Introduction to Tourism Destination Planning & Development Essay

Tourism provides a major economic development opportunity for many countries and a means of improving the livelihoods of its residents. Both the public and private sectors involved in tourism depend on planning to achieve sustainable tourism development that respects the local community, creates appropriate employment, maintains the natural environment, and delivers a quality visitor experience. Tourism destinations that pursue development without proper planning would face several negative impacts upon the community and host region, such as the erosion of the region’s cultural identity as well as the destruction of landscapes. Malaysia is situated in Southeast Asia and consists of 13 states and 3 federal territories, separated by the South China Sea. 11 of Malaysia’s states are located in Peninsular Malaysia and 2 in east Malaysia, situated on the island of Borneo. The capital city of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government and I skandar is known as the administrative center. Tourism is Malaysia’s second largest foreign exchange earner, with a total number of 1,817,061 tourist arrivals in January 2012 alone and 9,438,592 in the following five months[], nearly a hundred thousand more than in the first five months of 2011. Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Dato’ Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen has stated that total receipts from tourism in this period was RM 21.8 billion[] and according to the National Key Economic Area annual report in 2011, the tourism industry is projected to provide and incremental contribution of RM 66.7 billion to the country’s National Gross Income. All these show the very rapid growth of Malaysia’s tourism sector. Moreover, the tourism industry in Malaysia has also been noted to have provided a number of 1.2 million jobs in the country, helping boost the economic and socio-economic development of Malaysia; whether directly or indirectly, tourism has helped generate employment in industries such as agriculture, handicraft, hotel, transport and arts and culture[], while simultaneously conserving aspects of history, culture, heritage and environment of the country. Malaysia’s attractiveness as a tourist destination can be largely contributed by the fact that, in line with its international tagline ‘Malaysia, Truly Asia’, it is a colourful hotpot of cultural diversity. Malaysia’s community consists of not only Malays, Chinese and Indians, but also a number of ethnic people such as the Kadazandusun and Iban in Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the Selatar clan in Johor. With its multi-cultural heritage and ‘exotic’ traditions, food and festivals, many tourists are drawn to visit the country every year. In addition, Malaysia also has the advantage of having a warm, tropical climate all year long, something which many Western travellers look forward to enjoying, as well as having the advantage of being free of major natural disasters such as volcanoes or earthquakes. Malaysia is also proud to have UNESCO-listed World Heritage Sites to its name, primarily the Gunung Mulu Geo-Park in Sarawak[], and the historical sites of Malacca[], with Mulu attracting 15000 tourists annually[] while Malacca welcomed more than four million between January and April this year[]. Recently, it has been revealed that the tourism industry was allocated an RM358 million under Budget 2013 in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2013/2014, in order to reach a target of 26.8 million arrivals for the coming year[]. The Government will also review domestic policies and regulations regarding foreign equity restrictions and limits on employment of foreign talent, as well as rules governing recognition of international qualifications, requirements for commercial presence, composition of board of directors, and residency for expatriates[] in order to assist in liberalising the services sector to reach its full potential in Malaysia. Successful implementation of tourism destination development involves a lot of planning, in terms of the assessment of available resources at the destination, marketing strategies to be undertaken, economic and financial analysis as well as an analysis of the market, the environment and also the social impacts of the development. In this assignment, I will attempt to measure the planning process and effects of it in regards to the state of Pahang in Malaysia. Introduction- Pahang Pahang is the third largest state in Malaysia and is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and by the South China Sea. Its state capital is Kuantan, and the royal town is Pekan. Approximately 1.5 million people reside in Pahang to date and the ethnic composition is roughly 1,000,000 Malay and Bumiputera, 233,000 Chinese, 68,500 Indians, 13,700 others, while the rest are non-citizens. Geographically diverse, Pahang ranges from mountainous country in its west to one of the longest coastline in the east of Peninsula Malaysia[]. There has been evidence found that indicates the earliest habitation of Pahang leads back all the way to the Mesolithic Era. Once famous for the deposits of tin and gold found along the upper reaches of the Tembeling River, Pahang had attracted the interest of outside powers long before the founding of Malacca in 1400. Under the control of the maritime empire of Srivijaya, Pahang had expanded to cover the entire southern portion of the Malay Peninsula in the 8th and 9th Centuries. With the collapse of Srivijaya power around 1000, Pahang was claimed first by the Siamese and then, in the late fifteenth century, by Malacca. After Malacca fell to the Portuguese in 1511, Pahang became a key part of the territorial struggles between Acheh, Johor, the Portuguese, and the Dutch. Repeated raids, invasions, and occupations devastated the state, until the decline of both Achenese and Portuguese power in the early 17th century allowed Johor to re-establish its influence on the much fought-over state. In the late eighteenth century, Pahang gradually gained autonomy, and in the middle of the nineteenth century it had become an independent state[]. The name ‘Pahang’ has been said to originate from the language of a Siamese ethnic tribe, meaning ‘ore’. The tribe once live there and opened up several mining areas, especially in Sungai Lembing. According to an old Malay story, at the place near the Pahang River, on the opposite side of Kampung Kembahang, a large ‘mahang’ tree fell across the river, thus the name ‘Pahang’ originated. The old name of Pahang is Inderapura[]. Two thirds of this huge state is covered in forest, thus Pahang’s population is dependent mainly on agriculture and natural resources. There is extensive palm oil, cocoa and rubber cultivation. Due to its long coastline, fishing and tourism related activities are prominent in Pahang and there are some small-scale manufacturing and cottage industries which residents are also dependant on[]. The tourism mission of Pahang is: Promoting Pahang as a Major Tourism Destination based on cultural heritage and natural resources for the socio-economic development of the state.[] Resources of Pahang The Arabic honorific of Pahang is Darul Makmur (â€Å"Abode of Tranquility†), an apt description of the state, with its lush tropical forests, cool mountain air, beaches, lakes and waterfalls nestling in the arms of mountain crevices. Pahang is truly a wild land with a picturesque and ethereal natural beauty beyond comparison. However, Pahang has more than that and its resources can be roughly categorized into different classes; natural resources, cultural resources, and manmade resources. Natural Resources of Pahang True to its fame, Pahang is home to many beautiful and breathtaking natural sites and wonders. It is home to unexplored rainforests, carefully preserved wildlife habitats, undisturbed ecological sites and raging, wild rivers and waterfalls. 1. Taman Negara The natural heart of Pahang is unquestionably Taman Negara, Malaysia’s oldest national park, lovingly referred to as â€Å"The Green Heart†. Gazetted as a National Park in 1938, Taman Negara is Malaysia’s largest and oldest natural park, with over 4000 km2 of wild, virgin rainforest. Although it also spans across the states of Terengganu and Kelantan, its largest protrusion is into Pahang. It is carefully conserved and protected due to its status as one of the last remaining frontiers of pristine rainforest, not only in Malaysia, but in the world. Taman Negara has a wide variety of flora and fauna, like the long-tailed macaques and rare Sumatran rhinos, as well as over 250 species of flora. One of the most frequented tourist attractions at Taman Negara is the Canopy Walkway, a suspension bridge of strong ropes, cables, net and wood that hangs 40 metres above the ground from which tourists are able to appreciate the park’s natural beauty without disturbing its resident wildlife. There are also several limestone hills in Taman Negara that have stayed undisturbed since several hundred millions of years ago. Some of the popular caves are Gua Telinga, Gua Kepayang, Gua Daun Menaru and Gua Luas. Visitors also have the chance to take a 40 minute boat trip up the Tahan River to the Lata Berkoh Waterfall, where they can get the invigorating experience of swimming in the cool waters of the deep pool beneath the fall. Adventure-seeking tourists are also able to shoot up the 7 rapids of the Tembeling River, which takes about 5 minutes as it is a 9km ride. With the help of a hired guide, visitors can also go jungle trekking to experience Taman Negara up close along well-marked trails like the Tahang, Terenggan and Neram Trail.   As Taman Negara is so meticulously guarded, tourists need to obtain certain permits or licenses in order to gain access to the park. These licenses differ depending on the tourist’s particular intention and can be applied for at any Department of Wildlife counters located at the Kuala Tembeling Jetty or Kuala Tahan. The permits and respective fares are listed in the following table.

Case 6.6 Essay

Charles Tollison, Audit Manager 1. I strongly believe that Charles Tollison is qualified for a partnership position as he puts in long hours worked year-round and solves the most difficult accounting/auditing issues. He is considered the â€Å"technician† of the company because of his abilities of micromanaging his jobs and being involved in every aspect of them. It shows that he cares for the company; but he needs to invest more time in getting more clients, contracts for the organization, rather than spending all of his time solving accounting/audit issues. These are matters that someone else can handle in order for him to qualify as a partner. 2. I strongly believe that the firm did not treat him fairly. They know very well that he is a hard worker that devotes most of his time with the company and has promised him year to year that he will get promoted. Instead, they are promoting his fellow audit manager, Craig Allan because of all the connections and the new clients he brought to the firm. They can suggest Charles Tollison to shift some of his time from the audit/accounting work and try to bring in new contracts, as that is one of the major qualifications of a partner. 3. As a large international accounting, the criteria used when evaluating individuals for promotion to a partner is to place emphasis on the individual’s behavior, personal expectations, aggressiveness, and individual achievement. Job success with international firms is primarily dependent upon the individual’s technical competence, advancement does not occur without the development of management skills. In order to be considered a partner you need to learn more sophisticated management skills such as communicating, organizing, motivating, and directing the efforts of larger and more numerous teams of staff and senior accountants. By the time a person is considered for partner, his or her primary responsibilities, in order of importance, are that of client development, staff supervision, and, finally, technical accounting activities. Thus, while technical ability is the most important skill needed at the start of a career, it is not the most important skill needed to be come a partner of a large international accounting firm. Smaller accounting firms establish different criteria for evaluation individuals for promotion to partner as is an informal process and typically based on a person’s technical competence. Promotion is somewhat limited within small accounting firms. 4. Some accounting firms manage their staffs according to an â€Å"up or out† policy governing both promotions and staff retention. The advantages of this type of management is that only those people with the potential to become partners is equivalent to retaining those with the greatest intelligence and skills, meaning a stronger and more productive work force in the firm than would exist if people with lower potential were retained, no matter how valuable they otherwise might be. Moreover, it can seem more honest and straightforward than the tendency of many employers to retain staff by giving them false indications of their future prospects for promotion. Disadvantages are the high turnover work environment of an â€Å"up or out† policy. It is one device to keep all employees constantly on their toes and exerting themselves at full speed, at times with extensive work weeks as an ongoing proposition.

