The Homeless What Has Been Done To Decrease The Problem Essay Example For Students

The Homeless: What Has Been Done To Decrease The Problem? Essay One of the largest growing concerns in Toronto is the constantlyincreasing number of citizens who are finding themselves living on thestreets. With the decrease in the number of available jobs, the populationof homeless people has literally boomed. My questions are not as simple toanswer as they may appear. Why is a large portion of our community forcedto live on the streets? What has be done to decrease the problem? Theseare the questions I will confront in my essay. With the economical wealth attributed to the name Canada, one wouldhave to wonder why there is a homeless situation at all. This problem isespecially evident in Canadas wealthiest city, Toronto. When it comes tothe affairs of the people, it is the government who should intervene. WhenI look at what the government has done with regard to the homeless problem,I have to doubt that everything is being done to eradicate it. The UnitedNations implemented a universal declaration of human rights. Article 25Section 1 of this declaration states: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the healthand well being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing,housing, and medical care and necessary social services, and to the rightto security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood,old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. We will write a custom essay on The Homeless: What Has Been Done To Decrease The Problem? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now This is a step in the right direction. However, this is not enough. These rights are subject to the discretion of the government of the countrywho decides to obey these universal rights. How much is adequate? The government, both at the federal and municipal levels, is currentlyworking on new spending cuts. These cuts also include spending on welfare,unemployment and social services that are geared towards helping thehomeless. Spending cuts can be seen as a necessity to maintain the countryeconomically, but the reason for having a government in the first place isto take care of the people. How can this be done when money is being takenaway from those services that are necessary to uphold this obligation?Simply put, it cannot. Those obligations are served by nonprofitorganizations who depend on government grants to maintain a standard ofcare for those who need the services. The blame cannot be placed only on the government. Such a system ofassistance depends on its beneficiaries to be honest and have someintegrity. Many recipients of these services attempt to cheat thesystem. With no will to search for work many of these recipients remainat home and reap the benefits of their weekly cheques. This causes thegovernment to create other services to control the amounts of money beingdistributed to those people. This process is costly and would beunnecessary if all of the recipients decided to take an honest approach tothis service. What can the government do to decrease the homeless population?Although there is no quick and easy answer to solve this difficult problem,Toronto has the means to attempt economical ways to research and come upwith ideas to solve it. Here in Ontario we have many excellentuniversities and colleges with equally excellent students who are takingcourses in the political sciences. If the government were to cooperatewith these universities and colleges and have them work in conjunction withthe current research groups, then the answer to decrease the homelesspopulation would be effectively answered. The government would encounterlittle expense and at the same time give the students a chance to implementwhat they are learning into real life situations. Everyone benefits fromthis idea and there are no losers. .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 , .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 .postImageUrl , .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 , .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4:hover , .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4:visited , .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4:active { border:0!important; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4:active , .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4 .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u51e2285e3c2fee61778d3cb3bd6b4be4:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: ROSA pARKS Essay In conclusion I think that our homeless problem could eventually berooted out entirely if everyone were to take part in the care of theirfellow neighbour. If we were to stop being self-centered and startthinking about the other person who has less than us, I am sure that wewould benefit from it. It isnt all that hard. A few advertisements onthe television and radio, a little push from our societys leaders and wewould be off on the right track. That worked for the recycling program. Now we should try employing this idea for even better reasons. I doubt thatI will be around to see this idea in use all around the world, but I dohope that I can one day see it used here in Toronto. To assist all thehomeless here in Toronto would be a very nice thing to see. The best partof it all would be to know that we, as a society, would be able to worktogether despite all the barriers created by racism and our naive naturewhen it comes to other heritages.

