Pablo Membreno

The plaintiff Pablo Membreno was a citizen of Honduras, who worked as an oiler on the ships owned by Costa Crociere, S. p. A (Costa), which was an Italian company whose headquarters were in Genoa, Italy. Costa fully owned another company Carnival Corporation, panama. Carnival Corporation was operating in Miami, Florida. Costa had no land – based offices in the United States. Membreno was hired on contract by Cruise Ships Catering & Service International, N. V. (CSCS), Netherlands Antilles, to work onboard Costa Atlantica, which began its cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.While the ship was in international waters, Membreno injured his wrist in the course of his work. The plaintiff claimed that despite having reported the matter to the supervisor and the ship’s doctor, he had not been given medical treatment. Five days later, his contract was completed and he disembarked from the ship. In Honduras a surgeon diagnosed Membreno with Kinnock’s disease and recommen ded surgery. Membreno sought a second opinion in Miami from an orthopedic surgeon, who performed surgery on the plaintiff’s wrist.He also received physical therapy. Procedural History: Membreno filed a case in the Southern District Court of Florida seeking redress for his damage. The number of defendants in the case was four but later reduced to two upon a consensus of the parties to the case. Costa and CSCS invoked the doctrine of forum non conveniens to move the court for a dismissal. The district court dismissed the case and Membreno appealed in the Eleventh Circuit Court. Issues legal question:The legal issues raised were whether or not the plaintiff could seek redressal in US courts for an injury that had occurred in international waters, the area of applicability of the Jones Act and the General Maritime Laws and whether such actions could be dismissed on the grounds of forum non conveniens. Broad holding: The Jones Act and the General Maritime Laws apply only within th e territorial waters of the United States and the plaintiff will be precluded from filing suit at the location of a subsidiary company. Narrow holding:The district court rejected the application of the plaintiff seeking redress on the basis that he was injured in the international waters and the Florida company was merely a subsidiary company. Doctrinal Reasoning: In Szumlicz v. Norwegian Am. Line, Inc the court had held that if the laws of the United States were not applicable, then the action should be dismissed on the grounds of forum non conveniens (Szumlicz v Norwegian Am. Line, Inc, 1983). In Lauritzen v. Larsen, the Supreme Court laid down a set of eight factors to be satisfied.These factors are the place of the wrongful act, the national flag under which the ship was sailing, the domicile of the injured party, the dwelling place of the ship owner, the location where the parties had entered into the agreement, the approachability of a foreign forum, the law of the forum and t he place of operations of the ship owner (Lauritzen v. Larsen, 1953 ). In the present case, six conditions had been in the favor of the defendants and as such the defendants had argued that the United States law was not applicable to the plaintiff.Policy Reasoning: The district court had properly interpreted and applied the doctrine of forum non conveniens in this case and the Eleventh Circuit Court upheld the decision of the district court. Miscellaneous: There was no difference of opinion between the presiding judges and the decision was unanimous. References Lauritzen v. Larsen, 345 U. S. 571 (1953 ). Szumlicz v Norwegian Am. Line, Inc, 698F. 2d 1192 (11th Circuit Court 1983).

Building a High Performance Project Team Essay

In order to deliver a high-quality project [one that successfully balances scope, time, and cost] in which the needs and expectations of the users are met, the project team must not only be effective and work well together, but also the project manager must have the ability to lead and manage the team while focusing on people issues. This is often a difficult task since many project mangers are usually expected to lead teams without formal authority. Controlling a project blends the art and science of project management – building a strong, committed team at the same time you are making progress against the plan (Verzuh, 2012). This means that project leaders should seek to discover and solve problems while they are still small and at the same time monitor progress while putting in place measures to ensure the team’s continued focus on the goals and expectations of the project. Thus, it is critical for project managers to understand that project success does not hinge only on the science of project management, but also on the ability to build a committed, cooperative, and cohesive team. A project manger who exhibits practical understanding of how to evaluate and sustain an effective team performance, along with the ability to identify and quickly resolve key resource issues throughout the project life cycle, is more likely to reach a synergistic potential of the team. Consequently, drawing from contemporary projects, this brief study focuses on distinct human attributes the effects on leadership as the key to the aforementioned controlling activities that ensure that a project evolves in an orderly m anner, rather than turning out of control. 2Recruiting Project Team Members Every project manager plays a pivotal role in building a high performance team. While the leader must consciously invest in building a strong, cohesive team capable of working together, the process of selecting and recruiting project team members vary across organizations. Two important factors affecting recruitment are the importance of the project and the management structure being used to complete the project (Larson & Gray, 2011). However, it is the project manager’s responsibility to optimize the team’s performance regardless of whether he/she gets to choose the team members or not. Hence project managers must develop strategies that help build a high performance team right from the selection stage. 2.1Project Team Dynamics Negative interpersonal team dynamics is not only unproductive, but can make a project manager’s job a daily grind of frustration and resentment (Verzuh, 2012). When selecting and recruiting team members, project managers naturally look for individuals with the necessary experience and knowledge/technical skills critical for project completion (Larson & Gray, 2011). However, when identifying project resources project managers more often than not find themselves thinking about who they need rather than what they need. Thus, more emphasis is placed on pervious working relationships. Aside from selecting team members who hold the â€Å"right† level of skill and expertise needed to support the project requirements, it is just as important to identify team members who are able to work well with others and exhibit consistent levels of cooperation. These social intelligence skills include the ability to persuade, negotiate, compromise, and make others feel important (DiTullio, 2010) Consequently, the key to creating a high performance project team lies in understanding and embodying the language-action relationship. This is critically important to building relationships, trust, gaining alignment and commitment to produce breakthrough results (Strategic Momentum, 2006). 3Defining Criteria For Project Team Members To fully discuss this topic, we must start with a simple definition of a team. Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith define a team in their best-selling book The Wisdom of Teams (Harper Business Essentials 1994), as â€Å" a small number of people with complimentary skills who are committed to a common purpose, a set of performance goals and an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable† (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). In other words, as Sarah Cook (2009) suggests, the characteristics of a high performance team therefore are: * A clearly defined and a common shared purpose * Mutual trust and respect * Clarity around individual roles and responsibilities * High levels of communication * Willingness to work towards the greater good of the team * A leader who both supports and challenges the team * A climate of cooperation * An ability to voice differences and appreciate conflict However, project teams have another characteristic: They will be temporary, formed specifically for the purpose of achieving the goal, after which they will disband (Verzuh, 2012). Thus, to get the people on the team to be mutually accountable to a common goal, trust each other, and be treated with respect while putting in the effort to accomplish a task, the project manager must be able to put the pieces together by establishing strong ground rules and team identity that is built on commitment to a shared goal. In this respect, the criteria is for the project manager to engage his team in simple exercises and hold multiple discussions with the team about the obvious benefits of teamwork by encouraging best practices and innovation for the benefit of stakeholders. 4Developing Trust Among Project Team Members As noted earlier, projects are temporary endeavors that begin and end, and so do project teams. Managing project teams is even more complicated given the trend towards cross-functional, organizational, and sometimes national boundaries. This unique characteristic only increases the likelihood that the composition of a new project team will comprise of more individuals with little or no previous working relationships. With this in mind, as (Verzuh, 2012) rightly suggests, â€Å"developing trust, respect, effective communication patterns, and the ability to maintain a positive relationships despite disagreements takes time. Most importantly, it takes a conscious effort by the project team leader†. Once the project leader understands that high performance teams rarely occur naturally, a strategy must be put in place to help transform the way team members think and act in order to create and maintain the highest level of commitment to the plan. According to (Strategic Momentum, 2006) conversational dynamics is critical in building relationships and trust. By conversational dynamics they mean the conversational mode used when the project team works together. Project leaders must encourage collaborative conversations among team members since they help build trusting relationships, and are able to effectively deal with real issues, thus accelerated results. Collaborative conversations are open and authentic and they breed mutual respect and commitment. Project leaders can rely on authentic conversations to deal with interpersonal relationships and trust issues. In the event of breakdowns, the focus is on restoring relationships and trust to insure on going alignment and commitment. It is apparent therefore that high performance teams have a culture that embraces trust, continuous review and clarification of goals, robust communication and holding each other accountable (Wagner, 2006). 4.1Communicating Effectively with Project Team Members Once an atmosphere of trust has been established, the project manager’s biggest challenge is communication and clarity. Communication has long been ranked very high among factors attributing to project success. In this respect, Tom Wagner suggests that the project team leader must ensure the group stays firmly rooted in reality, sets clear goals and priorities, and follows through on all tasks (Wagner, 2006). This means that the entire project team shares the responsibility of all the project goals, and receives relevant and concise information at the right time. This also ensure that team member do not engage in conflicting agendas that arise when team members pursue incompatible objectives. Consequently, when communicating within the project team (Verzuh, 2012), outlines four major communication needs: * * Responsibility: each team member needs to know exactly what part of the project he/she is responsibly for. * Coordination: as team members carry out their work, they rely on each other. Coordination information enables them to work together efficiently. * Status: meeting the goal requires tracking progress along the way to identify problems and take corrective action. The team members must be kept up to speed on the status of the project. * Authorization: Team members need to know about all the decisions made by customers, sponsors, and management that relate to the project and it’s business environment. Team members need to know these decisions to keep all project decisions synchronized. 5Leading the Project Team Members In spite of advances in the project management profession, research studies have shown that many projects fail, underlining the importance of the project manager’s role as manager. Specifically, the manager’s leadership role is of great importance in motivating people and creating an effective working environment in order for the project team to meet greater challenges in today’s global economy (Anantatmula, 2010). In other words, there are four specific elements that help create an effective team-working environment. The leader must establish ground rules that explicitly define expected personal behavior in reference to team values; he/she must build a team identity based on shared commitment and objectives – the key here is goal and project scope clarity and a solid understanding of team members strength and diversity; a good leader must be able to teach his team to apply the proper problem solving techniques which involves exchange of ideas and thus the ability to listen to different perspectives; and last but not the least, the leader must be able to manage meetings effectively. By conducting team meetings that are actively steered toward the project goals, the team can share pertinent information, coordinate activities, uncover new problems and make informed decisions that produce synergistic outcomes. Ultimately, adding value to the team’s effort should be the goal and role of the project team leader. Defining a clear vision can do this and goal, facilitate a working environment, set clear expectations and responsibilities, and provide the team enough autonomy where they can work and do their jobs with full commitment and confidence (Wikibooks, 2010) 6Managing Challenging and Dyna mic Issues and Conflict It is not an easy task to get a team to jell but the productivity and joy that come with high performance teams are so significant for a project team leader to assume it can occur naturally. According to (Verzuh, 2012), every project team faces two central challenges, two obstacles to becoming a high performance team. * Project teams are formed to solve complex problems, and they must solve those problems together. * Project teams are temporary and so the must learn to work together. Thus, it is the responsibility of the project leader to understand these two challenges and harness the problem solving power of a rather diverse team. In other words, it will take a conscious effort on the part of the project manager to transform the team from a loose collection of talent and expertise to a cohesive unit. For the team to produce superior decisions needed to solve complex problems creativity is required. This means that disagreements are bound to occur and hence conflict-resolution skills become essential to make the best decisions possible without jeopardizing interpersonal relationships. Deborah Kezsbom, in her article entitled: (Managing the Chaos: Conflict among project teams (American Association of Coast Engineers 1989), perfectly concluded, â€Å"conflict is an inevitable and necessary part of the project environment. Given the proper atmosphere, attitudes, and training, conflict can broaden perspectives and stimulate innovative and cohesive interactions.† Project managers who realize that preventing conflict is as important as solving them, are likely to be effective. The author went on to recommend the following for improving project leader effectiveness and minimizing conflict: * Communicating key decisions in a timely fashion to project related personnel. * Adapting leadership style to the status of the project and the needs of the project team. * Recognizing the primary determinants of conflict, when they are likely to occur over the project life cycle, and the effectiveness of handling approaches. * Experimenting with alternative conflict handling modes. * * Proving work challenge to motivate team members. * Developing and maintaining technical expertise. * Planning early and effectively in the project life cycle. * Demonstrating concern for project team members. 7The London 2012 Olympics Construction Project The construction of the London 2012 Olympic park was widely praised for its successful delivery. With  £9.3 billion budget, the Olympic project was one of the most high profile projects one could ever imagine. The project finished on time and under budget much to the delight of its sponsors who according to Sir John Armitt, the man in charge of the team that built the park, knew what it valued, balancing cost and quality, and made that clear to its suppliers. But it was the ability of the project leaders to blend the art and science of project management that prompted some soul-searching about lessons that can be applied to future developments. The value placed on relationships between individuals and organizations working the project was a crucial ingredient in the projects successful delivery. According to a study conducted during the project which focused on the underpinning role of 13 distinct human characteristics – including respect, trust, clarity, motivation, collaboration, openness and fairness – and how these concepts have a practic al influence on effective leadership, worker involvement, safety culture, communication, risk management, monitoring and assurance. The lead researcher Helen Bolt said: â€Å"The most important thing we discovered in this research was the value of the relationships between individuals and organizations. Of all the characteristics of the relationships in evidence during the project, the most critical were respect and clarity -they underpin everything, are not costly or difficult to achieve, and can have a significant impact on safety culture and standards.† 8Conclusion As outlined throughout this paper, project team members are faced with the challenge to work interdependently to achieve defined goals. These goals can be simple or complex depending on the nature and scope of the project. Nonetheless, every project presents peculiar challenges for the team and its leader who essentially make a series of decisions in accomplishing these goals. As the magnitude of interdependencies increases so does the need for the team members to trust one another and rely on refined skills to work collaboratively. Since project teams are temporary, they must learn to work together to reach its synergistic potential. A high performance team does not evolve overnight, it take time and effort by the leader who facilitates the team, establishes a positive working environment and leads the team in learning problem solving as well as conflict resolution skills. It is no secrete that leadership is the foundation of a high performance team. Whilethere are many constant traits a leader must possess to be effective, there are however, many important components of leading a high performance team that lack a true definition. One of the components of great importance is the ability to be adaptable in your leadership style, and let your leadership adapt and evolve as the team progresses through its developmental stages. Project team leaders must also exhibit the same accountability they demand from the team members and display the energy, attitude and commitment to propel the team forward. Ultimately, communication is the key to all the aforementioned activities. Project leaders spend a great deal of their time communicating. In fact, every project management technique is a form of communication and hence it is crucial to communicate in a timely and effective fashoin among all stakeholders. References: Anantatmula, V. (2010). Project Manager leadership role in improving project performance. Engineering Management Journal , 22 (1), 13-22. DiTullio, L. (2010). Project Team Dynamics: enhancing Performance, Improving Results. Management concepts. Katzenbach, J., & Smith, D. (1993). The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization. Boston, MA: Havard Business School Press. Kezsbom, D. (1989). Managing the Chaos: Conflict among project teams. American Association of Coast Engineers. Transactions of the American Association of Coast Engineers , 9. Kortekaas, V. (2012, August 19). Retrieved on August 09, 2013, from http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/57d92e9c-d7df-11e1-9980-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2d6NUQRbS Project Management: Lessons can be learnedfrom sucessful delivery. Financial Times . Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2011). Project Management: the managerial process (5th ed.). New York, NY, USA: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Strategic Momentum. (2006). Retrieved August 06, 201 3, from Strategic Momentum.com: www.strategic-momentum.com/_downloads/the_critical_steps_to_building_a_high_performance_team Verzuh, E. (2012). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (Vol. 4). Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Wagner, T. (2006). Building high performance project teams. Loiusiana Contractor , 55 (3), 41. Wikibooks. (2010). Managing Groups and Teams.

