Financial Reporting Master Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Financial Reporting Master - Research Paper Example The observance of accounting standards in reporting is mandatory in all countries as per the direction of Accounting Standard Board (ASB). All countries have developed their own accounting standards and in the absence of a standard in any occasion, Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (GAAP) can be followed. This report has four sections, namely A, B, C, and D. Section 'A' deals with the specific accounting policies adopted by Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrison, followed by the comparison of the same between one another. It also throws light on whether there are any differences in the accounting policies followed by these companies and if any, what are they. Section B is meant to present the financial analysis of all the three companies' financial statements for a 5 year period using profitability ratios, liquidity ratios, debt ratios, activity ratios, gearing. Section C is for detailing the major limitations of ratio analysis in the light of given companies. Section D provides a repor t on the performance of a company of Morrison Plc. Based on the ratios calculated in Section B. The company prepares and presents it financial statements comprising of income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement in accordance with applicable accounting standards, under the historical cost convention, and are in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 (Accounting... Basis of Consolidation The company prepares its consolidated financial statements comprising of statements of parent company and that of its subsidiaries. It has been made mandatory for the Continental European companies to prepare financial statements prior to the preparation of the same of the group so as to ensure timely preparation and reporting. As regards the excess/deficiency of purchase consideration is concerned, it shall be adjusted in reserves. It is therefore necessary for all subsidiaries to adhere to the accounting policies of the group with the aim of attaining consistency in the accounting policies. Stocks Stocks in stores are calculated at retail prices and reduced by appropriate margins to the lower of cost and net realizable value. Money market investments Money market investments are shown at cost price. All income received from these investments is included in the profit and loss account. Fixed assets and depreciation Depreciation is provided on an equal annual installment basis over the anticipated useful working lives of the assets, after they have been brought into use, at the following rates: Leasing items such as plant, equipment and fixtures and fittings are shown in the financial statements as tangible assets. These assets are subject to depreciation as per the depreciation policy of the firm. Sainsbury Plc. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Sainsbury will follow IFRS for financial reporting though it will have a small adverse impact on reported profit after tax. This impact excludes the effect of IAS 32 and IAS 39 - the Group has elected to take a one-year exemption in implementing these standards as allowed under IFRS. Morrison Plc. Basis of

ZOO Observations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ZOO Observations - Assignment Example It has a lifespan of 15 to 20 years in its natural habitat and more than 20 years when in a controlled environment, for instance, in a zoo. I observed that the patas monkey is a quite animal and one with a great appetite. On its feeding habits, I observed that the monkey ate gluttonously - it fills its cheeks with food. It uses its fingers to feed itself. As a result of its quick feeding habits, the feeding time was very little - 3 minutes that is about 15 percent of the observation time. I also found the Patas monkey to be quite active. After eating, the monkey seemed excited wearing a playful face. It jumped as if it was dancing every often food went its way. I assumed its jumping was a way of soliciting for more food. The jumping was carried out for about a minute or less, that is, about 5 percent of the observation time. It was further observed that the Patas monkey walked on its fingers. I also noted that the monkey had a nice way of resting – it leaned back and put up it s feet. It spent about 5 minutes in this position of relaxing – that is approximately 25 percent of the total time of observation. In the course of resting, I am not sure whether the monkey went to sleep because there are moments when it stayed still. After the sleep and relaxing, the monkey engaged in grooming and being groomed by other monkeys for some time – this was approximately 5 minutes (about 25 percent of the time). The patas monkey also engaged in what seemed like warm up exercises running up and down. I noted that it had an admirably great speed when it was being chased or chased other monkeys. The time spent in running up and down was about 30 percent of the observation time. Bornean orangutan The scientific name for Bornean orangutan is pongo pygmaeus. I found this ape to be bored and much of the observation time was spent not doing much. It took almost fifty percent of the observation time resting. In its resting position, the ape sat upright on the groun d with its hands touching the ground. During my observation time the ape did sleep for roughly two to three minutes – that was about 15 percent of the observation time. When sleeping the ape lay on its back and stretched out its legs and hands. The ape did not seem to be interested in eating anything though it could reluctantly bite once or twice some fruits I threw to it. The ape did walk at some time using its four limbs – the walking style is what we described as terrestrial quadrupedalism in class. The ape did not seem to be in hurry when walking and I guess even if it tried to run it could not or at least it could not run very fast. Unlike the patas monkey which could ran very fast thus can easily evade being caught by its predators, the Bornean orangutan did not seem like one that could be easily intimidated by predators. In the course of the observation, I neither noted any facial expression by the orangutan nor any vocal expressions. The best way to describe th e ape from the observations I made is that it was a solitary animal which did not express its feelings easily and one that seemed to be bored with its environment. It spent a good percentage of the observation time sitting down and strolling around. I must note it was not very interesting observing the Bornean orangutan especially after having a great time with a proactive patas monkey. Western lowland Gorilla The scientific name for the western lowland Gorilla is Gorilla gorilla gorilla. It was interesting watching this animal. It was quite active during the observation time. I also noted that it easily moved about. With the exception of the times when the gorilla sat down for about five minutes, I really did not see it resting. When it was sat, it was not exactly still but went

Free

