Wednesday, October 30, 2019

International marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

International marketing - Essay Example The profit margin may not make selling in the domestic market a worthwhile proposition. Moreover, due to immense technological developments, thanks to the contribution of Science and Technology, the global markets have opened up. At times, an organisation may sell globally to achieve competitive advantage. Samsung as a global brand has also transcended all geographical borders and have been able to establish as a brand of international repute. In international marketing the main characteristics encompass the factors such as the world economy is viewed as one market; marketing strategies are tailored to suit the individual market; and there are standardisation and customisation of the products as and when required by the markets. When a firm achieves growth, it sets its sight on overseas soils. Growth makes expansion imperative. This is precisely why a firm sells its goods and services in foreign countries. A firm is confronted with a host of complex issues in international marketing. Marketing in a foreign country is not a simple task. Therefore, the variables that constitute the international marketing environment are local tastes and requirements, local customs and cultures, governments, laws and regulations, technologies and the sizes of the markets. All these variables, which are extremely difficult to predict, have a deep influence on the marketing strategies of a firm (Gogolova, n.d.). This is a unique feature of firms which sells their products globally. Marketing Standardisation signifies that the parent firm will sell the similar product in the foreign countries as it sells in the home country. There is also similarity in all the marketing activities. Marketing control denotes to what extent the domestic company influences power on the management of the companies that are located abroad. The extent of control can range from limited autonomy to absolute delegation of power. The rationale behind this

Monday, October 28, 2019

Psychology Vocab Essay Example for Free

Psychology Vocab Essay Anal stage: the stage at which children advocate erotic pleasure with the elimination process Archetype: an inherited idea, based on the experiences of one’s ancestors, which shapes one’s perception of the world Altered states of consciousness: conscious level, preconscious level, and unconscious level Amnesia: a loss of memory that may occur after a blow to the head or as a result of brain damage Biofeedback: the process of learning to control bodily states with the help of machines monitoring the states to be controlled Bipolar: a disorder in which a person’s mood inappropriately alternates between feelings of mania and depression Client centered therapy: an approach developed by Carl Rogers that reflects the belief that the client and therapist are partners in therapy Conditioning: a type of learning that involves stimulus response connections in which the response is conditional to the stimulus Central nervous system: Spinal cord and the brain Classical conditioning: a learning procedure in which associations are made between a natural stimulus and a neutral stimulus Collective unconscious: the part of the mind that inherited instincts, urges, and memories common to all people Consciousness: an individual’s state of awareness, including a person’s feelings, sensations, ideas, and perceptions Compulsion: an apparently irresistible urge to repeat an act or engage in ritualistic behavior such as hand washing Cross- sectional study: research method in which data is collected from groups of participants of different ages and compares so that conclusions can be drawn about differences due to age CS (Conditioned stimulus): a once neutral event that elicits a given response after a period of training in which it has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus CR (conditioned response): a response by the conditioned stimulus; it is similar to the unconditioned response, but not identical in magnitude or amount Defense mechanism: Certain specific means by which the ego unconsciously protects itself against unpleasant impulses or circumstances Dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality): a person exhibits two or more personality states, each with its own patterns of thinking and behaving Dependent variable: changes in relation to the independent variable Discrimination: the ability to respond differently to similar but distinct stimuli. 2. The unequal treatment of individuals on the basis of their race, ethnic group, age, gender, or membership in another category rather than on the basis of individual characteristics Depression: a psychological disorder characterized by extreme sadness, an inability to concentrate, and feelings of helplessness and dejection Superego: the part of the personality that is the source of conscience and contracts the socially undesirable impulses of the id Dopamine: Involved in learning, emotional, arousal, and movement Eidetic memory: the ability to remember with great accuracy visual information on the basis of short term exposure Extinction: in classical conditioning, the gradual disappearance of a conditional response because the reinforcement is withheld or because the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus Endocrine system: a chemical communication system using hormones, by which messages are sent through the blood stream, EEG (electroencephalograph): a machine used to record the electoral activity of large portions of the brain Extravert: an outgoing, active person who directs his or her energies and interests toward other people and things Electroshock therapy: also called (ECT), an electrical shock is sent through the brain to try to reduce symptoms of mental disturbance Ego: the part of the personality that is in touch with reality and strives to meet the demands of the id and the superego in socially acceptable ways Free association: a Freudian technique used to examine the unconscious; the patients instructed to say whatever comes into his or her mind Formal operations: the person is able to solve abstract problems Fixed ratio schedule: a pattern of reinforcement in which a specific number of correct responses is required before reinforcement can be obtained Fixed interval schedule: a pattern of reinforcement in which a specific amount of time must elapse before a response will elicit reinforcement Functional fixedness: a mental set characterized by the inability to imagine new functions for familiar objects Genital Stage: Freud’s fifth and final psychosexual stage during which an individual’s sexual satisfaction depends as much on giving pleasure as on receiving it Hypothalamus: regulates the autonomic nervous system Hallucinations: perceptions that have no direct external cause Hypothesis: an assumption or prediction about behavior that is tested through scientific research Identity crisis: A period of inner conflict during which adolescents worry intensely about who they are Id: in psychoanalytic theory, that part of the unconscious personality that contains our needs, drives, and instincts, as well as repressed material Independent variable: experimenters change or alter so they can observe its effects Imprinting: inherited tendencies or responses that are displayed by newborn animals when they encounter new stimuli in their environment Introvert: a reserved, withdrawn person who is more preoccupied with his or her inner thoughts and feelings than in what is going on around him or her Imitation: The third way of learning Latency Stage: the fourth stage of Freud’s psychosexual development at which sexual desires are pushed into the background and the child becomes involved in exploring the world and learning new skills Long term memory: the storage of information over extended periods of time Longitudinal study: research method in which data is collected about a group of participants over a number of years to assess how certain characteristics change or remain the same during development Lithium carbonate: a chemical used to counteract mood swings of bipolar disorder Maturation: the internally programmed growth of a child Meditation: the focusing of attention to clear one’s mind and produce relaxation Modeling: the process of learning behavior through observation and imitation of others Mnemonic devices: techniques of memorizing information by forming vivid associations or images, which facilitate recall and decrease forgetting Negative reinforcement: increasing the strength of a given response by removing or preventing a painful stimulus when the response occurs Neurosis: One of the most commonly used diagnostic distinctions Oral Stage: Freud’s first stage of psychosexual development, in which infant’s associate erotic pleasure with the mouth Object permanence: Child’s realization that an object exists even when he or she cannot see or touch it Operant conditioning: a form of learning in which a certain action is reinforced or punished, resulting in corresponding increases or decreases in the likelihood that similar actions will occur again Obsession: a recurring thought or image that seems to be beyond control OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder): an anxiety disorder consisting of obsessions and compulsions Oedipus complex: seems more like a literary conceit that a thesis worthy of a scientifically minded psychologist Psychosexual stages: 1. Oral stage, 2.anal stage, 3.phallic stage, 4.latancy stage, 5.ganital stage Psychosocial stages: 1. Trust vs. mistrust, 2. Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt, 3.initiative vs. guilt, 4. Industry vs. inferiority, 5. Identity vs. role confusion, 6. Intimacy vs. isolation, 7. Generativity vs. stagnation, 8. Ego integrity vs. Despair Pre-operational stage: emerges when the child begins to use mental images symbols to understand things Pituitary gland: â€Å"master gland† Psychosis: One of the most commonly used diagnostic distinctions Projective test: an unstructured test of personality in which a person is asked to respond freely, giving his or her own interpretation of various ambiguous stimuli Phallic stage: Freud’s third psychosexual stage, children associate sexual pleasure with their genitals Psychology: the scientific, systematic study of behaviors and mental processes Psychiatry: a branch of medicine that deals with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders Psychotherapy: a general term for the application of psychological principles and techniques for any treatment used by therapists to help troubled individuals overcome their problems and disorders Positive reinforce: a stimulus that increases the likelihood that a response will occur again Psychoanalysis: a form of therapy aimed at making patients aware of their unconscious motives so that they can gain control over their behavior and free themselves of self-defeating patterns Reli ability: the ability of a test to give the same results under similar conditions REM sleep: a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, a high level of brain activity, a deep relaxation of the muscles, and dreaming Reinforcement schedule: an important factor in operant conditioning Random sample: One way to avoid a nonrepresentative sample Rorschach inkblot cards: 10 cards with inkblot designs and a system for interpreting responses Self –actualization: the humanist term for realizing one’s unique potential Shaping: technique of operant conditioning in which the desired behavior is â€Å"molded† by first rewarding any act similar to that behavior and then requiring ever-closer approximations to the desired behavior before giving the reward Short term memory: memory that is limited in capacity to about seven items and in duration by the subject active rehearsal Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after some time has passed Selective attention: Focusing\ on only one detail of many Schizophrenia: a group of severe psychotic disorders characterized by confused and disconnected thoughts, emotions, behavior, and perceptions Separation anxiety: whenever the child is suddenly separated from the mother Superego: the part of the personality that is the source of conscience and contracts the socially undesirable impulses of the id Sensorimotor: the infant uses schemas that primarily involve his body and sensations Surrogate mothers: substitute mothers TAT (Thematic Apperception Test): This test consists of a series of pictures Thalamus: major relay station of the brain Unconscious: the part of the mind that holds mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories of which we are unaware but that strongly influences conscious behaviors UCR (Unconditioned response): an organism, automatic or natural reaction to a stimulus UCS (unconditioned stimulus): an event that elicits a certain predictable response without previous training Variable- ratio schedule: a pattern of reinforcement in which a specific amount of time must elapse before a response will elicit reinforcement Variable- interval schedule: a pattern of reinforcement in which changing amounts of time must elapse before a response will obtain reinforcement Validity: the ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure Theorists Carl Jung: (1875-1961) believed that people try to develop their potential as well as handle their instinctual urges. He distinguished between personal unconscious and the collective unconscious Alfred Adler: (1870-1937) believed that the driving force in people’s lives is a desire to overcome their feelings of inferiority Sigmund Freud: (1856-1939) believed that our conscious experiences are only the tip of the iceberg, that beneath the surface are primitive biological urges that are in conflict with the requirements of society and morality Erick Erickson: (1902-1994) believed that the need for social approval is just as important as a child’s sexual and aggressive urges Abraham Maslow: (1908-1970) tried to base his theory of personality on studies of healthy, creative, self actualizing people who fully utilize their talents and potential rather than on studies of disturbed individuals Carl Rogers: (1902-1987) believed that many people suffer from a conflict between wh at they value in themselves and what they believe that other people value in them John B. Watson 🙠 1878-1958) psychology should concern itself only with the observable facts of behavior. Said that all behavior is the result of conditioning and occurs because the appropriate stimulus is present in the environment Ivan Pavlov: (1849 -1936) charted another new course for psychological investigation. Demonstrated that a neutral stimulus can cause a formerly unrelated response B.F. Skinner 🙠 1904-1990) introduced the concept of reinforcement. Attempted to show how his laboratory techniques might be applied to society as a whole Albert Bandura: people direct their own behavior by their choice of models. Harry Harlow: (1905- 1981) studied the relationship between mother and child in a species closer to humans, the rhesus monkeys Galen: Identified four personality characteristics called melancholic, sanguine, choleric, and phlegmatic Alfred Binet: Karen Horney: (1885-1952) stressed the importance of basic anxiety. She believes that if a child is raised in an atmosphere of love and security, that child could avoid Freud’s psychosexual parent child conflict b Lawrence Kohlberg: His studies show how important being able to see other people’s points of view is to social development in general and to moral development of moral reasoning Jean Piaget: Discovered that knowledge builds as children grow. Children develop logic and think differently at different ages Lorenz Konrad: (1903- 1989) became a pioneer in the field of animal learning. He discovered that baby geese become attached to their mothers in a sudden, virtually permanent learning process called imprinting Stanley Milgram: conducted the most famous investigation of obedience in 1963. Wanted to determine whether participants would administer painful shocks to others merely because an authority figure had instructed them to do so James Marcia: main contribution is in clarifying the sources and nature of the adolescent identity crisis Philip Zimbardo: made the Zimbardo experiment Solomon Asch: designed what has become a classic experiment to test conformity to pressure from one’s peers Hermann Rorschach: made the inkblot test   Wilhelm Wundt: he proposed that psychological experience is composed of compounds, much like the ones found in chemistry Phillipe Pinel: Father of scientific psychiatry   Dorothea Dix: Chief spokesperson for reform

