in the National Coalition to Support Sexuality Education. Some of these organizations are the American Medical Association, American School Health Association, American Association of School Administrators, National School Boards Association, and the Society for Adolescent Medicine. Under the comprehensive plan for sex education, students learn to ask questions, predict consequences, examine values, and plan for the future (Brick and Roffman 91). This education star ts during the preschool and elementary years, which helps students to receive a total understanding of sex and its pros and cons by the middle and high school years. Advocates of the comprehensive style believe that it is unproductive to present only one option (abstinence) to students in a world that promotes pre-marital sex through advertising and the media. They feel that students in programs that only teach abstinence are at a high risk of contracting STDs or becoming pregnant if they do decide to become sexually active, because they were not taught the proper use of contraceptives. Peggy Brick, a director of education at Planned Parenthood of Northern New Jersey, and Deborah Roffman, a sexuality educator and consultant, believe that advocates of abstinence only programs, ?do not prepare youth to make decisions in a highly complex world. They permit choice but their choice and deliberately deny potential life-saving information to those who do not conform to their viewpoint? (32 5). These two women also feel that ?demanding an abstinence only approach dismisses people whose values regarding sexual behaviors differs from their own, asserting that these people are without values? (325). However, Brick and Roffman believe instead that ?comprehensive sex education is based on values appropriate to our democratic and pluralistic society, which includes respect for peoples diverse viewpoints about controversial issues? (326). We will write a custom essay on Why Choose Abstinence specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Despite the fact that comprehensive sex education may respect many peoples viewpoints, it does not prove that this type of education works. During the years 1971 to 1981, government funding at all levels for contraceptive education increased by 4,000 percent. During this time period teen pregnancies increased by 20 percent and teen abortions nearly doubled (Lickona 88). In 1986, a study by Johns Hopkins University concluded that comprehensive sex education did not reduce teen pregnancies (Dawson 162). Another study done in 1986, the Lou Harris Poll, was commissioned by Planned Parenthood (a leading sponsor of comprehensive sex education). Through this study they found that teens that took a comprehensive sex education course (including contraceptive education) were significantly more likely to initiate sexual intercourse than teens whose sex education did not discuss contraceptives (Lickona 317). Dr. John Sholl, a retired medical doctor, calls the term safe sex, which is taught in co mprehensive sex education classes, ?a misleading and incongruous combination of words? (Ferriss 3). He believes that teaching students to use condoms and other contraceptives, which are not 100 percent reliable, is giving them a false sense of security (Ferriss). According to an article in Family Planning Perspectives, condoms have a 10 percent annual failure rate in all age groups, and up to 36 percent failure rate among teens (Lickona 318). In addition to the physical consequences that may result from the use of contraceptives, there are also many psychological consequences that can results, but vary from person to person (Lickona 319). For these reasons many people feel that it is wrong to tell students that using condoms is a responsible way to practice sex. .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d , .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d .postImageUrl , .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d , .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d:hover , .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d:visited , .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d:active { border:0!important; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d:active , .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue5e76b4db141ea009735b5fe3c691a2d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Fracking : The Dangers Of Frackings EssaySeeing how the comprehensive approach to sex education clearly has not worked, it can be assumed that there is a better approach to sex education, which has more positive results. This type of education is abstinence only education. Advocates of abstinence only education feel that sex education should help students to gain sexual self-control, help them to realize that abstinence is the only 100 percent safe sex, and that the use of contraceptives does not make pre-marital sex responsible, emotionally or physically safe, or ethically loving (Lickona 316). By learning and understanding these points, hopefully, students will turn to a bstinence, rather than the risky use of contraceptives. Still, the good intentions of abstinence only education does not mean that its results coincide with these intentions. In San Marcos, California, an abstinence only program was implemented in 1985 by the school system in an effort to reduce a serious teen pregnancy problem. After the program was initiated, the number of known pregnancies at the high school dropped from 20 percent in 1984 to 2.5 percent in 1986 and then to 1.5 percent in 1988. In addition to the reduction of pregnancies, scores on basic skills tests went up and San Marcos won an award in 1988 for the lowest drop out rate in the state of California (Lickona 320). Another abstinence only education program called Postponing Sexual Involvement was created by Marion Howard of Emory University, and was specifically designed for inner-city, low-income 8th graders. Approximately 70 percent of the students in this program said that they learned that they ?can postpone se xual activity without losing their friends respect.? Students who participated in this program were five times less likely to become sexually active than those who did not take the program (Lickona 321). Yet another abstinence only program, called Teen S.T.A.R. (Sexuality Teaching in the context of Adult Reasoning) has helped teens to choose abstinence. More than half of the teens who entered this program sexually active stopped all sexual activity by the time they leave the program (Lickona 321). The United States Congress has recognized these positive effects of abstinence only programs, and has appropriated $250 million in abstinence education grants to the states (Lickona 315). The government supporting abstinence education is a step in the right direction for the problems pre-marital sex has overwhelmed our world with. We must stop and think, ?what if pre-marital sex never occurred. What if the only type of sex that ever existed was monogamous sex between a married couple? Would there be such a thing as sexually transmitted diseases? Would HIV even be around today? Would there be so many unwanted children being born every day? The answer to these questions is most likely, no. Pre-marital sex has made all of these horrible nightmares turn into a reality. For this reason, it is important for everyone to understand the dangers and consequences of pre-marital sex, especially teenagers who just want to act on the hormones that are new to their bodies. That is why it is so important for abstinence education to be taught in schools where the students are in a serious environment to learn the shocking information and statistic of pre-marital sex. However, everyone must do their part to reinforce to their peers, children, siblings, relatives and friends, the dangers involved in not abstaining from sex until marriage. In promoting abstinence among young people now, perhaps it will start a new trend of values for the generations to come. BibliographyWorks CitedBrick, Peggy, and Deborah M. Roffman. ?Abstinence, No Buts? is Simplistic. New York: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1993. Vol. 51 of Educational Leadership. Dawson, D. A. ?The Effects of Sex Education on Adolescent Behavior.? Family Planning Perspectives May-June 1986: 162-170. .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 , .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 .postImageUrl , .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 , .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17:hover , .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17:visited , .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17:active { border:0!important; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17:active , .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17 .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u903b40a90d5ae57db390ead4dc256a17:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Illiad by HomerDonovan, Patricia. ?Sex Education in Americas Schools: Progress and Obstacles.? USA Today July 1992: 28-30. Ferris, Lloyd. ?The Case for Abstinence.? Maine Telegram 2 Feb. 1992: 1G+. SIRS Articles. Online. SIRS. 26 Nov. 2000. Lickona, Thomas. Where Sex Education Went Wrong. New York: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1993. Vol. 51 of Educational Leadership. Social Issues Essays

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Recall A Day In Your Life That Stands Out And Explain Why You Will Alw

Recall a day in your life that stands out and explain why you will always remember it THE MATCH One day that I will probably never forget is the day that I had to play Jonathan Walker. He was easily the best table tennis player in our school and he had even been offered to play on the National Junior team. I remember the match as if it was yesterday. It was the time of year when competition smelled thick in the air and everyone was excited about Inter-House Sports. I was particularly involved in Tennis and Chess but I was really excited about Table Tennis as I had been named Vice-Captain. It was a grueling school day that had ended with an arduous 120-minute Chemistry practical. The school bell that rang was like sweet music to my ears and the only thought that whisked through my mind was that of going home and sleeping in my big, comfortable bed. Just then, I remembered that the Table Tennis contest between Team C and Team D which also incidentally the finals, was at 4:00 p.m. I sluggishly changed into the clothes that I had in my locker and headed for the Games Room. I was very tired and hoped that I would have an easy opponent. However, this was not to be my lucky day. The captain of our team, Jason, was sick so I had to play the opposing captain, namely, Jonathan. Panic and doom were those thoughts that dominated my mind when I was told this. However, I was always an optimist and tried to convince myself that I could defeat him (Yeah right!). We approached the table and shook hands. In the few initial minutes, we warmed up, just casually rallying the ball around, but even then he was playing better tennis than I ever had. The coach then blew his whistle which concluded the warm up and signaled the commencement of the match. At this point in time, I tried to swallow all the fear and anxiety that I had and to face my opponent valiantly and courageously. The match began and before I had fully realized, he had won the first game 21-05. He had won it with the utmost ease, returning even my best shots without any struggles or even remote difficulty. I tried not to feel discouraged, saying to myself that he still had two more games to win and that I would not give in without a fight. The second game was closer but I was still not able to break his rigid backspin defense that he used against all my good serves. I realized here that the key here to me winning the game was to use my brain and not just my table-tennis skills. I started to experiment with a variety of serves until I found one that gave him great difficulty to return. It was a rather simple serve which one would not expect to find in a match of this caliber. I learned at that point in time that sometimes simple things could be better solutions to a problem than complex ones could ever be. I lost the second game 21-17 but was confident now that I had a good chance of defeating this adversary of mine. Jonathan made a critical mistake in the third game that I believe worked to my advantage. He became over-confident and therefore careless, giving me easy points and hence 'keeping' me in the match. The game went to a tie-break. I was tired but somehow I found the strength to play on and won the game 28-26. With this win, I became even more confident and aggressive in my game-play which I believe intimidated Jonathan and though he tried to discourage me by using his fancy serves to get the crowd on his side, I won the fourth game 21-18. Jonathan was furious that he had let me win two games and was determined to crush and humiliate me in front of the crowd. He used all his lethal shots against me and I was also becoming worn out. I tried to keep up with him but his better style of playing kept the crowd on his side. The score was now 19-17