Should liquor ads be allowed on television Essay

Should liquor ads be allowed on television - Essay Example Firstly, most liquor advertisements downplay the factual attributes of the product by focusing on the generation of images and contexts that connote camaraderie, escape, refreshment, and relaxation. Secondly, the youth’s exposure to liquor advertisements often lead to the youth’s heightened interest, trial at young age or increase in frequency and volume of consumption. From a business perspective, advertising is meant to stir the awareness, induce purchase, develop the consumption habit, and build loyalty of the target consumers on the company’s products and services. In the U.S. alone, companies spend nearly $2billion yearly for advertising on both mainstream and digital media, according to a position paper entitled Alcohol Advertising and the Youth. Furthermore, almost 2 million advertising placements on television have been made between 2001 and 2006. Approximately 20% of television alcohol advertisements were on programming that the youth age 12 to 20 were m ore likely to watch than adults of legal drinking age. This finding reinforces the assumption that the companies deem the youth as primary target market of their advertisements. In a similar vein, a briefing paper entitled The Advertising of Alcohol, in support of Increased Restrictions stated that the broadening of communication venues for liquor advertisements through the addition of sponsorship, competition, and special promotions in the brands’ campaign plan underscore the companies’ goal of communicating the relevance of liquor products to the youth.

The impact of performance management system in public sector Essay

The impact of performance management system in public sector - Essay Example Performance measurement (PM) hence is part of the new public management (NPM) model which can help the organization to reform by setting goals for improvements in efficiency and effectiveness (Kaplan, 2001). In this paper, the performance measurement system is reviewed in order to better understand the development of performance measurement system in public sector and to investigate the factors affect the improvement of organization performance that lead to a development of PM framework for public sector. To achieve this aim and objectives, a literature review of the performance measurement in private sector and the review on the performance measurement system (PMS) adoption in public organisations are conducted. Then, the review on related theories will be provided to explain the performance measurement system (PMS) problems that have occurred in the public sector. 2 LITERATURE REVIEW In implementing PMS, an organisation needs to be clear about the requirements of stakeholders, how it can improve organisation performance, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of PMSs. The main areas of research that may have a significant impact on the outcome of this study can be summarized by the following: (1) definition of PMSs; (2) the Development of PMSs; and (3) PMSs in Public Sector. However, in this paper, due to word constraint and limitation of time, the literature review will cover only a few selected areas of PMS and their impacts on public sector. However, in this paper, due to word constraint and limitation of time, the literature review will cover only a few selected areas of PMS and their impacts on public sector. 1 Performance Measurement System In order to gain in-depth understanding of performance measurement system (PMS) in public sector, an academic review of the definition of PMS and its related concepts will be critically discussed. Internationally, the general consensus of researchers in this field would define performance management as a process of ev aluating efficiency and effectiveness of organization by comparing actual results with organizational setting goals. (Brignall et al., 1991; Simons, 2000; Neely et al., 2005). According to Ferreira and Otley, (2009), PMS definition includes the uses of both formal and informal process to manage and control organisational performance. The main objective of PMS is to create continuous improvement in the organisation (Brignall, 2007; Grunberg, 2004), to encourage performance management, to identify the effectiveness of existing strategies and to act as a basis for reward process (CIMA, 1993; Neely et al., 1994). Moreover, PMS is used to evaluate satisfactions of stakeholders’ expectations (Ferreira and Otley, 2009). For PMS to succeed, the following conditions should be satisfied: the coherent between PMS and business strategy; a feedback and review of PMS; and the PMS must be comprehensive and get supported and enforced by the whole organisation (Brignall et al., 1999). 2 The D evelopment of Performance Measurement Systems An understanding of the background and development of PMS is essential to study and analyze the measurement system in the public sector. To begin with, PMS was first established in private sector business enterprises and mostly based on financial indicators to evaluate company performance. Then, according to Brignall (2007), the development of performance measures was adapted from single dimension, financial, to multi-dimension PMS, which will be discussed in the following section. 1 Performance measurements The financial dimension was considered as the most important aspect of PMS for decades as to