Free Space Optics Essay ABSTRACT: FSO may sound new and experimental but in fact it predates optical fiber and has its roots in wartime efforts to develop secure communication systems that did not require cable and could withstand radio jamming. FSO has been around for more than a decade, but it is only recently that interest in this technology has started to grow. Free Space Optics (FSO) communications, also called Free Space Photonics (FSP) or Optical Wireless, refers to the transmission of modulated visible or infrared (IR) beams through the atmosphere to obtain optical communications. Like fiber, Free Space Optics (FSO) uses lasers to transmit data, but instead of enclosing the data stream in a glass fiber, it is transmitted through the air. Free Space Optics (FSO) works on the same basic principle as Infrared television remote controls, wireless keyboards or wireless Palm ® devices. How Free Space Optics (FSO) Works Free Space Optics (FSO) transmits invisible, eye-safe light beams from one telescope to another using low power infrared laser in the terahertz spectrum. The beams of light in Free Space Optics (FSO) systems are transmitted by laser light focused on highly sensitive photon detector receivers. These receivers are telescopic lenses able to collect the photon stream and transmit digital data containing a mix of Internet messages, video images, radio signals or computer files. Commercially available systems offer capacities in the range of 100 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps, and demonstration systems report data rates as high as 160 Gbps. Free Space Optics (FSO) systems can function over distances of several kilometers. As long as there is a clear line of sight between the source and the destination, and enough transmitter power, Free Space Optics (FSO) communication is possible. [pic] Free Space optics (fso) technology Lasers are one of the most significant inventions of the 20th century they can be found in many modern products, from CD players to fiber-optic networks. A laser generates light, either visible or infrared, through a process known as stimulated emission. To understand stimulated emission, understanding two basic concepts is necessary. The first is absorption which occurs when an atom absorbs energy or photons. The second is emission which occurs when an atom emits photons. Emission occurs when an atom is in an excited or high energy state and returns to a stable or ground state – when this occurs naturally it is called spontaneous emission because no outside trigger is required. Stimulated emission occurs when an already excited atom is bombarded by yet another photon causing it to release that photon along with the photon which previously excited it. Photons are particles, or more properly quanta, of light and a light beam is made up of what can be thought of as a stream of photons. [pic] A basic laser uses a mirrored chamber or cavity to reflect light waves so they reinforce each other. An excitable substance – gas, liquid, or solid like the original ruby laser – is contained within the cavity and determines the wavelength of the resulting laser beam. Through a process called pumping, energy is introduced to the cavity exciting the atoms within and causing a population inversion. A population inversion is when there are more excited atoms than grounded atoms which then leads to stimulated emission. The released photons oscillate back and forth between the mirrors of the cavity, building energy and causing other atoms to release more photons. One of the mirrors allows some of the released photons to escape the cavity resulting in a laser beam emitting from one end of the cavity. Terrestrial Laser CommunicatIOns Challenges FogFog substantially attenuates visible radiation, and it has a similar affect on the near-infrared wavelengths that are employed in laser communications. Similar to the case of rain attenuation with RF wireless, fog attenuation is not a â€Å"show-stopper† for optical wireless, because the optical link can be engineered such that, for a large fraction of the time, an acceptable power will be received even in the presence of heavy fog. Laser communication systems can be enhanced to yield even greater availabilities by combining them with RF systems. Physical Obstructions Laser communications systems that employ multiple, spatially diverse transmitters and large receive optics will eliminate interference concerns from objects such as birds. Pointing Stability Pointing stability in commercial laser communications systems is achieved by one of two methods. The simpler, less costly method is to widen the beam divergence so that if either end of the link moves the receiver will still be within the beam. The second method is to employ a beam tracking system. While more costly, such systems allow for a tighter beam to be transmitted allowing for higher security and longer distance transmissions. Scintillation Performance of many laser communications systems is adversely affected by scintillation on bright sunny days. Through a large aperture receiver, widely spaced transmitters, finely tuned receive filtering, and automatic gain control, downtime due to scintillation can be avoided. FSO: Wireless, at the Speed of Light Unlike radio and microwave systems, Free Space Optics (FSO) is an optical technology and no spectrum licensing or frequency coordination with other users is required, interference from or to other systems or equipment is not a concern, and the point-to-point laser signal is extremely difficult to intercept, and therefore secure. Data rates comparable to optical fiber transmission can be carried by Free Space Optics (FSO) systems with very low error rates, while the extremely narrow laser beam widths ensure that there is almost no practical limit to the number of separate Free Space Optics (FSO) links that can be installed in a given location. How Free Space Optics (FSO) can help? FSO’s freedom from licensing and regulation translates into ease, speed and low cost of deployment. Since Free Space Optics (FSO) transceivers can transmit and receive through windows, it is possible to mount Free Space Optics (FSO) systems inside buildings, reducing the need to compete for roof space, simplifying wiring and cabling, and permitting Free Space Optics (FSO) equipment to operate in a very favorable environment. The only essential requirement for Free Space Optics (FSO) or optical wireless transmission is line of sight between the two ends of the link. For Metro Area Network (MAN) providers the last mile or even feet can be the most daunting. Free Space Optics (FSO) networks can close this gap and allow new customer’s access to high-speed MAN’s. Providers also can take advantage of the reduced risk of installing an Free Space Optics (FSO) network which can later be redeployed. The Market. Why FSO? Breaking the Bandwidth Bottleneck Why FSO? The global telecommunications network has seen massive expansion over the last few years. First came the tremendous growth of the optical fiber long-haul, wide-area network (WAN), followed by a more recent emphasis on metropolitan area networks (MANs). Meanwhile, local area networks (LANs) and gigabit ethernet ports are being deployed with a comparable growth rate. In order for this tremendous network capacity to be exploited, and for the users to be able to utilize the broad array of new services becoming available, network designers must provide a flexible and cost-effective means for the users to access the telecommunications network. Presently, however, most local loop network connections are limited to 1.5 Mbps (a T1 line). As a consequence, there is a strong need for a high-bandwidth bridge (the â€Å"last mile† or â€Å"first mile†) between the LANs and the MANs or WANs. A recent New York Times article reported that more than 100 million miles of optical fiber was laid around the world in the last two years, as carriers reacted to the Internet phenomenon and end users’ insatiable demand for bandwidth. The sheer scale of connecting whole communities, cities and regions to that fiber optic cable or â€Å"backbone† is something not many players understood well. Despite the huge investment in trenching and optical cable, most of the fiber remains unlit, 80 to 90% of office, commercial and industrial buildings are not connected to fiber, and transport prices are dropping dramatically. Free Space Optics (FSO) systems represent one of the most promising approaches for addressing the emerging broadband access market and its â€Å"last mile† bottleneck. Free Space Optics (FSO) systems offer many features, principal among them being low start-up and operational costs, rapid deployment, and high fiber-like bandwidths due to the optical nature of the technology. Broadband Bandwidth Alternatives Access technologies in general use today include telco-provisioned copper wire, wireless Internet