The Raven Essay Example

The Raven Essay Example The Raven Paper The Raven Paper yet when the birds single response continues to make sense in the context of his thoughts and outbursts of speech, he begins to look upon it as a prophet sent by God or the devil. The raven destroys any hope the speaker has about reuniting with lenore after death What is the plot? the speakers chamber at midnight on a cold dreary night in December What ia the setting? Details such as darkness, midnight dreary, fantastic terrors, and omnious bird, as well as details about the speakers distress, create a haunting mysterious mood that reflects Romanticisms dark side Which details contribute to the mood of this poem, and how do they illustrate the dark side of Romanticism? Death, loss, suffering, sorrow, evil, memory of death and loss; our worst nightmares What does the Raven Symbolize or represent in this poem? Like death, loss, and suffering, the raven is part of the speakers life and will remain so. The raven casts a shadow on the speakers life and seems to threaten the speaker. He comes unexpectedly and acts as it pleases without any concern for the effect it has on others. What theme or main idea do you think this symbolizes?

Department of Homeland Security in the USA Essay

Department of Homeland Security in the USA - Essay Example The primary mission of the department is to protect America and its citizens from, and responding to terror attacks, natural disasters as well as manmade accidents with The USA and its territories including protectorates (Chertoff, 2009). This department is regarded as equivalent to interior ministries in other countries, and its activities are coordinated at the Whitehouse. Creation of this department followed the creation of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) by President Bush in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. The Homeland security was created in 2002 by the Department of Homeland Security Act (2002). Creation of the department brought together other 22 government agencies that were reorganized to become one department to oversee security matters within the USA territory (Barkun, 2011). The 22 departments unified under the Department of Homeland Security were formally non military agencies of the government but had some of their functions relating to Security. Some of the division s in the Department of Homeland Security include the Border and Transportation Security division, which is the largest division, The Emergency Preparedness and Response division, the Science and Technology division and the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection division (Barkun, 2011). Other departments with similar functions with Homeland security such as the National Security Agency (NSA) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and The Central Investigation Agency (CIA) were left out of the Homeland Security Department (Barkun, 2011). The Department of Homeland Security has five main duties and responsibilities. These include protecting the American people from terrorist threats and attacks, Securing borders of the United States of America, enforcing immigration laws, improving the country’s readiness for, as well as response to, and recovery from disasters and finally unifying the department so as to function efficiently (Chertoff, 2009). The department’s responsibility of protecting the American people from terrorist threats is its primary responsibility and one that takes priority over any other role of the department. Under this role, the department channels its resources towards prevention of terrorist attacks as well as preparedness for any terror attack. The Department also has the role of advising American citizens all over the world on security matters coming as a result of terrorist threats. The department strives to encourage the citizens to be prepared as opposed to living in constant fear of terrorist threats and attacks. The other important function of the department is to secure the country’s borders. This includes ensuring security of the southern, Northern border, the air and sea ports. The department deports illegal immigrants who could be in the country with ill motives. Another responsibility of the department with regard to securing borders is strengthening the fight against smuggling of drugs, weapons and cash obtained illegally. When it comes to immigration, the department of Homeland Security is mandated with the responsibility of facilitating the process of legal immigration and also cracking down on individuals who break the country’s laws.