Sunday, November 24, 2019

What Is The Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search, and Why Do It

What Is The Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search, and Why Do It SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What is the Duke TIP, and what is the 7th Grade Talent Search? In this article, I'll be writing about the Duke Talent Identification Program, also known as Duke TIP, also known as the Duke TIP Program. The Duke TIP is a conglomeration of multiple subprograms, one of which is the 7th Grade Talent Search. While you can find all the information about it on Duke's own website, as I did, the information is spread out and a little tricky to track down (hence the confused panda at the top of this article). For your convenience, I've compiled everything here into one magnificent blog post/guide. I recommend reading it all the way through, but if you only want to read one particular section, you can pick and choose from the Table of Contents. A disclaimer: I've done a lot of linking in this article to the Duke TIP website, and while all links and information were correct (to the best of my knowledge) at the time of this article's publication, things may have changed since then. Now that that's out of the way, let's dive into the Duke TIP and the 7th Grade Talent Search! feature image credit: panda-303949_640, used under CC0 (Public Domain)/Resized from original. Table of Contents What Is The Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search? What Do Kids Do During TIP? Why Should I Participate in Duke TIP? How To Apply Logistics: Cost Tips Actions To Take What Is The Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search? And What Do Kids Do During It? Since there is so much to say about the Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search, I’ve broken it down into who, what, where, and when (the why and the how get their own separate sections). What Is the Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search? The 7th Grade Talent Search... Identifies gifted 7th grade students through test scores (there's more information about this in the How Do I Apply? section of this guide). Registers these students to take the SAT or ACT during their 7th grade school year. Provides students with information on how to interpret these test scores and resources to help them and their families better plan out their futures. These resources include advice and guidance regarding your education plan, special Duke TIP publications like The Talent Search Experience and eInsights, online resources like The Digest of Gifted Research, and access to Duke TIP’s year-round Independent Learning courses. More specifics can be found on the Duke TIP website. Uses the students' scores on the SAT or ACT to qualify students for various other Duke TIP components like summer programs or eStudies courses. Who's Eligible for the Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search? If you live in the US, are in seventh grade (or are an eighth grader who skipped seventh grade), and meet the test score requirements (more on that here), you can enroll in Duke’s 7th Grade Talent Search. Simple as that. Homeschooled? Not to worry. The 7th Grade Talent Search is completely open to home-, public-, private-, parochial-, and other-schooled students. If you don’t fit under these guidelines, don’t sweat it- there are other Duke TIP subprograms that might be right for you, like 8th-10th Grade Option. Great! So Where Does the 7th Grade Talent Search Take Place? Unless you are reporting your SAT or ACT score separately and need to use paper application (more on that here), all parts of the application happen online, and all resources are distributed online. In fact, with the exception of taking the SAT or ACT, which will require you to go in person to a testing center, all you need for Duke TIP is a computer or mobile device and an internet connection. The only times when Duke TIP has in-person interactions are if you are invited to and choose to attend the Recognition Ceremonies at the end of the year. When Does This All Happen? The 7th Grade Talent Search takes place during the 7th grade school year. For most students (all US students), enrollment begins in August, with the rest of the Talent Search (SAT or ACT testing, information about your scores, resources for gifted students, and the recognition ceremonies for high-scoring students) spread out over the rest of the 7th grade school year. If you’re not in the US, you can either take part through the 8th-10th Grade Option or by submitting a request for the program you want to take part in and submitting a portfolio with transcripts, extracurricular resumes, test scores, IQ Scores, and any other materials requested. Return to Table of Contents Why Should You Apply For The Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search? So what do students get out of the Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search? One perk is the opportunity to take what Duke calls â€Å"above-level† tests (that is, you take the SAT or ACT before you're in high school) and compare your results with similarly gifted peers. Why is this helpful? It can give you information early on about areas you might want to to further develop and give you a preview of the test-taking process. For instance, let's say you score a 200 on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section, which is below par compared to your peers in the TIP. You'll know that you have to work on that skill, and as a result be able to better plan with your family for high school and the college admissions process. If you just took the SAT as a 7th grader without taking part in the Talent Search, you would not have the opportunity to know how you stack up against other students in your grade and age group; instead, you would end up being compared to much older students, which doesn't really tell you anything about where you should be now. Taking part in the 7th Grade Talent Search also opens up opportunities to enroll in and attend other Duke TIP subprograms, including (but not limited to) eStudies courses, Summer Studies programs, Scholar Weekends, and Field Studies. You'll get access to the advice and resources discussed above as well. Finally, there's the recognition of your prowess at the (aptly named) Recognition Ceremonies. At year-end ceremonies, Duke TIP recognizes the highest scorers on the SAT or ACT out of all the 7th Grade Talent Search participants. We have more information about these ceremonies in articles about the SAT and ACT score requirements to qualify, but for now, I'll just say that it is usually gratifying to get special recognition for your talent. It's not just about the medal (although you do get one at the Award Ceremonies)- it's knowing that other people value your hard work. No.1_blue_ribbon by Oldbeeg, used under CC BY-SA 3.0/Resized from original. Return to Table of Contents Devil's Advocate: When Should I NOT Apply to Duke TIP? IF...you don’t care about taking college entrance exams early, OR ...you don’t have any interest in taking part in TIP summer programs or resources later on down the line, ...THEN it might not be worth it for you to apply to the Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search. Why? Most colleges don’t care about what you did in middle school, unless it was something truly spectacular like getting a paper published or starring in a Broadway show. Bottom line: if you’re going to use the resources and take advantage of the programs open to you through TIP, then absolutely do it. If not, save your money (and time). How Do I Apply To The Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search? So after reading all this information, you’ve been inspired to apply to the 7th Grade Talent Search, and need instructions. Or maybe you already were inspired, but didn’t know how. Either way, I've done the research for you. Read on for instructions on how you can qualify for the Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search, and how to apply. In order to enroll in the Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search, you must meet a certain threshold on your scores on approved standardized tests. What are these tests, and what are the thresholds, you ask? There are two categories of tests that are accepted by Duke TIP, each with different standards you must meet to qualify for the 7th Grade Talent Search. Category 1: IQ Tests. To qualify for Duke TIP's 7th Grade Talent Search, you must have scored 125 or above on IQ test administered within the last two years. Some of the most commonly administered IQ tests accepted by Duke TIP include the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, the Cognitive Assessment System, or any of the Woodcock Johnson Tests. Category 2: Other standardized tests. To qualify for Duke TIP's 7th Grade Talent Search, you must have scored â€Å"at or above the 95th percentile on an accepted grade-level standardized test, aptitude test, mental-ability test, or state criterion-referenced test† [Quotation source: Eligibility | Duke TIP. Accessed 2018-12-08.] These are often state-administered tests, like the California Achievement Test, or any test that's part of the New York Statewide Testing Program. All of the specific tests that Duke TIP accepts as metrics for their 7th Grade Talent Search are listed on this site in a drop-down menu. If you can’t find a test you’ve taken in this list, you can always email Duke TIP (qualifying_test@tip.duke.edu) to see if a test that you’ve taken is accepted. After you've figured out if you qualify for the 7th Grade Talent Search, you're all set to create your Duke TIP account and enroll. The "enroll now" link is only active from early August-early December of each year, but you can still create your account now and check back again in August to enroll. Exceptions If you participated in the 4th-6th Grade Talent Search and took the optional EXPLORE test, then you are automatically qualified (although you still have to enroll). Otherwise, even if you took part in the 4th-6th Grade Talent Search, you must re-qualify and enroll in the 7th Grade Talent Search. If you have already taken SAT/ACT, already paid and registered to take it, or missed the Talent Search deadline but are planning on registering for the SAT/ACT, you can still enroll for the 7th Grade Talent Search, but you must do so using the 2Step enrollment process and a paper application. For more information on the enrollment process for these cases, you can email 7talentsearch@tip.duke.edu, or read more here. Return to Table of Contents Logistics: Cost Now you know what the 7th Grade Talent Search is, why you should do it, and how to apply. What follows are a few more details that might be useful about the cost of the 7th Grade Talent Search. Quick disclaimer: all costs are at the time of this article’s writing, so be sure to check the 7th Grade Talent Search, SAT, and ACT websites before planning a budget around this information. The application fee for the 7th Grade Talent Search is $80. This fee includes the cost of registration for the SAT or the ACT, depending on which test you choose to take. Since the writing portion of the ACT is optional for talent search participants, however, if you want to take the SAT with the essay, you'll have to pay an additional $17; if you want to do the ACT with the essay (ACT Plus Writing), you'll have to pay an additional $16.50. Can I Get Financial Aid? Yes. If you qualify for free or reduced price lunches, and submit the proper documentation showing this, you can waive part of the application fee for the 7th Grade Talent Search. Qualified applicants who are able to present written verification (either the approval paperwork or fee grant form on