Individual Assignment Essay

Having a strong web presence is not only important in today’s world, it is vital for survival in today’s super connected world. Companies, banks, agencies and private industries must be able to create an environment to interact with customers, government officials and other companies in order to thrive. Opening yourself up to anyone through the Internet often means opening your system up to the world. Today we are more connected than ever, and cyberspace is littered with a multitude of individuals, some with the intent to compromise network confidentiality, integrity and availability. Anyone with a computer and Internet access can become a victim or criminal over the web. As a result, networks and servers are under constant attack these days. Attackers are changing their techniques daily and are on a never ended endeavor to disrupt companies for their selfish reasons. Two such forms of disruption are Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. These forms of disruption have cost companies millions of dollars and are showing no signs of stopping. That is why it is up to security professionals to create the best safeguards and impose efficient and proper techniques to prevent, mitigate and discover these attacks before they inflict terrible harm. In the following assignment, these important topics of prevention, mitigation and discovery will be discussed as they relate to DoS and DDoS attacks on today’s systems. Specifically, three academic journals have been selected that relate to this topic. This essay will first briefly summarize each article that was selected and state the methods of prevention, mitigation or discovery as they relate to denial of service attacks. The second part of this essay will explore in detail the specific methods discussed in the summaries as they relate to a proposed technique and practical approach, which can be implemented, into a platform. The strengths and weaknesses of each method that is selected will also be discussed within the summary. 2 Brief Overview In order to better understand the reasons for discovering, mitigating and preventing these attacks, it is necessary to first review what exactly Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service attacks are and why these specific journal articles were selected for this assignment. DoS and DDoS attacks are extremely popular cyber attacks launched by attackers because of their effectiveness and ease. The goal of a DoS attack is for the attacker to render certain specific resources of the victims’ computer or server unusable or make them unavailable. The attacker does this by sending large amounts of traffic that appear to be legitimate request to the victim. As a result, the victim’s computer or server is tangled up and that particular resource cannot be used. These attacks expose a significant loophole not just in certain applications, but loopholes in the TCP/IP suite (Joshi & Misra, 2010). A DoS attack only occurs when a resource on a computer or network is slowed down or stopped completely by an individual maliciously. A DDoS attack is very similar to a DoS attack. However, this form of attack is launched on multiple computers or devices in an organized manner. The goal, once again, is to attack a specific target or multiple computers and servers and make them unavailable for use. The first ever reported DDoS attack occurred at a University in 1999. From then on, these attacks have become increasingly more complex and sophisticated. Their widespread effect has ranged from simply slower speeds on websites, to financial institutions losing millions for not being accessible to customers. The journal article â€Å"DDoS Prevention Techniques† was chosen because it does a fantastic job of explaining the differences between the two attacks, multiple DDoS tools that attackers use, and lastly ways to prevent and defend against the attacks. The second article selected is titled â€Å"Prevention of Attacks under DDoS Using Target Customer Behavior. † I selected this article because it not only gives an overview of this form of attack but also a specific method of protecting a potential server by blocking DoS attacks with behavior based actions. The last article I chose â€Å"A Novel Technique for Detection and Prevention of DDoS† also gives a brief overview of the attack as well as a specific method to help filter DDoS attacks on online banking websites. 3 Article One The article â€Å"DDoS Prevention Techniques† mainly centered around DDoS attack and the methods of preventing them as well as the tools that criminals use to execute these attacks. One example of a tool that these individuals use is Trinoo, which can be used to, â€Å"launch a coordinated UDP flooding attack against target system† (Joshi & Misra, 2010). Another tool that Joshi & Misra discussed was Trinity. This DDoS attack tool is IRC based and uses flooding methods of the TCP SYN, TCP RST, TCP ACK request. This tool not only can flood the TCP/IP but also flood the UDP and IP Fragment. This article offers various forms of preventative methods against DDoS attacks. They separated them into two groups: General Techniques and Filtering Techniques. Since the article gave a plethora of examples of general techniques I will discuss two of them as well as the advantages and disadvantages to these practical approaches. One method of preventing against DDoS attacks is â€Å"disabling unused services. † Attackers can’t take advantage of something if it is not available to them. So, the fewer applications and open ports that are on a given host, the less likely an attacker can manipulate any vulnerability on that host. Therefore, if a network application is unnecessary it should be disabled or closed immediately (Joshi & Misra, 2010). The advantage of this approach is that it minimizes the attack surface, thus protecting the host from receiving certain request from ports that can be used to flood the system. The disadvantage to this approach is that you limit the amount of applications you may need to help run your organization more efficiently. Another method of preventing these attacks is by using a firewall. A firewall can help mitigate against simple DDoS attacks by using simple rules such as implicit deny, or deny any for certain ports and IP addresses. However, the disadvantage of using a firewall to mitigate attacks occurs when sophisticated attacks are launched on ports such as Port 80 used for web traffic. A firewall, cannot tell the difference between legitimate traffic and malicious traffic that comes through the port (Joshi & Misra, 2010). This can lead to an attack still being carried out if the firewall cannot decide what is good and bad traffic. One filtering technique that was discussed in the journal article was the technique of â€Å"History Based IP Filtering. † During normal function, traffic seems to stay balanced and stable. Yet, during most DoS attacks they are carried out with IP addresses that have never been seen before on the network to flood the system. This form of filtration relies on an IP Address Database (IAD) to store the IP addresses that are used frequently. If an attack is launched and the source address does not match any in the IAD the request is dropped. The advantage to this form of protection against DDoS attacks is that it will keep unknown IP address from ever reaching the host. However, the draw back is that it will not keep out legitimate or real IP address that are already in the database. Also, â€Å"Cost of storage and information sharing is very high† (Joshi & Misra, 2010). So if cost is an issue for an organization, this method may not be best. These methods can be implemented fairly easy for any organization. Most security professionals should already have these measures in place such as firewalls and minimizing the attack surface with an emphasis on disabling unnecessary services. History based IP filtering is a costly alternative to those methods but can be an additional form of security. 4 Article Two The second article that will be discussed is titled, â€Å"Prevention of Attacks under DDoS Using Target Customer Behavior. † This article discusses a method using an algorithm to determine if request to a specific server should be blocked or allowed in real time to mitigate the attack. The algorithm is used to maintain a list of users and to stop attacks from unknown users. The purpose of this tool is to prevent only authorized clients onto the server. This method accomplishes this by first determining which category the requesting client should be registered or non-registered. The tool uses an anomaly-based system during peak times to help determine if certain requests are deemed malicious or not. A client will deemed malicious if the client sends repeated request during peak hours and deemed an anomaly client, or possible attacking client (Kuppusarny & Malathi, 2012). This tool can track which request made on the server are authorized or unauthorized. Once the request is deemed unauthorized, the client is then placed in a group of non-registered users and blocked temporarily until the peak time is finished. This proposed method also features a count system for the amount of request a client may attempt, which are â€Å"Access Count† and â€Å"Warning Counts. † The article explains this in depth by stating, â€Å"The access count is the count that can be incremented every time the client sends the request. The Warning Count is the count that can be incremented once the unregistered client sends anomalous request† (Kuppusarny & Malathi, 2012). This count system helps to determine if the request are legitimate and if so are only temporally blocked during peak times in order to keep systems running and not flooded with request. This feature also presents a permanent block alternative as well. This occurs once the warning count reaches it’s threshold (Kuppusarny & Malathi, 2012). This can be extremely useful when defending against DDoS attacks because it works in real time. The chart below illustrates how this method is carried out for all users trying to request information from the server. This tool could easily be implemented for any organization looking to defend their systems as well as monitor customer and client user data. The only disadvantage that may occur while implementing this will be the temporarily lockout mechanism that legitimate users may encounter if they enter too many incorrect requests. Inconvenience for some users is the only drawback. However, this approach is extremely promising because it does not completely block IP addresses like some filtration systems. They are placed in a certain unauthorized category away from authorized clients and systems. And once they meet certain requirements their request may be authorized if they do not go over the warning count. Also as an added security feature if the client goes over the warning number of request and is also unauthorized they are blocked completely. 5 Article Three The final article that will be discussed is titled â€Å"A Novel Technique for Detection and Prevention of DDoS. † This article was dedicated around a specific method for detecting and preventing DDoS attacks. This method focused on using the Hidden Markov Model. Very similar to the previous method in being an anomaly based system that uses request behavior to block or authorize users. This method also uses an algorithm to track user behavior and determine whether the requests are legitimate or an attack. However uses a different form of authorizing request before allowing access into the system. During the Anomaly Detection Module of the system when resources are scarce and the server is under heavy traffic the filter is applied. The system uses a history to maintain each of the client’s IP addresses. If â€Å"unusual† behavior is detected through the algorithm the server then goes into a special detection mode. It, â€Å"reply’s with the captcha to that client. † And if a correct CAPTCHA response is not received within three responses, it then checks the request history sequence. If the difference between the request for the CAPTCHA is less than the threshold allowed, the client is blocked. (Patil, Salunke & Zade, 2011). This model is a great tool in defending against DDoS and also monitoring traffic on a server as a whole. When traffic begins to reach its peak this system can help alleviate between legitimate and flooding traffic. This model was put to the test in this article with a fake bank system. The testers used a script in java that repeatedly requested the log in page for a fake account. The server responded with CAPTCHA pages to verify if the requester was legitimate. After three failed attempts the IP address was blocked. This type of method should be implemented across systems everywhere. The only foreseeable disadvantage would be from those users who enter the wrong CAPTCHAs more than three times and are blocked out of the system. Other than that this method would be a great tool in the defense against DDoS attacks. 6 Conclusion Denials of Service and Distributed Denial of Service Attacks have proven to be a huge hassle for security professionals. Criminals are becoming more sophisticated in their attack schemes and are leaving security teams in a never ending game of catch up. It only takes one loophole in a defense strategy for an individual to wreck havoc on a system. None of these methods will stop DoS and DDoS attacks entirely. However, in the future we must look for tools that include multiple defense strategies to stop these forms of attack. Layering a computer network offers many benefits especially if one level of defense falls, it will not compromise the entire system. The fight to defend cyberspace against these malicious attackers is forever ongoing, but with the right tools and defense strategies we can help maintain a safer and productive Internet experience for all users. 7 Work Cited

