Work Plan for Interior Designer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Work Plan for Interior Designer - Assignment Example Interior designers work usually runs in a well laid out sequence. The designer starts by determining the client’s requirements, tastes and preferences before undertaking the project. At this point, they have to consider the number of the building users and hence making enough interior space for them to move comfortably making sure that the taste of client does not hinder motion within the building. After the initial considerations, the interior designer has to make the preliminary sketches of the design plans. These plans will enable them to identify the material they need for the projects such as lighting, furnishes, furniture, tiles, carpets, and decorations. After the preliminary designing, the interior designer has to make a preparation of the final plans usually by the use of the appropriate computer software and present the same to the client. In a case the client is not satisfied by the expected appearance, the interior designer has to make the corrections and adjustments to suit the client's needs. After the designing process, the interior designer has to make an estimate of the cost of the project and create a realistic timeline for the implementation of the same. They then have to oversee the project implementation to ensure that everything goes along with the plan. It is also imperative that they carry out a post-project survey to make sure that the final product satisfies the client. Interior designing is multifaceted and the designer has to work closely with other professionals within the construction industry such as structural engineers, architects, and builders. It is therefore imperative that they are able to read blueprints. It is also compulsory for interior designers to be adequately knowledgeable of building codes as well as inspection regulations.

Lipoprotein abnormalities associated with alzheimer's disease, Essay

Lipoprotein abnormalities associated with alzheimer's disease, diabetes, atherosclorosis - Essay Example The human plasma lipoproteins are commonly classified into six major classes. Chylomicrons form the largest proteins approximately >100nm in diameter. They are synthesized within the intestines and transport dietary triglyceride and cholesterol from absorption sites to various cells of the body. The triglycerides of these particles are hydrolyzed within the plasma compartment through catalysis by lipoprotein lipase. Fatty acids generated through the breakdown are used as a source of energy by the various cells or are taken up by adipocytes (Zhang, Song, Cavigiolio, Ishida, Zhang, Kane, Weisgraber, Oda, Rye, Pownall & Ren, 2011). Lipoprotein particles generated through the action of lipoprotein lipase on Chylomicrons are called chylomicron remnants. The other category of lipoproteins is the very low density lipoproteins (VLDL, with a density of less than 1.006g/ml and a diameter ranging between 30-90nm. These particles transport triglycerides and cholesterol from the liver for re-dist ribution to other tissues in the body. In the plasma compartment, the triglycerides of the VLDL undergo hydrolysis through lipoprotein lipase. This reaction results into the generation of smaller, cholesterol-enriched lipoproteins including intermediate density lipoproteins (IDL). ... High density lipoproteins (HDL) have a density of between 1.063-1.21g/ml, and appear to arise from numerous sources including the intestine and liver. These particles are the smallest of all the lipoproteins which are involved in a process called reverse cholesterol transport. This is a hypothesized pathway whereby HDL acquires cholesterol from peripheral tissues and transports the cholesterol directly or indirectly to the liver (Mahley, Innerarity, Rall & Weisgraber, 2008). The apolipoprotein components of the major plasma lipoproteins can be visualized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Apolipoproteins of the numerous lipoproteins modulate the metabolism of lipoproteins and determine the unique roles of these lipoproteins in lipid metabolism. A well established function of the apolipoprotein is their involvement in the transport and re-distribution of lipids within several tissues (Mahley, Innerarity, Rall & Weisgraber, 2008). The delivery of lipids to sp ecific to specific cells and tissues involves the recognition of specific apolipoproteins by cell surface lipoprotein receptors. Another function of apolipoproteins involves their role as cofactors for enzymes of lipid metabolism. Another function for specific apolipoproteins involves their role in the maintenance of the structure of lipoproteins. Numerous apolipoproteins including apoB, apoA-I and apoE appear to stabilize the micellar structure of the lipoproteins. In addition, these apolipoproteins together with phospholipids on the surfaces of the particles provide a hydrophilic surface. Apolipoprotein E is a component of the chylomicrons, VLDL, chylomicron