school letterhead) of their free/reduced price lunch status will only have to pay an enrollment fee of $30, rather than $80. For more information about where to submit proof of free/reduced price lunch status, email 7talentsearch@tip.duke.edu or call Duke TIP's Financial Aid Office at (919) 668-9100. You can also get scholarships from foundations like Jack Cooke Foundation Young Scholars Program. Return to Table of Contents Tips to Get Into the Duke TIP I'm sure you're shocked that I couldn't resist making a "tips for TIP" joke. Regardless, I've made up a list of helpful hints to boost your chances of getting into Duke TIP's 7th Grade Talent Search and other programs. If you haven’t done particularly well on school standardized tests within the last two years, take a look into some of the other test options. Maybe an IQ test would be a better way to identify your talent and potential. If you’re waffling between the 7th Grade Talent Search and waiting until later and doing 8th-10th Grade Option, absolutely do the Talent Search. Since Duke TIP subsidizes the cost of the test, the Talent Search ($80 flat rate) is more cost-effective than 8th-10th Grade Option ($35 fee + $47.50 for the SAT or $50.50 for the ACT). If you don't do well on the SAT or ACT when you take it through the Talent Search, you can always retest later. When you've started the 7th Grade Talent Search process, don’t forget to study for the SAT/ACT. Why? Because while Duke TIP is just using the SAT or ACT as a diagnostic, if you blow it off, it could prevent you from getting into a summer studies program that you totally deserve to attend (or at the very least cause you to have to retake the test in order to qualify). At the very minimum, you need to be familiar with the test structure and timing. How can you do this? Take a practice test to gauge where you are, then use this information to determine the amount you have to improve. Know how much time you have to study so you can plan your prep accordingly. For more advice along these lines, read our article on if you should take the SAT/ACT in 7th grade. Return to Table of Contents Actions To Take #1: Find out which of the accepted tests you’ve taken and what your scores were, including composites. Because you can only upload one score with your Talent Search application, you want to be sure you're choosing and uploading your best test score. #2: Once you get into the 7th Grade Talent Search Program, study for the SAT or ACT. #3: Make sure to keep an eye on the 7th Grade Talent Search key dates calendar for updates on information for this school year, including when enrollment for the Talent Search goes live (judging from past years, it's usually around August 1, but I make no promises). #4: If after reading this article you're still not sure if the 7th Grade Talent Search is right for you, read more about it on the Duke TIP website. #5: Read our other articles on the SAT and ACT score requirements for the various Duke TIP programs. Return to Table of Contents What’s Next? Curious about other programs for the gifted? Make sure to read our early achiever guides about CTY at Johns Hopkins, Summer Institute for the Gifted, Stanford EPGY, and NUMATS. Want to participate in Duke TIP programs?Read up on theSAT and ACT requirements for the Summer Studies and eStudies programs, as well as for the Recognition Ceremonies. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Strategic Leadership in a Changing World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic Leadership in a Changing World - Essay Example Existing cultures and prevailing organization cultures to be precise plays an important role in ensuring success. As discussed by Becker and Baloff (1969), the need to place cultures on a psychological platform will distinguish the procedural and declarative knowledge. The culture of an organization displays on the economic performance and the company’s continuity. For instance, an organization with a dedicated and strong team built through visionary leaders end up with more financial successful years on a long-term basis. Organizations structure also facilitates the success of new products and process innovation and change. Culture management is a relevant process in the growth of an organization and its extent is felt on the two articles above. Becker and Baloff (1969) explain that managing organization culture is the ultimate goal for an organization to realize the length of its potential. Fairfield-Sonn (2001), however, states that culture just gives direction to the staff on what they believe and how things should be run (Kapferer, 2008). Business platforms require both leaders and managers. Though taken by many individuals to mean the same, the two aspects of business are different. A good manager and leader offer success of the organization in different levels (Northhouse, 2009, p. 23). Corporate culture is a strategic investment that ensures well driven business activities. The needs to create success in the economy that come with corporate change are extensive. Approaching a change requires putting into consideration the important cultural themes that ensure expression in and organization, without any neglect. The cultural web is a tool designed to help managers with the challenge that comes with cultural change. Originated by Gerry Johnson (2002), the tool is applied by many companies including, KPMG, Shell and Castrol. The web is designed to compare to a spider’s web where the centre is the paradigm or main idea for the organization, ac ting as a centrifugal force aimed at weaving cultural themes together. The cultural web brings out the concept of change, most employees feel comfortable with the normal happenings (Charles &Jones, 2009). Expressions can be considered cultural to an organization after cultural artifacts have been made active. Selecting a process includes incorporating the aspects that require change. It is important to facilitate a clear understanding of the analytical process with which members of the organization can relate to, once the culture has been incorporated. The cultural web is a device that ensures a practical aspect of the themes with aspects placed on anthropology. The Characteristics of a Good Manager A good manager should be able to manage time properly as supervisory positions can be tasking if the manager lacks proper time management skills to adhere to deadlines. Proper time management skills translate to generation of revenue and proper budgeting skills adopted by the company (Sc hein, 2004, p. 12). Possession of proper communication skills is an essential for a manager. Management of business and project teams depends highly on communication to succeed. A manager should be able to communicate clearly to other managers, other businesses, employees, and most of all to customers. Proper communication comes with the personality and confidence growth with the knowledge of the running of the business (Bax,2002). Conflict resolution abilities

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Youth Justice in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Youth Justice in the UK - Essay Example Between arrest and sentence, it could take anywhere between 70 to 170 days. In spite of the efforts of schools and parents, training and employment, services for tackling drug and alcohol abuse, as part of the developed strategy, youth crime have not fallen much. Crime and Disorder Act 1998, sections 37 to 43 deal with crime, warnings, punishments, rehabilitation and various programmes to improve a lot of youth offenders. In spite of many efforts and Acts, youth justice had not been achieved in the UK. Â  United Nations has taken steps for international youth justice. UN Youth Flash like websites encourages youth online participation. UN General Assembly defined youth as persons between the age group of 15 and 24, both inclusive and according to this definition, UN says that approximately 1 billion youth live in the world today and 85% of them are in developing countries and 60% of them are in Asia alone. UN identifies as priority issues of youth are education, employment, hunger and poverty eradication, health, environment, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, leisure-time activities, girls and young men, the full and effective participation of youth in the life of society and in decision making. UN hopes that Governments of the world take care of these matters. UN believes in empowering youth in development and peace, keeping in mind their aspirations, and that they are the key agents for social change economic development and technological innovation. UN recognizes that it is nece ssary to encourage their imagination, ideas, energy, and vision while noting that they represent society's hope, but have uncertain future. Their intellectual contribution and ability to mobilize support is not overlooked. UN tries to maximize the resources, funding, eradicate inequalities of economic, social and political conditions, ethnic prejudice and unemployment. UN is working against gender discrimination, insecure livelihoods, conflict, exclusion, homelessness, continuous deterioration of the environment, hunger, malnutrition, disease and lack of education and employment opportunities. Â  In 1965, UN has asked the Member States to endorse the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the ideals of Peace, mutual respect and understanding between peoples. In 1995 it strengthened its commitment by directing international community to address youth problems like drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, and social development under Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which also cover rights of health, education, and employment along with disability support. Global Youth Conferences insist on 'empowering youth for action' and that youth issues should be tackled from local, national, regional and international levels. Youth should be treated as a challenge and a resource and should be allowed for economic, social, cultural and political participation. UN reiterates working for and with Youth while laying stress on inter-cultural, inter-regional and international interactions to promote World Youth Forum of the United Nations System. Â  

Sunday, November 17, 2019

CRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

CRM - Essay Example Globally, there is only one volume-purchasing program and it ensures equity among all members since they all adhere to similar rules. Customers accumulate points as they continue purchasing over a period of eight quarters, where the management runs a quarterly roll off. It is essential to realize that each new customer in the entire world is given a two hundred and fifty entry threshold points on enrolling. Discounts are available for all enrolled individuals as long as they own a license. It is incredibly simple joining the volume purchase program since their online tools offer these services and other activities such as membership look-ups, points’ configuration and points’ portal. The only requirement needed to sign up in this program is to become a VMware customer. Purchasing from their outlets ensures that a customer either receives an addition of points or gets discounts. Those eligible for discounts are the ones purchasing license products whereas, purchasing both SnS products and licensed products earn a customer

Friday, November 15, 2019

Tourism Industry in the Mauritius