Radiotherapy Treatment Cancerous Diseases Clinac Health And Social Care Essay

Radiotherapy intervention has a important and critical axial rotation in the intervention of cancerous diseases. Different types of techniques were used for this intent. In past, conventional radiation therapy technique was used. But it did non efficaciously used for intervention of tumours located in sensitive countries of homo organic structure which have limited tolerance for radiation doses [ 1 ] .Modern twenty-four hours radiation therapy consists of 3D conformal radiation therapy and strength modulated radiation therapy ( IMRT ) . After the development of oculus position show of beam, 3D conformal radiation therapy was used for clinical intent in 1978. [ 2 ] ( Reinstein et Al. ( 28 ) and McShan et Al ) In 3D conformal radiation therapy, present the high doses to aim volume while determining the beam to minimise the dosage to the environing normal tissues. To avoid the inauspicious effects of radiations during intervention, protect the normal tissues by determining the intervention Fieldss with lead blocks [ 12 ] . In this procedure, 3D image computing machine imaging and magnetic resonance imagination ( CT, MRI ) are used to turn up the tumours and other septic variety meats accurately [ 13 ] . In this technique we could non used more than four intervention field programs before the development of MLCs in CLINAC [ 14 ] . After the development of MLCs, it is possible to protect the normal tissues by determining the intervention Fieldss to present the high doses to the mark volume accurately. In some instances like prostate, caput and cervix, it is impossible to salvage normal tissues during the bringing of high energy dosage to the tumour even by utilizing the 3D conformal technique [ 15 ] . For this intent a new technique Intensity modulated radiation therapy was introduced. In this technique, a patient is treated from a figure of different waies by utilizing a non unvarying intense beam. In IMRT technique, it is possible to present the high doses to aim volume while determining the beam to minimise the dosage to the environing normal tissues. It is achieved by utilizing compensators, cuneuss or MLCs. [ 16 ] IMRT techniques are dearly-won and significantly complex than 3D CRT. In radiation therapy intervention, radiations are used for malignant neoplastic disease intervention by avoiding the healthy tissues. These radiations destroy malignant neoplastic disease infected cells wholly. Generally radiation beams of X raies, gamma beams, and negatrons are used during intervention of malignant neoplastic disease diseases. In radiation therapy, assorted types of machines are used for the intervention of malignant neoplastic disease tumours by utilizing high energy photons and negatron beams [ 1 ] . In early 1900 ‘s, ace electromotive force and low energy X raies machines were used for malignant neoplastic disease intervention. But these machines could non handle the deep sitting tumours due to their hapless deepness dose distribution [ 2 ] . In 1950s, with the development of first practical mega-voltage machine Co-60, it was possible to handle deep seated tumours with photons. As the beginning of radiation in Co-60 unit has no point beginning, so its dimensions produce the geometric and transmittal penumbra. [ 3 ] Due to this penumbra, the dose distribution is non unvarying at the field border. Therefore Co-60 unit does non supply the ideal deepness dose distribution at the field edges. After the development of magnetron or klystrons, microwave tubings, charge atoms were accelerated by high frequence electromagnetic moving ridges through these tubings. For this intent foremost additive gas pedal were developed in 1950s. [ 4 ] In 1953 first medical linear gas pedal was used in Hammersmith Hospital in London [ 5 ] . At the beginning, accurate bringing of radiations to septic cells of a patient was major job. To decide this job, British Institute of Radiology ( BIR ) compiled a cardinal axis dose distribution informations, published in British diary of Radiology ( BJR ) supplement 5 in 1953. [ 1 ] Clinical additive gas pedal ( CLINAC ) is a megavoltage machine with less geometric and transmittal penumbra, used for malignant neoplastic disease intervention [ 6 ] . Clinical additive gas pedal has quickly improved its design and engineering with the transition of clip. A modern twenty-four hours computing machine controlled clinical additive gas pedals with double energy and multileaf collimators ( MLC ) technique provides fast, more accurate and precise dose bringing to the malignant neoplastic disease infected cells by avoiding the normal environing tissues [ 7 ] . It provides both negatrons and X-ray photons of assorted mega electromotive force energy scopes. In modern twenty-four hours additive gas pedal, high energy negatrons are produced which are used for superficial tumours. These negatrons are besides used to bring forth high energy x beams which are used for deep sitting tumours [ 8 ] .The Role of Medical PhysicistsThe medical physicists must carry through following dut ies before choice of CLINAC To develop demands, specifications and recommendations for the choice of the CLINAC To program and supervise the building installations including screening design to house the CLINAC. To supervise all the installing processs To execute credence testing of the machine To execute commissioning of the machine for clinical intent To come in all get informations during commissioning into intervention planning system To set up new processs for the effectual and safety usage of gas pedal To set up processs for quality confidence and quality control on the day-to-day footingAcceptance TestAfter the installing of radiation therapy machine, for credence trial a series of undertakings and measurings must execute to verify the specifications and safety criterion. In credence trial, physicists must verify three chief processs Safety cheques Mechanical cheques Dosimetry measurings In safety cheques, the medical physicists must verify that all interlocks and warning visible radiations are proper operation. In mechanical cheques, it must guarantee that all the parts of intervention unit including intervention tabular array are accurately working. In dosimetry measurings, specifications and uniformity of photon and negatron beams verified.CommissioningAfter complete and satisfactory credence trial, it is non possible to utilize clinical additive gas pedal ( CLINAC ) straight for intervention intent. All informations acquired during the credence proving are non sufficient to committee a radiation therapy machine in the intervention planning system. Commission is the procedure of fixing the processs, protocols, instructions and dosimetry informations for clinical prospectus. AAMP codification of pattern for gas pedals ( TG 45 ) provides elaborate information about all these commissioning processs and besides discuses the demands for specific beam informations. All measurings of commissioning should be made by to the full trained and qualified medical physicist. During commissioning, following undertakings must be achieved. Acquire all informations for external beam radiation therapy for intervention intent. Form all informations into a dosimetry informations book Enter all information into the intervention planning system ( TPS ) Develop all intervention planning processs Verifying the truth of all processs Establish quality control processs Training all individuals Machine-specific beam informations for commissioning is extremely dependent on the dose calculation- algorithms used in the intervention planning system. The model-base dose calculation-algorithms ( convolution/superposition ) require much less measured informations than correction-based algorithms ( tantamount TAR, etc. ) . Irrespective of the dose calculation-algorithm, it is necessary to hold a minimal dataset for several energy scopes of photon and negatron beams that includes Percentage deepness dosage ( unfastened, cuneus ) for several field sizes Off axis unfastened and wedge beam profiles ( cross plane, In plane ) for all field sizes End product factors Wedge factors ( difficult and practical ) Calibrated dose rate Effective beginning to come up distance ( merely for negatron ) It is ensured that all beam and dosimetry informations acquired during commissioning of CLINAC must compare with all the specifications and published informations of the same available theoretical account. It is strongly recommended that all the processs of commissioning must be carefully executed and planned because all the get beam informations is used for patient ‘s intervention. Therefore, for completion of all undertakings and measurings in commissioning, an appropriate clip tabular array must be scheduled. All the undertakings achieved during commissioning procedure of CLINAC can be estimated to necessitate 1 to 2 hebdomad per energy.Percentage Depth DosePercentage deepness dosage is defined as the ratio of absorbed dosage at any depth D on the cardinal axis of beam to absorbed dosage at Dmax multiplied by 100. ( F. Khan ) Percentage deepness dosage It depends upon a figure of parametric quantities beam energy, beam collimation, deepness D, field size degree Fahrenheit, and beginning to come up distance ( SSD ) .Beam ProfileThe uniformity of off axis deepness dosage normally called beam profile is measured by scanning the H2O apparition for assorted deepnesss both beam axes. Following parametric quantities are measured to look into the uniformity of the beam profiles.Two-dimensionalityTwo-dimensionality can be specified as a maximal allowable per centum fluctuation from the norm dose across the cardinal 80 % of the full breadth at half maximal ( FWHM ) of the profile in a plane transverse to the beam axis. That is, the two-dimensionality F is given by Two-dimensionality must be less than 3 % for mention field size 10 ten 10 centimeter measurings in H2O apparition at deepness of 10 centimeter and beginning to surface ( SSD ) .SymmetrySymmetry is frequently defined as a maximal allowable per centum divergence of the â€Å" left-side † dosage from the â€Å" right-side † dosage of a beam profile frequently at 80 % of the FWHM points. Symmetry must be less than 2 % for mention field size 10 ten 10 centimeter measurings at deepness of Dmax and 10 centimeter in H2O apparition at SSD 100 centimeter.Physical PenumbraThe penumbra, by and large defined as the sidelong distance between the 80 % and 20 % of upper limit dose points on one side of a beam profile, must be within specification. It depends upon deepness, SSD, beginning size, beginning to collimator distance and beam energy. ( Ervin page196 ) Since commissioning beam informations are treated as a mention and finally used by intervention be aftering systems, it is vitally of import that the collected informations are of the highest quality to avoid dosi metric and patient intervention mistakes that may later take to a hapless radiation result.Output FactorEnd product is defined as the ratio of the end product in air for a given field to that for a mention field. It is the merchandise of collimator spread factor and apparition spread factor. It depends upon field size. It increases with field size. It is measured for each field size at a fixed deepness Dmax.Wedge FactorThe cuneus factor is defined as the ratio of dosage at a specified deepness normally Dmax on the cardinal axis with the cuneus in the beam to the dosage under the same status without the cuneus. Wedge factor alterations at deepness as a map of cuneus angle fading coefficient and field size. It does non depend on deepness. Wedge factor for practical cuneus is one because the figure of monitor units entered at control console, are delivered at the cardinal axis.

Bleakness and Futility in Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby

Consider the second chapter of Great Gates, pages 23-25; investigate Fitzgerald 's image, form, structure, and his comments on American society in the 1920' s. The swaying and bleaky images of the Valley of Ash juxtaposed with the end of the starlight in Chapter 1 show the devastation and useless of the society of the 1920s Jazz era. It embodies the spiritual hollow nature of society, eventually collapsing and falling into its fundamental entity-free nature. The connection of the hedonistic carnival in the opening chapter finds the division of the metaphor in the contradiction of Chapter 2; they collapse like the American dream structure. Gatsby is wonderful. When you pick up the book, the first thing you see is the title Great Gatsby so you expect Gatsby before opening the book. As we revealed in the first chapter that the narrator is the same as Gatsby's neighbor Nick Calloway, it tells us that he hates Gatsby, but at the end of the paragraph he marks the character of Gatsby gorgeo us . Scott Fitzgerald's great Gatsby was known as a roaring twenty in the American history in the 1920s. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby reflects the life of the 1920s. In the roaring twenties, prospering parties, outstanding fresh fashion trends, and excessive alcohol are every aspect of life. The magnificent party of Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby reflects the American life in the 1920s. Gatsby shows his excellent wealth by opening a spectacular party We must recognize that there are many similarities between Great Gatsby and its author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Most importantly, Great Gatsby was done in the 1920s, and Fitzgerald experienced this period. The 1920s was an important point in Fitzgerald 's life. It is just like the important link in this novel. But the period is not the only similarity between Fitzgerald and great Gatsby, but it is the one that can best form the story. Fitzgerald is one of the themes of Great Gatsby, focusing on important differences between th e pursuit of dreams and the realization of dreams. Fitzgerald does not directly address this idea, but it plays it through the actions of the character. For example, in Chapter 5, Gatsby showed Daisy and Nick all the wealth he accumulated to impress Daisy. The author's topic can be seen in the behavior of Gatsby.

JavaServer Page Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

JavaServer Page - Essay Example It is alike to PHP, though for the difference, it uses Java Programming Language. JSP is Java Servlet’s high-level abstraction (Bill 2014, p.1). A JSP component is designed as a type of Java Servlet, to do the work of the interface of a user for java web application. They are written as text files combining XML elements, XHTML or HTML codes, as well as the embedded JSP commands and actions (Bomer 2014, p.1). With the use of JSP, input from users can be collected through, database present records and web page forms to dynamically create web pages. JSP tags also have a variety of user purposes such as registering user preferences, retrieving data or information from a database, accessing JavaBeans components, sharing information between requests and passing control between pages (Janssen 23). However, there is program code further division, inside the Application Server, into the three logical tiers. This is fractal in some kind: app server object design which unites the whole system architecture. The diagram below shows the Three-Tier architecture. (Kumar 2008, p. 1) The JSP technology is responsible for dynamically creating Web-based content using middle-tier processing. It does this by splitting the Application Logic from Page Design and then compressing logic in reusable and portable Java components (Walsh 2012, p.1). The logical tier (Middle Tier) is removed from the Presentation Tier and controls the functionality of an application, on its own, by performing processing in details (Walsh 2012, p.1). Any code that is not related to retrieving and storing data, as well as to formatting data for user’s display is business logic, in three-tier architecture. For several reasons, it makes sense to store in separate objects, this business logic (Walker 2014). These objects are comprised in the middle tier. However the divisions are often blurry, between the three layers, and business logic is best in most programs. The terms main

Should Media Respect Privacy of Political Figures Essay

Should Media Respect Privacy of Political Figures - Essay Example The media, therefore, should respect the privacy of politicians’ children and relatives and restrain from exposing things they did or said when they had no control over themselves, as in times of sickness. In other situations, the media should have the right to investigate and expose what politicians say or do, because it has serious political, economic, social and moral implications for the whole country. Politicians decide the political fate of a country. They make war and peace; they make laws and preside over implementation; they set the rules to reward and punish people for their behavior; they can take away freedom as in preventive detention, take life as in death penalty, or spare life as in presidential pardons. While doing so, politicians might often have public well being on their mind, but the possibility of private profit and interest cannot be ruled out. For instance, the Republican President Richard Nixon staged the Watergate Scandal using public resources to wea ken and defeat the Democrat opponent. President George Bush took America to war against Iraq on the pretext that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, though he wanted to punish Hussein for allegedly trying to murder his father after the first Gulf War. If politicians could do such horrendous things even when the media could investigate and bring out the truth, and expose them, what could they do without the fear of exposure? The media must help the citizens know if politicians have taken vital political decisions purely to advance public well being, to promote their own personal interest, or settle personal scores. Similarly, politicians also play critical role in shaping the economic policy of the country. They enjoy the power to tax and spend, regulate internal and external trade and commerce, even control the monetary policy indirectly. Increasingly, political offices are being won with the help of contributions from supporter. Politics, power and corruption have alway s moved together. Several Members of Congress have gone to jail or been removed from office due to financial crimes, despite the constant fear of exposure by the media. If their privacy were respected by the media, politicians would go after the fast buck and still hold the office. Politicians are also social leaders and many of them are role models. We study their biographies and autobiographies to find inspiration and understand how they become successful. In addition, politicians frequently convince many people to vote for them, to attack their political opponents, and to become bigots or open-minded. They also quite frequently use their power and position to break social norms, win sexual favors from men and women under them, and tweak the law to stay out of prison when they commit crimes. In every presidential elections, candidates collect money from nefarious individuals and groups of people and return their contribution if the media exposes it. Members of Congress have lost t heir office due to their involvement in crime, sodomy, corruption, and sexual affairs. They have done all this despite the fact that the media could expose their misdeeds. If the media were to respect their privacy, many politicians would run amok committing crimes left and right because they can hide such crimes under the pall of privacy. Last but not least, acts and words of politicians have serious moral impact on

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Research Paper Example Moreover, the article elaborates on the several facets of evolution. This includes the notion that all living species share a common ancestry. Consequently, the theory states that there exists a relation among the entire world’s species. The second facet pertains to the process of natural selection that drives evolution. Evidently, the natural selection process is also known as the survival of the fittest. Thus, the author offers an explanation of survival of the fittest theory or the natural selection process. Evidently, the theory was formulated by Darwin who believed that all species struggled to fight for limited resources. However, Darwin theorized that each individual species possessed a difference in gene superiority that exhibited greater survival chances. "What is Evolution?"Â  Science – AllAboutScience.org. allaboutscience.org, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. . The article begins by delving into the definition of evolution. To this end, it defines evolution as a syst ematic process whereby an organism undergoes change into a more complex and enhanced form. Moreover, the article acknowledges that the evolution theory has been used to explain life on earth. In addition, the article elaborates on the various components of evolution. ... In reference to micro evolution, the article stipulates that there are variations that occur within a species. For example, micro evolution is used to explain how wolves, foxes, dogs, coyotes, jackals and dingoes evolved from a parent pair of dogs. Incidentally, the variations occur in a downward manner and are limited by genetic codes. This means that species such as dogs do not develop new limbs such as wings and change to flying. To this end, there is neither loss in genetic information nor any further addition. On the other hand, macro evolution relates to the important or greater changes in the primary functions by organisms. Moreover, macro evolution involves change from a particular kind of animal or plant into another. In addition, it occurs after several genetic mutations as opposed to during the life of a single organism. Thus, macro evolution attempts to offer an explanation of how the millions of different species came into existence. Kim, Seongcheol, Pudur Jagadeeswaran, Vrinda Kulkarni, and Maira Carrillo. "PLOS ONE: Evolution of Primary Hemostasis in Early Vertebrates."Â  PLOS ONE: Accelerating the Publication of Peer-Reviewed Science. PLoS ONE, 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0008403. The primary research article delves into the evolution of primary hemostasis in early vertebrates. To this end, the authors define hemostasis as a defensive system that protects an organism by stopping bleeding when an injury occurs. Evidently, the researchers discovered that the main hemostatic factors in mammals were present in the early vertebrates. Moreover, they acknowledged that the exposure of the vascularised

