Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Essay

This is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts in the fight against hunger. It serves both developing and the already developed countries. FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. It is also a source of advice and knowledge to member countries as it helps in the provision of information, and helps developing nations to modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, by ensuring good nutrition and food security for all (Amin,2002). In urban agriculture, FAO plays a general role of educating the urban farmers on the best methods of farming such as proper animal husbandry. It also offers them variety of species of crops to cultivate on in the urban areas. It protects the farmers from interventions by the specific governments, and they ensure food security for the already produced crops. Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) This is a North American coalition of people from different nationalities and organizations working from the local to international levels to build community food security. Membership in CFSC is diverse with almost three hundred organizations from social and economic justice, anti-hunger, environmental, community development, sustainable agriculture, community gardening and other fields. The main objective of CFSC is to build a strong, sustainable, local and regional food system that ensure access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food to all people at all times. CFSC has facilitated the development of urban agriculture through developing self reliance among all cities in obtaining their food and to creating a system of growing, manufacturing, processing, making available, and selling food that is regionally based and grounded in the principles of justice, democracy and sustainability. Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (APA) This organization involves the growing of plants and the rearing of animals within urban and peri-urban areas. It influences urban agriculture in a number of ways. UPA increases the availability of locally grown vegetables and fruits. This is done through making land available to increase production. UPA also recognizes the added value of combining vacant spaces with growing food in or near cities. It helps to restore consumer confidence in locally produced food. It helps promote food production to help reduce poverty and inequalities in urban centers. UPA has helped growers in urban agriculture to get closer links to their consumers and made it possible for retailers to improve access to affordable fresh vegetables and fruits sourced from the urban farming. UPA has improved logistics which has in turn increased access for instance transport services and home deliveries for those unable to get to the shops to buy food products. Resource centers on urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF Foundation) This is an international network of seven regional resource centers and one global resource centre on Urban Agriculture and food security. It was formed as a result to the expressed need of organization and local governments for effective mechanisms for the documentation and exchange of research of research data and practical experiences in urban agriculture. The major objective of RUAF is to help in eradication of poverty, generation of employments, food security and to help in stimulate participatory city governance and improved urban environment al management. This is achieved through creation of conditions for empowerment of male and female urban and peri-urban farmers. 3. Importance of urban agriculture Agriculture has been the primary occupation even in societies that are advanced. any form of improvement and innovation in agricultural methods has significant importance to the ever increasing populations (White, Jr. , 1974). Urban agriculture has come with improvements which have seen the societies benefiting economically, socially and environmentally. Economic importance Urban and peri-urban agriculture expands the economic base of the city through production, processing, packaging and marketing of consumable products. This results in an increase in entrepreneurial activities and the creation of job opportunities. This has led to increase in supply of food products in the cities, leading to decrease in prices of commodities. The quality of food products also improves, and the country can export more food products abroad and earning the country foreign exchange. Urban agriculture gives women an important opportunity to be part of the informal economy of a city (Paul, 1984). Farming and selling activities can be combined more easily with household tasks and child care. As women take care of the home, men are out there trying to make ends meet in urban agriculture. Through this, women participate in the economic development of the country as they help their spouses in other chores (Feder, 1970). In another perspective, women provide labor to farming activities, thus contributing to economic development. Urban agriculture provides employment, income and access to food for urban populations, which together contributes to relieve from chronic and emergence food security. With employment, every individual earns income and the cases of poverty in the city will considerably reduce with the practice of urban agriculture. Social Importance Better health and nutrition is one social importance of urban agriculture. With production of food products, there is enough supply of food in the city. Children cannot suffer from malnutrition because they have enough food and thus have a balanced diet. Having a balanced diet helps reduce diseases thus better health and nutrition. Increased income and employment are other social benefits of urban agriculture. Urban agriculture has been seen as means of improving the livelihood of people living in and around cities (Pereira, 1999). Taking part in such practices is seen mostly as informal activity, but in many cities where inadequate, unreliable, and irregular access to food is an occurring problem, urban agriculture has been a positive response to tackling food concerns. Households and small communities take advantage of vacant land and contribute not only to their resident city (Pereira, 1999).

Impact of a Deaf Child on Families

Impact of a Deaf Child on Families A bird calls and the phone rings. Yet the girl makes no move to listen to one or to answer the other. A baby’s cry goes ignored and the tea kettle on the stove continues to whistle. Most, but not all cases of childhood deafness and hearing-impairment are diagnosed between the ages of 18 months and 3-years-old (Mapp 50). Sometimes called the invisible handicap, hearing loss explains why sign language is the third most used language in the United States (Jones 54).While recognition of sight problems or physical impairments may be triggered by spotting eye glasses or a wheelchair, deafness must be discovered through acts of direct communication. The girl walks down the hall and does not acknowledge her friend calling her name. The term disabled has been much debated in recent years. It is both a classification of a functional limitation and a branding stereotype that scars a certain type of person. More than 90 percent of deaf children are born into hearing families.Before the 1970s, the impact this group of unique children had on their families and how the family structure adjusted was little studied (Mapp 7). Though raising a deaf child is challenging at times for parents and influential on how siblings are treated, it can also be a rewarding experience and an adhesive to hold together a family. When a child is diagnosed with deafness, it is the flag marking the beginning of a series of potentially draining events for his or her parents.Though many parents say that raising a deaf child differs in subtle yet slight ways from the already challenging aspects of raising any child, they also agree that their child’s disability tends to amplify emotions, especially in the early stages of diagnoses. There are feelings of disbelief, confusion, and disappointment that lead to anger while guilt mingles with a sense of mourning. Through all of these overwhelming responses, parents learn to deal with the seclusion, to recogni ze the drawbacks of their situation, and to effectively develop strategies for their families.Though it is too generalizing to say that all parents react the same way to their child’s hearing loss, many parents do react in similar manners. It is the hearing parents that are affected the most by the arrival of the news of hearing loss in their child. Deaf parents, on the other hand generally embrace the handicap of their child because they realize they have the resources and language knowledge to help the child. In studies done comparing deaf hildren from hearing parents with those from deaf parents, the children from deaf parents significantly outscored their counterparts in areas such as vocabulary, reading, social skills, and mathematics. An explanation for this may be that the children of hearing parents experience something called â€Å"language deprivation† by which they are stripped of the knowledge commonly passed down through the direct exposure to a language n atural to their parents (Mapp 190). For this reason, the stresses of raising a deaf child fall heavier on hearing parents.Many hearing parents feel this diagnosis shatters the illusion that their child is and will be perfect. This loss of innocence is a sentiment that many parents mourn. Many parents of deaf children have had little or no contact with the deaf community and are forced to comprehend a subject entirely foreign to them. Shock is a common response and works well as a defense mechanism that enables parents to begin the stages of mourning the illusionary loss of their normal child (Luterman 6). This shock gradually fades to disbelief as parents grasp at the permanent and incurable meanings of the word â€Å"deaf. Many ask how such a thing could happen in their family and occasionally the hearing problem is kept a secret. Though she was diagnosed in kindergarten, the girl begged her parents to keep her secret for years, senselessly believing that if no one knew about it t hen the problem did not exist despite the molds she wore in her ears. On top of denial, many families feel overwhelmed and that they have been given too much information in too short of a time period and may feel either ill-equipped to face the challenges of the diagnosis.With this fear often times comes anger and most parents of hearing impaired children feel a fundamental anger without an outlet through which to vent. There is anger at themselves, at the world, and even at the deaf child themselves. Sometimes this anger turns itself inwards and manifests itself as depression; other times it is capable of either strengthening or creating rifts within family systems and relationships. Perhaps one of the most prominent emotions felt by parents of deaf children is guilt.The future they had envisioned for their child has been violated in ways they never expected. Many parents would agree that having a hurting child and being helpless to assist them is one of the most distressing feelin gs they will ever experience (Luterman 9). Although having a deaf child can be rewarding in many ways it is very hard to see this in the beginning and the diagnosis affects parents in some very unique ways. Since the 1970s, studies have been done directly assessing the impact a deaf child has on families, especially on parents.It became clear from these studies that mothers and fathers deal with the stresses of their ill child in very different ways. Since mothers are typically invested in the daily stresses of raising a deaf child, studies have shown that they are more likely to be very involved in health and safety issues. Fathers on the other hand are typically found to engage in more distant roles of parenting due to occupational time consumption and are more successful at developing relationships with their child that does not revolve around the child’s disability (Luterman et al. 34-35).Studies have also shown that the time following a child’s diagnosis can be pa rticularly trying on husbands as they are trying to reassure their wives that everything will be fine while privately attempting to deal with their own deep and emotional grief (Luterman et al. 7). The separate roles each parent takes on complement each other by providing unique skills for their child. One of the most emotional taxing yet gratifying parts of raising a deaf child is that the mother is typically the one member of the family most capable of communicating with the deaf child.She becomes not only a mother, but an educator, social guidance counselor, communication specialist, interpreter, and audiologist consultant (Mapp 15). The girl’s mother went to the school district when the girl entered high school hoping sign language classes were available as a precaution in case her half deaf child continued to lose her hearing. They refused to even consider letting sign language qualify for her foreign language requirement. Another recurring theme in the challenges faced by parents is the abundance of ignorance in the faculty of school systems themselves.One frustrated parent wrote said about mainstreaming her deaf child into a hearing school, â€Å"†¦the teacher sometimes forgets†¦her limits and limitations†¦and does something incredibly dumb, such as the time in fifth grade when the teacher gave my daughter an oral spelling test of single words† (Luterman 175). Though most studies have focused extensively on the impact of a deaf child on parents, it is equally important to understand how it affects siblings. Family dynamics as well as parental reactions shape whether the hearing problem will strengthen the family structure or create tenuous situations.The definition of a family is a system of which all parts are inextricably interconnected (Luterman et al. 41). The sibling of a deaf child is typically forced to grow up faster than other children their age and assume greater responsibilities. One of the greatest favors a paren t can do for the sibling of a deaf child is to realize that an entire family unit cannot be healthy when revolving around the limitations of one of its members. In 70% of the cases of deaf children, there is one or more sibling involved in the family’s makeup (Mapp 65).These children can suffer from having a disabled sibling because their parents may feel both physically and emotionally exhausted after caring for the child that seems to need more attention. The sibling may feel neglected and guilty that they somehow evaded deafness themselves while their brother or sister is suffering. There may be feelings of shame and embarrassment when an adolescent child draws attention by signing with their sibling in public. Older children may feel a deep rooted anxiety that their own children will suffer from hearing loss.As with the relationships between parents, it is important that siblings be given a venue of open communication to vent their anxieties and frustrations. Clear commun ication is the key to a successful family structure. It has been found that some siblings may react with attention-seeking strategies like poor academic performance, illnesses, and recurrent tantrums. Other children may internalize their issues and end up with innate resentment issues when they are older (Luterman 143).While having a deaf sibling undoubtedly has drawbacks many siblings reported positive attributes as well. The recurring theme was that compassionate individuals with greater sensitivities to prejudices came from families with disabled children. These siblings also attributed the bond their family shared to their ability to form a cohesive unit during times of crisis (Luterman et al. 50). In order to thrive, it is vital that the family copes properly with the stressors associated with a deaf child.One of the most damaging, yet well intentioned acts a parent of a deaf child can commit is overprotection. Parents of handicapped children regularly underestimate their child ’s abilities, thus not allowing the child to make mistakes and learn. Overprotection leads to feelings of incapability and will hinder the child later in life. It must be acknowledged and accepted that even with interpreters, communication in a mainstream school will only be at about 75 percent for a deaf child (Jones 53). Instead of shielding a child from this barrier of communication, a parent must learn to mbrace it as a time of growth and a test of patience. Many parents see having a deaf child as a gift, as an opportunity to tap into strengths they never before realized they had. Though mothers of deaf children are likely to name healthcare providers as sources of support whereas hearing mothers named friends, it seems as though the levels of happiness of both women are consistent (Mapp 118). A parent’s attitude toward having a deaf child molds not only interfamily relationships, but the success of the child themselves.The original confusion of their child’ s diagnosis can morph into knowledge; the anger becomes a steady energy and focused drive, while the guilt turns into a lifelong commitment. The most important part of having a deaf child is that it forces ever member of a family to reevaluate life and realize just how precious of a gift it is. A disability only becomes a handicap when an individual allows it to skew their perception and hinder their accomplishments in life (Duckworth et al. 2). The girl smiled at her parents as she boarded the plane for college.It was through the hard work of her parents that she had made it so far. Never had they allowed her to see herself as tainted. They dealt with their issues quietly and ensured that the girl’s sister was never left behind. Through a sense of humor, teacher meetings, hard work, and patience they had shown her that her limitations led to endless accomplishments. The diagnosis was a hearing impairment and the girl is me. Works Cited Duckworth, Derek and Mark Philp. Childr en with Disabilites and their Families. New Jersey: Humanities Press Company, Ltd. 1982. Print. Jones, Reginald L. , ed. Reflections on Growing up Disabled. Virginia: The Council for Exceptional Children, 1983. Print. Luterman, David M. and Mark Ross. When your Child is Deaf: A Guide for Parents. Michigan: York Press, Inc. , 1991. Print. —. Counseling Parents of Hearing-Impaired Children. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, Inc. , 1979. Print. Mapp, Idalia, ed. Essential Readings on Stress and Coping among Parents of Deaf and Hearing- Impaired Children. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2004. Print.