Tourism Industry in the Mauritius Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Introduction Tourism was the third pillar of the Mauritian economy after the E.P.Z.(export processing zone) manufacturing sector and Agriculture. It has contributed significantly to economic growth and has been a key factor in the overall development of Mauritius since the years 1995 onwards. In the past two decades tourist arrivals increased at an average annual rate of 9 % with a corresponding increase of about 21% in tourism receipts. Tourist arrivals have been expanding consequently, thus rising from 103,000 in 1977 to 656,450 in 2000, a more than 600% increase. About 67% of the tourist arrivals are of European origin, with France supplying nearly half. The nearby Reunion French Territory is the most important short haul source market accounting for about 13% of total tourist arrivals. Asian residents provided 6% of tourist arrivals, almost half of which originated from the Indian Sub-Continent. The World Travel and Tourism council (WTTC) stated that travel and tourism was estimated at 9.3 % in 2010 and is expected to rise up to 9.7% by 2020. This increase will help to create an additional 66 million jobs by 2020, in which 50 million jobs should be created in Asia and hence help to decrease world poverty. The longer-term prospects for Travel Tourism remain positive, boosted by rising prosperity in Asia. The WTTC remains confident that the Travel and Tourism industry will remain a dynamic force for wealth and job creation all over the world. The tourism industry does not cease to grow despite the problems that it has encountered in the past years, such as the credit crunch, terrorism, continuous increasing petrol prices and the famous avian flu (bird flu). The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) states that tourism recovered strongly in 2010 according to the Advance Release of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Tourist arrivals were up by almost 7% to 935 million, following the 4% decline in 2009 the year hardest hit by the global economic crisis (http://www.unwto.org) Tourism has become one of the most important pillar and the most revenue generating activity in many small island developing states. It has become the source of job creation and revenue for small islands inhabitants. A change in the tourism demand for an island may have a major impact on the Gross Domestic Product (total value of goods and services produced in a country during a certain period of time, usually one year), the budget and the Balance of Payments. Most small islands have adopted tourism due to a lack of development opportunities. The end of the twentieth century marked the beginning of the tourism as the main pillar of small islands economies (Bonte 2006), as it is the case for Mauritius. In large part, islands and cruises have become the most wanted vacation for tourists (Harrison, 2004). Tourism is a mean to reach economic development and economic growth, but is also a way to destroy its resources (Bonte, 2006). The Barcelona field study (2006) states that it is not just necessary to satisfy tourism demands, but also to cater for its durable development. Indeed, tourism does not have only positive impacts, but does have adverse effects on the environment and on the host community. The development of high volume tourism facilities without adequate consideration to impacts, has created many â€Å"tourism disasters† (Smith and Edington 1992). Aooay (2003) states that tourism is not only dreaming landscapes on postcards, the social reality is different: movement of population and disappearance of local savoir faire, begging, prostitution, ‘folkorisation of cultures and rituals. Tourism has suffered from serious health crises including the foot and mouth disease in 2001in United Kingdom, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003 and the bird flu that started to expand in June 2002 (www.who.int.csr/sars/en). Tourism has also been impacted by several natural disasters including earthquakes, flooding, wild fires, hurricanes and the most devastating Tsunami in December 2004 which caused around 218000 deaths and to this day, other natural calamities, was one still having a significant impact upon the tourist movement and the tourism industry worldwide. It is a fact, not only in words but also visually that the sugar cane industry is rapidly being replaced by tourism activities. However since Mauritius is entirely banking on the tourism industry for economic revenue, the question is; what could happen to Mauritius if the tourism sector saw a rapid decline or even an imminent death. One need to bear in mind that Mauritius is not the only country around the world offering this type of product and the fact that Mauritius is situated very far from the targeted market combined with an increase in air fare or/and tourism threats or even natural calamities, what can be done so that the future generation in relation to tourism development does not become black. This present dissertation tries to address the various issues that could cause the death of tourism if not remedied 1.1 Problem Statement Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean. The islands most important revenue in the 1980s was sugar cane being exported to European Countries. Nowadays it relies mostly on the tourism sector and tourism is being considered as its main pillar. The tourism industry is in fact a very young one, having emerged only in the last decade in many countries of the world. History has shown that tourism and its development have impacted in some ways, on everything and everyone that is has touched. Ideally, these impacts should be positive in terms of benefits to destinations and their residents but on the other side of the coin, this is not always the case. According to Leonard A. Jackson (2006), local peoples rebellion, environmental damages, cultural intimacy are good examples of negative impacts of tourism. Sugar cane fields are now being replaced by new projects such as the Integrated Resort scheme of Tamarina and Bagatelle at Pailles, catering for the tourism sector. This present work is being done in order to analyse the threats to tourism, its weaknesses and eventually try to evaluate whether the tourism industry will face an end like the Sri Lanka whose Balance of Payment was in deficit after the tourism injections in the economy fell after the war started between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) 1.2 Aim The aim of this present study is to assess whether the tourism industry in Mauritius could face a possible end. 1.3 Objectives In line with the problem statement and the aim of this work, the following objectives were formulated: Identify the importance of the tourism sector in Mauritius and the latters dependency on it. To Identify the threats to the tourism industry and its impacts there on. To identify the threats that are relevant to Mauritius and its tourism industry. To assess whether Mauritius is at risk of those threats. To identify possible ways of mitigating those impacts. 1.4 Research structure The study was classified into different chapters with the following purposes: Chapter 1- Introduction To introduce the subject, to define the problem, aims and objectives of the research and outline the different chapters. Chapter 2- Literature Review To give a brief account of previous research made in the field of threats to the tourism sector concentrating on small island developing states. Chapter 3- Saving the tourism industry To analyse the strengths of small islands and the factors that may save the tourism industry. Chapter 4- Methodology To outline the main steps taken to carry out this present research, providing details on the type of study used, its advantages and disadvantages, the questions set for interviewing targeted respondents and the limitations to the study. Chapter 5- Data analysis and findings To analyse and discuss the results obtained from respondents Chapter 6- Conclusion and recommendations To summarise the most important findings and to bring an end to the study and from the previous chapters to suggest any possible actions that could be considered in the near future. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.0 A global perspective of the tourism industry. â€Å"Shorter working hours, greater individual prosperity, faster and less expensive travel, and the impact of advanced technology has all helped to make the leisure and tourism industry the fastest growing industry in the world† (Edgell, Sr., 1990). Tourism has become a flourishing industry in the twentieth century, where destinations mostly rely on their natural and some manmade resources to make up their tourism industry. It is nowadays a principal element for economic development and growth. According to Lim (1997) and Crouch (1996), the economic impact of tourism has rendered the tourism industry to be considered as one of the most highly significant and integral parts of every national economy. Whilst the economic impact and the contribution of the tourism industry to a country is widely acknowledged, it is also an industry which creates thousands of jobs and a source of foreign exchange earnings. Let alone the positive benefits, it is also an industry that brings along many negative impacts on host communities. 2.1 Threats to the tourism industry 2.1.1 Competition Recently, many countries have constantly been competing for tourism. â€Å"One possible first approach to the definition of competition is to consider competition a process of resources distribution† (Loch et al. 2001). In a market, the people, firms, organisations, industries will tend to use only the very little resources to stay alive in a co operation market, but will make utilisation of full resources when they are in an extreme competitive market. Competition is also highly dependent on the availability of resources and the number of individuals, firms and organisations who wish to exploit those resources, but as the basic economic problem states, wants are unlimited but resources are scarce, thus individual tend to exploit the resources more that they should. This will result in the population being suffering as stated by Bahn and Flenley(1992) â€Å"the rise of competition can lead to such a catastrophic imbalance that the final consequence might be the extinction of the population† and the tourism industry as a whole. Competition should not only be seen as a way of boosting a market but if the competition is not well managed or even if policies with regards to competition are not clear, there may be a proliferation of tourism activities which could be to the detriment of the host community. For example the growth of hotels on the coast lines may prove to be beneficial to a countrys economy in the short term and long term if managed properly. However, if there are no proper guidelines on competition, it can become a nightmare for countries as host communities could feel alienated. 2.1.2 Increasing petrol prices The first months of 2008 witnessed the considerable increase in oil prices where it reached a record price of $100 per barrel. Prices were predicted to increase to 140$ in June 2008 (BBC, 2008). This continuous increase in the year 2008 was due to the increase demand for travelling (according to the law of demand, as demand increases, price increases) because of globalisation and increase in travelling resulting from an increase in the number of people, firms and organisations wishing to exploit resources. Moreover, the increase in price of petrol has caused an increase in tickets for travelling. An increase in air fares have caused a fall in the tourist arrival. Thus one can say that the increasing petrol prices may be one of the threats to the tourism industry because it is linked with the increase in petrol prices and an increase in air fares. 2.1.3 Criminality rate, gambling and social factors Ntuli(1998) described crime as â€Å" a universal social phenomenon in that it threatens the safety and security of the people, property, their sense of well being, as well as social order†. The case of Mrs. Harte being killed in her hotel room at the Legends Hotel, for a couple of dollars, when being on honey moon, is one which may be said to be unforgiveable. Mauritius is a famous worldwide known destination for weddings and honey moons. This crime is detrimental for its tourism industry. This news was broadcasted a few hours only after the crime had been committed, on several channels under the â€Å"Breaking News† titles and had it â€Å"Murdered honeymooner Michaela McAreavy (Harte) was strangled over a purse containing a small amount of cash.