Analysis of the Strength Based Model of Healthcare

Analysis of the Strength Based Model of Healthcare People with Diagnosis of Mental Health and Disability Strength based model Strength based practice is a way to deal with bolster that has an in number concentrate on the recognizable proof of individuals capacities, hobbies and abilities and on their qualities and potential. Qualities construct practice is to a great extent established with respect to the work of Charles Rapp from the United States who established the qualities show in connection to case service inside of the psychological well-being division. It is a critical way to deal with directing needs appraisal and service coordination in light of the fact that: †¢ It is an enabling way to deal with options which have verifiably focus around shortfalls and issues inside of families or individuals requiring backing. In strength construct approach with respect to the qualities and capacities of the individual. †¢ It maintains a strategic distance from the utilization of defaming, marking or accusing dialect. †¢ It makes trust inside of individuals and their families by concentrating on what is at present effective or has been fruitful in the past for them. †¢ It concentrates on individuals capacities and versatilities and spots them in the master position all alone objectives, aspirations and answers for troublesome circumstances. †¢ The expert support worker is put in the part of accomplice and aide. †¢ It catches (frequently surprisingly) the constructive things in a man and the individuals surroundings that can serve as a begin for positive changes. †¢ Individuals and their families are more occupied with a procedure where they feel they are a critical part, not just a beneficiary of others administration. †¢ Groups are seen as an essential wellspring of assets as opposed to obstructions or hindrances to succeed. Working with a qualities point of view obliges staff to have the capacity to: †¢ Show duty to the thought that all individuals can learn, develop and roll out positive improvement for themselves and their families. †¢ Give coherence of bolster and aggregate acknowledgement of the person. †¢ Concentrate on whats solid not Strength: Strength based model helps them to expand the capacity to manage issues and get positive solutions. The strength of strength based models is to help a population of persons with mental sickness to make the move from organized consideration to autonomous living. Strength based model expand the potential in the patient to connect with themselves. The strength builds the capacity and feeling of ampleness inside of the people with disability and mental problems and helps they get the opportunity to acknowledge a best or opportunity in their life. It concentrates on the capable getting on the being by comprehensive an advantage based access to propel the energy in them. It helps the incapacitated people to delegate them in and engages them to do copious for themselves after others offer assistance. It also permits them to plot for themselves and to demonstrate their selves in the society. It empowers to be actualized by the standard of the model which is concentrating on helping the patie nt to use his or her strength and opportunity and resources as the vehicle for gaining required assets. Weakness The weakness is that if there is excessively concentrating on the strength, issues may be avoided. Individuals additionally will be unable to address some new thoughts or roll out improvements if they perform all alone strengths. The strength based model may not be design for individual/families that acknowledge two investigation of handicap and mental health needs with carefully or at top accident agency that could progress to youthful ill-use or dependence. It builds the inactive limits furious into the a priorism of change and not the desires of unique individual. The measure of predominant based arrangement shows the brake which described the proficiency of the people with disarranges to yield an assimilation in the gathering. It can as well prematurely end people that acknowledge double analysis anomalous with unlikely aim. Assessment: Strength based assessment in respect to the patients with disability and mental health needs are rely on the individual strength and ability, aspirations, and goals they have inside in. Utilize strength Evaluation which is an instrument to help the patients to investigate in an all holistic, positive way then again strength, resources and aspiration to find out individual disability, to offer assistance access assets in the group that will help with the consummation of recuperation focused goals. The strength evaluation will test into the diverse regions of a mans life, for example, day by day living, financial, social, profound and recreational topics. It will help to recognize and clear up what is going on at this moment, what has happened in the past with respect to these diverse topics, and how to make a dream for the future. The quality based model was produced to prompt the professionals in a more extensive activity of dependably cartoon on quality. Utilizing the structures con centrated on qualities and shortcomings supports an all encompassing and offset of the qualities and issues of an alone with double investigation of incapacities and mental heath necessities. The qualities access is to be something that totally aides and impacts our persuade it ought to be aphoristic in the accent of connections with the people they serve, the accent of service, aggregation and definitive collaborations, and record other activities. Planning The evaluation will help to distinguish particular goals. Utilizing these we will draw up an Individual Arrangement with the individual we are supporting. An Individual with mental health and disability, arrangement helps separate huge objectives into little achievable steps furthermore, to share a few responsibility between the client and support worker. The little steps are the investigation of past, frequently overlooked individual resources is guided for the most part by an examination of nine life spaces, which incorporate life abilities, accounts, recreation activity, relationships, life style, occupation/instruction, wellbeing, inner resources ( qualities, confidences, critical thinking), and recuperation. Meanwhile, the case Manager ought to endeavour to hear the clients goal and desires before they hear proof of his or her past issues, mistakes, or weakness. Co-ordination Coordination in the model means a variety of activities composed through general communication with client (mental health and disability) wherever they may be found to guarantee service needs are met. These incorporate, yet are not restricted to, appraisal and assessment, consistent service arranging and observing. The execution of these capacities ought to be organize. Case in point, the caseworker starts an evaluation of the clients strength, needs and potential answers for the issues. At that point, a care arranges for that addresses the individuals treatment and other asset needs is produced. That implies the caseworker will help facilitate a complete arrangement of a services and casual support for client. Prespective The strength based model is exceptionally realistic for the disabled and mental health needs of a person. Strengthening is a focal topic to this methodology. To engage a person with double issue the assessment must be made and in this manner the achievable objectives will be made alongside the assessment so a very much composed arrangement will be done to accomplish the objectives and the likelihood of the achievement will ideally be high. The patients are helped with restoring a consciousness of internal resources, for example, knowledge, capability and critical thinking capacities ; setting up and arranging lines of operation and correspondence between the patient and outside assets; and supporting with those outer assets keeping in mind the end goal to improve the coherence, accessibility, responsibility and effectiveness of those resources. Summary of Expected Outcome The strength evaluation and plan are being used. It gives data to research, supervision whats more, case load planning goal. The supervisors can look out for the status of individual on their caseload. Those reports likewise demonstrate the measure of work being directed in the different life areas, the recurrence of goal being finished; and the relationship between different patient profiles and their accomplishment in finishing goals. The strength based model model results is that the people with double examination of disability and mental health needs is sufficient and proliferating the disability and mental health can aggregate physically fit to the relationship like the usual people after plentiful brainy boundaries. Also, the being may progress decisive favourable circumstances to a top associated and growth some achievement greater than acclimated being however the disabled and mental health cant be made strides. The people with double investigation of inability and brainy needs can confirmation flourishing rejection casework gave aural the group. The quality based model guidance the alone to go hand in hand with strengthening in their lives. Each alone feels of sufficiency and are arrogant achieved. The advancement and development of imaginative capacities the model empowers people with double examination of disability and mental health to learn. By creating and favourable creative capacities, the quality ba sed growth prototype empowers people with brainy tribulation or dependence on learn, develop, and accumulation certainty. By accumulation candidate capacities of counsel and socialization, this original helps envision of descending into sin of brainy suffering or fixation, expands the proficiency to go hand in hand with the workforce, and keeps up satisfactory predecessors working. Needs assessment and service coordination Needs assessment plans are a important part of the NASC procedure. The aim of a comprehensive needs assessment is to evaluate an individual’s current capabilities, resources, aims and necessity. It is also important that the process find out the needs that are most important to the individuals. The purpose of the assessment process is to evaluate what is essential to increase that client’s ability to taking part as fully as possible in community, whilst considering client’s capabilities, resources, culture, and goal. Also consider client’s family/whÄ nau and support worker, their recreational, social and personal improvement needs; training and education needs; vocational and job requirements. There may be different funding sources for supports within these areas of life, a good assessment is focused on a â€Å"whole-of-life† approach and not simply on those areas of a person’s life that are funded by disability support or DHBs. Assessment It is a procedure that helps individuals distinguishes their inability support requirement. This includes a needs assessor meeting with a client, more often than not in their home, and fulfilment of a support Needs Evaluation Structure. support Evaluation is important on the off chance that you oblige access administration coordination support and there is a need to get to government supported services. The goal of the needs evaluation is to make sense of how to augment your independence so you can partake as completely as could reasonably be expected in the society. A Needs Assessor meets with a man (and their support client) to do need evaluation. The fundamental reason for a needs appraisal is to discover what is expected to help a man be as independence as would be prudent in their home and group. The assessor will request data about what the individual can and cant do what they might want to have the capacity to do, and what help or assets they presently have. The Assessor will likewise get some information about a mans recreational, social and, education, their preparation and instruction needs, employment needs and where proper, the needs of their family/whanau and support worker. Planning After a needs evaluation, an administration organizer meets expectations with the family/whÄ nau to set up a backing plan to meet the organized surveyed needs and goal of the child or youngster and, where fitting, their family/whÄ nau or parental figures. These needs may include: access to a progressive registry on mental health/ community services recognizable proof of current services included in addressing parts of the needs and remaining unmet needs recognizable proof and documentation of activities that are important to address those unmet needs and to accomplish concurred goals at the point when needs cant be met from openly subsidized services, referrals will be made to a scope of group based services as suitable as per the assessment. Co-ordination It is the procedure of selecting and sorting out the service needed to meet the incapacity related needs that were recognized support assessment. This includes the improvement of a support assessment keeping up or advancing customer freedom. Service Coordination includes educating the client of the choices and make an arrangement for service. This incorporates: assistance of access to group of individual support benefits that will empower individuals with dysfunctional behaviours to lead their lives as independently and gainfully as could reasonably be expected improvement of down to earth services and support choices to address distinguished needs using open, private furthermore, will full ministrations prioritization of the needs of the service client and service of the interest for accessible administrations by deciding relative need between those getting to service improvement of an administration or way of life plan the match of accessible asset with necessities, guaranteeing assets are utilized productively service of an assignment for carer help or home based support service, man agement to support service, including facility services. Strength Distinguish the strength of services as underneath: Advanced cooperation and solid working connections Encouraged a customary survey process service for clients in residential (supported convenience) Empowered more noteworthy joint working utilizing extra care Made a solitary purpose of contact Given a positive ordeal to service to clients and their families Worked as a feature of the more extensive multi-disciplinary group There are some its own particular preferences and burdens. The consolidated needs appraisal and service coordination model is thought to furnish a far reaching methodology with a registry of services and alludes and joins the person to those service and alludes and joins the person to those administrations which are chosen. It is proposed that the service which client just needs to manage one individual utilizing this joined model and the NASC pathway is all the more auspicious. Where the needs evaluation and service coordination capacities are independent , it has been recommended that the preferences are a more engaged needs evaluation regularly embraced by a clinician or a prepared needs assessor , and afterward a more noteworthy extent of service are offered by an service coordinator. Weakness The weakness of this model have been proposed as having made additional procedures obliging the needs assessor to hand over the data to the service facilitator. There is the potential for data to be lost. However a few services have proposed that this is a proficient methodology guiding the suitable aptitudes to the parts of the NASC procedure. Perspective The Needs assessment and service Co-appointment group helps individuals to get to service that will keep them living securely for whatever length of time that wish. In some DHBs clinicians lead the needs evaluation. While this gives insight about the needs of the person from the clinical viewpoint, it has been recommended that different points of view need to be added to guarantee a comprehensive needs appraisal is attempted. Different DHBs have cured this by asking clinicians to begin the needs assessment with the clinicians point of view, and afterward including the viewpoints of alternate individuals from the multi-disciplinary group until it is finished. Extended Outcome This model discovered potential open doors for service change initiating with a more understanding comprehension of the advantages of a NASC benefit inside of the service continuum and how NASC can be created to improve administration client results. Actualizing the accompanying suggestions will accomplish this. To comprehend and affirm the NASC model that they have picked. This administration model is fortified the upgrade service client responsiveness and enhance coordinating of requirements and desires to administrations. To stretch out NASC obligations to join access service to Group Bolster work and bundles of consideration. This is a developing part of the service continuum. To perceive the estimation of NASC in prioritization of restricted asset and hence put resources into NASC workforce to meet administration necessities. NASC spending plan holding for parts of service, for example, bundles of consideration is further investigated for usage. To audit forms set up to guarante e administration clients needs that may vary over the long haul are tended to. To work collectively to accomplish consistency in frameworks and procedures inside of the locale including embracing gauges, rules, administration particulars, information gathering and evaluation devices. To affirm the favoured ability blend of their NASC groups and try to create NASC aptitude utilizing enrolment strategy, training programme, and developing continuous network. Comparison between Models The correlations between (a) strength based models and (b) needs assessment and services coordination, are portrayed as takes after. The strength based model works with disabled with adequate quality to accomplish self-change. In any case, if one experiences extreme incapacities, it will be troublesome to locate an extraordinary quality to complete the activity of the strength based model. Because of the impediment of the disabled, their qualities are not ready to be successfully connected and actualized, not to notice the improvement of them. The needs assessment model, then again, concentrates on dealing with the goal gathering however does not give them future self-improvements. It intends to give services and backings to incapacitates however not show them how to build up their own specializations. References Human Services (2002) A Strength-Based Approach to Working with Youth and Families: A Review of Research retrieved from: http://humanservices.ucdavis.edu/academy/pdf/strength_based.pdf

Far from the madding crowd’ is set in the late 1860s to the early 1870s :: Free Essay Writer

Far from the madding crowd’ is set in the late 1860s to the early 1870s in Wessex, a fictional county based heavily on Dorset. Far From The Madding Crowd Thomas hardy was born in 1840 in Dorset which is located near Dorchester. Hardy's first important novel was Far from the Madding Crowd in which he successfully adapted to a traditional form to his own purposes, slightly changing it in the process. His novel states the importance of man's connection to, and understanding of, the natural world. The story is set in an agricultural rural community. He viewed the industrial revolution as a major threat to the communities he loved. The main character in this novel is a shepherd who is called Gabriel, this gives off a very pastoral mood in the novel. The plot develops complications when Bathsheba has love for three different men. Gabriel Oak who is the shepphard embodies Hardy's ideal of a life in harmony with the forces of the natural world. Throughout the entire novel there are unusual twists and turns and in the end Bathsheba ultimately marries Gabriel, whom she had turned away so long ago. In the story of all Thomas Hardy’s novels, both love and fate play major roles. In the first chapter we are introduced to Gabriel oak. He is a young sheppard. The main incident starts when Gabriel is walking in the countryside and he sees a wagon travelling down the road, and sees this young attractive woman is sitting on top if it. The Waggoner comes to a halt when they reached the gatekeeper and they had to pay a fee of three pence but the woman refused and only offered two pence. Gabriel stepped forward and paid the gatekeeper the rest of the fee and he insisted to let the women pass. ‘Far from the madding crowd’ is set in the late 1860s to the early 1870s in Wessex, a fictional county based heavily on Dorset. The village where Gabriel oak lives is in a small rural community. Many people such as Oak liked to hold onto their traditional views and values. Nowadays many of these views would be considered conservative and possibly outdated. Oak being a Shepard is very significant because it links back to the bible, so there are a lot of religious and biblical references in this novel. Most people went to church on Sunday. Church was very important. We learn that Gabriel Oak goes to church but doesn’t take it seriously. Hardy uses rural dialect to bring the minor characters to life, this gives them some personality. ‘Higgling matter’. Even though it is a winter’s day it is described as