To what extent is the HR function essential in achieving successful Essay

To what extent is the HR function essential in achieving successful organization change - Essay Example Human Resource as a change agent has the following role in operatiopnal effectiveness: managing culture change processes; facilitating teams and groups to implement change; and identifying change agents within the organization (Wapshott & Spicer, 2005). The Human Resource functional competencies are perhaps more widely known to include Human Resource Planning and Staffing; Performance management and development; employee and labour relations; compensation and benefits; health, safety, welfare and security; systems information and management; and organizational design and development (Brewster, Farndale, & Ommeren, 2000). Man as a social animal finds it hard to exist in relative peace without any form of organization. Without an organization chaos normally ensues, formal or informal, organizations exist in one form or another to provide order in society. In Britain and the rest of the industrial world today, it is almost impossible to imagine life without the plethora of organizations that comprise and make possible our everyday life (Burnes, 2004). Organizations being composed of different individuals and personality is in constant flux thus are prone to influences that can bring an enormous amount of change in every minute of its existence (Alfes, Truss, & Gill, 2010). Impermanence and transience are increasingly becoming important features of modern life brought about by major expansion in the scale and scope of change and the accelerating pace of change (Hayes, 2002). Individual change is at the heart of everything that is achieved in organizations. Once individuals have the motivation to do something different, the whole world can begin to change (Cameron & Green, 2009). By any objective measure, the amount of significant, often traumatic, change in organizations has grown tremendously over the past two decades. Although some people predict that most of the reengineering, outsourcing, restrategizing, mergers, downsizing, quality efforts, and cultural renewa l projects will soon disappear, I think that is highly unlikely (Hadley, 2009). Powerful macroeconomic forces are at work here, and these forces may grow even stronger over the next few decades. As a result, more and more organizations will be pushed to reduce costs, improve the quality of products and services, locate new opportunities for growth, and increase productivity (Kotter, 1996). In the book â€Å"The Heart of Change† an overview of an eight-step model for change was divided into three major groups: 1. Creating the climate for change; 2. Engaging and enabling the whole organization; and 3. Implementing and sustaining the change. The eight-step are: 1. Increase urgency; 2. Build guiding teams; 3. Get the vision right; 4. Communicate for buy-in; 5. Enable action; 6. Create short-term wine; 7. Don’t let up; 8. Make it stick (Cohen, 2005). In the same book, two approaches to change were proposed: analysis-think-change and see-feel-change (Cohen, 2005). Practicall y the Human Resource is at the start and end of the process (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008). In the Eight-step model the core and enabler for each step is the Human Resource organization. Life is in a state of constant flux, the same can be said about organization. Some changes are major and some changes are insignificant, no matter how large or inconsequential the volume of change is, change transforms the organization forever. And, at the centre

Module 3 SLP Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Module 3 SLP - Coursework Example As of December 2012, The Kraft Food owns 34 manufacturing plants in the US and two plants in Canada. The plants are capable of accommodating multiple product lines. They manufacture Cheese products in 12 locations, Beverage products in eight locations, Grocery products in 15 locations, Refrigerated Meals products in nine places. Apart from this they also outsource the production of products, if found advantageous (Kraft Foods Annual Report, 2013). The company garnered net revenues of $18.2 billion while earnings before tax stood at $4.1 billion in 2013. The companys balance sheet as on December 28, 2013 shows assets of $23.1 billion. The companys market capitalization is close to USD 39 billion. The companys operating profit margin is 22.67%. Operating cash flow is $1.8 billion. The companys return on assets is 11% while return on equity is 45.45%. The company stocks are traded on NASDAQ Stock Market (Balance Sheet, 2014). Human resource is considered an important and vital resource at Kraft Foods for companys sustainable development. Based on 2013 data, the company employs 20,400 employees in the US alone and around 2100 people in Canada (Kraft Foods Annual Report, 2013). The company employs rigorous development plans to retain this important resource. The company puts a special emphasis on employee engagement for their overall development and growth. Kraft Foods has mastered the basic science of food processing and the art. They have developed savory flavors, cheese solutions, and enhancers for developing distinct taste of their products. The company has developed cost-reduction technologies for its numerous processes to benefit consumers. The technical resources help them to compete in the market. They are considered a leader in flavor technology and capable of identifying and developing the best solution for their food products. They have pilot plant facilities to developing ingredients for