access, broadband RF/microwave, coaxial cable and direct optical fiber connections (fiber to the building; fiber to the home). Telco/PTT telephone networks are still trapped in the old Time Division Multiplex (TDM) based network infrastructure that rations bandwidth to the customer in increments of 1.5 Mbps (T-1) or 2.024 Mbps (E-1). DSL penetration rates have been throttled by slow deployment and the pricing strategies of the PTTs. Cable modem access has had more success in residential markets, but suffers from security and capacity problems, and is generally conditional on the user subscribing to a package of cable TV channels. Wireless Internet access is still slow, and the tiny screen renders it of little appeal for web browsing. Broadband RF/microwave systems have severe limitations and are losing favor. The radio spectrum is a scarce and expensive licensed commodity, sold or leased to the highest bidder, or on a first-come first-served basis, and all too often, simply unavailable due to congestion. As building owners have realized the value of their roof space, the price of roof rights has risen sharply. Furthermore, radio equipment is not inexpensive, the maximum data rates achievable with RF systems are low compared to optical fiber, and communications channels are insecure and subject to interference from and to other systems (a major constraint on the use of radio systems). Advantages A free space optical (FSO) system offers a flexible networking solution that delivers on the promise of broadband. Only free space optics or Free Space Optics (FSO) provides the essential combination of qualities required to bring the traffic to the optical fiber backbone – virtually unlimited bandwidth, low cost, ease and speed of deployment. Freedom from licensing and regulation translates into ease, speed and low cost of deployment. Since Free Space Optics (FSO) optical wireless transceivers can transmit and receive through windows, it is possible to mount Free Space Optics (FSO) systems inside buildings, reducing the need to compete for roof space, simplifying wiring and cabling, and permitting the equipment to operate in a very favorable environment. The only essential for Free Space Optics (FSO) is line of sight between the two ends of the link. âž ¢ Freedom from licensing and regulation leads to ease, speed and low cost of deployment. âž ¢ Since FSO units can receive and transmit through windows it reduces the need to compete for roof space, simplifying wiring and cabling. âž ¢ Only need is the line of sight between the two ends of the link. âž ¢ Providers take advantage of the reduced risk in installing FSO equipment, which can even be re-deployed. âž ¢ Zero chances of network failure. âž ¢ Virtually unlimited bandwidth. APPLICATIONS âž ¢ Metro network extensions – FSO is used to extend existing metropolitan area fiberings to connect new networks from outside. âž ¢ Last mile access – FSO can be used in high-speed links to connect end users with ISPs. âž ¢ Enterprise connectivity The ease in which FSO can be installed makes them a solution for interconnecting LAN segments, housed in buildings separated by public streets. âž ¢ Fiber backup FSO may be deployed in redundant links to backup fiber in place of a second fiber link. âž ¢ Backhaul – Used to carry cellular telephone traffic from antenna towers back to facilities into the public switched telephone networks. Free Space Optics (FSO) Challenges The advantages of free space optical wireless or Free Space Optics (FSO) do not come without some cost. When light is transmitted through optical fiber, transmission integrity is quite predictable – barring unforeseen events such as backhoes or animal interference. When light is transmitted through the air, as with Free Space Optics (FSO) optical wireless systems, it must contend with a complex and not always quantifiable subject the atmosphere. âž ¢ Fog and free space optics (fso) âž ¢ Physical obstructions and free space optics (fso) âž ¢ Free space optics (fso) pointing stability – building sway, tower movemen t âž ¢ Scintillation and free space optics (fso) âž ¢ Solar interference and free space optics CONCLUSION FSO enables optical transmission of voice video and data through air at very high rates. It has key roles to play as primary access medium and backup technology. Driven by the need for high speed local loop connectivity and the cost and the difficulties of deploying fiber, the interest in FSO has certainly picked up dramatically among service providers worldwide. Instead of fiber coaxial systems, fiber laser systems may turn out to be the best way to deliver high data rates to your home. FSO continues to accelerate the vision of all optical networks cost effectively, reliably and quickly with freedom and flexibility of deployment. REFERENCES 1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-space_optical_communication 2)http://www.freespaceoptics.org/freespaceoptics/default.cfm 3) http://www.freespaceoptic.com/

The Interrelation Between Tourism And Terrorism Tourism Essay

The Interrelation Between Tourism And Terrorism Tourism Essay Given that tourism is very fragile to terrorism, and that it has come to dominate or perhaps displace, economy of most courtiers, it is imperative to take a closer look at the interrelation between tourism terrorism to lessen the negative impacts. As indicated in the introduction, the first approach to the studies into relationship between tourism and security incidents focus on diverse but interrelated topics ranging from the nature of such relationship (including types, causes, targets, motives and so forth) to the impact of terrorism on the tourism demands. The overarching objective of this chapter is to review studies with such approach which emerged in the beginning of the 1990s. The chapter begins with a general discussion and overview of the direct and indirect importance of tourism to the national and global economies and proceeds to discuss the susceptibility of tourism industry to rampant crisis. Those terrorism concepts which relates to tourism industry are briefly reviewed. As contribution to literature, a time series analysis approach with yearly aggregated data is presented to show how and to what extent terrorists have targeted tourism since 1968. The rational and motives behind terrorists attack on tourism destination is a crucial area which seeks logically examine relationship between terrorism and tourism. The next section devoted to these significant discussions. Then it would turn to next area of studies or the impact of terrorism as a tourism crisis on the tourism industry. For this purpose the extant research on the impact of terrorism on the tourism industry in several countries will be reviewed. It also considers various determinants of ter rorism acts on the tourism industry. Last but not least, it explores the theories and components of image and perception management. It is also imperative to clarify the definitions of a few repeatedly used terms that there is potential for confusion among them. This chapter also attempt to offer definition and develop empirically derived concept. Importance Despite recent crisis, tourism represent, one of the fastest growing sectors in the world economy. In 1960 the whole tourist arrivals were around 70 million while it rocketed to some 700 million in 2003. According to World Travel and Tourism Council, out of overall world exports, tourism industry is account for 12.2% and provides 8.3% of total jobs (WTTC, 2007: 6). These figures represent direct economic impact of the industry while the indirect impacts estimated to be much larger. The indirect impacts are enormous. For instance; it plays an important role in the development of new cities, societies and provides them with necessary infrastructure and superstructure. What is more, tourism helps the protection of environment by stimulating the creation of national parks for wild life as well as the conservation and preservation of beaches and marine life as