Strategic HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategic HR - Essay Example R systems are the most critical in HR architecture since they are the source of value creation and have greater inimitability depending on how they are aligned with the overall corporate strategy. According to the Resource based View (RBV) of the firm, human resources are the most strategic assets for the firm and should be recognized in order to attain competitive strengths. In implementing SHRM strategy, the firm should focus on the key strengths and capabilities. According to Porter, the firm should emphasize on cost leadership and differentiation in the competitive strategy (Becker and Mark 902). Current trends in focus on differentiation in the SHRM since business processes should create value for the organization (Becker and Mark 903).unique and firm specific HR architectures will create and sustain competitive strength for the firm. Modern SHRM literature focuses on the holistic view of human resources since all employees have unique talents and contribute differently in the value creation process. Effective human resource management strategy includes both HR core architecture that creates equal value to all business processes and HR differentiated architecture that provides specific skills and attributes for the effectively performance of certain strategic jobs in the organization. According to five national surveys conducted between 1991 and 2000 and data from 3200 firms, the standard deviation from HR systems change is 10-20 percent in value of the firm. Increase of one standard deviation leads TO 4.6 percent increase in return on assets (ROA) (Becker and Mark 907). SHRM should focus on intermediate outcomes since financial performance should not be the only dependent variable and outcome of SHRM. Focus should be on strategic business processes that involve a high level of human resources. New focus should be on contingencies and fit since HR architectures should also be differentiated. HR managers face challenges of measuring employee performance

Chinese film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Chinese film - Essay Example In the essay, I will be using the film, Comrades: Almost a Love Story (Chan, 1996), in order to illustrate how individuals’ lives or identities are transformed in certain ways in the film for being a fan of the popular star. Using the characters’ Li Xiao Ju and Li Qiao, I will examine how their lives have been transformed for being fans of a certain star in the movie. The film spans over several years that involve Li Xiao, who is a Mainlander moving to Hong Kong in order to get himself a job, and Li Qiao, also a Mainlander moves to Hong Kong and tries to be a successful entrepreneur through the selling of Teresa Teng’s cassette tapes and in search for a better live (Peter, 1996). She also does other odd jobs such as selling flowers and other employments. Li Xiao is assisted by his aunt in getting a job as a delivery man. Li Xiao has moved to Hong Kong in hopes of earning enough money that will enable him to go back home in order to marry his fiancà ©. While Li Xiao seems to be earnest and uncertain in regards to things Li Qiao, on the other hand, is smooth, quick and efficient when setting and following her dream and goals. Their difference in their personal traits is also evident in the type of wage earnings that each assumes when they arrive in Hong Kong. As we will come to find out in the film, theyre different in person trait will because of Li Qiao’s live transformation by the songs of Teresa Teng. Because of how Li Qiao emulates, and her passion for Teresa as she is associated with popular culture makes her be an ambitious and hardworking lady. It is clear that the life of Li Qiao has been transformed in some way for being a fan of a popular star. As an immigrant, she does not have any apparent kin who could help her get a job or an apartment. However, she is able to get herself a job as a counter clerk at

Public Law exam question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public Law exam question - Essay Example Its is been examined and argued that existing constitution of UK is loose assemblage of defining conventions and institutions and concluded that it lacks the checks and balances needed to make it a democratic system of governance. By contrast, in the Westminster tradition, which originated in England, the uncodified constitution contains written sources but also unwritten constitutional conventions, precedents, royal prerogatives and custom collectively constituted the British constitutional law. In the days of the British Empire the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council acted as the constitutional court for many of the British colonies such as Canada and Australia, which had federal constitutions. I completely agree with the author that Conversely, the British constitution is, in practice, becoming more written and more legally codified, mainly because of the growing quantity and impact of EU laws and regulations, which take legal precedence over all other sources of the constitution; and also because of the large number of constitutional reforms introduced by statute since 1997 - such as devolution, reform of the Lords and the Human Rights Act. This trend will continue. Again, in practice rather than theory, the British constitution is gradually becoming more rigi... itten and more legally codified, mainly because of the growing quantity and impact of EU laws and regulations, which take legal precedence over all other sources of the constitution; and also because of the large number of constitutional reforms introduced by statute since 1997 - such as devolution, reform of the Lords and the Human Rights Act. This trend will continue. Again, in practice rather than theory, the British constitution is gradually becoming more rigid as the principle becomes increasingly accepted and expected that referenda should be held on issues of major constitutional change such as electoral reform, devolution and joining the euro. Although such referenda in the UK are invariably merely 'advisory' to maintain the semblance of parliamentary sovereignty, no government could, in reality, ignore a referendum result. Instead it can, of course, choose not to hold a referendum, as Labour has done since 1997 on the question of electoral reform for Westminster (despite a manifesto promise to the contrary). The piecemeal introduction of reforms since 1997 has brought a bigger change in the mindset of the people but there is still a lot of work to be done to formally have the codified constitution in place. Charter's document calls for a written constitution, one that would put the institutions of governance into a coherent framework. And this is what the people want. State of the Nation polls has consistently revealed over more than a decade that the overwhelming majority of people in Britain want a codified constitution. It is time to help bring this about. The unitary nature of the UK is also already challenged, however, by the supranational power of the EU over Parliament; and it is likely to come under more challenge from below as the Scottish, Welsh

Dehydration - Research paper and PowerPoint Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dehydration - and PowerPoint - Research Paper Example Dehydration requires immediate therapy via rehydrating the body with fluids and also treating the underlying cause. It can be tested for by a physical examination which reveals features like sunken eyes and an increased heart rate and also via laboratory tests which include complete blood count, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine. This condition must be dealt with immediately as it can prove to be fatal in severe cases. â€Å"Dehydration describes a state of negative fluid balance that may be caused by numerous disease entities. Diarrheal illnesses are the most common etiologies. Worldwide, dehydration secondary to diarrheal illness is the leading cause of infant and child mortality.† (Huang H., Anchala K.R., Ellsbury D.L. & George C.S. 2009). Water is an essential component of life and it is a vital part of existence of living matter. Proper hydration of the human body is extremely essential for carrying out the normal bodily activities. Water in the human body is divided into proper compartments which chiefly include the intracellular fluid and the extracellular fluid. This extracellular volume comprises principally of fluid between the cells and the fluid that lies with the vascular compartment. Equilibrium between the water that is taken in and the water that is lost from the human body is very important. Water is lost from the body in the form of urine, feces, breathing and by the proce ss of evaporation. This loss needs to be compensated for. The body performs its mechanisms which include hormonal stimulation and nervous signals which stimulate the thirst center and also the renal function of re-absorption of water is brought into action. This leads to the maintenance of balance between water taken in and lost. Any imbalance in this normal equilibrium can result in the condition which is known as dehydration. Dehydration is the state of the body in which there is decreased amount of

What Do I Have to Offer This College Family Essay Example for Free

What Do I Have to Offer This College Family Essay Upon choosing this topic I pondered, what next? I sat in front of my PC deliberating what direction I wanted this piece to go in, and what impression I wanted to give my future alma mater’s admissions of myself and then it struck me. The point of this essay is not to paint an illusion of myself to you, but, to show you what I have to offer as a unique individual. Marrianne Williamson in her book, â€Å"Return to Love† and I quote, wrote, â€Å"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? † I first stumbled upon this quote during one of my times of feeling deeply insignificant among my high school population. I decided that constantly feeling as though you are insignificant leads to you becoming insignificant. I am a believer that the mind is a very powerful thing and I plan to use this belief a self confidence to encourage those around me to do nothing but their best because the minute you start believing your worst is your best, it in fact becomes the best you can do. Academically, I am well rounded. I have over the years gained all the necessary basic knowledge to excel in any subject I decide to work at. I study well in groups and have always had a love for tutoring; as such during and after high school I took the responsibility of tutoring my younger sister and her friends at the primary level. Throughout high school I also tutored my friends in order to ensure that leisure time was not affected by poor academics. The passion for helping those in need, has become a part of who I am and I intend to use this to help those around me if I am accepted into the university. I am extremely confident a team player, athletic and energetic young woman and I have dreams of one day helping everyone around me see that they too can be apart of this world holding only a positive outlook for their lives and being calculative about consequences. I am trained as a peer councillor and intend to use my skills for self upliftment as well as the maintaining of the mental well being of those I encounter in my tenure at this prestigious university. It would be unlike me to not mention my rich Jamaican heritage as one of the things I have to offer this university. Cultural diversity is one of the many things that make university life worthwhile and I am no doubt endowed with a mixture of cultures; as the Jamaican culture has evolved to included aspects of cultures of people from all walks of life. I hope I have given you a good enough idea of what I have to offer this institution, but I assure you this is just the tip of the ice berg. I also have no doubt that I will not be a silent student as I intend to be a production member of the university family. As we say in Jamaica â€Å"Wi likkle but wi tallawah†, meaning big things come in small packages.

People with Learning Disability Essay Example for Free

People with Learning Disability Essay To make sure that people with learning difficulties are able to live in their flats independently and not go through any abuse, there are various strategies to help them such as: Protection of Vulnerable Adults scheme (POVA) The Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) scheme was July 2004 was introduced to protect vulnerable adults such as people with learning disability who are aged 18 years and over in care settings. Employers or managers are required to check the POVA list when employing workers, carers or volunteers who are in regular contact with vulnerable adults. They also have a responsibility to refer care workers to the POVA list if they have harmed vulnerable adults in their care. When an individuals name is placed on the POVA list, that person is not able to work with vulnerable adults until his or her name is removed from the list. The POVA scheme is designed to give significantly greater protection to vulnerable adults. Employers have a duty to check that potential new care workers are not on the POVA list before allowing them to work in a care position. They will have to do it as part of the CRB Disclosure application process. Multi-agency working Multi-agency working means different services, agencies, teams of professionals and other staff working together to provide services that meet the needs of vulnerable adults. As multi-agency working supports vulnerable adults such as learning disabled people, it puts them at the centre of decision making in order to meet their needs and improve their lives. Multi agency working encourages problems to be identified early and can be intervened. They share and manage information and keep the information up to date. They keep in track any improvements the clients have made or any improvements that needs to be made. They co-operate with each other. So, if there is any suspicion of abuse, they use the same strategies to deal with the abuse and safeguard adults from any harm or danger. In this way, it helps to minimise the potential for abuse. Working practices needs assessment Service users needs must be assessed so that we are able to know their strengths. We can also find the areas where they need help and support and plan appropriate levels of support to improve the service users lives. Their needs are assessed to monitor if they are improving or getting worse. If the service users needs are not considered or met properly then abuse such as physical, financial, psychological abuse, etc can occur intentionally or unintentionally, which can deteriorate the health of the service user. When assessing the needs of the service users, it is important to identify the vulnerability of the service user so that further steps can be taken to avoid any risk of potential abuse. In this way, needs assessment is vital when care planning for service users. Oral/Written/Electronic communication Communication is an important way of minimising any potential abuse. Effective communication with service users and others involved in their care is essential. We are able to find out their needs and problems if we are able to communicate with them effectively. The information of the service user must only be given to people who need to know about the service user. It should be kept safe and confidential from other people and prevent any risk of harm or danger. For example, keeping information in computers with passwords, etc. Working in partnership with service users It is important that care professionals work in partnership with service users so that they can gain trust from them and feel more empowered. This way they are able to feel more confident when talking about their problems and worries. From this, we are able to find out if they are being abused. They wouldn’t hesitate when talking about the abuse. Partnership with service users also means care professionals helping service users to recognise when a relationship is abusive. Care workers can help them to know more about how to protect themselves by knowing their rights and how to complain. Thus, potential abuse can be minimised by working in partnership with service users. Strategies between professionals and within organisations It is vital to have effective communication between professionals and organisations so that service user is protected. When there are any changes such as improvement in service users or degrading in their health conditions or if there is a suspicion of abuse, information must be shared by communication. By communicating, they are able to monitor the service users well being and they can be up to date with information of service users. They are able to take action and ensure that service users needs are met.