Final Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final - Assignment Example Looking at solar energy this is the sun’s energy that undergoes conversion by an n equipment to produce desired power to use as lamps and heat in the school, house, and industries. Other form of energy such as gas and coal comes from fossils, which will not remain available for long. To add on that, this fossils pollutes the air and hence causing harm to human being. Solar energy is clean and readily available furthermore its distinction is not measurable. This equipment produces light for human being to use. It can be streetlights, house light or even vehicle light. The different types of bulbs include those that save energy and those that use significant amount of energy. Basing to fluorescent ballasts, this bulbs tent to use small amount of energy compare to the other light emitting bulbs. Again this ballast supplements long life and to lamp and cost reasonably. This lamps are wired in parallel thus when one lamp blows off, the other one remains illuminated. This lamp is cheaper to install and use, also does not produce pollution in the environment. A green house is essential in that the plants use up carbon, which in turn produces oxygen that offers good air purification. In implementation, it is cheap since its easier to access it and more cheaper to organize the whole field. These plants are effective to human since they purify the air as well as using the sun making human kind to benefit from the rays. In the end, this leads to energy conservation. In both industrial and commercial buildings, fan is critical in that, it provides a source of cool breeze that gives comfort to workers. This fan is capable of blowing warm air that may be because of hot heat from the machine. This fan has ability to reduce up to 25% of heat produced in the industry. Wind is essential in the rotation of turbines making it give power for some big

Ethnographic Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethnographic Study - Essay Example But one word from her will silence him forever, and he will never bother her again. If, however, her feelings have changed, he has to tell her that she has bewitched him body and soul and he loves her. Lizzie comes forward, just as the sun was rising, and catches Darcy's hand in hers. She kisses it and tells him, your hands are cold. And they slowly bent their heads forward, touching each other's mind. The next part is Jane pacing the front of the door of her father's study. It opens and Darcy went outside, Lizzie rushes forward, without looking at Darcy. Then, as she was asked by her father to close the door, she turns back, gives Darcy a smile full of love, her heart on her eyes, as she slowly took her time to do her father's wish. Inside the study, Mr. Bennet asks Lizzie if she has lost her mind, as he thought Lizzie to despise the man. Lizzie denies the allegation. Mr. Bennet states that Lizzie will have more fine carriages than Jane, and if by being rich will make her happy Lizzie asks him if he has no objections than her indifference with Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bennet says none at all. He then added that Darcy is a proud unpleasant sort or fellow but that it would be nothing if she liked him. Lizzie states that she does. Her father nodded. Until she added that she loves him. Her father was surprised and Lizzie states that of all of them, she was the one who has mistaken him; who has judged him, that he is not a proud fellow. She also added that Mr. Bennet doesn't know him, doesn't know what he's done. Mr. Bennet then asked Lizzie what Mr. Darcy has done, and the scene cuts off to show Mr. Darcy pacing the courtyard, as Mrs. Bennet and Jane was looking out the window to him, telling each other the impossibilities of the situation as they thought that Lizzie disliked the man immensely. Then Jane stated that they must be wrong about Lizzie's true feelings, and Mrs. Bennet states that it isn't the first time, and Jane laughingly said, "No, it isn't. And it certainly isn't the last." While in the study, Mr. Bennet takes the full blow of Lizzie's confession about Darcy. He realizes the grave debt that he has now owed to the man. He wanted to pay Darcy, but Lizzie declined, stating that nobody must know, and that Darcy wouldn't like it. Lizzie then says that they have misjudged him in every way; that they are so much alike, both of them are fools as well as stubborn. And with this admission, Mr. Bennet burst out laughing, saying that Lizzie does love the man. So he heartily gave his consent. Lizzie hugs her father, saying thank you. The first cultural aspect shown in the scene was the apology for the behaviour of Darcy's aunt the previous night. This was to ensure that Lizzie knows that Darcy was against his aunts' actions and that he is sorry for the hurt it may have caused her. In this part, common courtesy was present, even in the early 19th century, where this movie was set, courtesy and respect are two most important factors for the titled and important people; even for the lower ones. Even up to now, common courtesy is still practiced as it is known to be the upbringing of a person's life since childhood. It is a brand and a name and it places people into a bracket of identity. Common courtesy also calls that Lizzie declines the apology, as she knows that

Manchesters Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership Essay

Manchesters Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership - Essay Example The objective of this paper is to assess the Manchester's CDRP 2005-2008 Strategy through mapping its objectives and current outcomes. This will require the study of the program's rationale, objectives, methods and results. In the course of this study, the research will be able to develop insights regarding the prevalence of crime in the area, its impact to the community and determine future needs regarding the issue. At the end of this assessment, the research will demonstrate understanding and knowledge of criminality in Manchester, provide analysis of the Manchester's 2005-2008 CDRP Strategy and evaluate the significance of "culture of control" to crime and related activities in the area. The significance of the role of society in criminal control has grown in significance in criminal justice systems due to its inclusion in the prevailing management programs for the concern. This view is supported by Garland (2001, pp. 44-48) in his emphasis of the correlation of social order and crime in contemporary societies. He sees in particular the growing directness of the relationship between control and crime which he characterizes as a "culture of control". ... Albert Bandura's (1975, pp. 57-59; 111-117) studies, considered as foundations of modern criminal behaviors studies, highlight the importance of the interactions of individuals and their respective environments. The suggestion is that as one's personality develops, his social experience creates the conditions for behavioral tendencies (Weisner et al, 2003, p. 321). As such, the Crime and Disorder Act has emphasized its perspective that the prevalence of crime or any disorderly behaviors can be then considered as a product of the individual personality traits and one's social experience. In the same manner, the Act has also recognized that deterring crime is dependent on the level of reinforcement socially learned behaviors are in an individual. In a study of juvenile crime behavior, researchers suggested that the focus on control rather than prevention deters the effectiveness of programs directed towards crime (Tarolla et al, 2002, pp. 17-18). Efforts are limited as management measures, reactive rather than responsive to crime issues. This leaves the issue of prevention at a disadvantage, a state which does not deter the impact of crime to society and contributes little to actual reduction of crime (Weisner et al, 2003, pp. 322-323). Management of interventions is then developed from the identification and matching of competencies of the offices involved in the program. Governance is done collectively subscribing to the requirements of Crime &Disorder Act provisions but also in recognition of the need to develop collective insights to crime issues and trends. To be able to create develop insights to crime control strategies there is a need to consider the

Wonhyo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wonhyo - Essay Example He did much of his work in reforming and taking Buddhism to people who did not know about it. He lived a religious life. His major focus was based on harmonizing spiritual principles with the real daily life in order to attain targeted goal. In interpreting the meaning of Buddhism he used dance, music and literature. The three were the things which were cherished by a majority of the Koreans, hence decided to incorporate them in his mode of spreading Buddhism to the Korean people. He believed that if he used the things people interacted with most in their daily activities he could be able to reach them easily. Indeed he successfully achieved his goal of spreading Buddhism in Korea. This shows that his approach was excellent. He influenced many people hence the religion of Buddhism extensively spread in Korea. His impact in Korean Buddhism religion is remembered up to date. 1 1 De Bary, William Theodore. 2008. Sources of East Asian tradition. New York: Columbia University Press. His l ife spanned through three empire reigns. At the start of the united Silla, he played a very significant responsibility in the welcoming and acclimatization of the wider extent of traditional practices which entered the Korean Penisula at that time. He was the first person to arrange and schematize Buddhism of Korea introducing the many doctrines and harmonized them to suit both common people and philosophy scholars. The idea which was significant to his work of harmonizing Buddhism practices was the theory of insight which revolves around the world but not beyond it. He enlightened Korean people on the Buddhism religion. He is a legendary among the ten Sages of the old Kingdom of Korea. His legendary was due to his work that he did especially in transforming Buddhism in Korea. He cherished the religion of Buddhism to an extent that he could endure unfavorable conditions to spread the it and convince both scholars and lay persons to be united in Buddhism norms and traditions. The phi losophy of Wonhyo is positive because of the effect of Taoism. He had inherited his Budhism teachings from Madiyamika. Different from Nagarjuna, who refused the development of all traditions, Wonhyo assimilated them into a single structure. The ultimate goal of the two was the same irrespective of having different concerns in harmonization. The perspective of hermeneutic of wonhyo is developed on a thorough wide-ranging understanding which incorporated the norms of Taoism and Buddhism of Indians. Wonhyo collaborated with other Chinese counterparts and introduced the religion of Buddhism to the court of the Kingdom of Kuguryo. At this time, Siila, Baekje and Silla were the only kingdoms in Korea. Wonhyo formed a group of people who were responsible in spreading Buddhism to other two kingdoms; Silla and Baekje. The propagation was very efficient in that he and his group had learnt how to convince and attract people to adopt the religion of Buddhism. He thought them the traditions, nor ms and practices of Buddhism. He thought them the importance of obeying the norms and traditions and the consequences they would face if they violated them. He merged the gap which existed between the learned men such the philosophers, writers and commentators and the common layman people. The philosophers were responsible in studying the religion and advocating for traditions and norms which to them seemed to be correct and right and could benefit the community of Buddhism. Initially, the relationship which existed between the Buddhism philosophers and layman people was cold. This could be a great impediment in the adoption of religion and implementation of its norms. Wonhyo thought that clearing the bad relations between the two parties could enhance the

