Problems of identity in the modern middle east Essay

Problems of identity in the modern middle east - Essay Example lt, the existence of such evidences is considered a rarity and must be evaluated for its authenticity, credibility, and basis for furthering assimilation knowledge. Rifa’a Rafi’ al-Tahtawis An Imam in Paris is one such document which is considered to be a comprehensive record of European society observed and narrated by an Arab. It is a descriptive narrative of the Middle Eastern scholars view of the West which has been used by many for the basis of constructing modern Egyptian collective memory. In the following report the researcher shall investigate how effective has al-Tahtawis An Imam in Paris been in endorsing collective memory of Egyptians, and its endorsement of Egyptian modern identity. The report shall explore how al-Tahtawis knowledge has helped Egyptians in streamlining and coming to terms with the Western culture through education, intellectual leadership and collective memory. During the early 19th century Muhammad Ali, an Egyptian ruler was motivated by the knowledge of its influential neighbor Europe and its impact on the world. Muhammad Ali devised a program for sending students to France or Italy to bring back Western knowledge to the Egyptian community. Muhammad Alis mission was to assimilate the knowledge fields, language, logic and arithmetic of the West to the East (particularly Egypt) to better comprehend European society. He was of the view that adaptation to European civilization would benefit the 19th century Muslims in becoming more intelligent in worldly history, and streamline their own perspective of the same. Among those who went on the mission to Paris, Rifaa Rafi al-Tahtawi was perhaps the most knowledgeable, who benefitted from the program, which was evident from his book or record of the French state (al-Tahtawi 32). From his description of the French state, al-Tahtawi learned much from the studies, discussion and knowledge gained from reading of the various fields. Al-Tahtawi describes the French as a modern state, with

Matrix Essay Example for Free

Matrix Essay Paradoxical Hero In the movie The Matrix, the main character, Neo or Mr. Anderson, is liberated from his role as a slave to sentient machines by Morpheus, Neo’s supporter and leader, who later tells him the truth that, â€Å"the Matrix is everywhere†, functioning like an ideology. Morpheus tells Neo that, The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when youre inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it. (Matrix) Morpheus goes on to satisfy Neo’s doubts by reminding him of the feelings he had within the Matrix that, â€Å"theres something wrong with the world, [†¦] like a splinter in [the] mind, driving [one] mad†. Neo, is distraught to the notion that the world he knew is a fabricated lie or â€Å"Camera Obscura,† mirroring a past world created by sentient machines in order to use his body heat for energy, in the post apocalyptic world of the late 22nd Century (Marx168). After Neo accepts the reality of his situation Morpheus then tells him that he is the â€Å"one†, or the individual who has the ability to defeat the machines and free humanity. Neo prematurely denies this title yet slowly acknowledges the concept of the Matrix and his connection to it but becomes painfully aware that, â€Å"there is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path(Matrix). Neo later accepts the role of the â€Å"one† and begins to display the qualities of a hero, with respect to his ability to alter the Matrix, but in his promise to save humanity some problems arise when one realizes the magnitude of the duty that is upon him. Though the character of Neo may not be seen as a heroic figure, because of his lack of power to change the mode of production and division of labor with regards to the â€Å"real† world, those are blinded by Karl Marx’s definition of revolution and choosing to ignore how it applies to Neo’s ability with such a fragile situation where the sudden realization of alienation among enslaved humans could bring either hope or despair. The Matrix â€Å"is a ‘representation’ of the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real condition of existence,† for the illusion of the Matrix is a mirror to the real world of the ‘pod’ person’s, i. . slaves of the machine, existence (Althusser53). Within the Matrix there is no escape for, â€Å"the Matrix is the world that has been pulled over [ones] eyes to blind [one] from the truth† that the real existence of those living within the Matrix are slaves. The Matrix and â€Å"real† world are corollaries of each other, for in both you are a slave to the machine, whether it is physical or ideological. In the Matrix you are subject to the ISA’s (Ideological State Apparatus) or the culmination of contrived social influences on ones life e. g. family, the media, religious organization and etc. while in the â€Å"real† world you are subject to the RSA (Repressive State Apparatus) or the machines who control and monitor ones existence (Althusser). Both the ISA and RSA in the film, The Matrix, use ideology and repression, though one more than the other, to mask the identify of those it is controlling by obscuring the inverted mode of production and division of labor as slaves. In Neo’s last speech to the machines he says, Im going to show these people what you dont want them to see. Im going to show them a world †¦ without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries; a world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you. (Matrix) The contradiction in his motives arises from the reality of humanities dependence on machines for, â€Å"throughout human history, [humans] have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony†(Matrix). So the problem appears as to how Neo is going to change the way people create their physical existence if the rest of humanity is dependent on the slave’s byproduct of heat to support the machines.

History of the Navajo People Essay -- Native American Indian Tribe

History of the Navajo People The people who were going to become the Navajo tribe settled in what would be the mountains of New Mexico in or around the 1600's. Prior to that time the area was the home of the Anasazi (The Ancient Ones.) The Anasazi had lived there for approximately 1200 years but, for unexplained reasons, they abandoned their highly developed dwellings and moved westward and southward. A new group of people, the Athapascans, migrated from what are now Canada, Alaska, and the American Northwest southward to settle in the Southwest of America. Some of this group of Southern Athapascans settled the mountainous region of New Mexico and came to be known as the Navajos, or as they prefer to be called, Dine (the People.) Other Athapascans continued moving southward and settled in Arizona where they became known as the Apache Tribe. In the 1600's the Spanish began to intrude on the Pueblo Indians of Arizona; the hostility thus gradually spread northward to involve the Navajos. In 1680 the Pueblos revolted against these European invaders and succeeded in temporarily stopping their suppression. At this time many Pueblos moved northward to join Navajo settlements. The Navajo then began to adopt the Pueblo agricultural, sheep raising and weaving methods that are still evident today. The Navajo adapted well to the new farming methods but continued their warlike behavior of raiding Spanish settlements as well as those of their Hopi, Pueblo and Zuni neighbors. A major defeat for the Navajos occurred in Canyon de Muertes in 1804 when a group of Navajos confronted a party of Spanish horsemen. The Indians were trapped on a ledge of the canyon with Spanish soldiers armed with rifles above and below them; all but one of the Navajo were killed. In 1848, after the Mexican War, the U.S. began to send troops and settlers into the area of New Mexico. As happened with so many of the tribes throughout the U.S., the government and white settlers eventually confiscated the Navajo's land. During the 1850's and 1860's the U.S. Army built Fort Defiance within the heart of the Navajo land. The horses, mules and cattle raised by the whites competed with the Indians' sheep for scarce grazing lands. When the Navajo complained of this, the commandant of the fort sent soldiers who slaughtered large numbers of the Indians' livestock. In response to this complaint... ... Navajo reservation, woven baskets gave way to ceramic and metal containers, and basket weaving fell into steep decline. Peach baskets have become virtually extinct, and pitch covered and ceremonial baskets were becoming increasingly rare. The Navajo had beautiful silver things too. One such thing is a silver bird pendant. Clothing for both men and women initially was deerskin for shirts and skirts. The men later wore cotton or velvet shirts with no collars, breeches below the knee, and moccasins. Women gradually wore the "squaw dress", made of plain dark blankets. A Navaho house is called a Hogan and is made of logs, brush, and earth. Summerhouses are also utilized and made of brush with a windbreak. They also grew corn as their main food source. They called it maize. Corn was an essential part of the Navajo nation. For many years farming has been a large part of the Navajo way of life. It was used to supply food. It also had many ceremonies that went along with it. In conclusion, the history of the Navajo, the culture of the Navajo, and the art and tradition of these people has been discussed. The Navajo were one of the greatest tribes of the Southwest.