Welfare State and Social Policies in Britain

Welfare State and Social Policies in Britain What are the essential characteristics of ‘conservative’ welfare states? Given that welfare states are normally associated with left of centre governments, and the supposed hostility of conservative right wing parties toward high levels of state intervention, the term ‘conservative welfare states’ seems somewhat of an anomaly. Nonetheless, there are definite examples of conservative states that not only refrain from fighting the welfare state but actually encourage the dependence of citizens on the government. This can be traced back to the Bismarckian ‘corporatist’ system of 19th century Germany, in which it was seen as in the interests of the state to look after the welfare of its citizens. This type of welfare state (in its extreme form) is less about reducing inequality and improving citizens lives than it is maintaining the status quo – a hierarchical system based on a culture of dependence (Esping-Anderson, 1990). Conservative welfare states are often religious and/or nationalist in nature, with a strong emphasis on family values. Epitomising such characteristics is arguably George Bush’s current reign. Despite initial cuts in public expenditure, government spending has actually increased faster under Bush than it did under Bill Clinton, with an increase of almost 33%. The religious aspect of Bush’s conservative system is illustrated with reference to his 2001 pledge to give billions of dollars to faith-based charities. Accepting the inevitability of ‘big government’ (and thus the end of Conservative emphasis on cutting spending), the republican government under Bush has prioritised public spending partly according to religious preferences. Therefore, a ‘conservative’ welfare state is one which uses welfare as a control mechanism, to advance a particular way of thinking – for instance religion, nationalism – on its citizens. What impact has social policy in Britain had on minority ethnic groups? One of the greatest challenges for social policy in Britain has been to encompass minority ethnic groups, and in many ways it has failed to achieve this. Bochel points out that for many years social policy has been reluctant to recognize ethnic diversity, intending to be universal in character, so the issue of race has long been overlooked. This has had a significant impact on minority ethnic groups as the discrimination that they most definitely suffer in the labour market and in the community has not been properly addressed. Research has shown that men and women from ethnic minority groups are twice as likely to be unemployed as white Britons, and other social indicators echo this pattern. Ethnic minorities are also more likely to undertake low-paid, low-skilled work, and the vicious circle that stems from this – inferior housing, poorer living standards, and substandard schools in deprived areas – is actually partly caused by the welfare state system, which instituti onalises this discrimination. The unique problems faced by ethnic minorities must be addressed individually, and until recently social policy has failed to do this. Furthermore, the emphasis on tackling crime that has underpinned New Labour’s social policy and that of the previous Conservative governments has impacted on ethnic minorities due to the often discriminatory nature of initiatives to cut crime. The ‘stop and search’ programme is unfairly targeted toward black youths, to the extent that many believe being black is tantamount to a social problem (McGhee, 2005). Such flaws in British social policy have undoubtedly contributed to a growing sense of isolation amongst ethnic minority groups, and thus it could be argued that social policy is often more harmful than beneficial. What have been the most significant changes in the size and use of public social expenditure in the UK in the past 30 years? The 1970s certainly marked a watershed in British history with regard to the welfare state; however, to claim that the past 30 years has witnessed a roll-back of the state and a decline in public spending is at best too simplistic and at worst incorrect. In fact, research has shown that from the late 1970s, public spending as a proportion of GDP has remained fairly stable. Thatcher certainly espoused the merits of small government and individualism and bemoaned the high levels of government spending associated with the economic crises of the 1970s, but the welfare state had become entrenched in British society, practically to the point of no return. There have, though, been significant changes in the use of public spending, as governments have been forced to re-prioritise spending (Alcock et al). For example, spending on education has increased in the past 30 years, whereas the Conservative and New Labour governments have attempted to tighten their budgets in the area of income suppo rt through an increase in means testing for benefits. NHS spending has also increased significantly under Labour following the 1999 Comprehensive Spending Review, by approximately 4.7% annually (Alcock et al). Ultimately, governments in the past 30 years have strived to improve the efficiency of public services, and this has accounted for the changes in the use of public social expenditure. What was distinctive about the ‘classic welfare state’ in Britain from the 1940s to the 1970s? Although it is important not to overlook the pre-1940 foundations upon which the welfare state was built, one cannot deny that the concept of the welfare state was most fully realized in Britain between 1940 and 1970. Building on the strong sense of collectivism that characterized the war years, the public and the government alike reached the consensus that state intervention was necessary to ensure that Britain would meet its full economic potential. It is widely regarded that the subsequent policies stemmed from a combination of the economic philosophy of John Maynard Keynes and the social philosophy of William Beveridge. The fact that a basic framework of social policy emerged for the first time was distinctive because it complemented the political and economic rights afforded to citizens from the turn of the century. Moreover, it represented the beginning of a rights-based citizenship in Britain (Alcock et al). It was also effectively the first time since the development of polit ical parties that the common good of the nation prevailed over partisan differences. Asa Briggs’ classic essay identified three principal elements of the welfare state which were distinctive from the pre-war period. The aim was to ensure the guarantee of minimum standards (including income), social protection by the state at times of need and the provision of services at a maximum level (Briggs, 1985). Another distinctive factor was that this protection was to be universal – unlike the poor laws of the Victorian times, access to welfare was to be ‘free at the point of delivery’ for all, without the stigma previously attached to welfare support. Of course, the ideal of the welfare state was never truly realized and disagreements regarding policy were common, but the consensus that emerged from the Second World War undoubtedly marked a major turning point in British history regarding the development of social policy. References Alcock, C. Introducing Social Policy, Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. Bochel, H. Social Policy: Issues and Development, Oxford University Press, 2005 Briggs, A. The Collected Essays of Asa Briggs, Harvester Press, 1985 Esping-Anderson, G. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Cambridge, 1990 McGhee, D. Intolerant Britain, Open University Press, 2005

Franz Kafka :: essays research papers fc

...Once more the odious courtesies began, the first handed the knife across K. to the second, who handed it across K. back again to the first. K. now perceived clearly that he was supposed to seize the knife himself, as it traveled from hand to hand above him, and plunge it into his own breast. But he did not do so, he merely turned his head, which was still free to move, and gazed around him. He could not completely rise to the occasion, he could not relieve the officials of all their tasks; the responsibility for this last failure of his lay with him who had not left him the remnant of strength necessary for the deed.... --from The Trial Franz Kafka, b. Prague, Bohemia (then belonging to Austria), July 3, 1883, d. June 3, 1924, has come to be one of the most influential writers of this century. Virtually unknown during his lifetime, the works of Kafka have since been recognized as symbolizing modern man's anxiety-ridden and grotesque alienation in an unintelligible, hostile, or indifferent world. Kafka came from a middle-class Jewish family and grew up in the shadow of his domineering shopkeeper father, who impressed Kafka as an awesome patriarch. The feeling of impotence, even in his rebellion, was a syndrome that became a pervasive theme in his fiction. Kafka did well in the prestigious German high school in Prague and went on to receive a law degree in 1906. This allowed him to secure a livelihood that gave him time for writing, which he regarded as the essence--both blessing and curse--of his life. He soon found a position in the semipublic Workers' Accident Insurance institution, where he remained a loyal and su ccessful employee until--beginning in 1917-- tuberculosis forced him to take repeated sick leaves and finally, in 1922, to retire. Kafka spent half his time after 1917 in sanatoriums and health resorts, his tuberculosis of the lungs finally spreading to the larynx. Kafka lived his life in emotional dependence on his parents, whom he both loved and resented. None of his largely unhappy love affairs could wean him from this inner dependence; though he longed to marry, he never did. Sexually, he apparently oscillated between an ascetic aversion to intercourse, which he called "the punishment for being together," and an attraction to prostitutes. Sex in Kafka's writings is frequently connected with dirt or guilt and treated as an attractive abomination.

Comparing Science and Religion in Frankenstein and Angels and Demons Es

Comparing Science and Religion in Frankenstein and Angels and Demons Science and religion have been at odds since back in Galileo’s day and maybe even before. The battle rages on even today with debates on cloning and stem cell research. These issues can be seen not only today’s literary works but also in the works from the years past. Two great examples of the past and present are: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons. Both deal with the issue of the roles that science and religion play. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a horror story written in 1831. It tells a tale of Victor Frankenstein’s obsession with playing God and creating a man and the consequences that come with it. Not only does the book reflect on Victor’s life and but also on the monster’s life and how it deals with the situations at hand. Angels and Demons is a suspense thriller written in 2000. Robert Langdon has been asked to help solve a murder mystery because it is believed that a secret society that he has studied called the illuminati are behind it. The story takes a ton of twist and turns that involve a container of antimatter, the Catholic Church and a dead priest’s secret. Even though both of these books were written in different times and with totally different plots they still both bring to light the battle between science and religion that may never diminish. Victor Frankenstein is obsessed with his to attempt to create a human. He works on it constantly alienating friends and loved ones. His obsession is finally rewarded with success; he manages to create a monster. This is where Mary Shelley starts to bring in the lesson of playing God. When Victor looks at his creation, he sees what a horror he has created and how hideous a creature it is. â€Å"No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch† (Shelley 44). Shelley shows that man cannot create things without messing it up. This is would not be the last time that scientist went to far to attempt to create perfection. In 1991 Michael Stewart wrote a story called Prodigy in which a man messes with his daughter’s DNA to make her smarter. However, she becomes a child that has evil genes. (Nelkin 35). This is another way authors show that man is not capable of imitating God. Even though Victor’s description of... ...ck facts before committing them to complete believe. These two books show very well what can happen when religion and science try to battle with each other. There are two types of extremes. Those that want to use advanced technology to expand into the realms of God and those that want to use their religious stance to stop technology from advancing. Frankenstein is blinded by his obsession to create life and the Carmerlengo Carlo Ventresca went to the extreme to punish those that he thought had disobeyed his religion even if it was his own father. Neither extreme is completely right and yet both sides tend to think that they have all the answers. It is a battle that has been going on for centuries and one that is not soon to be done. Works Cited Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. Pocket Star Books. New York, 2000. Mazur, Allan. Science three, religion zero. Society. May June 1996 V 33 No.4. P 20-28. Nelkin, Dorothy. Genetics, God and sacred DNA. Society. May/June. 1196 V33 no.4 pg 29-43. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Bantam Classics. New York, 1818. Silver, Lee. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. www.princeton.edu/wws320/films/Frankenstein/Frankenstein%20essay.htm

Of Mice and Men :: English Literature

With its appealing elements of naivet, humour and pathos Of Mice And Men is Steinbeck's tableau of the oppressed in post-depression US society. It has strong imagery, decisive action, authentic dialogue and cinematic tension. Would you say this novel is a classic and successful? Why? I will first explore whether I think "Of Mice and Men" is worthy of the reputation linked with a term, in my opinion, too widely used in the world of literature. The word I am referring to of course is "classic". The definition of a "classic" is a great and timeless book or work of art. Therefore I am going to temporarily re-phrase the title question for ease of comprehension and explanation to: "Would you say this novel is great, timeless and successful? Why?" This will enable me to deal with the true meaning of the term "classic" at the same time as formulating an opinion of whether Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" deserves this prestigious title. Firstly, is this novel great? Well, it certainly isn't great in magnitude, i.e. the size of the book is not that which we would associate with such a rated book. It only has six chapters and the story takes place in quite a short space of time. However, the definition of greatness in this instance does not mean "huge" or "vast" it means "wonderful" and "important". In my opinion the novel is great in this way. It displays affection, emotion, friendship and love, as well as loneliness, discrimination, prejudice and anger. These are all basic human qualities and liabilities, which makes the novel both wonderful and important in a way that few people will ever really understand. Even though I don't know what Steinbeck's inspiration and reason for writing this novel was I personally respect the way in which he sums up such important parts of life in six short chapters. These are the only reasons I found to justify why "Of Mice and Men" should be classed as "great", however there are countless reasons for this novel to be classed as "timeless". The moral issues and difficulties of the people in this book are still relevant in the world today and I feel that people all over the world will be able to empathise on a metaphorical level with George and Lennie's struggles in realising their dream. The first question to address when looking at "Of Mice and Men" as a timeless novel is: 'What are the predominant moral issues hidden in this novel, how are they relevant today and will they still be relevant in the future?' This is a difficult question to face with a novel such as this, as the author does not exaggerate exactly what the