†(www.news.sky.com). This was broadcasted around the world and Mauritians were soon pointed out in lots of countries. The words of the husband inspire more sadness saying â€Å"She was my life†. The media was very quick at propagating the bad news and bad press and such publicity is not what a tourism destination wants. This act is in fact one of the greatest threat to the Mauritians tourism industry. Touri sts who were forecasting to getting married in Mauritius have surely cancelled their reservations as soon information about this tragedy spread around the whole world and this is witnessed in Ntuli (2000) who found that nowadays, crimes committed against tourist is becoming more and more detrimental to the tourism industry of a destination. As mentioned earlier, and supported by Giddens (1990) who stated that crimes committed to travellers has an impact on many categories of people, because a negative perception of tourists at a destination is often reported in the media or even tourist themselves to friends and families and this causes a negative word of mouth being spread as it is actually the case for the death of Mrs Harte. The host country will thus be badly marketed and tourist arrivals will decline as supported by Ntuli (2000). On the other hand, in a few countries like Bahamas, the heads of states think that even if the criminality rate is a worry to many Bahamians, it is not a threat to tourism, according to an official at the U.S. Embassy in Nassau (www.jonesbahamas.com). Dr Hardt, from the US embassy stated that there is now more than 200 police officers are now available to prevent crimes on tourists and that the new priorities have been stretched out concerning those crimes. From the above, one can say that crimes may not be an imminent threat to the tourism industry, provided that there is enough security officers and aims and objectives set. Gambling is often viewed as a booster for the economy of a country because usually the positive impacts of gabling outweighs the negative ones(Stokowski, 1996). Several studies such as Perdue, et al.(1995), Roehl(1994) suggest that gambling is profitable to a country because it generates a high profitability and contributes in job creation and a revenue for the government in terms of taxes. On the other hand, Tosun(2002) found that gambling results in crimes and social disruption and usually creates very bad effects for the country as a whole. Studies showing the negative aspect of gambling are various, such as Caneday et al.(1991) and Stokowski(1996). Thus the negative results from gambling should not be forgotten. Prostitution and tourists attacks result from gambling. People find that tourists are a cash cow and attack them and stealing their belongings so as to have money to gamble because gambling is like a drug. Prostitution is also generated from gambling. It is such that where the tourism industry is developing, those countries do have a good proportion of its population with very low income and tourists are seen as stated above , cash cows. Hence prostitution is the result of poor economic development and an easy way of making money and tourists have the spending power to such activity but it is important to note that most tourists do not like gambling and sein g people prostituting themselves give them a sense of unsafe surroundings and disgust. This has an adverse impact on word of mouth spreading. An example of the negative impacts of gambling is the state of Nevada in the United States where it depends much on gambling. The statistics for this state are astonishing. This state is the one which has the highest number of road accident, suicide and criminality rate (Vaknin, 2007). Gambling is related to criminality rate according to Vaknin(2007). When one talks about gambling, one may understand crimes, addiction, drug and accidents. Those impacts should be carefully monitored even if gambling brings much economic development for a country (Perdue et al 1995). Drug intake and thefts are also becoming â€Å"common† nowadays in Mauritius. Thousands of complaints are lodged at police stations concerning thefts and in this context, many tourists are attacked for their money or valuable belongings. Drug intake make more and more individual go on stealing to obtain their doses and such social factors should be tackled in order to prevent the end of tourism in Mauritius. 2.1.4 Political instability, civil wars, riots and demonstrations â€Å"Political instability is a situation where a government has been toppled, or is controlled by factions following a coup, or where basic functional pre-requisites for social-order control and maintenance are unstable and periodically disrupted. (Cook, 1990). Wilson(1996), on the other hand, defines a stable country as ‘if the regime is durable, violence and turmoil are limited, and the leaders stay in office for several years. The link between political violence and instability in Hall et al.(1996) definition of political instability as ‘‘a situation in which conditions and mechanisms of governance and rule are challenged as to their political legitimacy by elements operating from outside of the normal operations of the political system. When challenge occurs from within a political system and the system is able to adapt and change to meet demands on it, it can be said to be stable† Challenging in order to govern a country or even those who do not follow the actual political system is often solved by violence; political violence. Thus political instability and political violence are two words that can be used as synonyms. Lancaster(1971) states that tourists enjoy many different advantages that a destination offers, rather than sticking to only one advantage. Tourists can and will shift easily to another destination unless the attractions to that country are unique in the world. In other words, a tourist will go to a destination for its sea, sun and sand like it is the case for Mauritius and may shift destination if he wants unless there is only those 3s in Mauritius but it is not the case because Maldives, Seychelles offer nearly the same tourism product. Richter and Waugh(1986) state that ‘tourism is frequently an early casualty of internecine warfare, revolution, or even prolonged labour disputes. Even if the tourist areas are secure () tourism may decline precipitously when political conditions appear unsettled. Tourists simply choose alternative destinations. Taking the above example, even if Mauritius offered the unique sea, sun and sand in the world, tourism in Mauritius will be hurt if there is political violence. This shows to what extent political instability may cause the end of the tourism industry in Mauritius such as the case of Egypt which recently through severe political violence resulting in its tourism industry falling drastically. Richter and Waugh(1989) argued that tourism is for sure a political phenomenon: it will decrease sharply when political circumstance turns unstable. In 1994 Hall published his book Tourism and Political Science where he asserts that stable politics is a must for attracting international tourists, even the decisive factor for the successful development of tourism (Hall, 1994). In case of political violence, tourism being a sensitive product and therefore tourists arrivals will continue to go down for a long period of time. Tourists will only come back to this particular country only when he has eradicated this idea of violence from his mind, but it might take many years. â€Å"Countries with a negative image due to past events of violence often attempt to improve their image with aggressive advertising campaigns trying to portray themselves as entirely safe destinations† (SÃÆ' ¶nmez et al.1999). Scott(1988) showed the massive work done by tourism authorities together with travel agents and tour operators to redress the country of Fiji where there was two military â€Å"coups† on tourism. Teye(1986) and Richter and Waugh (1986) state that the effects of political violence or instability on tourism is likely to have a spill over effects on surrounding countries but Hall and OSullivan(1996) found that both the Solomon Islands and North Queens land, found near Fuji, said that they were â€Å"safe† regional alternatives compared to the military â€Å"coup† in Fiji. (See appendix A) Many articles have examined the impact of war on tourism. Most of them have shown that war has a negative impact in the short run (Radnic, 1999, Mihalic, 1996). In the long run, wars may have a positive impact in the sense that tourists are attracted to a destination to see the scenes of war (Weaver, 2000). To measure the impact of war, one may use the number of overnight stays, beds or tourists, but experts have not attempted to measure the economic impact resulting from a fall in tourism. Wars can increase the perception of a tourist in the risk that he undergoes while choosing a destination. Hostilities, demonstrations and acts of violence, for example between the Palestinians and Israelis, have often discouraged tourists from visiting Israel for the past 40 years. Besides, Israel is located in the centre of the Middle East, tourists tend to avoid visiting this country during every period of crisis in the surroundings. Riots are also one of those factors which can put an end to the tourism Industry. The case of Tunisia may be taken for example. While most Tunisians were celebrating the victory president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the countrys tourism industry witnessed a massive negative impact from the riots and tourists had to be evacuated of the country. â€Å"While President Ben Ali was a totalitarian leader, tourists from Europe and the Arab world kept streaming to the country at an ever-increasing rate. Only few of the arrivals even know that Tunisia was a dictatorship even if they came year after year† (www.getafespain.com). With the state of emergency declared in Tunisia, and with the unclear political situation after the fall of President Ben Ali, government of Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Norway have issued messages not to travel to Tunisia and this of course included tourist trips (Bernama-Afrolnews, 2011). This shows to what extent riots can have such an influence on the tourism industry. In Mauritius, such riots were witnessed in 1999 with the death of the famous singer Kaya. The capital of Mauritius, Port Louis, was forced to close down for a few days and demonstrators had blocked major roads burned about 200 vehicles and attacked police stations. It degenerated to nearly become a racial dispute where young Creole men were fighting against Hindu people. Such an tragedy caused the economy of Mauritius to operate on a go slow basis. Such news were broadcasted internationally for much more than the duration of the riots. Businessmen became worried that their business might go bankrupt because that instability could hit foreign investors (guardian.co.uk) 2.1.5 Natural Disasters A natural disaster is â€Å"a natural event with catastrophic consequences for living things in the vicinity.† (www.encyclopedian.com). Natural forces will always be with us and tourism is a major sector of the world economy. The first mentioned is and will always be a challenge for the tourism industry. Therefore, these two elements will continue to play significant roles into the future. In the past these two elements have intersected and it is likely that they will again in the future. (Beattie, 1992). A natural disaster can affect tourism in the sense that it destroys the natural environment and the things which the industry relies on. There exists a close link between tourism and natural disasters as if there is a natural disaster, the industry may be destroyed. Tourism is an important part of many countries economy and in less economically developed countries such as those affected by the tsunami, on boxing day of year 2004, whereby the affected countries relied on the tourism industrys services for living. Usually a natural calamity makes the rate of tourists arrival fall, which results in a lack of tourist spending. Businesses suffer due to lack of money generated by tourism, local small businesses close, larger businesses are in agony, leading to closure of parts of the business and jobs are lost. There are cases where natural disasters can increase tourism arrivals. In a strange manner, places that have been affected by natural disaster can become tourist attractions. Those places often become places of educational and historical interest and many people visit those areas or countries. An example of this is the village of Boscastle in United Kingdom. The village faced the worst ever flood in its history on 16th August 2004. A recorded 200.4mm of rain fell in just twenty four hours causing a 3m torrent to flow through the village (www.docstoc.com/docs; article factors affecting tourism; natural calamities). Over 100 residents were rescued by air. 116 cars were swept through the village in the harbour that particular day. It caused millions of pounds of damage to property and businesses. Following this, the small village was much on the media. After 2004, there were loads visitors which came from many places to visit the village, in such a way that accommodation became a problem because of massive number of people wanting to be accommodated.