Multi Channel Merchandising Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Multi Channel Merchandising - Case Study Example In this report, the case study is chosen to a health care hospital, a service industry. The Heath care facility chosen for the case study is UK Health care, one among the best in UK. UK HealthCare is the patient care enterprise of University of Kentucky Medical Center. UK HealthCare consists of the medical, nursing, health sciences, public health, dental and pharmacy patient care activities of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, and in several off-site locations. It has one among the best health care facilities in the world. It utilizes the expertise of various faculty of University to provide the best possible service to its patients. The physicians, residents, staff and students take pride in achieving excellence in patient care, education, and research and community service. With all its world class facilities, it provides the most advanced patient care and serves as an information resource for the whole industry. UK HealthCare is part of an academic medical center that has a thriving research community. Medical advances are frequently made in a wide variety of health care disciplines. All the elements of UK HealthCare's strategic plan for the future focus on one ambitious goal: achieving Top 20 status among all academic medical centers nationwide. UK HealthCare is committed to providing the highest-quality and safest patient care possible.UK health care is becoming a medical destination where the patients can seek the best in specialty and subspecialty care. Their demand for health care is ever growing within the industry. UK HealthCare is more than just a hospital and a physician practice. As a major health resource for the region and the state, it is an organization dedicated to providing the most advanced and comprehensive patient care underpinned by cutting-edge medical research and the education and training of tomorrow's health professionals. UK HealthCare facilities include UK Chandler Hospital, Kentucky Children's Hospital, UK HealthCare East, Kentucky Clinic, Polk-Dalton Clinic, Kentucky Clinic South, 80 specialized clinics, 143 outreach programs, and a team of 6,000 physicians, nurses, pharmacists and health care workers all dedicated to patient health. It includes some of the highly acclaimed centers, including the Center for Advanced Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, Radiation treatment facilities and Transplant Center. The unique capabilities of this health care facility is it ability to combine multispeciality group to enable care providers of UK HealthCare to provide multidisciplinary teams for patient care. Such teams are useful for managing complex medical and surgical cases. The Hospital also pioneers in various departments of health care and serve as a resource center for the local health care community. It attracts patients from many countries with its state of art facilities and the capability to treat any health care problems. Current State of Industry: In a 2007 report by the Commonwealth Fund, the UK was ranked first among six developed countries for its provision of healthcare, in relation to quality of care, access, effectiveness and efficiency. Healthcare services have contributed to some dramatic improvements in the health of people in England and Wales over the last 20 years. This is attributed to the improvements in health care facili

Why Civil Forfeiture in Law Enforcement is an Effective Tool Essay

Why Civil Forfeiture in Law Enforcement is an Effective Tool - Essay Example is administered towards more rehabilitative efforts of reforming the criminals and integrating them back into society made it necessary they are given the means to get back on their feet. A modern version of this concept is not directed at an individual criminal but more on the crime syndicates by depriving them of their ill-gotten gains and compensate victims (Young 1). There are two kinds of forfeitures being carried out today: criminal and civil cases. In the first case, criminal forfeitures are the result of a court settlement or a judicial award in that the convicted criminal is punished by taking away the assets after a conviction. In civil cases, the government files suit to recover a property item but not against the propertys owner. The owner himself is reduced to being a third-party claimant who has to prove the money used to buy or acquire the property came from legal or legitimate sources. The objectives of the new civil forfeiture laws are two-fold: deprive the criminals of the facilities and properties they use to commit their crime or furtherance of their criminal activities and use the proceeds of these seized properties to support law enforcement, such as hiring more cops or increasing a budget. An order for a civil forfeiture recovery case does not require a prior criminal conviction. The whole intent is to disable criminals from e ventually resuming the activities (Edgeworth xxii). The only requirement for filing a forfeiture case is probable cause a certain property is being used in criminal activities. A property owner, on the other hand, has to prove otherwise through a preponderance of evidence that it was acquired using legitimate sources of income. The new laws today reversed the situation in that it is now the government that has to prove it using a preponderance of evidence instead of the previous probable cause only that can be a source of abuse of power and arbitrariness on the part of law enforcement agencies. In other words, the

Human Resources Management and Training Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Management and Training Essay A writing audit contains some basic rundown of key sources, yet it, for the most part, has a hierarchical example and joins both outline and mix, regularly inside particular reasonable sorts. A synopsis is an audit of the fundamental data of the source, however, a union is an improvement, or a rebuild, of that data in a way that illuminates how you are wanting to examine an exploration issue. The systematic highlights of a writing audit may: †¢ Give another clarification of old material or blend of new with old understandings, †¢ Trace the subjective improvement of the field, including principle talks about, †¢ Based on the circumstance, asses the sources and guide the peruser on the most reasonable or pertinent, or †¢ Usually, in the consummation of a writing survey, distinguish where defects exist in how an issue has been looked into to date. The reason for a writing survey is to: †¢ Place each work in the encompassing of its presentation to the comprehension of the exploration issue being considered, †¢ Describe the association of each work to the others under survey, †¢ Identify better approaches to clarify, and shed light on any defects in past research, †¢ Solving issues among as far as anyone knows nullification of past examinations, †¢ Point the path in dealing with a requirement for additional examination, and †¢ Discover your own particular discoveries inside the setting of existing writing. The writing survey which was utilized: †¢ Methodological Survey : This approach gives a structure of comprehension at various levels (i.e. those of hypothesis, substantive fields, investigate methodologies and information accumulation and examination strategies), empowers specialists to draw on a wide variety of understanding going from the applied level to useful archives for use in hands on work in the zones of ontological and epistemological thought, quantitative and subjective reconciliation, testing, talking with, information gathering and information examination, and helps feature numerous moral issues which we ought to know about and consider as we experience our examination. †¢ Argumentative Audit This shape analyzes writing specifically so as to help or disprove a contention, profoundly embedded figure, or philosophical blemishes effectively settled in the writing. The design is to build up a group of writing that sets up a contrarian perspective. Given the esteem loaded nature of some sociology inquire about [e.g., instructive change; migration control], contentious ways to deal with dissecting the writing can be honest to goodness and essential type of talk. Nonetheless, take note of that they can likewise present issues of predisposition when they are utilized to make rundown cases of the sort found inefficient surveys. †¢ Theoretical Audit The target of this frame is to inspect the corpus of the hypothesis that has aggregated with respect to an issue, idea, hypothesis, wonders. The hypothetical writing audit help builds up what speculations as of now exist, the connections between them, to what degree the current speculations have been explored, and to grow new theories to be tried. Regularly this shape is utilized to help set up an absence of suitable speculations or uncover that momentum hypotheses are insufficient for clarifying new or developing examination issues. The unit of examination can concentrate on a hypothetical idea or an entire hypothesis or structure.