a part of tourist products. From cultural point of view, it offers more opportunities for the restoration of old monuments. It als o encourages small industries, souvenirs, handmade art and craft; it improves the standard of living in many societies. Moreover, the tourist spending in the tourist establishment (hotels, restaurants, and transportation) doesnt go totally to them. These establishments need to purchase goods and services from other sectors with local economy (services of builders, accountants, food, and beverage suppliers). Bale (1998) argues that tourism makes much contribution to employment by differentiating between its impact on direct and indirect employments. The contribution of tourism and travel to both industrialized and developing countries is now so great that any downturns in the level of activity in the industry are a cause of concern. The repercussions extend beyond activities directly associated with tourism, notably airlines, hotels and catering, to sectors that supply intermediate or final goods that are purchased by firms and employees in the industry, so that all sectors of the economy are affected to a greater or lesser extent. Adam Blake and M. Thea Sinclair, Tourism Crisis Management: adjusting to a temporary downturn,Sixth Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis, 2002, p. 1. Tourism is important not only to developed nations but to many less developed ones, whose chief resources often come from their visitor attractions. Since no other substitute major natural resources, such as oil or heavy industry is available in such countries, they are heavily reliant on international tourism to generate national income. Although the lack of the necessary infrastructure and communication facilities are often proved to be an obstacle to attract a considerable number of tourists, some less developed countries demonstrated considerable success in attraction of tourists (Harrison 2001). In recent years, tourism has been focus of attentions for its potential to help à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½to the reduction of poverty. UNWTO statistics reveals the growing strength of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½tourism industry for developing countries. International tourism receipts for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½developing countries accounted for a record number of 203 billion US dollar in 1995. According to the UNW TO, tourism is one of the major export sectors of poor countries and a leading source of foreign exchange in 46 of the 49 Least Developed Countries (LDCs). (UNWTO 2007: p 38) Terrorism background and definition Terrorism phenomena across the world is traceable to centuries ago when Jewish patriots, begun to challenge the Roman sovereignty in holy lands (Poland, 1988). In our times it dates back to the latter half of the twentieth century when terrorist attacks came to occupy a central place to in news headlines and it was in 1960s and 1970s that grabbed the attention of the people from all over the world. It was for the first time in world history that so few people managed to put into trouble so many peoples in a quick and effective manner (Sacks, 2004). The attacks against the US on 11th September 2001, and the post-9/11 attacks, including the bombings in Bali, Jakarta, Casablanca, Mombasa, Madrid, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, London, India and other places are prime examples to this. The terrorism attacks have been of importance to tourism industry as the tourism destination turn out to a prime target of terrorist attacks. Despite the omnipresence of terrorism attacks in the world today, there has been little consensus among scholars of terrorism studies over the concept. There are several reasons why terrorism is difficult to define (Cronin 2002). Firstly, labelling an action as terrorism or a group as terrorist is hardly free from ideological or political partiality (Moxon-Browne, 1994). In addition, most definitions are very flawed. Over time particularly when they come to power, the terrorism groups may recognized as a legitimate government. A prime example is Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress in South Africa. Another source of ambiguity in the definition lay in differing perception of what terrorism as it means different things to different governments and different scholars. To better define the terrorism it is important to set apart terrorism from crime-related acts. Tarlow (2001) lists the differences between acts of crimes and terrorism. He argued that dealing with criminal acts requires well trained police forces while terrorism is more war like in nature which can not cope with police actions alone. Rather it needs cooperation between all stakeholders in question. In addition, the goals of terrorist are destruction through victimization and seek publicity and mass economic destructions with added bonus of loss of life. Table 1.1 Key Difference between Acts of Tourism Crime and Terrorism Crime Terrorism Goal Usually economic or social gain To gain publicity and sometimes sympathy for a cause. Usual type of victim Person may be known to the perpetrator or selected because he/she may yield economic gain Killing is random and appears to be more in line with a stochastic model. Numbers may or may not be important Defenses in use Often reactive, reports taken Some pro-active devices such as radar detectors Political ideology Usually none Robin Hood model Publicity Usually local and rarely makes the international news Almost always is broadcast around the world Most common forms in tourism industry are: Crimes of distraction Robbery Sexual Assault Domestic terrorism International terrorism Bombings Potential for bio-chemical warfare Statistical accuracy Often very low, in many cases the travel and tourism industry does everything possible to hide the information Almost impossible to hide. Numbers are reported with great accuracy and repeated often Length of negative effects on the local tourism industry In most cases, it is short term In most cases, it is long term unless replaced by new positive image Source: Tarlow (2001: 134-135) Since the extent to which terrorism challenges governments and threatens civilian populations differs considerably, it is possible to constitute a typology based on which we can compare different types of terrorism. One approach is to differentiate between domestic restricted to the borders of one country and international consist of the citizens of more than one country terrorism. However, this distinction is proved to be perplexing in practice as most terrorist groups have links to abroad. (Chalk 1996) A more elaborate typology categorizes groups in terms of their primary motivations. Based upon such criteria, Peters (2002) classified terrorists into two broad categories: the practical terrorist and the apocalyp ­tic terrorist. The demand of practical terrorists is restricted to recreation of a state and society without destruction of the whole society, what its followers have in mind is to eradicate what they see as a political evil. A prime example of such terrorism is anti-abo rtion terrorists in United State. Apocalyptic terrorists are very different. Their ultimate goal is to destroy completely the current worlds and build up a new order from the outset. Table 1.2 summarizes the main feature of each approach. Table 1.2 Differences between Practical and Apocalyptic Terrorists Practical Terrorist Apocalyptic Terrorist Mental state Hopes to change a policy through violence Victim of self-rage and anger Time frame for success This world oriented Next world oriented Attitude toward religion Tends toward secularization Tends toward religious mystical experiences Suicide Rarely suicidal, not a key goal Highly suicidal; suicide is a means to a greater end Goal Recreation of state or policy Annihilation of the state, or people Willingness to use WMDs Limited use of chemical Biological or nuclear Value of human life