Should Teens Be Tried as Adults

As more minors are committing violent crimes, the question of whether they should be tried as adults is on the rise. Children as young as 13 or 14 are committing violent crimes such as murder, rape, and armed robbery. Some of these children are being tried as adults while others are being tried as juveniles and receiving milder punishments. A juvenile offender may receive a few years in a juvenile detention facility and possibly probation following his release at age eighteen.An adult committing the same violent crime will receive a much harsher penalty, often years in jail, possibly a life sentence, with little or no chance of parole. The only difference between the two offenders is the age at which they committed the crime. Juveniles over the age of fourteen should be tried as adults when accused of violent crimes. Forty-one states currently have laws that make it easier to try a juvenile that has committed a violent crime and is over the age of 14 as an adult.At age fourteen the a verage person is mentally mature enough to understand the consequences associated with committing a crime. A juvenile offender should be tried according to his crime. If they have committed a juvenile crime, then juvenile punishment is fitting. However, if they have committed an adult crime, or violent crime, a harsher punishment is needed. A teenager will not be taught anything or learn to take responsibility for their actions, if they are treated with special care and consideration when acting as an adult.A fourteen year old has the mental capacity to determine right from wrong, even when it comes to committing violent crimes. In my opinion an adult crime deserves an adult punishment, even when the offender is a juvenile. The Juvenile system is very similar to New York’s Family Court. The New York Family Court was originally sought to protect children who were getting in trouble with the law that still considered them infants, because of their young age. A teenager that is a criminal would not be tried or treated as an adult because of the teenagers’ young age.The present juvenile court system encourages the young delinquent to continue criminal behavior by showing them that they can get away with a crime. It was designed to function as helping parents of juveniles. By protecting those kids who were younger from the age of 18 juveniles always used the system as a game and said, â€Å"I ain’t sixteen yet,† and â€Å"they can’t do anything to me†. If the government protects them and the juveniles receive no punishment, it means the government is giving them a second chance to repeat crimes.In the 1950’s juvenile delinquents who were caught doing something illegal were not treated like an adult, because the delinquent was â€Å"not criminally responsible†¦ by reason of infancy. † A hearing would be held in private to protect the child’s identity. In the 1960’s the juvenile court system c hanged and gave juveniles referred to as â€Å"respondents† instead criminals, the rights to have a lawyer represent them. On top of the juvenile court system changing it also gave protection, like the criminal court system gave adults who were responsible to serious penalties if guilty.The current juvenile system has made it the defendant’s lawyer’s job to protect the young client from any possibility of rehabilitation. That means that the courts now are also protecting rights of juveniles, which makes it even more impossible for prosecutors to convict the defendant. This offers the child to get away with no punishment and now thinks that he/she have the right to keep on acting in a misbehaving or unlawful way which had brought him or her into juvenile court, knowing that there was no big consequence that would happen to them.If there was any consequence it would be something small like being put in a facility that contains a TV, basketball courts, probably bet ter food and medical service than what was provided at home. If the courts send juveniles to facilities like these, juveniles would keep doing crimes to stay in these facilities. If juveniles have a better life at the facilities than what they have at home, who wouldn’t want to go to these facilities. That is where the court is wrong because the court bases the judgment on the person’s age not on their crimes, and that does not help the juvenile to be disciplined.In the early 70’s the majority of cases in family courts were misdemeanors by children. Through 1987-91 possession of a loaded gun by a juvenile was growing and schools started to install metal detectors in their school halls. Because juveniles have worsened in their act of crime rates have increased. The juvenile system defines juveniles as children rather than as criminals. Although Family Courts turn the most delinquent offenders over to the adult system for trial, they are sentenced as juveniles and only serve the maximum sentence in a juvenile detention and are free to go.There was a sudden increase of twenty-six percent over the past twenty five years on violent crimes by juveniles in the years of 1989-1990. This was to show how many juveniles have been getting involved in crimes such as homicides, robbery, rape, and assault. On top of that eighty percent of constant juvenile offenders of five or more arrests are more likely to go on to adult criminal life styles because of the habits they contained throughout their life.The only possible way to change the lives of juveniles is to make a legislation making the juvenile court hearings open to the public and the press, because juveniles should not be given the right to be protected by the government for destroying the lives of others. The government shouldn’t put teenagers in places like a juvenile center for committing a crime. It gives them way too much freedom. If any punishment is given is should be set up as first time offenders should do community service or do something good for the victims’ family.For second time offenders they should be responsible for the victims family, and will be well trained under the supervision of a probation officer. For those who are required to live out of the home it will provide intense schoolwork and job relating skills. Upon also being arrested there should also be a court appearance immediately, and the offender should be sentenced and incarcerated. These trainings would help these juveniles get their life straight in order to live a justful life.Teens today don't fear the law because they don't think they will get caught. And if they do, they know they have a good chance of getting off because they are tried as teens and not adults. We have to get tougher on crime. There should be a law that everyone over eleven years old will be tried as adults. That way more teens would be discouraged from committing crimes. They would know that murder would get them a very long sentence instead of staying in juvenile hall until they are eighteen. If we want to cut down on teen crime, we have to have tougher laws.

Hardy Neutral Tones †Pathetic Fallacy Essay

Throughout Neutral Tones, Hardy effectively communicates his feelings about love using the natural world and its (neutral) colours and characteristics. His use of rich imagery of the natural world produces a melancholic note about love, which resounds through the whole poem portraying the end of an affair between Hardy and his former lover. The backdrop of the poem is set in the first stanza as a ‘winter day’. Hardy uses the time of year to convey a sense of melancholia as winter often has a negative connotation and is associated with colder feelings and emotions. In this way, ‘winter’ could be representing the frosty nature of the relationship and how Hardy’s former lover was cold towards him. The descriptions in the first stanza are all colourless (neutral tones) which suggests that Hardy feels as if he has no colour in his life, no love. His negative feelings about love are conveyed especially effectively here because they are expressed right at the beginning of the poem – this sets an unhappy tone for the first stanza, which deepens further into the poem. In the second line of the first stanza, Hardy describes the sun as ‘white’ and ‘chidden of God’. His use of the colour ‘white’ suggests that his feelings about love are blank (or neutral), lifeless, and even depressing. It contrasts with the typical colour of the sun – yellow – a symbol for vibrancy and happiness, both emotions that Hardy does not feel about or achieve from loving the woman. In addition, the sun and pond are circular and non-angular in shape; this portrays that Hardy feels as if there is no escape from the negativity that he finds to be attached to his love and that it is never ending, in a loop. Hardy also may have meant for the sun to symbolise his relationship – God could have made it shine with yellow positivity, but instead He has made it a drab white tone; perhaps Hardy feels as if his relationship and love have been condemned by God. Hardy’s miserable feelings are further emphasised by the alliteration of the letter ‘L’ in ‘a few leaves lay’ – when read aloud, the sound of the letter creates a kind of idle yet unsettled tone which relates to Hardy’s feelings towards love. He feels idle yet unsettled in the sense that whilst he cannot do anything to stop his affair from falling apart, he does not wish for it to do so. The ‘L’ sound contrasts with the ‘S’ sound later in the line, which is a harsher, more acute sound, perhaps representing the attitude of the lover towards Hardy at the end of their affair. The image created by the ‘few leaves’ symbolises Hardy’s feeling that the love between him and his lover is disintegrating; the leaves are related to natural life dying, but in this instance Hardy uses a metaphor to relate the leaves instead to love dying. The ‘starving sod’ suggests that Hardy feels that his relationship is ‘starving’, as if it were not being ‘fed’ enough love to keep it strong and happy and it has therefore been reduced to ‘sod’ – treaded on and not special. The leaves that ‘had fallen from an ash, and were gray’ symbolise the way that Hardy and his lover have also ‘fallen’ out of love. ‘Ash’ could mean ashes as well as the type of tree, carrying on the theme of death that was introduced earlier in the stanza. Also, the colour of ashes as well as the leaves is ‘gray’, a neutral colour, suggesting that Hardy has quite reserved feelings about love. In addition, the description of the fallen leaves from the ash is quite gentle – that is, that the language is relatively reserved. This conveys the lack of passion that Hardy and the woman share within their relationship. At the end of the third stanza, Hardy’s lover’s bitter grin is described as sweeping ‘thereby/Like an ominous bird a-wing†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This suggests that Hardy feels a sense of impending doom about love and his relationship with the woman as if he knows that something harmful is bound to happen in the future and that the relationship is going down a dangerously steep downhill slope, destined for a crushing ending. The ‘bird a-wing’ kind of represents how his love and passion for the woman is flying away, like a bird. Another interpretation is that Hardy feels that the ‘ominous bird’ mocks him, circling over him like a bird of prey – he is stuck in a cycle of love and pain in his relationship whilst the he imagines the bird soaring free. In the last stanza, Hardy refers to the sun as â€Å"God-curst†. This depicts a change in Hardy’s feelings about love from the beginning of the poem – his language starts to show anger, rather than sadness. The reader or listener may interpret this as a religious reference from Hardy – perhaps he feels that his failing love is inevitable because it has been predefined by God (this introduces the idea of fate coming into the equation). The poem starts and ends with the same location and memory – the pond. This suggests that Hardy feels like he cannot escape from the constant cycle of love and pained grief that he has been experiencing, and that his memory of the pond scene and his feelings about love keep on repeating in his head; perhaps Hardy feels somewhat trapped within his own mind with no escape. Hardy’s description of the natural world at the end of the poem, ‘Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree,/And a pond edged with grayish leaves.’ is very blunt and mostly monosyballic symbolising blankness, as if Hardy’s feelings are numb. This contrasts greatly with the much more emotive and descriptive language he used at the beginning to depict the same objects. This change suggests that Hardy has changed his view about love to a more cynical one, feeling as if love ‘deceives’ and tricks him. Hardy uses this paradox to combine the feeling of melancholia and the notion of a passionless relationship, emphasising the point that what passion there once was between Hardy and his lover is there no longer.