A rhetorical analysis of against school by John Taylor Gatto Essay

Attempting to persuade his audience reading from this Article,John Taylor Gatto’s displays his points of view that he does not belive in our school system. He believes that the staying in the American schooling system for so long has supplied him with every reason to refer to it as a childish program. According to him, people may see the key problem of schooling as boredom. To clarify his point, Gatto asserts having education is not equal to taking schooling which is instead considered as â€Å"a daily routine in a factory of childishness in order to make sure children do not really grow up.† Gatto supports his views by enumerating a significant number of successful Americans who did not go through the schooling system but turned out to be productive, such as Abraham Lincoln. In this short story, â€Å"Against School†, Gatto tells his experiences with students that complained they were bored in school. Gatto said these students were not interested in what was bei ng taught because they often said the work was stupid and that they already knew it. According to Gatto, these students were interested only in grades rather than learning the subject. In â€Å"Against school† Gatto begins his article discussing his thoughts on whether the term â€Å"boredom† could be used to define the experience of a student. He explains that every time he used to ask students in class why they were bored in school, the students felt that their teachers â€Å"did not seem to know much about their subject and clearly weren’t interested in learning more† (Gatto 300). With teachers being bored as well and blaming their students he brings up the question of who really is to blame. Gatto feels a change of not to provide the student with â€Å"schooling’ but with an education can be done by simply being more involved with the student. He believes that by introducing students to â€Å"competent† adults or in other words teachers who know their subjects the students will gain inspiration and interest. He then goes on to ask if schooling is even necessary, questioning if the 12 years of mandatory schooling are beneficial or not. Gatto proceeds to talk about the origins of our educational system and what he knows is the real purpose of our educational system based on the evidence he presents. He explains that the United States educational system comes from a military state named Prussia. An â€Å"educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects; to hamstring the inner life, to deny students appropriate leader skills. (Gatto 303). Claiming that we are bred to never grow up and remain children,  in his last paragraph he states one last time his thoughts on the purpose of mandatory education â€Å"Mandatory education serves students only incidentally; its real purpose is to turn them into servants† (Gatto 307). Gatto states that in this country people sees â€Å"success† as synonymous with â€Å"schooling†. He articulates that important people like George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln never went through the twelve-year schooling system we have now and they still succeeded. Gatto said that according to our cultural traditions schools were made to make good people, good citizens, and each person their personal best. Since his goal was to persuade his audience in this article I would consider the writing primarily appealing to logos and ethos with pathos used throughout the article. On page 300 his first sentence â€Å"I taught for thirty years in some of the worst schools in Manhattan, and in some of the best, and during that time I became an expert in boredom† is used to show the reader that he is an experienced veteran of our educational system. He places this at the very start of the article to try and gain immediate credibility so that he may potentially obtain the trust of the audience. This is all done to display his social standing which makes it ethos. On that same page he brings up the question â€Å"Who is to blame?† and he includes the reasoning for both the student’s and the teacher’s points of view on who they feel is accountable for school boredom. â€Å"They said teacher’s didn’t seem to know much about their subjects and clearly weren’t interested in learning more† claims Gatto his student’s would say to him, and when asking the teacher’s they stated â€Å"Who wouldn’t get bored teaching students who are rude and interested only in grades†. He places their opinions first to set himself up for introducing his own point of view in the following paragraph on page 301, â€Å"We all are. My grandfather taught me that† and goes on to say that it’s your own responsibility to entertain yourself and the teachers job is to provide you with an education. Because of the placement in points of view the reader is first brought to choose between teacher and student and who is really at fault but is then introduced to Gatto’s point of view where he blames both the teachers and students. This tactic was used because by stating his opinion after that of the students and the teachers his audience may perceive him to have the more balanced or in other words, most informed  point of view between the three. By him saying that the students are saying one thing and that the teachers are saying another and then saying what he thinks and why they are wrong he is appealing to a logos way of persuading his audience. When explaining his grandfather’s lesson the word â€Å"childish† is used to describe those who don’t agree with what his grandfather is preaching, â€Å"the obligation to amuse and instruct myself was entirely my own, and people who didn’t know that were childish people, to be avoided if possible† (Gatto 301). This choice of wording also appeals to logos because by saying that the people who â€Å"didn’t know that† or in other words weren’t aware of the belief that it is your own job to entertain yourself, a re â€Å"childish† he does this so that he can try and persuade the reader by explaining to them that because the students or teachers aren’t mature enough to already know that it is up to them to stay entertained, and they expect someone to entertain them they are still childish people. This also appeals to ethos because by saying something negative about the opposition specifically that they are childish the author can lead the readers to believe that he is the wiser or more mature one of the three viewpoints. When providing evidence to support his claims Gatto once again appeals to his audience through ethos by stating the person he is quoting and some background on said person before writing about what it is they actually said that relates to the article. By adding positive words or background information about the author he attempts to gain credibility for his evidence by letting the audience know that the information is coming from someone who knows what they are talking about and he does it various times throughout the essay for example on page 302, â€Å"we have for example the great H.L. Mencken, who wrote in the American mercury† Notice the usage of the word great, and how the context its being used in could lead the reader to be more fond of the evi dence. A more obvious use of this tactic can be found on page 303 where he says â€Å"It was from James Bryant Conant-president of Harvard for twenty years, WWI poison gas specialist, WWII executive on the atomic-bomb project, high commissioner†¦and truly one of the most influential figures of the 20th century† He probably could’ve just said one or two things but he throws a whole list at the readers so they could potentially feel this is accurate information from someone with high standing. Instead of just throwing his evidence and support out there Gatto attempts to set  them up again to seem more credible because of his certain choice of wording and how he places it in his writing. He decides to end his article by trying to persuade the audience through the use of emotional appeal, or pathos. After urging the audience to â€Å"wake up† and see the points he is trying to make he decides to use the line â€Å"there’s no telling what your own kids could do† he says this to hook any leftover skeptics by bringing up the point that maybe it won’t help them but instead their children. This is effective because the reader may have a different point of view on this whole article when thinking about how it relates to their loved ones, their children. When asked if I agree with Gatto and his views I would say that I partially agree with him. I do agree when he says that modern day education is boring because of both the teachers and students, it really is up to both sides to find a way to entertain each other to get the most amount of work done and find inspiration in what they are doing. When saying that â€Å"Mandatory education serves children only incidentally; its real purpose is to turn them into servants (Gatto 307) I also agree with him. The idea that you should be forced to go and do something you don’t always want to for the sake of â€Å"learning† when you don’t really care about the topic to begin with has always been something I’ve questioned. Sure you can get the work done but if you don’t care it won’t stick so what’s the point? It really does seem to me that schools are used for income, to keep the population busy and to keep us out of â€Å"trouble†. Education system teaches us to appease, its gets us tired and it makes many of us lose hope in what we want to do. I don’t agree with him however when he talks about how school keeps us from growing up. We still get older and mature and many people actually find what they feel is their calling through our educational system so that can’t be the case, I don’t think it keeps us from ever being useful. I think we are already useful; we are just too caught up in school and all the work there to go out and do things. Throughout his article Gatto does a great job as far as being persuasive with his audience through the use of ethos logos and pathos. With Harper’s magazine being released and purchased by people who are interested in controversial views like this, Gatto gives the readers what they paid for by  effectively questioning our educational system and making his point that education is turning our society into slaves or as he likes to put it â€Å"servants† (Gatto 307). What I do feel he lacks on though is providing more views of the opposition, on page 302 he writes about all the people who didn’t go to school and are successful in the world, but he fails to mention anyone who has gone to school and has ended up just as successful as those people. I find it hard to believe that out of anyone going to school in the United States since 1915, not one person has been successful because of it. Though he is persuasive and successful in putting out his points of view this aspect of his article is very unbalanced. Ultimately, the article does get the job done and does a good job informing the readers of his views on our educational system and why he is against school. Starting off his writing by stating â€Å"I taught for thirty years in some of the worst schools in Manhattan, and in some of the best, and during that time I became an expert in boredom† (Gatto 300) proves to be effective because logically it makes sense that he learns about boredom after thirty years, and being a teacher for thirty years gives him credibility in the topic at hand. Gatto argues that schools are cell-block style, forced confinement of both students and teachers (Par. 4). According to Gatto, James Conant changed the style of standardized testing, nor the gargantuan high school that warehouse 2,000 to 4,000 students at a time (Par. 12). Gatto states the best one to become your full potential is to manage yourself (Par. 27).

Leasing Company in Viet Nam

LEASING COMPANY IN VIET NAM | Advantage| Disadvantage| Market| Viet Nam is considered as a great potential market for developing financial leasing activities. In Vietnam, this form of credit is quite suitable for small and medium enterprise, so the number of small and medium enterprises account for more than 95% of the total number of enterprises created a huge demand and practical for financial leasing services.The fundamental reason of this demand comes from the aspects such as: * The urgency of innovation of equipment, machine and technology for enterprises * The limited capital sources of small and medium-sized enterprises| In fact, leasing companies have not found a suitable market segment. A large number of small and medium enterprises in Vietnam are the target customers of the leasing companies do not know or have little information about true benefits of financial leasing services.Above disadvantage is due to following main reasons: * It is difficult to change habits of Vietn amese businesses: When they need capital to renewal technology, they often borrow from the banks * The propaganda, disseminating information, and access the leasing company's customers are still limited. | Market share| At the present, there are 12 enterprises operating in financial leasing field, so the competition is not great.Companies can share the market share and earn profit| | Legal | | System of law in the financial leasing activities is asynchronous and inadequate: especially, the provisions on settlement of disputes,asset recovery, asset register is not consistent| Capital | | In fact, the capital of the leasing company is very small, while credit activity of this type of company is the medium and long term (1 year or more).On the other hand,It is very difficult to raise capital to leasing company in Viet Nam, which mainly rely on the bank's loans but State Bank regulations about these loans are so strict| Bad debt| | In 2012, leasing companies have the highest bad debt ra tio in the list of credit institutionsFor example:Bad debt ratio of the leasing companies in Ho Chi Minh City went up to more than 50% by mid-2012The difficulties in the recovery of assets due to incomplete basis legal is one of the most disadvantage of the leasing company| Human resources | | Lack of qualified staff and manager.Continuous recruitment lead to waste a lot of time and money and have much negative effect on business activities of company. | http://taichinh. vnexpress. net/tin-tuc/goc-chuyen-gia/2012/09/cong-ty-cho-thue-tai-chinh-be-tac-trong-xu-ly-no-xau-21085/ http://www. vcci. com. vn/dau-tu-tai-chinh/20130121092728839/loi-thoat-nao-cho-thue-mua-tai-chinh. htm

In Jane Eyre love and marriage are important in different ways Essay

It is not personal, but mental endowments they have given you: you are formed for labour, not for love†¦I claim you not for my pleasure, but for my Sovereign’s service.† In the light of St John’s proposal, discuss the importance in Jane Eyre of love and marriage. In Jane Eyre love and marriage are important in different ways. In some relationships the two aspects are disconnected and in one they are eventually united. St John views marriage as a practical arrangement. ‘It is not personal’ shows that St John views marriage as separate from his emotions and love. This supported when he addresses his claim on her ‘for [his] Sovereign’s service.’ He feels that marrying Jane is something he has to do, and he is marrying her for the purpose of duty. This links to Victorian morality because marriage was generally viewed as something that was done for a purpose such as marrying for status, money or duty. The society would have frowned upon wild marriages based on love without a valid reason. Apart from St John’s loveless marriage principles, there are elements in the novel where love outweighs marriage, but eventually equalises which is reflected in Rochester and Jane’s relationship. There is also a passionate at first marriage which then becomes incomplete and loveless and this is shown through Bertha and Rochester’s marriage. St John and Jane’s relationship is one which is more associated with friendship, and the fact that they are cousins, that Jane is in love with Rochester, and St John is in love with Rosamond Oliver means that there is never any romantic link between the two. There is no love and Jane identifies this. ‘We did not love each other as man and wife should†¦we ought not to marry’ Jane’s views are very individualistic as society would have not have approved of her ideas that marriage should be the product of true love and passion. Of course St John disagrees with this idea and in fact thinks the opposite so his ideas of love and marriage correspond with those of society. He tells Jane that ‘[she] is formed for labour, not for love’ which is important because it highlights the reason he is marrying her. ‘Labour’ shows that he thinks that Jane is someone who would be a good missionary’s wife and potential child bearer but it suggests a very mundane style of living which is not what Jane wants. In some ways it seems as if St John is using her because the marriage doesn’t benefit her in any way. The verb ‘formed’ suggests that it is Jane’s destiny and fate to be a missionary’s wife. St John’s potential marriage to Jane is a direct contrast to if he was to marry Rosamond Oliver. ‘I love Rosamond Oliver so wildly†¦she would not make me a good wife.’ He loves Rosamond Oliver and his feelings towards her are passionate; the connotations on the adverb ‘wildly’ suggest not only passionate intensity but also that marrying Rosamond would be a wild, reckless decision. However as much as he loves her, his definition of a good wife is not someone who he loves and cares about but someone who is appropriate for his duty. The use, therefore, of St John’s proposal to Jane is a way of showing that he viewed the role of marriage as more important than love. Jane and Rochester’s relationship has three stages to it, which eventually, culminates in marriage. The first stage is their early relationship, which is filled with love and passion, but is also constantly bordered by social status. Jane and Rochester are kindred spirits ‘I feel akin to him’ there is a deeper connection immediately between the two which provides the basis of their love. On top of this the passion between the two of them is immense. ‘Come to the fire.’ When Rochester says this, it is an indication that he wants Jane to be closer and attracted to him.’ He represents the ‘fire’ and the passion which Jane’s life until then had been lacking. Rochester’s status is only due to experience but they are intellectually equal. Mr Rochester is used to giving orders and Jane receiving them. An important point however is Rochester’s constant portrayal of leaning on Jane. This evens out the social superiority he has over her, because each time he leans on her, and their relationship develops, Jane grows in social status. The next stage of their relationship is when Rochester proclaims his love for Jane and proposes.’ I summon you as my wife.’ This proposal can be compared to St John’s because even though both of them have the commanding tone, Rochester wants Jane for himself, not for duty. The verb ‘summon’ could indicate that that Rochester believes that being his wife is Jane’s destiny. Even though Jane accepts, she has doubts. These are amplified when she finds out about Bertha Mason. ‘Jane fears the â€Å"vapoury veil† that Jane Rochester will wear for an unequal marriage and secretly desires to tear it up; Bertha does it for her’ She is not willing to surrender her dignity for the sake of passion. In some ways the discovery of Bertha Mason is a blessing in disguise. She follows her head and not her heart and this leads to her leaving Thornfield, and Rochester. The final stage of their relationship is when Jane and Rochester eventually get married. ‘Reader, I married him.’ Their initial love and passion is still there but Jane’s inheritance and Rochester’s loss of Thornfield and loss of sight is what makes them more socially equal, though it seems Jane is now superior. The difference between this and the first time they were meant to marry, is that Jane develops, emotionally, mentally and financially, so the marriage is now more inclined to work. Also with Bertha Mason no longer alive, Jane doesn’t feel guilty and doesn’t have to go against the religious acceptance she has developed. The personal pronoun ‘I’ shows that this time it’s her decision because she is ready to marry him. The marriage is now egalitarian. Jane does not lose her independent spirit but it can be argued that ‘Jane does submit to the authority of her husband.’ Jane and Rochester’s relationship shows the perfect union of love and marriage. Bertha and Rochester’s marriage is one which represents passion at the start, which disappears and is replaces by hatred. They get married based on the initial passion. ‘I thought I loved her.’ Rochester acknowledges that he got married too quickly without getting to know about Bertha, or her life and family. He blames this on the naivety of youth, the pressure of society and his family’s greed for money. Bertha and Rochester’s marriage is significant because it seems to be the paradox for what Jane and Rochester’s marriage may have been similar too, had Jane decided to marry Rochester before. This is why Jane questions if she was mad if Rochester would have treated her similarly which she may have been if she had married Rochester and sacrificed her integrity. This is also shown when Jane says ‘I experienced a strange feeling as the key grated in the lock.’ This brings back memories of being locked in the red room for Jane. The verb ‘grated’ suggests it was something Jane was used to; a familiar sound. It also suggests that Jane knows what it was like to be under such restriction; there was no means of escape, and it finally shows that it was something which annoyed and upset Jane, which evoked similar but stronger feelings for Bertha. Jane has experienced a small sample of what Bertha experiences. So therefore Jane and Bertha share similarities and therefore Bertha can be seen as Jane’s antagonist. Bertha and Rochester’s relationship is one which has no love, and one where marriage is portrayed as inconvenient. Their marriage is not what a marriage should be. It can be said that their relationship lacks both love and a true marriage. In conclusion, love and marriage is important in Jane Eyre. St. John and Jane’s relationship is one where there is no love but one where marriage is still seen as a possibility for a purpose. Jane and Rochester’s relationship is one where the love and passion override a successful marriage but eventually the two are united equally. Finally, Bertha and Rochester’s relationship is one where there is some passion at first but it quickly dies and all that it is left is a hateful , empty marriage which offers a contrast to Jane and Rochester’s relationship.