American Agricultural Family History

The Family in History as we would hear perhaps from old folks who are still living in some rural areas is a picture of husband and wife and kids living simply outside urban area. According to Arlene Skolnick, â€Å"throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, well over 90 percent of the American family lived in small rural communities† (Skolnick 79) and every one is busy as all members of the family work be it in the farm, or in a shop, or maybe in the home.In Skolnick’s comparative study of the families then and now, she only noticed slight difference and this is in terms of size of family members. She noted that a â€Å"typical house hold in the 1790 included about 5. 6 members compared to about 3. 5 today† (Skolnick 79). During this period, married women were usually home maker specially those who belong to middle class family, but poor married young women and widows worked in the factories. Mara Dunleavy noted that during the early 1800s adult female role include the responsibility to have children and to care for them.She also had to take care of the house under her husband’s supervision. Also, she is expected by her husband in farm or garden labor. The husband on the other hand is responsible for the financial needs of the family. During this period, most men had farm or were working as farm laborers or what ever skill that got them employed. The husbands were also responsible to support and defend his family, and are expected to be strong, independent and reliable. They were to work in the field and to market his farm product.The married women role of running the household and to care for children were indeed a full time job as it also includes cleaning the house, preparing and cooking the foods, bottling and canning the produce of the farm, and provides for all the need of the husband and the children as well. Children had also their own role. They were taught these roles at their young age particularly how to farm for the boys an d how they could provide for in their families in the future. Children were also sent to school and were taught the basic academic subject as higher education was available during this time.Girls on the other hand, were taught the household chores and some basic education, but higher educations were not available for women until 1837. Dunleavy pointed out that even when higher education were opened for women in 1837 but it only offered limited degree not enough to provide them career alternatives, rather they were taught how to be a good wives and mothers. Arlene Skolnick pointed out that â€Å"differences between the American family in colonial times and today are not at all stark; the similarities are striking† (Skolnick 79).But these similarities could maybe only apply in the social climate of both periods. Indeed there is a striking contrasts in the roles those men, women and children that they are now doing and the roles that family members had assumed during the colonia l times. How Have Things Change Skolnick noted that during the civil war period American attitudes toward the family had profoundly changed. The reason for this is the gradual transformation of America into an urban, industrial society during the early decade of the 19th century.Skolnick further noted that in 1820, â€Å"less than eight percent of the population lived in cities but by 1860 it rose to twenty percent and by 1900, that figure had doubled. But the benefit of industrialization did not immediately affect the structure of the family† (Skolnick 80) However, there was a decline in the size of the family though most of the social condition remained about the same. But the industrialization had a lasting effect on the family as the whole members don’t have to work as independent workers. Men can work in the offices and factories while wives concentrate in the house to take care of the children now going to school.Mara Dunleavy contends that during the twentieth c entury, women’s role gradually moved into male dominated labor force and the home became a meeting place mainly for the family to gather together. According to Clarence Roberts, during the industrial revolution period men worked too far from their home and were usually tucked away in offices or factories (Roberts). Men became the bread winner to a great extent of the family while women left in charge of the children and the home. Roberts pointed out that this was thought to have helped destroy the equalitarian position of women in the family.During this period too, Roberts noted that children could now help earn for their families as they could work in factories even with out the approval of their elders. Roberts further noted that home training and instruction was now replace by formal education in public school and work in the factories. Dunleavy pointed out in his article published on line entitled â€Å"How Changing Sex Roles Have Affected the Family Unity in the United Stated,† that during the World War II there was a large shortage of men. Because of this shortage, women took the vacancies as men were sent abroad to join the war.Women took active roles in the male dominated work traditionally. Since then, women’s roles broaden and some began making careers outside of their homes for themselves. Since then up to now, more changes had taken place although children still work but authorities see to it that it would not hinder their education, thus making work schedule only on Saturdays. How Have They Remained the Same? There is no doubt that everything about the family life had changed to a great extent. The traditional family had also changed and even affected by this change because of the women’s quest for equality with men.Many things reflect great changes in the family life since the 1800s. Perhaps the only thing that has not significantly change is the social climate which still features almost the same social condition. Ear ly premarital pregnancies, abortion, marrying age, premarital sex, and divorce were just some of the issues of the past that still ring in the present society. It was in this area that Arlene Skolnick noted that there was striking similarities between the families of the past and the families of the present. Why do you Think that something have Changed Over time?There were indeed some things that had changed over time in the lives of the families in history. One of these things is, with the rise of industrialization men went to urban cities to seek for work in factories or offices for their families. Their farm lives were suddenly left behind, and the duties of the wives had changed from equally working with men in the farm to just manage the home and to take care of their children. This change went over time that women found themselves already in the situation, before they realize their utter dependence on their husband.The reason for this is nothing else than economic. Men sees th e opportunity for economic advancement which their farm lives could hardly provide. Family relationships particularly extended families have changed over time as every one had the opportunity to work. The once conjugal work of the disappeared and was replace by men as bread winner of the family. Children too have had experienced changed over time as they were now income earners too. All these changes were hue mainly to the economic opportunity bought by the advent of industrialization and the men’s desire to improve their family lives.Work Cited Dunleavy, Mara. â€Å"How Changing Sex Roles Have Affected the Family Unit in the United States. † Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. http://www. yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1982/6/82. 06. 09. x. html Roberts, Clarence Jr. â€Å"The Changing Family: How Changes in the Family Reflect Social and Economic Changes in Society. † Yale-New Haven teachers Institute. Vol. 4, 2007 http://www. yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/guides /1990/4/90. 04. 08. x. html Skolnick, Arlene. â€Å"The Paradox of Perfection†(given file)

Impact of Media and Social media on youth Essay

1 Explore the impact of media and of social media present with today’s youth by providing thoroughly supported detail, and well-documented conclusions. Social media has become an essential part for today’s younger generation. Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, My space, Instagram has positive effect on youth but equally it has negative effects as well. Positive Effects The social media websites has effected youth in a way that it is considered to be a great source for professionals. They can be used as a source to start a new business or any profession. For example if a friend is looking to get hired for a job and he posted a status on his profile, so any other friend who know any job related to him, he can send him couple of messages on his profile and that’s how it benefit people. They are many other positive aspects of these social networking websites. It may help in strengthening the relationships between the young generations. There are lots of people who don’t see their friends for so long. These social websites are a way where they can be connected again. They can connect with the friends no matter they are how long away from them. It has reduced distances. Just by one click and there you go. Send friend request, on the other end your friend will accept it and start chatting. Social networking sites has helped people in connect ing people who are too far away and with whom it is impossible to meet personally, and keeping them informed about your life and the events happening in your life (Johnson et al, 2002). Read more:  Positive Aspects of Social Media Negative Effects There are negative impacts of social media on youth as well. One of the negative impacts is cyber bullying, which is very common now a days on internet. This is commonly occurs on the sites of social media. Cyber bulling is basically an electronic base communication to tyrant a person,  most often by sending threatening messages. There are also videos on social networking websites that shows violence, these videos could lead to affect the behavior of teens. By watching violence they became more aggressive, their behavior with their family changes and their minds become assertive, this could ultimately affect their living in the society. Another negative impact of social networking sites on younger generation is that these sites don’t have strict privacy, many of the personal information has been shared publically. Many of the youth don’t know about the privacy policy of any blog and they don’t actually know that this information will be disclosed to the other p ersons like advertisements. While as sharing of the personal information like photos and places, teenagers feels safe to share this stuff on social media site and they don’t worry while sharing this stuff on facebook publically. According to a questionnaire conducted on the privacy of social media websites, 21 percent of the teenagers believed that it is safe to share your personal information like photos on facebook to public. When people who use these websites for taking photos of teenagers and use them for illegal causes without knowing any disclaimers, so personal information of the teenagers seems to be exposed. This is considered to be a very serious matter because of the increasing rates of cyber crimes like theft of identity of a person. Once you have been a victim of this cyber crime, then there is nothing effective you can do. The best possible way for the avoidance of this theft is that never put your personal information publically on social networking websites. This is a very serious issue and many of the teenagers especially girls has been a victim. This has badly affected their image. Social networking websites can be very suspicious to your computer as well through a process used by hackers known as social engineering. What happen is, a hacker hacks one of your friend’s account or may make a fake account using the name of your friend send you a friend request, you accept the request knowing that he is your friend, after that they send you a link in a private chat. When you click on that link you are gone, either your account password has been emailed to that person or you system has been affected by many scams and viruses. Impact of Media In today’s world media has become stronger as ever. Television is the major source for the impact of media. It has positive effect, but on today’s  younger generation, their positive impacts have been minimized as compared to their negative impacts. Positive impacts The positive impact of the media is that it provides information to youth. Television can be act as a teacher for the youth. Watching programs that gives good lessons of kindness, racial harmony and cooperation has affected very positively on youth. Similarly