Customer Relationship Management Starbucks Corporation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This document included a survey about Starbucks. I went to a Starbucks on Xinhua road as a mystery shopper. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries. (starbucks, 2011) In this report I will tell you my experience of being a mystery shopper. I will analysis my scenario as a mystery shopper and what I did at the starbucks. I will describe starbucks’s customer service with my knowledge of Pet peeves and 14 factors of company culture.And also, I will suggest some solutions to improve the retail starbucks’s customer servise. CONTENTS Cover page†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 1 Executive summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 Contents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Discussion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Question 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Question 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Question 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 Question 4†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 Question 5†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 13 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 Reference list†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 15 INTRODUCTION Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries.That’s why I chose starbucks. Starbucks is still inadequate, still need to strengthen and improve. In this experience, I was very carefully to record every detail, and try to remember them. I believe that no matter how perfect management system they have there still has a loophole. This report will bring starbucks great benefits. I will analysis my scenario as a mystery shopper and what I did at the starbucks. I will describe starbucks’s customer service with my knowledge of Pet peeves and 14 factors of company culture.And also, I will suggest some solutions to improve the retail starbucks’s customer service. DISCUSSION Question 1 Explain about the retail store. You need to look for company’s information on internet. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) is an international coffee and coffeehouse ch ain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and over 150 in Turkey.Starbucks sells drip brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, coffee beans, salads, hot and cold sandwiches and Panini , pastries, snacks, and items such as mugs and tumblers. Through the Starbucks Entertainment division and Hear Music brand, the company also markets books, music, and film. Many of the company's products are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store. Starbucks-brand ice cream and coffee are also offered at grocery stores. From Starbucks' founding in later forms in Seattle as a local coffee bean roaster and retailer, the company has expanded rapidly.In the 1990s, Starbucks was opening a new store every workday, a pace that continued into the 2000s. The first store outside the United Sta tes or Canada opened in the mid-1990s, and overseas stores now constitute almost one third of Starbucks' stores. The company planned to open a net of 900 new stores outside of the United States in 2009, but has announced 900 store closures in the United States since 2008. The company is named in part after Starbuck, Captain Ahab's first mate in the novel Moby-Dick, as well as a turn-of-the-century mining camp (Starbo or Storbo) on Mount Rainier.According to Howard Schultz's book Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, the name of the company was derived from Moby-Dick, although not in as direct a fashion as many assume. Gordon Bowker liked the name â€Å"Pequod† (the ship in the novel), but his then creative partner Terry Heckler responded, â€Å"No one's going to drink a cup of Pee-quod! † Heckler suggested â€Å"Starbo†. Brainstorming with these two ideas resulted in the company being named after the Pequod's first mate, Starb uck.And also, starbucks’s logo had changed three times. The first Starbucks was opened in Seattle, Washington, on March 30, 1971 by three partners: English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegl, and writer Gordon Bowker. The three were inspired by entrepreneur Alfred Peet (whom they knew personally) to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment. The name is taken from Moby-Dick; after Pequod was rejected by one of the co-founders, the company was named after the first mate on the Pequod, Starbuck.From 1971–1976, the first Starbucks was at 2000 Western Avenue; it then was relocated to 1912 Pike Place, where it remains to this day. During their first year of operation, they purchased green coffee beans from Peet's, then began buying directly from growers. The Starbucks Center, Seattle. The company HQ, in the old Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog distribution center building Entrepreneur Howard Schultz joined the company in 1982 as Director of Retail Operations and Marketing, and after a trip to Milan, advised that the company should sell coffee and espresso drinks as well as beans.Seattle had become home to a thriving countercultural coffeehouse scene since the opening of the Last Exit on Brooklyn in 1967, the owners rejected this idea, believing that getting into the beverage business would distract the company from its primary focus. To them, coffee was something to be prepared in the home, but they did give away free samples of pre-made drinks. Certain that there was money to be made selling pre-made drinks, Schultz started the Il Giornale coffee bar chain in April 1986. (starbucks, 2011) Question 2 Explain why you chose the retail store.Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries. Yeah, it's rather unremarkable. Starbucks is everywhere. What is remarkable is how successful they are. I believe that no matter how perfect management system they have there still has a loophole. I go to sta rbucks not just as a coffee drinker, but as someone who was pleased with both the service, and quality of my request. The number of choices one has almost makes it impossible to be dissatisfied with whatever you get, and get this; you can have them make it over or how you want it specifically if you are dissatisfied.Starbucks has taken the opportunity that other small business haven't yet. This is why so many people drink it. It's everywhere, convenient, and practical as a beverage seller. If you personally don't like the coffee, they have entire menu with things that are not coffe. I definitely love starbucks. It is a cool place to relax and hangout. I don't only order coffee there anyways. I love their pastries and lattle . I love how they give a calming aura. It gets my stress off. And really coffee is delicious depends on the taste buds of the person. Question 3Explain about your scenario as a mystery shopper and what you did at the outlet. I went to starbucks as a mystery shopp er for three times. For the first time,I walked into starbucks, the waiter said hello to me, and asked me what do I want to drink, so, I ordered a cup of lattle. The waiter asked me whether I need any dessert or not. I ordered a piece of cheese cake. And I paid for both of them, the waiter handed me my order. He smiled warmly and wished me a nice day. For the second time, I just sit here ,and didn’t order anything. Luckily ,they didn’t push me away.For the third time, I ordered a cup of Mocha Frappuccino, but I found a hair in it. I was very surprised and I told the waiter about it. He changed my drink to a larger sized one, and apologized to me . I was very satisfied with their service. Check points ?Number of employees in the store on entering: 3. ?How long it takes before the mystery shopper is greeted: 3 second. ?The name of the employees: zhangqin machao zhangwei. ?Whether or not the greeting is friendly, or if they didn’t greet the customer : the greeting is friendly. ?The questions asked by the shopper to find a suitable products: the answer is very good. The types of products shown (if they suggest too expansive products): they just introduce me some new product. ?The sales arguments used by the employee(if you felt sales pressure): no I didn’t felt any stress ,they’re all very kind. ?Whether or how the employee attempted to close the sale: they didn’t close the sale, they just handed your order default to close the sale. ?Whether the employee suggested any add-on sales: yes. ?Whether the employee invited the shopper to come back to the store: yes. ?Cleanliness of store and store associates: the store is very clean. ?Speed of service: fast Store appearance, and grooming/presentation: the decoration is very fashionable, and in order to meet the Christmas, Christmas decorations are everywhere. ?Was it easy to find the store in a shopping center or in a street ? : yes, it’s easy to find starbucks on Xinhua road. ?Ask them if there are any kinds of student discount program. Did they reply to you in proper manner? :yes ? Ask them if refund or exchange is possible when you’re not happy with the product. How did they respond to you? : food product can not change, they feel sorry about this, they ask me some questions about the food so that they can improve.Question 4 Describe the retail store’s customer service with your knowledge of Pet peeves and 14 factors of company culture. Pet peeves I think starbucks’s service is very good, most details do very well. I didn’t feel being ignore, because they say hello to me, when I came in . And also, I didn’t feel high pressure sales, they just suggest me sincerely . But the second time I do this report , I was disappointedly with the poor quality work, I found a hair in my cup, they do not very well about the cleaning. But they changed my drink to a larger sized one, and apologized to e . I was very satisfied wit h their service. In short, I was satisfied with the customer service. 14 factors of company culture ?Greeting customers: do very well ?Initiating conversation : do very well ?Sincerely complimenting customers: do very well ?Calling customers by name: I don’t know ?Establishing and maintaining eye contact: good job ?Ask for feedback: just so so ?Listening skillfully: do very well ?Say polite words: do very well ?Smiling: good job ?Using good telephone techniques: just so so ?Using appropriate touch techniques: just so so Enjoying people: do very well ?Being positive about selling: do very well ?Watching your workplace attractiveness: good job The good service with The old chairs and table, friendly barista, soothing music and the aroma of the coffee makes you feel relaxed and at home. Starbucks gives us the feeling of relaxation and belonging. We feel it because Starbucks is true to its values and it shows. And because we believed in what â€Å"Starbucks† offers us, we give value to it by being loyal. Question 5 Suggest some solutions to improve the retail store’s customer service.A few of the Starbucks coffees are not so bad but the problem is that they often sit for a very long time before being served. Usually, the better coffees are not available brewed. My biggest personal gripe with Starbucks is that they replaced all of the espresso machines with automatic versions over the past few years. The quality and strength of the espresso has gone down substantially and the price is no longer even partly justified since it no longer takes time, effort, or skill to make espresso beverages. most of their drinks have so much sugar and calories, and they have this fancy complicated lingo to place a coffee order†¦. hat should be so simple! I believe most people like Starbucks is because is in style! even though they don't really know what they are drinking. Starbucks should care more about our healthy! And also, the employees need to be more carefull. CONCLUSION That’s What They Serve. There’s no greater purpose in life than service to others. And indeed, Starbucks are one of those company who are living and being true to this famous line. In its book entitled â€Å"It’s Not about Coffee†, the author and previous CEO, Howard Behar, have mentioned that Starbucks is all about People.From their employees to its customers and suppliers, they give priority to people and relationships. And to prove it, they do not call their employees as â€Å"staff†, which most of us are being called by our bosses. Instead, they call all employees from below to top as â€Å"partners†. Because they truly believes that each and everyone is contributing to the success and growth of the Company. They believe that each and everyone can be a great contribution to an organization’s success, and the world for that matter. Amazing isn’t?And that reason alone is why a lot of people is giving back the value that this Company is providing them. (starbucks, 2011) Three Important Lessons From Starbucks ?If we have vision it creates magic. ?When we are sure of our value it creates direction and feeling on what we offer others. ?If we prioritize on people, we do not need to look for the reward and recognition, it comes to us. REFERENCES LIST http://www. starbucks. cn/ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Starbucks http://www. ihatestarbucks. com/why. php

Enger Tower History

Enger Memorial Tower Enger Memorial Tower was built in 1939 in order to remember Bert Enger, who immigrated to Duluth from Norway and became a powerful and successful furniture store owner through hard work and dedication. He believed in sharing his success with the city that helped him achieve it and allowed Duluth to develop land near Enger Tower, including the building of a park and a golf course. When he died in 1931 he left two-thirds of his estate to Duluth. In order to commemorate Bert Enger the citry decided to build Enger Memorial Tower. The 70-foot tower was built on the highest of four mounds in Enger Park and was built by L. J. Kilippen and Son. Bert Enger’s urn was attached to the structure. The tower was made of native bluestone and stood five feet tall. The park also included trails, and a beautiful view of the city. For the dedication ceremony Crown Prince Olav of Norway came to dedicate the memorial. It was the prince’s second dedicatory ceremony while in America, he also dedicated the Norwegian Pavilion at World’s Fair in New York City. The park’s locations is one of its best assets; it is located on a bluff, overlooking the city. It also has some of the most beautiful gardens in Duluth. One of its gardens is located on a hill and includes dwarf conifers that branch out from rock outcroppings. Another serves as a sort of dedication to Duluth’s sister city, Oh Ara, Japan; this garden has a pavilion and peace bell. Another garden has over 4,000 daffodils in the spring and white birth and poplar trees year-round. Hostas, full trees, and over 200 perennials line the path to the tower. Location: 16th Avenue West and Skyline Drive â€Å"The whole park has a relaxed and family friendly atmosphere. † -University of Minnesota