International Business - Bicycles and Economy Essay

International Business - Bicycles and Economy - Essay Example The era which was about providing a core product to the customer has gone far behind, also the era of providing the actual product has merely ended, and customers now have more willingness to get the augmented product, which means few frills attached services along with the product as well. Keeping the customer's preferences, likes and dislike, the launch of a cycle would not be that unusual, but the idea is to prepare a plan that could lead to success in various countries. The country selection for the launch of our product is a critical decision, one cannot simply expect to have our product launched in any country and yet it remains a successful launch. Bicycles are common modes of transportations used worldwide specially by students and also people who love racing on bicycles, therefore neither a small country can help us launching our product, nor a big country having a lot of poverty in it can. We all have to think keeping the nature of product and nature of market in the mind. "As the world's economies become more integrated and international business becomes more globalized, the nature of international business management concerns changes as well. New areas of international business research have arisen that could not even have been imagined by observers twenty-five years ago"(Ricks, Wright 687, Vol 25: 1994). The product now has to be la... ntries in which it could gain some market, according to the visual analyses, which should be very accurate, the three countries in which the product should be launched are, United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa. The reason of not launching the product in the countries that are below poverty line is simple, we cannot expect those countries to use our product that are having much lower class which is using cycles that are just serving as a core product, due to poverty these countries might not have been able to afford our product, and also there is a good competition in such countries with their privately made bicycles which people over there are use to. There are however different sort of issues in launching the product in the above mentioned three countries but yet the reward is likely to be fruitful, as these countries serve as a base to make the product well known through out the world and sooner if launching would be successful in these three countries then the product is going to be launched internationally and we are likely to have more contracts from the other countries as well. The most prominent reasons for launching the product in these three countries are that, the people living there are mostly on foot and students use bicycles for traveling short distances, also racing is another feature of these countries, cycles are used commonly in having races there. The other reasons for launching the product in these countries might be related to the economy and living standards, as I have earlier mentioned that our product would not be launched in the countries that are below poverty line, so launching them in much stable countri es is a very good options. It is difficult to say that the economies of these three countries would be anymore disturbed by our

Restaurant With A Difference Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Restaurant With A Difference Case Study - Essay Example The presence of combination of thoughts of both is necessary in the strategies they adopt for implementing in their restaurant business. Any business including restaurant depends on finding the fact that customer really wants. In that sense, Mark is correct and he devised a way to know what most of the customers like to have. Gross. T. Scott cites Tom Peters' MBWA (management by walking) that helps in finding out what customers want. Mark's proposal is a combination of both technology and walking to the customers that is followed by a system that finds out the most favored dish by the customer. (Gross, T. Scott, 2004) However, a strategy is necessary with the proposal of Mark as Restaurant business involves innumerous number of food service operations. There is still market for a new comer with innovative ideas in food-service business. The strategies regarding Restaurant business of Mark and Jenny will help in keeping in view the changing lifestyles and driving the surge in food service business. However, the strategy regarding serving the fresh food is absent in the idea of Mark and they have to include that aspect into the strategy of their restaurant business. In addition to serving on cite, the restaurant has to find more methods to sell the food that needs no dishes to wash if used at home. This needs new packaging techniques for the food that is sold as a parcel. This is keeping view the fact that the singles, working parents and elderly demand a greater convenience in buying their meals and are turning to operations that provide that convenience. Therefore, the operations of restaurant bu siness of Mark and Jenny should include innovative food service and packaging procedures. One more aspect that needs attention in the strategy is planning as lack of planning may result in losses in I year of the initiation of the business. The important aspects in the strategy of the restaurant business are quality food, good service and great people to serve. The strategies should keep in view the diners you can satisfy. In this aspect, Mark is right and Jenny is little bit pessimistic. As no body can please everybody, the important aspect in the strategy of a new restaurant business is to find out the real percentage of the customers you can attract and the percentage of the market you can capture. When you are targeting on casual food customers, you may not be perfect in attracting formal customers. So, one has to keep in view the type of customers and percentage of market they are going to target. (Lynn, Jacquelyn, 2001) Human Resources Any successful entrepreneurs in Hotel/Restaurant Business have to embrace key principles to determine the customer's expectation and in that sense, Mark's approach and idea is up to the mark. The Human Resources should maintain quality initiative. The strategies depend on initiatives. The appropriate management, business balance, performance challenges are the aspects that need consideration while framing Human Resource strategies. The HR strategies should include the employee encouragement techniques that can increase the quality that employees offer (D'Annunzio-Green, Norma (Editor), 2002). Technology Necessary for Restaurant The foremost technology that is necessary for every business is

Chinese literature response 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chinese literature response 2 - Essay Example And still it turns out to be a psychological novel that can marvel any European novels of that time .The advantage of the novel in traditional Chinese literature was that, it only held a peripheral position in the literary system. Thus novelists could explore new themes with more freedom, from which the orthodox modes of writing shied away. â€Å"The story of the Stone† is a typical example of a novel exploring poetically the unorthodox themes, of romantic, passionate love and emotions in the Chinese classical literature. In its opening itself the novel introduces the main theme of passionate love. It begins by telling the reader about a magical stone that can move by its own, change size and can even talk. It was cast off from the heavens by the Goddess Nu-Wa who was repairing the sky with stones. This particular stone was the only excess one left when she finished her work. The stone had magical qualities because it had been touched by a Goddess. The magical stone was distained to be incarnated into a human being. As the stone waits for its future destiny, near a pond it falls in love with a flower. The theme of love is thus introduced at the very beginning of the novel. The stone gets incarnated as the minor noble man Jia Bao-yu of the influential Jia family, a cultured wealthy family in early Qing dynasty China. The flower gets incarnated as Lin Dai –yu who is related to the Jia family but is a commoner. The novel centers around these two teenagers, who though unaware of their heavenly ori gins, try to come to grips with the human destiny on earth through very ordinary daily events in their lives. The caricature of Jin-Bao-yu is interesting and unique. He is the heir to the family. He is handsome, but very impertinent. The heir of the family should get very high education and pass the civil service examinations. But he is a spoilt boy, spoiled by his grand mother. While all boys of his age study, he spends time in the women’s quarters enjoying the

Outsourcing IT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Outsourcing IT - Essay Example The three main outsourcing options are domestic outsourcing, offshore outsourcing, and mixed outsourcing. I feel that the best choice of these three is domestic outsourcing because there are few disadvantages for telecommunication firms. Outsourcing—the New Economic Answer to a Tattered World Economy How can outsourcing be defined? Well, outsourcing is the process of hiring workers outside your business to carry out the various tasks needed for your business (Baxter, 2011). The telecommunications industry is faced with the issue of outsourcing all the time. These types of businesses need to calculate whether it is economically viable to hire home country staff or outsource the work overseas. In order to determine this, we will review some of the advantages and disadvantages to contracting out work that is normally done from within and by company employees. Some of these reasons include reducing overall costs, scalability, ability to focus on critical business needs, and legal tax benefits. Outsourcing enables a company to access global talent at a fraction of what it would cost to hire an employee (â€Å"When is Outsourcing not Outsourcing?† 2004). Because the economy in a shambles, bailouts are running rampant, and the price of gold is going through the roof, many businesses are electing to hold onto their money and not expand the company. Hiring contract workers can be very advantageous because you can help remove legal liability, get the job done faster and cheaper, and fire and or change-out new people/talent at will. There are many different types of outsourcing, but none of them are a fit for all. This paper will discuss different options and will make a business recommendation for CEOs in the telecommunications industry. In general, telecommunication corporations need to reduce overall costs and increase profit margins for shareholders and in an uncertain and confused economy at that. The introduction of Eastman Kodak outsourcing may have c leared-up some of the muddy waters and given business executives some of the incentives they need to take outsourcing to a whole new level (Earl, 1996). As an example, I will use information technology for my outsourcing project because IT outsourcing is a typical make-or-buy decision. Here are some of the positives and negatives of outsourcing shown in the table below: Advantages Disadvantages Flexibility Security Scalability Job displacement Tax incentives Poor customer service Legal liability Culture and language barriers Overall cost reduction Poor quality control Selecting an outsourcing provider is a definite challenge for telecommunication problems. There are many options and none of them will accomplish all your business requirements (â€Å"Offshore Outsourcing Models, 2007). This means that tradeoffs are necessary. Here are three options I have chosen for my research paper: A. 1. Option 1: Domestic outsourcing: This is where a company contracts out work to another company that is located within the same country. A.2. Option 2: Offshore outsourcing: Offshore outsourcing occurs when businesses outsource work or even entire departments to foreign countries. A.3. Option 3: Mixed outsourcing (offshore companies with your country’s business presence): This is a mixture of the previous two options where work is contracted overseas but under the supervision of the local company’s business operations (Quinn and Hilmer, 1994). When making

Effective communication with customers and staff Essay

Effective communication with customers and staff - Essay Example I am a customer – oriented person and I fully realize that any business environment needs to be designed under the scope of serving customers’ needs and expectations. I believe that the customer lies at the core of managements’ concern and agenda and for this reason I am focused on delivering customer satisfaction by being willing to listen to their complaints, eager to find solutions to their addressed problems and focused to delivering overall customer satisfaction. I have strong interpersonal skills which allow me to sympathize with others and understand their concerns or queries while at the same time I am confident in my interactions with the customers. I am a goal – and – performance oriented person and I am intrinsically motivated to achieve organizational objectives. I enjoy working in an environment that offers interactions on both levels – customers and employees – and I have developed strong communication skills. My leadership orientation will offer significant advantages to the store as I can inspire and motivate others to share a common vision for the company and the company’s goals and objectives. Through team work I can empower employees to engage to the organization and participate so as to achieve strategically and effectively the mission targeted.