Licensed Casino Gambling Essay Example for Free

Licensed Casino Gambling Essay Individual effects: Is gambling generally harmful to the individual gambler?| Yes * Gambling is irrational and reckless and should, therefore, be regulated by the government. There may be the possibility of winning a big prize, but the overwhelming likelihood is that a gambler will lose money. This is ensured by the fact that Casinos are profit-minded organizations, and calculate their odds so that they will always make a profit. Because gamblers are always likely to lose and suffer as a result, the activity can be seen in many ways as an irrational engagement. Gambling attracts people with little money who are desperate for a windfall. These are the people who can least afford to lose money. They should be protected from the temptation to gamble.| NoContention that the general individual losses from gambling are justified by it being a fun and leisurely activity worth paying for: Gamblers know that, overall, they are likely to lose money. They gamble because it is a leisure pursuit that they enjoy. There is nothing irrational about this. Some people get an enjoyable thrill from the remote possibility that they might win a huge prize – even if they lose, they enjoy the experience. Some forms of gambling are highly sociable. For example, many people go to bingo halls to spend time with friends. Society accepts people spending (â€Å"wasting†?) money on other leisure pursuits with no material benefits (e.g. cinema tickets, watching sport) – gambling should not be any different. It is patronizing to suggest that people, including those on low incomes, should not be able to choose how they spend their money. * Psychological benefits of gambling: Some argue that gambling offers psychological benefits. The psychological benefits may include: 1. A feeling of control (which some describe as God-like). 2. Confidence that extends from feelings of executive control in decision-making. 3. Benefits in the ability to psycho-analyze other peoples thoughts, and placing mone yed interests and incentives behind the results of such psycho-analysis.[1] 4. Total engagement and peak experience. It provides the gambler with peak experience, that godlike feeling when all of ones physical and emotional senses are go.'[2] 5. The release from daily tension. 6. Feelings of exercising the adventurer within us that part of ourselves which lusts for change, the wooing of the unknown, change, danger, all that is newIt is part of what makes us human.[3] 7. Feelings of engaging in a ubiquitous, historical human tradition. 8. Emotions of non-conformity and freedom. One source quoted a gambler who said, All day long you do what them dumb bastard supervisors tell you. Dont make no difference whether it makes sense or not. Sometimes you just gotta get out of line.[4] * Gambling increases individual efficiency: Studies show that, contrary to popular belief, gambling is by and large beneficial to the gambler and increases rather than decreases his efficiency. It is beneficial in that it stimulates, offers hope, allows decision making, and, in many cases,| Crime effects: Does gambling cause an increase in various kinds of related criminal activities?| [][Edit]Yes * Casinos are often associated with criminal activity. Drug dealers and prostitutes ope rate near casinos – they know that there are a large number of potential clients in the area. Casinos can therefore be devastating to neighborhoods.| [][Edit]No * People committing crimes should be prosecuted. The existence of criminals does not make nearby businesses (including casinos) immoral. It is perverse to punish people who just want to gamble (and not take drugs or use prostitutes) by taking away their chance to do so.| Bad industry? Are casinos an industry with bad merit? Is nothing of value produced by casinos?| Yes * Casinos dont produce any product: Many contend that gambling is inappropriate because it does not generate any tangible product. One commentators says that gambling is an ethereal substancea biological substancethat produces highsgenerated usually by anticipation.[5]| No * Contention that casinos are involved in the entertainment business, and need not produce a tangible product: Gambling is a form of entertainment that is similar to many other forms of entertainment; the objective is merely to foster a desired emotional response from the audience. Mo vies, theater, fair-grounds, concerts, sporting-events, and casinos are all similar in that their primary function is to foster an environment of entertainment. That is their product, which need not be physical in order to be viewed as valuable.| Addiction: Is gambling commonly addictive, and would this be a reason for regulating it?| Yes * Gambling is addictive. Many people end up gambling to try to recover money they have already lost. This is known as ‘chasing losses’. It results in people staking more and more money, most of which they will lose. Gambling addicts often turn to crime to feed their addiction. Addiction is highly damaging to families, since gamblers will spend whatever money they can on gambling. People start to gamble without thinking that they will become addicted. Once they become addicted, it is too late. As with drugs, it is better to ban gambling to stop people getting started in the first place. * Analogy that gambling truly is like a drug, and should be treated as a controlled substance: * It is drug-like in the way that it dramatically utilizes human chemicals: William M. Thompson, Gambling: A Controll ed Substance, PBS Interview, 1994 Is the comparison of drugs and gambling unfair? Consider the words of Thomas R. OBrien, formerly Director of Gaming Enforcement for the state of New Jersey. In 1984 he told a conference on gambling that the success of Atlantic City was tied to how well it sold its only products. He then said: That product is not entertainment or recreation or leisure. Its really adrenaline: a biological substance capable of producing excitementhighs and generated usually by anticipation or expectation of a future event, especially when the outcome of that event is in doubt. According to chief regulator of the industry, gambling was not only a drug, but a mind-altering drug. * The addictive and destructive nature of gambling is also drug-like:William M. Thompson, Gambling: A Controlled Substance, PBS Interview, 1994 Where governments do not prohibit, the majority can exercise self-control. Seventy-five percent gamble responsibly. They find it an entertaining diversion. But another 20 percent overindulge. They incur debts that impair abilities to support their families, unless they stop. Usually they can. Four percent cannot stop without intervention of others. Then there are the one-half to one percent (and these are conservative estimates) who fall into destructive behaviors when exposed to gambling. Families are destroyed, friendships broken, employment disrupted. Cycles of deception and crime lead to ruined livesand in many cases, suicide.| No * Contention that gambling is not physically addictive: Unlike drugs, gambling is not physically addictive. It is only psychologically addictive in some people. Only a small percentage of gamblers have an addiction. Many more get enjoyment from gambling without problems – why should these people suffer because a few others get addicted? The risks of gambling addiction are well known. People can make a conscious choice to start gambling, and are aware of the risks of addiction. Treatment programmes can address the problems of those who are addicted.| Economic harm? Do casinos casinos cause economic harm or provide ver y few economic benefits?| Yes * The long-term economic negatives outweigh the short-term economic gains: John Warren Kind, The Business-Economic Impacts of Licensed Casino Gambling in West Virginia: Short-Term Gain but Long-Term Pain, PBS, 1994 While the dollars invested in various legalized gambling projects and the jobs initially created are evident, the industry has been criticized for inflating the positive economic impacts and trivializing or ignoring the negative impacts (Goodman 1994). The industrys tendency to focus on specialized factors provides a distorted view of the localized economic positives, while ignoring the strategic business-economic costs to the state as a whole (such as West Virginia) and to different regions of the United States (California Governors Office 1992, Kindt 1995). In 1994, all of the various experts who testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business criticized the impacts that casino-style gambling activities inflict upon the criminal justice system, the social welfare, system, small businesses, and the economy (Congressional Hearing 1994). Utilizing legalized gambling activities as a strategy for economic development was thoroughly discredited during the hearing. * The actual economic benefits of casinos are exaggerated. They generally only create low-paid jobs for local people; the casino companies usually bring in managers from elsewhere. * There are too many economic externalities surrounding gambling , which nullify the benefits: * Crime * Risky behavior Compulsive gambling may foster poor, sometimes risky money-management habits. These habits may transfer over to other areas of the economy, where risky behaviors translate into a higher likelihood of loss in various markets. * Time consumption Compulsive gambling often entails significant time consumption, which detracts from more productive ends. * Jobs could be created through many other industries that cause fewer moral and practical problems (e.g. theme parks). * Any economic benefits would not matter, if the industry is deemed immoral: * Estimated losses from compulsive gambling: William M. Thompson, Gambling: A Controlled Substance, PBS Interview, 1994 Conservative numbers suggest it costs society $13,000 per year for each compulsive gambler. The losses include treatment costs, lost productivity, criminal activity and judicial costs. Estimating that widespread gambling across America would create one million compulsive gamblers, the resulting annual economic loss would exceed $13 billion.| No * Casinos cause money to be spent on transport infrastructure, which is very beneficial to economies: * Casinos help the tourism industry of a place: The jobs are not just in the casino itself. More jobs are created in hotels and other parts of the tourism industry. * Examples in which casinos have helped to regenerate many places that previously had considerable poverty and social problems: * Atlantic City. * New Jersey. * Legalized gambling on reservations is very important to Native American tribes: Anthony Pico, Chairman of the Viejas Indians, explains the benefits to his tribe of legalized gambling on his tribes reservation in a PBS interview.[6]| Social welfare effects: Are the charitable generations from gambling substantial, and can this go toward justifying their existence?| Yes * It is immoral for the state or charities to raise money by exploiting people’s stupidity and greed. * Gambling is regressive (this means that the poor pay a greater proportion of their income in tax than the rich). This is because poor people are more likely to gamble. Regressive taxation is deeply unfair. * Legalized gambling activities act as a regressive tax on the poor (Clotfelter and Cook 1989). Specifically, the legalization of various forms of gambling activities makes poor people poorer and can dramatically intensify many pre-existing social-welfare problems. Demographic analyses reveal that certain disadvantaged socioeconomic groups tend to gamble proportionately greater amounts of their overall income and marketing efforts, particularly by state lotteries, have allegedly been directed at these target groups. John Warren Kind, The Business-Economic Impacts of Licensed Casino Gambling in West Virginia: Short-Term Gain but Long-Term Pain, PBS, 1994 * Contention that education is harmed by gambling practices: Kind, PBS, 1994 Legalized gambling activities also negatively affect education both philosophically and fiscally (Better Government Association 1992; Clotfelter and Cook 1989). Adherence to a philosophy of making a living via gambling activities not only abrogates the perceived need for an education, but also reinforces economically unproductive activities (and is statistically impossible since the house always wins eventually). In states with legalized gambling activities which were initiated allegedly to bolster tax revenues to education, the funding in real dollars has almost uniformly decreased.| No * Gambling is often used to raise money for the state or good causes. Charities use prize draws to raise funds:| Should online gambling be banned?| Yes * Internet gambling is especially dangerous. Someone can become addicted very easily – they don’t even need to leave their home. This also means that they are gambling in private. They may therefore be less reluctant to wager very large sums they cannot afford. It is very hard to know the identity of an online gambler – there have been several cases of people (including children) using stolen credit cards to gamble online. Online gambling may be hard to control but that is not a reason to try – making an activity more difficult to pursue will still reduce the number of those who take it up. It is not impossible to put effective deterrent steps in place, such as the recent US ban on American banks processing credit card payments to internet ]\.| No * It is impossible to stop online gambling. When it has been banned, people have just used sites based in other countries. It is better to legalize and regulate online gambling than to drive gamblers to poorly-regulated foreign operators. Regulation can reduce the problems identified by the proposition. For example, online gamblers can be required to give personal details when registering (e.g. occupation, income). If this information suggests they are spending more than they can afford, the company can block their credit card. In any case, most online gamblers do not get addicted. Why should they be denied an activity that they enjoy?|