Nigeria and South Africa

Introduction The literature review was crucial to this dissertation since it was the major part of the dissertation that examined several secondary sources and reinforced the aim which is to critically analyse and investigate the extent to which physical infrastructure has influenced the tourism industry in Nigeria compared to South Africa. This dissertation has an adapted version of Handy’s (1994) Product Lifecycle Model because it shows the development of physical infrastructure in regards to accessibility within Nigeria and South Africa.This dissertation also has Butler’s TALC Model (1980) to demonstrate the development of tourism in Nigeria and South Africa. The dissertation assesses the impacts of the 3 A’s accessibility, Amenities and Ancillary Services by comparing Nigeria to South Africa. The dissertation answers whether physical infrastructure has positively or negatively influenced Nigeria and South Africa’s tourism industries. This dissertation also includes the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index indicators and the Global Competitiveness index indicators in order to compare the infrastructure rankings in Nigeria and South Africa.There are conclusions which evaluate what the researcher found throughout the dissertation. The recommendations stem from what the researcher discovered and discussed in the conclusions within the dissertation. Aim and Objectives Aim To critically analyse and investigate the extent to which physical infrastructure has influenced the tourism industry in Nigeria compared to South Africa. Objectives To scrutinise secondary research which discusses the state of physical infrastructure.To assess the impacts of the 3 A’s in Nigeria in comparisons to South Africa. To find out whether physical infrastructure had a positive or negative influence on both countries tourism industries. To critically analyse competitiveness indicators in relation to other data sources. To make several recommendati ons based on the conclusions in this dissertation. Rationale The main purpose of this dissertation is to answer the question- How has physical infrastructure influenced the tourism industry in Nigeria in comparison to South Africa?There are various reasons to why this dissertation is being written. The first reason is there is a gap in academic literature seeing that there is no existing research that compares how physical infrastructure has influenced the tourism industry in Nigeria and South Africa. This could be due to the fact that there are no qualified researchers who have been focusing on documenting such research since researchers may view Nigeria and South Africa as developing economies and would rather conduct research on other countries like England or United States of America.The second reason is that the researcher would be able to explore the aim in great detail through the usage of secondary research and secondary data. Nigeria and South Africa were chosen because bot h countries have significant roles and influence on the African Continent. Kwintessential (2011) states: â€Å"Along with South Africa, Nigeria is considered a super-power in the African continent. † Tourists frequently visit Nigeria and South Africa. In 2009/ 2010, more than forty-nine million tourists travelled to Africa.The top ten African Countries were Morocco which had nine point twenty-nine million tourists, South Africa had eight point nine million tourists and Nigeria had one point forty-one million tourists (TV3news, 2011). In 2011 Nigeria’s new President Goodluck Jonathan commissioned twenty-five trains and also in 2011 South Africa Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele introduced a law called Road Transport Management System (RTMS) which was implemented successfully.Secondary data from 2009, 2010 and 2011 was used because information linked to the Access, Amenities and Ancillary Services was available as major events closely linked to Access, Amenities and An cillary Services occurred in Nigeria and South Africa. Contribution Secondary data would be required since quantitative data, such as statistical figures are of great importance because they are needed in order to effectively support the findings in this dissertation.The 3 A’s Accessibility, Amenities and Ancillary Services According to Buhalis (2000) there are six A’s which are Attractions, Accessibility, Amenities, Available Packages, Activities and Ancillary Services however for the purpose of this research, this dissertation will only focus on three A’s which are Accessibility, Amenities and Ancillary Services as tourists take these three A’s into consideration when travelling aboard. Accessibility is essential as it enables tourists to travel to visit numerous places within Nigeria and South Africa.Hall et al (2006) refers to Butler (1980) and Wolfe (1952) who believe that accessibility is important seeing that they acknowledge that when accessibilit y improves an area would experience a growth in tourist numbers. Amenities are vital since tourists need to stay and sleep in accommodation whilst in Nigeria and South Africa. Bhatia (2006) and Hall (2009) agree that accommodation gives tourists the opportunity to spend some time in a destination.Ancillary Services for instance medical facilities like hospitals are important because tourists may need medical assistance so travel insurance is recommended to cover medical emergencies. Cowie (2011) reveals that The Association of British Insurers (ABI) believe there has been an increase in the number of travel insurance claims from holidaymakers particularly holidaymakers over the age of sixty-five. The 3 A’s Attractions, Available Packages and Activities Table The table below discusses why the researcher would not use the other 3 A’sAttractions, Available Packages and Activities which are also part of Buhalis’s Framework. | | | | | | |Attractions |The researcher w ould not use attractions as the researcher does not intend to discuss the various types of | | |attractions that tourists can visit on holiday when in Nigeria and South Africa, furthermore discussing several| | |attractions would not enable the researcher to answer the aim. | | | | | | |Available Packages |The researcher would not use available packages because the researcher’s dissertation is not about the | | |different types of holiday packages available that can be booked for a tourist going to Nigeria and South | | |Africa, therefore information on holiday packages would not be relevant in this dissertation. | | | | | | |Activities |The researcher would not use activities since the researcher’s dissertation does not involve finding out the | | |range of activities that tourists can partake in whilst in Nigeria and South Africa so information about types | | |of activities would be irrelevant in this dissertation. | Table 1 Chapter 1 Literature Review This lite rature review provides definitions of infrastructure, historical influences on infrastructure, definitions of the tourism industry, an overview of Nigeria and South Africa’s tourism industry. Butler’s TALC Model is used to showcase the development of tourism in Nigeria and South Africa and physical infrastructure in Nigeria and South Africa is discussed. Furthermore a theoretical framework is linked to the aim of the dissertation.In addition the literature review also includes Nigeria’s and South Africa’s political backgrounds, African Union agreements that Nigeria and South Africa have agreed to, the fact that South Africa is part of B. R. I. C. Baldauf (2011) reveals that South Africa joined the club of emerging economies in the world. The club is now known as BRICS which is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. An overview of infrastructure studies in tourism 1. 1 Defining Infrastructure in the tourism industry Infrastructure ca n be defined as essential elements which people need and can use within a Country, for example accommodation, roads and rail and medical facilities, like clinics and hospitals. Dutt and Ros (2008, p. 01) refer to Ingram & Fay (2005) who discuss: â€Å"In mid-twentieth century, infrastructure was seen as a key determinant of economic development – ‘the commanding heights’ of the economy – and market failures in infrastructure provision were thought to be endemic. † Dutt and Ros (2008, p. 301) also refer to Ingram and Fay (2005) who believe that there are various elements to infrastructure such as telecommunications, airports, roads, piped water, railways, power, ports and sanitation. Dutt and Ros (2008) also cite Hirschman (1958) who agrees that physical infrastructure consists of transportation, power, roads and water. Guttal (2008) agrees with Dutt and Ros (2008) in terms of what infrastructure is however the author adds that parks and shopping ce ntres are part of infrastructure.Guttal (2008) has a negative perspective of infrastructure as Guttal (2008) believes that infrastructure can often have negative impacts which lead to local community’s food and water being damaged or completely destroyed and communities becoming displaced. Mascardo (2008) has a positive view of infrastructure because Mascardo (2008) believes that infrastructure helps to enhance local people’s living conditions. 1. 2 Historical Influences on infrastructure World History (2011) and History (2011) both agree that Nigeria gained Independence from Britain on the 1st of October 1960. About. com (2011) African History (2011) and History Orb. com (2011) both agree that on the 31st of May 1910 South Africa became independent from Britain.South Africa History Online (2011) and Priory World History (2011) agree that in 1652 South Africa had been colonised by the Dutch. Nigeria and South Africa are similar as both countries were British colonies in the past. History (2011) and Wars Of The World (2011) agree that in the Northern part of Nigeria Moslems killed Christians which lead to a civil war and briefly divided the country. This civil war lasted from July 1967 to the 11th January 1970. History (2011) emphasises what happened during the civil war and how the civil war negatively impacted Nigerians by saying that: â€Å"The state lost its oil fields its main source of revenue and without the funds to import food, an estimated one million of its civilians died as a result of severe malnutrition. OnlineNigerian DailyNews (2011) and IRIN humanitarian news and analysis (2011) both agree and recognise that Nigerians have experienced two separate eras of military rule in the country, the first military era was in 1966 to 1970 lead by Gowon and the second military era was lead by Buhari, Babangida and Abacha 1984 to 1999. Robinson (2011) and SouthAfrica. TO (2011) agree that Afrikaner Nationalist came into power in 1948 its main aim was to keep races separated from each other through the implementation racist legislation. Robinson (2011) notes that: â€Å"The implementation of the policy, later referred to as â€Å"separate development,† was made possible by the Population Registration Act of 1950, which put all South Africans into three racial categories: Bantu (black African), white or Coloured (mixed race). Nigeria and South Africa have had corrupt leaders in the past who did not improve their countries physical infrastructure this lead to negative implications on the countries physical infrastructure. In Nigeria military rule had a negative effect on Nigeria as the military leaders caused the physical infrastructure to deteriorate because the leaders did not use the money budgeted for maintenance of the roads to maintain the roads instead the money was used for personal expenses. Online Nigerian News (2011) stated that: â€Å"Years of its rule, brought corruption, injustice, religious and ethn ic intolerance, poverty and misery still abound indicating that military rule largely failed. In South Africa part of the apartheid policies caused separation of facilities, such as people had to use public toilet facilities depending on his or her race. Presently, the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has had positive implications on the country’s physical infrastructure particularly the rail infrastructure as part of the President’s Agenda is to restore all structures that would improve the railways in Nigeria. Azubuike (2012) reveals that Nigeria’s Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar believes that the rehabilitation of Akere Bridge in Niger State was part of President Goodluck Jonathan's transformation agenda for rail service in Nigeria.South African President Jacob Zuma has also had positive implications on the country’s physical infrastructure like the airport infrastructure since part of the President’s world cup infrastructure plans was to upgrade the facilities in the airports. Lelliott (2010) states that â€Å"President Jacob Zuma officially opens revamped expanded OR Tambo Airport. † Another part of the plan was to build a new airport called King Shaka International Airport in South Africa which has now been fully built and opened in 2010. Province of Kwazulu-natal (2010) reveals that the South African President Jacob Zuma performed the last part of the World Cup infrastructure by opening Durban’s new international airport King Shaka International Airport.South Africa’s improvements in its airports won awards and South Africa needed to have world-class infrastructure in order to host the world cup in 2010. Ongoing repairs to the railways mean that there has been an increase in the number of trains operating in Nigeria. 1. 3 Definition of the tourism industry The tourism industry can be defined as an industry that consists of different components due to the fact that there are various to urism businesses, for instance accommodation businesses, like hotels are where tourists stay throughout their visit in a destination and food businesses, such as restaurants in which tourists can eat local or international cuisines.Lafferty (2001), Planck (2008), Hall (2008) and Ekwere (2010) all believe that the tourism industry includes accommodation establishments, shops, restaurants, travel agencies and tour operators. However Hall (2008, p. 11) identifies the fact that there are different types of accommodation by saying â€Å"Accommodation operators, include hotels, motels, caravan parks and camping grounds. † Parks (2007) indicates that the tourism industry has a diverse range of products and services which include cruise ships, campsites, car rentals, five star hotels and airlines. Parks (2007) reveals that the tourism industry is closely linked to various types of travellers or tourists, for instance business tourists, leisure tourists or people that are visiting fam ily and friends which is sometimes referred to as (VFR’s). 1. Overview of the tourism industry in Nigeria and South Africa Nigeria’s and South Africa’s Tourism Industry has experienced tourism growth through the global economic crisis. Euromonitior International (2011) Media Club South Africa (2012) and South Africa. info (2011) both agree that South Africa’s Tourism Industry was not severely affected by the global economic crisis as there was an increase in the number of leisure tourists who came to watch sports in 2010 compared to 2009. Media Club South Africa (2012) acknowledges that in the first quarter of 2010 South Africa received close to six million tourists arrivals which was an increase of 17. 1% compared to the same time period in 2009.Media Club South Africa (2012) also acknowledges that the second quarter in 2010 showed a 91. 3% rise in tourists from the Americas in the same time period in 2009 because South Africa hosted the World Cup. Eurom onitor International (2010) Nigerian Tribune (2011) World Bank Report (2010) and Champion Newspaper (2011) also both believe that the global economic crisis did not immensely affect Nigeria’s tourism industry seeing that Nigeria had more inbound tourists come to visit the country in 2009 and also in 2010. World Bank Report (2010) states that â€Å"The number of International tourist arrivals in Nigeria was 1,41,4000 in 2009. † Champion Newspaper (2011) believes that in 2010 Nigeria tourist arrivals increased by 8. 8 percent.South Africa’s tourism industry has been more successful at attracting leisure tourists compared to Nigeria’s tourism industry since South Africa promotes and provides leisure tourists with various types of holidays which range from wine tasting to bungee jumping. South Africa Index (2011, p. 10) indicates that fifty-seven percent of tourists visited South Africa for leisure purposes. It could be said that some States in Nigeria want t o attract more leisure tourists. Emelike (2011) reveals that governors, like Liyel Imoke in Calabar, Nigeria are making attempts to encourage leisure tourists to visit Nigeria by holding an annual carnival festival for thirty-two days in December.It could also be said that South Africa is trying to get more business tourists. South Africa. info (2011) indicates that South Africa is targeting business tourists that tend to spend more money compared to leisure tourists when business tourists become leisure tourists that go on tours after they have gone to their business meetings or when business tourists decide to return to the country just to experience the available range of leisure activities. Whereas in the Nigeria tourism industry, cities like Lagos have already experienced a boom in business tourism with a great rise in business tourists as there are many business opportunities available in Nigeria, for example in the retail and hospitality sectors.Jacobson (2011) believes that there has been a high number of business tourists going to Nigeria every month compared to other African Countries and the increase of business tourists in a city like Lagos has lead to a rise in luxury hotels being built in Lagos to meet the needs of the business tourists who tend to come from European Countries. Jacobson (2011) reveals that the immigration office at Murtala International Airport figures show that sixty-five percent of passengers who come on British Airways flights from London to Lagos between Mondays to Saturdays are in Lagos for business purposes. However some authors believe that Nigeria’s tourism industry is not as developed as it should be when taking into consideration the country’s size, abundance of areas of natural beauty and culture.Encyclopaedia of the Nations (2011) and Emelike (2010) agree that the Nigeria tourism industry is currently operating below its potential. Encyclopaedia of the Nations (2011) reinforces this by saying: â€Å"Tou rism in Nigeria is highly undeveloped, considering the West African nation's available tourist resources: land, climate, vegetation, people and their festivals, abundant art treasures, national monuments, ports, traditional sports, and music. † The World Travel Tourism Council had positive projections for Nigeria and South Africa in terms of how the travel and tourism industries would increase the countries GDP. World Travel Tourism Council (2011) believes that by 2021 Nigeria’s travel and tourism industry would rise by 1. % and South Africa’s industry would rise by 5. 