bonk essays

bonk essays Medieval Weapons were (are) very dangerous. They can kill, puncture, wound, hurt, or anything else. All weapons from the Middle Ages were looked upon as frightening and crucial tools to kill. From a small dagger to a large cannon; all weapons A lot, in fact most of the weapons were used for siege and defense against castles. Castles were the most integral part of the Middle Ages. They held the king, the servants and anyone else important. If you wanted land or money, a castle was the perfect Movable Towers were just one thing used to lay siege on these castles. Not necessarily a weapon itself, it held Knights and (or) peasants carried many weapons depending on what specialty they had. Some carried bows-and-arrows, others maces, some swords, some knifes, etc. A mace was a metal ball with metal spikes welded on the ball. A chain was attached to a wood stick onto the ball. The Other siege weapons included the ballista, a HUGE crossbow- like slingshot that could send a huge tree trunk 3 football fields long. The ballista was manly for breaking down castle walls, or for scattering The most commonly used weapon was the sword. It was a long metal object that was very sharp on both sides. The sword could actually cut the sheet metal on modern day cars. Imagine this power through your neck! Next to the sword, the soldiers held a small dagger in a pouch on their belt. This was used to finish people off, as a last resort, or sometimes Trebuchet, the name strikes fear in peoples eyes, a HUMONGOUS slingshot that could send a big monkey boulder 2 football fields. This weapon could be used to demolish castle walls, or could even be used to kill hundreds of people on the battlefield. Anyway used, it was a big dangero ...

Definition of the Disengagement Theory of Aging

Definition of the Disengagement Theory of Aging Disengagement theory outlines a process of disengagement from social life that people experience as they age and become elderly. The theory states that, over time, elderly people withdraw, or disengage from, the social roles and relationships that were central to their life in adulthood. As a functionalist theory, this framework casts the process of disengagement as necessary and beneficial to society, as it allows the social system to remain stable and ordered. Overview of Disengagement in Sociology Disengagement theory was created by social scientists  Elaine Cumming and William Earle Henry, and presented in the book  Growing Old, published in 1961. It is notable for being the first social science theory of aging, and in part, because it was controversially received, sparked further development of social science research, and theories about the elderly, their social relationships, and their roles in society. This theory presents a social systemic discussion of the aging process and the evolution of the social lives of elderly  and was inspired by functionalist theory. In fact, famed sociologist Talcott Parsons, who is regarded as a leading functionalist, wrote the foreword to the Cummings and Henrys book. With the theory, Cummings and Henry situate aging within the social system and offer a set of steps that outline how the process of disengagement occurs as one ages  and why this is important and beneficial to the social system as a whole. They based their theory on  data from the Kansas City Study of Adult Life, a  longitudinal study that tracked several hundred adults from middle to old age,  conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago. Postulates of the Theory of Disengagement Based on this data Cummings and Henry created the following nine postulates that comprise the theory of disengagement. People lose social ties to those around them because they expect death, and their abilities to engage with others deteriorate over time.As a person begins to disengage, they are increasingly freed from social norms which guide interaction. Losing touch with norms reinforces and fuels the process of disengagement.The disengagement process for men and women differs due to their different social roles.The process of disengaging is spurred by an individuals desire to not have their reputation damaged by losing skills and abilities while they are still fully engaged in their social roles. Simultaneously younger adults are trained to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to take over the roles played by those who disengage.Complete disengagement happens when both the individual and society are ready for this to occur. A disjunction between the two will occur when one is ready but not the other.People who have disengaged adopt new social roles so as not to suffer a crisis of identity o r become demoralized. A person is ready to disengage when they are aware of the short time remaining in their life and they no longer wish to fulfill their current social roles; and society allows for disengagement in order to provide jobs for those coming of age, to satisfy the social needs of a nuclear family, and because people die.Once disengaged, remaining relationships shift, rewards of them may change, and hierarchies may also shift.Disengagement occurs across all cultures but is shaped by the culture in which it occurs. Based on these postulates, Cummings and Henry suggested that the elderly are happiest when they accept and willingly go along with the process of disengagement. Critiques of the Theory of Disengagement The theory of disengagement caused controversy as soon as it was published. Some critics pointed out that this was a flawed social science theory because Cummings and Henry assume that the process is natural, innate, and inevitable, as well as universal. Evoking a fundamental conflict within sociology between functionalist and other theoretical perspectives, some pointed out that the theory completely  ignores the role of class in shaping the experience of aging, while others critiqued the assumption that the elderly have seemingly no agency in this process, but rather are compliant tools of the social system. Further, based on subsequent research, others asserted that the  theory of disengagement fails to capture the complex and rich social lives of the elderly, and the many forms of engagement that follow retirement (see The Social Connectedness of Older Adults: A National Profile by Cornwall et al., published in  American Sociological Review  in 2008). Noted contemporary sociologist Arlie Hochschild also published critiques of this theory. From her view, the theory is flawed because it has  an escape clause, wherein those who do not disengage are considered troubled outliers. She also critiqued Cummings and Henry for failing to provide evidence that disengagement is willingly done. While Cummings stuck to her theoretical position, Henry subsequently disavowed it in later publications and aligned himself with alternative theories that followed, including  activity theory and continuity theory. Recommended Reading Growing Old, by Cumming and Henry, 1961.Lives Through the Years: Styles of Life and Successful Aging, by Wiliams and Wirths, 1965.Disengagement Theory: A Critical Evaluation, by George L. Maddox, Jr.,  The Gerontologist,  1964.Disengagement Theory: A Critique and Proposal, by Arlie Hochschild,  American Sociological Review  40, no. 5 (1975): 553–569.Disengagement Theory: A Logical, Empirical, and Phenomenological Critique, by Arlie Hochshchild, in  Time, Roles, and Self in Old Age, 1976.Revisiting the Kansas City study of adult life: roots of the disengagement model in social gerontology, by J. Hendricks,  Getontologist, 1994. ​​Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

Association between departmental stewardship, role stressors and distress among executives