The Management Efficiency Unit

I have been working in the Public Registry for the last 8 years.   The location of the offices is quite distant from my residence and sixteen other colleagues that work in the aforesaid department have the same problem.   Every morning we are required to travel a one hour ferry and nearly 2 hours drive to arrive at work.The Management Efficiency Unit noted this issue and finally top management decide to take remedial action by requesting a transfer to another department, the Treasury Section, which mitigates such location problem.Unfortunately the scheme designed by executive management was not properly planned.   They also did not discuss this issue with operational managers who possess far greater knowledge on the day to day running of the office.   As a result the decision lacked practical issues and led to other problems, as will be further illustrated below.Everybody accepted the transfer and we were eventually informed that our training for the new job will take approxi mately two or three months and will take place in the head office of the Finance Department, which is also distant.   The new job was highly technical and involved a lot of accountancy issues, which the majority of us were not capable to comprehend that easily.The three months passed and we were still unable to work unsupervised from our tutors.   The impracticality of the decision was highlighted from the fact that our principal in charge, who was also taking training was still incapable to work on his own after three months.When these issues started to crop up, crises management arose.   A new assistant director was assigned to this division, who once realized of the vast serious problems arising from such decision, he immediately denied this new role.Demotivation arose in our section and staff is constantly complaining about the problems we are facing.   In addition no communication exists between us and executive management and we are alone with this new work, which we a re not trained to do.The only reasonable solution that management was able to come up with is to extend the duration of the training to eight months.   However with this decision they have not yet solve the problem that the location of the office is far from home and are incurring additional costs to train us.If they planned carefully before deciding and discussed it with operational managers they would have definitely solved the problem more efficiently.   It is imperative that when managing change proper communication and planning exist.Reference:Johnson G.; Scholes K.; Whittington R. (2005). Exploring Corporate Strategy. Seventh Edition. England: Pearson Education Limited.   

Review of Accounting Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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I don't care, anything along the lines of engineering. I am doing Annotated Bibliography

I don't care, anything along the lines of engineering. I am doing Industrial engineering if you can find any articles around that - Annotated Bibliography Example I am amazed to see the application of supply chain management in medical and emergency missions, rescue and relief efforts in times of disasters and other societal settings improving the living standards. Thus, I see a great prospect for the supply chain management in the near future. Supply chain management is an important aspect for efficient production because supply chain controls and manages the flow of product. In other terms, supply chain controls the flow of capital in an industrial setting. The title supply chain management encompasses all the activities from planning and control of materials and/or information within different parts of one organization or between different companies. Supply chain management links different portions of industrial activities like manufacturing, purchasing, distribution of commodity and its transportation. Thus, every field of engineering gets integrated with the operation of production efficiency (Reddi and Moon). It is interesting to note that in an industry, important activities like transportation, warehousing, and inventory control, sourcing, procurement and supply management all comes under the single head of supply management. While, outside of the organization, supply chain management includes interactions with suppliers, distributors, carriers, and with customers. Thus, results in increased market share and better competitive advantage. In order to successfully compete in the market company needs two things; first to control the expenditure on the production (i.e., product should be cost effective) and secondly, the product must satisfy the needs or desires of the costumes. In such a way, the company maintains its competitiveness while expanding market share. Pricing, thus, plays an important role in this regard (Zhang, Wang and Li). It’s amazing that the whole world works like a giant supply chain system. Highly developed supply chain necessitates best infrastructures, i.e., roads, railway network,

(Principle of sport) - Grant funding application assignment Essay

(Principle of sport) - Grant funding application assignment - Essay Example We aim at engaging the children in activities such as obstacle races and wheelchair football. We have helped other groups of sporting enthusiasts before in building strong sporting skills and expect to extend this gratitude to the disabled children in London. Our motivation is driven by the fact that a greater percentage of disabled children languish in poverty and dejection due to their condition. We expect to host approximately 100 disabled children for two months, with a close contact session of five to six hours each day. We expect to host our project at the Goals Soccer Centre located in Northampton and the key sports officials in London are expected to join us in the delivery of the key activities. Through this project, we expect that other organizations will be inspired to take responsibility of their society and help the disabled enjoy their life more through sporting activities. Statistics from the United Kingdom government indicate that over 11 million people are limited to long term illness, disability and impairment. Around 6% of this population represents children. Also, a substantially large proportion of the individuals who live with the disabled members live in poverty as compared to families with no single case of disability (Barnes & Mercer, 2009, p. 119). More likely, these children do not consider using emergency care whenever particular health problems arise and we seek to enlighten them and their parents on how to deal with the situation in the right manner. Thus, the project is useful since it provides more education to disabled children on how to exercise and deal with related risks and diseases (Pitts, et al., 2014). Over the period of the implementation, our project should reach over 100 disabled children and each one of them on how to solve the depression that pins them down in most cases

The Great Recession and The Policy Response Research Paper

The Great Recession and The Policy Response - Research Paper Example This paper serves to look into the causes of the Great Recession of 2007 as the history books call it and the policy response of President Barack Obama's administration to the crisis. More importantly, I will try to answer the question â€Å"Where does America go from here?† Evaluate the Obama administration's policies to respond to the crisis America is a country whose economy has always been based upon the trust factor. The trust that the other nations place upon the credibility of the name of the country and our ability to pay off our country's debt on time allowed the country function like a family that was living beyond its means. We were a country living off â€Å"massive foreign borrowing, excessively loose monetary policy, reckless lending practices, lax regulation, and other factors†. As a country, we were borrowing trillions of dollars from other nations every year. Such money inflow triggers rapid and uncontrollable economic growth due to the artificial spend ing boom that the country was experiencing. This resulted in a real estate boom that would eventually cause the economy to falter as mortgages began to go unpaid. The United States was suffering from a macroeconomic imbalance that had the rest of the world worrying about America, but the Americans were oblivious to what was happening right under their very noses. Economic experts knew that the needle that would burst the economic bubble was sure to come. It was just that nobody could predict when it would actually hit. When it did hit the economy in 2007, there was no place for anyone to hide financially. The U.S economy was officially in shambles and in bad need of rebuilding. What more should the administration do to continue to mend the economy, create jobs, ease credit, etc.? While the U.S was still fighting a war on 2 fronts and struggling to keep up with its debt payments, a new government took over the White House. Pres. Barack Obama rode the wings of change into the White Ho use with the promise that he would end the Great Recession as soon as possible. Everyone applauded and chose to believe that he could do it. But now, 6 years later, the question still remains about what his government policy really was to end the problem and whether it was effective or not. The response of the new Obama administration was swift and clear. He encouraged the adoption of an â€Å"accomodative federal fiscal policy†. It is a policy that, even with the great recession having ended in 2010, has failed to help reinvigorate the U.S. economy to the point where economic growth can be said to have spurred to a steady basis. In fact, the growth of the U.S. economy at this point remains suspect because of the lack of effective economic and tax programs on the part of the Obama administration. (Bivens, Josh, Fieldhouse, Andrew , Shierholz Heidi â€Å"From Free Fall to Stagnation†). Rather, the Obama government seems to be locked in a battle of political wills with t he Republican party as they hold the U.S. economy hostage, a pawn in their political game of survival, without any clear winner. The loser however, thanks to the Obama administration's less than well thought out plans, is definitely the American public. Let's face it, Washington is going to be in a constant state of political gridlock for a long time to come. But our economy

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Below Exercises Answered - Assignment Example Moreover, the unfinished products in the system are considered to be halfway complete in the production process giving the wafers a higher value than its actual value. By producing a large number of wafers, the firms’ asset in the production process will be seemingly high due to the wafers. Moreover, the fixed cost will remain the same while the variable cost will only rise to a reasonable amount considering the economies of large scale production. This is not an ethical way of boosting profits. It gives shareholders a false impression of the firms’ financial position. This may also act to attract more investors to invest in the firm due to its portrayed high profits, which is not true leading to great losses for investors. The company management can be sued for going against the ethical practices in business management. The losses of Pacific Electric are big due to too much fixed asset in the firm. For example, the 2000 employees will have to be paid whether they work or not due to the employment contract. The reduction of constructions will mean that most of the employees will be idol or not using their full potential at work due to the lesser work than usual. The plant and machine owned by the firm will also be contributing to the loss due to lower productivity and same rate of depreciation. Moreover, the idle plant and machinery will have a higher rate of depreciation than usual due to wear and tear. Therefore, due to under utilization of the fixed assets, the company is having big losses. The fixed cost can be converted to variable cost to reduce the loss associated with fixed cost; for example through review of employment contracts. This will see the firm have few permanent employees and some casual employees whose services are sought only when the firm requires them. The company can also reduce the amount of fixed asset owned through disposing some of its

Public-Private Partnerships Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Public-Private Partnerships - Essay Example Besides, it encourages competition and promotes quality service delivery. Lastly, its application can help in a proper and full utilization of public resources (Savas, 2005). Despite its positive contributions in the country, the effective application of PPP can be affected by political interference, bureaucratic procedures in the procumbent system, poor policy formulation and implementation (LeRoux, 2007). These, if not properly checked, can be quite disastrous in the success of PPP in the country. Definitely, the information provided in this book can be of great importance to anyone who wants to venture into public administration. It imparts crucial knowledge that can help in preparing them to be informed and open-minded public administrators. First, it provides a proper understanding on the differences between PPP and PPE. Secondly, it teaches on the effectiveness of a proper application of these concepts in the management of public resources. Moreover, it teaches on the obstacles that can derail effective application of PPP. Last, but not least, the article informs on the best strategies that can be applied to address such challenges. All these can be quite invaluable to a prospecting public

Cuisine in England Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cuisine in England - Research Paper Example e English diet is fundamentally characterized by salty and sweet snacks that include but are not limited to potato chips, chocolate bars, pizzas, burgers and ice-cream cakes. If there was one term to describe most of the English foods, it would be â€Å"processed foods†. Nevertheless, the English do have a whole range of traditional foods that have been part of the English culture for centuries. â€Å"Englands rich cultural mix has brought about a huge range of food options and today the British are happily exposing their taste buds to flavours and experiences from many far-flung corners of the world† (â€Å"Cuisine In England†). This paper would primarily discuss the traditional English foods. There are numerous regional and national varieties within the British cuisine. England is located in the northern side of Europe. To its North is Scotland and to its West is Wales. In fact, the term Great Britain is used collectively for the three of them and when England, Scotland, Wales are also accompanied with Ireland, it becomes the United Kingdom (UK). â€Å"England has a coastline of 3,246 km along the Irish, Celtic and North Seas and the English Channel and a relatively diverse terrain for such a small land mass from rolling plains which stretch from the central area (east of Wales) to her southern extremities excellent for the growing of crops and grazing of livestock† (â€Å"English Cuisine and Recipes†). The transition between the old (traditional) and the contemporary (processed foods) British cuisine can fundamentally be attributed to the decline in the areas of forested woodland due to the industrial revolution and urbanization. Today, forested woodland makes no more than 8 per cent of the total land of UK. Nevertheless, the temperate climate combined with the number of rivers and streams in UK are together sufficient to produce a variety a foods to be consumed by the English people. British cuisine is actually used as an umbrella term for several cuisines include