1% in contribution to the GDP. Nigeria and South Africa on the Butler’s (1980) TALC Model The diagram below is based on Butler’s TALC Model which exhibits the development of tourism in Nigeria and South Africa. Figure 1 6 3. 9 1. 4 656,000 0 SOURCE: Butler (1980) Butler’s TALC Model above illustrates that over time the number of tourists travelling to Nigeria and South Africa i ncreased so both countries went from the Exploration Stage to the Involvement Stage in which local people became more involved in the tourism businesses which changed Nigeria’s and South Africa’s environment to the Development Stage.The changes at the Development Stage encouraged foreign tourism business to invest in both countries and this lead to the Consolidation Stage, for example Hilton opened branches in Abuja, Nigeria and Cape Town, South Africa. southafrica. info (2011) revealed that the newly opened Hilton Cape Town Hotel is the third Hilton Hotel in South Africa. The Consolidation Stage for Nigeria and South Africa was positive since there was investment in both countries tourism industries however the Consolidation Stage went into the Decline Stage due to conflicts in Jos, Nigeria but in South Africa the Consolidation Stage went to the Rejuvenation Stage because local tourism businesses are re-investing and making improvements to their businesses. Applying N igeria to Butler’s TALC ModelStage 1: Exploration The Exploration Stage is the stage in which tourists originally started visiting Nigeria. The World Group (2011) indicates that the first international tourists came to Nigeria in 1995 and the total number of international tourists in 1995 was 656,000. Stage 2: Involvement The Involvement Stage is when there was an increase of tourists to Nigeria and local people started businesses within the tourism industry. Tassiopoulos (2009) agrees with William (2009) who refers to Cohen (1972, p. 8) who says that: â€Å"Some local residents will react to the economic opportunities by providing basic facilities for tourists (such as accommodation). † Stage 3: Development The Development Stage is a stage that has caused changes to the physical environment in Nigeria since foreign companies, such as luxury hotels have set up their businesses. Wall et al (2006) and Huybers (2007) believe that there are evident changes to the physica l appearance of the area and local facilities may stop operating if they are unable to compete with new-modern-up-to- date facilities.Stage 4: Consolidation The Consolidation Stage refers to the stage whereby famous businesses now have new branches and franchises to supply the tourists with products and services they want and are use to back in their countries of origin. Hospitality Net (2010) indicates that Best Western opened a new branch called The Best Western Island Beach Hotel in Lagos, Nigeria. Talking Retail (2010) reveals that Spar has entered the Nigerian retail sector by opening a Spar supermarket in a new shopping centre in Lekki-Ajah which is an emerging area of Lagos.Stage 6: Decline The Decline Stage is evident in a city called Jos in Northern Nigeria that was once popular and visited by many tourists. Iyanu (2011) discusses Jos and indicates that many years ago the city was given the slogan ‘The home of Peace and Tourism’ as it could boost of a city tha t was full of tranquillity and had well-known attractions which inbound and outbound tourist visited. However there has been a dramatic decline in the number of tourists to the city throughout 2011due to religious conflicts. Walker (2011) talks about the conflicts in Jos and believes that the conflicts mostly stems from Muslims settlers feeling marginalised by the indigenous Christians.Applying South Africa to Butler’s TALC Model Stage 1: Exploration The Exploration Stage refers to the stage when tourists initially started coming to South Africa. South info (2011) reveals that International tourists began visiting South Africa after Apartheid in 1994 and the total number of International tourists that visited South Africa was 3. 9 million. Stage 2: Involvement The Involvement Stage is when there was a rise in tourists coming to South Africa so the indigenous people got involved in the tourism sector.Dale (2006) and Disgupta (2011) agree that Indigenous people see business op portunities in the tourism industry so they decide to open businesses that offer facilities for the tourists, for instance guest houses and restaurants. Stage 3: Development The Development Stage has occurred as more multi-national companies came into South Africa to establish their accommodation establishments, man-made or purpose-built attractions. Dale (2006) and Devashish (2011) believe that the multi-national companies such as hotels could take over the accommodation sector in a destination because the local hotels cannot compete with them. Stage 4: ConsolidationThe Consolidation Stage relates to well-known businesses setting up to franchise and cater to the continuous inflow of tourists to South Africa. Ivanovic (2009, p. 202) discusses the consolidation stage in South Africa by saying that: â€Å"In this stage the major franchises in food, hotel and retail chains enter the market, such as McDonalds, Hilton and Dolce and Gabbana. † Stage 6: Rejuvenation The Rejuvenatio n Stage is the stage in which local businesses in South Africa have decided to invest in their businesses by spending more money to upgrade and increase the number of attractions offered to tourists. Bruyn (2009, p. 03) talks about Durban Beachfront in Durban, South Africa and states that: â€Å"Durban Beachfront has rejuvenation projects such as the R21. 5 million ($ 3. 2 million) Wilson’s Wharf, uShaka Marine World Theme Park. † Theoretical Framework The diagram below is an adapted version of Handy’s (1994) Product Lifecycle Model that illustrates the different types of transportation in Nigeria and South Africa. Transportation in Nigeria and South Africa 650 450 250 50 40 30 20 0 The adapted model above indicates that the trains in South Africa started operating in 1860 and in Nigeria the trains starting operating in 1902.In South Africa the first international flights disembarked in 1945 and in Nigeria the first international flights flew in 1958. Lawal (20 11) agrees with Nigeria’s The International Civil Aviation Organisation report that reveals 30 million flights arrived in Nigeria. Irwin (2011) believes South Africa’s airport improvements enabled 40 million passengers to come on flights into South Africa. There is a lack of records in regards to how many railway passengers travelled seeing that records were mainly noted later on in the twentieth century. Nigeria’s recorded figures start from 1964 which showed that 11. 2 million passengers travelled by rail, in 1974 4. 3 million, 1978 6. million, in 1984 Nigeria reached its peak in terms of passenger numbers, then went down to 3 million in 1991, 1. 6 million passengers in 2003 but in 2009 and 2010 the number of railway passengers grew again. South Africa’s recorded figures started in 1992 and exhibited that there were 286 million railway passenger, 2007 13. 8 million, then went up to 646 million and declined to 520 million railway passengers in 2010. Phys ical Infrastructure in Nigeria and South Africa 1. 5 Airports Both Akpan (2011) and Ayodele (2011) believe Nigeria’s airports in major cities in Nigeria are in a dreadful condition.Ayodele (2011) reinforces this by explaining how passengers were affected when there was a power cut at Lagos Airport by stating: â€Å"On May 9, the terminal building was filled to the brim with passengers who were unable to access their luggage because the outage had affected the conveyor belt which had already aged. † Eze (2011) and Daily Trust (2011) both agree that Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos was built thirty-two years ago, the airport was originally built to accommodate one million passengers however the airport currently reaches twelve million passengers and this has had a negative impact on the facilities in the airport.Eze (2011) discusses displeasure in the state of Nigerian airports but mainly focused on the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos and recognise s the fact that the airport is a gateway into the country and views the facilities as a shame by saying â€Å"The Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, in particular have deteriorated to the extent they have become an embarrassment. † Afrique Avenir (2011) acknowledges that The Managing Director of Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited, Lagos, Mr. Isaac Orulagbagbe has criticised the infrastructure in Nigerian airports. Afrique Avenir (2011) agrees with Mr Orulagbagbe who believes that the federal government needs to improve the infrastructure in Murtala Mohammed International Airport because the airport is full to its capacity. However Harding (2011) talks about South Africa infrastructure in the airport which showed that the infrastructure was impressive as South Africa won awards based on the county’s airports.South African Government Information (2011) notes a statement from Ms Hlahla, ACSA who agrees with Claude Harding by saying: â€Å"Current airport infrastructure in South Africa has been recognised as being of world class standard. † Harding (2011) and SouthAfrica (2011) both give explanations of the reasons to why Tambo Airport which is also known as Johannesburg International Airport was voted the second most improved. Tambo Airport won since it provides adequate facilities for seventeen million passengers each year, the building was expanded and the airport plays a significant role in the city’s economy. Nkosi (2011) and Skytrax (2011) both discuss Cape Town International Airport winning awards.On one hand Nkosi (2011) explains the factors that contributed to Cape Town International Airport getting an award for the best Airport in Africa by referring to Airports Council  International survey which indicated that Cape Town International Airport had high scores in terms of the level of cleanliness in the washrooms and ease of passengers being about get trolleys and find car parking spaces. On the other hand Skytrax (2011) also explains that Cape Town International Airport got an award for Staff Service by stating: â€Å"Cape Town International Airport wins the Staff Service Excellence Award for Airports in Africa, as passengers recognise the high quality of front-line service delivery. † 1. 6 RoadsBoth Abubakar (2011) and Ezekiel (2011) believe the roads in Nigeria are in an appalling state and this has caused a significant number of car accidents and deaths. BluePrint (2011) refers to The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) who say: â€Å"There were a total of 20,910 road accidents or crashes in 2010 and the total mortality or deaths caused by these accidents were 6,853. This means that 6, 853 Nigerians lost their lives to accidents, caused by bad roads across the country. † Ezekiel (2011) and Samade (2011) both indicate the factors that lead to the poor state of the roads in Nigeria and agrees with the Minister of Transportation Mrs.Diezani Alison-Madueke that the present conditions of roads in Nigeria are a result of the lack of maintenance culture. Southafricagoodnews (2011) and SustainableTransport&Mobility (2011) agree that 50% of the roads are in a terrible state. Arizona Auto Accident Attorney News (2011) confirms this by saying: â€Å"The 2010 December/January festive season in South Africa resulted in over 1500 deaths as a result of accidents on the road and recent statistics indicate that an average of 36 people die on South Africa roads on an average day. † The Transport Minister took action and made a road safety law in 2011 which helped to decrease the number of deaths due to bad roads. allAfrica. om (2011) Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has commended the road transport industry for their efforts in implementing the Road Transport Management System (RTMS) to reduce road deaths. SustainableTransport&Mobility (2011) also discusses the factors that have contributed to the state of the roads in South Africa and agrees with The South African Road Federation President Mutshutshu  Nxumalo that the current state of roads in South Africa are due to poor management skills and also a poor maintenance culture. 1. 7 Rail Sunday (2011) and ThisDayLive (2011) agree that Nigeria’s railways have been neglected but ThisDayLive (2011) acknowledges the fact that the railways are improving as new trains were acquired stating that: The nation’s comatose rail system appears to be roaring back to life with the recent commissioning of the newly acquired 25 modern locomotive engines belonging to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) by President Goodluck Jonathan. † Euromonitor International (2011) supports the fact that there are new trains with figures that show there has been an increase in the number of passengers travelling by train in Nigeria seeing that 1. 9 million passengers travelled on the train in 2009 and 2. 1 million passengers travelled by train in 2010. However there are arguments ab out the state of South Africa’s railways. Roberts (2011) states that: â€Å"The best description of the current (201l) state of railway preservation in the country was probably ‘parlous'. †BRICS (2011) reinforces this with figures that illustrate passengers traffic by railway decreased in 2009 to 644 million passengers and further declined in 2010 to 520 million passengers, but Euromonitor International (2011) disagrees with the figures and shows an increase in passengers carried by rail. African Online News (2011) supports Euromonitor International (2011) by stating that â€Å"The biggest growth came from a great rise in the usage of rail services. † Furthermore Railways Africa (2011) reveals that train accidents increased as there were eight train accidents between April 2010 and March 2011. 1. 8 Accommodation Punch (2011) notes why hotels are expensive and agrees with the Managing Director of Thornberry Africa, Mr Church who believes that in Nigeria the hotel rooms are expensive. This is due to the fact that hotels have high operating costs which include generating their own electricity supply. Emelike. 2011) refers to Ajonumah who believes that in Nigeria international hotels, for instance Sheraton Lagos Hotel have 85 percent+ occupancy rate due to the fact that business tourists and expatriates continuously occupy the hotel rooms. Lenhart (2011) discusses costs of staying in hotels and agrees with Mr Anderson international marketing director for Sun International, a South Africa-based hotel company who believes that hotel room prices in cities like Cape Town, South Africa are reducing with better rates and more availability. Mintel (2011) acknowledges that South Africa has different accommodations from guesthouses to five-star hotels. SouthAfrica. nfo (2011) agrees with Mintel (2011) and states: â€Å"These hotels include the Cape Grace, Arabella Sheraton Grand, Table Bay and Mount Nelson hotels in Cape Town; the Grande Roche i n Paarl outside Cape Town; The Plettenberg on the Western Cape Garden Route; and the Grace in Rosebank, Michelangelo, Saxon and Westcliff hotels in Johannesburg. † Africa Point. com Online Travel Agent (2011) recognises that Nigeria also has a wide variety of accommodation ranging from budget to luxury hotels. However Africa Point. com Online Travel Agent (2011) and Maps of World (2011) both agree that most of the luxury hotels with international standards are situated in Lagos and Abuja.Maps of World (2011) reinforces that this by mentioning two well-known luxury hotels in Lagos – Eko Hotels and Suites  and Sofitel Lagos Moorhouse Ikoyi Hotel. 1. 