Association between departmental stewardship, role stressors and distress among executives In the past few decades, major evolutions in globalization, technology and social collaboration have transformed the nature of work in all sectors. As work becomes increasingly complex and interdependent, employees are expected to take on many new roles and responsibilities. According to Kahn et al. (1964) it is quite common for employees in complex organizations to experience stress regarding their role, which can lead to negative individual and organizational outcomes. Recently, the field of occupational health has recognized that psychosocial factors inherent in the work environment can have considerable influence on the physical and mental well-being of employees, and studies have begun to model contextual moderators in the process of organizational stress. In this article we introduce organizational stewardship as a contextual factor that may build employee resilience to role demands and protect against adverse symptoms of mental health. Stewardship is defined here as an organizational approach in which communication, collaboration and adaptability between organizational actors and stakeholders is used to generate trust, a shared understanding and a sense of purpose. Using multi-level analysis, this study investigates whether departmental stewardship moderates the relationship between role stressors and psychological distress among public service executives. Role Stress and Mental Health The shift to a more knowledge-based society has resulted in many changes to the design, organization and management of factors within the work environment. As workplaces become more complex and multifaceted, employees are expected to take on multiple roles and responsibilities, and thus, it has become more important than ever to examine the impact of role stressors on employee well-being. Role conflict refers to the occurrence of divergent expectations or when role requirements are incompatible with an employee’s value system, making it difficult to perform their work. Role ambiguity refers to a lack of information or unclear information regarding employee’s roles, such that they are unsure as to what is expected of them. According to Cavanaugh, Boswell, Roehling and Boudreau (2000) role demands are considered hindrance stressors, meaning they are viewed as obstacles to personal growth or demands that can hinder an employee’s ability to achieve work goals. As a result, the presence of these stressors can prompt negative emotions (e.g., anxiety or fear) and a passive or emotional coping method (e.g., withdrawing from the work). Because role demands are perceived as uncontrollable and threatening to one’s work they are unlikely to be met with increased effort, instead employees may emotionally and cognitively withdraw from their work. While the process of organizational stress has been implicated in a wide range of physical health ailments, mental health disorders are considered to be the most common outcomes. Stress-related mental health disorders like anxiety and depression place a heavy financial burden on organizations. According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), about 30% of short- and long-term disability claims in Canada are attributed to mental health problems. Moreover, mental health problems and illnesses among Canadian employees cost organizations more than $6 billion in lost productivity (MHCC, n.d). A recent meta-analysis by Schmidt et al., (2014) documented the link between role stressors and depression across a variety of work settings. These authors acknowledged that it is important to examine mental health as a continuous construct since even minor symptoms can lead to impaired health and organizational outcomes. In light of this, psychological distress is an important concept to measure in the context of employee well-being, since it can capture a lower threshold of mental health problems and may be a crucial to reducing illness or disability caused by work stress. Distress refers to â€Å"a set of psychophysiological and behavioral symptoms that are not specific to a given pathology† (e.g., anxious or depressive responses, irritability, trouble sleeping, absenteeism) that can cause impairment in day-to-day functions and one’s ability to carry out normal tasks. From Leadership to Stewardship Worldwide societal and economic changes have challenged organizational scholars to question deeply rooted assumptions about leadership strategies and to re-examine organizational approaches that can more adequately respond to the demands faced by present-day organizations. As a result, scholars have begun to recognize that interdependent and global work can counteract the potential power of leadership, making it challenging for those in positions of authority to have an impact on the work environment regardless of their leadership style or the fit between the leader and situation. Recently, scholars have proposed the notion of stewardship as an organizational approach to guide the collective process in organizations. While leadership has been traditionally examined with a focus on interpersonal exchanges, stewardship can be viewed as a meta-phenomenon, reflected in organizational structures and collaborative processes. In this study, organizational stewardship is positioned as a pote ntial moderator in the relationship between role stressors and psychological distress. Stewardship Historically, stewardship came from the notion of managing or taking care of something that was entrusted to you. This concept is finding renewed resonance in current organizational literature and has been described as an alternative approach to governance models of mandate and force (Block, 1993). Stewardship has also been defined as an organizational approach that emphasizes a sense of purpose through the sharing of power, resources and information across networks to serve the public interest. According to Hubbard and Paquet (2016) stewardship is believed to foster a sense of community through building partnerships and networks, and generate the trust and dialogue necessary to work through complex issues. Furthermore, they argue that stewardship practices connect employees to the larger purpose of their work, fostering their sense of meaning. Based on these conceptualizations, an empirical study by Simpkins and Lemyre (2018) has reframed organizational stewardship as a system featu re through the application of a socio-ecological framework. An Ecological Model of Stewardship Taking a systemic approach inspired by Brofenbrenner’s (1979, 1999) systems theory framework, the Socio-Ecological Model, the social environment is subdivided into various systems and takes into account the cumulative effect of multiple factors of the physical and social environment, as well as situational and personal factors, on employee well-being (Stokols, 1996). Beyond the individual, the microsystem includes close interpersonal relations. Then, the mesosystem is composed of various organizations or services. The most overarching concept in this framework is the macrosystem, which includes the overall patterns of the social context such as economy, laws and political events. While the idea that stewardship can contribute to positive organizational outcomes has been implied, empirical evidence supporting this relationship remains quite limited. A qualitative case study of the Edmonton Public School system by Segal (2012) asked employees to describe organizational processes inherent in the control and reward systems. This study concluded that an organizational culture associated with stewardship theory helped to instil integrity among employees, contributing to organizational efficiency. According to Simpkins Lemyre (2018), the examination of stewardship within a workplace stress framework broadens our understanding of the work environment and has important implications for individuals, organizations and society. This role can be operationalized as an organization level resource contributing to employee well-being examined through the Job-Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. The Job Demands-Resources Model As outlined in the JD-R model, employee health and well-being can result from a balance between psychosocial work factors categorized as either demands or resources. Physical, social or organizational job characteristics that require sustained effort are labeled as job demands. Job characteristics that contribute to meeting organizational objectives, reduce job demands and their accompanying physiological and psychological costs, or that stimulate employee growth and learning are labeled as job resources. Demands and resources are linked to health and well-being outcomes through two underlying psychological processes. An excess in job demands coupled with a lack of resources can deplete an employee’s energy resources in the health impairment process, while job resources can contribute to positive organizational outcomes through the motivational process. Likewise, the JD-R model assumes that job resources can buffer the impact of various demands on stress outcomes. While individual-level resources have been valuable components in the study of stress, Demerouti Bakker (2011) have suggested an expansion of the JD-R model to include multi-level constructs in order to capture the different structural, functional or hierarchical levels of organizational research. Taking a Multi-Level Approach When direct indicators of environmental context are not available, contextual variables can be measured using group averages of individuals’ perceptions, at a cluster level. This is believed to reliably account for non-independence among employees exposed to similar environmental factors, which can influence how they perceive or respond to stress in the workplace. As a result, researchers can more accurately examine how organizational level processes affect individual-level processes and outcomes. Moreover, modeling group-level moderators of stress is particularly important, given its implications for prevention. From a practical perspective, a multi-level approach to stress may result in more effective interventions, as organizations may wish to employ different strategies at each level. Moreover, stress interventions based on group-level moderators can be much easier to implement over individual-based interventions. Thus, identifying contextual factors that can mitigate the stress process, and understanding how they influence this relationship, can contribute to more systemic approach to organizational stress research. Stewardship as a Moderator of Work Stressors As reviewed above, job resources can buffer the negative effects of work demands on perceived job strain through different mechanisms. While stewardship is not anticipated to reduce work demands themselves, the work conditions provided through a context of stewardship may alter employee perceptions and cognitions evoked by work stressors, and moderate the responses that follow. This can potentially reduce the health-damaging consequences of stress. A mission-focused stewardship approach is believed to help employees put their work in a larger context, providing them with a sense of purpose. The alignment between employee demands and the organizational mission may contribute to a sense of coherence among employees, where they perceive their demands as understandable, manageable and meaningful, a strong determinant of successful coping. Moreover, the sharing of information, power and resources can help to develop a common frame of reference, facilitating communication and reducing misunderstandings with regard to work tasks. In this way, stewardship organizations, through the collaboration and the instrumental support of other organizations, may be more resilient to increasingly complex work demands. Thus, a context of stewardship may temper the negative influence of work stressors by repositioning work demands as challenges that can be accomplished collectively, and task completion may seem more achievable in this setting. Stewardship in the Canadian Public Service Canada’s public service is the non-partisan, executive branch of the Canadian government composed of various units, which include departments, agencies, commissions, Crown corporations and other federal organizations. In a typical governmental department there are several levels of leadership at the Executive level (EX position classification). Stewardship as an organizational approach may be especially important in the context of public service work, where many different levels of hierarchy must operate collaboratively and rely on the combined efforts of various departments, agencies, commissions, crown corporations and other federal organizations to deliver quality service to citizens. In summary, there is strong theoretical and empirical basis to consider and formally test organizational stewardship as a potential moderator in the relationship between role stressors and psychological distress among executives. To our knowledge, stewardship has never been tested as a contextual variable using multi-level analysis. This raises the research question: Does a context of stewardship moderate the relationship between role stressors and psychological distress among public service executives? Study Model This study proposes that a context of stewardship reflects the degree to which a department engages in effective collaboration across networks, generating trust, a sense of purpose, and a shared sense of responsibility. We posit that a context of stewardship can help executives manage their perceived role stressors such that when a high degree of stewardship is perceived within one’s department, executives are more likely to experience their work as meaningful, interesting and something to which they wish to devote effort, regardless of stressful demands. In this way, departmental stewardship may help to alleviate the effects of stressors before they become damaging (i.e., psychological distress). Thus, we propose that department-level stewardship moderates the relationship between role stressors (i.e., role conflict and role ambiguity) and distress symptoms. Goal and Objectives The aim in the present study is to investigate the association between departmental stewardship, role stressors and distress among executives. The research goal is to test that there is variance in these relationships that relates to the organizational level above and beyond the idiosyncratic individual perspective. To test the moderation effect, there are two pre-conditions: Condition 1: Executives who report higher role stressors will also report higher distress; and Condition 2 (ecological multi-level effect): Departments with high levels of aggregated stewardship will have a negative relationship with reported distress. Main Hypothesis (Cross-Level Interaction) Moderation effect of the multi-level construct: The relationship between role stressors and distress is moderated by departmental stewardship such that the relationship between role stressors and distress is stronger for departments with low aggregated stewardship, and this relationship is buffered in departments with high aggregated stewardship. Participants and Procedure Data used for this study comes from the pan-Canadian national survey on Work and Health conducted in 2012 in partnership with the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (APEX). This survey represents the fourth cycle of a multi-phase research project examining the health status of executives, from Director (EX-1) to Deputy Minister (EX-5), in the federal Public Service of Canada. A total of 6688 self-administered anonymous questionnaires were distributed via e-mail to senior-management executives in the Canadian federal public service. Over two thousand respondents returned the questionnaires (N=2314), representing a response rate of 35%. After removing missing data and performing data screening for multi-level analysis the final data set included responses from 1996 executives nested within 59 departments/agencies. Departments, on average, had 34 respondents (range, 2 to 177). The sample comprised 51% male and 49% female executives and maintained fully proportional representation of the actual distribution of executives by gender, executive level, region and age. The average age of participants was 50.2 years. The majority of participants had either a post-grad education (52%) or university education (39%). Participants had been working at the executive level for 7.3 years, on average. While just over half (56%) of executives in this sample worked at the EX-1 level, 24% worked at the EX-2 level, and 20% at the EX-3, EX-4 or EX-5 level.