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Buddha and his sermon :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hindu Kshatriya, who was warned by â€Å"Brahman soothsayers†, let his son leave home to live among the seekers of the forest. His son was Gotama Siddhartha, known to most historians as Buddha. What is said to be Buddha’s first sermon was delivered briefly after his enlightenment. The sermon contains what eventually becomes the way of life for people who follow the Buddhist religion; the four noble truths, the eightfold path, and the middle way. Since Siddhartha was so sheltered from reality, he set out on a journey to find out where he would fit in his life, and through this he became extremely enlightened.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Siddhartha questioned many things on his daily adventures in the park. Why people aged, why people died, why some pursued religious beliefs, and why illness fell on certain people. He asked himself what these people have done to deserve these things. The raja did not like the fact that his son was feeling sorrow for these people. From then on he made sure that Siddhartha was surrounded with only blissful sights. The raja figured if he kept seeing these things, he would never want to become a ruler. Throughout this story it seemed as though Siddhartha lived, until this point, a very unrealistic life. (Reilly, 164)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Siddhartha’s journey he witnessed a man with a yellow robe, and no hair. The charioteer explained to him that he was a very religious man and valued everything in life. He then went home and shaved off all of his hair and wore a yellow robe. (Reilly, 171) The people were outraged that the prince took these actions, and thought it was foolish; because by doing these things did not make him religious. Siddhartha became known as Gotama the Bodhisat. All he wanted was to find a way for people to escape their sufferings and misfortunes. Siddhartha then started becoming enlightened on his journey to become religious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The real meaning of Buddhist thought involved the following; four noble truths, the eightfold path and the middle way. The four noble truths contained four statements of logic. Stating that life is sorrow, sorrow is the result of selfish desire, selfish desire can be destroyed, and it can be destroyed by following the eightfold path. The eightfold path is eight steps to a peaceful mind. The eight steps included right views, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Origins Of Agriculture In African Sahara Essay

Several decades ago, Harlan et al. (1976) suggested that Africa, outside of the Nile River Valley, might be the most useful setting for developing a fuller understanding of plant domestication and agricultural origins (Harlan et al. , 5). It seems that in Africa the earliest indigenous plant domestication occurred relatively late (ca. 2000 BC) compared to most other regions of the world (Harlan et al, 7-8). Whether this was due to a method of harvesting that was not artificially selective, such as beating versus cutting with stone or iron sickles, a lack of intentional re-sowing of harvested grains, or reliance in some cases on non-domesticable plants remains unknown, but it seems clear that wild grain collection was part of a variety of adaptive strategies until at least about 2000 BC. Unlike the Near East, most of Africa’s native domestic plants appear to have different temporal and geographic origins. In other words, crop domestication in Africa did not arise in a single region, but developed from diverse vegetative zones (Harlan et al, 12). From the critical and historical perspectives, it is important to understand and analyze the development of agricultural patterns in any historio-geographical region, African Sahara in this particular case, because it is from there that the first evidence emerges of village-based communities, pastoralism and intensive use of wild grains. Over the past 75 years, theories of the origins and spread of agriculture have been numerous and diverse. Explanations have ranged from cultural progress, climate change, diffusion of agriculture from single hearths, to population pressure, status enhancement, feasting, and to simply viewing the variety of agricultural approaches around the globe as increasingly extractive adaptations of foraging behavior. Increasingly, however, it appears that multiple factors led to the development of agriculture and that the processes may have been different in each region of the world. Archaeological evidence from centers of independent domestication provides numerous opportunities to explain the process, but from the critical viewpoint, it gives little insight into what might have been the ultimate stimulus for such a broad shift. Today, the Egyptian Western Desert (also known as the Eastern Sahara or the Libyan Desert) is extremely inhospitable with little or no rainfall, high daily temperatures, relentless sandstorms, and life that can be supported only near the occasional well or oasis (Wendorf and Schild, 1984, 1-5). Increased rainfall around 9000 BC led to the formation of seasonal ponds around Bir Kiseiba and Nabta Playa (Wendorf and Schild, 1984, 2). Although the Eastern Sahara remained unpredictable, peoples migrating west from the Nile Valley or from the desert to the south began to temporarily inhabit its better-watered areas (Close and Wendorf, 64). No structures, storage pits, or wells were recovered from the earliest sites, and pottery was rare (Wendorf and Schild, 1984, 5). Grinding stones were present in the oldest levels, and the plant remains suggest reliance on wild grasses (Wendorf and Schild, 1998, 99). Wild animals such as hare and gazelle comprised the majority of faunal remains, and domesticated cattle were possibly included in the subsistence regime (Wendorf and Schild, 1998, 103). By 8000 to 7000 BC, the area around Nabta was scattered with desert lakes and dotted with the trees of Tamarix, Acacia, and probably Ziziphus, swampy plants (sedges), and wild grasses (Close and Wendorf, 68). Occupation of the Western Desert was still likely seasonal, with abandonment during the summer monsoons. The sites were larger than those of the previous period, and the remains of small and large huts, bell-shaped storage pits, and deep wells suggest intensified habitation (Close and Wendorf, 69). Lithics, bone points, grinding stones, and pottery were present (though pottery was still somewhat rare), and the fauna continued to consist mainly of hare, gazelle, and possibly domesticated cattle (Wendorf and Schild 1998, 107). The evidence for domesticated cattle in these earliest levels is debated. Bones, tentatively identified as such, mainly teeth and foot remains, are morphologically similar to both modern domesticated and wild cattle (Bos primigenius f. taurus and B. rimigenius, respectively), but not to other large bovids in the area. Gautier argues for the presence of domesticated cattle rather than wild cattle because the latter probably could not survive on their own in an arid climate without the aid of humans to guide them to known water sources (qtd in Close and Wendorf 1984, 61-62). Support for domesticated cattle comes also from the lack of bones from medium-sized bovids that typically roam with wild cattle (Wendorf and Schild 1998, 108). Cattle bones are present but not common in the assemblages, which is used to argue for cattle-keeping (for milk and blood) rather than for cattle-eating (Close and Wendorf, 66). Interestingly, Close and Wendorf suggest that it was this expansion into the Sahara that might have pushed cattle-herders towards cattle-keeping and not slaughter, as during the same time in the Nile Valley, cattle apparently were being killed for consumption and not maintained for their products (Close and Wendorf, 68). In addition to hunting, and cattle milk and blood, the collection of wild plants also provided food. The best studied plant remains come from the site of E-75-6 at Nabta Playa, dating to around 6000 BC (Wasylikowa, 128). Wendorf and Schild interpret the sites of Nabta Playa as representing an important transition in prehistory, that of incipient domestication (Wendorf and Schild, 1998, 105). The intensive use of wild grains by pastoralist-hunters suggests a broad-spectrum approach to subsistence, but one that also incorporates semi-sedentism and delayed use of resources. Although the pastoralists at Nabta Playa apparently revisited the same locations on a seasonal basis, they probably were forced to remain mobile due to their reliance on cattle and the need for abundant grass cover. Archeologists and historians suggest that groups migrating from the west introduced domesticated African grains to the upper Middle Niger Delta (MND) is has been supported by material remains through various archeological sites (McIntosh, 56). For instance, ceramics and bone harpoon-type points with affinities to sites in the Mema and Dhar Tichitt suggest that there was some early interaction or occupation at Dia by fisher-forager and agro-pastoralist groups from these more western areas. Evidence from Dhar Tichitt suggests that domesticated millet was introduced prior to 1900 BC, and that millet farming and herding existed well before 600 BC (McIntosh, 71). Ceramics from Mema sites indicate that indigenous fisher-foragers first inhabited the Mema area, but by 1300-800 BC, pastoralist immigration into the region had begun. It has been proposed by Mcintosh that these groups of herders and fishers might have assimilated to some degree in the Mema, and then perhaps fissioned into proto-Bozo and Nono groups upon entering the modern MND sometime between 800 and 400 BC (McIntosh, 79). Movement into the deeper channels of the upper MND was likely one response to increasing desiccation of the ancient floodplain margins and encroachment of the Sahara during the early first millennium BC. The human-plant relationship at MND appears from the earliest times to be based on rice farming and collection of wild plant resources. This trend continues throughout the occupation of the sites, even during periods of seasonal habitation or partial abandonment (Horizons II and III of Dia). Early in the second millennium however, several species (pearl millet, bread wheat, and cotton) occur that suggest the development of new or intensified relationships between Dia and the outside world. The increased presence of pearl millet noted especially on Mara probably signals enhanced trade or exchange with other communities, or perhaps the movement of new peoples into the area. Mcintosh writes of oscillating drying trends during this time that might have allowed cultivation of pearl millet in areas previously too wet, perhaps at Dia or at outlying hamlets (Mcintosh, 83). This important cereal was likely domesticated somewhere between the Sahara and the Sahel of West Africa. The earliest evidence of domesticated pearl millet comes from Tichitt, dating 1900-1500 BC, and from Birimi in northern Ghana, where two grains were directly dated to 1740 BC and 1130-1250 BC (McIntosh, 93). Pearl millet occurs frequently at later sites and is a common and important cereal across much of West Africa. The four bread wheat grains found on both Shoma and Mara, one grain directly radiocarbon dated to AD 779-1157, may also signal trade, or more likely, visitors from abroad. Native to west Asia and introduced into North Africa by way of Egypt, these wheat grains probably made their way to MND via one of the major Saharan trade towns such as Sijilmasa, where to according to medieval Arabic travelers and traders, wheat was cultivated (McIntosh, 99-100). In sum, it increasingly appears that there was an independent domestication of cattle in the eastern Sahara around 8000 BC, well before the introduction of cattle, goat, and sheep from the Near East around 5000 BC. Practicing a broad-spectrum approach to food getting, these early herders spread west and south across the Sahara, eventually entering West Africa around 2000 BC. The earliest domesticated grass (pearl millet) occurs around this time in a broad band across the southern Sahara and Sahel beginning earliest at Dhar Tichitt (Mauritania) and moving rapidly eastward to Lake Chad (northeastern Nigeria) by about 1200 BC (Wendorf and Schild, 1998, 122). These sites are invariably associated with the remains of domesticated cattle, suggesting that Saharan pastoralists introduced domesticated grasses into sub-Saharan Africa and played a pivotal role in the development of other African regions.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Napoleon Iii