9 Medical Facilities Health of Nations (2011), Travel. State. Gov (2011) and Ngex (2011) all agree that government medical facilities are lacking in terms of modern medical equipment and medications however Ngex (2011) notes doctors and hospitals tend to ask patients for cash before medical treatment is given. Allianz (2011) , Immigration South Africa (2011) and South Africa (2011) also agree that medical facilities in South Africa are great particularly in private hospitals. The nurses and general practitioners train in the top medical schools in South Africa.Connell (2011) and Immigration South Africa (2011) also acknowledge that some international tourists only visit South Africa to receive specific medical treatment to prevent them from waiting in long queues in their country or the medical treatment is less expensive compared to their country of origin. Nigeria and South Africa have agreed to abide by African Union agreements such as the AU Constitutive Act (2002). South Africa being a part of B. R. I. C this is economically beneficial to the country. South Africa (2011) refers to the International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoane-Mashabane, who was briefing journalists in Pretoria last Tuesday and said: â€Å"South Africa would both benefit from and contribute to the grouping's am bitious goal of expanding inter-trade amongst BRICS countries to US$400-billion to $500-billion by the year 2015. †It could be said that as a result of reviewing literature the researcher has increased knowledge about what physical infrastructure actually consists of, an insight into how important infrastructure is to a country and the components that make-up the tourism industry. It could also be said that Nigeria’s and South Africa’s political background has affected the countries positively, negatively and has had implications on the countries physical infrastructure. On one hand both countries experienced the happiness of becoming independent from Britain but on the other hand not long after independence Nigeria was ruled by the military leader General Yakubu Gowon and South Africa was ruled by the apartheid leader Pieter Willem Botha. Presently Nigeria and South Africa have elected Democratic Presidents which are Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in Niger ia and South African President Jacob Zuma.In addition it could be argued that some of the existing differences between Nigeria and South Africa currently exist as a result of how much colonisation has affected both nations differently. It could be said that the western world has had a stronger influence on South African culture compared to Nigerian culture because South Africa was colonised by two European countries Britain and The Netherlands this is evident through the fact that many South Africans speak Afrikaans which stems from the Dutch language and several cities in South Africa have Dutch names for example Johannesburg and Bloomberg whereas the majority of states and cities in Nigeria have Nigerian names and a high percentage of Nigerians speak at least one Nigerian language.Furthermore another difference is that conflicts in Nigeria stemmed from disagreements between different ethnic groups whereas in South Africa conflict stemmed from an unfair system of racial segregation called apartheid imposed by the whites against blacks. Interestingly both countries share a political similarity, for example Nigeria and South Africa had civilian rule as the democratic presidents who were elected in the1990’s both men had originally been in prison and not long after being released from prison elections took place and the Nigerian President was Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 and the South African President was Nelson Mandela in 1994. Literature Review Matrix Author |Year |Title |Journal |Relevant Content |Useful references the | | | | | | |author makes | |Buhalis |2000 | |Tourism Management |* Buhalis’s Framework | | |Butler |2009 | |Elsevier |* Butler’s (1980) TALC |Agarwal and Baum | |Butler |2006 |Tourism Area Life Cycle: | |* Handy’s Product Life Cycle |Handy | | | |Conceptual and theoretical| | | | | | |issues | | | | |Butler |1980 | |Canadian Geographer |* Butler’s (1980) TALC Model | | |Connell |2011 |Medical Tourism | |*People are going to South Africa for Cosmetic | | | | | | |Surgery | | |Dutt & Ros |2008 |International Handbook of | |History & Definition of physical Infrastructure |Ingram & Fay Hirschman | | |Development Economics | | | | |Guffery & Almont |2009 |Essentials of Business | |* Secondary Research | | | | |Communication | | | | |Guttal |2008 |IFI’s Tourism Perspectives| |* Definition and negative impacts of Physical | | | | |and Debates | |Infrastructure | | |Hall and Williams |2008 |Tourism and Innovation | |* History of Tourism Industry |Lofgren | |Mascardo |2008 |Building Community | |* Positive impacts of Physical Infrastructure | | | | |Capacity for Tourism | | | | | | |Development | | | | |Parks |2007 |Contemporary Sport | |* Definition of the Tourism Industry | | | | |Management | | | |The impacts of the 3 A’s in Nigeria in comparisons to South Africa |The impacts of the 3 A’s |Nigeria and South Africa | | | | |Accessibility |It is evident that accessibility ha s had a major impact in Nigeria compared to South Africa. Accessibility is | |(Roads) |very poor an indication of this is the fact that the numbers of deaths are increasing in Nigeria every year as a | | |result of car accidents and no action is being taken to reduce accidents which has led to so many people’s | | |deaths. | | | | |Amenities |It is also evident that amenities have had a major impact in Nigeria and South Africa.Amenities for example | |(Hotels) |hotels are diverse in both countries and both African Countries are able to cater to the different needs and | | |wants of business tourists and leisure tourists that visit the two African Nations however there is a lack of | | |awareness in regards to the less expensive accommodations available in Nigeria. | | | | |Ancillary Services |It is very clear that ancillary services have had a greater impact in Nigeria compared to South Africa.Ancillary| |(Hospitals) |Services for instance hospitals are extremely poor as the y are not adequately equipped whereas in South Africa | | |many people use the ancillary services for example South African surgeons perform cosmetic surgeries in South | | |African hospitals on patients from around the world. | The table below assesses the impacts of the 3 A’s accessibility, Amenities and Ancillary Services in Nigeria compared to South Africa. Table 2 Has Physical infrastructure had a positive or negative influence on both countries tourism industries? AirportsInterestingly even though airport infrastructure is in a terrible state in Nigeria it has not had a negative influence on Nigeria’s tourism industry as Nigerian Airports, for example Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos received sixty-five percent of passengers who were business tourists on British Airways Flights (page 12, Jacobson, 2011). Airport infrastructure had a positive influence on South Africa’s tourism industry since its improvements lead to being chosen to hold the world cup which attracted leisure tourists. Roads Road infrastructure had a negative influence on Nigeria’s tourism industry and South Africa’s tourism industry because domestic tourists or people visiting friends and family (VFR’s) have been involved in car accidents which have consequently lead to their deaths.Rail Rail infrastructure had a positive influence on Nigeria’s tourism industry subsequently there has been a rise in people travelling on the trains. Rail infrastructure had a negative influence on South Africa’s tourism industry as a result there has been a decrease in people travelling by trains. Accommodation Hotels had a positive influence on Nigeria’s tourism industry since it brings in money into Nigeria when business tourists pay to stay in Nigerian hotels, for example Eko Hotels and Suites however the prices of hotel rooms has a negative influence because ultimately tourists pay extreme prices to cover the operating costs of the hotels.Hotels had a positive influence on South Africa’s tourism industry because it also brings more capital into South Africa as leisure tourists and business tourists can also pay to stay in hotels that have reasonably-priced hotel rooms that meet their needs and budgets, for instance business tourists can go to Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. Medical Facilities The current infrastructure had a negative influence on Nigeria’s tourism industry since people like domestic tourists may go to a hospital and cannot get medication or there is no modern medical equipment available if they needed to have an operation. The current infrastructure had a positive influence on South Africa’s tourism industry because more international tourists come to South Africa for cosmetic surgery (Page 24,Connell,2011).Chapter 2 Methodology 2. 1 Choice of research design Secondary research was chosen instead of primary research because the secondary research methods enabled the aim to be achieved more effectively due to the fact that there was so much relevant secondary research that was available. The researcher could independently get secondary research as soon as possible since secondary sources can be accessed online. Guffery et al (2009, p. 256) states that â€Å"Many writers turn to them first because they are fast,  easy to use and available online. † There was also control since decisions were made in terms of what information was included or excluded. Issue |Inclusion |Exclusion | |The year of publishing – academic materials: |The researcher included Journal articles that were |The researcher did not include any Journals which were | |Academic Journals |published since year 2000 but one of the journal |published forty years ago seeing that it would have been | | |articles was published in 1980 it had to be used |too old and not have the current up-date information that| | |because Butler’s TALC Model (1980) M odel had |the researcher could utilise in the dissertation. | | |essential information that was needed in the | | | |dissertation. | |The year of Publishing – Textbooks |The researcher included textbooks that have |The researcher did not use textbooks that were published | | |published appropriate information that could be |in the 1980’s and 1990’s because there were up-to-date | | |linked to the aim and objectives of the |books available. | | |dissertation, for instance information about the | | | |tourism industry. | |The year of Publishing – News Websites |The researcher included News websites that had |The researcher excluded News websites that had articles | | |articles which were published in the past three |published in 2008 since there was less information about | | |years because there was relevant contemporary |Nigeria’s infrastructure compared to South Africa’s | | |information available on the news websites. infrastruc ture in 2008 so the researcher choose to avoid | | | |having uneven comparisons when discussing Nigeria and | | | |South Africa. | Inclusion/Exclusion Matrix Table Primary research would involve travelling to Nigeria and South Africa, which would have been very time consuming as this dissertation has a specific deadline and sufficient information may not have been collected before the deadline this would negatively affect the dissertation. The researcher choose to use contemporary research since it is up-to-date information.The researcher did not use information published in 2008 because there was less relevant information about Nigeria’s physical infrastructure compared to South Africa’s physical infrastructure in 2008 so the researcher would not have be able to effectively meet the aim or fairly compare Nigeria to South Africa. The secondary research included the usage of relevant academic materials, for example Mintel Reports and the Global Market Information Data base published by Euromonitor International which are market research reports from the academic website Athens. Mintel and Euromonitor International were used to attain essential information like secondary data. For instance statistical data which was found by using keywords like rail passengers and accommodation into the search engines. The other secondary esearch was done by only extracting important information such as applicable quotes, from reading appropriate Nigerian Newspapers, for instance ThisDayLive, Daily Trust, Punch and BluePrint and suitable South African News websites, for example Southafricagoodnews, SouthAfrica and African websites such as Africa Online News and Afrique Avenir. However the researcher is aware that newspapers and websites can be potentially biased. The researcher maintained reliability relevance with newspapers by using newspaper articles that criticised the infrastructure rather than pretending that the infrastructure was perfect. The researcher al so used relevant textbooks and academic journals such as Tourism Management because academic journals are not biased.In addition The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index was utilised in order to obtain statistical data to measure infrastructure in Nigeria and South Africa. The researcher compared figures from 2009 and 2011. Furthermore the researcher also compared The Travel & Tourism Competitive Index indicators with The Global Competitiveness Index indicators in 2009 and 2011. 2. 2 Construction of the method Assessment Schematic |Authors claim |Position of the |Is the Author |Is the Authors claim accepted? | | |Author |biased? | |Ime Akpan (2011) Poor obsolete facilities in airports in Nigeria |Writer |yes |Yes as the claim is based on Nigeria’s Aviation Minister’s | | | | |statement. | |Claude Harding (2011) South Africa has great airports. |Writer |No |Yes since the claim is based on South Africa winning Skytrax 2011 | | | | |World Airport Awards. |Toba Agbo ola (2011) high operating costs in restaurants. |Writer |No |Yes because the claim is based on the statement by the Nigerian | | | | |restaurant Tantalizers. | |BRICS (2011) Less people are travelling by rail in South Africa. | |No |Yes the claim comes from a BRICS report. | |Punch (2011) It is costly to stay in hotels in Nigeria. | |No |Yes the claim is based on The Managing Director of Thornberry | | | | |Africa, Mr.David Church statement who is in the hospitality | | | | |industry high hotel prices caused by high running costs. | |Mintel (2011) South Africa has great a variety of hotels to suit | |No |Yes since the claim is based on an analysis of the accommodation | |different budgets. | | |sector in South Africa. | |Bongani Nkosi (2011) Cape Town International Airport best airport |Writer |No |Yes because the claim is based upon Airports Council  International| |in Africa. | | |survey. | |Afrique Avenir (2011) Nigeria airports are in a terrible state. | |Yes the claim is ba sed upon The Managing Director of Skyway | | | | |Aviation Handling Company Limited statement. | The assessment schematic above was constructed to exhibit what authors have said, state the authors position, establish whether the authors has written in a biased manner and whether the researcher of this dissertation accepts what the authors have claimed. 2. 3 Sample To select the literature, the researcher would use contemporary literature that reveals significant information about Accessibility, Amenities and Ancillary in Nigeria and South Africa. Non-probability sampling methods like snowball sampling would not be used the researcher ould utilise the cluster sampling probability sampling method since it is the most suitable method as the researcher could apply the method seeing that this type of probability sampling method tends to be used when quantitative data is being collected. Furthermore the researcher used figures from The Travel & Tourism Competitive Index that state the ra nkings and different elements of physical infrastructure in Nigeria and South Africa. United Nations World Food Program Office (2011) reveals that Probability sampling is mostly utilised during quantitative data collection methods. The fundamental reason for probability sampling is to split a study into different categories like children and adults when studying population. 2. Procedure Secondary data which is under specific pillars were selected from the Travel & Tourism Competitive Index from the 2009 and 2011 in the World Economic Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report for Nigeria and South Africa because of its relevance to this dissertation seeing that it enabled the researcher to meet the fourth objective as this included quality of the airport infrastructure which comes under 6th pillar: Airport transport infrastructure, quality of roads, quality of rail infrastructure which is under the 7th pillar: Ground transport infrastructure, hotel rooms which comes under the 8th pill ar: Tourism infrastructure and Hospital beds which is under the 4th pillar: Health and hygiene.The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index rankings from the 2009 and 2011were compared with The Global Competitiveness Index rankings in 2009 and 2011. 2. 5 Plan for Data Analysis The secondary data would be used to meet the 4th objective. The analysis includes secondary data from the Travel and Tourism competitive index which would be in a table format seeing that it is an easy format for the reader to understand the data and the findings from the data. The analysis would also evaluate the findings that link back to the literature review, Butler’s (1980) TALC Model and the Theoretical Framework.Chapter 3 Discussion and Analysis This chapter discusses and analyses the findings from the indexes and the literature review. The table below illustrates where Nigeria’s and South Africa’s airports, roads, rail, hotel rooms and hospital beds ranks are positioned out of one hu ndred and thirty-three countries in 2009 and 2011 from The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index and also has the findings about the infrastructure. The higher the ranking the worse the level of the country’s infrastructure. Nigeria and South Africa’s rankings on The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index |Nigeria |South Africa | Travel and Tourism |2009 |2011 |2009 |2011 |Findings from the infrastructure rankings | |Competitiveness Index | | | | | | |Airport Transport Infrastructure | | | | |On one hand the quality of the airport infrastructure rank in Nigeria has | | | | | | |dramatically increased which clearly indicated that the airport infrastructure in| |Quality of air transport | | | | |Nigeria has deteriorated between 2009 and 2011. | |infrastr