some of the programs aired on television encourage libraries, zoo visits, visit to bookstores, visit to museum and many other refreshing places, and also videos that hold educational purpose can proved to be strong pro-social devices of teachings. Another positive effect is the good advertisements, which can affect the children’s behavior in a positive way. For example, any alcohol company launched their advertisement on television. They spend 10% of their total budget on the damages caused by the usage of alcohol, which includes danger in driving as well. The stage of development of child has played a vital role in effect of advertisements. According to a survey, average child watches almost 20 thousand advertisements per year. Over 60 percent advertisements promote candy, sugared cereals, toys and fatty foods. Programs based on cartoons toy products are very attractive for the children. Negative impacts Watching television can put negative impact on youth. The negative impacts are as follows Violence Nutrition Sexuality Alcohol and Smoking Violence Number of programs that consist of violence has been increased in the recent time. According to an average a child watches round about 12,000 acts of violence in television programs annually, including many cases of extortion, rape and murder. Around 1000 articles based on this study confirm that display of increased doses in the violation of television made aggressive behavior especially in boys. Other studies show that publicity of suicides on newspaper and television has increased the risk of suicide by a huge factor. Nutrition Television is the reason for the lack of play and activities related to exercise which are essential for the growth of a child. Children who waste their time on watching excessive television programs are not fit physically and like to take junk food and snacks that gives high energy. Spending much time on watching television may lead to obesity. Watching advertisement that promotes junk food has affected nutritious died of a person. Advertisements based on healthy food consist of only 4 percent of the total advertisements shown when a child is watching television. Spending number of hours on watching television programs is directly proportional to the increased number of cholesterol in a child. It may also result in eating disorders especially in girls of teenage. Eating while, viewing television programs, may lead to meaningless communication and poor habits of eating. Sexuality The programs on televisions have become a top most educator regarding sex. Between the year 1976 to 1996, the interactions that has been sexual, increased by 270 percent. Television plays a big role in revealing the sexual behaviors in children by exhibiting that they are risk free and ordinary. Sex between the couple who are unmarried has been displayed 24 times greater than it has been shown between the married couples, while the infections caused by sex and the unwanted pregnancy have been mentioned rarely. Alcohol and smoking According to a survey, teenagers view 1000 to 2000 commercials promoting bears and depicting a message that real people drink it. This data shows that number of advertising beer is directly proportional to the increased number of beer consumption. Basically television is not the only way through which a child knows about drinking beer, the main point is that it doesn’t show the consequences it can produced. More than one half of the animated movies shows use of bear and tobacco normally, without showing the consequences it can produced if used excessively (Beresin and Eugene, 2009). 2. Compares and contrasts various ways of preventing a selected risk factor from developing into an issue that would require treatment or intervention, by providing thoroughly supported detail, and well-documented reasoning for conclusions. The risk factor that has been chosen for the analysis is ‘Effect of violence in media on children’. There are two approaches that  lead to the reduction of effects caused by violent media (Murray and John, 2008). Limiting the ways of accessing and use of violent media It has been found by the researchers that by limiting the use of media, which includes watching television and playing video games, can result in the reduction of aggressive behavior in children. As many of the children’s involved in the activities of media at their home, so parents plays a big role by limiting the boundaries of excessive watching television programs and playing of video games by keeping an eye on the watching habits of child and also by monitoring what kind of and up to which extent they consume media. Parents should give lessons to their children at their developing stages that they should not watch violent programs, and any content that ultimately leads to the violence. In the year 1996 an act of telecommunication has been passed, whose focus was to provide assistance to the parents or the caretakers of the child in decreasing the child’s focus onto violent media. There has been the introduction of the rating systems through which parents could rate any specific program. If the rating has not been good that program will ultimately lead to its end. It has also the option of restricting some channel that includes the violent content. So parents were able to filter the specific television channels that exhibit violence and also the filter of abusive language. This could ultimately provide a parental control on child consuming the media. Creating Media knowledge in Youth and Parents The second technique used for the reduction of violent media is the knowledge of media through proper training. Parents and the children should be taught to assess media and create techniques in a way that may result in the reduction of violence. They should be taught a lesson, so they may able to find out the difference between the imaginary and real world. By knowing the outcome of violence shown on media in real life, and appraise the thinking of producers in the creation of a media product, explaining the nonviolent behavior in place of violent behaviors. After getting the training lessons, still many of the people don’t know about the function of blocking channels and content and for those who knows, they don’t bother to use this function. The training of giving knowledge about the media consist of Foundation known  as Just think foundation, which emphasizes on children by conveying programs based on education and that can be adjusted after the school or even bet ween the school timings. The center for the knowledge of media offers training of knowledge related to media for parents, teachers and community through activities and exercising. 3. Evaluates the various system supports that will be involved in preventing the selected risk factor, by providing thoroughly supported detail, and well-documented reasoning for conclusions Youth have been affected badly by the violence on media. The age ranges from 12 to 17 years, there is more probability of them to be a victim of violence as compared to the adults, and three times more chance of getting into the victim of attack. There is another cause that leads to the death of people who have ages between 15 to 24 years. According to a survey the rate of people who have been a rape victim, sexual attack and robbery are below the age of 25 than any of other groups of age (Bushman et al, 2001). Violence has many types which includes emotional, sexual, verbal or physical violence. In each of its form, it has been committed mostly by the person who is a relative of the victim that includes its family member and friends. Following are the support systems for the prevention of violen ce media on youth. Promotion of a helping and safe atmosphere at home By increasing the number of parents or caretakers who have nonviolent children, confirming the restriction of promoting alcohol or any other drug by parents or caretakers. Proper training lessons should be conducted and help desk should be created for the facilitation of families who has been a victim of violence and also about the advantages of different ways that restrict media violation. Work with the training centers that works for the prevention of violence There should be awareness campaign for the prevention of programs that promote violent. Parents should work with the schools and helped with for this cause, in this way they will learn and on the same time teach this education to others as well. Forbid students for watching the violent programs at their early age and tell them the risks that possibly could occur as a result of watching these violent programs. Manage the society in a way that it will minimize risks and maximize protection Technically connect with the programs that work on the development of youth. There should be availability of every opportunity that supports in making  healthy relationships. Proper campaigns should be launched which describes the awareness among the youth about the damages caused the use of alcohol. Manage the best practices systems in order to reduce violence and to address civil condition Introduction of new policies should made that should meet the initial needs of a family like residence, income, nutrition, food and childcare. Training of the individuals so that they may able to find and give response to the violence on media. One thing must be checked that are your surroundings which includes your neighbors are safe. Promotion of an attractive package of the preventive services regarding health for younger generation age ranges from 11 to 21. Provide food and shelter for the people who don’t have their own homes. These are the ways through which violence on media can be prevented. If a person wants society free from this violation, he should follow these steps in order to develop a better society (Robinson et al, 2001). 4. Categorizes the roles of each system in preventing the selected risk factor, by providing thoroughly supported detail, and well-documented conclusions. Roles of each system Promotion of a helping and safe atmosphere at home This system for preventing the risk of violence shown on media helps in guiding the parents about treating their children related to violence that is shown on media and social media. This system encourages the secure atmosphere at homes of children so that they cannot learn bad things from media. Work with the training centers that works for the prevention of violence The role of this system is to tell about the importance of different centers of training through which people can learn about preventing violence. People can learn about the advantage of these training centers related to violence and can prevent this is future. Manage the society in a way that it will minimize risks and maximize protection The main role of this system for preventing violence is to manage the society in a way that can reduce the level of risks and increase the level of protection. Media channels and social media should be given lessons through which they can learn that what to show on media and what to not. Manage the best practices systems in order to reduce violence and to address civil condition The role of this  system is to manage the practices that are best for the system for reducing violence in society and for addressing the condition in civil. References Johnson Jeffrey G., Patricia Cohen, Elizabeth M. Smailes, Stephanie Kasen, and Judith S. Brook. (2002). â€Å"Television viewing and aggressive behavior during adolescence and adulthood.† Science295(5564):2468-2471 Beresin, Eugene V. (2009). â€Å"The Impact of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents: Opportunities for Clinical Interventions.† American Academy of Child Adolescents Psychiatry. [Available Online] http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/developmentor/the_impact_of_media_violence_on_chi ldren_and_adolescents_opportunities_for_clinical_interventions (Retrieved on 29 Oct 2014) Murray, John P. (2008). â€Å"Media Violence: The Effects Are Both Real and Strong.† American Behavioral Scientist 51(8):1212-1230 Bushman, Brad J., and L. Rowell Huesmann. (2001). Effects of Televised Violence on Aggression. In: Singer DG, Singer JL, eds. Handbook of Children and the Media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Robinson, Thomas N., Marta L. Wilde, Lisa C. Navracruz, K. Farish Haydel, and Ann Varady. (2001). â€Å"Effects of reducing children’s television and video game use on aggressive behavior: a randomized controlled trial.† Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 155:17-23 Federal Communications Commission. In the matter of violent television programming and its impact on children: statement of Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate. MB docket No. 04-261 [Available online] http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-50A5.pdf [Retrieved on 29 Oct 2014]