The general concept of contemporary strategic procurement

The general concept of contemporary strategic procurement This research paper introduces the general concept of contemporary strategic procurement and some of contemporary strategic procurement issues, including services procurement, corporate social responsibility, procurement in merging market, ethics in procurement. But this research paper focuses on such issues as sustainable procurement including its benefits and some main environmental issues that should be taken into account in the procurement activity, based on a global mining organization, Rio Tinto Group. Those main environmental issues mentioned in this research paper refer to climate change and greenhouse gas emission. Next, it is discussed that how to implement the sustainable procurement strategy and it takes Rio Tinto Group as an example. Later in the research paper it is discussed an important question that is why it is critical for mining organization to be sensitive to sustainability and from three respects including resource scarcity, environmental impact, and supplier se lection. At last, it is showed that a critical market mechanism, carbon emission trading, which is a hot topic with the development of sustainable economy. It is on the purpose of achieving greenhouse gas emission reduction. Introduction In recent years, corporations are in the intense global competition. It is evident that it is hard for company to remain its competitive advantage just by production and sales. Nowadays, increasingly more organizations view procurement as a critical source for improving the competitive advantage. However, the conventional procurement is lacking of explicit procurement strategy, whats more, is neglecting to form the long-term relationships with the supplier. Facing with all kinds of development tendency affects procurement prospective, companies are demanded to pay close attention to the strategic procurement. What is strategic procurement? To begin with, strategic procurement is the procurement which distinguishes from the conventional procurement that focuses on purchasing items at a possible lowest price. In other words, strategic procurement concentrates on total cost ownership (TCO), namely, life cycle cost (LCC). Secondly, strategic procurement is that through advanced planning, scheduling, and team purchasing initiatives as well, a company can achieve effective cost reduction. Apart from hard dollar savings, there will be additional savings generated through a more efficient business operations and hence increased profitability. In the case of resource limitation of a corporation, explicitly understand internal demand and external supply, supplier capacity and market condition, in order to manage the relationships with suppliers effectively and efficiently and to establish the long-term strategic partnerships with suppliers. By means of strategic procurement, it enables company to be aware of its type of internal demand more explicitly so as to make control of the demand. In once sense, through some valuable analysis an organization can make clearer of the production process of supplier and cost structure even than the supplier, and these analysis also supports the organization in terms of supplier selection, negotiation, supplier relationships management and so on. Therefore, the organization can give up supplier who doesnt meet requirements, moreover, look for the new substitute to improve the holistic level of supplier. When it comes to the critical principles of strategic procurement, the lowest acquisition cost, win-win strategic partnership, integrated purchasing capability and so on should be taken into account. With the development of contemporary strategic procurement, it indicates a host of strategic procurement issues such as services procurement, corporate social responsibility, procurement in merging market, ethics in procurement. This research paper focuses on sustainable procurement and some environmental issues like carbon emission and climate change, with Rio Tinto Group which is a world leader in finding, mining and processing the earths mineral products include aluminum, copper, diamonds, gold, and energy products such as coal and uranium, and industrial minerals like borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc, zircon, a nd iron ore. As we know, sustainability is one of the hottest topics people talk about in this modern society. Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For human beings, sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions. Another word which is also mentioned is sustainable development. Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come. In the concept of business, sustainable procurement, also called green procurement, is a spending and investment process typically associated with public policy, although it is equally applicable to the private sector. Sustainable procurement broadens the framework of procurement which has historically been based on two criteria, price and quality. It takes account of third-party consequences of procurement decisions, forming a triple baseline of external concerns which the buying organization must fulfill. There are two essential parts in terms of sustainable procurement. First part is to purchase raw materials and/or products to meet the current customers needs and/or to meet the requirements of production to fulfill current customers demands. Second part is to preserve the ability of the coming generations to meet their needs. Sustainable procurement encompasses all issues where procurement is seen as having a role in delivering economic, social and environmental policy objectives. Specifically speaking, sustainable procurement means that when buying goods and services, some consideration needs to be taken into account. For instance, avoid unnecessary consumption and manage demand; minimize environmental impacts of the goods and services over the whole-of-life of the goods and services; consider suppliers socially responsible practices including compliance with legislative obligations to employees and value fo r money over the whole-of-life of the goods and services rather than just initial cost. In addition, use sustainable or recycled materials and/or products; consider the availability of the product. Organizations practicing sustainable procurement meet their needs for goods, services, utilities and works not only on a private cost-benefit analysis, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimizing damage to the environment. Sustainability can be incorporated into the whole procurement process: defining the need, evaluating options, design and specifying, supplier selection, tender evaluation, post-contract management and supplier development. It has been already integrated within the mainstream of procurement policy and practice. If the mining industry is to retain its access to resources, it must understand the sustainability better. Thus, it can continuously improve its performance and succeed in restoring public trust. How significant is sustainable procurement? To begin with, there are a number of environmental issues with mining organizations including Rio Tinto. Environmental issues can include climate change, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water. In particular, that people pay more attention is climate change which is a hot topic of discussion worldwide. In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, climate change usually refers to changes in modern climate. It may be qualified as anthropogenic climate change, more generally known as global warming or anthropogenic global warming. Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of earths near-surface air and ocean; arise from increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases. Global warming results in extreme weather, increased freshwater flow, sea level and temperature rise, and it is detrimental to the social system and biological system. As matter of fact, a host of activities of human beings and companies are contr ibuting to climate change. For instance, Rio Tinto Groups coal operations contributed to global warming. Carbon dioxide emissions are the most important cause of global warming. As a consequence, in order to achieve environmental protection thus resource can be met not only in the present but also for generations to come, at the same time, not bring harm to the economic interest of a company, the company needs to conduct sustainable development. Among the contemporary strategic procurement issues, sustainable procurement is listed into a key issue. When it comes to the benefits of sustainable procurement, first of all, it reduces adverse environmental impacts arising from the procurement activities of human beings and companies. For instance, it reduces waste to landfill, saves water, reduces air and water pollution, saves money through reusing materials and products, reduces consumption of both natural and processed resource, and decreases carbon emission. In terms of carbon emission, as mentioned above, it is the most critical cause of global warming and is mostly generated by the heavy industries like the mining organization. As one of serious issues that all mankind faces, a host of developing countries even some developed countries are taking actions to limit carbon emission primarily via some economic and political measures such as voluntary agreement, carbon dioxide tax and carbon trading. Carbon emissions trading is a form of emissions trading that specifically targets carbon dioxide and it currently constitutes the bul k of emissions trading. It is a general method that countries utilize so as to fulfill their responsibility specified by the Kyoto Protocol. In this respect, sustainable procurement builds a sustainable supply chain for the future. And it is with the addition of assisting in the protection of environmental biodiversity all over the globe, and ensuring the health and safety of the community. Secondly, it is the benefit from more sustainable goods and services. That means by choosing to invest in the sustainable solutions, it can influence the decisions made by other bodies and by individuals. Demand for sustainable goods and services can help to make these solutions more generally available, at more affordable prices to the purchasers. Buyers who conduct sustainable procurement will also demand their suppliers for sustainable products and services. As a result, the whole supply chain will become sustainable. Thirdly, sustainable procurement will be likewise more efficient use of shar eholders resources. Specifically, for the shareholders, what they pay most attention is the cost. And sustainable procurement reduces costs through greater energy efficiency, waste disposal, risk management, and the costs for products over the life cycle. In general, sustainable procurement plays a key role in the both economic and environmental development in that it identifies more sustainable ways of meeting requirements and designs sustainable procurement specifications accordingly. The approach can address the social, economic and environmental implications of product and service choices. It also can embrace whole life costing and address how aspects such as design, manufacturing materials, operating costs, energy consumption, waste and recycling options support a more sustainable approach. How to implement the sustainable procurement strategy? Sustainable procurement is a product of sustainable thinking throughout the entire organization. The organization must share the drive, responsibility and the commitment and this should be reflected in policies, strategies and procedures. Every organization should develop its own plan to improve the sustainability of its procurement activity. The plan should declare the future plans in terms of improvement showing what and by when they will be achieved. Chief Executives and senior management must demonstrate leadership and a genuine commitment by incorporating sustainability objectives into their procurement activities, policies and strategies. All those involved in specifying demands and procuring goods and services need to contribute to incorporating sustainability into contracts.4 It is critical that those who originate and develop requirements consider sustainability at the outset and through each stage of the process. Information and training on the importance and value of speci fying and purchasing sustainably is also essential for all the staff in the organization and organizational procedures and plans should reflect this. Sustainable procurement will come about only if the organization and those within it understand, and are committed to, operating sustainably. Organizations need to keep to all environmental legislative and regulatory rules when buying products, services and works; integrate the environment into procurement decisions; raise staff concerning and awareness on environmental issues into procurement by providing relevant information and training; get products, services locally wherever possible taking into account the need to achieve best value for money; and get energy supplies generated from renewable sources. At Rio Tinto Group, they have their own procurement department called Rio Tinto Procurement (RTP). They focus on the ways in which it can bring sustainable socio-economic benefits to the areas in which it operates, namely mining business. Rio Tinto Procurement claims that they deliver value to the Rio Tinto Group by providing a safer, efficient and effective procurement and inbound supply chain service to business units and functions. With respect to sustainability, Rio Tinto Procurement also declares they conduct their procurement activity in a manner that is holistic, transparent and sustainable. Respect for the environment is central to their approach to sustainable procurement. Rio Tinto Procurement seeks to contribute to sustainable development. Specifically, in the process of procurement activity, they work as closely as possible with their host countries and communities, respecting their host countries laws and customs. They minimize adverse effects and strive to improve every aspect of their procurement performance. Before they make decisions in terms of what kind of material to purchase, Rio Tinto Procurement will competitively test the material commitments to ensure that Rio Tinto obtains the best value available considering all relevant factors, such as safety, quality, delivery, specification, price, environmental and community impact and sustainable development. They believe that conducting a successful business and sustaining quality of life and the environment go hand in hand. Their commitment to responsible stewardship and business practice benefits society by keeping economies and the planet healthy for the future generations, and it benefits the company by enhancing its long-standing reputation as a good business partner and neighbor. Firstly, for society, Rio Tinto Procurement provides goods jobs, goods opportunities and a safe working environment for all employees, and partnering with neighbors to deal with a variety of issues that affect th e communities. Secondly, for environment, they minimize their environmental footprint and maximize the contribution their products make to the environment. Thirdly, for economy, they create value for their customers, shareholders, employees and economies. Why is it critical for mining organization to be sensitive to sustainability? One of the implications is that the conventional technical and professional strengths of mining and metals people are no longer sufficient for the requirements of today. Companies need to ensure that they are sensitive to sustainability. Then, why is it critical for mining organization to be sensitive to sustainability? As we know, mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, normally from an ore body, vein or coal seam. It also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash. Mining resources are one of the most critical natural resources and are the important material foundation of society. For example, mineral fuel and iron are basic need of the country. Copper, lead and zinc are mostly used in industries. While gold and silver is used in industrial development. Nickel, manganese, fluorspar, vanadium, tungsten, a sbestos, mica, mercury, graphite, antimony a tin used in various industries. However all of them are non-renewable resources. From the perspective of sustainable procurement in the mining organization, what to concern is less investment while high productivity, as well as environmental protection. That means purchase the raw materials and relative accessories used to production at the reasonable prices to meet mankinds requirement and to improve peoples life quality, at the same time, eliminate the negative effects to the ecology. First of all, from the perspective of resource, sustainable development of resources focuses on exploring new ways to maximize the value of the resources. The first key question is whether the resources all over the globe are utilized adequately? As we know, a characteristic of all the resource is the scarcity. That means resource whatever tangible and intangible is all limited. Resource which is rich today will be exhausted one day in the future. Whats more, resource is a core element for any company, especially for the mining company. In recent years, it indicates that with the dramatical development of technology and productivity the demand of mineral resources is at all-time high in that economic prosperity and societal wellbeing require a safe and reliable supply of energy and mineral resources. For instance, in USA, it consumed 35 billion tons petroleum, 7.3 billion tons steel, 140 million tons copper and 200 million tons aluminum during 20 century. Although a plenty of mineral resource is enough for the production for this generation and a few next generations, these mineral products will be exhausted eventually in a certain generation. It is reported that there exists potential risks in terms of the quantity of other mineral resource excluding coal in Peoples Republic of China. As a result, mining organization needs to pay more attention to procure the mineral resources sustainably. Some mining organizations which conduct sustainable procurement emphasize that renewable resources, recycling, resource substitution, and increases in efficiency and conservation are needed to enhance the stability and security of non-renewable energy and mineral resources supply and demand. Some substitution can extend the mineral supplies. At Rio Tinto Procurement, their approaches is not only discovering new mineral resources, but also finding ways to contribute to recycling as well as looking for more sustainable materials and ingredients in order to preserve the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Some recycled materials should be taken into account in the process of procurement activity. In terms of recycled materials and resources, Rio Tinto also does a significant job. It is reported that 20 percent of the materials that are used in the production comes from recycled content. The second key question is whether the certain material needs to used really. This means that both the end customers of the products and the buyers have to review their product requirements and identify potential opportunities for increasing the efficiency of use. It can both cut procurement costs and save the resources which can be used more suitably. Secondly, from the perspective of environment, sustainable procurement of mineral resources also concentrates on the environmental protection. For instance, a new process at BMA Peak Downs Mine (Australia) is not only decreasing coal loss by nearly nine percent, but also improving the mines sustainability performance via reducing the area disturbed, waste production and fuel consumption, the latter assisting to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets. When the organization purchases goods and services, environmental issues should be taken into account. As a consequence, organization should purchase materials which bring less environmental impacts to both current and future life. It is inevitable for the mining organization to create adverse environmental impacts in the operations. As mentioned above, it mainly refers to climate change, carbon dioxide emission. For instance, at Rio Tinto Alcan which is one of five product groups operated by Rio Tinto and is a global supplier of high qua lity bauxite, alumina and aluminum, they invest in zero and low emission technology research, development and deployment to address climate change issue because the aluminum industry generates approximately one percent of global greenhouses gases emissions in the integrated production of aluminum products. Therefore, by running sustainable procurement, it enables Rio Tinto Alcan to reduce operating costs, enhance product value and quality with less impact on the environment. In order to produce products that meet the requirements of sustainable development, procurement department is also responsible for buying the raw materials and ingredients which have less adverse impacts on the environment. For example, at Rio Tinto, they procure low emitting materials that include adhesives, sealants, paints, primers, carpeting and composite wood products to support the manufacturing activity. Rio Tinto Procurement also carefully selected products to avoid volatile organic compounds, formaldehy des and other hazardous and irritating chemicals, ensuring that products they procured are with hazard to both living beings and environment as little as possible. Additionally, Rio Tinto Procurement is also working to better understand the future needs for metals and minerals. Sustainable procurement considers not only materials, environmental effects, but also supplier selection. Under the condition of strategic procurement, company has not focused on purchasing items at a possible lowest price. Normally, when conducting sustainable procurement it is essential for organization to make sure that suppliers and contractors are aware of environmental issues and policies, promote environmental awareness among suppliers and encourage them to minimize the environmental impacts of the supply chain. Take Rio Tinto Procurement as an example. Rio Tinto Procurement sources its suppliers with high criteria. Firstly, Rio Tintos suppliers and potential suppliers must meet the requirements of sustainable development. In other words, they must be able to demonstrate strong organizational commitments to the sustainable development such as natural resource conservation and management, carbon and greenhouse gas emission reduction, energy and fuel efficiency, waste minimizati on, improved health and safety, human rights and labor practices. Rio Tinto Procurement values suppliers whose policies and practices demonstrate active awareness of and support for sustainable development principles and help them achieve the goals of sustainable development. Through collaborating with suppliers to obtain the objectives of sustainable development, Rio Tinto Procurement seeks to create business relationships that have positive and enduring effects in the developing economies where they operate. As a result, suppliers who are safe, efficient, and meet the requirements of sustainability play a critical role in Rio Tintos success. General speaking, one of key factors of sustainable procurement is to motivate vendors to offer more sustainable products. Company may share supplier information with respect to products functional performance specifications including sustainability instead of the technical specifications of known products. Carbon emission trading In addition, sustainable development cannot be achieved by industry alone. It requires concerted collaborative effort from industry, governments, inter-governmental agencies and civil society. For instance, as a key word of sustainable development, carbon emission trading plays an important role in sustainable procurement. Carbon emission trading is a form of market mechanism on the purpose of achieving greenhouse gas emission reduction, especially reducing carbon dioxide emission. This form of permit trading was specified by the Kyoto Protocol that takes market mechanism as a new method that resolves the issue in terms of greenhouse gas emission reduction. In other words, it is a market-based approach that trades carbon dioxide emission credits. Specifically, if an organization comes in below the limit of allocation of allowable emissions, they can sell the remainder of the allocation. On the other hand, if a company produces carbon dioxide more than its allocation of allowable emis sions, they either have to offset that or buy additional allocation. Rio Tinto is encouraging governments to implement workable fair trading schemes. They invest capital in developing new technologies such as AP technology which is the most efficient approach of smelting aluminum, low emissions processing for iron ore, and block cave mining process which reduces materials handling and allows the ore to begin to break itself during the handling process. As new technologies become available, these will be adapted to further reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency. Conclusion All in all, procurement has never played such as important role in the increasingly globalized economy. Strategic procurement can mean completely different things in different industries and sectors. What cannot be denied is procurement decisions are more and more based on total supply chain cost, carbon footprint impact, other ethical, social and economic factors, rather than just purchase prices. In this modern society that people emphasizes sustainability and sustainable development, contemporary strategic procurement should also pay more attention to sustainable procurement and environmental issues. Sustainability requires the purchasing organization to be aware of both life cycle costs (LCC) and the life cycle environmental impact associated with their purchase decision and to add these factors into their supplier selection as well as relationships with suppliers. Organization which has a better understanding of sustainable procurement may implement the following three points: m inimizing impacts of the supply chain, minimizing impacts of the product and/or service, and buying resource efficient products. And their sustainable procurement activity considers products, services, and suppliers. It includes issues such as resource extraction and consumption, manufacturing and production, use and maintenance, recycling and disposal options. As a result, this organization can obtain significant economic interest, at the same time, maintain the sustainable development of ecology, keep the resources for next generations and make an effort in its social responsibility.