( Robyn et al.2010) The case of typhoons in the Philippines had more negative impacts on the concerned country. The typhoons named â€Å"Ondoy† and â€Å"Pepeng† have ravaged dramatically parts of the Philippines last year and have had a negative impact on tourism, as compared to the small village in the United Kingdom. Mauritius is a tropical island is frequently visited by cyclones but most of the times those create little destruction to Mauritius. some tourists perceive those cyclones as an experience, but others perceive them as a natural factor preventing them from enjoying their stay. This may lead in guests cancelling their trips to Mauritius during the cyclonic seasons (November to May) 2.1.6 Climate Change, Global Warming â€Å"Climate change represents a new challenge for tourism. It is not, however, the case that tourisms initial position will undergo a sudden, radical change. Instead, climate change has to be viewed as a catalyst that will reinforce and accelerate the pace of structural change in the tourist industry and more clearly highlight the risks and opportunities inherent in tourist developments†. (Elsasser,2002) â€Å"Glaciers are melting, islands are drowning, wildlife is vanishing. Because of global warming, our most cherished vacation spots may soon cease to exist. And travellers are part of the problem† (Tidwell, 2001) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declared that the ‘warming of the climate system is unequivocal. The global average temperature has increased approximately by 0.76 °C between 1850-1899 and 2001-2005. The IPCC further said that there was a more that 90% probability that the warming would increase in the coming years. â€Å"Given the growing scientific data, my fear is were all going to wake up soon and find the places we love totally gone even in our lifetime, Mallet(2001). He further added that tourism and travel would mostly suffer with the rise of the sea level by 2100 because it has been predicted that the water level would rise by 3 feet by this time; eradicating resort hotels, beaches, ports and coastal property. The IPCC states that the American coastline welcomes around 180 million recreational visitors annually. The rise in sea level would be dramatic to those regions. Wall(2001) explains that â€Å"Clearly, global warming is an issue the tourism industry must and I think will pay more and more attention to in the near future†. Wall added that tourism is at risk and now all that the industry of tourism and travel can do is to prepare for and adapt to climate-related impacts which are already occurring. Taking the case of Mauritius, such rise in sea level will be drastic for re sorts, because those hotels are situated on the coast lines of Mauritius at maximum 3 metres above sea level. A rise in sea level by 3 feet will cause many of those resorts to mostly disappear and this could cause the end of tourism in Mauritius. Air travel and transport alone, for example, add more than 500 million tons of CO2 to the Earths atmosphere each year, according to the IPCC. And as people travel more, courtesy of ever-rising Western affluence, the problem only gets worse. By 2050, a full 15 percent of the worlds CO2 could come from travel and tourism, according to Green Globe 21. Tha quthor John Berger even said that â€Å"We are loving the planet to death†. Over the years passing , many island nations have fought hard to be heard in the international conferences about the effects of global warming on them. Some islands have already been lost in the Pacific, and the forecast is that many more will go in the coming decades, especially if nothing is done to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions globally. Now the case of the Caribbean islands should be closely studied. The Caribbean islands, except Cuba and Haiti, are highly dependent on tourism, like Mauritius. Coastal development in the Caribbean for tourism is constantly increasing at a high rate despite a recent decline in tourism. In the Caribbean, tourism accounts for 15% of the gross domestic product, with higher rates in many of its islands, and over 2.4 million jobs (about 16% of the local population). It has also pushed populations towards the coasts because of the various developments. For example, in the Dominican Republic, over 50% of the population lives near coasts where a 3 feet rise in sea level would make them being submerged. Recently, the Dominican government has received a report detailing that, under their estimates, sea-level will rise by 6 meters by 2050, eliminating the tourism industry and sending the country into complete chaos. The same would happen around the Caribbean. The fast development that the region is seeing may be completely devastated by global warming, and the same case goes for much of the rest of the developing world. The outcome would be to put billions of people in situations of poverty, hunger, and violence. In terms of economic weaknesses, it was noted that small islands tend to have small economies, small land area and unfortunately do have a limitation of resources, meaning their economy relies on few primary exports like sugar and of course tourism. Furthermore, the small islands have low resistance to â€Å"external shocks† such as natural disasters, political instability, terrorism, etc..(Harrison 2003, Hotiet al.2005). Briguglioer et al.(1996) identified environmental weaknesses which included the threat of sea level rise following global warming, and the location of small islands in relation to phenomena, such as cyclones, hurricanes and seismic activity which can lead to tsunamis and eradicate the tourism industry from a small island in a few minutes. Chapter 3 Saving the Tourism Industry 3.0 Over reliance over the tourism industry â€Å"Diversifi Tourism Industry in the Mauritius Tourism Industry in the Mauritius Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Introduction Tourism was the third pillar of the Mauritian economy after the E.P.Z.(export processing zone) manufacturing sector and Agriculture. It has contributed significantly to economic growth and has been a key factor in the overall development of Mauritius since the years 1995 onwards. In the past two decades tourist arrivals increased at an average annual rate of 9 % with a corresponding increase of about 21% in tourism receipts. Tourist arrivals have been expanding consequently, thus rising from 103,000 in 1977 to 656,450 in 2000, a more than 600% increase. About 67% of the tourist arrivals are of European origin, with France supplying nearly half. The nearby Reunion French Territory is the most important short haul source market accounting for about 13% of total tourist arrivals. Asian residents provided 6% of tourist arrivals, almost half of which originated from the Indian Sub-Continent. The World Travel and Tourism council (WTTC) stated that travel and tourism was estimated at 9.3 % in 2010 and is expected to rise up to 9.7% by 2020. This increase will help to create an additional 66 million jobs by 2020, in which 50 million jobs should be created in Asia and hence help to decrease world poverty. The longer-term prospects for Travel Tourism remain positive, boosted by rising prosperity in Asia. The WTTC remains confident that the Travel and Tourism industry will remain a dynamic force for wealth and job creation all over the world. The tourism industry does not cease to grow despite the problems that it has encountered in the past years, such as the credit crunch, terrorism, continuous increasing petrol prices and the famous avian flu (bird flu). The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) states that tourism recovered strongly in 2010 according to the Advance Release of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Tourist arrivals were up by almost 7% to 935 million, following the 4% decline in 2009 the year hardest hit by the global economic crisis (http://www.unwto.org) Tourism has become one of the most important pillar and the most revenue generating activity in many small island developing states. It has become the source of job creation and revenue for small islands inhabitants. A change in the tourism demand for an island may have a major impact on the Gross Domestic Product (total value of goods and services produced in a country during a certain period of time, usually one year), the budget and the Balance of Payments. Most small islands have adopted tourism due to a lack of development opportunities. The end of the twentieth century marked the beginning of the tourism as the main pillar of small islands economies (Bonte 2006), as it is the case for Mauritius. In large part, islands and cruises have become the most wanted vacation for tourists (Harrison, 2004). Tourism is a mean to reach economic development and economic growth, but is also a way to destroy its resources (Bonte, 2006). The Barcelona field study (2006) states that it is not just necessary to satisfy tourism demands, but also to cater for its durable development. Indeed, tourism does not have only positive impacts, but does have adverse effects on the environment and on the host community. The development of high volume tourism facilities without adequate consideration to impacts, has created many â€Å"tourism disasters† (Smith and Edington 1992). Aooay (2003) states that tourism is not only dreaming landscapes on postcards, the social reality is different: movement of population and disappearance of local savoir faire, begging, prostitution, ‘folkorisation of cultures and rituals. Tourism has suffered from serious health crises including the foot and mouth disease in 2001in United Kingdom, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003 and the bird flu that started to expand in June 2002 (www.who.int.csr/sars/en). Tourism has also been impacted by several natural disasters including earthquakes, flooding, wild fires, hurricanes and the most devastating Tsunami in December 2004 which caused around 218000 deaths and to this day, other natural calamities, was one still having a significant impact upon the tourist movement and the tourism industry worldwide. It is a fact, not only in words but also visually that the sugar cane industry is rapidly being replaced by tourism activities. However since Mauritius is entirely banking on the tourism industry for economic revenue, the question is; what could happen to Mauritius if the tourism sector saw a rapid decline or even an imminent death. One need to bear in mind that Mauritius is not the only country around the world offering this type of product and the fact that Mauritius is situated very far from the targeted market combined with an increase in air fare or/and tourism threats or even natural calamities, what can be done so that the future generation in relation to tourism development does not become black. This present dissertation tries to address the various issues that could cause the death of tourism if not remedied 1.1 Problem Statement Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean. The islands most important revenue in the 1980s was sugar cane being exported to European Countries. Nowadays it relies mostly on the tourism sector and tourism is being considered as its main pillar. The tourism industry is in fact a very young one, having emerged only in the last decade in many countries of the world. History has shown that tourism and its development have impacted in some ways, on everything and everyone that is has touched. Ideally, these impacts should be positive in terms of benefits to destinations and their residents but on the other side of the coin, this is not always the case. According to Leonard A. Jackson (2006), local peoples rebellion, environmental damages, cultural intimacy are good examples of negative impacts of tourism. Sugar cane fields are now being replaced by new projects such as the Integrated Resort scheme of Tamarina and Bagatelle at Pailles, catering for the tourism sector. This present work is being done in order to analyse the threats to tourism, its weaknesses and eventually try to evaluate whether the tourism industry will face an end like the Sri Lanka whose Balance of Payment was in deficit after the tourism injections in the economy fell after the war started between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) 1.2 Aim The aim of this present study is to assess whether the tourism industry in Mauritius could face a possible end. 1.3 Objectives In line with the problem statement and the aim of this work, the following objectives were formulated: Identify the importance of the tourism sector in Mauritius and the latters dependency on it. To Identify the threats to the tourism industry and its impacts there on. To identify the threats that are relevant to Mauritius and its tourism industry. To assess whether Mauritius is at risk of those threats. To identify possible ways of mitigating those impacts. 