An Assessment of Whether Napoleon Bonaparte or Louis Napoleon Had More Significant Reforms in France Both Napoleon Bonaparte and his nephew Louis Napoleon Bonaparte were important rulers of France. They ruled with great power and control, they implemented many sweeping reforms and laws that greatly changed the course of French and European life. Napoleon Bonaparte and Louis Napoleon, also referred to as Napoleon III, each directed France through many reforms under their rule.However, the leader with the more significant reforms and impact on France was Napoleon III. Napoleon III had longer lasting reforms in the likes of rebuilding and modernizing Paris, constructing the French railway and heading a strong French foreign policy that included the unification of Italy. He also led France through a period of prosperity and industrialization. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was elected the president of France at age 40, and capped a quite remarkable, and unlikely rise to power. Cavendish, 1998, para. 1). Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, named after his uncle Napoleon I, had never held a government position, nor had he even shown any sort of political capability, he rose to power solely through widespread support in France that he was the rightful heir to Napoleon I. (Cavendish, 1998, para. 1,2). In essence, Louis Napoleon rode into control of France on the coattails of his uncle and then he took his uncle’s rule and furthered the reforms and French power.Louis Napoleon campaigned that he would return France back to the glory that they had once had under the first Napoleon, and that he, as a ruler, was destined to bring France once again to the top of Europe. (Cavendish, 1998, para. 5). His strategy successfully swept him into the office of President of France’s Second Republic. The Professional Politicians in France couldn’t believe that Louis Napoleon had won, and they were even more shocked when he did away with them.But this didn’t satisfy the ambi tious ruler and he quickly took advantage of an economic slump in 1851 and posed himself to be the man that the French needed, not as president but as emperor. (Cavendish, 1998, final paragraph). Louis Napoleon Bonaparte can now be called Napoleon III, for in 1852 he declared himself the perfect fit for the job to keep France from collapse and socialism, the Emperor of the second French Empire. (Cavendish, 1998, final paragraph).The citizens of France, so scared of anarchy, and still believing in the â€Å"Napoleonic Ideals† that Napoleon I had left behind, overwhelmingly accepted Louis Napoleon as their new Emperor. The new parliamentary constitution that Napoleon III set up gave him the executive powers; it allowed him to nominate the members of the law-making council of state and the senate. (â€Å"France History-Second French Empire† n. d. , para. 1). Now that Louis-Napoleon had full control of France, he could freely implement actions and reforms that he couldnâ⠂¬â„¢t have easily achieved as President.One of Napoleon’s keen interests was in architecture, and it was his desire to make Paris a new modern city that ultimately turned Paris from an overcrowding, ancient, disease-ridden cluster of districts into the thriving beauty it is today. (Kirkman, 2007, para. 2). Napoleon’s interest was the foundation that would produce the plans for a rebuilding of Paris’s streets, its sewers, and all other aspects of urban planning. It would change the sight of Paris to something unlike anyone had seen. (Kirkman, 2007, para. 2).For hundreds of years, certain areas hadn’t been improved, and the daunting task of a renewal of Paris was laid on Baron Haussmann. Haussmann was a big time planner and was an advocate for beautiful sights, perfect balance and exactness. (â€Å"Paris† pg. 18). Haussmann’s desire of linear symmetry surfaced in his first step, which was to put Paris on a grid. He added streets to Paris that ran east and west, and north and south. These new streets were also wider, allowing for more public safety and safer traffic engineering. (Kirkman, 2007, para. 4).The rapid population growth mixed with fierce industrialization made some changes to Paris an absolute necessity. An example of this was shown in the growing demand for water closets, which directly led to the need to funnel the human waste effectively into the sewers. (Kirkman, 2007, para. 6). The old ways of dumping the waste in the rivers was rejected, and it was now an objective to keep the clean and dirty water separate. This new practice allowed for cleaner water, cleaner streets, cleaner people, and a much-improved healthy environment. (Kirkman, 2007, para. , and final paragraph). Under Napoleon’s constant input and watch Haussmann unified Paris with visual themes and facades that generated all around in the city. The horizontal style of Haussmann can be seen throughout Paris. (Kirkman, 2007, para. 7). Perha ps the most unifying aspect that Paris received during its makeover was the improvement of the transportation systems. The railroads underwent massive modernization as train stations were constructed in strategic locations to connect Paris with the rest of France and to the rest of Europe. (Kirkman, 2007, para. 10).These new train stations benefitted agriculture, industrial growth, international markets, employment opportunities, and they represented the overall feeling of a more modern city and nation that could be envied from surrounding countries. (Kirkman, 2007, para. 10). Napoleon III exemplified the prosperity and excellence of the time period by this complete rebuilding of Paris. With the help of grand scale designer Baron Haussmann, Paris â€Å"slashed boulevards through tangles of slums, began the modern sewer and water systems† and set the standard high for the beautiful city that still thrives today. â€Å"Paris† pg. 18) Napoleon III didn’t just focus on the improvement and his influence inside of France. Napoleon III headed a strong French foreign policy that occurred in the Second Empire. Particularly important was Napoleon III’s indispensible role in the Italian unification process. Count Camillo di Cavour was the prime minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, most commonly known as Piedmont, and it was his revolutionary ideals and actions that pushed Italian unification forward. But Cavour needed the help of a strong ally in order to achieve is goals; this ally came in the form of Napoleon III and France. Oracle ThinkQuest, n. d. , Section III para. 2). Napoleon III always had a specific future planned out for Italy, he even once pushing for his cousin to rule there. (Geddes, 2010, para. 2). Napoleon III attempted to influence these rising movements of unification in Italy following the Revolutions of 1848. Whatever Napoleon’s intentions were for Italy, whether it was to use Italy as an asset to serve France in the future or if it was to genuinley support the Italian unification, Napoleon saw himself as one that was obligated to be the leader of these â€Å"free peoples of Europe. † (Geddes, 2010, para. ). Without the help of the Frech army and the support of Napoleon III, Piedmont would have had no chance to unify Italy. Napoleon III’s influence in this unification process was so extensive he alone put all of Italy together, and kept Rome out of it so as to keep the support of the Catholic church. (Geddes, 2010, final paragraph). There is also an argument that Napoleon I, Napoleon Bonaparte, had the more significant reforms in French history as opposed to Napoleon III. Napoleon I led the French, the the most powerful army in Europe, across the continent in conquerring much of Europe. History, n. d. , opening paragraph). Napoleon’s reforms included the new ‘Napoleonic Law Code’ that he implemented in France and in the countries he conquerred, a stronger army, a renewed relationship with the pope, banking and education improvements, and support for the arts and sciences. (History, n. d. The Coup of 18 Brumaire section para. 3). But Napoleon I’s reforms were self destructed when Napoleon made several key mistakes that ultimately doomed his reforms and his plan to establish stability back into the post-revolutionized France. History, n. d. The Coup of 18 Brumaire section para. 3). One miscue included the flop of the continental system, or Napoleon Bonaparte’s attempt the ruin the British economy but in backlash it only ruined the French economy. Another mistake was the catastrophic invasion of Russia. The Russian army destroyed French supply lines and Napoleon abandoned his army in the Russian winter where they attempted to retreat. Only 100,000 of the original 600,000 French survived. (History, n. d. Napoleon’s Downfall section para. 1). The French momentum was killed, and so was Napoleon I’s popularity. Napole on I was then forced to abdicate the throne by the combined powers of Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria and he was exiled to Elba. Those same powers, in order to ensure that France wouldn’t try to do the same thing again all but eliminated what Napoleon I had long been working for and France was sent back to square one. (History, n. d. Napoleon’s Downfall section para. 2,3).Therfore, although both Napoleon Bonaparte and Louis Napoleon implemented great reforms in France, Napoleon III had the more significant reforms. Napoleon III’s reforms had more of a long-lasting effect on France and Europe. Some of these long lasting reforms included the modernization and rebuilding of Paris, improving the French railroads, and influencing the unification of Italy. Thus it is Louis Napoleon Bonaparte that deserves the credit for achieving the more significant reforms in France.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Relevance of Political Parties in Presidential Elections essays