Application Architecture Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Application Architecture - Case Study Example This is done using special Internet addresses that have been reserved for this purpose. These special addresses are invalid in the Internet itself. The hosts using these addresses may communicate among themselves, but they cannot access the Internet directly†. NAT In order to make it easy for the network administrator, the NAT translates all the personal and confidential IP addresses into inclusive IP addresses. This will require an incremental change devoid of host and routers modification. Furthermore, the NAT has its own drawbacks for instance; its performance is slow since each packet is processed before translating it. Therefore the ‘IP traceability’ also becomes complicated because data packets are hard to trace. 3 Tunneling Tunneling is also referred as port forwarding. Port forwarding is often used for establishing a secure data channel from head office to the remote office corporate network by utilizing the Internet. One of the methods for deploying a tunn eling protocol is to configure the WAN connection with port number along with allocation of the required service. For example, for accessing remote desktop for a payroll application, port number 3389 will be used with the service named as ‘RDP service’ along with the specific IP address of the computer. As discussed earlier, PPTP developed by Microsoft. Likewise, PPTP is required for transmitting encrypted data over the VPN. Besides, no data encryption is available on port forwarding configuration as compare to tunneling because every tunneling route needs to be defined. This may create complex configurations that are difficult to manage. 4 Access Control List In a router, firewall, multi-layer switches etc.; the Access Control List is characterized. If a data packet attempts to pass through a router, it will take in security rules and policies. In the same way, the user’s rights on the files and directories are identified related to the ACL operating system. In order to check quality, the files and folders are read, write and executed. Thus, the ACL offers security for the network data administration, system files and folders. 5 Sub Netting Sub netting is described in â€Å"document RFC 950, originally referred to the subdivision of a class-based network into sub networks, but now refers more generally to the subdivision of a CIDR block into smaller CIDR blocks† (Subnetting, n.d). In IPv4, a single subnet only encloses 254 assignable IP addresses. The issues related to the broadcast are always triggered, generating network congestion and disruption in services. Therefore, these IP addresses should be managed properly in order to control congestion. However, o overcome the above mentioned issues, the IP addresses are divided into smaller class C networks for better performance related to network management and security. In addition, to operate a corporate network, sub netting is needed in order to allocate private IP addresses to inb ound networks as the global IP addresses are limited. The global IP addresses can be configured on the bases of WAN (Wide Area Network) devices. 6 Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) The Virtual Local Are

Base De Madeira Essay Example for Free

Base De Madeira Essay The advent of internet and ecommerce revolutionized many a things, one of which was the way traditional trade was done. Ecommerce reshaped trade for every player in the supply chain. Businesses need to have an established online presence in order to maintain a competitive edge in terms of innovation and keeping up with evolving customer demands. Lifestyles of customers have evolved quite rapidly because of which businesses have to adapt to these changes and learn new ways to reach their customers. Customers have realized that they can work, study, play, and even shop online. Ecommerce is what helps businesses to effectively sell their products online. Purpose The objective of this project stems from the above premise. We are proposing an online shopping store for furniture, which will help customers to shop for furniture online, just like they would be able to, in a physical, furniture store. The whole purpose of â€Å"Base De Madeira† is that people can buy unique, exclusive and one of its kind furniture items and accessories online in a safe environment. To facilitate this online purchase, a whole computerized setup must be established. This proposal aims to define the scope of the problem at hand (establishment of the furniture shop online), and the solution in terms of technical, functional and non-functional requirements. We shall also provide various business and activity diagrams for the project, to define the scope of the online furniture shop. Scope and specification The whole idea of â€Å"Base De Madeira† as stated above is facilitating customers’ buying. In accordance with this idea, the main software to be produced for establishing this computerized setup is the customer database, stored on the web-server, which is to be automatically updated at the back-end, through the website at the front-end. There will be a membership module where people can login and do their shopping online, through browsing, searching, and putting products and accessories in the shopping cart. Moreover, admin can login as well where they can manage the database for inventory, orders and payments. We shall have a product display module where customers can search products and browse through a catalogue that can be updated by the data entry clerks for additional stock available and new products and features added. This database is tied in with the inventory management database. Another main aspect of the software will include the inventory database stored on the web-server which is again automatically updated when a purchase takes place, although all new inventory items and some old ones will be updated by the data entry clerks, through the management side’s front-end interface, on the server side of the whole application. Additionally, order management will take place through this inventory database, and it will include ensuring items are adequately stocked and available to the customers. Therefore, to manage orders and inventory, the database will have to be one that incorporates both sides of the business. Other than that, we shall have a payments module that keeps track of invoices, generating them, along with management of a shopping cart that incorporates discounts and special offers.

7TM Helix Protein Rhodopsin and Bacteriorhodopsin Comparison

7TM Helix Protein Rhodopsin and Bacteriorhodopsin Comparison Compare and contrast the 7TM helix proteins rhodopsin and bacteriorhodopsin at the molecular and cellular levels. Rhodopsin and bacteriorhodopsin both belong to the G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) family. They each have 7 alpha helical transmembrane domains which are embedded in their respective membranes. The two proteins are related but not identical and therefore contain many similarities as well as differences. Structurally the proteins are similar, while functionally, aside from being light-sensitive proteins and using light to initiate their processes, these two distinct proteins have a range of differences. Rhodopsin is a eukaryotic protein and it is the main photoreceptor pigment contained within the discs of the outer segment of vertebrate rod photoreceptors amongst other supporting proteins. Rhodopsin molecules have very high sensitivity to light and are the pigment responsible for enabling vision in dim light conditions and monochromatic vision in the dark. Exposure of rhodopsin to light causes the pigment to be photobleached, this initiates the transmission of the optical signal. The full regeneration of the human rhodopsin molecule occurs within approximately 45 minutes. Bacteriorhodopsin is a prokaryotic protein present in archaea. It is a light-dependent proton pump which is used to carry out phototrophy. Energy from light is utilised to move protons out of the cell, across the membrane, forming a large concentration gradient and making the inside of the cell up to 10000 times more alkali than outside. The subsequent proton gradient is converted into chemical energy. Both rhodop sin and bacteriorhodopsin maximally absorb light of the wavelength around 500nm which is the green colour range. Both rhodopsin and bacteriorhodopsin contain a retinal chromophore, although the two chromophores are not identical and rather, are isomers of each other. The retinal chromophore is comprised of a ÃŽ ²-ionone ring bound to a polyene chain. In both cases the retinal chromophore is positioned horizontally within the membrane. Rhodopsin is formed of the protein opsin and the reversibly and covalently bound co-factor 11-cis-retinal, which is the photo-reactive chromophore. Opsin consists of 7 transmembrane ÃŽ ± helices which are connected by polypeptide loops which occlude the agonist binding site. There is an 8th helix present in opsin however this is not transmembranous and plays a regulatory role in rhodopsin. The Æ -amino group of lysine 296 within the opsin molecule is covalently bound to the aldehyde group of retinal by a protonated Schiff base in a central cavity between the 6th and 7th helix. Bacteriorhodopsin is formed of the protein bacterio-opsin which is bound to all-trans-retinal in a covalent and reversible manner. Bacterio-opsin, as in rhodopsin, is formed of 7 transmembrane ÃŽ ± helices connected by polypeptide loops. The Æ -amino of lysine 216 within bacterio-opsin is covalently bound to the aldehyde group of retinal. Again this interaction occurs within a central pocket on the 7th helix. Rhodopsin exists as a monomer within the membrane of rod cells whereas bacteriorhodopsin in its wild type state is in a trimer of 3 identical protein chains each rotated 120 ° relative to the others. Bacteriorhodopsin and rhodopsin have no detectable sequence homology to one another, however due to the similarity of their tertiary structures it is believed they are evolutionarily related. In vertebrate rod cells light induces phototransduction by interaction with rhodopsin. Light is absorbed very efficiently by retinal due to its polyene tail. The retinal absorbs a photon which causes it to undergo an isomerisation reaction to the activated all-trans-retinal configuration from its initial 11-cis-retinal configuration. In order to accommodate the altered shape of the all-trans-retinal the rhodopsin molecule undergoes a series of relaxations which includes the movement of helices 5 and 6 outwards creating a cavity, this movement is around 5Ã…. Upon the absorption of a photon by the retinal chromophore the rhodopsin molecule is converted to photorhodopsin within 200 femtoseconds. The second intermediate forms within picoseconds following irradiation and is called bathorhodopsin, this has all-trans bonds which are distorted. The next intermediate is lumirhodopsin which forms within nanoseconds. Lumirhodopsin is converted to metarhodopsin I within milliseconds. During t hese steps the protonated Schiff’s base remains unchanged. Finally metarhodopsin I is converted to metarhodopsin II, within milliseconds, this causes the Schiff base to become deprotonated. Neuronal excitation is initiated by metarhodopsin II activating transducin, an associated G protein, triggering a second messenger cascade with cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), activating the visual phototransduction pathway. The activation of transducin is triggered by the exchange of GDP to GTP on the ÃŽ ± subunit of transducin. Activated transducin binds and removes the inhibitory subunits which inactivate cGMP phosphodiesterase. This process activatescGMP phosphodiesterase which subsequently hydrolyses cGMP. Hydrolysis of cGMP reduces the cellular levels of cGMP which leads to inactivation of the cGMP-gated cation channels in the cell membrane. This causes the photoreceptor cells to become hyperpolarised altering the rate of neurotransmitter release and resulting in neuronal sign alling. At each step of this process the signal is amplified. Deactivation of metarhodopsin II occurs by interaction with rhodopsin kinase and arrestin. Rhodopsin kinase phosphorylates the activated GPCR and arrestin desensitizes it. Regeneration of the rhodopsin pigment to its original state must occur in order to allow phototransduction to occur again.Multiple serine and threonine residues at the carboxyl terminal of metarhodopsin II are phosphorylated, this is catalysed by rhodopsin kinase, arrestin then binds to the altered metarhodopsin II preventing further interaction with transducin. The ÃŽ ± subunit of the transducin re-associates with the ÃŽ ²Ãƒâ€ Ã‚ ´ subunits and its in-built GTP-ase activity hydrolyses the GTP to GDP, this returns the cGMP phosphodiesterase to its inactive state. cGMP is synthesised from GTP by guanylate cyclase increasing the cGMP levels to reopen the cGMP gated channels and this allows restoration of the cell to its original state. In bacteriorhodopsin, like in rhodopsin, it is the retinal molecule which absorbs a photon and changes conformation. The initial all-trans-retinal configuration is converted to 13-cis-retinal. This isomerisation causes the bacteriorhodopsin molecule to undergo a conformational change, via a number of intermediates, to accommodate the change in retinal structure. This change of conformation subsequently alters the proton pumping action of bacteriorhodopsin. Upon absorption of a photon the all-trans-retinal photoisomerises to 13-cis-retinal, this is almost the exact opposite of the cis-retinal to trans-retinal configuration change that occurs in rhodopsin. In bacteriorhodopsin the initial photo-isomerisation results in the intermediate J600, as in rhodopsin this first isomerisation occurs in a femtosecond timescale. J600 subsequently becomes K590 within 5 picoseconds. The next conversion of the K590 intermediate to the L550 intermediate happens within 2 microseconds. This conversion re sults in stronger hydrogen bonding between aspartate 85 and the protonated Schiff base within the extracellular channel. Conversion of L550 to the extracellular M410 intermediate occurs within microseconds, this process involves the translocation of a proton from the protonated Schiff base to the proton acceptor aspartate 85, within the extracellular channel, this takes microseconds. In order for the proton transport to occur out of the cell the Schiff base cannot be reprotonated by aspartate 85, otherwise no proton transport could occur. Instead, the access of the Schiff base must be altered to prevent reprotonation by aspartate 85. Next the extracellular M410 is converted to cytoplasmic M410, this allows the Schiff base to be deprotonated from the outside of the cell membrane and reprotonated from the inside of the cell and hence this change of access for the M410 intermediate from extracellular to cytoplasmic allows unidirectional proton transport out of the cell. This alteration repositions the access for the Schiff base from extracellular to intracellular. The cytoplasmic M410 is then converted to the N560 intermediate Following the earlier change in access for the Schiff base, it can then be reprotonated from aspartate 96 which is located within a channel from the cytoplasm to the membrane. This process occurs within milliseconds. The aspartate 96 is then reprotonated from the cytoplasm to allow the Schiff base to be reprotonated multiple times and allow the cycle to continue. To ensure one-way proton transport the Schiff base must be accessible to either aspartate 96 or aspartate 85 during different stages of the cycle and therefore the positioning of the Schiff base must be switched dependent on which aspartate requires access and the stage of the cycle, aspartate 85 needs access to deprotonate the Schiff base on the extracellular side and aspartate 96 is used to reprotonate the Schiff base from the cytoplasm. Aspartate 85 and aspartate 96 are now both protonated in the N560 intermediate and this leads to a subsequent thermoisomerisation reaction. During this thermoisomerisation The N560 intermediate is converted to the O640 intermediate. In this step the activated 13-cis-retinal configuration is thermally isomerised back to the original all-trans-retinal configuration. To complete this cycle the aspartate 85 must be deprotonated. The final step involves the conversion of the O640 intermediate back to bacteriorhodopsin. The Schiff base is again repositioned switching the access to it back from the cytoplasmic side back to the extracellular side of the membrane, aspartate 85 is then deprotonated to restore the bacteriorhodopsin molecule back to its original state which facilitates the continual pumping of protons out of the cell across the membrane. The protons in the extracellular matrix are allowed to flow back into the cell via ATP synthase down the concentration gradient, this allows the synthesis of ATP which provides the ene rgy to power the archaea cell. There are a large number of differences ranging from the amino acid sequences to the functions of bacteriorhodopsin and rhodopsin, however in spite of these vast differences there are still many similarities including the 3 dimensional structure and the presence of a photon absorbing retinal chromophore. These similarities have led to the 2 proteins being grouped together in the Structural Classification Of Proteins and they provide relevant structural information about other 7 transmembrane proteins in order to make structural predictions and associations about other similar proteins.