Critical Review on the Iliad :: essays research papers

Nature’s Force   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Simone Weil, a French writer, explores the depth and motive of why and how we do the things we do. In this critical review, Weil elucidates the role of force in the Iliad. It is exceptionally difficult to put into words the meaning that Weil gives force. When she defines it, she states, â€Å"it is that x that turns anybody who is subjected to it into a thing† (331). When I first read this, I did not comprehend what she meant by it. As Weil refers to force, she uses in the context of war and the taking of lives in the Iliad. This force takes away all natural abilities. Weil explains how all living things respond to stimuli. The muscles in our body have reactions to things that take place in our environment. The force that she is trying to define is one that takes away this ability to respond. In war, a soldier must look past the pain that he is causing in taking another human being’s life. Weil suggests that this is as if life is being removed from the body of this soldier, resulting in a breathing corpse. Remorse becomes an overlooked emotion and all sensation vanishes. Does this not constitute a corpse, when all ability to respond to what is going on around him has departed; therefore taking away the very factor that defines a living object? When examining force by means of killing others, this force does not only have an effect on the victim, but also on the conqueror. â€Å"Force is as pitiless to the man who possesses it, or thinks he does, as it is to its victims; the second it crushes, the first it intoxicates† (332). Weil goes on to say that force is not really a retainable thing. All persons, weak and strong, have to at one point in their life relinquish control to force. No one is exempt. She points to Achilles as an example. When he is killing Hector, he is holding the force against Hector to take his life. On the other hand, when Agamemnon purposely degrades Achilles by taking his war prize, Achilles goes to be alone and weep in his humiliation. A force knocks him down as he knocked his opponent Hector down. To show the cycle, we find Agamemnon weeping just a few days later as a result of a force.

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Essay -- Essays Papers

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame â€Å"Love is a universal language.† This popular quote from many movies and literary works describes the importance of love, and how there are no limits or barriers when dealing with love. Many people cannot even help whether or not they fall in love. There are many types of love and they need not be between members of opposite sexes. In Victor Hugo's novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo's love for Esmerelda is not as strong as his different sense of love for the Archdeacon, Claude Frollo. Quasimodo loves each person in a different manner, but is truer to the Archdeacon. The hunchback feels, among other things, a love described as Eros for the Mistress Esmerelda; whereas, for the Archdeacon the love he feels is known as Philia. While Quasimodo is drawn to Esmerelda by her inner beauty and personal qualities, he admires the Archdeacon for his powerful position in the social structure of the town. Throughout the story, Quasimodo does his best to protect Esmerelda. Contrarily, he is protected by the Archdeacon. There are four types of love, only one of which involves a man's physical love for a woman and vice versa. This type of love is known as Eros. It is defined as a relationship in which two parties are physically attracted to one another. Esmerelda, the gypsy, is quite beautiful. She dances in the midst of a crowd near a bonfire: â€Å"All eyes were fixed on her, all mouths hung open. As she danced to the rhythm of the tambourine which her round, delicate arms held over her head, she seemed to be some sort of supernatural creature(p.22). Quasimodo is taken by her loveliness just like most other men. However, because he is deformed and hideous, Quasimodo's physical attraction to the Mistress is unrequited. Nevertheless, this attraction is uncontrollable. Although he never acts upon his urges nor openly displays his affection, the hunchback feels the type of love called Eros for Esmerelda. Accordingly, he feels a different kind of love for the Archdeacon: Philia. Just as Eros as love stems from physical factors, Philia is a result of external factors. The Archdeacon is a man of God. He is considered the religious authority in Paris. Quasimodo resides in the Notre Dame Cathedral. He takes a great interest in God, and apparently shares this interest with the Arc... ... priest's company and leadership. Quasimodo continues to show gratitude by obeying every command given to him by the Archdeacon. When the Archdeacon decides that Esmerelda should hang, even though Quasimodo loves her he could not defy the priest's command: he sat quietly by and awaited the hanging. It is clear that this love stems from the protection of the Archdeacon through Quasimodo's early years of life. This also exposes the fact that Quasimodo's respect and obedience to the Archdeacon outweighs his feelings for Esmerelda. Throughout the story by Victor Hugo, Quasimodo shows love to both Esmerelda, a beautiful gypsy, and to Claude Frollo, the Archdeacon that took the hunchback into his custody. Two types of love displayed are Eros, to the Mistress, and Philia, toward Frollo. Quasimodo's protection of Esmerelda is seen inversely through his relationship with the Archdeacon. The Archdeacon and Esmerelda have diverse qualities that evoke separate types of love from Quasimodo. In the end, the bell ringer's relationship with Frollo supercedes his emotions towards the Mistress. The Philial and brotherly love triumphs over unrequited erotic love.