The Relevance of Political Parties in Presidential Elections essays As I survey the list of candidates on my absentee ballot for the 2004 general elections, one thing sticks out. Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, and Conservative- the list of Political Parties are endless. Even though no mention in the Constitution was made of parties and James Madison, in Federalist no. 10, defines a faction as a "number of citizens...united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community (Madison, 1787)." Certainly this sounds an awful like what many Americans would consider a Political Party. However, the modern-day political party has differed greatly than the party's of yesteryear. These days' political parties, specifically the two major ones, concern themselves more with nominating and electing candidates, emphasizing winning of office in the short term as opposed to governing and influential policy making (Cotter, 1984, p. 3). This is a far cry from the party bosses and political machines of the early 20th century, like Ohio Republican Party Boss Mark Hanna who was widely believed to have wielded great power behind the scenes of the McKinley presidency. The Republican and Democratic Parties of today serve as powerful surrogates for their respective candidates' campaign, helping out with propaganda like TV commercials, internet ad campaigns and post-debate spin, or "get out the vote" efforts, but they don't have the influence over a candidates' position on the issues or actual day to day operations of a campaign like they used to. As will be shown, political parties are still very important for understanding American electoral politics today, as without the backing of a major one, a candidate could not be elected president. As mentioned previous, political parties at one time exerted a great deal more influence on a presidential candidate. An example of this would be the presidential e...

Monday, October 21, 2019

14 Life Hacks Youve Never Heard of That Can Be Used Every Day

14 Life Hacks Youve Never Heard of That Can Be Used Every Day Life hacks can be incredibly useful in helping us in our daily lives. Here are 14 life hacks you’ve never heard of but can apply to your everyday life. Source: [SlipTalk]

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Mantis Shrimp Facts (Stomatopoda)

Mantis Shrimp Facts (Stomatopoda) The mantis shrimp is not a shrimp, and except for the fact that its an arthropod, its not related to the praying mantis, either. Instead, mantis shrimps are 500 different species belonging to the order Stomatopoda. To distinguish them from true shrimp, mantis shrimps are sometimes called stomatopods. Mantis shrimps are known for their powerful claws, which they use to bludgeon or stab their prey. In addition to their fierce hunting method, mantis shrimps are also known for their extraordinary sense of sight. Fast Facts: Mantis Shrimp ï » ¿Scientific Name: Stomatopoda (e.g., Odontodactylus scyllarus)Other Names: Stomatopod, sea locust, thumb splitter, prawn killerDistinguishing Features: Eyes mounted on movable stalks that can move independently of one anotherAverage Size: 10 centimeters (3.9 in)Diet: CarnivorousLife Span: 20 yearsHabitat: Shallow tropical and subtropical marine environmentsConservation Status: Not evaluatedKingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ArthropodaSubphylum: CrustaceaClass: MalacostracaOrder: StomatopodaFun Fact: A strike from a mantis shrimp claw is so forceful it can shatter aquarium glass. Description There are over 500 species of mantis shrimps in a range of sizes and rainbow of colors. Like other crustaceans, the mantis shrimp has a carapace or shell. Its colors range from brown to vivid rainbow hues. The average mature mantis shrimp is around 10 centimeters (3.9 in) long, but some reach 38 centimeters (15 in). One was even documented at a length of 46 centimeters (18 in). The mantis shrimps claws are its most distinctive feature. Depending on the species, the second pair of appendage- known as raptorial claws- act as either clubs or spears. The mantis shrimp can use its claws to bludgeon or stab prey. Vision Stomatopods have the most complex vision in the animal kingdom, even exceeding that of butterflies. The mantis shrimp has compound eyes mounted on stalks, and can swivel them independently of one another to survey its surroundings. While humans have three types of photoreceptors, a mantis shrimps eyes have between 12 and 16 types of photoreceptor cells. Some species can even tune the sensitivity of their color vision. Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) eyes. Sirachai Arunrugstichai / Getty Images The cluster of photoreceptors, called ommatidia, are arranged in parallel rows into three regions. This gives each eye depth perception and trinocular vision. Mantis shrimps can perceive wavelengths from deep ultraviolet through the visible spectrum and into far red. They can also see polarized light. Some species can perceive circularly polarized light- an ability not found in any other animal species. Their exceptional vision gives the mantis shrimp a survival advantage in an environment that can range from bright to murky and allows them to see and gauge distance to shimmering or translucent objects. Distribution The mantis shrimp lives in tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Most species live in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Some species live in temperate marine environments. Stomatopods build their burrows in shallow water, including reefs, canals, and marshes. Behavior Mantis shrimps are highly intelligent. They recognize and remember other individuals by sight and smell, and they demonstrate an ability to learn. The animals have a complex social behavior, which includes ritualized fighting and coordinated activities between members of a monogamous pair. They use fluorescent patterns to signal each other and possibly other species. Reproduction and Life Cycle On average, a mantis shrimp lives 20 years. During its lifetime, it may breed 20 to 30 times. In some species, the only interaction between males and females occurs during mating. The female either lays eggs in her burrow or carries them around with her. In other species, shrimp mate in monogamous, life-long relationships, with both sexes caring for the eggs. After hatching, offspring spend three months as zooplankton before molting into their adult form. A peacock mantis shrimp carrying its egg ribbon, Anilao, Philippines. Brook Peterson/Stocktrek Images / Getty Images Diet and Hunting For the most part, the mantis shrimp is a solitary, reclusive hunter. Some species actively stalk prey, while other wait within the lair. The animal kills by rapidly unfolding its raptorial claws with an astounding acceleration of 102,000Â  m/s2 and speed of 23 mps (51 mph). The strike is so quick it boils water between the shrimp and its prey, producing cavitation bubbles. When the bubbles collapse, the resulting shockwave hits prey with an instantaneous force of 1500 newtons. So, even if the shrimp misses its target, the shockwave can stun or kill it. The collapsing bubble also produces weak light, known as sonoluminescence. Typical prey includes fish, snail, crabs, oysters, and other mollusks. Mantis shrimps will also eat members of their own species. Predators As zooplankton, newly hatched and juvenile mantis shrimp are eaten by a variety of animals, including jellyfish, fish, and baleen whales. As adults, stomatopods have few predators. Several species of mantis shrimp are eaten as seafood. Their meat is closer in flavor to lobster than shrimp. In many places, eating them carries the usual risks associated with eating seafood from contaminated waters. Conservation Status Over 500 species of mantis shrimps have been described, but relatively little is known about the creatures because they spend most of their time in their burrows. Their population status is unknown and their conservation status has not been evaluated. Some species are kept in aquaria. Sometimes they are unwelcome aquarium denizens, as they eat other species and can break glass with their claws. Otherwise, they are valued for their bright colors, intelligence, and ability to craft new holes in living rock. Sources Chiou, Tsyr-Huei et al. (2008) Circular Polarization Vision in a Stomatopod Crustacean. Current Biology, Vol 18, Issue 6, pp. 429-434. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.02.066Corwin, Thomas W. (2001). Sensory adaptation: Tunable colour vision in a mantis shrimp. Nature. 411 (6837): 547–8. doi:10.1038/35079184Patek, S. N.; Korff, W. L.; Caldwell, RL. (2004). Deadly strike mechanism of a mantis shrimp. Nature. 428 (6985): 819–820. doi:10.1038/428819aPiper, Ross (2007). Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-33922-8.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