Handling the Different Creative Thinking Obstacles in Life Personal Statement

Handling the Different Creative Thinking Obstacles in Life Successfully - Personal Statement Example I realized this particular matter when I joined several group activities that required me to utilize creative thinking as a major skill that would display the fact that I am indeed learning from all the lessons that I receive from school. Being in an educational group, the author of this paper particularly felt the need to be a major contributor to the progress of the major discussions of the class as well as to the success of every activity that is being managed by the educator. It could be observed that through this grouping, the author learns how to improve the way that he listens, how he observes and how he interacts as well as participate within the group discussions. It could be noted that it is through this that the author learns how to establish camaraderie with his group mates and thus be able to be of good use and contributor to the progress of the entire class. Learning has been a great part of this particular progress on the part of the author. It is undeniable that being a part of this group made the author a more reliable individual in terms of group project implementations. Aside from this, it is undeniable that the author too has understood the importance of team work. Humans are significantly made with personal and innate characteristics in them that are completely different and apart from the others. This idea is mainly because of the certain fact that human beings have their own characteristics of uniqueness and individuality. Thus, human beings become existent in their own personal sense with their own identity differing them from others at some point in their innate qualities. In same manner, cultures and social values are also created and develop with likeness to the concept of individuality and uniqueness since they are created by human beings themselves. Social groups of relative similarities functioned and develop them own system of values and accordance making them united in their own concept and apart from the other social groups. Thus with this concept, cultural diversity has predominantly existed as how society themselves strive and develop to the point of their current state. However, this innate and basically natural concept in the society has been always a massive hindrance for the establishment of social unity and uniformity especially on the principal level of a team. Since the team-building concept's main agenda is the establishment of a uniting factor and bond among its members, their own personal and cultural diversity has always been a challenge for the said aim. Common problems and challenges such as uniqueness in the dominant language, dissimilarities with social norms and acceptable principles, differences concerning perception and opinions, and others often become a problem in the team-building aspect. In general, diversity produces stratification and division thus unification is being hindered. Indeed, cultural diversity in the aspect of team building is one of its main weaknesses. However, cultural diversity in a certain team can also serves as its potential strength producing advantages apart from its common

Article Analysis Report (Macroeconomics) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Article Analysis Report (Macroeconomics) - Essay Example The world economic situation is apparently under deep scrutiny owing to its frequent fluctuations and rapid alterations which has left multiple countries, irrespective of their global presence as a developing or a developed economy, unstable. It is in this context that fluctuations in the global economic environment also lead to fluctuations in the national contexts of various economies including the US, one of the leading and large economies. Owing to the current economic conditions of the US, Denham (2012) pointed that a larger proportion of funds have been allocated to the public sector of the economy which has left private sector with average funds that might prove insufficient in the future due to international competitions and altering demographic features. Denham (2012) also noted that as the economy intends to massively increase its tax rates, US is likely to witness the challenge of ‘fiscal cliff’ in the near future. In the international context, EU being a larg e contributor to the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and therefore operate partially as a world economic power house, may also impose an inevitable impact upon the economic stability of the US owing to the currently witnessed Euro Zone debt crisis. Additionally, poor oil market and export-import industrial performances, US is also quite likely to face the issue of fiscal deficit in the preceding years (Denham, 2012). In the words of Denham (201), â€Å"it seems the fiscal cliff saga is the main focus topic and the rest has little influence†. However, as stated by Denham (2012), ‘fiscal cliff’ is not the only economic challenge that attracts attention with concern to the US economic stability from the global sphere. Furthermore, as stated by Moore (2012), such measures can again lead to a double-dip crisis situation. Indeed, the issues noted by Denham (2012) are noteworthy to ensure economic stability in the US from a future perspective. Nevertheless, agreeing with the issues noted by Denham (2012), Newman (2012) stated that apart from the alleged ‘

Your pick for THIS PROJECT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Your pick for THIS PROJECT - Assignment Example In 2008, we organized a two-week corporate tour for Barclays Bank employees. Egypt was their target destination and we are proud to announce that the trip was a success. The trip was intended to be an appraisal for outstanding performers and we were able to enable them to fulfill their dream. At Explorer Tours, we believe in offering the best value for money. Thus our cost policies are designed to cater to a wide range of customers who value our services. We enjoy outstanding collaboration with other established business partners such as hotels and airline companies and hence we are able to strike the best deals for our customers. At our company, you can find the best deals for beach holidays, all inclusive cruises, family holidays, corporate holidays and adult holidays. We also have special discounts for cooperates, return and referred customers. Our prices range from  £ 666 -  £200 per person depending on the destination and accommodation requirements. At explorer tours and travel, you will never go wrong with late booking, trip cancellation and occurrence of unfortunate events. Tours and travel is a risky venture and therefore we are concerned with the welfare of our customers. To facilitate smooth operations, we have partnered with Argos Travel Insurance Company. In addition, our contract requires us to assume full responsibility for our customers and their belongings. We value our customers and therefore we provide cover for trip cancellations and other insurable events. For more information on travel packages, offers, holiday destinations and adventure clubs visit our website at explorertours.com. Corporate clients are requested to be on the lookout for our upcoming team-building trip to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The website also has latest information on tours and travel and the trendy holiday destinations. Information on baggage allowance, online bookings, credits cards and advance payments is also available on the website. Testimonies and

The Healing Power of Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Healing Power of Music - Essay Example There are still other favorable aspects of music to people aside from the Mozart effect. This one aspect is the capability of music to heal people. This area does not have a certain approach or a definitive description. It plainly proposes that the wonderful creation of music can improve and enhance the condition of individuals in their physical and mental levels for a more holistic growth (Mount, 2004). This statement of music having healing powers has been demonstrated in various fields and areas like the bible, arts and literary forms. For example, in the Bible, the story of David depicted how the young boy alleviated and appeased the heart and soul of King Saul. The Greeks were also known for using lyres and flutes. The music created by such instruments is capable of healing. It was even suggested that Alexander the Great was restored to having a sound mind when he was made to listen to the music created by the lyre. Egyptian writings that already have more than two millenniums of existence illustrate how chants and charms were able to treat predicaments like barrenness (Heather, 2002). Evidently, these events in early history attest to the healing capabilities of music. Yet, it is still imperative to prove today the mechanism of how music can have healing powers and to establish whether or not this will really work. Dr. Balfour Mount, a professor at McGill University and specializing in palliative medicine, puts forth that this healing aspect of music can be associated with the life condition of the person. In an article, he discussed how this condition or quality of life is given a subjective interpretation. Thus, the meaning and value will vary from one person to another. Still, two common factors among different individuals are highlighted, that is 'satisfaction in life' and 'emotional well being' (Mount, 2004). In this regard, it is evident that there are inherent qualities in every individual that make them value the same thing despite their differences in situations and attributes. This can be gleaned from the fact that life is seen as a continuity or journe y that has to be traversed, and music, as proposed by Dr. Mount, can aid in supplicating energy to the person at whatever state he or she may be, be it of joy or sadness (Mount, 2004). Furthermore, people also experience different states. It is not as simple as having one or the other, just like how the statue of Buddha with three heads embodies this idea. The Buddha statue has three heads going into varying directions. The one heads to the right, the good path. The head at the other side leans to the left side minding the evil. The one in the middle and facing forward has a serene disposition, suggesting a state that resembles the disposition of the mind of God. Such representations propose that in life, there really is an option to find a peaceful and calming state of mind that is beyond merely choosing the good and evil. This is the exact state where a therapeutic music can lead a person (Oliver). Music heals by allowing the person to work on whatever he or she is confronted with at present. One must not worry at what happened in the past nor stress out on planning for the future. The whole process entails a 'letting go' of any 'literal or rational patterns of thought' and it also requires recognition of what happens in reality in a more 'imaginary, intuitive and metaphoric way' (Mount, 2004).

Bampton Manor Hotel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bampton Manor Hotel - Essay Example The report relies heavily on responses from key staff within the hotel that provide the picture of the internal operations of the business. It therefore brings to the limelight issues in the various departments including marketing, human resource, operations, as well as, finance (Bowie, 2002, p.34). The hotel initially served as wedding hotel but later changed due to frustrations in the business. The appointment of a new chef with experience in managing Michelin Restaurants was a step forward in ensuring the hotel positions itself as a boutique country hotel with a fine dining restaurant. Due to the high quality of the restaurant, the business has received three rosettes from the AA, thus enhancing its corporate image although the Michelin star would have given it much reputation (Balakrishnan, n.d, 2). The main marketing tool as per the marketing manager was the websites although no real data was available to analyze the same. Although the hotel had most people rating their services as excellent, they also received negative reviews with some complaining about prices being high while others categorized their services as poor especially during the busy periods. In addition, reviews indicated cases of staff rudeness, uncooperative behavior, and in some cases, others indicated that they were not aware of their roles. One of the issues was the shortage of staff experienced on Fridays and during the weekends more so because the current staff struggled to cope with the pressure. In addition, there was lack of enough training and orientation for the temporary staff that were brought in to work over the weekends. In this case, some of the staff did not know their roles as well as whom to report to. This is also notable with the operations manager’s frustrations that the head chef was not able to use the systems introduced to manage reservations and finance (Colvin, 2000). The operations manager was

Research methods in the social scinces Assignment

Research methods in the social scinces - Assignment Example The researcher states that he term brute means â€Å"criminal.†3 The researcher even states that these images are very hard to change even if the African American society members try their best to operate in an opposite manner to the way they are depicted. In order to conduct this study, information regarding those prisoners who were released from different jails of the region of Florida was obtained and a questionnaire was used to identify the factors related to the returning offenders. The questionnaire comprised of several factors including the age as well as the gender of the inmate. The researchers identified that probability of inmates returning back to jail was â€Å"33.9%.†5 The researchers further identified that the leading factors that were closely related to the increase in recidivism rate were â€Å"serious crime in inmate history and custody.†6 The researcher states that the data for this research was collected through the means of a â€Å"telephone survey.†7 The collected data was interpreted by the researchers in order to identify the changes in the public opinion regarding the changes in the climatic conditions. The researcher even used the data to interpret whether these changes in opinion occur due to changes in season or not. For this purpose, previous year’s data was compared to recent data. The data was collected in a primary manner as the researchers directly contacted the sample through phone calls in order to obtain their responses for a questionnaire. The researcher states that the data was collected through â€Å"individual household.†8 The researcher states that â€Å"65% of Americans reported that there is solid evidence of climate change.†9 Furthermore the researchers figured out that 26% of the surveyed population did not believe that the earth was becoming warmer. Borick, Christopher, And Barry Rabe. (2012). Fall 201 1 National Survey Of American Public Opinion On Climate Change. Brooking - Quality.