Low Nonexistent Source: Peters (2002) p.86 Regardless of these ambiguities, it is imperative to offer a working definition. For the purposes of this research, the terrorism defined as the calculated threat or use of violence designed to create an overwhelming fear in a larger target population, perpetuated by individuals, sub-national groups, or state actors to attain political, social, or economic objectives. (Alexander, 2002) take the original article http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/9/8/4/7/pages98470/p98470-3.php (GETTING IT RIGHT: Understanding Effective Counter-Terrorism Strategies) The records of terrorism attacks on tourism targets Tourism and terrorism has always been inevitably interwoven. Over the last 30 years tourist industry have been key targets for terrorists attacks. The terrorists believed that they have been very successful in accomplishing their goals through terrorism attacks to tourism destinations. As international terrorism augmented by September 11, 2001 attacks on US targets by al Qaida, its inevitable effects on tourism became the subject of serious concern (Sabasteanski, 2005). Paraskevas and Arendells (2007) list of pos-9/11 truism destinations and tourist targets attacked by terrorists up to September 2006 include more than 18 incidents. As such, Mitroff (2005) is right to state that it is no longer a question of if terrorists will strike but rather a question of when, how and how prepared the destination is to deal with them. The records of terrorist incident on the tourism industry between 01/01/1968 and 07/20/2007 indicate that tourists have been target of 261 out of 33817 terrorist acc idents. (Figure 1) This accidents account for 676 tourists loss of lives and 1875 injury (Figure 2 and 3). Figure1.1 International Terrorism, 1968-2007, Number of Incidents Source: US Department of State (various years) and RAND series Figure1.2 International Terrorism, 1968-2007, Number of Deaths Source: US Department of State (various years) and RAND series Figure1.3 International Terrorism, 1968-2007, Number of Injuries Source: US Department of State (various years) and RAND series The targeted list of terrorist attacks varies. The 1960s and 1970s was the time of plane hijackings. Consequently, the terrorist targeted the tourism destination initially through plane hijackings in the time. In the 1960s, hijackings were often from the U.S. to Cuba with no intention to harm pas ­sengers. However, in the 1970s, the purpose of terrorists actions was the loss of life plus damage to the property. Thus we witnessed the more severe actions from them. During the 1970s, the Munich Olympic Games became the focus of one of the most notorious terrorist attacks and set a new standard for terrorism at major world events. In the consequent years, the targeted list encompassed a variety of sites including, airlines, cruise ships, buses, restaurants and cafes, events and festivals, or sporting or cultural institutions, wherever people get together for leisure or any other purpose. In the beginning of 90s, a significant number of terrorists incidents occurred at tourist destinati ons, while in the recent years we witnessed a shift in the targets of terrorism accidents (Mansfeld and Pizam, 2006). (Figure 4) Figure1.4 International Terrorism, 1968-2007, Incidents by Targets, Compare Tourists to other Targets Source: US Department of State (various years) and RAND series Terrorists motives Tourism scholars argued that understanding terrorist motive may shed light on the relationship between terrorism and tourism (Sonmez, 1997). As such they have sought to explain the motive behind the terrorist activities regarding the tourism destination. To date, there is no consensus among scholars on their explanation of terrorist objectives, however almost all agree that terrorists have much to gain by targeting tourists. In their influential work on terrorism and tourism Sonmez, Apostolopoulos, and Tarlow (1999: 85) noted that tourism destinations offer a cost-effective instrument to deliver a broader message of ideological/political opposition. They placed the terrorists objective in two main groups: strategic objectives and ideological objectives. With respect to strategic objectives, they maintained that terrorists tend to accomplish some goals that can be found only in tourism destinations. These goals include mass casualties, mass publicity and great economic damage. As discussed earlier, tourism is lucrative business interconnected with several other industries; thus an attack on the tourism industry would affect considerably a number of secondary industries as well. What is more, tourism officials have often avoided taking tough steps to stop terrorism because such measures often result in frightening the potential customers. As such the tourism destinations have seen as an easy target for terrorism attacks. Tourism destinations also are visited by a regular flow of new people, thus terrorists are hardly suspected. In other words, terrorists can easily disguise their identity in the tourism destinations. Tourism industry is also a sensitive area to media especially when nationals of other countries are engaged it will rec eive massive coverage from international media and at the same time it bypass their governments censorship. (Weimann and Winn 1994: 143) The ideological objectives are more complex ones encompassing clashing values, cultures, or socioeconomic levels. Such motives push the terrorists to target the tourists for their symbolic value as proxy of larger group or apparently their governments. In his discussion of terrorism in Egypt, Aziz (1995) put into question a widely accepted notion that Islam is simply against foreign tourists. According to Aziz, tourists differs from and locals by many cultural and social gaps. Following Richters he argue that since travel styles can be representative of ideological values, class behavior, and political culture of tourists and their countries, tourists may be targeted because of their tourism styles which may dem ­onstrate conspicuous consumption (i.e., demonstration of money or credit cards; flashy photography equipment; expensive clothes, jewelry, and luggage). The clash of cultures and values between locals and travelers can also account for motives. Certain tourist behaviors (i. e., consumption of pork and alcohol; gambling; Western dress; codes of behavior incongruent with Islamic tradition) oppose to Islamic cultural values-are also suggested as a possible explanation for the Egyptians frus ­tration (Aziz 1995). Wahab (1996) stated that sometimes terrorism specifically targets tourism because it is seen as a movement of visitors representing a form of neo-colonialism or a threat to well-established societal norms, traditions, value-systems, and religious convictions. The impact of terrorist attack to tourism industry The impact of terrorism on a states economy may be enormous, leading to unemployment, homelessness, deflation, crime and other economic and social ills (Laurance, 2003:2) Previous studies based on the accumulate evidence throughout the world shows that the impact of terrorists attacks on tourism industry, destination, the local community, the tourists are in the most cases negative and resulted in decline in tourism demands. Such incidents paralysed or severely impacted the local tourism industry as result of trip cancellation and the inclination of passengers of booking to safer alternative destinations. These events have resulted in major drops in tourism demand, for example we witnessed the loss of more than a million arrivals from the United States to Europe in 1986 down 23% from 1985 because of December 1985 Palestinian terrorists attacks in airports in Rome and Vienna and the 1986 hijacking of TWA flight. (Brady and Widdows, 1988: 8; Hurley, 1988; Conant et al, 1988) The following is copied from: Effects of News Shock on Inbound Tourist Demand Volatility in Korea http://jtr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/44/4/457.pdf