The Awakening and A Doll House Comparison Essay Essay Example for Free

The Awakening and A Doll House Comparison Essay Essay Women roles have drastically changed since the late 18th and early 19th century. During this time, women did not have the freedom to voice their opinions and be themselves. Today women don’t even have to worry about the rules and limitations like the women had to in this era. Edna in â€Å"The Awakening† by Kate Chopin and Nora in â€Å"A Doll House† by Henrik Ibsen were analogous protagonists. The trials they faced were also very similar. Edna and Nora were both faced with the fact that they face a repressive husband whom they both find and exit strategy for. For Nora this involved abandoning her family and running away, while Edna takes the option that Nora could not do-committing suicide. These distinct texts both show how women were forced to act during their marriage and towards society during this time. â€Å"The Awakening† explores the controversial character, Edna Pontellier’s, desire to find and live fully within her true self. She upsets many nineteenth century expectations for women and their supposed roles. Rebelling against societal norms, Edna finally learns to think of herself as an independent woman. One of her most shocking actions was her denial of her role as a mother and wife. She leaves her husband, Leà ³nce and has an affair with Robert. Due to Roberts constant presence, Edna starts to experience a change within herself. She begins to develop a sense of herself as a whole person. She realizes that she is not satisfied to simply be a wife and a mother, and so she begins to stand up for herself to her husband. Leà ³nce to Edna: â€Å"I can’t permit you to stay out there all night. You must come in the house instantly.† Edna replies â€Å"Leà ³nce go to bed †¦ I mean to stay out here. I don’t wish to go in and I don’t intend to. Don’t speak to me like that again; ill shall not answer you.† (Chopin 25). Her willingness for independence and freedom leads to her disobeying her husband. She realizes that she cannot continue taking orders she does not please to follow which leads to the realization of her marriage making her wonder if she still wants to be with her husband. As Edna begins the process of identifying her true self, the self that exists apart from the identity she maintains as a wife and mother. Unexpectedly, Robert and Edna become extremely close with each other by summers end. Unwilling to further his relationship with a married woman, Robert leaves the country for Mexico. Furthermore, Leà ³nce truly believed he had no obligation to care for his children and that it was  Edna’s duty to do so. â€Å"If it was not a mother’s place to look after the children, whose on earth was it?† (Chopin 7). In society’s eyes, all a man needed to do was support their kids financially while the woman supported them in other ways. Chopin focuses on two other female characters in the story, Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz. These women are examples of how women should be in the nineteenth century. Adele was an example of a motherly woman.† She would gladly sacrifice anything to care for her children, husband, and household, while Edna would not. Edna finds both role models lacking and begins to see that the life of freedom and individuality that she wants goes against society. Not only did society have a specific look on how a women should be, but Leà ³nce as well, towards Edna. â€Å"’You are burnt beyond recognition,† he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage.† This shows how Edna is not an acceptable color according to her husband’s wishes. Edna had specific guidelines to follow and getting a â€Å"tan† gave a different appearance, indicating that the Pontellier family wasn’t maintaining the purity of their blood. At the beginning of â€Å"A Doll House,† everything seems well. Nora and Torvald Helmer seem quite happy together. Torvald speaks to his wife in a rather demeaning way, but she doesnt really seem to mind. The Helmers are both excited because Torvald has gotten a new job as the manager of a bank and now money wont be a concern. Noras old school friend, Mrs. Christine Linde, arrives hoping that Torvald might be able to give her a job. Over the course of their conversation, Nora confesses to Christine that she has a secret. Nora refuses to tell Christine who she borrowed money from, but does explain why she had to borrow it. Early in the Helmers marriage, Torvald got sick and the doctor prescribed a trip south to warmer climates as the only way to save him. At the time, they didnt have the money for such a trip. To save Torvald‘s pride, Nora borrowed money without his knowledge and funded a year in Italy. In order to pay it off, shes been using money from the allowance Torvald gives her. Krogstad turns out to be whom she borrowed the money from. Krogstad is furious because Torvald is going to fire him. He threatens to expose Noras crime (forging her father’s signature after he was dead in order to get the loan) if he loses his job and so begins  blackmailing her. Nora begs Torvald to get Krogstad back, but refuses because he cant stand being around such awful people. Krogstad writes a letter to Torvald telling him the truth and leaves it in his mailbox. Nora distracts her husband from reading it. After the party they have, Torvald reads the letter. He tells Nora that she is a terrible person. He insists that Nora is not to be allowed near the children anymore, because she may corrupt them. Torvald is really happy and forgives Nora because of another letter Krogstad sends later. Nora, however, doesnt forgive Torvald. She tells him that she is leaving him, because theyve never had a real marriage. Shes never been more than a doll in his eyes. â€Å"NORA: I have other duties equally sacred. HELMER: You do not. What duties would they be? NORA: My duties to myself. HELMER: You are a wife and a mother before you are anything else† (Ibsen pg.1138). This reassures how the women are â€Å"chained† to what they should â€Å"be† and should â€Å"do.† She tries to escape but he still tries to restrain the her from doing so. Like Leà ³nce Pontellier, Nora’s husband is also very direct when it comes to Nora knowing her place. These women were denied their basic right to take care of themselves and were forced to be housewives, as were all women of the 19th century. In conclusion, both Edna and Nora experience an awakening during their quest for freedom. Both wives felt trapped by their societal rules and regulations which didn’t allow them to be their true selves. Edna, fighting against the societal structures of motherhood forced her to be defined by her title as wife of Leà ³nce Pontellier and mother of Raoul and Etienne Pontellier, instead of being her own, self-defined individual, caused her to finally escape by committing suicide. Nora, on the other hand, rebelled against society’s norms and walked out leaving her husband and children. Although Edna and Nora had many similarities both of their awakenings led to two different resolutions.