1.4 Research structure The study was classified into different chapters with the following purposes: Chapter 1- Introduction To introduce the subject, to define the problem, aims and objectives of the research and outline the different chapters. Chapter 2- Literature Review To give a brief account of previous research made in the field of threats to the tourism sector concentrating on small island developing states. Chapter 3- Saving the tourism industry To analyse the strengths of small islands and the factors that may save the tourism industry. Chapter 4- Methodology To outline the main steps taken to carry out this present research, providing details on the type of study used, its advantages and disadvantages, the questions set for interviewing targeted respondents and the limitations to the study. Chapter 5- Data analysis and findings To analyse and discuss the results obtained from respondents Chapter 6- Conclusion and recommendations To summarise the most important findings and to bring an end to the study and from the previous chapters to suggest any possible actions that could be considered in the near future. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.0 A global perspective of the tourism industry. â€Å"Shorter working hours, greater individual prosperity, faster and less expensive travel, and the impact of advanced technology has all helped to make the leisure and tourism industry the fastest growing industry in the world† (Edgell, Sr., 1990). Tourism has become a flourishing industry in the twentieth century, where destinations mostly rely on their natural and some manmade resources to make up their tourism industry. It is nowadays a principal element for economic development and growth. According to Lim (1997) and Crouch (1996), the economic impact of tourism has rendered the tourism industry to be considered as one of the most highly significant and integral parts of every national economy. Whilst the economic impact and the contribution of the tourism industry to a country is widely acknowledged, it is also an industry which creates thousands of jobs and a source of foreign exchange earnings. Let alone the positive benefits, it is also an industry that brings along many negative impacts on host communities. 2.1 Threats to the tourism industry 2.1.1 Competition Recently, many countries have constantly been competing for tourism. â€Å"One possible first approach to the definition of competition is to consider competition a process of resources distribution† (Loch et al. 2001). In a market, the people, firms, organisations, industries will tend to use only the very little resources to stay alive in a co operation market, but will make utilisation of full resources when they are in an extreme competitive market. Competition is also highly dependent on the availability of resources and the number of individuals, firms and organisations who wish to exploit those resources, but as the basic economic problem states, wants are unlimited but resources are scarce, thus individual tend to exploit the resources more that they should. This will result in the population being suffering as stated by Bahn and Flenley(1992) â€Å"the rise of competition can lead to such a catastrophic imbalance that the final consequence might be the extinction of the population† and the tourism industry as a whole. Competition should not only be seen as a way of boosting a market but if the competition is not well managed or even if policies with regards to competition are not clear, there may be a proliferation of tourism activities which could be to the detriment of the host community. For example the growth of hotels on the coast lines may prove to be beneficial to a countrys economy in the short term and long term if managed properly. However, if there are no proper guidelines on competition, it can become a nightmare for countries as host communities could feel alienated. 2.1.2 Increasing petrol prices The first months of 2008 witnessed the considerable increase in oil prices where it reached a record price of $100 per barrel. Prices were predicted to increase to 140$ in June 2008 (BBC, 2008). This continuous increase in the year 2008 was due to the increase demand for travelling (according to the law of demand, as demand increases, price increases) because of globalisation and increase in travelling resulting from an increase in the number of people, firms and organisations wishing to exploit resources. Moreover, the increase in price of petrol has caused an increase in tickets for travelling. An increase in air fares have caused a fall in the tourist arrival. Thus one can say that the increasing petrol prices may be one of the threats to the tourism industry because it is linked with the increase in petrol prices and an increase in air fares. 2.1.3 Criminality rate, gambling and social factors Ntuli(1998) described crime as â€Å" a universal social phenomenon in that it threatens the safety and security of the people, property, their sense of well being, as well as social order†. The case of Mrs. Harte being killed in her hotel room at the Legends Hotel, for a couple of dollars, when being on honey moon, is one which may be said to be unforgiveable. Mauritius is a famous worldwide known destination for weddings and honey moons. This crime is detrimental for its tourism industry. This news was broadcasted a few hours only after the crime had been committed, on several channels under the â€Å"Breaking News† titles and had it â€Å"Murdered honeymooner Michaela McAreavy (Harte) was strangled over a purse containing a small amount of cash.†(www.news.sky.com). This was broadcasted around the world and Mauritians were soon pointed out in lots of countries. The words of the husband inspire more sadness saying â€Å"She was my life†. The media was very quick at propagating the bad news and bad press and such publicity is not what a tourism destination wants. This act is in fact one of the greatest threat to the Mauritians tourism industry. Touri sts who were forecasting to getting married in Mauritius have surely cancelled their reservations as soon information about this tragedy spread around the whole world and this is witnessed in Ntuli (2000) who found that nowadays, crimes committed against tourist is becoming more and more detrimental to the tourism industry of a destination. As mentioned earlier, and supported by Giddens (1990) who stated that crimes committed to travellers has an impact on many categories of people, because a negative perception of tourists at a destination is often reported in the media or even tourist themselves to friends and families and this causes a negative word of mouth being spread as it is actually the case for the death of Mrs Harte. The host country will thus be badly marketed and tourist arrivals will decline as supported by Ntuli (2000). On the other hand, in a few countries like Bahamas, the heads of states think that even if the criminality rate is a worry to many Bahamians, it is not a threat to tourism, according to an official at the U.S. Embassy in Nassau (www.jonesbahamas.com). Dr Hardt, from the US embassy stated that there is now more than 200 police officers are now available to prevent crimes on tourists and that the new priorities have been stretched out concerning those crimes. From the above, one can say that crimes may not be an imminent threat to the tourism industry, provided that there is enough security officers and aims and objectives set. Gambling is often viewed as a booster for the economy of a country because usually the positive impacts of gabling outweighs the negative ones(Stokowski, 1996). Several studies such as Perdue, et al.(1995), Roehl(1994) suggest that gambling is profitable to a country because it generates a high profitability and contributes in job creation and a revenue for the government in terms of taxes. On the other hand, Tosun(2002) found that gambling results in crimes and social disruption and usually creates very bad effects for the country as a whole. Studies showing the negative aspect of gambling are various, such as Caneday et al.(1991) and Stokowski(1996). Thus the negative results from gambling should not be forgotten. Prostitution and tourists attacks result from gambling. People find that tourists are a cash cow and attack them and stealing their belongings so as to have money to gamble because gambling is like a drug. Prostitution is also generated from gambling. It is such that where the tourism industry is developing, those countries do have a good proportion of its population with very low income and tourists are seen as stated above , cash cows. Hence prostitution is the result of poor economic development and an easy way of making money and tourists have the spending power to such activity but it is important to note that most tourists do not like gambling and sein g people prostituting themselves give them a sense of unsafe surroundings and disgust. This has an adverse impact on word of mouth spreading. An example of the negative impacts of gambling is the state of Nevada in the United States where it depends much on gambling. The statistics for this state are astonishing. This state is the one which has the highest number of road accident, suicide and criminality rate (Vaknin, 2007). Gambling is related to criminality rate according to Vaknin(2007). When one talks about gambling, one may understand crimes, addiction, drug and accidents. Those impacts should be carefully monitored even if gambling brings much economic development for a country (Perdue et al 1995). Drug intake and thefts are also becoming â€Å"common† nowadays in Mauritius. Thousands of complaints are lodged at police stations concerning thefts and in this context, many tourists are attacked for their money or valuable belongings. Drug intake make more and more individual go on stealing to obtain their doses and such social factors should be tackled in order to prevent the end of tourism in Mauritius. 2.1.4 Political instability, civil wars, riots and demonstrations â€Å"Political instability is a situation where a government has been toppled, or is controlled by factions following a coup, or where basic functional pre-requisites for social-order control and maintenance are unstable and periodically disrupted. (Cook, 1990). Wilson(1996), on the other hand, defines a stable country as ‘if the regime is durable, violence and turmoil are limited, and the leaders stay in office for several years. The link between political violence and instability in Hall et al.