Blake and Sinclair (2003) explored the effects of the September 11 terrorist attack in the United States using a computable general equilibrium model. In their study, they reported the percentage decreases in the number of visits during September 2001 compared to the previous 12 months were 34% for domestic and 23% for international travel. Baron analysed monthly tourism figures to measure the effect of terrorism on tourism in Israel, Spain, Egypt and turkey. For instance, the analysis indicated that ongoing terrorism cost Israel approximately 332000 visitors from North America between Spring of 1985 to the end of 1987, at a cost of around 54 million U.S. Dollars (). Others have also reported reductions in tourist arrival and receipts in the periods following terrorist action in, for example, Israel (Pizam 1999), Egypt (Wahab, 1996) and Northern Ireland (Pizam, l999; Wall, 1996). In addition to quantifying the reduction in the number of visitors to destinations affected by terrorism, studies have also assessed the duration of this impact. Using newspaper reports of terrorism world-wide between 1985 and 1998 Pizam and Smith (2000), found that 79% of media reported terrorist incidents were associated with a significant decline in tourism, and that the effect lasted between one and six months. Enders and Sandler (1991) estimated that an average terrorist incident in Spain in the period between 1970 and 1988 resulted in a decrease of approximately 140,000 visitors. However, the decline did not start until three months after the incident, and took around two years for visitor numbers to stabilize at a le just below that prior to the incident. A somewhat longer delay was observed tourism to Greece and Italy, where it was between six and nine months after terrorist attack before tourism figures started to decrease (Enders et al., 1992). Pizam and Smith (2000) argue that observed time delays in the deterrent effect of terrorist action might be because travelers would u sually forfeit the costs of the travel if they were to cancel at short notice. In addition to the effects of terrorism on tourism over time, research has also examined whether the deterrent effect is limited just to the country targeted by the terrorists or whether it extends to other destinations. Enders et al., (1992) identified a generalized deterrent effect of terrorism in certain European countries on tourism throughout Continental Europe during the 1970s and 1980s. They also identified that terrorism in France did not specifically impact French tourism, but that it did contribute to lost revenues for continental Europe as a whole, suggesting that the deterrence was generalized to the whole continent. However, it is not clear why there was not any reduction in visitors to France. Similarly, Richter and Waugh (1936) state that tourism to Switzerland was adversely affected by terrorism in France, Italy and Austria. The determinants of terrorist attacks to tourism industry The scholars identified diverse variables determining the impacts of terrorism on the tourism industry and the ability of countries to recover quickly. However they failed to offer any integrated empirical or theoretical frameworks for the casual relationship between these variables. Still, almost all studies refer to tourism demand drop as a proxy for tourism industry suffering. Santana (1997) developed a model, which bring together the psychological and demographic factors that tend to influence the attitude to international travel (or destination image) referred to as deterrence (or drop in demand) in the light of threat from terrorism. He identified the psychological factors as Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS), Experience Seeking (ES), attitude to international travel (AIT), risk perception of political hazards and risk perception of physical hazards. The socialization factors of age, gender and travel experience are included in the model as well. Figure1.3 casual relationship among determinants of terrorists attacks to tourism industry TAS Gender ES Deterrence Age AIT Political Hazards Travel Experience Physical Hazards Source: Santana (1997), p. 457 To find out which certain acts of terrorism has more determining impact on tourism demand than others, Pizam and Smith (2000) identified a variety of characteristics of terrorism activities including frequencies, locations, severity and motives. They also took into account destination image and mass media as two important intervening which suppose to impact the tourism demand over the security incidents. Elsewhere Pizam (1997) have maintained that the impact of terrorism attacks on tourism industry varys by its severity of the event and the frequency of occurrence. He noted that: acts resulting in mass destruction of life and property followed by loss of life and bodily harm have the strongest effect on tourism demand. . . . Acts resulting in loss of property only have the lowest effect on tourism demand. . . . All else being equal, acts occurring more frequently will have a more intense, widespread and lengthy effect on tourism demand than those occurring less frequently (Pizam, 1997: 11). Tarlow(2006) argues that in the last decades there does not seem to be a rela ­tionship between a locales base population size and the act of terrorism. As such, ter ­rorism has targeted both rural and urban settings (Mansfeld and Pizam, 2006:17). Discussing on risk evaluation, Walker and Page, (2003) has demonstrated the interrelationship between severity and frequency of incident on a graph. As they indicated there is a direct correlation between frequency of problems and its severity. As such the minor incidents happens more frequent than the severe ones like terrorism. Figure 1.4 The Tourist Health and Safety Continuum: Severity and Frequency of Incidents Source: Walker and Page, 2003, page 222 Image and Perception management Terrorism attacks on tourism destination have not always left an enduring impact on the tourism industry. Yet, the comparative evidence show that soon after the event receives the international coverage, the information it conveys will be result in negative image among potential tourists and this in turn lead to cancelation their travel and /or choosing to book a more secure place. (Mansfeld and Pizam, 2005) Therefore, the host countries tend to take necessary measures to lessen the negative images by conveying correct, impartial and market oriented messages. Lepp and Gibson (2003) referred to four key authorities responsible for disseminating such information à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Security and risk information issued and communicated by governmental agencies in the generating markets (in the form of travel advisories); à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The global and local mass media; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Governmental tourism organizations in the affected receiving destination; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The travel industry in the generating markets (Lepp and Gibson, 2003). Since discussing on all aspects of the topic will be beyond of the scope of the research I only explore the destination image and the role of media. 