Pipeline Hydraulics Design Basis Engineering Essay

Pipeline Hydraulics Design Basis Engineering Essay It includes the pipe and flow characteristics of the transported fluid under specified operating conditions as established in the design basis. Velocity The pipeline has to be laid for the distance of 770km between Portland and Montreal, the fluid in the pipe is Light Crude Oil. Velocity of flow in a pipeline is the average velocity based on the pipe diameter and liquid flow rate. Its selection is first step in the designing procedure of our project. The flow velocity can have both advantages and drawbacks. High velocities can cause turbulence, and the striking of the fluid on the walls of the pipe which will cause damage to the pipes and eventually erode away the pipe, while low velocity on the other hand can cause the deposition of particulates in the line and cleanliness of the fluid will be compromised. Therefore, to avoid these problemsliquid lines are normally sized to maintain a velocity sufficient to keep the solid particles from depositing and also to prevent the erosion of the pipe. Under these considerations the recommended velocity is in the range of 3ft/s to 8ft/s. From this selected range of velocity we have to select a single velocity. The velocity we have selected for our line is 5ft/s. This is the intermediate velocity from the recommended range and all the further calculations will be done on this velocity. Velocity Selection The range as mentioned above is taken as 3ft/s to 5ft/s. The next step is to select a single velocity from this range. We have selected 5ft/s for our line. The reason for this velocity selection is the trade-off between pipe diameter and number of pump stations. According to continuity equation if we increase the velocity, the corresponding diameter will reduce but the pressure loss will increase due to which a higher number of pump stations are required. Similarly if we decrease the velocity, the number of pump stations will reduce but the diameter will increase for a given flow rate. Since the pipeline is laid over a long distance, the pipeline cost holds the major share of the capital investment therefore increasing the diameter will adversely affect the economics of pipeline. This trade-off is visible in the calculations shown in appendix A. The other reason for choosing this velocity is that if the flow rate fluctuates in the future for any reason the diameter selected from this intermediate velocity will be able to accommodate those variations without affecting our system. Diameter Calculation Calculation of the diameter is the core of the hydraulic designing.The diameter selected should be able to support the stresses on the pipe, the capacity of the fluid and minimize the pressure losses. Under given flow rate and assumed velocities, we can calculate the pipe diameter using continuity equation: V=Q/A V: Flow velocity Q: Volume flow rate A: Cross sectional area The flow rate is given as 109,000bbl/day or 7.1ft^3/s. The diameters are calculated at 3, 4, 5ft/s velocities and the respective diameters are 20.83, 18.04 and 16.14. Selection of Diameter As mentioned above 5ft/s is selected as the recommended velocity and the corresponding internal diameter (ID) is 16.14in. Nominal Pipe Size For the internal diameter subsequently we have to calculate the nominal pipe size. To calculate the nominal diameter we refer to the Pipe Data provided for the Carbon Steel. From the table shown in appendix B, it is found out that consequent nominal pipe size will be 18in. Characteristics of Flow Different flow properties are calculated to determine the regime of flow, losses in the pipes. The nature of the flow can be laminar or turbulent.There are two types of the losses. Major losses include the losses due to friction in straight pipes and minor losses due to bends, valves, tees. To calculate these we will be dealing with Reynolds number (for nature of flow), Moody diagram (for friction factor) and head loss calculations. Losses As the fluid flows through the pipe there is friction at the pipe wall and fluid interface in the straight portions of the pipe due to interference between the fluid and the walls of the pipe. This friction results in results in the loss of energy in the lineat the expense of liquid pressure and the losses are known as the major losses. Pipe systems consist of components in addition to straight pipes. These include bends, valves, tees etc and add further to the losses in the line. These losses are termed as minor losses.Experimental data is used to calculate these losses as the theoretical prediction is complex. Major Losses The pressure drop due to friction in a pipeline depends on the flow rate, pipe diameter, pipe roughness, liquid specific gravity, and viscosity. In addition, the frictional pressure drop depends on the Reynolds number (and hence the flow regime). Therefore, the fluid in the pipeline will undergo pressure losses as it runs in the line and reduce the operating pressure. This loss needs to be recovered and to maintain the pressure pumps are installed at specific locations according to the requirement (pumps are discussed in Chapter ahead). These pressure losses are calculated by using the Darcy-Weisbach formula à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  P = f(L/D)(V^2/2)à Ã‚  Where, f=Darcy friction factor, dimensionless, usually a number between 0.008 and 0.10 L=Pipe length, ft D=Pipe internal diameter, ft The pressure loss for velocity of 5ft/s comes out to be 9625.15psi. All the relevant calculations are shown in appendix A. Minor Losses Real pipeline systems mostly consist of more than straight pipes. The additional components (valves, tees and bends) add to the overall loss of the system. These are termed as minor losses. In case of very long pipes, these losses are usually insignificant incomparison to the  fluid friction in the length considered. But in case  of short pipes,these minor losses may actually be major losses such as in  suction pipe of a pumpwith strainer and foot valves.These losses represent additional energy dissipation in the flow, usually caused by secondary flows induced by curvature or recirculation. Minor loss in diverging flow is much larger than that  in converging flow. Minor lossesgenerally increase with an increase in the geometric distortion of the flow. Thoughminor losses are usually confined to a very  short length of path, the effects may  notdisappear for a considerable distance downstream. It  is insignificant in case of  laminar flow. The pressure drop through valves and fittings is generallyexpressed in terms of the liquid kinetic energy V2/2g multiplied by a head loss coefficient K. Comparing this with the Darcy-Weisbach equation for head loss in a pipe, we can see the following analogy. For a straight pipe, the head loss h is V2/2g multiplied by the factor (fL/D). Thus, the head loss coefficient for a straight pipe is fL/D. Therefore, the pressure drop in a valve or fitting is calculated as follows: h=K(V^2)/2g Where, h=Head loss due to valve or fitting, ft K=Head loss coefficient for the valve or fitting, dimensionless V=Velocity of liquid through valve or fitting, ft/s g=Acceleration due to gravity, 32.2 ft/s2 in English units The head loss coefficient K is, for a given flow geometry, considered practically constant at high Reynolds number. K increases with pipe roughness and with lower Reynolds numbers. In general the value of K is determined mainly by the flow geometry or by the shape of the pressureloss device. Minor loss is generally expressed in one of  the two ways In terms of minor loss factor K. In terms length, equivalent to a  certain length of straight pipe, usuallyexpressed in terms of number of pipe diameter. The minor losses for our system are calculated and result in a very low value and can easily be neglected. Reynolds Number Flow in a liquid pipeline may be smooth, laminar flow, also known as viscous or streamline flow. In this type of flow the liquid flows in layers or laminations without causing eddies or turbulence. But as the velocity increases the flow changes from laminar to turbulent with eddies and turbulences. The important parameter used in classifying the type of flow in the pipe is called Reynolds Number. Reynolds number gives us the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces and is used to determine the nature of flow using the recommended velocity and the internal diameter. Reynolds number is given by Re = à Ã‚ VD/ µ Flow through pipes is classified into three main flow regimes and depending upon the Reynolds number, flow through pipes will fall in one of the following three flow regimes. 1. Laminar flow: R 2. Critical flow: R>2000 and R 3. Turbulent flow: R>4000 Friction Factor Friction Factor is a dimensionless number required to calculate the pressure losses in the pipe. Tests have shown that f is dependent upon Reynolds number and relative roughness of the pipe. Relative roughness is ratio of absolute pipe wall roughness ÃŽÂ µ to the pipe diameter D. For laminar flow, with Reynolds number R f=64/R For laminar flow the friction factor depends only on the Reynolds number and is independent of the internal condition of the pipe. Thus, regardless of whether the pipe is smooth or rough, the friction factor for laminar flow is a number that varies inversely with the Reynolds number. For turbulent flow, when the Reynolds number R>4000, the friction factor f depends not only on R but also on the internal roughness of the pipe. As the pipe roughness increases, so does the friction factor. Therefore, smooth pipes have a smaller friction factor compared with rough pipes. More importantly, friction factor depends on the relative roughness (ÃŽÂ µ/D) rather than the absolute pipe roughness ÃŽÂ µ. In the turbulent region it can be calculated using either the Colebrook-White equation or the Moody Diagram. Colebrook-White Equation The Colebrook equation is an implicit equation that combines experimental results of studies of turbulent flow in smooth and rough pipe The Colebrook equation is given as: 1/à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡f = -2log((ÃŽÂ µ/3.7D)+(2.51/Reà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡f)) But the turbulent flow region (R>4000) consists of three separate regions: Turbulent flow in smooth pipes Turbulent flow in fully rough pipes Transition flow between smooth and rough pipes For turbulent flow in smooth pipes, pipe roughness has a negligible effect on the friction factor. Therefore, the friction factor in this region depends only on the Reynolds number as follows: 1/à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡f = -2log(2.51/Reà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡f) For turbulent flow in fully rough pipes, the friction factor f appears to be less dependent on the Reynolds number as the latter increases in magnitude. It depends only on the pipe roughness and diameter. It can be calculated from the following equation: 1/à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡f = -2log((ÃŽÂ µ/3.7D) For the transition region between turbulent flow in smooth pipes and turbulent flow in fully rough pipes, the friction factor f is calculated using the Colebrook-White equation given above: 1/à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡f = -2log((ÃŽÂ µ/3.7D)+(2.51/Reà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡f)) Moody Diagram The Colebrook equation is an implicit equation and requires trial and error method to calculate f.To provide the ease for calculating f scientists and researchers developed a graphical method known as Moody diagram.The Moody chart or Moody diagramis a graph that relates the friction factor, Reynolds number and relative roughness for fully developed flow in a circular pipe.In the diagram friction factor is plotted verses Reynolds number. The curves are plotted using the experimental data. The Moody diagram represents the complete friction factor map for laminar and all turbulent regions of pipe flows. To use the Moody diagram for determining the friction factor f we first calculate the Reynolds number R for the flow. Next, we find the location on the horizontal axis of Reynolds number for the value of R and draw a vertical line that intersects with the appropriate relative roughness (e/D) curve. From this point of intersection on the (e/D) curve, we read the value of the friction factor f on the vertical axis on the left. Other Pressure Drop Relations Hazen-Williams Equation The Hazen-Williams equation is commonly used in the design of waterdistribution lines and in the calculation of frictional pressure drop inrefined petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel. This methodinvolves the use of the Hazen-Williams C-factor instead of pipe roughnessor liquid viscosity. The pressure drop calculation using the Hazen-Williams equation takes into account flow rate, pipe diameter, and specificgravity as follows: h=4.73L(Q/C)1.852/D4.87 Where, h=Head loss due to friction, ft L=Pipe length, ft D=Pipe internal diameter, ft Q=Flow rate, ft3/s C=Hazen-Williams coefficient or C-factor, dimensionless In customary pipeline units, the Hazen-Williams equation can berewritten as follows in English units: Q=0.1482(C)(D)2.63 (Pm/Sg)0.54 Where, Q=Flow rate, bbl/day D=Pipe internal diameter, in. Pm=Frictional pressure drop, psi/mile Sg=Liquid specific gravity Another form of Hazen-Williams equation, when the flow rate is in gal/ min and head loss is measured in feet of liquid per thousand feet of pipe is as follows: GPM=6.7547ÃÆ'-10-3(C)(D)2.63(HL)0.54 Where, GPM=Flow rate, gal/min HL=Friction loss, ft of liquid per 1000 ft of pipe In SI units, the Hazen-Williams equation is as follows: Q=9.0379ÃÆ'-10-8(C)(D)2.63(Pkm/Sg)0.54 Where, Q=Flow rate, m3/hr D=Pipe internal diameter, mm Pkm=Frictional pressure drop, kPa/km Sg=Liquid specific gravity Shell-MIT Equation The Shell-MIT equation, sometimes called the MIT equation, is used in the calculation of pressure drop in heavy crude oil and heated liquid pipelines. Using this method, a modified Reynolds number Rm iscalculated first from the Reynolds number as follows: R=92.24(Q)/(DÃŽÂ ½) Rm=R/(7742) Where, R=Reynolds number, dimensionless Rm=Modified Reynolds number, dimensionless Q=Flow rate, bbl/day D=Pipe internal diameter, in. ÃŽÂ ½=Kinematic viscosity, cSt Than depending on the flow (laminar or turbulent), the friction factor is calculated from one of the following equations: f=0.00207/Rm (laminar flow) f=0.0018+0.00662(1/Rm)0.355 (turbulent flow) Finally, the pressure drop due to friction is calculated using theequation Pm=0.241(f SgQ2)/D5 Where, Pm=Frictional pressure drop, psi/mile f=Friction factor, dimensionless Sg=Liquid specific gravity Q=Flow rate, bbl/day D=Pipe internal diameter, in. In SI units the MIT equation is expressed as follows: Pm=6.2191ÃÆ'-1010(f SgQ2)/D5 Where, Pm=Frictional pressure drop, kPa/km f=Friction factor, dimensionless Sg=Liquid specific gravity Q=Flow rate, m3/hr D=Pipe internal diameter, mm