High School vs College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

High School vs College - Essay Example Students in both community colleges and high schools tend to have some common and different experiences as far as school life is concerned. High school students in major occasions are usually younger than the community college students. This discourse tends to compare and contrast experiences in community colleges with that of high school. Students in community colleges tend to have few interactions with their teachers compared to those in high school. The community college students may be required to spend classes on certain intervals for a period like thrice a week. On the other hand, those in high school have a daily educative routine meaning they attend classes on a daily basis unless it is a public holiday or the school is in recession. This fact is attributed by the fact that high school has a determined curriculum and syllabus which must be completed in good time before the students sit their end semester examinations. This is different from community colleges as there is no c lear syllabus or even curriculum. Such schedule compel the students in high school to concentrate more on academics while those in community colleges may create some time for extra-curriculum activities like sports, art and technology among others. There are more students in classrooms in high school compared to community colleges. Being few enable students in community colleges to have good interactions with teachers and ask relevant questions as far as education is concerned. However, this may be impossible with the high school students as their teachers may not have all that time to have a private teaching session with each student. This is a big disadvantage to the academically weaker students who may require some special tutor after the normal classes. Some parents have really blamed the routines and traditions in high school since weaker students are not well taken care of. Community colleges tend to help students grow their talents and passions as there is ample time for one to practice and research more on the talents. Researches indicate that the majority of innovative individuals, gifted athletes, and musicians went through community colleges. Community colleges tend to help the students identify their areas of interest while high school prepare them to join universities among other units of tertiary education and pursue their dream courses. Students in high school tend to pursue general courses in their first years but they later concentrate in their majors after the second year. It takes some good grades to major in certain courses and this compels the students to work extra hard and meet such targets. This does not apply with the community students as they have no specific targets or competitions. College life between community college students and those in high school tend to have some differences. Students in high school may live in some dormitories or hostels which enable them to mingle and promote their social lives. However, some students may opt to commute from their homes to cut the accommodation charges. However, the majority of community colleges reside from their respective homes meaning there is limited time to mingle, learn from one another, and generally develop their social skills. High schools have various clubs like debating, drama, art, social affairs, science and mathematics clubs among others where students tend to meet on regular intervals. Students tend to make new friends, break monotony, and develop their personal skills as they mingle together (Hamed, 79). However, this does not apply in the community colleges as there is no such clubs and the fact that there are few students to create such forums. High school is never an alternative but a

Malware and computer system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Malware and computer system - Essay Example Malware is every computer owner nightmare due to the known effects that come with them. The name malware which owe its derivation from the two names malicious and software has universally been used to refer to these softwares. This malicious software can be thought of us a program that is specifically created by someone who intendeds to disrupts normal operation of the computer. Some of these malware are intended to gather sensitive information from the computer or with the intention of accessing the private computer system. The history of these computer malware date back to as early as 1986 when the first computer malware was made for PC by the two Pakistani brothers. Since then there has been so many advances as far as the malware are concerned from the then window malware which had the mail worms and the macro worms. Later there was the network warms that came through the internet then finally new malware like the rootkit and ransomware were to be found in the computer systems in the later years. Today malware include the computer viruses, ransomware, worms, rootkit, keyloggers, dialers, spyware, adware, malicious BHOs and Trojan horses (Skoudis & Zeltser, 2004). Body of the Report During the last twenty four hours our computer experts have be up to task due to the so many computer malware that have been detected and has thus given us a hell of trouble as far as the function ability of the computers systems are concerned. To begin with our experts have had to deal with the menace of computer virus, computer worms, rootkits and ransomware, spyware and backdoor malwares (Christodorescu, 2006). Computer virus During the last twenty four hours one of the malware that has really given our Information Technology experts a lot of headache is the computer virus. A computer virus can be said to be a malware that harms the computer by spreading within the infected files and this has to be with the aid of other software since it is only during the time of program execution when the code is executed. Specifically our computer system was under attack by the so called Randex which is a computer virus that falls under the memory resident virus affected all the file that were being opened by the user of the computer. It was so hard to deal with this virus since it was specifically located in the RAM of the computer. The computer user subsequently lost control of the system memory to this virus that then was later responsible for the corruption of the many programs that the user was trying to open. In most case the virus not only closed programs that had already opened but also made multiples of copies for the files in the memory and even renamed most of the files thus grounding the user as far as the use of the computer is concerned. Computer worms Secondly, our experts had so much difficulty in dealing with the computer worms that were detected in the computer system. Computer worms can be thought of as the malware that act independently and thus must not attach itself to computer software in order to affect a file. Most of these worms work by

Friday, October 18, 2019

Perspective on International Trade and Finance Assignment

Perspective on International Trade and Finance - Assignment Example This paper focuses on the trade disputes involving China, the impact and the determinants of foreign exchange rates, the valuation of the Chinese currency before and after the reforms. This paper also discusses the options that are available to China for reform of its exchange rate system. Introduction The level of exports by China had amplified radically from $250 billion in the year 2000 to a proposed $1,500 billion in the year 2009. This massive increase of Chinese exports severely hampered rival businesses in the developed countries, predominantly the Europe and the United States. In 2001, China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO), which ascertained China the right to export to countries like US and the Europe. Nevertheless, the entry to the WTO necessitated China to stick on to certain regulations that were required to endorse fair trade and generate a level playing ground for all. Various issues such as the safeguard of intellectual property, labour and environmental ben chmarks, health and safety apprehensions about Chinese products, China's management and manoeuvring of their currency, and expenses and prices established by the government instead of the free markets gave rise to a number of trade disputes. This paper investigates the different types of trade disputes and the endeavours made by China to solve them. A lot of disputes were rooted in the Chinese cultural practices as well as in ideological outlook and hence take time to resolve. Deficiencies in the legal and court arrangement in China also effected the enforcement of various rules. Additionally, many of the disputes originated due to the government's wish to guard the welfare of Chinese organizations and their workforce, and consequently China might modify its practices only if faced with convincing penalizing threats. The central government of China also encountered the "principal-agent" crisis where its decisions or requests could be overlooked by the local governments and organizat ions. In the meantime, modifications in business structure within the developed countries were changing the negotiation positions of the governments of those countries (Conklin & Cadieux, 2009). Analysis of the Case Issues Arguments of the different parties After the entry into the WTO, China started taking part in international trades. However, China did not impose criminal procedures and punishments on the infringement of intellectual property rights; neither did it build identical health and safety standards that were implemented in the western countries. The extensive health and safety, along with the labour and environmental regulations in the developed countries, added the expenses involved for the manufacturers located there. Since China did not enforce such strict standards, the Chinese manufacturers had unfair advantage over the western ones. Moreover, China did not honour the property ownership of western manufacturers because the Chinese manufacturers were creating employ ment and promoting domestic prosperity via counterfeiting. But this activity of Chinese manufacturers hurt the volumes of sales and the profit margins of the western

Narrative situations to emulate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Narrative situations to emulate - Essay Example Thus, I usually have a very hectic time-table and rarely find time to go out for a walk. Today, everything seemed to be fine and I walked out of my apartment to enjoy an evening walk through the park. Everyone in the park appeared casual and normal - all of them engaged in something or the other. It was all customary about the park until my eyes met this young gentleman holding a mobile phone to his ears. I did never search anything odd about him, but everything to me was just that! From the moment I found something strange about his walking, I began to discern several odds about him, one after the other. He was too immersed in his telephonic conversation to have forgotten his immediate present and surroundings. He deviated from the pavement several times and ran into the other persons along for the ride, not one time but many a time. As I began watching him closely from a short distance, I noticed that his face looked very pale and he was going crazy at times. He seemed to be trying to convince someone with something or to argue over something very hot and terrible. At times he was out of words and his body talked more than his tongue. There was not a single person in that whole region who did not take a notice of that young guy who was sometimes horrible and the other times too calm.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Am I A Good Match for My Current Nursing Position Term Paper

Am I A Good Match for My Current Nursing Position - Term Paper Example And when it comes to instrumental values, I hold dependability and trust very close to my heart. I highly value these structures which I set for myself in terms of my career aspirations and my personal growth. I firmly believe that these are the value structures which are adopted by people in the nursing field. I also believe that personal development is the key to improve self-knowledge, identity, talents as well as enhancing the quality of life.   For me, nursing is not a career but a way of life. I thrive hard to be the best that I can be through my personal development and dedication in my line of duty. I firmly believe that my skills are a good match with your current position through my progress, my recent strength quest analysis and my interviews with my supervisors. Summary of Strengths Quest Findings:   Through my strength quest activity, I come to a final conclusion that I have the abilities that it needs to be in my current position and it increases my confident that I am good match for my current nursing position. The strength insight reports reflect my development, positivity, empathy, input and individualization. In the developer section, it mentions that one of my strength is that I engage myself in group activities and projects which is extremely important in my line of work. It states that I find purpose or meaning in the simple things that money cannot buy. Nursing is all about giving, rising up to the challenge and communicating with other people comfortably. It also mentions that I have a playful spirit to tackle serious challenges and opportunities. In the positivity section, I did quite well. It states that I acknowledged newcomers or outsiders to my world easily  and that I am comfortable having a conversation with a stranger. It mentions that I am carefree, cheerful and easygoing. It also states that I have the ability to pull together massive informations, ideas or facts for later use. These are also important factors to become a great nurse. As a nurse one should be able to put on a cheerful face, have the zeal to learn more and be practical in life. In the Empathy section, what makes me stand out is my ability to detect impending conflict sooner than most people. I also have the gift for helping people in resolving their difference which makes me resolve others differences politely and courteously. It also mentions that I have the ability to calm those who are struggling with the uncertainty of change. This is very crucial in a nursing field as we have to deal with people suffering from various diseases on a daily basis. In the input section, what makes me stand out is my courage to express my doubts about certain ideas, theories or concept which is a pivotal instrument to gain knowledge. I also have the ability to put aside my emotions and calmly absorb information. I also enjoy the act of reading and collecting information. In the individualization section, what makes me stand out is my ability to identi fy talents, skills, knowledge, motivations of an individual. It also mentions that I am a willing person to help others around me and that I find life’s joy through helping someone in need. Supervisor’s View of an Effective Leader: In my interview with my supervisor, I found out her view about what leadership skills constitute to become an effective  leader. Leadership is not about having the power to control others or dominating other people.