Synthesis of Aspirin Essays

Synthesis of Aspirin Essays Synthesis of Aspirin Essay Synthesis of Aspirin Essay Essay Topic: Synthesis Sypnopsis In this experiment, acetylsalicylic acid was synthesized from the acidification of salicylic acid and acetic anhydride. The objective was to convert a specific amount of salicylic acid into the same amount of aspirin that was high in purity. Furthermore, the other objectives were to enable students to conduct the synthesis of aspirin, reinforce skills or recrystallisation and the technique of melting point determination. The amount of each compound should be the same because there is a 1:1 ratio between them. The purity of the synthesized aspirin was measured by determining its melting point and percent yield. Soluble impurities increase the range over which a compound melts and often decreases its overall melting point temperature1. If the experiment went as expected, a pure sample of aspirin with a high percent yield would have been obtained. The percent yield obtained was 56. 1% and the melting point was 134. 7- 136. 8. Introduction Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is a versatile drug that is consumed in huge quantities worldwide. It is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with a wide range of physiological effects. The first discovery of aspirin occurred in England, in 1963, believing that the bark of willow trees with a beneficial effect in alleviating distress due to fevers, aches, and pains2. Salicylic acid was later extracted from the willow bark and it proved to be an active ingredient. Salicylic acid was synthesized from basic starting materials by 1860 which was helpful to the medicinal field but there were some problems2. Salicylic acid turned out to be irritating to the membranes of the throat, mouth, and stomach. The product had a high acidity of the compound but fortunately, successful amendments were done, namely, the replacement of the acidic phenolic hydrogen atom with an acetyl group. In 1893, a effective synthesis of acetylsalicylic acid was created, patented in 1899, commercialized under the trade name of ‘aspirin’ by the Bayer Company in Germany3. The name ‘aspirin’ was invented by the chemist, Felix Hoffman, who originally synthesized acetylsalicylic acid for Bayer3. At very low doses, aspirin is used to treat and prevent heart attacks and blood clots. At higher doses, it is used as an analgesic to reduce pain and as an antipyretic to reduce fever. At very high doses, it is an effective anti-inflammatory agent used to treat rheumatic fever, gout and rheumatoid arthritis. It is also an anticoagulant, it dissolves corns and calluses, and it provokes loss of uric acid (a toxin) but promotes retention of fluids in the kidneys. It kills bacteria and induces peptic ulcers. When ingested, acetylsalicylic acid remains intact in the acidic stomach, but in the basic medium of the upper intestinal tract, it hydrolyzes forming the salicylate and acetate ions. When ingested, acetylsalicylic acid remains intact in the acidic stomach, but in the basic medium of the upper intestinal tract, it hydrolyzes forming the salicylate and acetate ions. The exact mechanisms of its pharmacological actions are still under study. In many plants, salicylate can induce flowering. However, aspirin may cause side effects for example, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and heartburn. Theory Aspirin is prepared from salicylic acid and acetic anhydride with the help of an acid catalyst. Concentrated sulphuric acid acts as a catalyst. After preparation, the product is purified. This is especially important for chemicals that are used as food additives and pharmaceuticals. The most common method of purifying solid organic compounds is by recrystallization. When an impure solid compound is dissolved in a solvent, it is then allowed to slowly crystallize out as the solution cools. As the compound crystallizes from the solution, the molecules of the other compounds dissolved in solution are excluded from the growing crystal lattice, giving a pure solid. Crystallization of a solid is different from a precipitation of a solid. In crystallization, there is a slow, selective formation of the crystal framework resulting in a pure compound. In precipitation, there is a rapid formation of a solid from a solution that usually produces an formless solid containing many trapped impurities within the solids crystal framework. For this reason, experimental procedures that produce a solid product by precipitation always include a final recrystallization step to give the pure compound. Figure: The esterification of salicylic acid by acetic anhydride5. The -OH group of salicylic acid that reacts with acetic anhydride to form an ester-like product. The carboxylic acid group of salicylic acid remains unchanged. Acetic anhydride is used because it is cheap and forms a by-product, acetic acid. Acetic acid is non corrosive and can be recovered to produce more acetic anhydride. Procedure 2. 4g of salicylic acid was weighed and poured into a 100ml conical flask. The actual weight was then recorded. In the fume hood, 6ml of acetic anhydride was added to the salicylic acid in the flask. To this mixture, 3 to 4 drops of sulphuric acid was added, swirled to mix and then heated in a water bath for 10-15 minutes to complete the reaction. The mixture was removed from the water bath while it was still hot and then 1ml of distilled water was added from a dropper carefully to decompose the excess acetic anhydride. An additional 40ml of cold water was added and stirred with a stirring rod to induce crystallisation. The crude product was collected by suction filtration and washed with a little cold water. The crude product is relatively impure; hence it was needed to be purified by recrystallisation. A solvent suitable for this recrystallization process would be a mixture of ethanol and water. The crude product was dissolved in approximately 5ml of ethanol in a 100ml conical flask and heated on a hot plate. To the solution, 30ml of hot distilled water was added in. The solution was then warmed till all solid has dissolved. The solution was allowed to cool. A clean, dry watch glass together with a filter paper was weighed and the weight was recorded. The recrystallised product was obtained by suction filtration using the weighed filter paper. The crystals and filter paper was transferred onto the weighed watch glass and dried in to the oven (100Â °C) for 15 to 20 minutes. The crystals, filter paper and watch glass are then placed in desiccators for 5 to 10 minutes. The dried crystals, together with the filter paper and watch glass were weighed. The weight was recorded and the weight of dried, recrystallised aspirin was calculated. The expected yield of aspirin was calculated from the amount of salicylic acid used. The percentage yield of dried, recrystallised aspirin was also calculated. The melting point of aspirin was determined. Results Mass of salicylic acid Mass of filter paper and watch glass Mass of dried, recrystallised aspirin, filter paper and watch glass Mass of dried, recrystallised aspirinMass of dried, recrystallized aspirin, filter paper and watch glass Mass of filter paper and watch glass Percent yield Number of moles of salicylic acid used (mol wt of salicylic acid = 138) Expected number of moles of aspirin Expected mass of aspirin Percent yield Melting point Temperature Range134. 7 – 136. 8 Appearance The crystals are white and shiny, shaped needle-like. The crystals resemble glass wool. Discussion The results and calculations shows how much acetylsalicylic acid was synthesized compared to how much salicylic acid was used. Since there is a 1:1 ratio between the two, then the amount of salicylic acid used should be equal to the amount of acetylsalicylic acid recovered at the end of the experiment. As the result shows, this is not the case, for 1. 83g of acetylsalicylic acid was harvested when 2. 40g of salicylic acid was used. This could have some effect on the purity; for the melting point of the harvested acetylsalicylic acid which is 134. 7 – 136. 8 was not very close to the theoretical melting point. The percentage yield is only 56. 1%. Since the final product was determined not to be very pure, it is highly likely that less than 1. 83g of the product was acetylsalicylic acid. Further analysis of the product will have to be done to determine exactly how pure the product actually was. There were several problems that could have contributed to the low purity or mediocre percent yield. When dissolving the initial amount of salicylic acid in the solution of acetic anhydride and concentrated sulphuric acid, it did not completely dissolve into the solution, even when it was heated. There could also be loss of product on the filter paper. Some crystals would be stuck onto the filter paper and this might have affected the mass of the crystals. The sample may not have been completely dried out before weighing. This could have a slight impact on the results of the overall yield of aspirin because it was possible that not all of the salicylic acid was synthesized. To determine if this affected the synthesis of aspirin at all, the experiment should have been ran a second time to see if the same thing occurred. Conclusion The experiment did not go completely as expected. The reaction yielded only 56. 1% of its expected product. The purity of the aspirin was not very high, because there might be impurities in the acid used. Reference 1. Henry, Dr. Geneive. 2004. Susquehanna University. Synthesis of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). 2. The history of Aspirin, accessed 25th May 2009, 3. History of Aspirin, viewed on 13th Dec 2010, ; http://inventors. about. com/library/inventors/blaspirin. htm; 4. Theory, accessed 15th Dec 2010, 5. Dr. Carman. 2002. University of Nevada, accessed, 15 Dec 2010, ; http://tooldoc. wncc. nevada. edu/aspirin. htm; 6. Synthesis of Aspirin, accessed 13th Dec 2010, 7. Aspirin, accessed 14th Dec 2010,

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India Business etiquette and culture What you should know before negotiating. Â · In India, "outside" information and new concepts will be accepted only if they do not contradict prevailing religious beliefs and social structures. Â · Indians tend to think associatively, largely because the country's educational system places a heavy emphasis on rote learning. Indian business people with a higher education, however, are often more abstract, analytical thinkers. Â · In Indian business culture, perceptions of the truth tend to be guided by feelings; a strong faith in religious ideologies is also common. Â · An argument appealing to both feelings and faith will often be more convincing to an Indian than one using only objective facts and empirical evidence. Â · The caste system remains one of the most important influences in Indian society. Â · Although technically there is equality under the law, inequality between the castes is an accepted reality of Indian life. Â · Because of the strong, coherent, social structure there is little anxiety about life because one knows and accepts one's place in society and the workplace. Â · Each employee plays a role in the organization; often the role is as important as the actual work the person may perform. Â · The hierarchical nature of Indian society demands that the boss is recognized as the highest individual in authority. Â · In some offices, employees may even rise each time the boss enters the room to acknowledge respect. Â · Employees do as they're told; even if they know the boss is wrong, they won't argue. Â · The boss makes all of the decisions and accepts all of the responsibility. Consequently, you'll often find that subordinates are reluctant to accept responsibility. Â · Because so many pressures are placed on the boss, qualified Indian employees often do not seek such positions of leadership. Â · Success and failure are frequently attributed to environm... Free Essays on India Culture Free Essays on India Culture India Business etiquette and culture What you should know before negotiating. Â · In India, "outside" information and new concepts will be accepted only if they do not contradict prevailing religious beliefs and social structures. Â · Indians tend to think associatively, largely because the country's educational system places a heavy emphasis on rote learning. Indian business people with a higher education, however, are often more abstract, analytical thinkers. Â · In Indian business culture, perceptions of the truth tend to be guided by feelings; a strong faith in religious ideologies is also common. Â · An argument appealing to both feelings and faith will often be more convincing to an Indian than one using only objective facts and empirical evidence. Â · The caste system remains one of the most important influences in Indian society. Â · Although technically there is equality under the law, inequality between the castes is an accepted reality of Indian life. Â · Because of the strong, coherent, social structure there is little anxiety about life because one knows and accepts one's place in society and the workplace. Â · Each employee plays a role in the organization; often the role is as important as the actual work the person may perform. Â · The hierarchical nature of Indian society demands that the boss is recognized as the highest individual in authority. Â · In some offices, employees may even rise each time the boss enters the room to acknowledge respect. Â · Employees do as they're told; even if they know the boss is wrong, they won't argue. Â · The boss makes all of the decisions and accepts all of the responsibility. Consequently, you'll often find that subordinates are reluctant to accept responsibility. Â · Because so many pressures are placed on the boss, qualified Indian employees often do not seek such positions of leadership. Â · Success and failure are frequently attributed to environm...