what is reflective accounts

what is reflective accounts The legal and organisational requirement on equally, diversity, discrimination and right are, when u working with your co-worker or team member you should provide equal right to everybody. I have to check the batteries of the hoist, brake of the wheelchair, provide safe environment to protect my service user from any harm. My duties and reponisibitilies are to provide safe environment and safe from risk e.g. if my service user spill the tea on the floor so I should clean it immediately and put wet sign so I can safe my service user or other slipping down. Data protection 1998, e.g. If I see any bruise on my service user so I should report it, inform it and record it and put sign and date to protect myself. If I’m shifting my service user from chair to bed so I have to check the brakes of the chair and the bed so he/she should safe from risk. If the floor is wet so I have to put wet sign on the floor so protect me and my co-worker from any danger, harm. E.g. one morning it was giving wash to my service user and I left the shower gel out the cupboard after few seconds I saw my service user trying to open it I took it from her and I locked in the cupboard. Now onward whenever I give wash to my service user I kept things properly. E.g. one time my service user had a fall so I called for help is reamed loudly for help I was with my service user all the time so my other staff came to help me .so my staff nurse she checked all the body part see any bruises, then she took observation, we put him on the bed by hoist. The purpose of arrange a supervision its good for every staff involve in incidents and emergencies.E.g if fire happened so every staff knows what to do how handle the fire. By care plan, by manager -co-worker -information book -Board If I’m stress and distress so it effect on my work and I’m not participate in work’s ignore my service user and my co-worker. If I’m going to work so I should be relax myself co-operate with my co-worker. In my work of place, there is so many different cultures people,e.g. one time one of my co-worker she is white, she said to me that she is not attend Asian woman because she is from Asia ,so I said to her that this is discrimination you shouldn’t do like this. You should give equal right to every service user because they all are equal to us. E.g. I have to encourage my service user if they wants to go to shopping and express their needs and preferences so they feel they are independence .They have right to express to their needs and preferences. I have to promote their health and care by telling them to have proper meal and drinks, encourage my service user to eat whatever they want, according to care plan. If a diabetes service user likes sugary tea I have to explain to her or him that it is not good for your health, it is very risky to your health. When we all are working together so sometime conflicts occur we should resolve between each other so we can work properly. If we can solve it we should go manager and seek for help. I should involve my service user in activities e.g. playing games,cards,music,painting,but while activities I should see the risk,e.g if I’m playing games with my service user I have to stay with them because they can put anything in their mouth or whole painting they drink the liquid. So environment should be hazard free. I have to store equipment e.g. if I’m giving wash to my service user and I left washing liquid outside the cupboard so he/she can drink the liquid so I have to store the liquid when I finish my work. E.g. when I go to work and attend my service user to get out of the bed I should wash my hand before I give wash to my service user and after giving him/her wash I should wash my hands to control the contamination and infection. In my work of place, i kept all hazardous and no-hazardous things in proper place and equipment in proper place and waste should be in clinical waste, like gloves, apron in yellow bag so we should protect me and service user, co-worker from any dander and harm. E.g. if I’m going to get my service user out of the bed so first of all I should check the brakes of the hoist, brakes of the wheelchair, batteries of the hoist, so I protect me and my service user from any harm. In my work of place, e.g one time suddenly fire occur some of the area in the nursing home, so we all come to assembly point we check the fire panel and we discover fire is which Zone so one of them go upstairs to check the Zone but when we discover it was false alarm, Now we all know if in emergency what should we do. E.g. if fire occur -arise the alarm -call 999 -inform staff on duty -never use the lift. Call for help shoutly -never leave the service user alone -make recovery position E.g. if fire happened I should break the glass so everybody knows that it’s a fire alam.call for help shoutly clear the environment, do not use the lift.

case study Essay -- essays research papers

Overview   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A student on the dean’s list every semester, Carrie came into treatment because she felt she was simply not herself anymore. She used to remember times when she was happy. Recently, her boyfriend had just broken up with her. She was dating him for approximately ten months. The breakup came out of no where and she was not expecting it. At one point they had talked about taking a break, but it was brief and they both decided against it. However, she did mention that he was the reason she was here. He felt it was time for her to take control of her life again and be the person she was when she started seeing him. She admitted she knew she wasn’t the same either and when he said that she promised him to seek treatment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Further on in the session, Carrie explained she had been raped that summer. She knew her attacker and had dated him. She was with her last boyfriend at the time, and she felt that he had helped her through it completely. However, she would no longer engage in large social groups in fear another attack would happen. She could not associate herself with anyone that was a mutual friend of his. Not only was this a hindrance, but also everytime that her boyfriend would try to kiss her, she simply did not feel the love and affection she used to feel before the rape, it was almost as if her body was â€Å"numb to the feeling of love.† She was scared this pattern would continue throughout her other relationships. She believed this was the case because it brought back memories of her trauma. The last thing she mentioned about this trauma was the fact that at least once a night she would wake up in panic that she was once again being raped. She figured this led to th e eventual break up even though he denied that it had a part in it. The main reason she felt this was due to the fact that she felt that if she had not been at that house at the time of the rape, the rape would have never happened. She said if she had not been drinking it never would have happened. Lastly she contributed the rape to the fact she was not as strong as she could be. In all actuality, she blamed herself for the rape. As a new student at her school, Carrie had not felt she had any close friends to talk to about her break up. She felt she was just another number in all of her classes. As an avid track athlete in high sc... .... Because she does not know the first step in coping, we would go through each of the coping steps in order for her to recover from her trauma. Because she does not have a strong support system at school, I will encourage her to eventually tell her parents about the assault so in the future they will be able to help her deal with the stress of the trauma. Because she knew the person who attacked her, I may encourage Carrie to confront him about the situation. Carrie may not only have more confidence in herself after telling him that he cannot hurt her anymore and may be able to handle the situation better if she believes she is in control of her emotions and thoughts about her attacker. Though this may also distress her more, I will see how the initial treatment progresses to see if this is the right step to take in her recovery. Finally, I will attempt to help her deal with the avoidance of the situations. If another man comes into the picture, I want her to feel comfortable around him and she needs to know that she can be physical with a significant other without thinking about the trauma. This however can only be done if another man comes into the picture during her therapy.