Inspector calls

A number of techniques are used throughout the play in order to portray this negative Image to the audience. For instance, her naivety Is repeatedly mentioned and her class conscious attitude is prominent In the play. From the outset, Priestley uses Mrs.. Brisling's persona to create an unlikable character, a woman who Is described as ‘cold' In the stage directions, displaying the attitudes she will show In the opening scene.Her attitude to class is shown by her cynical comment – ‘a girl of hat class' – a comment which implies her awareness of her social superiority. This shows the way in which she looks down upon the character of Eva Smith. Similarly, her dismissive attitude towards lower class people is demonstrated by her careful concern for social etiquette and manners. She shows disgust at Sheila's use of colloquial language, for instance, when Sheila refers to Eric as ‘spiffy, Mrs.. Birding is seemingly outraged. This suggests that she would not want to be associated with the dialect used by those of a lower social status.Her character Is shown to feel a need to impress Gerald due to his upper class heritage and parenting. This could be represented by her embarrassment when Mr.. Birding congratulates the cook and tells him off for discussing business. This Indicates that she doesn't want Gerald to get the impression that she or her family would act In such a way. Her regard to social status is further demonstrated by her involvement with the Brimley Women's Charity Organization. She uses her position as chairperson to gain authority and importance Just so that she can herself highly and above other people.It is evident that she doesn't do charity work purely out of altruism. She has a great desire to be high in social status. This all contributes to portraying the image of negativity and creating dislike by highlighting her superiority complex. She is very aware of class distinctions, resenting Eva Smith's ‘gross impe rtinence' in calling herself Mrs.. Birding, and refuses to believe In her moral Integrity: ‘She was claiming fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd In a girl in that position.At the end of the play, like her husband, she refuses to believe that she did anything wrong and refuses to accept responsibility for her part In Eve's death. Instead, Mrs.. Billing seems to want to put so much blame on the father, because she thinks that it will put her out of the spotlight. There is dramatic irony in the way she is trapped. The audience will discover before her that the ‘drunken young idler' is Eric. There is also situational irony which creates further dislike: the audience knows that she would not apply the same standards to re own family, yet Eric is condemned by her words.She is also forceful in shifting blame onto Birding: â€Å"It wasn't I who turned her out of employment. † The generation gap is emphasized at this point in the play, as further dislike is created for Mrs.. Birding by the way Sheila and Eric begin to see their parents in a new unfavorable light. This dislike is reinforced to the audience when Shells gets angry at her mother in Act Three for trying to ‘pretend that nothing much has happened'. Shells says ‘It frightens me the way you talk. She cannot understand how Mrs.. Birding has not learnt from the evening In the same way she has.This creates dwells for the character of Mrs.. Birding as the audience realism that she has not learnt anything from the blood and anguish' in the first world war. Her character is used to show Priestley attitude towards and critique of Capitalism. She is shown t be part of the capitalist society that will sleepwalk into disaster because they fail to recognizes what is going on in the world around them. This has a particularly significant impact as the sass's audience are aware of the downfall they will face.Furthermore, dislike for the character of Mrs.. Birding is created thro ugh the portrayal of her sexual repression. She is shown to have the belief that women of her class should be protected from things that are what Gerald refers to as ‘unpleasant and disturbing. She is reluctant to understand the reality of society and wants to know nothing about Garage's ‘disgusting affair'. Priestley is effective in portraying her character in this way as the audience in 1946 will have a much broader view of the way in which people behave, ND will develop a dislike for her as a result of the differing attitudes.This is interlinked with the way in which Mrs.. Brings naivety is used to create dislike. Not only does she choose not to understand some aspects of society, there are many other things that her character is show to be sheltered from due to her upper class way of life. For instance, she does not know anything about the hard drinking habits of her son Eric, thinking that ‘it isn't true'. She also does not realism that even supposedly respect able men of a high social status like Alderman Meagerly would sit the Palace Bar and behave in such a way that he did.She does not share the same level of awareness of what goes on in society that the younger generations have. Sheila's comment that ‘she only escaped with a torn blouse' demonstrates how she is show to have a far greater understanding of the realities of society than her mother. Ultimately, Priestley uses various techniques throughout the play to create dislike for the character of Mrs.. Birding. He does this through using the themes of responsibility, class, generations and gender.

Supply and Demand and New Housing

Introduction to Microeconomics Fall 2012 Assignment 1 due on October 4 in class (Total 80 points) Q1. (15 points) The following table shows production possibilities for two items—chairs and tables. Combination| Chairs| Tables| A| 0| 6| B| 8| 5| C| 15| 4| D| 21| 3| E| 26| 2| F| 30| 1| G| 33| 0| (a) What is the opportunity cost of producing the first table? (33-30)/1=3 (b) What is the opportunity cost of producing the third table? (26-21)/1=5 (c) What is the opportunity cost of producing the sixth table? 8-0)/1=8 (d) Draw the production-possibilities curve for chairs and tables on a graph, placing tables on the vertical axis and chairs on the horizontal axis. (e) If the economy achieved greater efficiency in the production of tables, how would the production –possibilities curve change? (f) If a more efficient method of producing chairs were developed, how would the curve change? (g) Suppose more economic resources (labour, materials, and capital) became available. How wo uld the curve change?Q2. (15 points) The following table describes the production possibilities of two cities. Red SweatersPer Worker per Hour| Blue SweatersPer Worker per Hour| Montreal| 3| 3| Toronto| 2| 1| (a) Without trade, what is the price of blue sweaters (in terms of red sweaters) in Montreal? What is the price in Toronto? (b) Which city has an absolute advantage in the production of each colour of sweater? Which city has a comparative advantage in the production of each colour of sweater? (c) If the cities trade with each other, which colour of sweater will each export? (d) What is the range of prices at which trade can occur? Q3. 10 points) Canada has a mixed economic system, in which both marketplace and government play a role. For each of the following situation, explain why you think that it would be best dealt with by the market, or by government action. (a) There are too many restaurants in a town, and several are losing money. (b) The gap between the rich and the poo r is very wide, and the poorest citizens are unable to afford even the bare necessities of life. (c)The largest supermarket chain in the country is planning to buy the second-largest chain, which would give it a near-monopoly in many communities. d) A trend toward healthier eating has driven the price of chicken up so sharply that many consumers are complaining to the government about the increased prices. (e) Several manufacturers are cutting costs by dumping waste into a local river. Q4. (5 points) A customer is about to buy 4 shirts at $20 each. When she finds that they have just gone on sale for $15, she buys 5 shirts instead. Is her demand for these shirts elastic or inelastic? Explain the reason for your answer. Q5. (10 points) From 1997 to 2001, the price of coffee on world markets fell from $1. 60 U. S per pound to $0. 6 U. S. per pound— a decrease of 65 percent. (a) What is the most logical explanation for such a decrease in price? (b) What explains the large size of the price decrease? (c)Draw a graph representing the factors in (a) and (b). Q6. (10 points) Assume the demand schedule for ice-cream cones can be represented by the equation QD=160-3P, where QD is the quantity demanded and P is the price. The supply schedule can be represented by QS=140+7P, where QS is the quantity supplied. (a) Calculate the equilibrium price and quantity in the market for ice-cream cones. (b) The Canadian Association f Ice-Cream Eaters complains that the equilibrium price calculated in part (a) is too high, and their members cannot eat enough ice-cream cones at this price. They lobby the government to impose a price ceiling on ice-cream cones of $1. What is the quantity demanded at this price? The quantity supplied? Is there a shortage or surplus of ice cream? How big is it? What if a $2. 50 price ceiling was imposed instead? (c) Say instead that the Canadian Association of Ice-Cream Makers lobbies the government, arguing that the equilibrium price is too low fo r their members to make a decent living.They want a price floor of $3 per cone. What is the quantity demanded at this price? The quantity supplied? Is there a shortage or a surplus of ice cream? What is it? What if a price floor of $1. 50 was imposed instead? Q7. (15 points) One of the key prices Statistics Canada monitors is the price of new housing. The statistics do not show the actual price of housing in dollars, but rather an â€Å"index† of prices that is set at 100. 0 in 2007, with the index in each year after 2007 showing how much prices have increased since 2007.To see how the price of new housing has changed over the past 5 years, visit the Statistics Canada website at http://www. statcan. gc. ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/manuf12-eng. htm, and search for New housing price index for Canada. Calculate the percentage increase in new housing prices each year over the past five years (2007-2011). What trend do you see in new housing prices for Canada (national av erage level), and is there any noticeable trend for the Metropolitan areas? What demand side or supply side factors might explain these?

The War That Never Ends(Veterans)