The Tourism Sector In Albania

The Tourism Sector In Albania Albania is a parliamentary republic, where the legislative power belongs to the Albanias Assembly and the head of the state is the President who is elected by the Assembly for a five year mandate with the right to be re-elected. The Council of Ministers is the highest executive and commanding organ which is directed by Prime Minister. According to Census 2011 preliminary results Albania has a population of 2,831,741 inhabitants in a surface of 28,748 sq km. Albania is located in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. The country has a 750 km borderline with Montenegro to the North, Kosovo to the Northeast, Macedonia to the East, Greece to the South and Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea (Italy) to the West. Albania has Mediterranean climate, which is characterized by hot summers and mild winters with abundant rainfalls. The period from June to September is hot, while from October to May is cool and wet. The average annual temperature varies from + 15oC in the north to + 16.5oC in the south. The hottest month is July with an average temperature of + 25oC and the coldest month is January with an average of +6oC, although the record temperature has been -34oC. For almost 45 years the communist regime, which was installed in Albania after the Second World War, left the country aside the rest of the world being part of the communist bloc of the Eastern Europe. The communist regime of Tirana even went further by isolating Albanian people totally and brought the country to collapse. With the fall of communist regimes of the Eastern Europe, Albania was the last one to join the free world. A democratic system was setup in power in 1992. Due to governments commitment to a free market economy, the country undertook a programme of reforms and made great efforts to recover from the fall of communist regime. However, the collapse of the fraudulent pyramid schemes in 1997 and the instability that followed were a tremendous setback for Albania. But the country did pursuit its way toward its dream, to be part of the European community. Till there country has made a great progress. Two big achievements are accomplished, in June 2006, the Albanian Governm ent signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union (EU), the first step in the EU accession process and three years later, in April 2009, Albania became a NATO member country. Now country is looking to accessing negotiations to be an EU member country. A range of reforms are progressing markedly over the last decade to Albanias economy and administration such as reforms in infrastructure development, tax collection, property law, business administration, judiciary system. The country was largely spared from the severe fallout of the 2008-2009 financial crisis since its economy is not heavily integrated into the Euro-Atlantic system. Economic progress of the country has slowed but remained positive, in each year from 2009 to 2011. The governments main task is to maintain positive economic growth while preserving macroeconomic stability. Major challenges are the difficult fiscal and budgetary environment and the crises in the Eurozone, especially in neighboring Greece and Italy (major trading partners of Albania with a large presence in the banking sector and also host to roughly one million Albanian emigrants). In 2011, GDP was estimated to have reached close to $13 billion. Major contributors to GDP according to 2010 preliminary data were: service sector with 57.6% including trade, hotels, and restaurants (20.9%), transport (6.3%), communication (3.4%), and other services 27%; agriculture 20.3%; industry 11.3%; and construction 10.7%. In 2011 unemployment officially stood at 13.3%. Half of the workforce is considered self-employed in the agriculture sector. GDP per capita in 2011 is estimated to have reached $4,560. Although GDP per capita has steadily increased over the years, the country still ranks as one of the poorest countries in Europe according to major income indicators. Albania has put in place a liberal foreign investment regime, and the government is working to improve the business climate through fiscal and legislative reforms and infrastructure improvements. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased significantly over the last few years and in 2010 reached $1.1 billion, up from $262 million in 2005. Since 2005, the Government of Albania has invested more than $2 billion in the countrys main road corridors, and it has pledged to continue investing heavily in improving transportation infrastructure. Electricity supply has also improved due to investments in new transmission lines and new generation sources as well as the privatization of the distribution system, which is gradually increasing efficiency. The EU remains Albanias main trading partner, providing 64.1% of Albanias imports and receiving 72.5% of exports as of December 2011. Trade with Italy and Greece continues to represent the largest share of EU trade, with a combined 41.1% of imports and 58.3% of exports in 2011. Other major trading partners include Turkey, China, and Germany. The impact of CEFTA in Albanias trade with member countries has been small. 