A Lesson before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines Essay -- A Lesson before Dyi

A Lesson before Dying, one of Ernest J. Gaines later works, was written in 1993. Some of his earlier works include A Gathering of Old Men and In My Father’s House. The novel covers a time period when blacks were still treated unfairly and looked down upon. Jefferson, a main character, has been wrongly accused of a crime and awaits his execution in jail. Grant, the story’s main protagonist must find it within himself to help Jefferson see that he is a man, which will allow him to walk bravely to his fate that lies in the execution chair. A Lesson before Dying captures the tale of a young teacher, who by helping another mistakenly finds his own soul. This paper explains the literary background of Gaines, facts about the novel, literary criticism, film reviews, social issues of the time, and a personal analysis of the movie. The story begins with a trial of Jefferson being accused of murder. During the trial his lawyer calls him a hog that is not even worthy of the death penalty. Ultimately Jefferson is sentenced to death by electrocution. During the weeks following Miss Emma, who is Jefferson’s "nanan", wishes for Grant Wiggins, a young schoolteacher to speak with Jefferson and make him understand that he is a man. Although Grant refuses he is forced to go by Tante Lou, his aunt and a good friend of Miss Emma’s. Upon their first few visits Jefferson is cold towards Grant and Miss Emma, obviously believing he is a hog, as the attorney has stated. He refuses food offered by his "nanan", saying that "food aint for hogs." After Frequent visits, Jefferson begins to open himself up to Grant and speak about his feelings. Once Jefferson trusts Grant he is able to realize that he is a man and not a worthless hog. Through helping Jefferson become a man, Grant has done his own unconscious soul search ing which has helped him find who he is, and has found him a place with God. Ernest J. Gaines was an African American writer who was born on January 15, 1933 in Oscar, Louisiana. Although Gaines’ schooling was limited to a few classes, he attended at San Francisco State and Stanford University he was able to become a distinguished author of his time. A few of his most recognized works include The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman and In My Fathers House. Gaines grew up on a farm where he helped his family by working in the fields where he was paid only $.50 a day. Whe... ...The turning point was when Jefferson opened up to Grant and he was able to convince him that he was not a hog, but a man. I also believe it was the most moving scene of the movie. All the emotions that were put into words in the book came to life in the movie. Overall I thought that the movie was a very good interpretation of the novel. It is very rare to find a movie that follows the book so precisely. I think that even if I had not read the book I would have understood the movie well enough to follow along and understand Gaines’ message. I thought it was very moving, especially being able to see the characters of the book come to life in the movie. In conclusion, Ernest J. Gaines presents to us, the reader, a story about man’s ability to triumph over life’s obstacles when sometimes faced with harsh realities. For Grant, it was helping Jefferson to realize who he was, that gave him the strength to find himself. Sometimes the answers to life’s problems are not always cut and dry. The solutions can not always be seen clearly, but it is important to never give up. It is in the worst times when we must look to ourselves and examine who we are in order to thrive and carry on.

Mythology and Archetypes in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

Mythology and Archetypes in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird      Ã‚  Ã‚   Of all the various approaches to criticism, the Mythological/Archetypal achieves the greatest impact over the entire literary scope, because the themes and patterns unearthed apply universally to all works, yielding results that can be applied to a great many texts. This is because the very nature of the Mythological/Archetypal approach is the exploration of the canon for widespread and pervading symbols, plots, and characters. These are all greatly extant in Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, an extraordinary examination of the Depression-era South through the eyes of a young girl with rare intelligence and insight, living in a small town which is filled with these archetypal images. To Kill a Mockingbird, when approached from the Mythological/Archetypal viewpoint, is a prime example of the three primary elements that the method of criticism inspects: universality in character, symbol, and plot.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Universal characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are present, and well documented. For example, Jem and Scout embody the ideals of youth and the naivety of innocence, while Tom Robinson with his withered arm symbolizes the crippled powerlessness of the black community.      Ã‚  Ã‚   The scene where Tom is revealed to be physically handicapped is particularly strong:       Tom Robinson's powerful shoulders rippled under his thin shirt. He rose to his feet  Ã‚   and stood with his right hand on the back of his chair. He looked oddly off  Ã‚   balance, but it was not from the way he was standing. His left arm was fully twelve  Ã‚   inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled  Ã‚   han... ...d proves to be a novel rich in allusions to other characters, symbols, and plots in the literature.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Work Cited Anglin, Laura. "Allusory Justice: Ramblings in a Mythogenic Zone." May 5, 2000.   http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Culture/HarperLee/laura.html Bruccoli, Matthew J., ed.   The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Scribners, 1989. Johnson, Claudia Durst. To Kill A Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries. New York: Twain,   1994. ---. Understanding To Kill A Mockingbird: A Student Casebook to Issues,   Sources and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1994 Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Harper & Row, 1960. Margaritopoulou, Cleopatra. "Symbolism and Allegory in To Kill A Mockingbird." May 5, 2000.   http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Culture/HarperLee/cleo.html   Ã‚  

English Literature GCSE- Controlled Assessment Essay

Explore the ways Shakespeare and Dickens present Lady Macbeth and Miss Havisham as disturbed characters Shakespeare and Dickens both show disturbed characters in their play or novel. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in1606, this gives us better idea of the time were they thought that witches were real and Shakespeare wrote this play because he wanted to impress the king. On the other hand Dickens didn’t want to impress anyone by writing a novel based on someone else. In Great Expectations Dickens introduces Pip as a weeping boy who is grieving over his dead family in the churchyard, immediately we can see that something is wrong and this is not normal behaviour for a child. Pip is all alone and terrified; the reader senses that something disturbing is about to happen. In the Victorian times many people believed in ghosts and the supernatural, therefore they would have expected disturbing events such as this. However, Pip is not met with ghosts nut instead faces a convict Magwitch. Ma gwitch is described as â€Å"A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with an iron on his leg.† Dickens conveys to the reader through the word â€Å"fearful† and furthermore in using the colours â€Å"grey and iron† this suggest that somebody is made of metal and is washed out of colour. An â€Å"iron† on his leg represents that he has escaped from prison and he is danger towards people. But in Great Expectations he might be disturbed but Magwitch is good hearted, Dickens shows this by making out that he is decent enough to take the blame for Pip’s theft, although Pip was terrified to meet his at first he comes to love Magwitch a good and noble man. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare describes Macbeth by a brave and noble soldier, ready to die for his king, Duncan. However when Macbeth was introduced to the three witches, they had a powerful effect on him. When he realised that what they say had become true, especially when he learns that when the three witches had said that he would become the Thane of Cawdor. The three witches were placed in a heath which tells the audience that they are not within society because they wanted to be alone and not be civilised. This suggests that the witches would have made Macbeth a disturbed character because they say things to him like â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!† this would make him a bit big headed, because he thinks more and more about being king, and he is easily persuaded to agree  to murder Duncan. Occasionally he appears weak by having strange visions, he asks a lot of questions he cannot make a decision and never really seems sure of himself. For example when he murders King Duncan he relies on his wife to find him an alibi because he was in a panic and couldn’t think straight. Later in the paly he appears to be in control more often and less dependent on his wife. For instance he plans to murder Banquo wi thout telling his wife what he his plans were, he also ignores his vision and make decisions quickly and gives orders rather than asking the questions. This suggests that Macbeth might be the most disturbed character in Macbeth because he has no control over the witches and what he feels. I think that Macbeth is a more disturbed than Pip because he was influenced by his wife to murder king Duncan and others that he was close too. He was very easy to convince, as his wife stated to kill the King he was scare at first but then agreed to it. Also when he spoke to the witches they found it easy to convince him that he would be king and everyone would obey him. This shows that Macbeth is a disturbed character because in the being of the play it shows that he was a loyal leader that fought for his king in war but during the end he became unfaithful and turned against them killing them. In Great expectations Pip wanted to become a â€Å"gentleman† because he wanted to impress Estella so she wouldn’t despise. Not knowing what this could do to him he went to London to learn manners. Pip grows shallow and conceited. This shows that he is disturbed by changing and forgetting everyone that has helping him in the past when he was all alone. Pip was taken by his Uncle Pumblechook to Satis house. Miss Havisham being left at her wedding had stopped all the clocks to the time of her ceremony, and sits in her wed ding dress. Miss Havisham had told Pip to play cards with her adopted daughter Estella, Estella is beautiful and Pip falls in love with her. But Miss Havisham has bought her up to wreak revenge on men, and Estella humiliates him. After 5 years a London Lawyer had come to visit Pip and tells him that unknown benefactor has given him a huge sum of money for Pip to become a ‘gentleman’. Pip assumes that it was Miss Havisham that had given all that money to him and wants him to marry Estella. After a while Pip receives a visitor Magwitch the convict. Magwitch made a fortune in Australia and it was him that had sent Pip the money