Company Profiles of HSBC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Company Profiles of HSBC - Essay Example Historical Background HSBC was reported to have been founded by â€Å"Thomas Sutherland, a Scot who was then working for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company† (HSBC Global Site, 2012, par. 2). Its establishment was disclosed to have been fuelled by the perceived need to finance increasingly expanding trade between Europe, China and India. As such, the first bank was noted to have been opened in 1865 in Hong Kong and in Shanghai, China one month after. In the UK, its official website disclosed that the roots of HSBC bank was traced from the establishment of Birmingham and Midland Bank which was founded by Charles Geach in Union Street in the city of Birmingham on the 22nd of August, 1826. Only in 1992 was it officially identified as part of the HSBC Group by joining as member. Historical facts revealed that in September of 1999, the Midland Bank was already renamed HSBC Bank to communicate to the public its corporate leadership as a global financial bank. Compan y Structure and Organization HSBC UK is governed and headed by its CEO, Brian Robertson. Three managing officers report directly to him under Personal Financial Services, Business and Commercial Segment, and Commercial Banking (The Official Board.com 2012 ). Main Products and Services The categories of HSBC’s products and services are initially classified into two broad categories: personal and business. Under personal products and services, there are four distinct offers: everyday banking; borrowing, savings and investing, and insurance. Under business products and services, HSBC provides professional advices regarding starting a business; and banking depending on stipulated capitalization ranging from turnover up to ?2m (business banking); turnover of ?2m to ?25m (commercial banking) and turnover in excess of ?25m (corporate and structured banking). Likewise, HSBC offers international banking services that range from maintaining international business accounts, insurance an d protection, internet banking, importing and exporting and even global cash management, among others (HSBC UK 2012) Areas of Operations HSBC UK operates more than 1,500 branches across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. As revealed, HSBC UK scope of operations â€Å"extends to the full range of our commercial, corporate, premier and private banking services - as well as to subsidiary brands like First Direct, M&S Money and HFC Bank. The UK is also home to our global headquarters, 8 Canada Square. Located in the heart of Canary Wharf, 8CS is one of the country's tallest buildings, spanning 42 floors and employing more than 8,000 people across hundreds of different roles† (HSBC Bank plc, 2012, par. 2). Financial Structure The financial highlights sourced from HSBC’s financial interim reports for the period ended June 30, 2011 are summarized below, with comparative figures from June 30, 2010: Financial Highlights (?M) June 30, 2011 December 30, 2010 Net Inter est Income 3,622 3,710 Profit for the Period 1,435 979 Total Assets 857,288 798,494 Total Liabilities 824,760 766,137 Total Equity 32,528 32,357 Source: HSBC Bank plc, Interim Report 2011 ` From the financial highlights, it could be deduced despite the apparent 2.43% decline in net interest income of HSBC from the December 30, 2010 period to June 30, 2011, the profit for the same period exhibited a remarkable increase from

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Am I A Good Match for My Current Nursing Position Term Paper

Am I A Good Match for My Current Nursing Position - Term Paper Example And when it comes to instrumental values, I hold dependability and trust very close to my heart. I highly value these structures which I set for myself in terms of my career aspirations and my personal growth. I firmly believe that these are the value structures which are adopted by people in the nursing field. I also believe that personal development is the key to improve self-knowledge, identity, talents as well as enhancing the quality of life.   For me, nursing is not a career but a way of life. I thrive hard to be the best that I can be through my personal development and dedication in my line of duty. I firmly believe that my skills are a good match with your current position through my progress, my recent strength quest analysis and my interviews with my supervisors. Summary of Strengths Quest Findings:   Through my strength quest activity, I come to a final conclusion that I have the abilities that it needs to be in my current position and it increases my confident that I am good match for my current nursing position. The strength insight reports reflect my development, positivity, empathy, input and individualization. In the developer section, it mentions that one of my strength is that I engage myself in group activities and projects which is extremely important in my line of work. It states that I find purpose or meaning in the simple things that money cannot buy. Nursing is all about giving, rising up to the challenge and communicating with other people comfortably. It also mentions that I have a playful spirit to tackle serious challenges and opportunities. In the positivity section, I did quite well. It states that I acknowledged newcomers or outsiders to my world easily  and that I am comfortable having a conversation with a stranger. It mentions that I am carefree, cheerful and easygoing. It also states that I have the ability to pull together massive informations, ideas or facts for later use. These are also important factors to become a great nurse. As a nurse one should be able to put on a cheerful face, have the zeal to learn more and be practical in life. In the Empathy section, what makes me stand out is my ability to detect impending conflict sooner than most people. I also have the gift for helping people in resolving their difference which makes me resolve others differences politely and courteously. It also mentions that I have the ability to calm those who are struggling with the uncertainty of change. This is very crucial in a nursing field as we have to deal with people suffering from various diseases on a daily basis. In the input section, what makes me stand out is my courage to express my doubts about certain ideas, theories or concept which is a pivotal instrument to gain knowledge. I also have the ability to put aside my emotions and calmly absorb information. I also enjoy the act of reading and collecting information. In the individualization section, what makes me stand out is my ability to identi fy talents, skills, knowledge, motivations of an individual. It also mentions that I am a willing person to help others around me and that I find life’s joy through helping someone in need. Supervisor’s View of an Effective Leader: In my interview with my supervisor, I found out her view about what leadership skills constitute to become an effective  leader. Leadership is not about having the power to control others or dominating other people.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

HRM Case Study on You Never know Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

HRM Case Study on You Never know - Essay Example Many deserving people are fighting to get a basic job which will at least pay their mortgage and on the other hand, people who cannot even read properly, let alone develop strategies for a company, get great jobs. Why is this? It all boils down to the resume. If someone has carefully crafted their resume by making even their simplest and easiest tasks show up as if they have climbed Mount Everest, it is obvious that it will impress the company. On the other hand, there are also those who are so gullible that they will not show up their most important experiences clearly so that they become overshadowed in the resume and don’t earn them as much credit as they deserve. The fault can also be ascribed to companies for not being thorough in their selection. More often than not they may drop a very worthy candidate’s resume in the bin just because the font was not right or his English Language might be a little weak. I personally know a case from â€Å"Reckitt & Benkiser† who rejected a girl candidate for their Management Trainee program because her father was a retired employee of â€Å"Unilever†. They might have had this assumption that she will pass on secrets to a rival company. Everyone does not make their own resume. As a business student I know that there might be a handful students who â€Å"really† know how to do this job well and everyone will come up to them to get their resume made. Either this, or there may be people who hire professional help to get their resumes made. This practice happens in abundance because companies look for, and hire, only those candidates who have a snappy line in their resume which will catch the eyes of the company. Writing a goal has never been tougher. Simply writing â€Å"to get a good job in a multinational company to make a career† is never enough. You have to write â€Å"explore my horizons in the prestigious working environment this company offers and make my time in this

Monday, October 14, 2019

Syntax and Semantics Essay Example for Free

Syntax and Semantics Essay In programming language theory, semantics is the field concerned with the rigorous mathematical study of the meaning of programming languages. It does so by evaluating the meaning of syntactically legal strings defined by a specific programming language, showing the computation involved. In such a case that the evaluation would be of syntactically illegal strings, the result would be non-computation. Semantics describes the processes a computer follows when executing a program in that specific language. This can be shown by describing the relationship between the input and output of a program, or an explanation of how the program will execute on a certain platform, hence creating a model of computation. Semantics reveals the meaning of syntactically valid strings in a language. For natural languages, this means correlating sentences and phrases with the objects, thoughts, and feelings of our experiences. For programming languages, semantics describes the behavior that a computer follows when executing a program in the language. We might disclose this behavior by describing the relationship between the input and output of a program or by a step-by-step explanation of how a program will execute on a real or an abstract machine. Semantics is concerned with the interpretation or understanding of programs and how to predict the outcome of program execution. The semantics of a programming language describe the relation between the syntax and the model of computation. Semantics can be thought of as a function which maps syntactical constructs to the computational model. This approach is called syntax-directed semantics There are several widely used techniques ( algebraic, axiomatic, denotational, operational, and translation) for the description of the semantics of programming languages. †¢Algebraic semantics describe the meaning of a program by defining an algebra. The algebraic relationships and operations are described by axioms and equations. †¢Axiomatic semantics defines the meaning of the program implicitly. It makes assertions about relationships that hold at each point in the execution of the program. Axioms define the properties of the control structures and state the properties that may be inferred. A property about a program is deduced by using the axioms. Each program has a pre-condition which describes the initial conditions required by the program prior to execution and a post-condition which describes, upon termination of the program, the desired program property. †¢Denotational semantics tell what is computed by giving a mathematical object (typically a function) which is the meaning of the program. Denotational semantics are used in comparitive studies of programming langauges. †¢Operational semantics tell how a computation is performed by defining how to simulate the execution of the program. Operational semantics may describe the syntactic transformations which mimic the execution of the program on an abstract machine or define a translation of the program into recursive functions. Operational semantics are used when learning a programming language and by compiler writers. †¢Translation semantics describe how to translate a program into an other langauge usually the language of a machine. Translation semantics are used in compilers. Much of the work in the semantics of programming languages is motivated by the problems encountered in trying to construct and understand imperative programs programs with assignment commands. Since the assignment command reassigns values to variables, the assignment can have unexpected effects in distant portions of the program. Syntax In computer science, the syntax of a computer language is the set of rules that defines the combinations of symbols that are considered to be correctly structured document or fragment in that language. This applies both to programming languages, where the document represents source code, and markup languages, where the document represents data. The syntax of a language defines its surface form.[1] Text-based computer languages are based on sequences of characters, while visual programming languages are based on the spatial layout and connections between symbols (which may be textual or graphical). Documents that are syntactically invalid are said to have a syntax error. Syntax refers to the ways symbols may be combined to create well-formed sentences (or programs) in the language. Syntax deï ¬ nes the formal relations between the constituents of a language, thereby providing a structural description of the various expressions that make up legal strings in the language. Syntax deals solely with the form and structure of symbols in a language without any consideration given to their meaning. Syntax – the form – is contrasted with semantics – the meaning. In processing computer languages, semantic processing generally comes after syntactic processing, but in some cases semantic processing is necessary for complete syntactic analysis, and these are done together or concurrently. In a compiler, the syntactic analysis comprises the frontend, while semantic analysis comprises the backend (and middle end, if this phase is distinguished). Syntax versus semantics The syntax of a language describes the form of a valid program, but does not provide any information about the meaning of the program or the results of executing that program. The meaning given to a combination of symbols is handled by semantics (either formal or hard-coded in a reference implementation). Not all syntactically correct programs are semantically correct. Many syntactically correct programs are nonetheless ill-formed, per the languages rules; and may (depending on the language specification and the soundness of the implementation) result in an error on translation or execution. In some cases, such programs may exhibit undefined behavior. Even when a program is well-defined within a language, it may still have a meaning that is not intended by the person who wrote it. Using natural language as an example, it may not be possible to assign a meaning to a grammatically correct sentence or the sentence may be false: †¢Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. is grammatically well-formed but has no generally accepted meaning. †¢John is a married bachelor. is grammatically well-formed but expresses a meaning that cannot be true. Statement In computer programming a statement is the smallest standalone element of an imperative programming language. A program written in such a language is formed by a sequence of one or more statements. A statement will have internal components (e.g., expressions). Many languages (e.g. C) make a distinction between statements and definitions, with a statement only containing executable code and a definition declaring an identifier. A distinction can also be made between simple and compound statements; the latter may contain statements as components.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