4.6.1 The Concept of Image (Tourism Events thesis) pp 57 An image is a concept that is hard to understand. It has both vague and shifting meanings and used in a variety of contexts and disciplines, thereby creating different meanings. The definition for tourist destination image that is most commonly cited is that by Crompton (1979, in Jenkins, 1999): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that a person has of a destination. (p. 18) Many authors have also defined tourism image of a destination as the mental portrayal of a destination (Alhemoud Armstrong, 1996; Kotler, et al., 1993, in Erfurt et al., 2003). The image of a destination is a crucial factor in a tourists destination choice process (Jenkins, 1999) and according to Mercer (1971, in Mossberg, 2000) the initial image formation stage is the most important phase in the buying process when selection a destination. Only the destinations the individual is aware of will be considered in the destination selection process and this awareness implies an image of the destination (Mossberg, 2000). Furthermore, according to Fakey and Crompton (1991) only destinations with positive images can be expected to prosper, while those with less favourable images may never achieve their fullest tourism potential. Destination image To make decision on where to go or choosing the one destination over another by potential travellers has long been of great significant to academics and tourist stakeholders. The existing literature suggested that destination choices are influenced and conditioned by both internal (such as images, perceptions, motives, attitudes, and beliefs) and external factors (i.e., time, destination attributes, perceived costs of tourism product, buyer characteristics, and benefits sought). Image among other factors received more attentions as a deciding factor in choosing on destination. Thus the scholars employed the concept of destination image to describe this determining factor. Bojanic (1991: p) defined country destination image as the impressions that a person or persons hold about a country in which they do not reside. Similarly Crompton Crompton (1979: 18, in Jenkins, 1999) noted: destination image is the sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has of a destination. Due to its importance, destination image has come to consider as a dependent variable in the consequent studies and the scholars attempted to identify the determinants that define, modify, and strengthen this construct. For instance, Hall and OSullivan (1996) identified three basic elements creating a destination image (a) Returning tourists via verbal reporting, (b) the role of Media in making image and (c) Overall policies of the host government. The scholars are on consensus that the destinations with strong, positive images are more likely to be considered and chosen in the destination selection process. In contrast, they argue that the perceptions held by visitors about potential crisis in the tourist destination have significant influences upon the tourism demand. However, there exist little if any, clearly defined conceptual base for destination image studies, especially the ones investigating causality between destination image and negative events. Seddighi and his colleagues (2000) developed a framework for the examination of perceived impact of political instability on tourism. As illustrated in figure 1.5 a synthesis of information flow which comes from the above mentioned elements of destination image creation (i.e., word of mouth, media, and government policies) is account for the perceptions of potential travellers. This information is in turn manipulated by Prospective Holidaymakers and Tourism Generating Region through a process of the determination of the perceptual pattern/image for a particular tourism destination. The destination choice therefore is reliant on the extent to which the perceptual patterns of holidaymakers towards the destination are positive or negative. Figure 1.5 Perceived impact of political instability on tourism Source: Seddighi et al., (2000 ), p.182 Since the tourists do not spare time to check the reality behind the received images, these images become highly biased and distorted. Due to frequent hostilities that have originated from the Arab-Israeli conflict, Israels high-risk tourism image has prevailed. The struggle to reverse this image has been extremely frustrating, involving simultaneous confrontation between government agencies, tourism operators, and the media. Media Almost no researches disagree on that intensive mass media coverage of security incidents results in the drop of tourists arrivals in affected destinations (Mansfeld and Pizam, 2006:17). They widely accepted that it is the media that give the event more or less significance by different interpretation. Therefore in many cases the news media tends to distort the actual security situation and to exaggerate the risk involved in traveling to affected destinations. In addition, the media reports often is not merely limited to exact report of what happened but also act as an advisor by interpreting the risk involved i

Classical vs. Keynes Essay -- essays papers

Classical vs. Keynes The Classical model of the economy says that all markets always clear. The labor market failing to clear does not exist in the Classical model because of competitive exchange equilibrium in which prices and quantities always adjust perfectly. The Classical model is of a closed economy and the variables are real output, employment, real and nominal wages, the price level, and the rate of interest. It is easier to understand the classical model using five diagrams that are numbered one through five in Appendix One, The Classical Model. These diagrams represent the separate parts of the model that together illustrate, for the most part, the entire Classical model. Diagram one represents the production function, which shows the assumption that real output, y, is determined by the level of employment, N. So y is a function of N and from the slope of the function we can see that output rises as employment is increased. But there is a diminishing marginal productivity of labor, which m eans that each time employment increases, the increase in output will get smaller and smaller. Diagram one illustrates the relationship between output and employment in the short run, but does not determine the level of output or the level of employment. But when used together with other diagrams of the model, diagram one can be used to figure these things out. Diagram two is the labor market with the real wage, w, on the vertical axis and employment, N, on the horizontal axis. In the classical model, the supply of labor depends upon the real-wage level because as the real wage rises, more people are willing to work. The line SN represents the labor supply function and the line DN represents the demand for labor. As the real wage increases so does the labor supply function, but as the labor supply function increases, the demand for labor decreases. Because the Classical model makes real wages perfectly flexible and allows it to adjust to the level that clears the labor market, the real wage and the level of employment can be figured out by using diagram two. Once given the level of employment determined from diagram two, it is possible to use diagram one to figure out the level of output. So diagrams one and two, also know as the real sector, can be used to determine employment, real output, and the real wage without any knowledge of the monetary... ...se in bond prices. The decrease in interest rate causes an increase in investment and then this causes an increase in aggregate demand, which then causes income and employment to increase. This can be seen in diagram four, and then because of the increase in income, going back to graph three, we can see that this would cause an increase in consumption. From diagram five, we can see because of the increase in employment that this would cause a decrease in real wages. The decrease in real wages would then cause involuntary unemployment to decrease. Because of the different effects that money has on the economy in these models, they arrive at different conclusions. The Classical economy seems to be in favor of no policy since everything works itself out and ends up in equilibrium since all the markets clear. The opposite is true for the Keynes model, where they are in favor of government intervention since it is not inherently self-regulating and the markets do not clear. The Keynes model needs a little help from the government, or the central bank, to achieve equilibrium, where as the Classical model, assuming all assumptions were realistic, is self-regulating and all markets clear.