Why ETFE Is the Miracle Construction Material

Why ETFE Is the Miracle Construction Material ETFE is an abbreviation for Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene, a  translucent polymer sheeting that is used instead of glass and hard plastic in some modern buildings. ETFE is usually installed within a metal framework, where each unit can be lighted and manipulated independently. Light sources can be on either side of the plastic cladding. Compared to glass, ETFE transmits more light, insulates better, and costs 24 to 70 percent less to install. ETFE is only 1/100 the weight of glass, and it has properties that make it more flexible as a construction material and a medium for dynamic illumination. Key Takeaways: ETFE ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene) is an industrial-strength construction plastic used for exterior cladding since the 1980s.ETFE is strong and lightweight. It is often applied in layers that are welded together around the edges and held by a metal framework. Because it is safer and more adaptable than glass, non-rip ETFE is often used as a replacement for glass.Commercial uses of ETFE include many sports arenas and entertainment venues. Dynamic lighting of this plastic has been a successful feature of ETFE architecture. Uses of ETFE The SSE Hydro in Scotland, part of the design portfolio of British architect Norman Foster, was completed in 2013 as an entertainment venue. In the daylight, the ETFE cladding may lack excitement but be functional by allowing natural light to the interiors. After dark, however, the building can become a light show, with interior lighting shining out or exterior lights around the frames, creating surface colors that can be changed with the flip of a computer program. For other venues, rows of lights surround the plastic panels. The ETFE cusions on the Allianz Arena in Germany are diamond shaped. Each cushion can be controlled digitally to display red, blue, or white lights - depending on which home team is playing. ETFE Exterior Panels on the Allianz Arena. Lennart Preiss/Getty Images This material has been called a fabric, a film, and a foil. It can be sewn, welded, and glued together. It can be used as a single, one-ply sheet or it can be layered, with multiple sheets. The space between the layers can be pressurized to regulate both insulating values and light transmission. Light can also be regulated for local climates by applying nontransmittable patterns (e.g., dots) during the manufacturing process. With dark dots imprinted on the translucent plastic, light rays are deflected. These application patterns can be used in conjunction with layering - using photo sensors and computer programs, the location of the dots can be strategically moved by controlling the air between layers, by stretching or sagging the material, which positions the dots to block where the sun is shining through. Allianz Arena Dynamic Lighting. Lennart Preiss/Getty Images (cropped) Computer systems can also regulate dynamic lighting effects for ETFE structures. When the exterior of the Allianz Arena is red, FC Bayern Munich is the home team playing in the stadium - their team colors are red and white. When the TSV 1860 Mà ¼nchen soccer team plays, the colors of the stadium change to blue and white - that teams colors. Characteristics of ETFE ETFE is often called a miracle construction material for tensile architecture. ETFE is (1) strong enough to bear 400 times its own weight; (2) thin and lightweight; (3) stretchable to three times its length without loss of elasticity; (4) repaired by welding patches of tape over tears; (5) nonstick with a surface that resists dirt and birds; (6) expected to last as long as 50 years. In addition, ETFE doesnt burn, although it can melt before it self-extinquishes. Because of its strength and ability to transmit UV rays from the sun, ETFE is frequently used in sports venues that desire healthy, natural turf athletic fields. Disadvantages of ETFE Everything about ETFE is not miraculous. For one thing, it is not a natural building material - its plastic, after all. Also, ETFE transmits more sound than glass, and can be too noisy for some places. For a roof subject to raindrops, the workaround is to add another layer of film, thus decreasing the deafening drumbeats of rain but increasing the construction price. ETFE is usually applied in several layers that must be inflated and require steady air pressure. Depending on how the architect has designed it, the look of a building could drastically change if the machines that supply the pressure fail. As a relatively new product, ETFE is used in large commercial ventures - working with ETFE is too complex for small residential projects, for the time being. The Full Life Cycle of Building Materials How is it that a synthetic plastic film has come to be known as the building material of sustainability? When choosing building products, consider the life cycle of the materials. For example, vinyl siding may be recycled after its usefulness, but what energy was used and how was the environment polluted by its original manufacturing process? Concrete recycling is also celebrated in the environmentally friendly construction world, but the manufacturing process is one of the prime contributers to greenhouse gasses. A basic ingredient in concrete is cement, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tells us that the manufacturing of cement is the third largest industrial source of pollution in the world. When thinking of the life cycle of glass production, especially compared to ETFE, consider the energy used to create it and the necessary packaging to transport the product. Amy Wilson is explainer-in-chief for Architen Landrell, one of the worlds leaders in tensile architecture and fabric systems. She tells us that manufacturing ETFE causes little damage to the ozone layer. The raw material associated with ETFE is a class II substance admitted under the Montreal treaty, Wilson writes. Unlike its class I counterparts it causes minimal damage to the ozone layer, as is the case for all materials used in the manufacturing process. Reportedly creating ETFE uses less energy than making glass. Wilson explains: The production of ETFE involves the transformation of the monomer TFE in to the polymer ETFE using polymerisation; no solvents are used in this water based procedure. The material is then extruded to varying thicknesses depending on application; a process which uses minimal energy. Fabrication of the foil involves welding large sheets of the ETFE; this is relatively quick and again a low energy consumer. Because ETFE is also recyclable, the environmental  culpability is not in the polymer, but in the aluminum frames that hold the plastic layers. The aluminium frames do require a high level of energy for production, Wilson writes, but they also have a long life and are readily recycled when they reach their end of life. Examples of ETFE Structures A photo journey of ETFE architecture quickly dispels the notion that this is a simple plastic cladding material you might put over your roof or boat on a rainy day. The Swiss architecture team of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron created a sculpted look for the Allianz Arena (2005), one of the most beautiful ETFE structures in Mà ¼nchen-Frà ¶ttmaning, Germany. Mangrove Hall (1982) at Royal Burgers Zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands, is said to be the first application of ETFE cladding. The Water Cube venue (2008) built for the Beijing, China Olympics brought the material to the attention of the world. The biodome Eden Project (2000) in Cornwall, England created a green tinge to the synthetic material. Allianz Arena Designed by Herzog de Meuron, 2005, Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Chan Srithaweeporn/Getty Images (cropped) Because of its flexibility and portability, temporary structures such as the summer Serpentine Gallery Pavilions in London, England have been of late at least partially created with ETFE; the 2015 pavilion in particular looked like a colorful colon. The roofs of modern sports stadia, including the U.S. Bank Stadium (2016) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, are often ETFE - they look like panes of glass, but the material is really safe, non-rip plastic. Temporary Summer Pavilion in Londons Hyde Park by Spanish Architects Josà © Selgas and Lucia Scano, 2015. Lionel Derimais/Getty Images (cropped) Plastics, the Industrial Revolution Continues The du Pont family emigrated to America shortly after the French Revolution, bringing with them 19th century skills in making explosives. Using chemistry to develop synthetic products never stopped within the DuPont company, creators of nylon in 1935 and Tyvek in 1966. When Roy Plunkett worked at DuPont in the 1930s, his team accidentally invented PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), which became Teflon. ® The company, who considers themselves a pioneer of polymer science with a legacy of innovation, is said to have created ETFE in the 1970s as an insulation coating for the aerospace industry. The tensile architecture of Prizker laureate Frei Otto in the 1960s and 1970s was an inspiration for engineers to come up with the best material to use for what builders and architects call cladding, or the material that we might call exterior siding for our homes. The idea for ETFE as a film cladding came in the 1980s.  Engineer Stefan Lehnert and architect Ben Morris co-founded Vector Foiltec to create and market Texlon ® ETFE, a multi-layered system of ETFE sheets and architectural cladding. They didnt invent the material, but they did invent the process for welding together sheets of ETFE - and giving a building the layered look. Sources Birdair. Types of Tensile Membrane Structures. birdair.com/tensile-architecture/membraneBirdair. What is ETFE film? birdair.com/tensile-architecture/membrane/etfeDupont. History. dupont.com/corporate-functions/our-company/dupont-history.htmlDupont. Plastics, Polymers, and Resins. dupont.com/products-and-services/plastics-polymers-resins.htmlEPA. Cement Manufacturing Enforcement Initiative. https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/cement-manufacturing-enforcement-initiativeWilson, Amy. ETFE Foil: A Guide to Design. Architen Landrell, February 11, 2013, architen.com/articles/etfe-foil-a-guide-to-design/, architen.com/wp-content/uploads/architen_files/ce4167dc2c21182254245aba4c6e2759.pdf

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Understand the approaches to human resources practices in Essay

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The Emergence Of Jazz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Emergence Of Jazz - Essay Example It is at this age that the jazz music took over the country, and one would imagine that the Englishmen appreciated the culture of the Blacks. With 1919-1930 regarded as the Harlem Renaissance thanks to the spread of the culture of the Blacks, Jazz music spread exceptionally4. However, the Europeans would grab a section of the Jazz music lovers as they moved their music from New Orleans to Chicago so as they could accrue economic gain from their music5. It is evident that these whites enjoyed a huge deal from the Jazz market as it was crowded by African Americans in the times. For the Europeans, jazz music was a continuation of their Blues music. As seen in the work of Scaruffi, jazz musicians were simply singing like the Blue singing groups only that they played instruments as opposed to using their vocals6. The creativity in jazz music was then similar to that of the blues music. The voices of the musicians were simply fashioned to sound like that of the instruments. The instruments used explain what jazz music was for the Europeans and how the sounds played the role of the voices in the music7. The events that shaped the 1919 war played a huge role in the making of jazz music. The Europeans were motivated by their zeal to rise to power, and also they needed to define their style. Fitzgerald says that the generation of the time included teenagers in the course of the war and the events of the war motivated the youth and the jazz artists8. The war is still clear in the brains of numerous Englishmen. With this in mind, the jazz musicians then had the need to stimulate the nerves of its listeners. Fitzgerald says that the youth of the time were wild, while new types of audiences rose from the war9. Barker and  Barbara add that there involved the wealthy middle class’ kids, servicemen, bureaucrats, and women escalating to public service10. A close check of these audiences entails gender and class.