A Concussion is No Laughing Matter Essay examples -- Exploratory Essay

A Concussion is No Laughing Matter It’s something we see it in cartoons all the time; one character gets bonked on the head and stars are suddenly floating in the air with the cartoon having a dazed look. However, only seconds later the cartoon is back up and back in action. This may seem funny on the latest saga of Tom and Jerry or Coyote and Roadrunner, but it’s not so funny in real life. Seeing stars, feeling dazed, and losing consciousness may be a type of brain injury called a concussion. A concussion, simply put, is a temporary loss of normal brain function caused by a sudden jolt or blow to the head. Concussions and other types of brain injuries are fairly common. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, â€Å"every 21 seconds, someone in the United States suffers from a brain injury.† Most doctors consider concussions as a mild form of brain injury because they are usually not life threatening (cdc.gov). Even so, the effects of concussions can be serious. Any blow to the head can warrant a concussion. Sport accidents, falls, fights, and car accidents are th... A Concussion is No Laughing Matter Essay examples -- Exploratory Essay A Concussion is No Laughing Matter It’s something we see it in cartoons all the time; one character gets bonked on the head and stars are suddenly floating in the air with the cartoon having a dazed look. However, only seconds later the cartoon is back up and back in action. This may seem funny on the latest saga of Tom and Jerry or Coyote and Roadrunner, but it’s not so funny in real life. Seeing stars, feeling dazed, and losing consciousness may be a type of brain injury called a concussion. A concussion, simply put, is a temporary loss of normal brain function caused by a sudden jolt or blow to the head. Concussions and other types of brain injuries are fairly common. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, â€Å"every 21 seconds, someone in the United States suffers from a brain injury.† Most doctors consider concussions as a mild form of brain injury because they are usually not life threatening (cdc.gov). Even so, the effects of concussions can be serious. Any blow to the head can warrant a concussion. Sport accidents, falls, fights, and car accidents are th...

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Light and Sight in The Good-Morrow Essay -- Good-Morrow Essays

Light and Sight in The Good-Morrow John Donne’s poetry deals with themes of creation and discovery. In his work "The Good-Morrow," these issues are discussed through the use of poetic symbols. Donne gives major emphasis to the sense of sight as a way of discovering pure love. The first stanza contains images of sleep and, more generally, the ways in which one’s eyes can be closed to the world. Donne uses phrases like "not weaned" (2), "childishly" (3), and "dream" (7), to suggest the idea that when one’s eyes are closed, there is more than light that is denied from the sense of sight. In the visual example given, his imagery goes beyond that which is normally associated with the absence of light. Figuratively speaking, the narrator is talking about the light which comes from being knowledgeable about the ways of the world. In this sense, to have a "dream" of someone is to look at an illusion (7). This presents an interesting paradox. When talking about issues of blindness and sight, one necessarily assumes that some kind of light is present. Sight only comes into play when one is either denied vision or given the privilege of vision in the material world. To the speaker, a world without the presence of light has no concept of basic form. The last two lines of the first stanza deal with this issue. Those lines state,"If ever any beauty I did see,/Which I desired, and got, ‘twas but a dream of thee." (6-7) Though the speaker is in a place where there is no light, within the world of the sleeping dream, shades of "beauty" have come to him, and he has mistook them for the true light of beauty introduced in the next stanza. Throughout stanza two, images waking into the daylight world replace the dark images of slee... ...Through the act of looking, the outside world can be viewed as a direct manifestation of the power of true love. The opening line of this stanza reads,"My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears," (15) Giving the reader an image showing the circular reflection of a face within an eye suggests the form of a world existing within the gaze of the speaker. The reflected image is actually a world of potential, filled with hope of love, that creates a light all its own. The last lines of the poem allude to this,"If our two loves be one, or thou and I/Love so alike that none do slacken, none can die." (20-1) The speaker, and perhaps Donne himself, is given the power of life eternal through the love he finds in his partner’s eyes. Their "two loves" are truly "one" if by the grace of their emotions for each other, they can imagine a life together where,"none can die†