Destin Brass Product Co Essay

Established in 1984, Destin Brass Products Co. had grown to become a significant player in the industry of manufacturing water purification equipment. By identifying a market for water purification valves, Destin Brass quickly built brand awareness and a customer base. Destin Brass developed propriety manufacturing techniques and had a deep understanding of working with brass. This competitive advantage led Destin Brass to add pumps and flow controllers to its product range. Valves, Pumps and Flow Controllers represented 24%, 55% and 21% of company revenues respectively with each having a planned gross margin of 35%. In recent times, manufacturers of pumps had entered into a price war forcing prices down and consequently Destin Brass saw its gross margin on pump sales drop to 22%. At the same time, Destin Brass had found that the price elasticity of demand for Flow Controllers was relatively inelastic, when it increased prices by 12.5% with no effect on demand. Confused by competitor moves in the price cutting of pumps, the managers at Destin Brass considered if competitors simply didn’t know what they manufacturing costs were, but it was more likely that problems may lie within Destin Brass’s cost accounting system. Destin Brass currently had a traditional cost accounting system in place. The system took into account direct and indirect costs based on production and sales activity. Each produced unit was charged for material cost based on component costs and labour costs based on production run labour times. Overheads were then allocated in a two stage process and yielded standard unit cost of $37.6, $63.1 and $56.5 for valves, pumps and flow controllers respectively. An alternative to the traditional approach would be to forego overhead cost allocation altogether. Material and set-up labour cost overheads would be allocated to each product line and machine hours would be changed for labour dollars as the basis for allocating the remaining factory overhead. This revised approach reduced pump and flow controller unit costs to $58.9 and $47.9 but increased valve unit costs to $49. A final approach involved more accurately distributing engineering costs and the idea that activity, rather than production volume, drove costs. This activity based costing (ABC) system would be allocated on the basis of transactions. ABC yielded a standard unit cost of $47.2, $51.6 and $74.2 for valves, pumps and flow controllers respectively. The ABC system suggested that Destin Brass could reduce pump prices dramatically whilst still maintaining healthy margins and at the same time increase flow controller prices to maximise profits. The case illustrates that misused cost accounting systems can have serious strategic implications for a business.

The Issue of Marketing and Environmental Factors Essay

The Issue of Marketing and Environmental Factors - Essay Example This paper will look into the marketing operations of McDonald's, addressing some of the environmental factors that have an influence on the marketing decisions of the company. To this effect, the paper will look into the effect of demographic characteristics of markets and cultural differences. Additionally, there will be a discussion on social responsibility, international relations, and technology. Partnerships among various businesses are vital if global marketing is to succeed. These partnerships are instrumental for McDonald's to become aware of territory that is uncharted and even builds the capacity to expand their operations into these regions (Gilpin, 2008). These interdependent entities are successful since they have access to large reserves of services and most importantly, ideas on how to improve the operations. Because of global interdependence, there are endless opportunities created for the expansion of McDonald's, within America and even outside its borders. Global interdependence creates the need for laws and agreements on what should be the convention in marketing practice that traverses borders. Since the inception of the idea of free trade, there has been numerous free trade agree agreements signed. For example, within Europe is the European Union. Such trade agreements expand the capacity of organizations like McDonald's to operate. When globalization creates increased capacity for such organizations to operate under subsidized tax rates, it benefits the expansion endeavors of the company (Werz and Fried, 2008). The success of the market for McDonald’s product is dependent on the knowledge of demographic attributes of their market. In order to know where to set up their maneuvers it is essential for them to be aware of some of the demographic characteristics of their target, for example, the age of the population, their eating habits and the income distribution.  

The possible treatment for Arteriovenous malformation Essay

The possible treatment for Arteriovenous malformation - Essay Example Management can be done by treatment of symptoms only through drugs. However, a bleeding AVM presents emergency and invasive intervention becomes imminent. The major treatment therapies include open surgery, endovascular embolization and radiosurgery. A multidisciplinary approach is usually employed to minimize the associated complications and achieve better treatment results. A recent clinical trial has established a higher risk of stroke, neurologic disability and death patients with interventional management as compared to the patients managed without intervention. In the end, the study concludes key findings in the form of bullet points. The goal of this study is to present various contemporary practices employed for the evaluation and management of arteriovenous malformations. The risks associated with each procedure are the prime focus of the study, which will also help to highlight their differential effectiveness in dealing with such diverse anomalies. Although there has been remarkable progression in development of non-invasive techniques over the last two decades, the approaches are still being debated on the basis of effectiveness and associated complications. This study will therefore also investigate major challenges faced by practitioners in accurate diagnosis and management of the disease. Further, recent research advancements into the role of multidisciplinary efforts and their future prospects will also be discussed. The human cardiovascular system is among the early developed systems, assuming its functional role by the fourth week of embryonic life. It consists of heart and a closed network of tubular vessels, and serves as a transport system for circulation of blood in the body (1). The pumping mechanism of heart forces the blood into arteries, then arterioles, followed by intricate bed of narrow

Peer review paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Peer review - Research Paper Example Islam has its own rules and principles as mentioned in the Quran. Accordingly, Muslims that are democratically empowered to caste vote do it in favor of implementation of the Sharia Law. A relatively poor response has been made by â€Å"Jay Ulfelder† since he identifies religious concerns as the fundamental reason behind the discriminatory attitudes against such practices as abortion and homosexuality in most of the states whereas the truth is that there is a considerable population of people who condemn these practices because of them being libertarians or because of their ethical and moral concerns. Although it is undeniably true that these practices are condemned on religious grounds, but there are just as many, if not more, reasons cited to oppose these practices as the religious concerns. There is also lack of support of the argument with statistics in the response. Words like â€Å"most states†, and â€Å"some parts of the country† incorporate bias in the

The Koran Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Koran - Essay Example The contrast can be portrayed in their styles of teaching, preaching or guiding the mankind. Both the Bible and the Koran believe in one God. This is the greatest similarity between the two of them but the contrast is in the name. Followers of Bible call him God or Lord while the followers of Koran call him, Allah. The stature of Jesus, as lord was fixed even before he was born. As mentioned in the New Testament, the country shepherds were informed about the emergence of lord by the angels in the following way: â€Å"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ3 the Lord.† In Koran too there is one God. In fact the Koran itself is considered the proof of one God. As mentioned in the Islamic literatureâ€Å"†¦the Koran is, literally, Gods word and is, like Him, miraculous and eternal†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Based on the works of Koran and bible it is evident that there are prophets in both the religions. In Islam the greatest prophet is Muhammad whose revelations have been compiled together in the form of the Holy book Koran. His importance as a prophet is such that every Muslim aims to read some verses of the Koran, five times a day. The contrast between the Koranic prophet Muhammad and biblical prophet, Moses as mentioned in Islam is that â€Å" The many allusions to Moses (Musa), for example, stress that God may choose even an ordinary, flawed man to be His prophet and say nothing of Moses role as the leader of his people.† (Islamic literature) This is the reason why, where Muhammad is given so much of importance Moses’s importance is recognized but not glorified as much as that of Muhammad. Both Jesus and Muhammad had qualities of the teacher. They taught and preached the lessons of love, trust and peace to their followers. They were the basis of the two widely recognized religions. Though both these teachers are treated with