Areas of Learning in Childcare Environment

Areas of Learning in Childcare Environment Q.1. Identify each of the three prime areas and four specific areas of learning? The Early year’s foundation Stage areas of learning and development have been produced by the government and early year’s professionals for use by all early years’ providers including child minders. It is important for practitioners to become familiar with how the areas of learning and development are arranged in the framework. We need to use the areas of learning and development when we are observing, assessing and planning for your child’s individual needs. These areas make sure that we are constantly challenging the child and helping them to develop and succeed. There are seven areas of learning and they are split into 2 parts: The 3 prime areas, which are for all children and will always, be the main focus of the planning and activities for babies and children under 3. The 4 specific areas, they are for all the older children (over 3s) but are also relevant for younger children. These are the 3 prime areas: Personal, social and emotional development (PSED) PSED involves supporting children in developing and sustaining important relationships. It supports children in expressing and managing their feeling and behaviour and encourages them to develop a sense of self-esteem and confidence. It also covers how children make friends and shared and takes turns. Physical development: Physical development involves encouraging children to be active in their play and learning. This area is about how children move and uses gross motor skills, develop fine motor skills, learn about healthy living and manage self-care independently. Communication and Language: This area involves children developing the skills required to become an effective speaker and listener. It involves children to listen and pay attention, understand what is being said and communication with others. Accurate identification of the 3 prime areas of learning and a good overview of what each area involves. These are the four specific areas: Literacy: This area of learning and development is about how children enjoy reading book, likes to make marks, learn to write and stars to explore phonics and letter sounds. Mathematics: This area involves how children learn about numbers and counting, recognising the passing of time and explores measures, capacity, space, shapes, opposites etc. during play. Understanding the world: This area learning and development is about how children find out about nature and the world around them, talk about people and their local community and learns about similarities and differences and learns to confidently use ICT equipment. Art and design: This area of learning and development is about how children enjoy being creative, sings and dances and makes music, plays imaginatively and uses express themselves. Sources: www.optimuseducation.com www.bridgewater.herts.sch.uk (NEW EYFS Summary 2012.pdf) Good. Q.2. Explain how planning can be devised to promote the individual needs of children? All children develop at their own rate and in their own time this should be remembered when planning activities. Children develop quickly in early years and as early years practitioners we need to do all that we can do to help children have the best possible start in life. Children are born ready, able and eager to learn. They actively reach out to interact with other people and in the world around them. Development is not and automatic process, however it depends on each unique child having opportunities to interact in positive relationships and enabling environments. Early years’ experience should build on what children already know and can do, no child should be excluded or disadvantage because of ethnicity, culture or religion home language, family background, special education needs disability or ability. To be effective an early year’s curriculum should be carefully structured. In that structure there should be three strands. Provision for the different starting points from which children develop their learning, building on what they can already do. Relevant and appropriate content that matches the different level of young children needs. Planned and purposeful activity that provides opportunities of teaching and learning, both indoors and outdoors. There should be opportunities for children to engage, in activities which are planned by adults and also those that they plan or initiate themselves. Good point. As a practitioner we must be able to observe and respond appropriately to children, in found by knowledge of how children develop and learn a clear understanding of possible next steps in their development and learning. Activities need to be planned properly; it should engage children in the learning process and help them make progress in their learning. Children to have rich and simulating experience, the learning environment should be well planned and well organised. It provides the structure for teaching within which children explore experiment, plan and make decisions for them thus enabling them to learn, develop and make good progress. As practitioner we need to understand and observe each child’s development and learning progress. For example in response of a child’s experience of breaking an arm and bringing in her x-ray, and children showing interest in the child’s plaster cast. Practitioners can set up a hospital in the nursery setting. They can add reception area with telephone, children can take a role of receptionist answering calls and making appointments. Children can dress up as doctors, nurses and patients. Practitioners can show children how to use bandages. Although children join and leave the play, many sustain their attention for a long time. Some play a number of roles and perform many actions, while some repeat and practise the experiences important to them. A good example. The practitioners should make sure that the children spend their time in worthwhile and challenging activities. Throughout the session there is a supportive routine with a mix of group and individual activities together with opportunities for children to make choices about activities. This provides the security which promotes confidence and the challenge which promotes learning. Source: www.foundationyears.org.uk http://osclinks.com/618 Q.3. Describe how practitioner can support children’s learning and development in each area of learning? Prime areas There are three prim areas of learning. 1. Physical Development 2. Communication and language development 3.Personal, social and emotional development. These prime areas begin to develop from a base of secure, loving relationship and positive. The area of physical development is divided into two aspects. Moving and handling: Moving and handling looks at children’s development of gross and fine motor skills. Children can show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. They handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencil for writing. From birth, babies begin their development and will first learn to turn their heads towards sounds or bright lights. Development is rapid in the early years and babies will learn to hold their head up, move their arms and legs, roll over and gain control of their bodies to sit up. Major developmental milestones are achieved within this aspect, such as crawling, walking, running, jumping and climbing. Health and self-care: In health and self-care development children needs to know the importance for good health of physical exercise, and a healthy diet, and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe. Babies express discomfort when they are hungry or thirsty through crying to ensure their needs are met. Babies will often show excitement in anticipation for their feed. As babies are weaned onto solid food, they will begin to open their mouth for a spoon and as they become older will show an interest in feeding themselves using a spoon and their fingers. Children will be willing to try new and different food textures and tastes, but will begin to form likes and dislikes with their food. Children need to manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully, including dressing and going to the toilet independently. The area of communication and language is divided into three aspects: Listening and attention This looks at children’s development of listening skills. Children listen attentively in range of situations. From birth, children will begin to tune in to the sounds around them, turning to look for where the sound has come from and recognising their main carer’s voice. These skills of listening develop and refine as a child becomes older − they will be able to differentiate between voices and will begin to understand the meaning of words. As children come to the end of early years their listening and attention skills will be more mature. They listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions. Children give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity. Understanding: In this area we look at how children learn to understand the principles of language and communication. Children follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events. They continue their development by gaining understanding of the meanings of single words such as ‘mummy’, ‘daddy’, ‘no’. The complexity of the words and sentences a child understands and can respond to increases as a child grows older. Speaking: Speaking looks at how children actually use language. It includes childrens verbal and non-verbal communication. Children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events. The area of personal, social, emotional development is divided in three aspects: Making relationship: This looks at the way in which babies and young people develop relationships. Children play co-operatively, taking turns with others. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity.They show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings, and form positive relationships with adultsand other children. Self confidance and self awarancess Children are confident to try new activities, and say why they like some activities more than others. They are confident to speak in a familiar group, will talk about their ideas, and will choose the resources they need for their chosen activities. They say when they do or don’t need help. Children will develop confidence to express their feelings and opinions and will be able to select their own activities that interest them. Managing feelings and behaviour: Children talk about how they and others show feelings, talk about their own and others’ behaviour, and its consequences, and know that some behaviour is unacceptable.They work as part of a group or class, and understand and follow the rules.They adjust their behaviour to different situations, and take changes of routine in their stride. The four specific areas: 1. Literacy 2. Maths 3. Understanding the world 4. Expressive arts and design The area of literacy is divided into two aspects: Reading: Children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common irregular words. They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read. Writing: Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible. Mathmathics: The area of maths is divided into two aspects: Numeracy: Children count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Using quantities and objects, they add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. They solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing. Shape, space and measures: Children use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. They recognise, create and describe patterns. They explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them. Expressive art and design: The area of art and design is divided into two aspects: Exploring and using media and materials: Children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function. Being Imagantive: Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories. Understanding the world: This area has three areas of aspects: People and communities: Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions. The world: Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes. Technology: Children recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. They select and use technology for particular purposes. Source: www.silkysteps.com/2012-eyfs-early-learning-goals.html Q. 4. Evaluate how the effective characteristics of learning can promote children’s learning and development. The Unique Child reaches out to relate to people and things through the Characteristics of Effective Learning, which move through all areas of learning. -playing and exploring (Finding out and exploring) (Playing with what they know) (Being willing to have a go) -active learning (Being involved and concentrating) (Keeping on trying) (Enjoying achieving what they set out to do) -creating and thinking critically (Having their own ideas) (Making links) (Choosing ways to do things and finding new ways) Playing and exploring Play and exploration are key ways that children to learn. As Vygotsky, the famous Russian psychologist whose work has been so important to our understanding of child development, stated: in play the child operates at their highest level ‘beyond his average age, above his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself’ (Vygotsky, 1978: 102). Finding out and exploring: Exploratory play is important to all of us. It is how babies begin to understand their surroundings and the relationships between themselves and others, using all their senses and every part of the body. Gopnik e al. (1999) describe babies and toddlers as young scientists, testing out and often repeating the same actions time and again to establish an idea about the object in question and what their own actions can do. Their explorations continue as they grow and develop. Playing with what they know: From the beginning as they play and explore, babies and young children build a repertoire of knowledge, skills and understanding, using memory, and they are also able to imagine possibilities. Being willing to have a go: Through play, children will develop their self-confidence and will enjoy challenge and risk. They will have a positive attitude and will be more likely to try out new experiences and activities without fear of failure. ‘There is no activity children are better prepared for than fantasy play. Nothing is more dependable and risk-free, and the dangers are only pretend’ (Paley, 2004: 8). Active learning: The second characteristic of learning is not about being physically active, which of course is important in children’s learning and development, but refers to being mentally active and alert. Being involved and concentrating: When a child is deeply involved she/he cannot easily be distracted. The importance of play and exploration cannot be underestimated as it is when children make their own choices, follow their natural curiosity and own train of thought that deep involvement is most likely to happen. Keeping on trying: Through trying out new experiences and activities, children will experience and disappointment. This aspect looks at how children persist in challenging activities and tries out alternative methods when difficulties occur. This process promotes problem-solving skills in children and will support the development of self-confidence. ‘As soon as children become able to evaluate themselves, some of them are afraid of challenges. They become afraid of not being smart’ (Dweck, 2008: 16) Enjoying achieving what they set out to do: Succeeding at their activities and achieving new skills will give children a feeling of satisfaction and pride in their own abilities. Children will be proud of the process they have followed in order to achieve the task and will be more likely to try out further activities to achieve that same sense of satisfaction. Creating and thinking critically: When children have opportunities to play with ideas in different situations and with a variety of resources, they discover connections and come to new and better under-standings and ways of doing things. Adult support in this process enhances their ability to think critically and ask questions. (EYFS card 4.3, 2008) Having their own ideas: Enabling children to think critically and creatively means encouraging them to play and investigate, providing a rich environment with interesting things to discover, explore and wonder about and, crucially, time to do so. Making links: Once a child has discovered their own ideas and methods, they will be excited to try them out. Practitioners can support this through engaging in sustained shared thinking with the child to help them to further explore their ideas. Choosing ways to do things: This aspect of the Characteristics of Learning involves the child in making choices as to how to go about something and is not about following instructions. When children are involved in their own self-chosen activities they are more likely to want to find the right strategy to achieve their goal. Source: mcgraw-hill.co.uk/openup/chapters/9780335247530.pdf http://osclinks.com/618

The Character of Soka in Children of the River :: Children of the River

In stories of any genre, characters may change dramatically. This holds true for many characters in Children of the River, a story that tells the true nature of change. The most prominent change is evident in the character of Soka. Her character begins as very stubborn and strict and changes to that of a caring person. This essay will explore the true nature of Soka’s behavior. At the beginning of Children of the River, the story unfolds in Cambodia. Soka has given birth to a baby (who dies later on). A warring faction, named the â€Å"Khmer Rouge† have begun to attack the city where the family, and self live. She becomes stubborn, unwilling to leave her home, since she becomes weak. Her stubbornness almost costs her family’s lives. This also leads to a conflict with her husband. Stubbornness can become a very distracting trait in people, as is Soka. However this trait will become less prominent later on during the story. In the middle of the novel, Soka changes once again somewhat, from being very stubborn to very strict. She shows her strictness mostly towards her teenager niece, Sundara. It is sometimes uncertain of her behaviour. She believes very highly of her culture’s customs and beliefs. She thinks the Cambodian way is the only way. Her beliefs get very annoying sometimes, especially toward’s her niece. These patterns of behaviour distances Sundara from her aunt, turning her partially rebellious side towards her family. Soka’s trait keeps the story woven together, and adds a thorny edge to it as well. But this trait changes once again. The last part of this story is essential to Soka’s last change. She starts to show sympathy toward’s Sundara’s needs. Albeit, slowly. This change is the most prominent throughout the entire story. What mostly surprises the reader is that of Soka’s allowance of Sundara’s seeing her friend Jonathan. What first sets this chain of reaction off is Soka’s allowance of Sundara to help Jonathan’s father, Dr. McKinnon with her language due to a medical urgency needed in Cambodia. I believe this is the most exciting part of the story. This change in Soka takes away some of the distance from Sundara because of her second change. This is a much needed change in Soka’s personality. In conclusion, all of these changes in Soka’s personality change the story in their own unique way.