Bampton Manor Hotel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bampton Manor Hotel - Essay Example The report relies heavily on responses from key staff within the hotel that provide the picture of the internal operations of the business. It therefore brings to the limelight issues in the various departments including marketing, human resource, operations, as well as, finance (Bowie, 2002, p.34). The hotel initially served as wedding hotel but later changed due to frustrations in the business. The appointment of a new chef with experience in managing Michelin Restaurants was a step forward in ensuring the hotel positions itself as a boutique country hotel with a fine dining restaurant. Due to the high quality of the restaurant, the business has received three rosettes from the AA, thus enhancing its corporate image although the Michelin star would have given it much reputation (Balakrishnan, n.d, 2). The main marketing tool as per the marketing manager was the websites although no real data was available to analyze the same. Although the hotel had most people rating their services as excellent, they also received negative reviews with some complaining about prices being high while others categorized their services as poor especially during the busy periods. In addition, reviews indicated cases of staff rudeness, uncooperative behavior, and in some cases, others indicated that they were not aware of their roles. One of the issues was the shortage of staff experienced on Fridays and during the weekends more so because the current staff struggled to cope with the pressure. In addition, there was lack of enough training and orientation for the temporary staff that were brought in to work over the weekends. In this case, some of the staff did not know their roles as well as whom to report to. This is also notable with the operations manager’s frustrations that the head chef was not able to use the systems introduced to manage reservations and finance (Colvin, 2000). The operations manager was

Stereotype and Prejudice Marjorie Essay Example for Free

Stereotype and Prejudice Marjorie Essay Abstract Our discussion is about how does society confirm prejudicial attitudes? How does ones social identity contribute to prejudice? How do emotions encourage prejudicial attitudes? What cognitive processes influence prejudice? Our text has explained competition; competition is an important source of frustration that can fuel prejudice. When two groups compete for jobs, housing, or social prestige, one group’s goal fulfillment can become the other group’s frustration. Prejudice Society confirms prejudice by what you possess and how much money you have. If you are not in a certain bracket such as (high class or middle class), you are considered poor. Prejudice helps justify the economic and social superiority of those who have wealth and power. Of course they will not give a chance at credit to buy a house, car, or start a business. Society, also confirm prejudice by the way you dress or the car you drive. Society confirms prejudicial attitude by focusing on personal individuality and Independence, as opposed to becoming a team with neighbors and friends. I am so glad that God looks at the heart and man looks at the outer appearance. Ones social identity contributes base on a realization of limited environmental control. The more you believe that you can impact your environment or social status, the less roll social identity plays Emotions really affect prejudicial attitudes because most of the time people make decisions based on their emotions. Emotions of fear and sadness or joy and gladness, which can cause you to project feelings in a hurtful way, rather than in a helpful manner Cognitive process influence prejudice through stereotyping, which cause prejudice. This can be a result of the normal ways in which we simplify and organize the world. Stereotypes are the social scripts we have in our heads about others and the roles we believe they should play in our socially constructed world. It is important to have the understanding of the basic concepts of prejudice and racism, and how to lessen their destructive effect (Rosado, 1995-2012). Reference Rosado, C. (1995-2012). Critical Multicultral Pavilion Research Room. Retrieved from http://www. edchange,org/multicultral/papers/caleb/racism. html.