The extension of globalization since 1980 Essay

The extension of globalization since 1980 - Essay Example The current situation attracts the tourists to take sea voyage and so the industry exploits the interests of the consumers as well as targets a huge consumer base (United States Environment Protection Agency, 2008). Key Processes of Globalization The processes of globalization initiated with the evolution of capitalism in the fifteenth century. Consequently, it speeded to different parts of the globe. The processes of globalization were initiated in Latin America, North America and Asia (Santos, 2002, p. 67-68). After the emergence the processes of globalization were rooted with imperialism. During this period the nature of globalization depended much on the thoughts of the leaders of imperialism. They created distinctions among the people in terms of social strata and took on the policy to exploit the relatively less developed countries. The interimperial commercial activities constituted the second step. The emergence of trading possibilities among the European countries gave birth to competition for capturing the market. Globalization can be viewed to be cyclic in nature as it changes in different phases of economic development. Definitions and Measures of Inequality The widening gap between the rich and the poor is used to define inequality. By the concept of economic inequality, the disparities in the distribution of assets among the group of individuals are meant (World Bank, 2005, p. 27-28). Among the many other causes of inequality, the foremost is the difference between the wages and the salaries of the employed persons. Inequality emerges in many markets but inequality in the labor market leads to concentration of power under a few hands. Some other types of inequality include... From the initiation of the process of globalization, the leaders of imperialism had the central part to play. Although trade played an important part in the process of globalization, the gains from trade have not been too successful for the less developed countries. Therefore, the benefits from globalization have been centered on the developed nations. The researchers conducted based on globalization and inequality showed the same story. The researchers opined that globalization has contributed to widening the income gap between the rich and the poor as the rich have the capability to reap the benefits and exploit the poor. Only the study by Atkinson on Denmark showed no role of globalization in income distribution. But globalization is not the only factor for such an outcome. The other factors include political and social factors with the choices made by the nations. Trade also acts as the catalyst to boost the process of globalization. As more countries are opening up the trade bar riers, the choices of consumers are increasing. In this way the gate is opening up for technology transfer, but the benefits are getting accrued mostly to the more powerful ones.

Globalization at General Electric Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Globalization at General Electric - Essay Example However, the company’s management is determined to increase the company’s annual revenue by venturing into the international market. The CEO of the company is considering different marketing options that the company can launch its products. Currently the CEO is considering Latin American market and the European markets. If the company launches its products through these markets, it will encounter current market situations as its major problem. For instance, the European market was the worst hit by the international financial crisis. On the other hand, the Latin American market is a developing economy that has not yet reached its stability. This indicates that if the company ventures into either of the markets, it will encounter the current problems experienced in the market. In addition, the products of the company may not fit appropriately in the proposed market. The international market condition and economic forces (Hirschey, 2009) bind the choice for appropriate mar ket. For instance, the company is facing stiff competition arising from the rapid expansion of Chinese and Indian economies. Currently the Asian economies are at their peak and, therefore they have high demand for infrastructures products. On the other hand, the European markets have reached their levels of stability thus making lifestyle commodities the main trade items. Balancing the needs of every economy is the main problem been experienced in the company. GE has aggressively invested in international expansion due to its needs revenue sustainability and market requirements. In addition, the company is targeting to increase its customer base and benefit of large-scale operations. For the company to reach its revenue targets, it requires exploiting the opportunities in the international market as an element of sustainable growth. Although America has a vast economy, the company is willing and ready to face challenges that are related to the international market. Currently the company has

Personal Financial Planning of a Common Citizen Essay

Personal Financial Planning of a Common Citizen - Essay Example As he would not have any regular inflow of money as with age he would retire from the profession he was into, he needs to save and plan for future, which would take care of his old age. Though at the old age citizens are entitled to state-sponsored pensions still having own money would definitely help them with greater mental assurance to fight the diseases and illnesses which invariably comes with age. Also, the proper financial planning from the right age would also assist a person in fulfilling his other dreams and commitments like those of education of family members and purchasing of house, etc. Jeff, aged 55, works at building trade sites for last 39 years. He started to work at the age of 16 and has earned enough to pay off his mortgages. Jeff is married to Amy, a homemaker. The couple has two children. The first child of Jeff and Amy is Kylie (29) who is married (to Jake) and has two children, of three years and eighteen months old. The other child of Jeff and Amy, named Phil is 26 years old and is still single. Jeff earns a decent sum of  £ 24,000 per annum for last five years. The standard of living of the couple is much simpler and only major indulgence of the aged pair is that they smoke around 20 cigarettes per day. Jeff had been trying his luck by purchasing lottery tickets for last ten years or so but without any fruit. But at last luck supported the man and he has owned a considerable amount of  £ 750,000. The cheque has just reached him and he wants to have proper financial planning for future with the sum he has received as the winner of the lottery. Jeff hopes the amount that he has ownership in the lottery would be able to take care of his needs. The objectives of Jeff includes to receive a decent sum of pension during his period of retirement (approximately around  £ 25,000 per annum and that should also be inflation proof) and to make contributions towards the education of the children of their daughter. Also, the couple wanted to make some contribution towards their children.

Egypt and Mesopotamia before 3000 BC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Egypt and Mesopotamia before 3000 BC - Essay Example Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were ruled by kings at a time before 3000 BC; they were also ruled by priestly castes during this period. The powers of ruler ship were shared amongst a few erudite elites. The economies of these two civilizations were slave-driven as slaves formed the major manpower for their productions. Their societies were formed into status groups as they formed castes based on status and it was the privileged people that were at the upper end of the caste system. The religious edifices and palaces of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia civilizations were constructed for governmental and ceremonial purposes. Division of labor was also the basis of production of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Ancient writings of Mesopotamia and Egypt also influenced modern day writings. 1 In the political system of the two civilizations, the Egyptian civilization was ruled by a powerful centralized government, while Mesopotamia was ruled by the governments of regional city-states. The literary tradition of the Mesopotamians was greater than that of the Egyptians. In architecture, the Egyptians built more monumental structures than the Mesopotamians and this was also due to the belief of the Egyptians in the afterlife as they built these structures to honor the dead.

Ethnic Identity Is an Interactional Identity Essay Example for Free

Ethnic Identity Is an Interactional Identity Essay The word â€Å"ethnic† that we use in our daily life sometimes can be related to foreign origins, unusual, different, unique, traditional, and has cultural relation. Actually, the word of ethnic came from the Greek word â€Å"ethnos† used by Homer in Iliad on 7-8th BC which indicates a group of people that is different from â€Å"us†. However, as the time move forward, the word â€Å"ethnic† has been understood as stated above (foreign, unusual, different, unique, traditional, and cultural related). As I understand, ethnic group can be defined as a group of people that belief they share the same ancestry, history, cultural traits such as language and religion which are different from other group. Some said ethnic group is equal as cultural group. However, Edmund Leach who studied Kachin people in Burma (Myanmar) argued that by assuming that there are no differences between ethnic group and cultural group will lead to failure in addressing various aspects of ethnic phenomena (Dr. Rie Nakamura’s slide, What is an Ethnic Group? Ethnic troubles Theories of Ethnicity). The question here, what is the concept of ethnic identity as â€Å"interactional identity†? Before I explain further, I would like to define what ethnic identity is. According to Kanchan Chandra (2006), ethnic identity means an individual is eligible to be a member by determined his identity. There are four major components of ethnic identity: 1. Ethnic awareness (understanding of one’s own and other groups) 2. Ethnic self-identification (label used for one’s own group) 3. Ethnic attitudes (feeling about own and other groups) 4. Ethnic behaviors (behavior patterns specific to an ethnic group).