Redefining The American Dream :: Philosophy Psychology Essays

Redefining The American Dream Consumption patterns portray the dynamic effect of the American Dream. The American Dream today is significantly different that it was fifty years ago. Today Americans work longer work hours, spend 40% more time watching T.V and 40% less time with their children (AGO 2001). â€Å"The avarice of mankind is insatiable,† claimed Aristotle when describing how the appetite of mankind is never satisfied (Durning). As every desire is satisfied a new one rises up to take its place (Durning). This is true for all people; we want more money, a better job, a new car, better benefits, on and on until suddenly it is clear that we have wasted our lives in search of something that actually never made us happy. A wise woman always told me â€Å"never have any expectations and you will always be pleasantly surprised†, the same holds true for consumption. Imagine a world where consumption was an addiction similar to alcohol or drugs. Over consuming is a crime punishable with jail time and â€Å"Consumer Anonymous† rehabilitation meetings. This was the world we attempted to portray during our brief â€Å"Consumers Anonymous† meeting. The opposite is currently happening, the economy expanded 4% between the first quarter of 1998 and 1999 (Krugman 1999). Consumption grew 5.5% during that period (Krugman 1999) . When the economy toke a down turn after President Bush was elected into office, the federal government urged Americans to â€Å"do their part† by spending. The average savings in the United States during 1970 was 8.5%, which has plummeted to an obscene low of 2.1% in 1997 by 1998 savings dropped even further to less than 0.5% (SLI). The lowest saving rate ever witnessed was in 1933 during the great depression at a –2.1% (SLI). By 1997 the total debt of U.S. households had reached 89% of the total household income (ecocompass 2000). The United States has less than 5% of the world’s population however; Americans consume 24% of the world’s energy, 27% of the world’s aluminum and 21% of the world’s beef (SLI). The big shocker is with all of this consumption the happiness levels are not raising (SLI).

Administrative Theories of Management Essay

Henri Fayol a French industrialist has wrote a book title Administration Industrialle et Generalle in 1916 , according to his book theories about management he thought could be applied to the management of any organization with administrative responsibilities. Fayol identified five function which is still used today to all management activities , they were planning , organizing , commanding , coordinating and controlling . Fayol gives 14 principle of management : 1.Division of work According to Fayol , specialization increases output by making employees more efficient. Most of the employee may be able to deal with each item work that given to them if work is divided according to their skill and technical expertise . See more: My Writing Process Essay 2.Authority Fayol defined authority as ‘the right to give orders and the power to exact obedience.’ That means , managers must be able to give order to the employees . Along with it , the responsibility will goes on. 3.Discipline Discipline is an essential for the smooth running of business which is without it an enterprise or organization is unable to prosper. An employees must obey and respect the rules that are state by the organization . 4.Unity of Command An employee should receive orders from one superior only . Fayol regarded having ‘dual command’ is leading to uncertainty and hesitation on the part of subordinates and will make conflict between managers. 5.Unity of direction ‘One head and one plan for a group having the same objective.’ that mean the organization should have a single plan of action to guide managers and workers . 6.Subordination of individual interest to the general interest There should be no conflict of interest between individual ambition and the well-being of the organization as a whole. This principle requires a firm but fair hand from superiors who should set a good example. 7.Remuneration Workers must be paid a fair wage for their services . Fayol looked for some basic principles in the method of payment such is it shall assure fair remuneration , encourage keenness by rewarding well-directed effort and not lead to over-payment going beyond reasonable limits. 8.Centralization Fayol considered that an element of centralization must always be present which is each subordinate are involved in decision making. 9.Scalar Chain It is also known as line of authority . The unity of command can lead to excessively chains of authority which hinder communication. Hierarchic organizations regularly insisted that departments communicated with each other only through their heads. 10.Order For Fayol, people and materials should be in the right place at the right time . This presupposed the resolution of ‘the two most difficult managerial activities: good organization and good selection.’ He saw the basic problem as the balancing of an organization’s requirements with its resources. 11.Equity Managers should be kind and fair to their subordinate and treated them equally in order to obtain commitment from them . 12.Stability of tenure of personnel A management should provide orderly personnel planning and ensure that replacements are available to fill vacancies because employees need a period of stability in a job to deliver of their best. 13.Initiative Fayol cautions managers against the personal vanity which prevents their employees from allowing to think through a problem and implement a solution rewarding experience which increases motivation and high levels of effort. This meant , employees are allowed to originate and carry out their plans for the organization. 14.Esprit de corps. ‘Dividing enemy forces to weaken them is clever, but dividing one’s own team is a grave sin against the business.’ It is saying about promoting team spirit will build harmony and unity within the organization.