Friday, October 11, 2019

Tourism: An Attractive Industry For Economic Development

ABSTRACT Tourism is widely recognized as an important catalyst for economic growth. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the tourism industry is amongst the biggest industries that make substantial contribution to the economy in terms of its contribution to the GDP, the revenue generated, increased employment and other benefits. The success of the tourism industry begs the question what are the characteristics that make it an attractive industry for economic growth. In order to respond to this question, this analysis will explore on the various tourist attraction sites including natural and cultural attractions, heritage sites, national and wildlife parks, theme parks, gardens and museums, beaches and coastal regions, and entertainment and events. This will include examining how these attractions contribute to economic development. UK will be used as the case study. INTRODUCTION Tourism is widely recognized as an important catalyst for economic growth. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the tourism industry is amongst the biggest industries that make substantial contributions to the economy in terms of its contribution to the GDP, the revenue generated, increased employment and other benefits (Business tourism 2003). Take for example the UK, the 6th largest destination in the world attracting over 32 million overseas visitors yearly (Williams et al., 2010). UK’s tourism industry is the 5th largest industry and contributes to a large proportion of the GDP. In 2007, the industry was valued at ?114 billion representing 8.2% of GDP and employing over 2.65 million people (Williams et al., 2010). In 2009, the industry was valued at ?115.4 billion of the UK economy, hence representing 8.9% of UK GDP (Williams et al., 2010). The tourism industry is further anticipated to grow yearly at 2.6%, a growth rate similar to that of retail and construction industries (Williams et al., 2010). Indeed, tourism increasingly continues to become an attractive industry for economic growth with an increasing number of visitors. This begs the question what are the characteristics that make tourism an attractive industry for economic developmentThis analysis is thus intended on exploring on these characteristics with a focus on the factors that lead to economic development. Before giving an overview of the fundamental aspects of the economics of tourism, we will first define what we understand by the term â€Å"tourism† WHAT IS TOURISM? The term â€Å"tourism† was first defined by Hunziker and Krapf (1942), the main pioneers of tourism research. They defined tourism as a sum of relations and phenomena that resulted from travelling and staying of non-residents. In this context, a stay does not result into permanent residence of the individual and is not in any way connected to permanent or temporary earning activity. This conceptual definition was for a considerable time generally accepted but had certain flaws. For example, a visit to the hospital could be considered as a form of tourism. Furthermore, under this conceptual definition, non-residents were only identified with foreigners; hence domestic tourism had no place in it. In the later years, a more succinct definition of tourism was put forth by the British Tourism Society. Based on the work of Burkart & Medlik (1974), the British Tourism Society adopted the following definition. Tourism is deemed to be inclusive of any activity concerned with short-term movement of people to destinations other than their neither main continuous domiciles nor place of work (Burkart & Medlik 1974. Within this conceptual definition, activities involving a stay or a visit to the destination are included. It also allows for domestic and day visits as well. This definition still applies up to date. Another conceptual definition that deserves special attention is that put forth by Gilbert (1990). Gilbert (1990) posits that tourism is a part of recreation that involves travelling to other destinations for a short term-period with the aim of satisfying a consumer need. This definition places tourism in the overall context of recreation. Recreation according to Cooper et al. (1993) refers to the pursuits engaged in during leisure time. However, it should be noted that tourism is not only confined to activities carried out during leisure time. Part of the tourism (business tourism in particular) takes place during working time including conventions and business meetings. TOURIST SECTORS Tourism comprise of five main sectors: THE ATTRACTION SECTOR: – this sector comprise of the natural and cultural attractions, heritage sites, national and wildlife parks, theme parks, gardens and museums, beaches and coastal regions, and entertainment and events (Anon 2004). THE ACCOMMODATION SECTOR: – this sector comprise of the hotels, motels, apartments, villas and flats, guest houses, holiday villages, campsites, marinas, touring caravans and condominium timeshares (Anon 2004). THE TRANSPORT SECTOR: – Consists of the airlines, railways, shipping lines, car rental operators, and bus and coach operators (Anon 2004). THE TRAVEL ORGANIZER SECTOR: – the sector covers tour operators, travel agents and incentive travel organizers among others (Anon 2004). THE DESTINATION ORGANIZATION SECTOR: – this includes regional and national tourist offices, local tourist officers and tourism associations (Anon 2004). In order to answer the question: what are the characteristics that make tourism an attractive industry for economic development, we will explore on the attraction sites discussed above. This will also include exploring on business tourism and its contribution to economic development. CULTURAL AND HERITAGE ATTRACTIONS Cultural and heritage attractions play a significant role in the tourism industry. Most of the world heritage sites have a cultural significance that transcend national boundaries and of importance to the present and future generations. Currently, there are 890 world heritage sites reflecting a rich diversity of the world’s cultural heritage (Endresen 1999). In the United Kingdom, sites as diverse such as the Giant’s Causeway, City of Edinburgh, Blaenavon Industrial landscape, and Manchester City help make up the UK’s heritage (UNESCO 2009). In this context, Manchester city, one of the most vibrant cosmopolitan cities has a thriving art and cultural scene that attracts a large number of visitors. The city’s attraction centres include the sports stadiums, museums and galleries, and music venues (UNESCO 2009). The rich cultural heritage, vibrant arts scene and the multicultural population in UK makes it a very attractive tourist destination. Museums which showcase the best of Britain’s culture and history attract millions of international and domestic visitors. Britain’s culture and heritage is estimated to attracting ?4.5 billion worth of spending by inbound visitors annually (UNESCO 2009). NATURAL LANDSCAPE SITES Another popular attractive site in the tourism industry is the natural landscape. Natural landscapes such as Stonehenge, the most famous and mysterious landmark in the UK, attracts a vast number of tourists (Mieczkowski, 1990). Built over 650 years ago and consisting of a ring of monolithic stones, the landmark is a very popular attractive site. Scenic landscapes such as the Wye Valley, an internationally protected landscape straddling the border between Wales and England also attracts a large number of visitors (Mieczkowski, 1990). This area that covers parts of Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire is widely recognized for its gorgeous scenery and dense native woodlands as well as for its wildlife and archaeological remains (Mieczkowski, 1990). NATIONAL AND WILDLIFE PARKS National parks also play a huge role in the tourism industry. Britain’s finest national and wildlife parks, zoos and animal attractions such as the Animalarium attract a large number of visitors (Mathieson & Wall 1982). The national parks offer a variety of activities ranging from walking, exploring on the rich and cultural heritage to pursuing other activities such as cycling, rock climbing, and absailing among others (Mathieson & Wall 1982). An estimated 110 million people are estimated to visit national parks in England and Wales annually (UNESCO 2009). ENTERTAINMENT AND EVENTS Entertainment and events also play a major role in the tourism industry. Majority of the concerts and music festivals taking place in the UK attract more than 7.7 million visitors, domestic and overseas combined (ICTHR 2010). The significant amount of revenue generated from entertainment and events is used in boosting the UK’s economy. A great majority of these tourists are UK residents who travel outside of their regions to attend events and see their favourite artists perform live in another region within the UK (ICTHR 2010). London dominates as the destination for live music tourism in the UK. Music tourists at the capital outnumber the local music fans. Its dominance can be attributed to the high number of domestic music tourists attending concerts. With a population of more than 7 million people, the region is host to the O2 Arena, the most successful concert venue in the world (ICTHR 2010). London region is also a host to Wembley stadium and Royal Albert Hall as well (ICTHR 2010). Its parks, mainly Victoria Park, Hyde Park and Clapham are home to a growing number of music festivals (ICTHR 2010). BEACHES AND COASTAL AREAS Beaches and coastal areas are also a huge attraction site for tourists. Tourism in the south of Wales, for example, is primarily focused on the coastal areas in order to attract its visitors. The Welsh tourist industry which is worth ?3.5billion and makes a significant contribution to Wales’ GDP relies largely on its excellent coastal scenery in attracting tourists (Williams, et.al, 2010) BUSINESS TOURISM Another important, yet least acknowledged component of the tourism industry is business tourism. It is one of the most lucrative components of the tourism industry with various benefits that stimulate the growth of the economy. In the UK, business tourism is a wide sector encompassing Conferences and meetings – the British Conference Market Trends Survey 2001 estimates this to be worth around ?7.3 billion annually (Business report 2003). Exhibitions and trade fairs: – these are listed as the 5th largest marketing medium in the UK attracting 11% of the media expenditure and are estimated at ?2.04 billion annually (Business report 2003). Incentive travel: – the value of inbound incentive travel market is estimated to be around ?165 million annually (Business report 2003). Corporate events: – estimates for this segment are between ?700 million and ?1billion annually (Business report 2003). Outdoor events: – a rough estimate of the outdoor events is around ?1billion annually (Business report 2003). In the past few decades, business tourism has grown significantly exceeding the overall tourism growth rate. According to the International Passenger Survey 2001, business tourism accounted for 29.7% of all overseas visitors to the UK and 31.7% of the inbound earnings (Business report 2003). From what can be discerned, investment in business tourism can significantly stimulate the growth of the economy. It may lead to regeneration of urban and inner cities as evident with Birmingham, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast and Manchester (Business report 2003). Its resilience during the great recession makes it even more an attractive industry for investment. The business tourism proved resilient, being less affected by economic downturns and by disasters such as the Foot and Mouth Epidemic unlike leisure tourism (Business report 2003). With the above in mind, it is worthy examining some of the main elements that make attractions to be appealing to many. CHARACTERISTICS OF TOURIST ATTRACTIONS It is important to recognize that tourists’ attractions are not all equal. Some may have more potential to draw visitors than others. The main elements that set attractions apart include quality, uniqueness, authenticity, drawing power and activity options. QUALITY: – high quality is a key principle for tourism development. This means offering smooth customer oriented operations and procedures and ensuring that attractions have a pleasing appearance and that they are visitor friendly (Merchant 2005). This includes asking these questions Is the attraction visitor friendly .How does it rate in terms of the appearance, hospitality, operations and resource protection AUTHENTICITY: – authenticity refers to originality. For example, if it is a cultural heritage attraction, authenticity would imply letting the distinctive local flavour of the community to shine in ways that create a â€Å"sense of place†(Merchant 2005). We can consider: Whether the attraction reflects the natural and cultural heritage of the community UNIQUENESS: – this is the â€Å"edge† that sets attraction apart from competition. It involves asking the fundamental question: Is the attraction unique Take for example, The London Eye which is sitting on the South Bank of River Thames. Hanging like a gigantic wheel, this landmark is instantly recognizable. It is currently the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe standing 135 metres high and supported by a giant A-frame which juts the spindle (UNESCO 20090. This makes it unique from other Ferris wheels which use two A-frames and axle support method. DRAWING POWER: – this is a measurement on the power to attract a large number of visitors (Merchant 2005). ACTIVITY OPTIONS: – this is an important characteristic of attractions (Merchant 2005). It involves assessing whether the attraction site offer a varied and changing set of activities. CONCLUSION Indeed, tourism is an attractive industry for economic development. Major attraction sites including the scenic landscapes, cultural and heritage sites, national and wildlife parks, landmarks, theme parks, gardens and museums, beaches and coastal regions, and entertainment among others attract a large number of visitors. There is no doubt that the industry contributes to a large proportion of the GDP and is responsible for employing millions of people. This makes it an important industry for investment. (2,070 words) REFERENCES Anon, 2004. Economic characteristics of the tourism sector, http://v5.books.elsevier.com/bookscat/samples/9780750666374/9780750666374.PDF {Accessed 21st January 2012} Burkart, A.J. and S. Medlik, 1974. Tourism. Past, Present and Future. London: Heinemann. Cooper, C., J. Fletcher, D. Gilbert and S. Wanhill, 1993. Tourism. Principles & Practice. London: Pitman Publishing. Business tourism partnership report, 2003. Business tourism briefing: an overview of the UK’s business tourism industry. London http://www.businesstourismpartnership.com/pubs/briefing.pdf {Accessed 20th January 2012} Endresen, K., 1999. Sustainable tourism and cultural heritage: A review of development assistance and its potential to promote sustainability http://www.nwhf.no/files/File/culture_fulltext.pdf {Accessed 20th January 2012} Gilbert, D.C., 1990. â€Å"Conceptual issues in the meaning of tourism†. In: C.P. Cooper (ed.), Progress in Tourism, Recreation and Hospitality Management, Vol. 2. London: Pitman Publishing. Hunziker, W. & k. Krapf, 1942. Grundriss der Allgemeinen Fremdenverkehrslehre. Zurich: Polygraphischer Verlag International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research (ICTHR), 2010. The contribution of music festivals and major concerts to tourism in the UK. London: Bournemouth University. http://www.ukmusic.org/assets/media/UK%20Music%20-Music%20Tourism.pdf{Accessed 22nd January 2012} Mathieson, A. and G. Wall, 1982. Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts. London: Longman. Merchant, R., 2005. Tourism attraction characteristics. Community tourism handbook: Minnesota Extension. http://nercrd.psu.edu/entrepreneur_what_works_wksp/Handouts/MerchantCharacteristics23.pdf {Accessed 20th January 2012} Mieczkowski, Z., 1990. World Trends in Tourism and Recreation. New York. UNESCO, 2009. World heritage sites. http://www.unesco.org.uk/world_heritage_sites {Accessed 20th January 2012} Williams, et.al, 2010. An assessment of UK heritage coasts in South Wales: J A steers revisited. Journal of Coastal Research. http://www.griffith.edu.au/conference/ics2007/pdf/ICS087.pdf {Accessed 20th January 2012}