The Ethics of Terraformation Essay -- Space Technology Science Essays

The Ethics of Terraformation What is Terraformation? The point of terraforming is to change an uninhabitable terrestrial planet into one that can support human life on the surface. Terraforming is a massive undertaking, and it involves altering a whole planet's climate, geology, and life. It entails the destruction of land masses and geological features billions of years old, elevating the global temperature, and flooding the surface with vast oceans. The most relevant to this discussion is the releasing of thousands of species from another planet to live and breed, altering the atmospheric makeup with every breath. [1] Ever since terraformation was imagined years ago, people began to ask if it was ethical. Changing a whole planet to fit our desires seemed like a religious authority that doesn’t fit in the hands of humans. Science has developed since then and with it, changes in bioengineering. We are "playing God" to a degree that not even science fiction could imagine. But have we actually changed? We read in the news or see on the television everyday about parties of environmental protesters lobbying for protection of natural resources or preservation of our national parks. The majority of the public believes that our environment requires our immediate attention.[2] On Mars it will be the same. There will be individuals who are pro-terraforming and those who are against it. There will be extremists and neutralists. In Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson, the sides are designated by colors. "Greens", or terraforming supporters, are in constant conflict with the "Reds".[3] These have become the most common terms for describing people involved in terraformation debates. Why Mars? People have been captivated wit... .... [6] Hamilton [7] Hamilton [8] Hamilton [9] Hamilton [10] NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Exploration Rover Mission, 2004, California Institute of Technology, 10 Feb. 2004, <http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040112a.html > [11] NASA. [12] NASA. [13] Graham. [14] Graham [15] Graham [16] Moore [17] DeVincenzi, D. L., P. Stabekis, and J. Barengoltz, Refinement of Planetary Protection Policy for Mars Missions, Adv. Space Res., 1996 Vol. 18, No. 1 <http://library.thinkquest.org/11967/ppp4m.html?tqskip1=1> [18] DeVincenzi [19] Terraforming Mars, 2002, Science Forum, 13 Feb. 2004, <http://www.sciencegroups.com/viewtopic.php?t=9915> [20] Barbour, Ian G., Ethics is an Age of Technology, (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1991) 66. [21] Barbour, 64. [22] Barbour, 69. [23] Barbour, 79.

Drink and Home Countries

When I woke up that day, I was so excited because we were going to go to the holiday. I had packed my stuff the day before. And then we were ready to go! That was my first fly and I was anxious a little bit but my mother told me that there was no reason to be anxious. After an hour, we finally landed to Antalya. Then we arrived to the hotel. While bellboy was carrying our stuff to our room, I was thinking about what will I do next. I decided to go to the pool but I lost my way to the pool. There was noone to help me and I was so scared.Then I found my way to the pool because my cousin arrived my help. We had so much fun in the pool. We dived and danced in the pool. There were some tourists at the pool and we talked with them. One of them is Shymi. She is a Russian. Other one is Harry. He is a British. After we met, we decided to drink something and went to the cafe. My cousin and I ordered lemonade, Shymi ordered coke and Ollie ordered some icetea. While we were drinking our drinks, we talked about our home countries. Shymi told that she like to feel warmth on her skinbut she can barely see the sun in Russia.And Harry said that he can barely see the sun either, because of the pouring rain. After a little more chit-chat, dinner time came and 4 of us went to the dining hall. We ate something, took our drinks and went to the coast. We sat somewhere and while we were dirinking our sodas, we talked abour ourselves. At that time, sea was amazing. While they were talking, My thoughts were engulfed by the sound of waves. That was really amazing. Relaxing sounds took me so inside of them that I couldn’t hear what they said to me. After we sang some songs, we went to our rooms to sleep.Next day I woke up so happy and when I looked my cousin, I saw that she wasn’t wake up yet but my sister had woken up already. I whispered her to go to the bathroom and bring some water. She did what I told and we spilled the water to her face. She woke up screaming and start ed to chase us in the room. We went to the breakfast and ate some careal, drunk some orange juice. As my mother said, when you eat something, you should wait 30 minutes before swim. Otherwise bad things can happen. We played some table tenis while we were waiting. After 45 minutes, we went to the pool and met there with Shymi and Harry.

E-Commerce Revenue Model

E-Commerce revenue models specifically describe different techniques used in generating income from the publisher's websites. As the e-commerce progress, the traditional revenue model of sales is expanded to more variety of revenue options and e-commerce business model. All of the large-scale hotel such as Shangri-La, Sheraton Seoul D-Cube City Hotel and others are more focus on e-commerce revenue models in order generate revenues from multiple income streams.Thus, all of these hotels were successful to use the e-commerce as a marketing strategy to increasing their customers. For the purpose to become a large scale hotel, Cube Hotel required to planning the e-commerce revenue as good as possible. With e-commerce, we can start a website and engage in the selling of our services, via the Internet. All online companies generate revenues from multiple income streams such as advertising, subscription, affiliate marketing.Consequently, we would like to discuss different of e-commerce reven ue model which can implemented on the internet in order to earn revenue, produce profits, and produce a superior return on invested capital. First of all, Cube Hotel can generate revenue from sales revenue model. Sales model is sales of goods, merchandise information and services provided in the publishers' websites. Sales model is one of the revenue models that more suitable for our hotel to earn profits. We sell our own service directly without any third parties in transaction process.We must efficiency to introduce our hotel in website in order to easier our customers to booking without third parties and could make decision to booking any rooms without any complex process. Our hotel website should not be looks outdated compared to the competition because we need to use our website to attract more customers to launch its. Hence, we must create a window to our business that highlights the difference between our and our competitors. For example, our website must full of contents suc h as upload new information, photo of our hotel environment, catalogue and others.This is because appealing content causes a site to be â€Å"sticky† – meaning that it keeps visitors clicking on links within our site, staying at our site instead of getting bored or dissatisfied, and going to another site. We do not same others companies who used e-marketplaces such as e-bay, Google, amazon. com to sell their own products or services indirectly. For example, Dell. com is generating sales revenue from its notebooks, Amazon. com is selling books, ABC Consultant may be generating income from their consultancy services online.Besides that, our revenue will increase in the future because our website gives customers the ability to preview our services before making a purchase. Services online may benefits for our customers because they can save their time to online booking, get new information about our hotel and may more understand our hotel in different perspective. Thus, c ustomers would choose online services rather than go to the physical storefront to purchase. Consequently, this sales strategy and program will be very profitable for Cube Hotel to earn based on the sale price.A major percentage of Cube Hotel also can generate by the Internet marketing. Internet marketing, also known as web marketing, online marketing, web advertising, or e-marketing, is referred to as the marketing of products or services over the Internet. Internet marketing is considered to be broad in scope because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless media. Internet marketing ties together the creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising and sales.Cube Hotel can use internet marketing because we able to captures a wide range of customer information. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how th ey navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. We may know our customers need when they give comment to our hotel. Thus, knowing a customer's behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer's needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.Another most important reason why our hotel needs to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit to our hotel or look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. Consequently, internet marketing is its reach ability of internet around the globe and its mass appeal. No other traditional media such as print and broadcasting can reach that number of population and if does that, it can`t attain tha t pace of reach.Through Internet marketing, targeting is possible with accuracy and efficiency. It gives us options to target customers with various available choices mainly depending upon their demographic, age, interests and need. In conclusion, no business can exist without top line revenues from sales, no matter how well the other functions are handled. Our business plan must detail how our plan to price and sell our services, and how much money we plan to make. The basics should cover three broad aspects: our selling tactics, our revenue model, and our sales cycle.