Geological Applications of the Stable Isotopes of Nitrogen

Geological Applications of the Stable Isotopes of Nitrogen Bruce Botton Hard rock, geological applications of the stable isotopes of nitrogen. Introduction. Gammon and Ebbing book of general chemistry define isotope as â€Å"an atom with the same number of protons, but differing numbers of neutrons. So isotopes are just different forms of a single element.†[ Gammon, Ebbing. (2005). (8th ed., p. 467)] There are two broader definitions of isotopes, light isotopes are elements that are lighter (contain less neutrons) than the common more stable element (eg. 12O,26S and 34Cl) and Heavy isotopes are the atom contains greater number of neutrons than the most common form( eg. Fe, Cu and Zn). Focusing on light stable isotopes in low temperature environments such as H, C and O and with specific reference to Nitrogen isotopes. Below are a few properties of light stable elements: They are usually of low atomic masses. The mass difference between the heavy, uncommon isotopes and the common light isotopes is usually very large. The lighter elements form bonds with more covalent properties. These light elements form a large number of compounds that are found in the natural environment. Exist in more than one oxidation state. The relative abundances of isotopes are high enough for precise determination of isotropic ratios by mass spectrometry. Sedimentary rocks, low grade igneous and metamorphic rocks (ie. That form at temperatures of 350 degrees Celsius and less) are the type of rocks that we are expecting to find these stables isotopes of interest. Any temperature above this constitutes as high temperature geochemistry. The use of isotopes in analysis of rocks is of increasing popularity, it uses the variations in isotope abundance of various elements to determine certain properties of a rock. These properties that are available are origin and age of the rocks; air or water bodies and even to see if there has been any mixing of magmas to change the composition of the rocks. Stable isotope geochemistry is mainly focussed on the isotropic variations from mass dependant isotope fractionation as compared with radiogenic isotope geochemistry which uses the products of natural radioactive decay (eg. Half lives). Equation 1. Enrichment factor equation. Many isotopes the amount of fractionation that an atom or body of molecules undergoes is very small (both kinetic or equilibrium), so small measured in parts per thousand or less. The formula above shows us the enrichment factor that is present in a sample. This formula uses the ratio of heavy isotopes to light isotopes as compared with a standard sample. So for nitrogen we will be using 15N/14N For the purpose of this assignment, we are focusing on the use of nitrogen and its two isotopes 14N and 15N in the analysis of hard rocks. Nitrogen is a colourless, odourless tasteless and most commonly a diatomic non metal gas, it actually makes up 78% of the Earth’s atmosphere. Not only is it over three quarters of our atmosphere but it is a part of all living tissues and is an essential part of life as it is part of DNA and therefore important in the genetic code and the evolution of life. The nitrogen cycle (figure below) is an essential part of existence on earth. Nitrogen cycle. Figure 1 . Schematic diagram of the Nitrogen cycle.[ Petrucci, et al (2002). (8th ed., pp. 887–889). Prentice Hall.] There are 9 stages of the nitrogen cycle, there is no start point the nitrogen cycle is a complex, continous and simultaneous system. Nitrogen fixation: this is a chemical processes by which atmospheric nitrogen is transformed into organic compoundsby microorganisms. N2 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   NH4+ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   N-org Ammonification: this process is a conversion of organic nitrogen to ammonium by bacteria. N-org à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   NH4+ Nitrification: this is a process by which a nitro group is substituted for another group in organic compound. NH4+ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   NO2 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   NO3 Assimilation: is the conversion of nutriment into a usable form that is incorporated into human tissue and organs after digestion NH4+ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   N-org Dentrification: is a process by which microbacteria breaks down a nitrate to produce N2. NO3 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   NO2 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   NO à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   N2O à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   N2 Volatilization: in this instance it is when liquid ammonium is transformed into ammonia gas. NH4+ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   NH3 gas Case studies: Nitrogen isotopes in peridotitic diamonds from Fuxian, China: the mantle signature. Nitrogen is of low abundance in the earth’s mantle due to lack of knowledge. But fibrous diamonds are a N rich form and are associated with MORB vesicles these have been tested and give a ÃŽ ´Ã‚ ­15N value of -5†°, the reason for a negative value is due to it being a relative value to the external sources (atmosphere) This has lead people to believe in the heterogeneous accretion model of the earth. In Pierre Cartigny et al experimental procedure they separated diamonds into broad categories, type 1 has no nitrogen and type 2 does not contain any Nitrogen. These abnormalities are linked to diffusion process and might help tell us if diamonds formed in multiple steps. The nitrogen and the ÃŽ ´15N were measured with accuracy  ±2.5% and 0.5% respectively. After IR analysis 25% of the diamonds taken from Pipe 50 were determined as type 2 , and the remainder a mixture of type 1 and 2 diamonds. These ‘mixed diamonds’ are separate platelets compacted together, this zonation of the aggregated states of type 1 and type 2 platelets conform that the octahedrally shaped diamonds growth was over a extended period. 25% of the samples that were analyzed were found to have a lower value of a ÃŽ ´Ã‚ ­15N the in previous works ranging from -12†° to -25†° and the nitrogen concentrations vary from 0 to 1473 ppm. Below figure 2 shows us the ÃŽ ´ 15N histogram which show us fibrous diamonds from all over the World and the octahedrally shaped diamonds from pipe 50, the result as can be seen is that they are based around the same value ( -7†° and -5†°). These results are coincidently similar to the ÃŽ ´13C; this shows us that the fractionation of stable nitrogen isotopes during non fibrous diamond growth is unlikely. The growth of octahedral shaped diamonds should be seen as a large open system with limited supply of volatiles and periods of time in which resorption can occur. Geochemical evidence shows fibrous and peridotitic diamonds originate from similar sources, believed to be the convecting asthenosphere with values of ÃŽ ´Ã‚ ­15N being -5  ± 2 and -4.5  ±1†° respectively. If we wanted to strengthen this argument we would have to look at Diamonds that are found in the lower mantle. These diamonds would originate from a less degassed mantle, this would mean that there wou ld be little to no nitrogen present. If the nitrogen content is controlled by rate of growth rather than the carbon nitrogen ratio of the fluid, this means that there will be little or no correlation between N and ÃŽ ´Ã‚ ­15N, and even less between ÃŽ ´13C and nitrogen which is present in this case. [ Geà ¢ochimie, et al. (1997). Terra Nova, 9(4), 175–179.] Figure 2. histogram comparing ÃŽ ´15N values of diamonds from pipe 50 kimberlites and previously analysed fibrous diamonds.[ Geà ¢ochimie, et al. (1997). Terra Nova, 9(4), 175–179.] Concentrations and isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur in the ocean floor basalts. The concentration of stable isotope ratios in fresh basalts on the sea floor provides us with information on abundance and isotope ratio of volatile elements in the upper mantle and crust. Samples were taken from less than 10mm from billow basalt ridges and then other samples were taken from the inner portions of the pillows where the groundmass ranges from glassy to crypto-crystalline. The isotropic ratios ÃŽ ´ was atmospheric nitrogen and the uncertainties was  ±1†°. The contents and the ratio of nitrogen present in the ocean floor basalts range from 0.3 – 2.8 ppm and from -0.4†° – 0.8†°. The nitrogen that was attained was of one order of magnitude bigger than the blank nitrogen cycle. This said but the uncertainties in the experiment were rather large  ±1†°, this is due to the small sample sizes. This said, the discrepancy of the isotope ratios should not be taken to be significant but the uniformity of the isotropic ratio and their similarity to the N2 ­ in the air should be emphasized. Nitrogen’s most common form in igneous rocks is in the form of N2 ­ and ammonia. When nitrogen vapour is in contact with magma it would most likely exist as N2, but if it is in the magma it will most likely be in the form of ammonia. The nitrogen in the magma itself will most likely escape as N2 from ascending magma and decreasing confining pressure and will act as a alkaline cation when undergoing fractional crystallization and therefore will be more evolved in a more evolved magma. As Degassing and fractional crystallization proceed NH+4 is enriched relative to N ­2, and NH3 would become depleted and more enriched in 15N this means that 15N/14N in igneous rocks increases with decreasing nitrogen content. According to Sakai, H et al. The average ÃŽ ´ 15N of magmatic crust, atmosphere and sedimentary rocks are 4.2, 0 and 5.2†° respectively. Therefore the global distributions of nitrogen isotopes have been interpreted as the result of out gassing of magma and fractiona tion between N2 and NH+4. ÃŽ ´15N found in MORB are close to the crustal values and therefore can be said to support the above model. Conclusion: Finally in conclusion we can see the importance of nitrogen not only in the atmosphere and our very being. But we can see that there are uses for the stable isotopes in the continued attempts to try and understand the Earth’s history and origin. Reference list: Gammon, Ebbing. (2005). General Chemistry. (R. Stratton, Ed.) (8th ed., p. 467). New york: Charles Hartford. Geà ¢ochimie, L. De, Physique, I. De, Vii, U. D. P., Cnrs, U. R. A., Cartigny, P., Boyd, S. R., Harris, J. W., et al. (1997). Nitrogen isotopes in peridotitic diamonds from Fuxian , Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: the mantle signature. Terra Nova, 9(4), 175–179. Petrucci, Harwood, Herring. (2002). General Chemistry. (J. Challice, Ed.) (8th ed., pp. 887–889). Prentice Hall. Sakai, H., Des Marais, D. J., Ueda, a, Moore, J. G. (1984). Concentrations and isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur in ocean-floor basalts. Geochimica et cosmochimica acta, 48, 2433–41. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11540821 Sharp, Z(2007), Principles of stable isotopes Geochemistry. Prentice Hall,NJ.