(1996) definition of political instability as ‘‘a situation in which conditions and mechanisms of governance and rule are challenged as to their political legitimacy by elements operating from outside of the normal operations of the political system. When challenge occurs from within a political system and the system is able to adapt and change to meet demands on it, it can be said to be stable† Challenging in order to govern a country or even those who do not follow the actual political system is often solved by violence; political violence. Thus political instability and political violence are two words that can be used as synonyms. Lancaster(1971) states that tourists enjoy many different advantages that a destination offers, rather than sticking to only one advantage. Tourists can and will shift easily to another destination unless the attractions to that country are unique in the world. In other words, a tourist will go to a destination for its sea, sun and sand like it is the case for Mauritius and may shift destination if he wants unless there is only those 3s in Mauritius but it is not the case because Maldives, Seychelles offer nearly the same tourism product. Richter and Waugh(1986) state that ‘tourism is frequently an early casualty of internecine warfare, revolution, or even prolonged labour disputes. Even if the tourist areas are secure () tourism may decline precipitously when political conditions appear unsettled. Tourists simply choose alternative destinations. Taking the above example, even if Mauritius offered the unique sea, sun and sand in the world, tourism in Mauritius will be hurt if there is political violence. This shows to what extent political instability may cause the end of the tourism industry in Mauritius such as the case of Egypt which recently through severe political violence resulting in its tourism industry falling drastically. Richter and Waugh(1989) argued that tourism is for sure a political phenomenon: it will decrease sharply when political circumstance turns unstable. In 1994 Hall published his book Tourism and Political Science where he asserts that stable politics is a must for attracting international tourists, even the decisive factor for the successful development of tourism (Hall, 1994). In case of political violence, tourism being a sensitive product and therefore tourists arrivals will continue to go down for a long period of time. Tourists will only come back to this particular country only when he has eradicated this idea of violence from his mind, but it might take many years. â€Å"Countries with a negative image due to past events of violence often attempt to improve their image with aggressive advertising campaigns trying to portray themselves as entirely safe destinations† (SÃÆ' ¶nmez et al.1999). Scott(1988) showed the massive work done by tourism authorities together with travel agents and tour operators to redress the country of Fiji where there was two military â€Å"coups† on tourism. Teye(1986) and Richter and Waugh (1986) state that the effects of political violence or instability on tourism is likely to have a spill over effects on surrounding countries but Hall and OSullivan(1996) found that both the Solomon Islands and North Queens land, found near Fuji, said that they were â€Å"safe† regional alternatives compared to the military â€Å"coup† in Fiji. (See appendix A) Many articles have examined the impact of war on tourism. Most of them have shown that war has a negative impact in the short run (Radnic, 1999, Mihalic, 1996). In the long run, wars may have a positive impact in the sense that tourists are attracted to a destination to see the scenes of war (Weaver, 2000). To measure the impact of war, one may use the number of overnight stays, beds or tourists, but experts have not attempted to measure the economic impact resulting from a fall in tourism. Wars can increase the perception of a tourist in the risk that he undergoes while choosing a destination. Hostilities, demonstrations and acts of violence, for example between the Palestinians and Israelis, have often discouraged tourists from visiting Israel for the past 40 years. Besides, Israel is located in the centre of the Middle East, tourists tend to avoid visiting this country during every period of crisis in the surroundings. Riots are also one of those factors which can put an end to the tourism Industry. The case of Tunisia may be taken for example. While most Tunisians were celebrating the victory president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the countrys tourism industry witnessed a massive negative impact from the riots and tourists had to be evacuated of the country. â€Å"While President Ben Ali was a totalitarian leader, tourists from Europe and the Arab world kept streaming to the country at an ever-increasing rate. Only few of the arrivals even know that Tunisia was a dictatorship even if they came year after year† (www.getafespain.com). With the state of emergency declared in Tunisia, and with the unclear political situation after the fall of President Ben Ali, government of Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Norway have issued messages not to travel to Tunisia and this of course included tourist trips (Bernama-Afrolnews, 2011). This shows to what extent riots can have such an influence on the tourism industry. In Mauritius, such riots were witnessed in 1999 with the death of the famous singer Kaya. The capital of Mauritius, Port Louis, was forced to close down for a few days and demonstrators had blocked major roads burned about 200 vehicles and attacked police stations. It degenerated to nearly become a racial dispute where young Creole men were fighting against Hindu people. Such an tragedy caused the economy of Mauritius to operate on a go slow basis. Such news were broadcasted internationally for much more than the duration of the riots. Businessmen became worried that their business might go bankrupt because that instability could hit foreign investors (guardian.co.uk) 2.1.5 Natural Disasters A natural disaster is â€Å"a natural event with catastrophic consequences for living things in the vicinity.† (www.encyclopedian.com). Natural forces will always be with us and tourism is a major sector of the world economy. The first mentioned is and will always be a challenge for the tourism industry. Therefore, these two elements will continue to play significant roles into the future. In the past these two elements have intersected and it is likely that they will again in the future. (Beattie, 1992). A natural disaster can affect tourism in the sense that it destroys the natural environment and the things which the industry relies on. There exists a close link between tourism and natural disasters as if there is a natural disaster, the industry may be destroyed. Tourism is an important part of many countries economy and in less economically developed countries such as those affected by the tsunami, on boxing day of year 2004, whereby the affected countries relied on the tourism industrys services for living. Usually a natural calamity makes the rate of tourists arrival fall, which results in a lack of tourist spending. Businesses suffer due to lack of money generated by tourism, local small businesses close, larger businesses are in agony, leading to closure of parts of the business and jobs are lost. There are cases where natural disasters can increase tourism arrivals. In a strange manner, places that have been affected by natural disaster can become tourist attractions. Those places often become places of educational and historical interest and many people visit those areas or countries. An example of this is the village of Boscastle in United Kingdom. The village faced the worst ever flood in its history on 16th August 2004. A recorded 200.4mm of rain fell in just twenty four hours causing a 3m torrent to flow through the village (www.docstoc.com/docs; article factors affecting tourism; natural calamities). Over 100 residents were rescued by air. 116 cars were swept through the village in the harbour that particular day. It caused millions of pounds of damage to property and businesses. Following this, the small village was much on the media. After 2004, there were loads visitors which came from many places to visit the village, in such a way that accommodation became a problem because of massive number of people wanting to be accommodated.( Robyn et al.2010) The case of typhoons in the Philippines had more negative impacts on the concerned country. The typhoons named â€Å"Ondoy† and â€Å"Pepeng† have ravaged dramatically parts of the Philippines last year and have had a negative impact on tourism, as compared to the small village in the United Kingdom. Mauritius is a tropical island is frequently visited by cyclones but most of the times those create little destruction to Mauritius. some tourists perceive those cyclones as an experience, but others perceive them as a natural factor preventing them from enjoying their stay. This may lead in guests cancelling their trips to Mauritius during the cyclonic seasons (November to May) 2.1.6 Climate Change, Global Warming â€Å"Climate change represents a new challenge for tourism. It is not, however, the case that tourisms initial position will undergo a sudden, radical change. Instead, climate change has to be viewed as a catalyst that will reinforce and accelerate the pace of structural change in the tourist industry and more clearly highlight the risks and opportunities inherent in tourist developments†. (Elsasser,2002) â€Å"Glaciers are melting, islands are drowning, wildlife is vanishing. Because of global warming, our most cherished vacation spots may soon cease to exist. And travellers are part of the problem† (Tidwell, 2001) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declared that the ‘warming of the climate system is unequivocal. The global average temperature has increased approximately by 0.76 °C between 1850-1899 and 2001-2005. The IPCC further said that there was a more that 90% probability that the warming would increase in the coming years. â€Å"Given the growing scientific data, my fear is were all going to wake up soon and find the places we love totally gone even in our lifetime, Mallet(2001). He further added that tourism and travel would mostly suffer with the rise of the sea level by 2100 because it has been predicted that the water level would rise by 3 feet by this time; eradicating resort hotels, beaches, ports and coastal property. The IPCC states that the American coastline welcomes around 180 million recreational visitors annually. The rise in sea level would be dramatic to those regions. Wall(2001) explains that â€Å"Clearly, global warming is an issue the tourism industry must and I think will pay more and more attention to in the near future†. Wall added that tourism is at risk and now all that the industry of tourism and travel can do is to prepare for and adapt to climate-related impacts which are already occurring. Taking the case of Mauritius, such rise in sea level will be drastic for re sorts, because those hotels are situated on the coast lines of Mauritius at maximum 3 metres above sea level. A rise in sea level by 3 feet will cause many of those resorts to mostly disappear and this could cause the end of tourism in Mauritius. Air travel and transport alone, for example, add more than 500 million tons of CO2 to the Earths atmosphere each year, according to the IPCC. And as people travel more, courtesy of ever-rising Western affluence, the problem only gets worse. By 2050, a full 15 percent of the worlds CO2 could come from travel and tourism, according to Green Globe 21. Tha quthor John Berger even said that â€Å"We are loving the planet to death†. Over the years passing , many island nations have fought hard to be heard in the international conferences about the effects of global warming on them. Some islands have already been lost in the Pacific, and the forecast is that many more will go in the coming decades, especially if nothing is done to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions globally. Now the case of the Caribbean islands should be closely studied. The Caribbean islands, except Cuba and Haiti, are highly dependent on tourism, like Mauritius. Coastal development in the Caribbean for tourism is constantly increasing at a high rate despite a recent decline in tourism. In the Caribbean, tourism accounts for 15% of the gross domestic product, with higher rates in many of its islands, and over 2.4 million jobs (about 16% of the local population). It has also pushed populations towards the coasts because of the various developments. For example, in the Dominican Republic, over 50% of the population lives near coasts where a 3 feet rise in sea level would make them being submerged. Recently, the Dominican government has received a report detailing that, under their estimates, sea-level will rise by 6 meters by 2050, eliminating the tourism industry and sending the country into complete chaos. The same would happen around the Caribbean. The fast development that the region is seeing may be completely devastated by global warming, and the same case goes for much of the rest of the developing world. The outcome would be to put billions of people in situations of poverty, hunger, and violence. In terms of economic weaknesses, it was noted that small islands tend to have small economies, small land area and unfortunately do have a limitation of resources, meaning their economy relies on few primary exports like sugar and of course tourism. Furthermore, the small islands have low resistance to â€Å"external shocks† such as natural disasters, political instability, terrorism, etc..(Harrison 2003, Hotiet al.2005). Briguglioer et al.(1996) identified environmental weaknesses which included the threat of sea level rise following global warming, and the location of small islands in relation to phenomena, such as cyclones, hurricanes and seismic activity which can lead to tsunamis and eradicate the tourism industry from a small island in a few minutes. Chapter 3 Saving the Tourism Industry 3.0 Over reliance over the tourism industry â€Å"Diversifi