Eco Tourism in India Essay

Chapter Eight Ecotourism in India Mohan Krishen Khanna Introduction India, a country situated in south Asia, is of subcontinental dimension with a population of over one billion people. India is primarily an agricultural economy with a vast range of crops. The livelihood of over 60% of the population continues to be based on agriculture. Of late, there has been a growing trend of urbanisation and diversification away from agriculture. The industrial sector is now playing a larger role in the economy. After the economic liberalisation in 1991, the industrial and services components of the economy have shown a high rate of growth, and today services contribute 46% of the GDP. India is rated as the fourth largest economy in the world based on the â€Å"purchasing power party† method of calculating per capita GDP. Having said this, mention of the important socio-economic issues that face India is necessary. The primary issue is one of poverty, with 320 million people estimated to be living below the poverty line. There are related problems of social and gender inequalities, illiteracy, lack of adequate health facilities, unplanned urbanisation, environment degradation, and underdevelopment of some areas. These are gigantic problems which are receiving the attention of the Indian Government and civil society, with some help from the international community. Since the foreign exchange crisis of 1991, a more liberal approach towards globalisation of the economy has been adopted by the government. India is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and is opening its economy to the international market in phases. In keeping with the commitments to the WTO, exports have been increasing over the years and were reported to have grown by 30% in April, 2000. Special efforts are being made to attract foreign direct investment by providing attractive incentives to investors. – 63 – The Indian Tourism Product India has spectacularly attractive natural and cultural tourist attractions. It has a rich, over 5000-year-old, cultural heritage and thousands of monuments and archaeological sites for tourists to visit and enjoy. The remains of one of the most ancient river valley civilisations of the world (the Indus Valley civilisation) are found in India and Pakistan. The Taj Mahal and 16 other World Heritage Properties and several national heritage sites are in India. The country abounds in attractive and well- preserved historical sites and ancient monuments of architectural grandeur. There is a vast variety of building styles, which chronicle the cultural and historical diversity of their creators. India offers enormous diversity in topography, natural resources and climate. There are land-locked mountainous regions, lush valleys and plains, arid desert regions, white sandy beaches and islands. Central India has numerous wildlife sanctuaries with countless varieties of flora and fauna. The country has unparalled cultural diversity, a kaleidoscope of races, languages, religions, customs and traditions. Indians have embraced almost all the major religions of the world and the country has given rise to five religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and â€Å"Tauhid-i-illahi† of Akbar. The geographical diversity of India provides opportunities for a wealth of outdoor and adventure sports activities. There is something for all tastes and interests, from the â€Å"soft† adventures to fast-paced thrills, and there is something for every level of experience. The prices are highly competitive. The major adventure tourism activities are trekking and skiing in the Himalayas, river running in the Ganges, water sports in Goa, trout fishing in Himachal Pradesh, heli-skiing in Himachal Pradesh, wind surfing, scuba diving and yachting in Andamans and Lakshadweep islands. India has some of the best beaches in the world, many of which are still unexplored, as in the Andamans and Lakshadweep Islands. Hospitality to visitors is an ancient Indian tradition. The peoples’ lifestyles are varied. Life is full of culture, fairs and festivals, colour and spectacle. India is a land of folk fairs and festivals, some say that there is a fair each day of the year. Some of the important fairs and festivals are the Pushkar fair in Rajasthan, the Crafts Mela at Surajkund, Holi and Diwali in North India, Pongal in Tamilnadu, Onam in Kerala, Baisakhi in Punjab, Bihu in Assam, dance festivals at Khajuraho and Mamallapuram. Tourism in India can be a gastronomic delight. Each region has  its culinary specialty and beautifully printed and expertly written cookbooks are on sale. But the best part is to sample the exotic fare in the thousands of restaurants. India has several forms of art and handcrafts. Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam are some of the most popular forms of classical dances which have their origins in various parts of the country. Every dance form has a precise vocabulary of emotions (love, yearning, – 64 – sorrow etc.) and these are displayed by dance gestures that involve the body, arms, fingers, face and eyes. India is a treasure-trove of handcrafts. The options available include the gamut of multi-storied shopping plazas, air-conditioned stores selling a hand-picked assortment of crafts from every corner of the country, through to whole streets of shops selling specialty goods, to local fairs, where street stalls, set up overnight, stock a variety of exotica. Ecotourism Resources of India The geographical diversity of India makes it home to a wealth of ecosystems which are well protected and preserved. These ecosystems (see Box 1) have become the major resources for ecotourism. Following Box 1, each ecosystem is discussed in some detail. Box 1: Indian Ecosystems and Resources †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Biosphere Reserves Mangroves Coral Reefs Deserts Mountains and Forests Flora and Fauna Seas, Lakes and Rivers Caves Biosphere reserves are multi-purpose protected areas, for preservation of the genetic diversity and the integrity of plants, animals and micro-organism in representative ecosystems. There are seven such reserves in India at present (see Box 2). Box 2: Biosphere Reserves †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Nilgri Nanda Devi Nokrek Great Nicobar Gulf of Mannar Manas Sunderbans – 65 – Mangroves are very specialised forest ecosystems of tropical and subtropical regions, bordering sheltered sea coasts and estuaries. The major mangrove areas are listed in Box 3. Box 3: Major Mangrove Areas †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Northern Adaman and Nicolar islands Sunderbans (West Bengal) Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi Delta (Orissa) Coringa, Godavari Delta and Kristna Estuary (Andhra Pradesh) Pichavaram and Point Calimere (Tamil Nadu) Goa Gulf of Kutch (Gajarat) Coonapur (Karnataka) Achra/Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) Vembanand (Kerala) In order to protect and preserve these genetic resources, India has created a number of National Parks and 421 Wildlife Sanctuaries in different parts of the country. Those which have already become popular with tourists are Kaziranga and Manas in Assam; Jim Corbett in Uttar Pradesh; Keoladeo, Ghana, Ranthambore and Sariska in Rajasthan; Kanha and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh; Bandipour in Karnataka and Similipal in Orissa. The Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal brace the sides of the Indian subcontinent, except for the landlocked northern boundary. The land mass of India is crossed by several rivers and dotted by lakes at many places. These water bodies provide attractive opportunities for water sports. Economic Significance of Tourism In India, tourism is emerging as a key sector in the economy. It is presently India’s third largest foreign exchange earner after garments, and gems and jewellery. The foreign exchange earnings from tourism during 1997–98 has been estimated to be about Rs.11264 crores (US $3173 million). The rate of growth in foreign exchange earnings from tourism is exceptionally high. The most significant feature of the tourism industry is its capacity to generate large-scale employment opportunities, particularly in remote and underdeveloped areas. It offers enormous potential for utilising natural resources like landscapes, mountains, beaches, rivers etc. for the economic benefit of the population. It also adds value to a multitude of human-made  attractions such as monuments, palaces, forts and the unique rural and city environments. A special feature of the tourism industry is that it employs a large number of women and young people in hotels, airline services, travel agencies, making handcrafts, undertaking cultural activities, and other tourism-related tasks. The direct employment in the sector during 1995–96 was about 8.5 million persons, accounting for about 2.4% of the total labour force. Estimates of indirect employment show that in total about 22 million persons derive their livelihood from tourism. Different forecasts of direct employment in the sector have been made, however, they underline the fact that tourism is growing to become an important economic activity. It is estimated that one new job is created in tourism every 2.4 seconds. Box 5 illustrates the comparative strength of tourism in creating jobs. A million rupee invested (1985–86 prices) in the hotel and restaurant industry created 89 jobs, against 44.7 jobs in agriculture or 12.6 jobs in manufacturing industries for the same investment. The average for the whole tourism sector was 47.5 jobs. Box 4: Coral Reef Ecosystems †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Gulf of Mannar Andaman and Nicobar Islands Kakshadweep Islands Gulf of Kutch The Great Thar Desert and the little deserts in the North Western Region of the country are distinct ecosystems which have fascinated tourists from all over the world. Ladakh is a cold desert with high, snow-clad mountains, fast rivers, and the people have a distinctive Buddhist culture. The great Himalayas and other mountain ranges in the country, along with the snow-clad slopes, forests and rivers have also become important attractions for eco-tourists. The country has an area of about 752.3 lakh hectares designated as forest land and of this about 406.1 lakh hectares are classified as Reserve Forests and 215.1 lakh hectares as Protected Forests. India is very rich in biotic as well as abiotic resources. It has about 45 000 species of plants. The country also has a great variety of fauna, numbering a little over 65 000 known species, including 1228 bird, 428 reptile, 372 mammal, 204 amphibian and 2546 fish species. – 66 – – 67 – Box 5: Comparative Job Creation Sector Agriculture Manufacturing Mining and Quarrying Railways Other Transport Hotels and Restaurants Tourism Labour/Capital Ratio 44.7 12.6 2.06 0.9 13.8 89.0 47.5 advancement of women and other disadvantaged groups. The Working Group constituted for the formulation of proposals for the Ninth Plan on Tourism considered a growth target of 8% per annum in tourist arrivals as feasible during 1997–2002 leading to total arrivals of about 3.12 million tourists by the year 2000 subject of course to substantial improvement in infrastructure and services. Major Constraints on Growth Though India has much to offer in terms of tourist attractions, there are major constraints on the growth of tourism, particularly international tourist traffic. The greatest constraint is inadequate infrastructure. Constraints include lack of sufficient airports and airport facilities, international and domestic air-seat capacity, surface transport systems, basic wayside amenities, accommodation, restaurants, shopping and recreational facilities, trained labourforce resources, and support services and facilities. Both quality and quantity of infrastructure are major impediments to the growth of tourism in the country. Although there are 121 airports maintained by the Airport Authority of India and 139 airports maintained by state governments and other agencies, there are only 10 airports with a runway length of over 3000 m. Even these airports, including five international airports, do not have the latest Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) and other equipment to facilitate safe and se cure landing of aircraft in all weather conditions. Quality of service at the airports is also not up to international standards. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is making efforts to deal with this problem. In addition to the five existing  international airports, seven more airports are to be developed for international air services. More airports will be opened for charter traffic. Four international airports are being leased out to private operators. The new proposed civil aviation policy seeks to develop civil aviation by increasing the forces of competition, economic liberalisation and globalisation. The international air-seat capacity for India is presently about 5.3 million which is just enough to cater for the existing level of passenger traffic. A number of tourist-origin countries are not directly connected by air to India. Additional international air-seat capacity of at least 2 million would be required if 3.2 millions tourists were to come by 2000. If the target of 5 million tourists is to be achieved, the additional capacity required is estimated to be 5 million seats. Distances to India, considered a long haul destination for tourists from the USA and most of Europe, ac t as a deterrent to tourists from these countries. Lack of adequate air-seat capacity on international flights during the tourist season, which is from October to March, further compounds the problem, and works against increasing foreign tourists. While there is some Source: Annual Plan, Department of Tourism, Govt. of India, 1996–97. Another important feature of the tourism industry, which is of particular significance to India, is its contribution to national integration and the social transformation of the economic lives of people. Over 176 million domestic tourists (see Box 6) visiting different parts of the country every year, return with a better understanding of the people living in other regions of the country and of the cultural diversity of India. Tourism also encourages preservation of monuments and heritage properties and helps the survival of art forms, crafts and culture. Box 6: Domestic Tourist Visits Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Domestic Tourists Visits (Million) 120 131 144 157 176 189 (Projected) Source: Report of the Working Group on Tourism for the Ninth Five-Year Plan, 1997–2002, Dept. of Tourism, Govt of India, New Delhi. Tourism has become an instrument for sustainable human development through poverty alleviation, environmental regeneration, job creation, and the – 68 – – 69 – talk of an â€Å"open sky policy†, in practice this is yet to happen and foreign airlines do not have free access to India. However, the scenario is changing with the negotiation of bilateral agreements which will add one million new seats to international air-seat capacity. Negotiations still underway may yield more seats. Recently United Airways and Virgin Airlines have announced intentions of covering India. The total air-seat capacity available in the domestic sector today is over 17 million. In 1996, 70% of this capacity was utilised with 12 million passengers travelling in the country, 7.1 million by the state-run Indian Airlines and 4.9 million by the private airlines. It is expected that this sector will grow at about 6% per annum. A major exercise is underway to restructure Indian Airlines and add capacity in the private sector airlines, which should yield results in the years to come. Although many of these projections seem optimistic given the downturn in the econo my in 1997 and 1998, the situation is expected to normalise soon with the upturn in the economy. There is need to address problems of insufficient flights to major tourist destinations particularly during the tourist season, the high cost of internal air travel and inconvenient flight schedules. Efforts also need to be undertaken to improve the efficiency of Indian Airlines and foster growth of private airlines. An efficient and responsive domestic air transport system is an essential prerequisite for generating more tourism to India. Other important areas which require attention are airline quality and networking. There are too few flights available, particularly during the best tourist season, and the services that do exist are high priced and their schedule of arrivals/departures are inconvenient for travellers. Within the country, the services of Indian  Airlines require substantial improvement, and they need to network with private airlines. A viable hubs-and-spoke operation, networking larger commercial centres with smaller tourist destinations needs to be developed to improve access to the interior of the country. The second serious handicap to tourism in India is the scarcity and high cost of hotel accommodation. The number of approved hotel rooms available in 1997 was around 64 500, with about 36 000 under construction. The demand by the year 2000 has been estimated at 1.25 lakhs, which means there would be a shortfall of 27 000 hotel rooms. Lack of economically priced hotel accommodation in the tourist season is being cited as one of the reasons for not choosing India as the place for a holiday. There are two approaches to this problem. One is to increase the floor-area-ratio for the hotels so that existing hotels are able to add more rooms. The other is to make more land available for hotel construction by inducing land allotting agencies to put aside more land for the hotel industry through auction, long