Travel and Tourism Essay

Travel and Tourism Essay Introduction to Travel and Tourism Tourism is travel for leisure, recreational and business purpose. Tourists can be defined as people who travel to and stay in places outside their usual surroundings for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes by the World Tourism Organization. Tourism is a known affair in human life. It has been an industry of vast dimensions and eventually supports economic and social growth. Tourism worldwide has experienced phenomenal growth. With more than 600 million people travelling annually, tourism is the worlds largest industry, with revenues of about half a trillion dollars a year, and averaging five percent annual growth. India, being a vast and diverse country has always something to offer, and its glorious traditions and rich cultural heritage are linked with the development of tourism. Its magnificent monuments attract large numbers of visitors from all over the world. Tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 5.68% of the national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment in India. India witnesses more than 13.72 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 650 million domestic tourist visits. The tourism industry in India generated about US$ 100 billion in 2008 and is expected to increase to US$ 275.5 billion 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate. Booming IT industry and outsourcing industry has led to growing number of business trips made by foreigners to India, who often add a weekend break or longer holiday to their trip. Foreign tourist spends more in India than almost any other country worldwide. Tourist arrivals are projected to increase by over 22% per year through till 2010. Tourism minister has also played an important role in the development of the industry, initiating advertising campaigns such as the Incredible India campaign, which promoted Indias culture and tourist attractions in a fresh and memorable way. This campaign helped create a colourful image of India in the minds of tourists all over the world and directly led to an increase in the interest among tourists. The tourism industry has helped growth in other sectors as diverse as horticulture, handicraft, agriculture, construction and even poultry. Both directly and indirectly, increased tourism in India has created jobs in a variety of related sectors. Almost 20 million people are now working in the Indias tourism industry. Growth Of Hospitality Industry In India The hotel industry in India is going through an interesting phase. One of the major reasons for the increase in demand for hotel rooms in the country is the boom in the overall economy and high growth in sectors like information technology, telecom, retail and real estate. Rising stock market and new business opportunities are also attracting hordes of foreign investors and international corporate travellers to look for business opportunities in the country. The hotel industry in India is going through an interesting phase. The industry has a capacity of 110,000 rooms. According to the tourism ministry, 4.4 million tourists visited India last year and at the current rate, the demand will soar to 10 million by 2010 to accommodate 350 million domestic travellers. The hotels of India have a shortage of 150,000 rooms fuelling hotel room rates across India. With tremendous pull of opportunity, India has become a destination for hotel chains looking for growth. Due to such a huge potential available in this segment, several global hotel chains like the Hilton, Accor, Marriott International, Berggruen Hotels, Cabana Hotels, Premier Travel Inn (PTI), InterContinental Hotels group and Hampshire among others have all announced major investment plans for the country. The Governments move to declare hotel and tourism industry as a high priority sector with a provision for 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) has also provided a further impetus in attracting investments in to this industry. It is estimated that the hospitality sector is likely to see US$ 11.41 billion rise in the next two years, with around 40 international hotel brands making their presence known in the country by 2011. Simultaneously, international hotel asset management companies are also likely to enter India. Already, US-based HVS International has firmed up plans to enter India, and industry players believe others like Ashford Hospitality Trust and IFA Hotels Resorts among others are likely to follow suit. Niche Tourism The concept of niche tourism has emerged in recent years in counter-point to what is commonly referred as mass tourism. In a globalising world of increasing sameness, niche tourism represents diversity and ways of making difference. It plays on the pejorative connections that have accompanied the evolution of mass and package tourism and their, often cited, negative impacts in relation to environmental degradation and socio-cultural disturbance. For destination managers and planners seeking to utilise tourism as a mechanism for economic development, the niche tourism approach appears to often greater opportunities and a tourism that is more sustainable, less damaging and more capable of delivering high spending tourists. The term niche tourism is largely borrowed from the term niche marketing, which in turn has appropriated the niche concept from the language of the relatively recent discipline of ecology. Tourists, as consumers have developed increasing levels of expertise and experience of being tourists. Whilst this developmental pattern of tourists may not always be linear or simplistic. Figure 2: Niche Tourism Components Types of Niche Tourisms Niche tourism has broadly been divided into following components: Cultural Tourism: Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or regions culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those peoples, their art, architecture, religions, and other elements that helped shape their way of life. Cultural tourism includes tourism in urban areas, particularly historic or large cities and their cultural facilities such as museums and theatres. It can also include tourism in rural areas showcasing the traditions of indigenous cultural communities (i.e. festivals, rituals), and their values and lifestyle. Environmental Tourism: Environmental tourism, ecotourism, or nature tourism provides an opportunity to visit undisturbed natural areas, scenic vistas, and observe plants and wildlife. Ecotourism is responsible travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strive to be low impact and often small scale as an alternative to mass tourism. Its purpose is to educate the traveller and provide funds for ecological conservation, directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities and foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Generally, ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth and environmental responsibility. Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. One of the goals of ecotourism is to offer tourists insight into the impact of human beings on the environment, and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats. Responsibl e ecotourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Rural Tourism: Any form of tourism that showcases the rural life, art, culture and heritage at rural locations, thereby benefiting the local community economically and socially as well as enabling interaction between the tourists and the locals for a more enriching tourism experience can be termed as rural tourism. Rural tourism is essentially an activity which takes place in the rural areas. The term rural tourism was adopted by the European Community to refer to all tourism activities in rural areas or as an economic activity, which depends on and exploits the countryside. Figure 1: Rural Tourism Approach Forms of Rural Tourism Agritourism: Agritourism or farm tourism refers to an organization working on farm or agricultural plant made for entertainment of tourists or visitors, thereby generating income for farm owners. This may help the farmers to interact with the visitors, thereby benefiting the visitors to enrich their knowledge regarding agritourism. Sports Tourism: It involves tourists to participate or observe rural sports. It teaches the local rural people how to get scope/chance in international game and to compete with opponents. It enables the people of different cultural background to mix with other people and exchange cultural activities between the parties and thereby they are culturally rich. Pro-Poor Tourism: Pro Poor tourism is set up in developing countries as a means to improve the local economy for local people. It enhances the linkages between tourism businesses and poor people; so that poverty is reduced and poor people are able to participate more effectively in tourism development. The aims of pro-poor ranges from increasing local employment to involving local people in the decision making process. Introduction to Rural Tourism in India Majority of India is among the rural category with the sanctity and subtleness intact in the very essence of the village soil. This pious environment of the rural India attracts lot of interest among the tourists in India and thus rural tourism is a fast emerging category. A national tourism policy was introduced in 2002, with rural tourism identified as a focus area to generate employment and promote sustainable livelihoods. The government in its 10th five year plan has focused on the subject of rural tourism. With a rich diversity in culture, heritage, food, crafts, and tradition, India has immense potential and opportunity. It has identified certain areas across the country, which can immediately be developed as the rural destinations. The government partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for an Endogenous Tourism Project. Some 30 rural sites were selected in 20 states to develop as destinations for rural tourists. The UNDP pumped in an initial US$2.5 million. Those proposals that were selected by the government were entitled to assistance up to US$100,000. Divining Forces in Rural Tourism Industry stakeholders define the rural tourism experience by what they offer as product. But they are simply responding to what they perceive as an increasing demand for experience of rural communities, and interpreting it via their own world views. This demand is driven by a range of forces that combine to create tourist interest in rural experiences. These forces have been identified by many authors and can be summarised as: Tourist generating regions for rural tourism are highly developed and urbanised. The stresses of urban living and the remoteness from the natural environment has created a desire for escape from the monoculture of city living. Baby boomers are driven to tourism experiences that yield increased self-awareness in their drive for longed for perfection that compensates for lives destabilised by uncertainty and insecurity (Mackay, 1997) Demand fuelled by media, over-familiarity and congestion with traditional tourist resorts and increased interest in alternative attractions with its voracious appetite for content and the resultant over exposure of many traditional tourist destinations. Increasing environmental awareness and interest in the relationship between humans and the environment. Green issues have raised the attractiveness of rural experiences as ecologically sustainable tourism. Transport, communication, and the removal of political and economic barriers to travel have facilitated accessibility of rural areas. Increase in number of free independent travellers due to the increased capacity, especially in long-haul transport modes. When combined with increasing discretionary incomes, greater awareness of the range experiences on offer, the accessibility and attractiveness of rural destinations has been dramatically improved. Changing work patterns have increased the popularity of shorter breaks that minimise the absence from work and the effect of absences on work flow and involvement. An increased interest in heritage can be satisfied through rural tourism as rural areas are often the repositories of remnant heritage. Rural areas are perceived as healthier, offering fresher air, cleaner water and the opportunity for outdoor recreation. Rural areas offer fresh and speciality food. (Bartmann and Baum, 1998) Issues with Rural Tourism The lack of statistical base: It is difficult to establish volume and value of rural tourism as a specific market sector in nations, even harder on an international scale. Many countries have different definitions of rural and will therefore collect different data. Data on rural tourism are not easily obtainable. Rural communities: These tend to be non-uniform for example remove versus accessible rural areas contain very different types of settlement, employment opportunities, socio-demographic characteristics. Different community structures with diverse responses to tourism exist. Tourism development strategies may not benefit all rural areas: Where there is an inadequate supply of attractions or accommodation, tourism may not flourish. However marketing strategies must be good to attract tourists. Likewise, development of tourism provision by local people may not be feasible in a depressed rural economy. Impact of Rural Tourism The aim of tourism development in rural areas is, in general terms, to provide opportunities for economic and social development. In some areas, tourism provides the main source of income and employment, as well as providing social and economic benefits. Inevitably, negative aspects of rural tourism are evident as well. (Gannon 1994) Economic Assists viability of existing tourism and non-tourism business. Encourages dependence on industry prone to uncontrollable change Creates new employment Creates part time, seasonal employment Attracts inward investment Incurs development costs and public service cost Socio-cultural Assists in viability of local service Creates feeling of invasion by tourists Creates sense of pride Increases crime Revitalises local culture, traditions, events and crafts Reduction in local services Environmental Leads in environmental improvements in settlements Increases wear and tear on landscape features Provides income for conservation of buildings and natural environment Creates need for new developments which may not be in keeping with local area. Fosters awareness of conservation as worthwhile activity Increases pollution and affects local biodiversity Table 1: Positive and negative impacts of rural tourism Niche Market: A Place in Rural Tourism If the importance of the products one buys lies largely in their potential as social markers, tourism marketers must focus both on tourisms social signification and on meanings attached to spaces in which these occur. Explanations of tourism consumption cannot be derived in isolation from the social relations in which they are embedded. New users of the countryside are redefining what constitutes rurality, and there is a need to take postmodernism and the construction of the rural much more seriously. Contemporary social construction often transcends the countrysides tangible characteristics and qualities of open space or fresh air by representing it as the setting for the achievement of a range of personal goals. The need for a wider sociological approach to tourism studies has been emphasised by Sharpley, who argues for the recognition of broader social and cultural influences that shape consumer behaviour as a whole and influence consumption patterns. In the interests of the rural environment, therefore, and of the small businesses trying to meet the needs of emerging markets, it is necessary to look beyond classical marketing theory to gain a useful understanding of rural tourism consumption and to evaluate the existence of niches for marketing purposes. The increasing need for analysts to focus on consumption as an improved means of understanding contemporary forms of rural tourism demand requires a dynamic framework within which the analysis can be conducted. A continuum to measure the relative importance of the countryside to the consumption of tourism in rural areas is proposed to indicate the importance of the countryside to the purpose of the trip and to tourist satisfaction. The significance of the model lies in its recognition of the primacy of neither tourism nor tourist types but the ways in which the countryside is consumed as a recreational resource. Challenges and Opportunities in Rural Tourism The major problem in rural areas is that there is not much scope for working. Most of the People are engaged in agricultural activities, some of them in forestry and others are artisans. Villages are struggling with large families with one or two earning members in the family and high consumption expenditure. Due to less scope in villages most of them started migrating to cities. There are 638,691 villages in India as per the Census Report 2001 and the rural population is 741,660,293 with average population of 1,161 per village. Many of these rural communities have the potential have the potential resources, ability to attract the growing tourism industry. The scenic beauty, historical importance may appeal the urbanites, caught up in todays fast pace of lifestyle. Challenges in Rural Tourism The major challenges are the need to preserve the environment and natural resources and the need for proper education. Legislation Problems Respondents have pointed out that there can be legal problems. Tourism is a part of entertainment industry. All hotels, motels and cottages having license pay taxes to government. Rural tourism should have a tax holiday or it should be tax free. The government should encourage rural tourism to grow. Lack Of Trained Man Power The ruler people require to be trained for discharging their duties, decorating the cottages and maintaining them, serving food to the visitors and to understand the taste of the costumers, either the local cuisine or different type of Indian cuisine. The success of rural tourism totally depends on the quality of service provided to the tourists. To develop the manpower government has to take initiative to open various short training courses for imparting knowledge and skills. Insufficient Financial Support To start rural tourism, sufficient fund is required to promote it in introductory phase. Rural tourism is still uncommon to many tourists. This is because the government has just started promoting rural tourism. Central and state government should encourage rural tourism by providing financial support to start the project. As it will create employment in rural areas and will help the inflow of funds from rural areas to urban areas. Lack of Local Involvement Since rural people do not have knowledge and skills to involve hem in different activities. They may get the job of unskilled workers. The rural people need to develop the knowledge and skills to have a higher involvement in rural tourism. The basic concept behind the rural tourism is the participation of rural people. But in practice local people are seldom involved in decision making, planning and implementing policies. Most of rural people do not have much knowledge of tourism, and are misled by outside investors who hope to take most of the economic benefits from rural area. Language Problem There are 16 recognized languages and 850 dialects in India. Although Hindi is an official language, in many parts of India people do not understand it. The rural people have to upgrade themselves to communicate with the urbanites. The villagers not only have to educate themselves but they have to understand hindi to interact with the Indian costumers and English to communicate with the foreign costumers. Opportunities in Rural Tourism The tourists look for quality environment and meaningful experience. Marketing of rural is a specialist job. For rural tourism, rural people have to surrender themselves to professional marketers who understand the complexity of their task. The business depends on the development of networks, creation of trust and loyalty and information system, all of which takes money and time to develop, which is beyond the resources of most individual. Tourists have become more educated, more aware of facilities available and more experienced, their expectation has also increased. People are interested in exploring new places. Rural tourism in India has great future, since it not only provides natural elements of beauty but also the indigenous local traditions, customs and foods. Direct experience with local people can be a unique selling proposition to attract tourists. Every state in India has unique handicraft, traditions and foods. The rural tourism not go for mass marketing, rather different strategies should be under taken for different segment to make it successful.