Sustainable and Ecotourism

Current economic issues and theory Sustainable and Ecotourism Tourism Tourism is one of the foremost economic activities around the world. It growth has been one of the major economic and social phenomena of the twentieth century. Tourism has expanded dramatically over the last years and has become a global industry. We can define tourism as the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"movement of people, spatially and temporally, out of their own communities for leisure and business purposes†. According to the  World Tourism Organisation  (WTO) tourist is a  Ã¢â‚¬Å"visitor staying for more than 24 hours in a country visited for business or leisure purposes†.The term tourism is an umbrella for all relationships and phenomena associated with people who are travelling, whatever the reason. It has no clear boundaries and could be viewed as an industry itself. In my work I would like to show the relationship between the tourism and environment. For the tourism service providers the most important is to grow the industry itself and attract more visitors to destinations. Their main purpose is to gain more and more profit. I think that these type of thinking can be harmful for environment. Similar essay: Role of Advertisement in Tourism DevelopmentTourism and tourist can effect negatively the environment therefore we can talk about a form of tourism which is unsastainable. In this essay I will concern this issue too but my main topic is the sustainability. Fortunately in last years people recognised the importance of the environment and nowadays they are taking this issue seriously. The tourism has negative but also positive impact on the environment therefore we can talk about a sustainable tourism. In the following I deal with this issue more detailed and I try to find the answer how popular it is among tourists or tour operators.Unsustainable tourism As I mentioned tourism is now among the world’s most relevant industries generating jobs for millions of people and profit all over the world. At the same time tourism can have dire effects on the people and places it embraces. Mainly the mass toursim has negative effects. What can be the worst effects of unmanag ed, unsustainable tourism? – previously undeveloped coastal villages can become sprawling, charmless towns o their seas poisoned by sewage their beaches stained with litter – historic towns and their streets choked with traffic – some of the world’s richest environments bruised by the tourist onslaught – distinctive wildlife driven to near-extinction – changes in the landscape coming from the construction of infrastructure, buildings and facilities – air pollution and waste – the intensive use of water and land by tourism and leisure facilities – the disturbance of fauna and local people (for example, by noise)We can write many pros and cons of tourism. I think the worst effect of unsustainable tourism is when only the financial profit come into the strong focus. Becuse tourism makes a few people extremely rich, while impoverishing the majority, who lose their land, their resources and their sense of self. Tourism is not just about money, it should give benefits for tourist and local communities too. The main goals of tourism should include: the satisfaction of tourists, profit for tourism industry, wealth to local people.Changes in the landscape coming from the construction of infrastructure, buildings and facilities is one of the disadvantage of sustainable tourism but this can also benefit to local communities. I think the cooperation between the tourism industry providers (relevant ministries, government, management) and local organizations and communities can mitigate the negative effects. Sustainable Tourism Definition Sustainable Tourism involves social responsibility, a strong commitment to nature and the integration of local people in any tourist operation or development. Sustainable tourism has several definitions.According to the definition of the Federation of Nature and National Parks, sustainable tourism is: â€Å"All forms of tourism development, management and activity that maintai n the environmental, social and economic integrity and well-being of natural, built and cultural resources in perpetuity. † (FNNP, 1993) Sustainable tourism is defined by the  World Tourism Organisation(WTO), the  Tourism Council  (WTTC) and the  Earth Council  as: Sustainable Tourism Development meets the needs of present tourists, host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future.It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems. Sustainable tourism products are products which are operated in harmony with the local environment, community and cultures so that these become the beneficiaries not the victims of tourism development.Sum up these definitions I can say that sustainable tourism is the form of tourism that does not reduce the availability of re sources and does not prevent future travelers from enjoying the same experience. Responsible Tourism, Soft Tourism, Minimum Impact Tourism and Alternative Tourism are terms with a similar meaning as Sustainable Tourism. Sustainable Tourism Development The significance and volume of tourism shows that it is not enough to develop new forms of â€Å"alternative† tourism in order to minimise the negative effects and maximise the positive impacts of tourism development.The whole sector must be developed and managed in a way that it does not damage the natural and socio-cultural environment. In my point of view it can be fully executed if the government, the managers and leaders of tourism industry recognise the harmful and negative effects of tourism and they introduce more regulations related to sustainability, they motivate tour opartors to promote this type of tourism among their clients and they release more related ads and topics in media. This is the responsibility of the wo rld-wide tourism industry.The concept of sustainable development was introduced by the World Commission on Environment and Development in the Brundtland Report in 1987, defining sustainable development as â€Å"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs†. Since its publication, the role of tourism has been analysed and the concept of sustainable tourism appeared. The main message of the Brundtland Report seems to be more and more accepted by the tourism industry all over the world.Ecological sustainability means that tourism development does not cause irreversible changes in a given destination's ecosystem. There is an obvious need all over the world to protect natural resources from the negative impacts of tourism activities. In order to avoid or minimise unfavourable impacts, decision-makers must be aware of all the factors that play a role in the development process. Indicators of Sustainab ility â€Å"Indicators measure information with which decision-makers may reduce the chances of unknowingly taking poor decisions† (WTO, 1996).In other words, in the measurement of the progress that an individual destination is making towards sustainable tourism development, sustainability indicators are commonly accepted as one set of useful tools. â€Å"Indicators are both a tool for management today and an investment in the future, since they reduce the risk of inadvertent damage to the resource base on which the [tourist] industry depends† (WTO, 1996). There are some factors which are pushing the tourism industry towards a sustainable development approach: – Increasing regulatory measures The awareness by governments and operators that the growth of tourism can have a negative impact on the environment I think the government and the competent ministries should take the first steps. They should corporate with tourism service providers and with the management and create new regulations and laws. It is very important to take into account sustainability and preservation of nature. – Tourism professionals and operators recognise that environmental quality is essential for a competitive product – Growing wareness of cost savings from sensible resource consumption – Growing awareness of communities about their potential to influence tourism policy Similiar forms of tourism Responsible Tourism Tourism which operates in such a way as to minimize negative impacts on the environment. For example a  forest trip using â€Å"Leave No Trace† ethics would be considered responsible tourism while dune buggy tours would not. Nature-Based Tourism A term for any activity or travel experience with a focus on nature.These types of trips may or may not be environmentally sustainable or responsible. A cruise ships to view penguins in Antarctica fall into this category. I think that this type of tourism is sligthly more popular tha n sustainable tourism. It needs fewer responsibilty. Travels or trips in nature have always been very sought and beloved among families or other target groups. For example in my village and in the neighboring settlements exist tourist groups who regularly participate in different type of nature-based tours.They often go hiking, climbing, they participate on wine tours, visit thermal bathes or observe animals. They like nature and activities connected to nature but it is not guarantee that they conserve the nature and they improve the place they visit. Green Tourism Often used inter-changeably with eco-tourism and sustainable tourism   but more precisely described as â€Å"any activity or facility operating in an environmentally friendly fashion†. A lodge with composting toilets and solar powered lighting is probably â€Å"green†.There are varying degrees of â€Å"greenness†; an awareness of where resources are coming from and where wastes are going is at the h eart of the idea. Ecotourism The Ecotourism Society defines it as â€Å"responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of the local people†. A rafting trip is ecotourism in that case when it raises awareness and help to protect the watershed. A walk in the rainforest is not ecotourism unless that particular walk somehow benefits that environment and the people who live there.Eco-tourism means when you go to a  trip and you will help to „conserve and improve† the place you visit. In the last few years ecotourism has become a buzz word to sell a variety of products. Almost any term prefixed with ‘eco’ will increase interest and sales. Thus, in the last few years there has been a proliferation of advertisements in the travel field with such references as ecotour, ecotravel, eco-vacation, eco (ad) ventures, eco-cruises, eco-safaris and of course, eco-tourism (Wight, 1994).In my opinion some companies use the word ’eco’ because of particular ineterest or benefit. Maybe that ’eco-products’ and ’eco-services’ make them better reputation or greater madia interest. Therefore I think there are some companies which are not totally aware of the meaning ’eco’ and they use it for their advantage. Marta Honey’s book â€Å"Ecotourism and Sustainable Development†Ã‚  determine 7 defining points of ecotourism:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1) Involves travel to natural destinations – remote areas, enviromental protection.In my point of view it can be dangerous because in remote areas there are living just small group of people who can form a quite closed community. For them it can be strange to accept and receive tourist, especially huge number of tourist. In other hand, growing tourism have other consequences – to build the necessary infrastructure which could change the local ’untouched’ environment. In tha t case I think the tour operators and organizers should keep the tourism under control, regulate the number of tourists, involve local people to the whole process.For example using private accomodation instead of big hotels can be a good idea or small restaurants which offer local foods can be attractive for tourist and prifitable for local people. 2) Minimizes impact – ecotourism – use recycled materials, plentyfully available local building materials, renewable sources of energy, recycling and safe disposal of waste and garbage, environmentally and culturally sensitive architectural design. In my opinion it is relevant to draw people’s attention to these methods or they should be regulated in order to ensure limited damage to the ecosystem. ) Builds environmental awareness  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ   education for both tourists and residents; free educational trips, reading materials – The Ecotourism Societies guidelines; well-trained, multilingual naturalist guide s with skills in natural and cultural history, environmental interpretation, ethical principles and effective communication. I think it is important for tourist to gain some knowledge about the host country. Every nation has other regulations, habbits, values and culture. Environmental regulations and attitude to sustainability differ from country to country and therefore it is recommended to be informed of certain things. ) Provides direct financial benefits for conservation – park entrance fees, tour company, hotel, airline and airport taxes and voluntary contributions. 5) Provides financial benefits and empowerment for local people – local community must be involved with and receive income and other tangible benefits (potable water, roads, health clinics, etc. ) from the conservation area and it's tourist facilities. I think the popular destination, for example National Parks and other conservation areas will only survive if there are â€Å"happy people† arou nd their perimeters. ) Respects local culture – learning beforehand about the local customs, respecting dress codes and other social norms. As I earlier mentioned gain some knowledge about the host country will benefit us. 7) Supports human rights and democratic movements – Ecotourist need to be sensitive to the host country's political environment and social climate and need to consider the merits of international boycotts called for by those supporting democratic reforms, majority rule, and human rights. Marketing for sustainable tourismAccording to my view an intensive marketing activity can greatly influence the success of a given topic. For instance if the marketers release lot of articles and ads about the sustainability and the importance of it as a  result more and more people are going to deal with the topic. If the marketers raise the public attention than they can make the next step more easily. Implementation of the marketing concept in tourism can be ach ieved through the use of a variety of marketing tools and techniques (Popadopolous, 1989; Calantone and Mazanec, 1991). SegmentationSuccessful market segmentation and targeting involve the appropriate matching of tourist needs with the experience being offered, and, in the case of sustainable tourism, the need for this match is particularly important (Tregear et al. , 1997). Tourism organizations need to give greater consideration to segmenting their market with a view to concentrating on those categories of visitor that are not only economically attractive, but are also likely to be susceptible to messages aimed at encouraging them to adopt sustainable behaviors (Dinan, 2000).I think that during the segmentation process the tourism organizations can choose the right target group who will address later with intensive markerting campaign. On the other hand it is also important to deal with people who are not yet the ecaxt target audience. There are key members, for example the tour o parators or travel agents who can influnce the tourists and encourage them to pay greater attention to sustainable tours. Marketing mix All elements of the marketing mix need to be in harmony in order to increase the success ProductIf we would like to achieve more sustainable tourism we should developing products which are more sustainable in nature- conservation holidays, vacation packages using public transport rather than private cars, small-scale rural community-based tourism initiatives- and moving away from offering products which are intrinsically not sustainable- hunting trips, destinations with poor environmental standards. Intermediaries between tourists and tourism service providers are tour operators who create complete holiday packages and bring together a variety of services.These packages are marketed to customers either directly or through travel agents. Each package generally consists of accommodation (often with food service), transport both to and from the destina tion, ground transport within the destination and events or activities. Today, many consumers expect from the tour operators to supply them products which provide not just quality and value-for-money, but also safeguard environmental and social sustainability. Example The Green Travel Market is a global facility to integrate sustainable products into the packages of European and Northern American tour operators.Green Travel Market gives up-to-date and reliable information on existing sustainable tourism products: destinations, protected areas, accommodation networks, individual accommodation, visitor attractions and activities, excursions or tours, incoming tour operators and transport services. Green Travel Marker is in contact with more than 1. 