Future Sustainability Of The Mauritian Economy Tourism Essay

Future Sustainability Of The Mauritian Economy Tourism Essay 1. Introduction In recent years, many studies and researches were carried out on the contribution of tourism in the economic development of a country (Mishra et al, 2011). There is a general agreement that tourism has been of central importance in the social progress as well as an important contributor of widening socio-economic and cultural contacts throughout human history. Over the past years, many developing and developed nations have considered tourism as an option for their sustainable development. Mauritius is a small independent island located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar with an area of 2,040 square kilometers (including St Brandon and Agalega Islands) and a population of almost 1.3 million. The island consists of people originating from India, China, Africa and Europe. With regard to its geographical position and of its volcanic origin, Mauritius has been gifted with natural assets that attract a very large number of tourists every year (Sobhee, 2008). As a small island economy, Mauritius has experienced very rapid industrial and tourism development during the last thirty years and until recently tourism has been growing very rapidly. In the 1970s, it has successfully transformed itself from a mono-crop economy to a diversified economy comprising agricultural, textile, tourism, Information and Technology and financial services. Tourism has become an important sector of the Mauritian economy playing a substantial part to the sustainable development of the country and in generating foreign exchange and employment opportunities. 2. Literature Review Tourism has developed itself from a relatively small-scale activity into one of the worlds largest industries and a rapidly growing global economy from the 1960s onwards. There has been an uninterrupted growth in international tourist arrivals from 25 million in 1950 to 438 million in 1990 and 681 million in 2000. In 2009, the international tourist arrivals were 880 million and the corresponding tourism receipts were US $852 million. For the year 2010, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) forecasted a growth of 3% to 4% in arrivals generating about 21.7% of world GDP, 10% of global capital investments, 9% of worldwide employment and 22.2% of worldwide exports of goods and services. All the figures demonstrate the significant role of the tourism sector in the long-run growth of host countries across the world (Mishra et al, 2011). Today, many islands depend on international travel and tourism to enhance their economies. For example, tourism industry accounted for 20% of GDP, 33% of revenue and 66% of foreign exchange earnings in Maldives. Likewise, in Seychelles the tourism sector accounted for 12% of GDP, 30% of workforce and 70% of foreign exchange earnings (Lee et al, 2010). In Vanuatu, the contribution of tourism to the GDP increases from 16% in 1991 to 21.6% in 1998 (Meheuxa Parkerb, 2006). In Fiji, the sector accounted for 29.5% of GDP and 37% of foreign exchange earnings (Becken, 2005). In Bahamas, 60% of jobs are mainly due to the tourism industry (Apostolopoulos Gayle, 2002c). The above statistics shows that many Indian Ocean, Pacific and Carribean islands are highly dependent on tourism for their economic growth (Duval, 2004). In such cases, the economies of these islands are more vulnerable to external shocks and natural calamities like in the years 2008 and 2009, unless they have diversified thei r economies. Many developing countries have managed to increase their participation in the global economy through development of international tourism. International tourism is increasingly viewed as an important tool in promoting economic growth and alleviating poverty (Richardson, 2010). Researchers are of the view that the rapid growth of tourism sector causes an increase of household incomes and government revenue through its multiplier effect, improvements in the balance of payments and the growth of the tourism industry by itself. Tourism dollars are new dollars injected in an economy as they are spent and respent by employers and employees. The more money flows within an economy, the larger the multiplier effect. As such, tourism development has usually been thought to have a positive contribution to economic growth (Khan et al, 1995). Baum (1994) identified the following as the positive impact of tourism in an economy: Generating foreign exchange and foreign direct investment; Employment opportunities; Contribution to the local/host community; Conservational or environmental impact. 2.1 Revenue and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) In terms of GDP, the tourist industry is the second most important after the manufacturing sector. Statistics (CSO, 2011) (Table 1) show that the annual tourist arrivals in 2010 has increased to more than 930,000 as compared to 871,356 in 2009, that is an increase of 7.3%. The industry contributes to 3.8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and tourism receipts for the year 2010 amounted to around Rs 39,456 million, thus showing an increase of 10.5% as compared to Rs 35,693 million in 2009. It is estimated that 980,000 tourists will visit Mauritius in 2011with receipts of Rs 42,500 million (+7.7%). The fall in tourist arrivals in 2009 can be explained by the world financial crisis that started to attain our economy and the government has taken several measures through the Additional Stimulus Package to redress the situation. Faced with the slumping revenue from the tourism industry in 2009, Directors of the various tourism boards of the Indian Ocean islands (Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion, Seychelles, Comoros and Mayotte) develop a plan for the regions tourism industry under a common regional label, The Vanilla Islands. The objective was to address new target groups and to launch an authentic regional destination. The concept is based on four pillars: Facilitation of visa-free travel within the islands of the Indian Ocean; Extension and enhancement of the inter-island transportation network; Close operation between tour operators, hotels and authorities; The development of a homogenous marketing strategy focusing on the uniqueness of each island and at the same time strengthening the joint identity. The government also encouraged the liberalization of air access to stimulate tourism growth. Airlines like Corsair, entered the market, by linking France and Reunion Island with Mauritius. Also, the national airline, Air Mauritius, increased its flight frequency towards Europe and Asia. As a result, the tourism sector beneficiated from this policy. Tourists from all over the world come to Mauritius. They originate from Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and America as shown in the chart below. Our main market remains France and Reunion Island. Source CSO, 2011 The competitiveness of the tourism industry in Mauritius depends mainly on the service quality, value for money, safety, road infrastructure, communication network, political stability and social harmony among the different communities and ethnic groups. The main aim of the government and the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) is to continue to attract high-income visitors whose economic impacts are acknowledged to be more beneficial to the local economy than low-spending visitors. Figure 2 : Tourist arrival and Receipts (Rs m) from 2000 2006 Source: CSO, 2011 The Mauritian government has been under economic pressure to find other ways to sustain the economy following the phasing out of textile and sugar agreements and recent shocks of rising oil prices (Ramkissoon Nunkoo, 2008). The development of integrated resorts has been considered as an alternative to generate cash flows and sustain the economy. Several Integrated Resort Schemes (IRS) and Real Estates Scheme (RES) were approved with the idea that they will bring Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the economy. The total FDI for the year 2010 was Rs 12 billion, a record mark. FDI into hospitality and real estate sector reached Rs 3.7 billion in the first eight months of 2010 (Board of Investment, 2010) groping its way towards a semblance to the level of Rs 6 billion recorded in 2009. FDI brings long lasting and stable capital flows as they are invested in long term assets such as infrastructure. These funds are introduced into the economy contributing to the aggregate demand of the economy, and therefore to the economic growth of the economy. Local firms, due to the competition brought in by FDI, tend to become more productive to effectively counter the threat of the competitor from abroad. Higher productivity of firms contribute to the growth of the economy. 2.2 Employment Several strategies for tourism development have been found to be effective in creating employment and income opportunities for vulnerable and communities (UNWTO, 2000: Ashley et al, 2001). The tourism development projects that have been most successful include those that: Promote employment of the people in tourism businesses ( including training) Promote the establishment of tourism enterprises ( such as micro and small enterprises) Promote the supply of goods and services to tourism businesses by enterprises that are owned by local people (Supply chain) Promote the direct sale of goods and services to tourists Figure 3:- Employment in the tourist industry as at end of March, 2006-2010 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Restaurants 1,805 2,012 2,251 2,431 2,464 Hotels 19,536 20,233 22,314 20,478 20,847 Travel and Tourism 4,457 4,296 4,188 4,093 3,850 Total 25,798 26,541 28,753 27,002 27,161 Source: CSO, March 2011 The tourism industry contributes to around 9% of the total employment in 2010. The table shows that there has been a continuous increase in employment from 2006 to 2008 with a decrease in 2009 and again rises in 2010. The decrease in 2009 was due to the financial crisis that hit some tourism businesses and the renovation of some hotels. Employment in the services sector is rapidly increasing in Mauritius. As employment generated by the primary and secondary industries stagnates or declines with the Voluntary Retirement Scheme in the sugar sector and closing of some textile units, tourism provides new opportunities to generate new jobs. Tourism is a labour-intensive industry in an age of great technological advancement and declining relative demand for labour. The tourism industry and the related industries provide many full-time and part-time jobs across a range of skill areas such as tour operators, car rentals. The integrated resorts newly built also demand for jobs among the local community such as baby-sitters, gardeners, personal drivers, cooks, etc. 2.3 Contribution to the local community The literature point out that host communitys support for tourism-related development is crucial for the industrys sustainability (Tovar Lockwood, 2008). Once a community turns into a destination, the quality of life of the local people tends to be affected by the development impacts (Gursoy et al, 2002).Tourism is the only export sector where the consumer travels to the exporting country, which provides opportunities for local people to become exporters through the sale of goods and services to foreign tourists. Employment opportunities (Andriotis, 2008) and revenues (Jurowski et al, 1997) for the community and government are the major benefits derived by the local community from tourism development. Local employment opportunities arise during the construction and from the subsequent staffing of the resort (Ioannides Holcomb, 2003). The creation of new investment opportunities and opportunities for local businesses are other notable benefits perceived by local residents. Tourism provides new small business opportunities. Good opportunities for development of new tourism enterprises arise from low capital requirements and comparatively low barriers to entry for small businesses. The potential beneficiaries of tourism activity are spread across various sectors of the regional economy. For example, in Grand Baie, many individuals from the region benefit from tourism through the renting of small bungalows, cars and cycles. They also benefit by running restaurants and cafes meant for tourists. O ther activities like glass bottom, surfing and boats are also other means by which the local people generate incomes. Resort developers attempt to integrate the resort within the local community through fostering economic linkages with that community (Richardson, 2010). Tourism also stimulates demand for local craftsmanship, create opportunities for cultural exchange, stimulate better services and infrastructure and provide alternatives for leisure activities. It has been pointed out that in economically depressed areas (such as Le Morne), residents tend to underestimate the cost of tourism development and tend to overvalue the economic gains (Liu Var, 1986). Var et al (1985) argue that such residents are willing to accept some inconveniences in order to receive some benefits resulting from the development. Local community involvement in the planning, development and management of the projects is a factor that contributes to the success or sustainability of a tourism development project. Strategies that can be adopted by host communities (Honey Gilpin, 2009) include: Identify and protect cultural and natural assets that form the basis for comparative advantage in tourism Maintain and focus on the community as the centre of the tourism development strategy to ensure local ownership of projects and retention of profits Encourage widespread community participation in tourism planning processes Build capacity through the development of physical infrastructure and human capital Promote improvement in the delivery of tourism services to ensure quality and authenticity Raise awareness among tourists to encourage them to appreciate and respect the sites they visit. Tourism also plays a negative role to the local community. The erosion of moral values contributing to increase the generation gap between the older generations who are more attached to traditional values and the young who are eager to adapt to the tourists way of life. Hence, it is important to keep a balance in terms of number and type of tourist the local community is capable to tolerating or sustaining. A good example of the negative impact is the building of hotels and restaurants on our beaches, depriving Mauritian to enjoy the natures gift to them. We are near to renting a parasol on a private beach for a picnic at the seaside. Another example is the imposition of entry fees at Pamplemousses Botanical Garden both on tourists and local citizens (except on Sundays and public holidays free entrance). 2.4 Environment aspect Environment is one of the major elements which form the foundation of the tourism industry of a country. The impact of tourism on both man-made and natural environment is beneficial as well as harmful. One of the major benefits is the conservation of the natural and man-made environments. Tourism can contribute significantly in environmental protection/conservation and restoration of biological diversity and sustainable use of natural resources. Tourism impacts are linked with the construction of general infrastructure such as roads and airports and of tourism facilities such as resorts, hotels, restaurants, shops, golf courses and marinas. Cleaner production techniques can be important tools for planning and operating tourism facilities and thus minimizes their environmental impacts. Tourism has the potential to increase public appreciation of the environment. It brings people into closer contact with nature and the environment. Awareness of the value of nature leads to environmentally conscious behavior and activities to preserve the environment. Tourism industry can play a role in providing environmental information and awareness among tourists of the environmental consequences of their actions. User fees, taxes on sales rental of recreation equipment and license fees for activities like hunting and fishing can be used to provide the government with funds needed to manage natural resources. Such funds can be used for conservation programs and activities. Recently, the Minister of Tourism came with a proposal to have differential paid access at Ile Aux Cerfs for tourists and Mauritians. According to the authorities, this islet attracts more than 350,000 tourists yearly with a turnover of about Rs 500 million (Star, 2011).He stated that the funds raised will be used for cleaning of the beach and for the conservation of the environment. But, the effect of this policy on the local people in terms of jobs that may be lost need to be assessed. Tourism also can have negative impact on environment. Tourism development can put pressure on natural resources when it increases consumption in areas where resources are already scarce (land, water and local resources). Pollution caused by tourism include air emissions, noise, solid waste and littering, releases of sewage, oils and chemicals. 2.5 Threats for the tourism industry. In recent years, oil prices, natural disasters, crime and international terrorism impacted on the willingness of global tourists. Small islands depend on the double efficiency of tourism income. Therefore, developing tourism industries is imperative. However, to avoid damage by natural disasters, those islands may through early warning and alarm systems reduce losses (Mehexua Parkerb, 2006). In Malta, Egypt and Greece, many factors like terrorist attacks and tsunamis may influence tourism consumers and thereby affecting the tourism industry. In Fiji, problems of climate change such as strength of wind resulted in coastline damages thereby affecting beaches which tourists prefer the most during their stay. Since November 2009, when some European countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal and Britain started facing high budget deficit and debt problems, the euro has been weakening against the dollar and as a result against our rupee. Since then, these countries adopted austerity measures to exit from these economic problems. This resulted in a drop in demand for our exports and lower tourist arrivals due to the high dependence on European markets. There was a need, then, to diversify our markets by tapping fully the rapidly growing countries like China, India and Russia. From statistics (CSO, 2011), the trend of tourist arrivals from China, India and Russia shows an increase of 9.9%, 26.8% and 17.5% respectively over the figures of 2009. Vector-borne diseases such as chikungunya and dengue fever have become a major public health problem in tropical countries, especially in Asia and the Indian Ocean. For example, one third of the population in Reunion Island was affected by chikungunya in 2005 2006 (Reiter et al, 2006). Dengue is the fastest growing vector-borne disease in the world (WHO) when 55% of the worlds population was at risk in 124 countries (Beatty et al, 2007). Mavalankar et al (2009) pointed out that a 4% decline in tourists from non-endemic countries would result in a substantial loss of tourism revenues at least US$ 65 million for Malaysia and US$ 363 million for Thailand. This indicates that the impact of these diseases on tourism revenues should not be ignored when calculating the burden of infectious diseases. Another negative factor related to tourism is the perception people have of safety and security issues. Olurunfemi et al (2008) posits that security is an important knot in tne chain because it forms an organic bedrock of a sustainable benefit for both the tourists and the host communities. For example, assurance of adequate safety of life and property during their stay must be given to tourists and on transit on sites. Safety and security in tourism refers to the protection of life, health, physical, psychological and economic integrity of travelers, tourism staff and the people constituting host communities (WTO, 1991). Recently, the tourism sector has been seriously undermined by the growing lack of security among the citizens and tourists. Some types of crime affecting tourists include attacks on tourists visiting nature parks and on beaches and in hotels. In order to tackle the issue of security in tourism, the government has taken some preventive measures. For example, a close circuit camera system has been set up in the regions of Flic en Flac and Grand Baie which are reputed places for tourists in Mauritius. The results have been encouraging in the sense that there has been a fall in the number of attacks and thefts on tourists. Even the recent murder of a popular personality of Ireland in a resort seems to have little impact on tourist arrivals due to the prompt action taken by the local police. Conclusion The governments contribution to the tourism sector has been very beneficial in terms of planning and policy formulation. During the Assises Du Tourisme held in 2006, the Prime Minister expressed his vision to welcome two million tourists by 2015. He pointed out that many less endowed countries are doing much better than Mauritius. There are many factors that must be taken into consideration in order to achieve this target and these factors will be analysed in the methodology section.