The Impact of Television on American Society Essay -- essays research

The Impact of Television on American Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What role does television play in society? For decades we have seen many parts of our world rapidly going through changes in technology. Today’s society has been transformed by means of communication and the available information through mass media. Most Americans rely on television for news, sports, and entertainment. Television is just one of the many examples of how technology has changed our lives. Since the invention of the television in the early 1900’s, it has played a very important role in our lives. Having a television set in the home has become very essential in today’s society. We depend on it to entertain us with its sitcoms and to inform us about current world issues. The problem is that sometimes what we hear or see on television is not always accurate or correct. Sometimes news stories give us the wrong information and we believe that it is true because it is being said on television. They may give you a story, but they may lea ve out some details to prove their point or to make the story more interesting. Americans are among the most ill-informed people in the world. Television, in other words, is not the great information machine. It is the great disinformation machine. TV tends to mislead us with its stories and in many ways we allow ourselves to be fall behind in the world as we tend to want to watch the entertainment shows and not the news broadcasts. Thus, we are not informed about what is going on in o...

Dangers And Destructions Of Floods And Hurricanes :: essays research papers

Dangers and Destructions of Floods and Hurricanes Floods and hurricanes have been effecting the lives of people around the world for years. This research paper is going to state some of the worst floods and hurricanes, and how future ones can be controlled. A flood is an overflow of water on dry land. The two types of floods are coastal and river floods. Coastal floods are the first topic in this research paper. A coastal flood is the flooding of beaches and surrounding areas; including bar spits and deltas. They can be effected by tidal waves and coastal currents. Coastal floods can cover a large amount of distance along a shore. The length of time a coastal flood is dangerous is usually very short. It depends on how high the tide is which goes up and down twice a day. When the velocities of hurricane winds become severe the height of the waves become three or more feet higher than the previous high tide. Coastal floods can be caused by a number of things. Coastal floods can be caused by runoff, hurricane waves, tsunami (seismic sea waves), and hurricane rains. Coastal flooding can not only take part on oceans but it can also take part on lakes. Coastal flooding can be a great danger because coast lines are very densely populated areas. In the United States in the early 1990's 50% of the population was on a coastal county.1 Although they shrink before reaching shore, wind generated waves have been spotted to be as high as 30 m (100 ft) in the middle of the ocean.2 In 1970 a major storm in the Bay of Bengal produced heavy seas that flooded regions of East Pakistan, killing about 200,000 people.3 River flooding can happen a number of ways. The causes are rain, snowmelt, and ice jams. Soil can not absorb as much water with continuos moistening. The longer that precipitation lasts the more water flows into streams as runoff. Cloudburst floods only last for a couple hours, but they need a large amount of rainfall. This usually only happens in mountainous areas. They are called flash floods. Floods occurring from snowmelt and ice jams do not have to be preceded by heavy rains. Moderate amounts of rain can make things even worse because the ground does not absorb it. Floods can result in the failure dams, aqueducts, weirs, landfills, paving, construction, and storm sewers. They are artificial causes. In 1993 when rainfall lasted from April until July in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, it covered about 16 billion acres.4 Many deaths and $10 billion in damage was the result