500 touroperators and with its wide range of services help to local products and services to reach European and US tour operators and media. Price The price paid by the tourist should cover the full cost of their holiday.The cost must also be high enough to: – Ensure a satisfactory experience for the tourist I think satisfactory experience means quality and value for the money paid by the tourist. In the case of sustainabilty there are added other values, for example connection to nature, preservation of the origin environment, improve the visited area or just raise awareness. I have heard several times that the tourists were not totally satisfied with their holiday. Maybe the accomodation had not that quality what the travel agency promised or tourists did not receive a service or the visited place were not an ecotourist destination however they paid for it.I guess in these cases the travel agencies are quilty or faulty because they always have to be aware of the services they offer. They always should have up-to-date information and organise trips for the agents in order to get familiar with the offered destination. – Provide a satisfactory level of profit for the tourism industry – Generate an appropriate level of benefits for the host community – Cover costs involved in putting right any damage caused by the tourist to the environment – Pay for the resources consumed by the tourist PlacePlace refers to the location at which any service component the subject of the marketing campaign will be delivered. Place also refer to the channels of information that are used to spread the message. Promotion I think promotion has the most important role of all elements of marketing mix. By using promotional techniques we can create more sustainable forms of tourism. We can reach large number of people by suing promotional methods. Sustainable promotion should focus on promoting and advertising a tourist site, highlighting the unique characteristics of the area in order not to cause disappointment and frustration among tourists.It is important to promote brochures and advertisements which reflect reality. In my opinion it is necessary to show pictures of a given destinati on in order to get more realistic picture. An other good idea can be to create a blog where tourists can share their experineces and give some advice for future travelers. Tourism organizations and destinations can also use literature and advertisements to raise tourist awareness relating to sustainability. They can undertake ‘green marketing’ or promote soft tourism and infomr tourists of the impacts of their presence.Tools Communicating sustainability It is essential to inform tourists in a positive way about sustainability efforts and draw attention that environmental quality means quality tourism experience. If we talk about environmental quality we can mention the following: small-scale, quality service, personal relations, traditions, intact and protected nature, rest, modern lifestyle and healthy and local food. Eco-labelled products provide good quality service and quality products should respect the environment. Example Communication efforts of VISITThe Europea n VISIT initiative developed its own communication strategy for environmental quality in tourism. In 2002, the VISIT image campaign was launched under the motto: â€Å"Caring for the Environment †¦ is caring for the Visitor†. This slogan connects environmental quality with the quality of the product and experiences in addition it raises the overall awereness about this topic. They used print and online media (brochures, catalogues, website, publications) in order to spread the message. The VISIT Holiday Guide was launched in 2003 under the motto â€Å"Your visit makes the difference†.It provides detailed and structured description of more than 1,000 hotels, bed & breakfasts, holiday houses, youth hostels, camping sites and restaurants. Education and awareness programmes Environmental education  is a learning process that increases people’s knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, fosters attitudes, motivations and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action (UNESCO, Tbilisi Declaration, 1978).Education and awareness programm should address to both the professional sector and the general public. These programms should contain information about the direct and indirect impacts of tourism, the causes with his effects, the global and local issues, the immediate and long-term issues and good practices in the area. Key members of spreading information are tour operators. They can provide variety of information about sustainable tourism issues, encourage their clients to conserve, avoid negative impacts on environment and cultural heritage, to respect national egislation of the visited area as well as traditions of local communities. Education and awareness-raising is also required at all levels of government. The relevant ministries have to deal with tourism and enviromental issues. It is quite important to raise aw areness within the academic sector responsible for training and research on issues regarding sustainable tourism. In my opinion the education and awareness programs means the most important tools of promotion and form the basis of the sustainable marketing. It is essential to start raise awareness in the kindergarten or in elementary school.If we show good example for children and we emphasize the importance of sustainability and preservation they will take this issue seriously form they childhood. I think that is the problem in many countries because people often feel that enviromental problems are just magnified and we have other problems in society or in our life which are more important or urgent. But it is not true because if we don’t take seriously these problems and don’t deal with that issue now maybe that we can do nothing in the future. It is the responsibilty of all people to conserve the environonment and draw other people attention to the importance of the issue.Ecotourism in Hungary In the last few years Hungary has taken a really proactive approach to ecotourism. The country has more than 300 nationally protected areas and over 1 000 locally protected sites. Hungary’s attitude towards conservation and preservation is one that facilitates ecotourism efforts by local businesses and ecotourism demand from tourists. Hungary is a great place where tourists and local people can find number of way to relax and have fun. In the following I  will show some good opportunity for ecotourism in Hungary. BudapestBudapest is the Hungary’s capital and an increasingly popular spot for tourists. With its rich and complex history, stunning architecture, lovely people, and fantastic culture, Budapest is one of the great cities of Eastern Europe. Budapest’s Urban Adventures offer some great, locally-run day tours with a touch of ecotourism for everyone. Their specially designed Budapest tours allow visitors to discover the city i n a  personal and unique way. Unique  local experiences  are integral to responsible travel, and one of the classic local experiences in Budapest is to visit cities thermal baths.Visitors can learn about the country’s spa traditions and explore some of the city’s best landmarks on this adventure. These thermal baths are  icons of Budapest, and are frequented by both locals and tourists who are looking to soak away their problems and pains. Budapest Urban Adventures’  Sights & Spas tour  puts a unique spin on the thermal bath experience by providing visitors with an insight into spa traditions and histories, as well as other traditional and architectural elements of the city. Sights and Spa tour – Highlights: Ride the continent’s oldest subwayLearn about Hungarian spa traditions Visit a church carved into a hill Discover Budapest’s Jewish quarter See Europe’s largest synagogue Admire the buildings from a city tram Walk thro ugh City Park Experience the cosmopolitan vibe of Budapest An other interesting offer of this company is the ‚Budapest Explorer tour‘ by which visitors can explore the capital by tram, foot and metro. Budapest Explorer tour – Highlights: Explore the iconic city landmarks on this Budapest tour Ride the continent’s oldest subway Admire the waterfront from a city tram Walk through City ParkExperience the atmosphere of a Budapest market Stroll along Andrassy Avenue Explore Franz Liszt’s old neighbourhood Discover local Budapest travel highlights and World Heritage sites Farm-House Hostel Many tourists come to Hungary and stay only in Budapest but it is worthwhile getting out of the city and  visiting other part of this wonderful country. In the south part of Hungary there is a tiny village Kiskassa where visitors find the extremely hospitable and totally endearing  Ecohun Hostel. Ecohun is a  traditional Hungarian farm-house  that is  locally o wned and operated.The hostel has the same facilities as a typical hostel, in addition it offers guests a unique insight into the local agriculture industry and traditions. The hostel typically caters to short-term accommodation but for those who are seriously interested in sustainable agriculture and alternative technologies, longer-term accommodation is available. I  think this form of ecotourism is a  very interesting one beacause nowadays lots of people would like to escape from busy cities, hide in a  calm environment and enjoy the opportunities of the nature.I  have some experiences in that area. I  have worked for three summers in a  small hotel in Slovakia. This hotel accomodates tourists who came to the city because of the thermal bath. The hotel has the ideal potentials for ecotourism beacuse it has a  big garden and almost every food ingredients, vegetables and fruits come from that garden, there are lot of animals which are very popular among the hosts, they can stroke and feet them and the hotel is sorrounded by a  large yard with beautiful flowers and trees.They regularly organise traditional programs, for example riding days, arts and crafts camps or public picksticking. I  really enjoyed working here. One thing which I  can suggest to this hotel – to promote themselves more in ecotourism way beacuse they emphasized mainly the accomodation and the related services and such values as nature, original agricultural traditions, calm atmosphere were less highlighted. Local Birdwatching Tours Hungary is home to an exceptionally diverse cascade of birds, making it an  attractive ecotourism destination  for birding. The spring and summer onths are the best period for this type of  ecotourism in Hungary, because most of birds are present. Ecotours  describe themselves as the  natural leaders  in Eastern Europe. Ecotours offer a variety of tours to ecotourism destinations around the world, but the majority of their to urs are in Hungary. Their tours are typically very specialised. They provide profesionally guided birding trips, birdwatching, butterfly, wildlife, nature and culture tours. Taking a tour with Ecotours is a sure way to experience local fauna from one of the leaders in  ecotourism in Hungary.According to my opinion the county’s potentials are good but maybe not well-exploited. People are not well informed about ecotours and ecotravels. In many cases those people are attending on these kind of tours who have similiar hobbies. For example people who like birds and animals they are mostly participating on professionally guided bird watching tours or on wildlife tours or people who love sports are attending on cycling or hiking tours. This is not problem because they can enjoy their hobbies.On other hand I  think these programs can be promoted among people who are looking for a  relaxing weekend. Not just an expensive wellness hotel can provide carefree relaxation but a  t rip in the nature can be memorable and restful. Hungary should more effectively and intesively advertise or promote its potentials. For example when I  was working in a  travel agency in Gyor during my internship I  did not meet with a brochure or catalogue which was focused on ecotourism. Our agency did not offer any type of program related to ecotourism.I  know just some organised cycling tours in Gyor which can be mentioned as ecotourism. Sum up I  think ecotourism must be developed and promoted in the following years beacuse despite of the favorable potentials, ecotourism is not quite popular in Hungary. As I  mentioned good marketing and communication tools can greatly help. Conclusion It is obvious that the tourism is the fastest and largest growing industry in the world beacuse millions of people are travelling every year. Travel and tourism is an important part of the world economy.Fortunately people realized the importance of the environment therefore sustainabl e and ecotourism started to develope rapidly. Eco travel or travel for the purpose of experiencing wildlife, natural attractions and indigenous cultures has become the fastest growing segment of global tourism. Ecotoursim in Hungary  is still growing and will likely continue to experience an increase in ecotourism operators as well as ecotourists. The country has a lot of potential and the right attitude therefore Hungary can become an attractive ecotourism destination in the near future.In my opinion building enviromental awereness is the most important part in the marketing process of sustainable tourism. It is very importatant to start education and awereness programs in elementary schools or kindergartens, organize free educational trips, supply reading materials about this issue. Education and awereness programs should address tourists, general public and government too. It is essential to draw attention to the importance of this topic because we have to care about the future generation. Resources ttp://www. guardian. co. uk/travel/2002/jul/07/travelnews. observerescapesection1 http://www. globalbasecamps. com/sustainable-tourism-ecotourism http://www. mynatour. org/destination/ecotourism-hungary-local-experiences http://www. untamedpath. com/Ecotourism/what_is_ecotourism. html http://www. untamedpath. com/Ecotourism/defining. html http://www. linkbc. ca/torc/downs1/vol26no1_article06. pdf http://www. biodiversity. ru/coastlearn/tourism-eng/tools_si. html http://www. englisharticles. info/2010/06/19/unsustainable-tourism/