The War that Never Ends- Soldiers suffering with Post Traumatic stress disorder The impact of deployment and especially war-zone experiences on the well-being of military personnel and veterans continues to receive growing attention. The military operation in Iraq and Afghanistan continues to raise important questions about the effect of the experience on the mental health of members of the military services who have been deployed there (Hoge et al. ,2004). Combat exposure has been linked to an array of negative health consequences, most notably posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).According to the DSM-IV-TR, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop in a person after a traumatic experience in which â€Å"the person [has] experienced, witnessed, or [been] confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of [one]self or others. According to the Surgeon General, of those individuals experiencing ext reme traumatic events, nine percent develop PTSD. Approximately 50% of those cases will return to a normal mental health state in less than a year.After one year, women were twice as likely to continue with symptoms of traumatic stress. Sometimes dubbed emotional mental health disorders such as acute stress, depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common by products of military combat (Soldiers’ Mental Health, 2007). During the current U. S. -led war on terrorism a campaign initiated following Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against U. S. – tens of thousands of soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq have been diagnosed with such conditions (Soldiers’ Mental Health, 2007). While some military veterans seek medical treatment after they return to the U.S. , many do not, beginning what often becomes a life long battle with mental illness (Soldiers’ Mental Health, 2007). Furthermore, the individual's â€Å"response involved intense fear, h elplessness, or horror. † The individual must also experience at least one symptom of intensive recollections, at least three symptoms of avoidance/numbing, and at least two symptoms of hyper arousal. Symptoms of hyper-arousal include sleep problems, irritability, concentration problems, hyper-vigilance, and exaggerated startle response. All symptoms must be present for one month or longer.In order for PTSD to be diagnosed as a disorder, â€Å"clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of fractioning† must be present. PTSD received official recognition and a separate diagnostic heading with the DSM-III publication in 1980. However, the symptoms of PTSD have been recognized for centuries. During the Civil War, generals noted that the troops were suffering from â€Å"irritable heart† or â€Å"effort syndrome,† in World War I the diagnosis was â€Å"shell shock,† and in World War II it was called â⠂¬Å"battle fatigue† or â€Å"combat exhaustion.In modem engagements such as Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), symptoms of PTSD are denoted â€Å"acute stress,† perhaps in an effort to reduce stigma among deployed troops. Whatever its appellation, it is deemed a â€Å"signature wound† of the Iraq and Afghanistan engagement veterans. Therefore, military personnel are among the most at-risk populations for exposure to traumatic events and the development of PTSD. Ethnic minority Veterans may be more likely to disclose problems or engage in treatment when paired with a clinician of the same race (Loo, 2007).Despite study differences, the trend suggests that being an ethnic minority may cause one to be more â€Å"at risk† for PTSD (Loo, 2007). The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study found differences among Hispanic, African American, and White Vietnam theater Veterans in terms of readjustment after military service (L oo, 2007). Both Hispanic and African American male Vietnam theater Veterans had higher rates of PTSD than Whites (Loo, 2007). Rates of current PTSD in the 1990 study were 28% among Hispanics, 21% among African Americans, and 14% among Whites (Loo, 2007).African Americans had greater exposure to war stresses and had more predisposing factors than Whites, which appeared to account for their higher rate of PTSD (Loo, 2007). The difference in rates of PTSD between Hispanics and Whites remained even after controlling for the fact that Hispanics had greater exposure to war stresses (Loo, 2007). Rates of PTSD among American Indian Vietnam Veterans ranged from 22% to 25% (depending on the tribe) (Loo, 2007). American Indians were exposed to greater war zone stresses (e. g. atrocities, violence, and combat) than Whites, including psychological conflict resulting from identification with the enemy (Loo, 2007). Differences in PTSD rates between American Indians and Whites disappeared after con trolling for the greater war zone stresses experienced by American Indians (Loo, 2007). Unfortunately, there continues to be an ongoing supply of combat- traumatized soldiers to study. As noted by Coleman (2006), war is a disease that kills and maims, not just by tearing apart soldiers’ bodies, but also by ravaging their minds.As the United States continues a military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is also coming to grips with one of the products of war at home: a new generation of troubled veterans. Hoge, Auchterlonie, and Milliken (2006) emphasize that research with active duty personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan suggests that this new generation of veterans has high levels of PTSD and related mental health symptoms. Studies are demonstrating that troops who serve in current conflicts are experiencing PTSD and other mental health problems on a scale not seen since the war in Vietnam (Robinson, 2004).PTSD prevalence is widely disputed in medical literature, particularly its predominance among military personnel. However, â€Å"approximately 8% of the [general] population meets criteria for PTSD during their lifetime. PTSD Stressors in the general public are often the result of a traumatic event (violent crime, accident, etc. ). With regard to military personnel, the range of estimates is wide—†PTSD is the most prevalent mental health disorder among deployed service members, and affects roughly 5 to 15% of service members, depending on who is assessed and when they are assessed. From October 2001 to April 2008, approximately 1. 4 million U. S. troops had been deployed in OEF/OIF engagements. As of October 2009, more than 2 million men and women had shouldered the deployments, with 793,000 of them deploying more than once. Nearly 40% of OEF/OIF veterans had multiple deployments, and multiple â€Å"combat† exposures. Even at the low end, a 5% incidence of PTSD among deployed veterans would equal 100,000 OEF/OIF veterans with PTSD. However, this 5% is questionable on broader assessment, and most likely an underestimate. Using Veterans Affairs (VA) data, 23% of OEF/OIF veterans seen at the VA received a preliminary diagnosis of possible PTSD.Further analysis of the same data shows that only half of these PTSD patients had approved PTSD claims. Therefore, about 50% of OEF/OIF veteran patients receiving treatment for PTSD from the VA were not receiving compensation, and hence are likely undercounted as victims of PTSD. In addition, since approximately 40% of service members are still active on active duty, considering active duty military PTSD cases is also instinctive. Surveys of deployed Army soldiers and Marines show between 14% and 17% met screening criteria for PTSD while they were deployed between 2003 and 2006.This data lends additional support to the proposition that the estimate of 5% prevalence of PTSD is empirically low. The United States has incurred massive human and financial expenditures through i ts involvement in Iraq. It is estimated that total spending on the Iraq war will cost the United States up to $3 trillion to fund current military operations along with the expenses of paying the long-term disability costs of injured military personnel, death benefits sent to the families of those killed in Iraq, and interest fees paid by the United States Treasury to borrow money to fund current expenditures (Bilmes ; Stiglitz, 2008).The National Center for PTSD embraces the customary treatment strategy for PTSD as being symptom logically based. As such, individuals diagnosed with depression and anxiety receives pharmacologic treatment, in addition to the use of cognitive behavior therapy to help individuals with cognitive deficits (Summerall, 2008). Cognitive behavior therapy usually includes education regarding the stress response and relaxation techniques in efforts to enable the individual to exercise control over the extreme physical reaction to PTSD triggers and engage comple tely in therapy, overcoming avoidance symptoms.Case management, psychosocial rehabilitation, pharmacotherapy, and psychotherapy are all viable components and options regarding treatment and care provision for individuals who have incurred PTSD (Kennedy et al. , 2007). When it comes to medication management, special attention should be paid to possible drug interactions in individuals diagnosed with PTSD. These individuals may be taking medications for various symptoms such as pain, insomnia, and dizziness, in addition to surgery-associated anesthesia and antibiotics.Fluid changes resulting from procedural treatment of burns, amputations, wounds or internal organ injuries can dramatically affect the action and interaction of drugs. Moreover, individuals with PTSD may be hypersensitive to medicinal effects and corresponding side effect. Medications have proved helpful to treat depression, seizures, and agitation among persons with PTSD (Perna, Rouselle, ; Brennan, 2003).However, antip sychotic medications should be used with caution given their potential to increase negative neurobehavioral symptoms (Rosenthal ; Ricker, 2000). Impaired recall and attentiveness resulting from PTSD can also complicate medication management, as an individual may have difficulty accurately following dosage recommendations (Kennedy et al. , 2007). Furthermore, New Treatment Modalities recognize the need to meet the unique needs of military personnel with PTSD, the United States Government is exploring a variety of new treatment models.For example, the Office of Naval Research funded a $4 million project in 2005 to study the efficacy of virtual reality treatments for PTSD, which is being tested in universities and military installations across the United States (Bergfeld, 2006). This treatment involves the person experiencing virtual reality situations (i. e. , guiding them through a military compound in Fallujah or going on patrol through homes of Iraq citizens). The therapist monitor s the veteran’s responses (e. g. , breathing, sweating) and then teaches the veteran how to remain calm and composed through the use of meditation.The hope is that that the client can generalize this skill to prospective high stress situations in the real world (Bergfeld), ultimately leading to a reduction in the occurrence of PTSD symptoms. PTSD can make somebody hard to be with; living with someone who is easily startled, has nightmares, and often avoids social situations can take a toll on the most caring family (U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010). Family member may feel hurt, alienate, or discouraged because your loved one has not been able to overcome the effects of the trauma (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010). Social support is extremely important for preventing and helping with PTSD, it is important for family members to take care of themselves both for their own good and t help the person dealing with PTSD (U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010). Veterans with PTSD and their families can access several other resources associated with rehabilitative assistance. Active duty service members and their families are eligible to utilize health care services through Tricare, or Triwest depending on geographic region.Services are available on base from military providers, as well as through private care providers who require a co-payment. Also available to active duty members is Military OneSource, which provides a maximum of six free counseling sessions for service members and their families. Military OneSource has licensed counselors available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and also serves as informational resources, addressing topics such as relocation and finances (Fairweather ; Garcia, 2007). Veterans with PTSD often have other types of problems (U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010).They might have other stress, medical or mental health problems. Sometimes PTSD is overlooked when other problems seem very pressing (U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010). In Addition, a number of community organizations have been established to assist veterans and their families with adjustments to daily living brought about by combat incurred injuries such as PTSD. Swords to Plowshares, Veterans for America, and Veterans and Families exemplify groups that offer a wide range of information, resources and services (Fairweather ; Garcia, 2007).The Marine Corps Community Services, The Coming Home Project, Operation First Response are some of the Internet-based health, family, employment and education, and benefit, advocacy, and general resources to meet the needs of veterans with PTSD and their families compiled from research (Fairweather and Garcia (2007, Yeoman, 2008). According to the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the VA provides nearly 200 specialized PTSD treatment programs referral is usually needed (U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010).Each PTSD program offers education, evaluation, and treatment, some of the program services include: One to one mental assessment and testing, medicines, one to one psychotherapy and also family therapy, and group therapy which covers topics such as anger and stress, combat support, partners or groups for Veterans of special conflicts (U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010). The VA also offers specialized outpatient PTSD programs (SOPPs) and specialized intensive PTSD programs (SIPPs).Congress has in fact passed some notable legislation aimed directly at improving mental health care and quality of life for combat veterans (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012). The  Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010  provides financial support for family members of injured veterans who are now responsible for caring for their loved ones who have returned with lifelong disabilities (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012). The VOW to Hire Heroes Act  provides tax credits for businesses hiring veterans and is an important step in working to lower the al armingly high veteran’s unemployment rate (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012).The  COMBAT PTSD Act  has died in two previous sessions of Congress and remains in committee in the current legislative session (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012). As it stands today, a veteran must be deemed to have had â€Å"combat with the enemy† to be entitled to compensation for mental health conditions (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012). What constitutes â€Å"combat with the enemy† is extremely vague, making it difficult for some veterans suffering from PTSD to have their injury recognized by the VA (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012).The COMBAT PTSD Act would broaden the definition to include all veterans who served in a theater of combat operation during a time of war (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012). Civilian clinics and their physicians, who are responsible for treating combat stress-related injuries for the  millions of veterans  who receive care outside of the VA system, would benefit greatly from additional training (Wilcox-Fogel, 2 012). The inclusion of cognitive behavioral therapy in treatments covered by TRICARE for veterans diagnosed with TBI would improve the affordability of crucial rehabilitative care for thousands of veterans (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012).Reference Page Loo, C. (2007) PTSD Among Ethnic Minority Veterans retrieved from www. ptds. va. gov â€Å"Soldiers' Mental Health. †Ã‚  Issues ; Controversies On File:  n. pag. Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 11 May 2007. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. http://www. 2facts. com/article/i1200260 U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs (2010) PTSD Programs in the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs. U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs Retrieved from www. ptsd. va. gov Wilcox-Fogel, N. (2012) Despite combat PTSD Act, congress is falling short in providing for veterans with PTSD retrieved from www. policymic. com