Succubus Revealed Chapter 2

It took me a moment to really comprehend that in thirty seconds, the conversation had gone from a deeply seriously mystery about my love life to bowling for demonic bragging rights. And yet, this wasn't a particularly unusual pattern in my world. â€Å"And by ‘we,' † added Jerome, â€Å"I mean you four.† He nodded toward Peter, Cody, Hugh, and me. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I said. â€Å"Let me make sure I'm following this. You've signed us up for some sort of bowling league. One that you aren't even going to participate in. And this is somehow going to prove your employees' ‘evilness' to the world.† â€Å"Don't be silly. I can't participate. Bowling teams only have four people.† He didn't comment on the proving evilness part. â€Å"Well, hey, I'll totally yield my spot to you,† I said. â€Å"I'm not that great a bowler.† â€Å"You'd better become one.† Jerome's voice grew cold. â€Å"All of you had, if you know what's good for you. Nanette will be impossible to live with at the next company meeting if you lot lose.† â€Å"Gee, Jerome. I love bowling,† said Carter. â€Å"How come you never mentioned this to me before?† Jerome and Carter held gazes for several heavy seconds. â€Å"Because, unless you're ready to take a fall for the team, you can't really compete with us.† A funny smile fell over Carter's face. His gray eyes glinted. â€Å"I see.† â€Å"I don't really like your use of ‘us,' seeing as you've already written off any participation on your part,† I pointed out to Jerome, imitating his earlier snide tone. Peter sighed, looking rather woebegone. â€Å"Where on earth am I going to find tasteful bowling shoes?† â€Å"What's our team name going to be?† asked Cody. That immediately degenerated into a conversation of truly terrible suggestions, such as Soulless in Seattle and Split Decision. After almost an hour, I couldn't handle any more. â€Å"I think I'm going to go home,† I said, standing up. I had kind of wanted dessert but was afraid I'd be drafted for beach volleyball and cricket if I stayed much longer. â€Å"I brought the wine. You guys don't really need me anymore.† â€Å"When you get home, tell my wayward offspring that I need him to coach you guys,† said Jerome. â€Å"By ‘home,' I actually meant Seth's,† I said. â€Å"But if I see Roman, I'll let him know you've found a good use for his formidable cosmic powers.† Roman – Jerome's half-human son and my roommate – actually was a pretty good bowler, but I didn't want to encourage Jerome. â€Å"Wait!† Peter sprang up after me. â€Å"You have to draw for Secret Santas first.† â€Å"Oh, come on – â€Å" â€Å"No complaining,† he argued. He hurried to the kitchen and returned with a ceramic cookie jar shaped like a snowman. He thrust it toward me. â€Å"Draw. Whatever name you get is who you're buying for, so don't try to get out of it.† I drew a piece of paper and opened it up. Georgina. â€Å"I can't – â€Å" Peter held up a hand to silence me. â€Å"You drew the name. That's who you've got. No arguments.† His stern look stopped me from any more protests. â€Å"Well,† I pointed out pragmatically, â€Å"at least I have a few ideas.† To his credit, Peter sent me home with some chocolate fondue sauce and a Tupperware bowl filled with fruit and marshmallows. Hugh and Cody were running forward with the bowling team plan, trying to come up with a practice schedule. Jerome and Carter said little and instead kept watching each other in a speculative, knowing way that was typical of them. It was hard to read much on their faces, but for once, Jerome gave off the vibe of having the upper hand. I left Capitol Hill for Seattle's University District and Seth's condo. All the windows were dark when I pulled up, and I couldn't help a smile. It was almost eleven. Seth must have called it an early night, something I'd been urging him to do for a while. Thinking of that, my smile faded as quickly as it had come. A few months ago, Seth's sister-in-law, Andrea, had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The disease had been pretty far advanced when caught, and although she'd almost immediately gone into treatment, the outcome still wasn't promising. Worse, the treatments had taken a huge physical toll on her, one that was testing the family's strength. Seth was frequently helping them out, especially when his brother Terry was working, since it was harder for Andrea to care for their five daughters now. Seth had been sacrificing both sleep and his writing career to look after them. I knew it was necessary. I loved Seth's family and had helped them out as well. But I still hated seeing Seth run himself down and knew that it hurt him to put his work on hold. He claimed his writing was the least of his problems right now and had time before deadlines were an issue, particularly since his next two books were queued for printing next year. I couldn't argue against that, but the sleep issue? Yeah, I was on him a lot about that and glad to see my words had gotten through tonight. I used my key to let myself in and slipped through the condo as silently as possible. I practically lived here lately and had no trouble finding my way around furniture in the darkness. When I reached his bedroom, I could just barely make out his form wrapped up in covers, softly outlined in the light of his alarm clock. I quietly took off my coat and then shape-shifted into a cotton babydoll nightgown. It was sexy but not blatantly so. I planned on sleeping with him tonight, for real. I slid into bed and pressed myself up against his back, lightly tossing an arm over him. He stirred slightly, and I couldn't resist pressing a kiss against his bare shoulder. The scent of cinnamon and musk washed over me as he snuggled closer. Despite sternly chastising myself that he needed to sleep, I lightly ran my fingers along his arm and sneaked in another kiss. â€Å"Mmm,† he murmured, rolling over toward me. â€Å"That feels nice.† A few things hit me at once. First, Seth didn't wear any sort of cologne or aftershave that smelled like cinnamon. Second, Seth's voice didn't sound like that. Third, and perhaps most important, Seth wasn't in bed with me. I didn't mean to scream as loudly as I did. It just kind of happened. I was out of the bed in a flash, groping for the light switch on the wall while the intruder attempted to get up. He ended up getting tangled in the covers and falling off the bed with a loud thump, just as I found the light. I promptly reached for a weapon, but seeing as this was Seth's bedroom, my options were limited. The heaviest, most dangerous object I could readily grab ahold of was Seth's dictionary, a leather-bound monstrosity that he kept on hand because he â€Å"didn't trust the Internet.† I stood poised and ready to literally throw the book at the intruder as he scrambled to his feet. As he did and I got a good look at him, I noticed something crazy. He looked . . . familiar. Not only that, but he kind of looked like Seth. â€Å"Who are you?† I demanded. â€Å"Who are you?† he exclaimed. He seemed more confused than anything else. I don't think he found the threat of a five foot four woman with a dictionary all that frightening. Before I could answer, a hand touched my arm. I yelped and threw the dictionary out of instinct. The guy dodged, letting the book crash harmlessly against the wall. I spun around to see who'd touched me and found myself looking into the eyes of a white-haired woman with gold cat-eye glasses. She was wearing flowered pajama bottoms and a pink sweatshirt with a crossword puzzle on it. She was also wielding a baseball bat, which was pretty astonishing – not just because it was more dangerous than a dictionary but also because I hadn't known Seth owned one. â€Å"What are you doing here?† she asked fiercely. She glanced over at the shirtless, dumbfounded guy. â€Å"Are you okay?† For half a second, I actually toyed with the idea that I had somehow let myself into someone else's condo. Like, maybe I was just one door over. This scene was so ridiculous that a mix-up seemed far more likely. It was only the obvious evidence – like my key and Seth's University of Chicago teddy bear watching this spectacle – that drove home the fact that I was indeed where I was supposed to be. Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening and closing rang through the condo. â€Å"Hello?† came a blessedly familiar voice. â€Å"Seth!† exclaimed all three of us in unison. Moments later, Seth appeared in the doorway. As usual, he looked adorable. His reddish brown hair was typically unkempt, and he was wearing a Dirty Dancing T-shirt that I'd never seen before. Despite my panic and confusion over this current situation, the concerned part of me still noted the little signs of fatigue on Seth's face, the dark circles and lines of weariness. He was thirty-six and usually looked younger than his age. Not today. â€Å"Seth,† said the bat-wielding woman. â€Å"This lady broke into your house.† He looked at each of us in turn before resting his gaze on her. â€Å"Mom,† he said quietly, â€Å"that's my girlfriend. Please don't bludgeon her.† â€Å"Since when do you have a girlfriend?† asked the guy. â€Å"Since when do you have a baseball bat?† I asked, recovering my composure. Seth cut me a wry look before gently trying to remove the bat from the woman's hands. She didn't let go. â€Å"Georgina, this is my mom, Margaret Mortensen. And that's my brother Ian. Guys, this is Georgina.† â€Å"Hi,† I said, feeling surprise of a different sort. I'd heard a lot about Seth's mother and younger brother but hadn't expected to meet them anytime soon. Seth's mother didn't like to fly, and Ian was . . . well, from the stories Seth and Terry told, Ian was just hard to track down in general. He was the wayward Mortensen brother. Margaret relinquished the bat and put on a polite but wary smile. â€Å"It's very nice to meet you.† â€Å"Ditto,† said Ian. I now understood why he looked familiar. Aside from the fact I'd probably seen a picture of him somewhere, he also shared some of Seth's and Terry's features. He was tall like Seth, but with Terry's thinner face. Ian's hair was all brown, with no coppery hint, but it had that same messy look that Seth's did. Except, on closer examination, I had the feeling Ian's had been purposely styled that way with the help of much time and product. Seth suddenly did a double take between Ian and me. He didn't even have to say anything for me to guess the question on his mind. Or questions, perhaps. My nightgown and Ian's shirtlessness undoubtedly raised a number of them. Ian's defense came swift and certain. â€Å"She got into bed with me.† â€Å"I thought he was you,† I said. Seth's mother made a strange noise in her throat. â€Å"You were supposed to be on the couch,† said Seth accusingly. Ian shrugged. â€Å"It's uncomfortable. And you weren't home yet, so I figured there was no harm done. How was I supposed to know some woman was going to come manhandle me in my sleep?† â€Å"I didn't manhandle you!† I cried. Seth rubbed his eyes, again reminding me how exhausted he was. â€Å"Look, what's done is done. Why don't we all just go to bed – where we're supposed to – and then get to know each other in the morning, okay?† Margaret eyed me. â€Å"She's going to sleep in here? With you?† â€Å"Yes, Mom,† he said patiently. â€Å"With me. Because I'm a grown man. And this is my home. And because in thirty-six years, this isn't the first woman to stay over with me.† His mother looked aghast, and I groped for a more comfortable topic. â€Å"Your shirt's great.† Now that she wasn't threatening to strike me, I could see that the crossword spelled out her five granddaughters' names. â€Å"I love the girls.† â€Å"Thank you,† she said. â€Å"Each one of them is a blessing, born within the holy confines of wedlock.† Before I could even fumble a response to that, Ian groaned. â€Å"Lord, Mom. Is that from that Web site I told you not to order from? You know their stuff's made in China. I know this woman who could have made you one out of sustainable organic fabric.† â€Å"Hemp is a drug, not a fabric,† she told him. â€Å"Good night, you guys,† said Seth, pointing his brother to the door. â€Å"We'll talk in the morning.† Margaret and Ian murmured their good nights, and she paused to kiss Seth on the cheek – which I actually thought was pretty cute. When they were gone and the door was closed, Seth sat on his bed and buried his face in his hands. â€Å"So,† I said, coming to sit beside him. â€Å"Exactly how many women have stayed over in thirty-six years?† He looked up. â€Å"None who were caught by my mother in so little clothing.† I plucked at the skirt of the nightgown. â€Å"This? This is tame.† â€Å"I'm sorry about that,† he added, waving vaguely toward the door. â€Å"I should've called and warned you. They just drove into town tonight – unannounced, of course. Ian can't be expected to do what people expect. It would ruin his reputation. They showed up at Terry's, but there's no room for them there, so I sent them on ahead since they were so tired. I had no idea it would result in you trying to sleep with my brother.† â€Å"Seth!† â€Å"Kidding, kidding.† He picked up my hand and kissed the top of it. â€Å"How are you? How was your day?† â€Å"Well, I tried my best to keep Santa from getting drunk and then found out Jerome signed us up for a Hellish bowling league.† â€Å"I see,† said Seth. â€Å"So. The usual.† â€Å"Pretty much. What about you?† The small smile that had been tugging at his lips fell. â€Å"Aside from unexpected family? The usual too. Terry was out late with work stuff, so I was there all night with the girls while Andrea rested. Kendall has to build a papier-mache solar system, so that was fun for everyone.† He held up his hands and wiggled fingers coated in white powder. â€Å"And let me guess. No writing?† He shrugged. â€Å"It's not important.† â€Å"You should've called me. I could've watched them while you wrote.† â€Å"You were working and then . . . what, it was fondue night, right?† He stood up and stripped off his shirt and jeans, getting down to green flannel boxers. â€Å"How did you know that?† I asked. â€Å"I barely knew that.† â€Å"I was on Peter's e-mail list.† â€Å"Well, regardless, it doesn't matter. And that mall job is nothing. I could have been over here in a flash.† He stepped into his bathroom and returned a few moments later with a toothbrush in his mouth. â€Å"That job is nuffing. Haf any of your interfeews panned out?† â€Å"No,† I said, not adding that I hadn't gone on any other interviews. Everything paled compared to Emerald City. The conversation was put on pause while he finished brushing his teeth. â€Å"You should be doing something better,† he said, once he was done. â€Å"I'm fine where I'm at. I don't mind it. But you . . . you can't keep going on like this. You're not getting enough sleep or working.† â€Å"Don't worry about it,† he said. He turned off the light and crawled into bed. In the dimness, I saw him pat the spot beside him. â€Å"Come over here. It's just me, I promise.† I smiled and curled up beside him. â€Å"Ian didn't smell right, you know. I mean, he smelled good, but not like you.† â€Å"I'm sure he spends gratuitous amounts of money to smell good,† muttered Seth through a yawn. â€Å"What's he do for a living?† â€Å"Hard to say. He's always got new jobs. Or no job. Whatever money he's got goes toward carefully maintaining his hard-fought, effortless lifestyle. Have you seen his coat?† â€Å"No. The only clothing of his I've seen is his boxers.† â€Å"Ah. Well, it must be in the living room. It looks like it came from a thrift store but probably cost four figures.† He sighed. â€Å"Although, I shouldn't be too hard on him. I mean, yeah, he'll probably hit me up for money while he's here, but I can't knock him and Mom coming out to help. At the very least, they can help watch the kids now.† I wrapped my arms around Seth and breathed in his scent. It was the right one, and it was intoxicating. â€Å"And you can catch up on some writing.† â€Å"Maybe,† he said. â€Å"We'll see how it goes. I just hope I'm not babysitting Mom and Ian more than the girls.† â€Å"How bad of an impression did I make on her?† I asked. â€Å"Not that bad. I mean, no worse than any woman – scantily clad or otherwise – would've made who was spending the night with me.† He kissed my forehead. â€Å"She's not so bad. Don't be fooled by her conservative Midwest grandma act. I think you guys will get along.† I wanted to ask if Maddie had met Margaret and, if so, how they'd gotten along. I bit my tongue on the question. It didn't matter. It was in the past, and Seth and I were the present. Sometimes, especially staying here as much as I did, I felt a little weird remembering that Maddie had lived with him too. There were still little touches here and there that bore the mark of her influence. For example, Margaret was most likely staying in Seth's office, which had a futon, courtesy of Maddie's ingenuity. She'd been the one to suggest he get it to help make the office double as a guestroom. Maddie had gone; the futon had stayed. I tried not to think about those things very often, though. In the big picture, they didn't matter. Seth and I had come through too much for me to get hung up on something like that. We'd overcome the problems in our relationship. I'd accepted his mortality and his decision to risk his life by being physical with me. True, I still rationed our sex life, but the fact that I allowed it at all was a big concession for me. Meanwhile, he accepted the terrible truth that I was often out sleeping with other men in order to sustain my existence. They were difficult things for us both, but they were worth it for us to be together. Everything we'd gone through was worth it. â€Å"I love you,† I told him. He placed a soft kiss on my lips and pulled me closer. â€Å"I love you too.† Then, in an echo of my thoughts, he added, â€Å"You make it all worthwhile. All this stuff I'm dealing with†¦. I can do it because you're in my life, Thetis.† Thetis. That was his longtime nickname for me, coming from the shape-shifting goddess in Greek mythology who'd been won by a steadfast mortal. He called me that all the time – and Letha, only once. I thought again about that night. The troubled feelings it stirred never seemed to go away, but I once again tried to force them aside. It was another of those little things that I was trying not to let bug me. It was nothing compared to the greatness of our love, and like my friends had said, Seth had probably overheard the name. I fell into a contented sleep, only to be awakened abruptly around dawn. My eyes flew open, and I sat upright. Seth shifted and rolled over but wasn't awakened by my sudden movement. I stared around the room, my heart racing. I'd been jolted out of sleep by an immortal presence, one I didn't know. It had felt demonic. There was nothing here now, visible or invisible, but I knew for a fact some servant of Hell had just been in the room. This wasn't the first time I'd had unwelcome visitors in my sleep, often ones with nefarious intentions. Of course, I'd felt this demon just now, and demons – being higher immortals, not a lesser human-turned-immortal like me – could mask their immortal signature. If he or she had wanted to sneak around or hurt me unannounced, it could have done so. Whoever this was hadn't cared about discovery. I slipped out of bed and continued studying the room, looking for some sign or reason for the demon's passage. I was certain there would be one. There. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of red – in my purse. There was a business envelope sitting on top of it. I hurried over and scooped up the envelope. It was warm to my touch, but as I quietly opened it, I began to feel cold. That feeling intensified as I pulled out a letter printed on official Hell stationery. No good could come of this. Sunset had filtered more than enough light into the room to read by. The letter was addressed to Letha (alias: Georgina Kincaid), from Hell's HR: This is the thirty-day notice for your trans fer. Your new assignment will begin on January 15. Please make travel arrangements to leave Seattle and report to your new location in a timely manner.