leases and equity participation schemes. The agencies can also play a role in bringing private buyers and sellers together to enable entrepreneurs easy access to land and buildings in private hands. – 70 – The public agencies need to liberalise the regime for granting licences and approvals so as to expedite construction of hotels. A â€Å"one window† (or â€Å"one-stop-shop†) system could be a measure to facilitate faster approvals. Access to capital is another limiting factor. The Tourism Finance Corporation Inc. (TFCI) and the other financing institutions which provide institutional mechanisms for access to capital do not have a positive approach to lending for hotels. There is need to generate more rooms through innovative measures like promoting the Paying Guest Accommodation scheme at major tourist centres. Currently, 1472 units with 5953 rooms are available in 14 states. State Governments need to be more proactive in promoting this scheme as it is a preferred alternative to hotels for many, requiring comparatively less investment and is hence more advantageous to tourists. Another major means of creating accommodation is approval of guesthouses. Due to the complicated procedure adopted which requires guesthouses to obtain a number of clearances including those from the Police, Municipal Authorities and the Tourism Department, economically priced guesthouses have  not developed in keeping with the expectations of tourists travelling on a budget. As many of these are run without due approvals, they have acquired a reputation for dealing in drugs, cheating residents and other criminal activities. It would be worthwhile for the state governments to undertake a campaign to get these guesthouses recognised and approved and hence to generate more hotel rooms. (The Ministry of Tourism is in touch with the state governments over this issue). Another major inhibitor of the growth of tourism is the difficulty of obtaining visas for India. Visa restrictions need to be liberalised, to ensure a larger flow of tourists to the country. A number of options are available. The visa regime must be liberalised at least in respect of those coun tries which do not pose any political or security problems. Visas should be issued easily on entry at the airport in respect of visitors from such countries. The principle of reciprocity in the issue of visas should not be insisted on in the case of nationals of those countries with whom India has signed bilateral tourism agreements. Special tourist visas available on arrival for up to two weeks should be made available at the airports. The procedure for the issue of visas can also be made simple and at least in the major tourist originating countries the applications for a tourist visa could be received through the internet and processed on computers. Another area that requires attention is the possibility of reducing visa charges, particularly special charges on visiting restricted areas. Increased competition from neighbouring countries and poor perception of the Indian tourism product (particularly with regard to transport infrastructure) – 71 – in the major tourist originating markets are the other constraints on the growth of tourism. An added negative factor is the image of India as a country overrun by poverty, disease, touts and political instability. The promotional expenditure in the overseas markets of competitor destinations like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia far exceeds the promotional expenditure by India. India needs to make vigorous efforts to improve its image as an attractive destination, and for this more resources are required. There are numerous other constraints in the development of tourism in India, including lack of priority in the planning of development, poor upkeep of monuments and wildlife sanctuaries, inadequate surface transport  facilities, poor quality of services etc. The Government of India has set up a group of Ministers under the Minister of Tourism to coordinate activities of various government departments and agencies. A committee under the Cabinet Secretary assists in implementation of decisions and removal of systematic problems. Dialogue with the state governments to liberalise and rationalise taxation and deal with other issues is an ongoing process. Many of the activities in the tourism sector are dependent on initiatives of the state governments. Enlightened state governments like Kerala, Goa and Rajasthan have done a lot to attract more tourists by making facilities more tourist friendly. Box 7: Government Responsibilities for Ecotourism Regulate structures that create visual pollution, unaesthetic views and are non-compatible architecture; and encourage use of local building material and structures befitting the local environment. Exclude developments in geologically unstable zones and define development and buffer zones after proper environmental impact assessments. Establish and enforce standards, building codes and other regulations. Specify environmental, physical and social carrying capacities to limit development. Ensure continuous monitoring of adverse effects of tourism activities and initiate suitable corrective measures. Recognise and award quality by accreditation of ecotourism operators. Provide visitor information and interpretation services covering particularly (i) what to see; (ii) how to see it; and (iii) how to behave. This can be by way of brochures, leaflets, specialised guides, visitor information centres and such. Prepare and distribute codes of conduct to all visitors. Launch training programs on ecotourism for tourism administrators, planners, operators and the general public. Promoting Ecotourism in India The key players in the ecotourism business are governments at both levels, the local authorities, the developers and the operators, the visitors, and the local community. Each one of them has to be sensitive to the environment and local traditions and follow a set of guidelines for the successful development of ecotourism. In addition, non-governmental organisations and scientific and research institutions also have to play a key role in the  development of ecotourism. A management plan for each ecotourism area should be prepared by professional landscape architects and urban planners, in consultation with the local community as well as others directly concerned. Integrated planning should be adopted to avoid inter-sectoral and cross-sectoral conflict. A first step should be to prepare 20-year Master Plans for each state. The architectural program for ecotourism centres should include controlled access points, roads, self-guided nature trails, transportation options, interpretation centres, signs, observation towers and adequate but unpretentious lodging and dining facilities, docks, garbage disposal facilities and other utilities as needed. If required, suitable living quarters and facilities for project personnel should be provided. Box 7 is a list of actions for the development of ecotourism, where the responsibility is with the government. The roles and responsibilities of tourism developers and operators are fundamental to the achievement of ecotourism and the long-term success of the businesses. These are listed in Box 8. Box 8: Roles and Responsibilities of Ecotourism Developers and Operators Respect and follow the planning restrictions, standards and codes provided by the government and local authorities. Implement sound environment principles through self-regulation. Undertake environmental impact assessment for all new projects and conduct regular environment audits for all ongoing activities, leading to development of environmental improvement programs. Be aware of, and sensitive to, protected or threatened areas, species and scenic amenity; undertake landscape enhancement wherever possible. Ensure that all structures are unobtrusive and do not interfere with the natural ecosystem to the extent possible. – 72 – – 73 – Recognise the optimal environmental capacity and sociological use-limits of the site in creating tourist facilities; also take into account the safety and convenience of tourists. Design buildings strictly on functional and  environmental considerations and avoid over-construction. Use local material and designs to the extent possible in construction. Employ eco-friendly physical planning, architectural design and construction of tourist facilities, for example use solar energy, capture and utilise rainwater, recycle garbage, use natural cross-ventilation instead of air conditioning, ensure a high level of self-sufficiency in food through orchards, ecological farms, aquaculture and such. Employ energy and water-saving practices to the extent possible; freshwater management and controlled sewage disposal should also be practised. Control air emissions, chemical pollutants and noise. Control and reduce environmentally unfriendly products such as asbestos, CFCs, pesticides and toxic, corrosive, infectious, explosive or flammable material. Respect and support historic or religious objects and sites. Provide information and interpretive services to visitors especially on attractions and facilities, safety and security, local customs and traditions, prohibitions and regulations and expected behaviour. Ensure adequate opportunities for visitors to commune with nature and native cultures. Provide correct information in marketing ecotourism products, as visitors who appreciate ecotourism products usually belong to environmentally-aware groups. Include training and research programs on environmental issues for company staff. Prepare tourists before their visit to minimise possible negative impacts while visiting sensitive environments and cultures. Ensure safety and security of visitors and inform them of precautions to be taken. Exercise due regard for the interest of the local population, including its history, tradition and culture and future economic development. Involve the local community to the extent possible in vari ous activities and vocations. Box 9: The Responsibilities of Ecotourists Help conserve habitats of flora and fauna as well as any site, natural feature or culture, which may be affected by tourism. Make no open fires and discourage others from doing so. If water has to be heated with scarce firewood, use as little as possible. Where feasible, use kerosene or fuel-efficient wood stoves. Remove litter, burn or bury paper and carry back all non-degradable litter. Keep local water clean and avoid using pollutants such as detergents in streams or springs. If no toilet facilities are  available, relieve yourself at least 30 metres away from water sources and bury or cover the waste. Leave plants to flourish in their natural environment and avoid taking away cuttings, seeds and roots. Leave campsites clean after use. Help guides and porters to follow conservation measures. Do not allow cooks/porters to throw garbage in streams or rivers. Respect the natural and cultural heritage of the area and follow local customs. Respect local etiquette and do not wear tight-fitting clothes. Remember that kissing in public is disapproved of in India. Respect privacy of individuals and ask permission to take photographs of local inhabitants. Respect holy places; do not touch or remove religious objects. Strictly follow the guidelines for personal safety and security and always take your own precautions and safety measures. If a community wants to host ecotourism, it has a central role to play. The host community’s success in bringing ecotourism to it and ensuing that the level and type of tourism is compatible with the community’s aspirations are matters the community can control. Box 10 lists the matters with which the host community must deal. Box 10: The Role and Responsibility of the Host Community Realise and respect the value of the environment, the flora and fauna, the monuments and your cultural heritage. Practice conservation of nature and culture as a way of life. Establish guidelines to protect valuable local resources and foster tourism management. React to the potential threat of investors who see opportunities in development but lack sensitivity to local values. Become effective nature guides and conservationists of natural areas by utilising practical and ancestral knowledge of the natural features of the area. Be friendly to the visitors and help them to practise ecotourism principles. Just as the government authorities and the tourism operators play fundamental roles in the success of ecotourism, so does the tourist. Box 9 lists the responsibilities of tourists. – 74 – – 75 – Finally there is a role for others, such as scientific and research institutions and non-government organisations, in promoting ecotourism. The things they can do include: (i) create awareness, among all concerned, about the importance of sound eco-practices in tourism development; (ii) motivate the local community to increase their involvement in sustainable tourism activities; and (iii) organise training programs to prepare the local people to take up various vocations related to ecotourism. the Pacific Travel Association have introduced an ecotourism pledge which requires their members to adopt environment-friendly practices. Conclusion Tourism has proved to be an engine of growth in many economies in the world. It provides for the generation of income, wealth and employment, and helps in the sustainable development of remote areas. In India, tourism provides direct employment to 9 million people and indirect employment to another 13 million persons, thus providing a livelihood to 22 million persons. It contributes an estimated 2.4% of the gross national product. Its contribution to the economies of states like Rajasthan, Goa and Kerala are significant. Although beginning to be understood for its potential to provide for development in India, tourism still remains a sector that needs serious attention. Tourism has proved to have negative impacts as well as the positive ones. It is criticised for contaminating indigenous culture. This takes the form of changing values, resulting in social maladies like drug addiction, child prostitution, etc. A far more widespread negative impact is caused by mass tourism in environm entally fragile areas like mountains, hills, deserts and coastal regions. Due to heavy tourist traffic in some areas, the cultural and environmental assets of the community are under threat. Although this phenomenon is not widespread in India, there is a need to take note of the possible negative influences of tourism so that timely preservation action can be taken and irreparable loss avoided. The movement towards ecotourism is at once a threat and an opportunity to create  more sustainable tourism: by diverting tourist traffic to ensure the carrying capacity of any destination is not exceeded; by planning for regeneration of natural resources; and by generating awareness in the host community whereby they are prepared and forearmed to deal with the negative impact of mass tourism. As in most cases, a middle path is the most creative way to maximise the economic potential of tourism, while at the same time minimising the negative social influences and threats to the environment. Only ecotourism where the tourists, the service providers, the host communi ty and authorities are well informed and prepared to harness tourism as an engine of growth can yield sustainable results. Motivations for Involvement in Ecotourism Hotel and travel companies in India function in a relatively free environment. The country is slowly but surely moving towards a market economy where commercial considerations dictate motivation for the private sector to take up various activities. Crass commercial considerations have, however, to be controlled by the government on behalf of the public. The environment has to be protected through awareness-generation, legislation, policy and administrative action. The travelling public is also becoming conscious of the need to protect the environment, to some extent at least. As a result, many enterprises in the hospitality sector have adopted environment-friendly practices like conserving energy and water and recycling unutilised hotel outputs. These can be powerful marketing tools for hotel groups. Furthermore, with the increase in cost of vital inputs like energy, water etc., companies are motivated to conserve limited resources by adopting practices which reduce levels of consumption. Many hotel companies advise their clients to be careful in the use of lights, water and other hotel services. Civil society has also begun to exercise control over the environment. Many non-government organisations have been generating awareness about environmentally destructive practices. Individuals have taken recourse to public interest litigation to stop environmentally destructive practices. The Indian judicial system has been very liberal in restraining environmentally hazardous activities. At times, political parties also stop environmentally harmful practices by agitation and raising issues in democratic forums such as state legislatures. The  print and electronic media have been very active in India in investigating environmentally injurious activities by highlighting such issues and creating public opinion for environmentally compatible practices. The Government of India has a Ministry of Environment and Forests with a mandate to oversee use of the environment in order to conserve it. The Government has also set up institutions like the Central and State Pollution Control Board to deal with the defaulters. The state governments also have Departments of Environment and Pollution Control. The Ministry of Tourism has issued ecotourism guidelines for adoption by all concerned organisations. 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