Household Behavior and Consumer Choice Essay Example for Free

Household Behavior and Consumer Choice Essay Issues of household behavior and consumer choices, lie in the field of microeconomics. Microeconomics, sometimes called the price theory is a branch of economics that concerns itself with the study of how households, individuals, and firms make their own private decisions on how to allocate scarce resources. In this research paper, I will seek to apply economic theories and mostly the consumer theory to analyze these decisions and their effects on consumption, interests and wages. ANALYSIS: DEFINITIONS: HOUSEHOLD BEHAVIOR: Household behavior is principally viewed and analyzed as the theory of consumer demand of various commodities or generally household consumption. In addition to this household behavior also concerns itself with production of commodities or services and the supply of labor by households. Consumer demand on the other hand concerns itself with how demand functions for various commodities are derived. This derivation is done considering the rational choice model based on utility maximization. In this analysis, economic constraints like budgets, income and commodity prices are considered for specific households. The consumer theory studies the issue of household likes and preferences applying indifference curves as well as budget constraints and relates these preferences to consumes demand curves. There are many economic variables that are used in the analysis of these preferences. Among the major variables, include the price per unit of a certain good and the money incomes of the specific consumers. A change in the price of a good usually has two major effects. Firstly, there is the substitution effect and secondly there is the income effect. The substitution effect usually arises from the relative change in prices of consumer goods. On the other hand, the income effect arises from changes in the purchasing power of the available money wage or income. The diagram below depicts the relationship between consumer demand and prices through indifference curves given budget constraints. When the price of good Y increases, the budget line will shift from BC2 to BC1. This is because when the price of good y increases households will buy less of the good but they will still buy the same quantity of good X as long as they wish. In order to maximize his or her utility the consumer will have to move from indifference curve I2 to I1. By doing this the consumer will be able to enjoy his/her preferences as normal. Incase the price of commodity Y decreases the budget line or the budget constraint will move from BC1 to BC2. This is because the consumer will now be able to purchase more of commodity y while at the same time enjoying the same amount of good X. in the same case, the consumer in order to maximize his/her utility will move from indifference curve I1 to I2. The same scenario will be applicable for price changes of good X. The income effect: The income effect is depicted in the diagram below. An increase or decrease of the consumer’s disposable income will cause a parallel shift of the consumer’s budget constraint. An increase in the disposable income will cause the budget constraint to shift to the right while a decrease in the income will cause the budget constraint to shift to the left. This applies for normal goods since the indifference curves will react differently for inferior goods and Giffen goods (goods with a snob appeal). For inferior goods as the income increases, less of the commodity will be consumed. This is because the increased income will cause the consumers to seek higher or better goods. For Giffen goods as the income, increases the amount of goods purchased may either increase or remain the same. Generally, the effects can be summed up to the substitution effect and the income effect. The substitution effect usually is a price change that affects the slope of the budget line (constraint), but leaves the consumer on the same equilibrium indifference curve. In cases where the good in question is a normal good then the price effect will outweigh the substitution effect, but in cases where the good is an inferior good then the substitution effect will outweigh the price effect. Leisure-labor tradeoff: The time that any consumer has to allocate for different purposes is called time endowment. The price of leisure is analyzed using the consumer theory, with some slight adjustments. In this case, leisure is assumed to be a good and consumption is considered to be another good. Since consumers have scarce and finite time then they will have to choose between leisure, which earns no money, and consumption of labor that earns an income. Regardless of this trade off the change in the unit price of leisure will have a huge effect on the working time since a reduction or an increase in the price of labor will lead to less work and more work respectively. Wage and interest rates: Wages can be analyzed both as a cause and as effect of consumer behavior. They are a cause in the sense that as wages increase so does the consumption of households increase. On the other hand, wages can be viewed as an effect of consumption behavior since they are indirectly determined by the consumer price index. Both real and nominal interest rates are affected by consumer behaviors. Depending on the liquidity within the economy, the consumption behavior of households can cause an increase or decrease in the level of interest rates. Conclusion: Many variables that are dealt with in microeconomics usually have an indirect effect in the field of macroeconomics. The determination of the national income do consider the value that households contribute either in the form of consumption or services that they render. In addition to this, the level of inflation is also slightly affected by the consumption and expenditure behaviors of the households. Consumer theory plays a very important role in explaining household behaviors. However, the field of macroeconomics also needs to be keenly looked at since it deals with economic aggregates. References: Mankiw, N. G. (2004), Principles of economics (3rd Ed. ), Chicago, ILLIOIS: Thomson South-Western McWilliams Gary. Analyzing Customers the wall street journal,Monday, November 8, 2004. Available at:http://online. wsj. com/article/SB109986994931767086. html Philip Hardwick (1982), an Introduction to Modern Economics, Longman, U. K

Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius

Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius 2.1 Definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) CSR has been defined as the duty of the organization to respect individuals rights and promote human welfare in its operations (Manakkalathil and Rudolf, 1995; Oppewal et al., 2006). Businesses not only have the economic responsibility of being profitable and the legal responsibility to follow the laws or ground rules that guide their ability to achieve their economic requirements, but they also have ethical responsibilities that include a range of societal norms, or standards (Carroll, 2000). CSR has been around for more than two decades. During the later half of twentieth century there arose the idea of the corporate social contract, which today underlies the CSR concept. Given the sometimes adverse effects of business decision making on society as well as corporate reliance on society, the notion of an implied corporate social contract was conceived by social and economic theorists. This contract spells out societys expectations of business as well as (although much less discussed) businesss expectations of society (Bowie, 1983). There is no single authoritative definition of CSR (ISO COPOLCO, 2002). The CSR agenda seems to be a loosely defined umbrella embracing a vast number of concepts traditionally framed as environmental concerns, public relations, corporate philanthropy, human resource management and community relations. One of the most referred definitions is by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (1999) that defines CSR as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at largeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. CSR means being a good steward of societys economic and human resources ( Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2001). In summary, CSR entails the obligation stemming from the implicit à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“social contractà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? between business and society for firms to be responsive to societys long-run needs and want s, optimizing the positive effects and minimizing the negative effects of its actions on society. To synchronize that organizational social responsibility concerns are treated in the same routine manner in which legal, financial, and marketing concerns are addressed, four theories of corporate social responsibility have been advanced in the literature. The four positions are the classical, stakeholder, social demandingness, and social activist theories. The classical theory is the oldest of the four, and is grounded in classical economic theory. Firstly business executives are said to be primarily responsible to the shareholders of the corporation and their primary goal is to promote efficiency and secure effective economic performance. Secondly managers are said to be responsible to respond to the shareholders demands. These views are often thought to coincide with each other, because it is usually assumed that the main demand of shareholders is to maximize economic performance. In addition, both versions agree that managers are to perform their corporate function according to the laws and, thus, to avoid such things as fraud and deception. Friedman (1970), points out à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Here the businessman self-selected or appointed directly or indirectly by stockholders is to be simultaneously legislator, executive, or juristà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦He becomes in effect a public employee, a civil servant, even though he remains in name an e mployee of a private enterprise.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? This theory, albeit the oldest of the four theories, is still well and alive; it has many supporters and proponents among academicians and practitioners. The second theory is the stakeholder theory which integrates the main idea of classical theory, that is, corporate executives are responsible to stockholders. Nevertheless, what differs it from classical theory is that other groups are directly affected by the conduct and decision of the firm. These groups can employees, consumers, creditors, suppliers, and legal sub-systems who have a stake in the organisation and who might affect, in one way or another, the corporate decision making process. Furthermore, corporate executives have a direct responsibility to promote the interests of these groups. The main disagreement among stakeholder theorists, however, over whether stakeholder interests of these groups take precedence over the financial interests of stockholders or the stakeholder interests are the overriding ones. Social demandingness theorists argue that corporations have a responsibility to protect and promote certain interests of the general public. They agree with the stakeholder theorists that the interests of stakeholder groups are important, but they believe that these interests do not override non-stakeholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ interests or demands for such things as safety, health, freedom, and prosperity. As with the stakeholder theory, this theory repudiates the notion that there is some balanced or sensible list of tangible responsibilities that corporate executives always have toward society. The list varies as the nature and ranking of the interests or demands of the public change. The fourth and final theory is the social activist theory which is distinctively the most socially and morally demanding of the four theories. While agreeing with the stakeholders and social demandingness theories that executives have responsibilities toward stakeholders groups and the general public, social activistsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ theorists argue that corporate managers should sometimes strive to undertake projects that advance the interests of the public even when these undertakings are neither expected nor demanded by them. Social activists theorists contend that such projects should, for the most part, be in the area of corporate know-how, but they sometimes urge that executives deliberately take on social projects for which they have no special training or expertise 2.1 Types of CSR and Corporate Governance The notion that business has duties to society is firmly entrenched, although in the past several decades there has been a revolution in the way people view the relationship between business and society. Carroll (1979) and other researchers believe that we should judge corporations not just on their economic success, but also on non-economic criteria. Carroll (1979) proposed a popular four-part definition of CSR, suggesting that corporations have four responsibilities or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“four facesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Carroll, 2000b, p. 187) to fulfill to be good corporate citizens: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic: Economic responsibility. Economic responsibility is to be profitable for principals, by delivering a good quality product, at a fair price, is due to customers. Legal responsibilities. Legal duties entail complying with the law and playing by the rules of the game Ethical responsibilities. Ethical duties overcome the limitations of legal duties. They entail being moral, doing what is right, just, and fair; respecting peoples moral rights; and avoiding harm or social injury as well as preventing harm caused by others (Smith and Quelch, 1993). Philanthropic responsibility. Interest in doing good for society, regardless of its impact on the bottom line is what is called altruistic, humanitarian or philanthropic CSR. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“giving backà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? time and money in the forms of voluntary service, voluntary association and voluntary giving à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" is where most of the controversy over the legitimacy of CSR lies. CORPORATE GOUVERNANCE (CG) Moreover, CSR is closely linked with the Corporate Governance of the organization, be it hotel organization. Any of those types of CSR should start in the hotel organizations first and then move to external environment. The key people should be taken into consideration so the CSR practices should be geared towards the internal customers who will in turn become CSR delegates to reach the external customers and environment. Companies must improve their business models by bringing CSR and sustainability into their strategy. Shleifer and Vishny (1997) define CG as the ways in which suppliers of finance to organisations assure themselves of getting a return on investment. Over the years, CG has evolved from the traditional à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“profit-centered modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. By incorporating the community in which firms operate, the political environment, laws and regulations, and more generally the markets in which firms are involved. See Figure 1: The Business in Society which reflects a stakeholder perspective on the firm (Jensen, 2001) 2.1The Hospitality Industry à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Definitions Definitions of the hospitality have been approached from a number of different perspectives. Most of them combine physiological and psychological elements with security and levels of service. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hospitality is concerned with the provision of physiological and psychological comfort with defined levels of service. The satisfactions may be physiological (thirst, bed, warmth), economic (value for money), social (company, service) and psychological (self-esteem, status, security).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Source: C.Cooper, R.Shepherd, J. Westlake (1994) Even if the approach to defining hospitality may shift according to the authors, there are a number of integral elements that are common to all. These are: Hospitality is a complex combination of tangible and intangible features and benefits Hospitality involves a satisfying interaction between the service provider and the customer Hospitality provides guests with security, psychological and physiological comfort by offering food, beverage and accommodation. Therefore, bearing in mind the above characteristics, a simpler definition of the hospitality industry may be: The Hospitality Industry is involved with providing accommodations, food, beverage, entertainment, comfort and recreation for travelers away from their usual residences and normal surroundings. The industry also naturally look forward to meet the customer`s needs for safety and support of their persons, property, modes of transportation, and even the varying purpose of their travel. Speaking generally, those who make use of hospitality services demand attainment of a professional level of quality consistent with world standards, although perhaps adjusted for local conditions. They anticipate the facilities will be clean, comfortable, safe and secure. They expect good food and beverage at a reasonable rate. Furthermore, they look for courtesy, friendliness, respect and identification from the host. Perhaps more importantly they demand honesty, truth and equity in their dealings with the operator and his employees. Hospitality Industry In Mauritius HISTORICAL BACKGROUND In Mauritius, the first hotel was the Park Hotel in 1952 so as to accommodate the crew members coming at that time. Then came the Mauritius Hotel, the first beach hotel, built in 1954 at Le Morne followed by Le Chaland, another beach hotel in 1961. But the real development of tourism took place soon after Mauritius got its independence from the British. In early 1970`s the creation of Trou aux Biches Hotel by the Mauritius Hotels, the setting up of the Club MeditÃÆ' ©ranÃÆ' ©e and the Saint GÃÆ' ©ran Hotel by the Southern Sun Hotels as well as the Merville Beach Hotel by the ex-British Colons who wanted to come back here during the winter months of England. The Mauritius Hotel is now the Beachcomber group and the Southern Sun Hotels is the Sun International Resorts Limited. At present there are 95 hotels in Mauritius and there are not less than 5 more under construction as per the registered list set by the Ministry of Tourism. The numbers of hotels, rooms and bed places have increased constantly from 1991. Moreover the Prime Minister has announced his vision to reach 2 million tourists in 2015. Consequently an average annual growth of 10% in tourist arrival is expected. In order to reach this target, an approximate nu mber of 18500 rooms should be made available. This will bring about the creation of around 37000 direct jobs and double the amount in terms of indirect jobs. Due to the rapid growth of tourism and hospitality industry, government has introduced incentives for the private sector to bring in a sustainable development, namely by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. This is achievable through proper public-private sector partnership. Overview of the Hotel industry IN MAURITIUS The hospitality industry in Mauritius has developed rapidly during the past 25 years. The coastal regions as well as the interior part of the island are constantly changing with the construction of the hotels and the increasing number of vehicles being used for the tourism industry. In 2007, the tourism industry was considered the third pillar of the economy after Sugar and Textile, and currently it plays a vital role in the economic growth of the country. The undoubted fall of 35% in the price of sugar and the removal of preference agreement with the EU market, has earmarked the tourism industry as the main industry capable of boosting the Mauritian economy. In July 2008, according to the last bulletin published by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), Mauritius welcomed 81,169 tourists as compared to 77,225 in 2007, registering a 5.1% growth over the same period a year ago. Table 1: Monthly tourist arrivals, July 2007 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" July 2008 Source:Tourism sector performance for the month of July, AHRIM Report, August 2008, pg 2 But after two decades of impressive growth, the need for responsible corporate governance has been felt in the country as the attitudes; mentality and knowledge of those working in that industry have not evolved at the same pace in terms of social responsibility and environmental awareness. Impacts of this rapid and somehow unplanned development are being experienced in the environment at large. Still, a lot has to be done to meet the competitive edge through proper campaign and involvement of all stakeholders so as to contribute towards sustainable development of the hospitality sector. In order to support its continuous growth, the Mauritian Tourism and Hospitality industry needs well-trained staff with full knowledge of their product while respecting the socio-economic and cultural environment in which the Mauritian tourism product is evolving. It is really important to maintain a high standard of efficiency and service so as to meet the requirements of an increasingly competitive and sophisticated global market. 2.7 CSR in the hotel industry In Mauritius Within the hospitality industry it has been agreed that there are increasing environmental and societal concerns. The big question is how to manage our environmental impact as demand grows against a backdrop of increasing vulnerability. As a result of demand for more sustainable destinations and travel preferences, management policies are being felt. Hotels practicing CSR look at the following areas: Workplace (where employees are treated equally and fairly) Marketplace (stakeholders) Environment (which has to be sustained for the future generation) Community Ethics Human rights Many hotels are now aware of CSR practices and have begun to use environmental-friendly products. Hotels in Mauritius are reducing the use of hazardous or non-degradable chemicals. Big hotel chains like Oberoi Mauritius recycle oil, water and plastic bottles while all hotels with more than 50 rooms are compel to recycle water as per the legislation. Hotels tend to purchase products that have a reduced environmental impact during their life cycle, from suppliers that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility to their customers and the society. Furthermore, Association des Hoteliers et Restaurateurs de L`Ile Maurice (AHRIM), is fully supporting the CSR initiatives initiated by the Mauritian Government. Through its members, they are actively putting forward the CSR activities on a regional basis all over the island. (See Appendix 1: Recommended CSR activities by AHRIM to its Members in June 2008). Stakeholders (employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, business partners, government) are getting more and more involved the hotelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ CSR activities. Hotel employees are educated to make a conscious decision in favour of environment and social issues in their private and business lives. Hotel guests are informed about CSR activities and are asked to participate in responsible business activities within the hotels and to work together to find innovative solutions that satisfy the hotelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic, environmental and social objectives. Managers are asked to abide by local and EU legislation especially on labour laws, health and safety, human rights and the environment. A great deal can be done when developing a hotel property in order to make both the development process and the eventual operation more environmentally sustainable. One of the aims of CSR is to make the community benefit from the hotel industry. 2.8 Benefits of CSR in the hotel industry Hotels who adopt CSR into their operations and public image depend on the following factors: Size Level of diversification Research and Development Advertising Government Intervention Consumer Income Labour market conditions Stage of the industry life cycle However this differs for different hotel organization, for example, larger hotels like international hotel chains may operate a CSR program at a lower cost than a small hotel because of economies of scale. It is a method for organization to distinguish themselves from their competitors Firstly, hotels benefit from CSR as it helps to reduce operating cost such as implementing of recycling and energy saving programs. Secondly, their brand image and reputation are enhanced as consumers prefer companies with CSR programs. Another benefit derived by hotels is in terms of productivity and quality since productivity goes up whenever working conditions improve. Other beneficiaries of the CSR programs are immediate environment in which the company is evolving. It comprises of the local community, neighboring villages, employees who usually live in those areas, the hotel guests and the host country at large. Hotels are expected to have ethical and social commitments, valued connections with partners and consistency over time to build trust with the stakeholders. In doing so, the hotel organizations are also developing societal marketing concept, therefore beneficiate from it. Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius 2.1 Definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) CSR has been defined as the duty of the organization to respect individuals rights and promote human welfare in its operations (Manakkalathil and Rudolf, 1995; Oppewal et al., 2006). Businesses not only have the economic responsibility of being profitable and the legal responsibility to follow the laws or ground rules that guide their ability to achieve their economic requirements, but they also have ethical responsibilities that include a range of societal norms, or standards (Carroll, 2000). CSR has been around for more than two decades. During the later half of twentieth century there arose the idea of the corporate social contract, which today underlies the CSR concept. Given the sometimes adverse effects of business decision making on society as well as corporate reliance on society, the notion of an implied corporate social contract was conceived by social and economic theorists. This contract spells out societys expectations of business as well as (although much less discussed) businesss expectations of society (Bowie, 1983). There is no single authoritative definition of CSR (ISO COPOLCO, 2002). The CSR agenda seems to be a loosely defined umbrella embracing a vast number of concepts traditionally framed as environmental concerns, public relations, corporate philanthropy, human resource management and community relations. One of the most referred definitions is by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (1999) that defines CSR as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at largeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. CSR means being a good steward of societys economic and human resources ( Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2001). In summary, CSR entails the obligation stemming from the implicit à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“social contractà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? between business and society for firms to be responsive to societys long-run needs and want s, optimizing the positive effects and minimizing the negative effects of its actions on society. To synchronize that organizational social responsibility concerns are treated in the same routine manner in which legal, financial, and marketing concerns are addressed, four theories of corporate social responsibility have been advanced in the literature. The four positions are the classical, stakeholder, social demandingness, and social activist theories. The classical theory is the oldest of the four, and is grounded in classical economic theory. Firstly business executives are said to be primarily responsible to the shareholders of the corporation and their primary goal is to promote efficiency and secure effective economic performance. Secondly managers are said to be responsible to respond to the shareholders demands. These views are often thought to coincide with each other, because it is usually assumed that the main demand of shareholders is to maximize economic performance. In addition, both versions agree that managers are to perform their corporate function according to the laws and, thus, to avoid such things as fraud and deception. Friedman (1970), points out à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Here the businessman self-selected or appointed directly or indirectly by stockholders is to be simultaneously legislator, executive, or juristà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦He becomes in effect a public employee, a civil servant, even though he remains in name an e mployee of a private enterprise.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? This theory, albeit the oldest of the four theories, is still well and alive; it has many supporters and proponents among academicians and practitioners. The second theory is the stakeholder theory which integrates the main idea of classical theory, that is, corporate executives are responsible to stockholders. Nevertheless, what differs it from classical theory is that other groups are directly affected by the conduct and decision of the firm. These groups can employees, consumers, creditors, suppliers, and legal sub-systems who have a stake in the organisation and who might affect, in one way or another, the corporate decision making process. Furthermore, corporate executives have a direct responsibility to promote the interests of these groups. The main disagreement among stakeholder theorists, however, over whether stakeholder interests of these groups take precedence over the financial interests of stockholders or the stakeholder interests are the overriding ones. Social demandingness theorists argue that corporations have a responsibility to protect and promote certain interests of the general public. They agree with the stakeholder theorists that the interests of stakeholder groups are important, but they believe that these interests do not override non-stakeholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ interests or demands for such things as safety, health, freedom, and prosperity. As with the stakeholder theory, this theory repudiates the notion that there is some balanced or sensible list of tangible responsibilities that corporate executives always have toward society. The list varies as the nature and ranking of the interests or demands of the public change. The fourth and final theory is the social activist theory which is distinctively the most socially and morally demanding of the four theories. While agreeing with the stakeholders and social demandingness theories that executives have responsibilities toward stakeholders groups and the general public, social activistsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ theorists argue that corporate managers should sometimes strive to undertake projects that advance the interests of the public even when these undertakings are neither expected nor demanded by them. Social activists theorists contend that such projects should, for the most part, be in the area of corporate know-how, but they sometimes urge that executives deliberately take on social projects for which they have no special training or expertise 2.1 Types of CSR and Corporate Governance The notion that business has duties to society is firmly entrenched, although in the past several decades there has been a revolution in the way people view the relationship between business and society. Carroll (1979) and other researchers believe that we should judge corporations not just on their economic success, but also on non-economic criteria. Carroll (1979) proposed a popular four-part definition of CSR, suggesting that corporations have four responsibilities or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“four facesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Carroll, 2000b, p. 187) to fulfill to be good corporate citizens: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic: Economic responsibility. Economic responsibility is to be profitable for principals, by delivering a good quality product, at a fair price, is due to customers. Legal responsibilities. Legal duties entail complying with the law and playing by the rules of the game Ethical responsibilities. Ethical duties overcome the limitations of legal duties. They entail being moral, doing what is right, just, and fair; respecting peoples moral rights; and avoiding harm or social injury as well as preventing harm caused by others (Smith and Quelch, 1993). Philanthropic responsibility. Interest in doing good for society, regardless of its impact on the bottom line is what is called altruistic, humanitarian or philanthropic CSR. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“giving backà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? time and money in the forms of voluntary service, voluntary association and voluntary giving à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" is where most of the controversy over the legitimacy of CSR lies. CORPORATE GOUVERNANCE (CG) Moreover, CSR is closely linked with the Corporate Governance of the organization, be it hotel organization. Any of those types of CSR should start in the hotel organizations first and then move to external environment. The key people should be taken into consideration so the CSR practices should be geared towards the internal customers who will in turn become CSR delegates to reach the external customers and environment. Companies must improve their business models by bringing CSR and sustainability into their strategy. Shleifer and Vishny (1997) define CG as the ways in which suppliers of finance to organisations assure themselves of getting a return on investment. Over the years, CG has evolved from the traditional à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“profit-centered modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. By incorporating the community in which firms operate, the political environment, laws and regulations, and more generally the markets in which firms are involved. See Figure 1: The Business in Society which reflects a stakeholder perspective on the firm (Jensen, 2001) 2.1The Hospitality Industry à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Definitions Definitions of the hospitality have been approached from a number of different perspectives. Most of them combine physiological and psychological elements with security and levels of service. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hospitality is concerned with the provision of physiological and psychological comfort with defined levels of service. The satisfactions may be physiological (thirst, bed, warmth), economic (value for money), social (company, service) and psychological (self-esteem, status, security).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Source: C.Cooper, R.Shepherd, J. Westlake (1994) Even if the approach to defining hospitality may shift according to the authors, there are a number of integral elements that are common to all. These are: Hospitality is a complex combination of tangible and intangible features and benefits Hospitality involves a satisfying interaction between the service provider and the customer Hospitality provides guests with security, psychological and physiological comfort by offering food, beverage and accommodation. Therefore, bearing in mind the above characteristics, a simpler definition of the hospitality industry may be: The Hospitality Industry is involved with providing accommodations, food, beverage, entertainment, comfort and recreation for travelers away from their usual residences and normal surroundings. The industry also naturally look forward to meet the customer`s needs for safety and support of their persons, property, modes of transportation, and even the varying purpose of their travel. Speaking generally, those who make use of hospitality services demand attainment of a professional level of quality consistent with world standards, although perhaps adjusted for local conditions. They anticipate the facilities will be clean, comfortable, safe and secure. They expect good food and beverage at a reasonable rate. Furthermore, they look for courtesy, friendliness, respect and identification from the host. Perhaps more importantly they demand honesty, truth and equity in their dealings with the operator and his employees. Hospitality Industry In Mauritius HISTORICAL BACKGROUND In Mauritius, the first hotel was the Park Hotel in 1952 so as to accommodate the crew members coming at that time. Then came the Mauritius Hotel, the first beach hotel, built in 1954 at Le Morne followed by Le Chaland, another beach hotel in 1961. But the real development of tourism took place soon after Mauritius got its independence from the British. In early 1970`s the creation of Trou aux Biches Hotel by the Mauritius Hotels, the setting up of the Club MeditÃÆ' ©ranÃÆ' ©e and the Saint GÃÆ' ©ran Hotel by the Southern Sun Hotels as well as the Merville Beach Hotel by the ex-British Colons who wanted to come back here during the winter months of England. The Mauritius Hotel is now the Beachcomber group and the Southern Sun Hotels is the Sun International Resorts Limited. At present there are 95 hotels in Mauritius and there are not less than 5 more under construction as per the registered list set by the Ministry of Tourism. The numbers of hotels, rooms and bed places have increased constantly from 1991. Moreover the Prime Minister has announced his vision to reach 2 million tourists in 2015. Consequently an average annual growth of 10% in tourist arrival is expected. In order to reach this target, an approximate nu mber of 18500 rooms should be made available. This will bring about the creation of around 37000 direct jobs and double the amount in terms of indirect jobs. Due to the rapid growth of tourism and hospitality industry, government has introduced incentives for the private sector to bring in a sustainable development, namely by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. This is achievable through proper public-private sector partnership. Overview of the Hotel industry IN MAURITIUS The hospitality industry in Mauritius has developed rapidly during the past 25 years. The coastal regions as well as the interior part of the island are constantly changing with the construction of the hotels and the increasing number of vehicles being used for the tourism industry. In 2007, the tourism industry was considered the third pillar of the economy after Sugar and Textile, and currently it plays a vital role in the economic growth of the country. The undoubted fall of 35% in the price of sugar and the removal of preference agreement with the EU market, has earmarked the tourism industry as the main industry capable of boosting the Mauritian economy. In July 2008, according to the last bulletin published by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), Mauritius welcomed 81,169 tourists as compared to 77,225 in 2007, registering a 5.1% growth over the same period a year ago. Table 1: Monthly tourist arrivals, July 2007 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" July 2008 Source:Tourism sector performance for the month of July, AHRIM Report, August 2008, pg 2 But after two decades of impressive growth, the need for responsible corporate governance has been felt in the country as the attitudes; mentality and knowledge of those working in that industry have not evolved at the same pace in terms of social responsibility and environmental awareness. Impacts of this rapid and somehow unplanned development are being experienced in the environment at large. Still, a lot has to be done to meet the competitive edge through proper campaign and involvement of all stakeholders so as to contribute towards sustainable development of the hospitality sector. In order to support its continuous growth, the Mauritian Tourism and Hospitality industry needs well-trained staff with full knowledge of their product while respecting the socio-economic and cultural environment in which the Mauritian tourism product is evolving. It is really important to maintain a high standard of efficiency and service so as to meet the requirements of an increasingly competitive and sophisticated global market. 2.7 CSR in the hotel industry In Mauritius Within the hospitality industry it has been agreed that there are increasing environmental and societal concerns. The big question is how to manage our environmental impact as demand grows against a backdrop of increasing vulnerability. As a result of demand for more sustainable destinations and travel preferences, management policies are being felt. Hotels practicing CSR look at the following areas: Workplace (where employees are treated equally and fairly) Marketplace (stakeholders) Environment (which has to be sustained for the future generation) Community Ethics Human rights Many hotels are now aware of CSR practices and have begun to use environmental-friendly products. Hotels in Mauritius are reducing the use of hazardous or non-degradable chemicals. Big hotel chains like Oberoi Mauritius recycle oil, water and plastic bottles while all hotels with more than 50 rooms are compel to recycle water as per the legislation. Hotels tend to purchase products that have a reduced environmental impact during their life cycle, from suppliers that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility to their customers and the society. Furthermore, Association des Hoteliers et Restaurateurs de L`Ile Maurice (AHRIM), is fully supporting the CSR initiatives initiated by the Mauritian Government. Through its members, they are actively putting forward the CSR activities on a regional basis all over the island. (See Appendix 1: Recommended CSR activities by AHRIM to its Members in June 2008). Stakeholders (employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, business partners, government) are getting more and more involved the hotelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ CSR activities. Hotel employees are educated to make a conscious decision in favour of environment and social issues in their private and business lives. Hotel guests are informed about CSR activities and are asked to participate in responsible business activities within the hotels and to work together to find innovative solutions that satisfy the hotelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic, environmental and social objectives. Managers are asked to abide by local and EU legislation especially on labour laws, health and safety, human rights and the environment. A great deal can be done when developing a hotel property in order to make both the development process and the eventual operation more environmentally sustainable. One of the aims of CSR is to make the community benefit from the hotel industry. 2.8 Benefits of CSR in the hotel industry Hotels who adopt CSR into their operations and public image depend on the following factors: Size Level of diversification Research and Development Advertising Government Intervention Consumer Income Labour market conditions Stage of the industry life cycle However this differs for different hotel organization, for example, larger hotels like international hotel chains may operate a CSR program at a lower cost than a small hotel because of economies of scale. It is a method for organization to distinguish themselves from their competitors Firstly, hotels benefit from CSR as it helps to reduce operating cost such as implementing of recycling and energy saving programs. Secondly, their brand image and reputation are enhanced as consumers prefer companies with CSR programs. Another benefit derived by hotels is in terms of productivity and quality since productivity goes up whenever working conditions improve. Other beneficiaries of the CSR programs are immediate environment in which the company is evolving. It comprises of the local community, neighboring villages, employees who usually live in those areas, the hotel guests and the host country at large. Hotels are expected to have ethical and social commitments, valued connections with partners and consistency over time to build trust with the stakeholders. In doing so, the hotel organizations are also developing societal marketing concept, therefore beneficiate from it.