Plot Analysis: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Essay

Before the start of the novel, Voldemort, considered the most evil and powerful dark wizard in history, kills Harry’s parents but mysteriously vanishes after trying to kill the infant Harry. While the wizarding world celebrates Voldemort’s downfall, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid place the one year-old orphan in the care of his neglectful and abusive Muggle (non-wizard) uncle and aunt: Vernon and Petunia Dursley, who have a son, Dudley, a spoiled and selfish boy. For ten years, Harry is tormented by the Dursleys. Shortly before his eleventh birthday, a series of letters addressed to Harry arrive, but Vernon destroys them before Harry can read them, leading only to an influx of more letters. To get away from the letters, Vernon takes the family to a small island. As they are settling in, Hagrid bursts through the door to tell Harry what the Dursleys have kept from him: Harry is a wizard and has been accepted at Hogwarts. Hagrid takes Harry to Diagon Alley, a magically concealed shopping precinct in London, where Harry is bewildered to discover how famous he is among wizards as â€Å"the boy who lived.† He also finds that he is quite wealthy, since a bequest from his parents has remained on deposit at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Guided by Hagrid, he buys the equipment he needs for Hogwarts. At the wand shop, he finds that the wand that suits him best is the twin of Voldemort’s; both wands contain feathers from the same phoenix.[1] A month later, Harry leaves the Dursleys’ home to catch the Hogwarts Express from King’s Cross railway station. There he meets the Weasley family, who show him how to pass through the magical wall to Platform 9 ¾, where the train is waiting. While on the train, Harry makes friends with Ron Weasley, who tells him that someone tried to rob a vault at Gringotts. During the ride, they meet Hermione Granger. Another new pupil, Draco Malfoy, accompanied by his sidekicks Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, offers to advise Harry, but Harry dislikes Draco’s arrogance and prejudice. Before the term’s first dinner in the school’s Great Hall, the new pupils are allocated to houses by the Sorting Hat. Before it is Harry’s turn, he catches Professor Snape’s eye and feels a pain in the scar Voldemort left on his forehead. While Harry is being sorted, the Hat wonders whether he should be in Slytherin, but when Harry objects, the Hat sends him to Gryffindor. After a terrible first Potions lesson with Snape, Harry and Ron visit Hagrid, who lives in a cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. There they learn that the attempted robbery at Gringotts happened the day Harry withdrew money. Harry remembers that Hagrid had removed a small package from the vault that had been broken into. During the new pupils’ first broom-flying lesson, Neville Longbottom breaks hi s wrist, and Draco takes advantage to throw the forgetful Neville’s fragile Remembrall high in the air. Harry gives chase on his broomstick, catching the Remembrall inches from the ground. Professor McGonagall dashes out and appoints him as the new Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.[a] When Draco tricks Ron and Harry, who are accompanied by Neville and Hermione Granger, into a midnight excursion, they accidentally enter a forbidden corridor and find a huge three-headed dog. The group hastily retreats, and Hermione notices that the dog is standing over a trap-door. Harry concludes that the monster is guarding the package Hagrid retrieved from Gringotts. After Ron criticises Hermione’s ostentatious proficiency in Charms, she hides in the girls’ toilet, crying. At the Halloween Night dinner, Professor Quirrell reports that a troll has entered the dungeons. While everyone returns to their dormitories, Harry and Ron rush to warn Hermione. The troll corners Hermione in the toilet but Harry and Ron clumsily save her. Afterwards, Hermione takes the blame for the battle and becomes a firm friend of the two boys. The evening before Harry’s first Quidditch match, he sees Snape receiving medical attention from Filch for a bite on his leg caused by the three-headed dog. During the game, Harry’s broomstick goes out of control, endangering his life, and Hermione notices that Snape is staring at Harry and muttering. She dashes over to the Professors’ stand, knocking over Professor Quirrell in her haste, and sets fire to Snape’s robe. Harry regains control of his broomstick and catches the Golden Snitch, winning the game for Gryffindor. Hagrid refuses to believe that Snape was responsible for Harry’s danger, but lets slip that he bought the three-headed dog and that the monster is guarding a secret that belongs to Professor Dumbledore and someone called Nicolas Flamel. Harry and the Weasleys stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, and one of Harry’s presents, from an anonymous donor, is an Invisibility Cloak owned by his father. Harry uses the Cloak to search the library’s Restricted Section for information about the mysterious Flamel, and he happens to find a room containing the Mirror of Erised, which shows him his parents and several of their ancestors. Harry becomes addicted to the Mirror’s visions until he is rescued by Professor Dumbledore, who explains that it only shows the viewer what he most desperately longs for. When the rest of the pupils return for the next term, Draco plays a prank on Neville, and Harry consoles Neville with a sweet. The collectible card wrapped with the sweet identifies Flamel as an alchemist. Hermione soon finds that he is a 665-year-old man who possesses the only known Philosopher’s Stone, from which an elixir of life can be extracted. A few days later, Harry notices Snape sneaking towards the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. There he half-hears a furtive conversation about the Philosopher’s Stone between Snape and Quirrell. Harry concludes that Snape is trying to steal the Stone and Quirrell has helped prepare a series of defences for it, which was an almost fatal mistake. The three friends discover that Hagrid is raising a baby dragon, which is against wizard law, and arrange to smuggle it out of the country around midnight. Draco, hoping to get them into trouble, tells Professor McGonagall. Although the dragon is safely away, they are caught outside of their dormitory. Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Neville (who, trying to stop Harry and Hermione after hearing what Draco had been saying, was caught by McGonagall as well) are punished by helping Hagrid to rescue a badly injured unicorn in the Forbidden Forest. They split into two parties, and Harry and Draco find the unicorn dead, surrounded by its blood. A hooded figure crawls to the corpse and drinks the blood, then moves towards Harry, who is knocked out by an agonising pain in his scar. When Harry regains consciousness, the hooded figure is gone and a centaur, Firenze, offers to give him a ride back to the school. The centaur tells Harry that drinking a unicorn’s blood will save the life of a mortally injured person, but at the price of having a cursed life from that moment on. Firenze suggests Voldemort drank the unicorn’s blood to gain enough strength to make the elixir of life from the Philosopher’s Stone, and regain full health by drinking that. A few weeks later, Harry learns from Hagrid that the dragon egg was given to him by a hooded stranger who had asked him how to get past the three-headed dog, which Hagrid had admitted was easy – music sends it to sleep. Realising that one of the Philosopher’s Stone’s defences is no longer secure, Harry goes to inform Professor Dumbledore, only to find that the headmaster has just left for a meeting in London. Harry concludes that Snape faked the message that called Dumbledore away and will try to steal the Stone that night. Covered by the Invisibility Cloak, Harry and his two friends go to the three-headed dog’s chamber, where Harry sends the beast to sleep by playing a flute. After lifting the trap-door, they encounter a series of obstacles, each of which requires special skills possessed by one of the three, and one of which requires Ron to sacrifice himself in a game of wizard’s chess. In the final room Harry, now alone, finds Quirrell rather than Snape. Quirrell admits that he let in the troll and that he tried to kill Harry during the first Quidditch match. Snape had been trying to protect Harry all along. Quirrell serves Voldemort and, after failing to steal the Philosopher’s Stone from Gringotts, allowed his master to possess him in order to improve their chances of success. However, the only other object in the room is the Mirror of Erised, and Quirrell can se e no sign of the Stone. At Voldemort’s bidding, Quirrell forces Harry to stand in front of the Mirror. Harry feels the Stone drop into his pocket and tries to stall. Quirrell removes his turban, revealing the face of Voldemort on the back of his head. Voldemort/Quirrell tries to grab the Stone from Harry, but simply touching Harry causes Quirrell’s flesh to burn. After further struggles, Harry passes out. He awakes in the school hospital, where Professor Dumbledore tells him that he survived because his mother sacrificed her life to protect him, and Voldemort could not understand the power of such love. Voldemort left Quirrell to die and is likely to return by some other means. The Stone has now been destroyed. Harry returns to the Dursleys for the summer holiday, but does not tell them that under-age wizards are forbidden to use magic outside Hogwarts.