2.1.2 Tourism in Albania The Potentials for Tourism Development in Albania Albania is a small country but a beautiful and fascinating country with substantial tourism development potential. Albania has an attractive coastline and a rich cultural and natural heritage. As Tourism Strategy on Culture and Environment  [1]  has highlighted, country has a wide range of historic, cultural and natural attractions that are of great interest to international tourists. The same assessment is made to the countrys very rich culture and heritage by Culture Marketing Strategy  [2]  document, too, stressing that Albania has a very rich, distractive, and authentic culture and heritage from the Greco-Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other historic periods up to the modern day. This assessment is mentioned also to verbatim comments from interviews with western tour operators and travel writers  [3]  , where one of them have citied that Albania is an archaeological site from tip to toe, going back to Illyrian settlements, Greek colonies, Roman occupation, not to ment ion the invasions from Goths, Bulgars, Byzantines, Crusaders of the Holy Roman Empire and Ottomans who all but stopped time in tracks. Evidence of these civilizations are everywhere in Albania, and its time to let the world see the great and wondrous sitesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦... Albania has 3 World Heritage Sites Butrint, Gjirokaster and Berat. Beaches are long and sandy with hot sunny summers with about 250 sunny days. The mountain areas offer opportunities for niche tourism activities like hiking, biking, canoeing etc. Plenty of National Parks and other natural reserves offer ecological experiences. Country offers beautiful and diverse landscapes and abundant and varied flora and fauna. Current tourism markets Since the late 1990s, after the 97 instability in the country and 99 war in Kosovo, tourism activities are increasing. As figures  [4]  show there is a considerable increasing number of international visitors after the year 2000, due to the improvement of regional and inner country political climate and enhance of the security in the country. A big impact to the increase of the flux of tourists from Kosovo has show the new highway linking Albania with Kosovo. Even this increasing numbers are impressive, the tourism sector in Albania cannot be regarded as being well developed. Infrastructure has been till late a major limitation. The government in power has evaluated the development of infrastructure as very important and is investing heavily in improvements  [5]  . Data from the table below shows that: Total foreign visitor traffic increased by 18.4% in 2010 compared to 2009 to 3,612,000 visits. Taking into consideration the crisis time this is an excellent performance for Albanian tourism. 33% were non-resident Albanians and 66.1% were foreign staying visitors in 2010. Much of the increase came from Kosovo. This is evident to see the impact that the new highway with brought to Albanian tourism, a clear indicator of strong growth created by improvements in infrastructure. According to MoTCYS data, for the year 2011 a total of some four million visitors entered in Albania. They included 2,734,000 foreign tourists and 1,267,000 non-resident Albanian nationality visitors. The figures demonstrate that the biggest increase of foreign tourists in 2010 was coming from Kosovo with 48.79% followed by Macedonia with 11.43% compared to 2009. The foreign tourists from western countries havent made such a big progress. Also, as can be seen, the number of non-resident Albanians has been increasing in 2008 and 2009, while in 2010 the figure has faced a decrease. From the table below can be seen the increasing number of visitors in July and August. Such a phenomenon is shaping drastically the seasonality of tourism in Albania. In 2010 the number of tourist that visited Albania in these two months was 55.44% compared to the number of all visitors. Also, another problem related to these figures is the high dependency in Balkan region tourist flow. This demonstrates that the tourists in July-August are coming only for sea and sand and populating only the coastal areas. Strategic directions for tourism at national level According to National Strategy for Tourism Development in Albania 2002 2012, developed with the assistance of GTZ, the main tourism products for Albanian tourism are defined sun and sea, business and special interest tourism  [6]  . While the Strategy and Action Plan for the Development of the Albanian Tourism Sector Based on Cultural and Environmental Tourism was developed within the directions and structure established by the 2002 Tourism Development Strategy 2002-2012 for Albania. This document provides a new orientation for the government to position Albania as an attractive destination for tourists seeking a unique experience which encourage them to discover Albanias culture and nature. Discovery of Albania is a presentation of a broad cross-section of Albanias history, nature, archaeology, living culture, cuisine and hospitality. The graphic below presents a simple schematic. Core and Specialised Tourism Products Source: Strategy for the Development of the Albanian Tourism Sector Based on Cultural and Environmental Tourism. Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, UNDP December 2005 According to strategy document, Albanias core (primary) tourism product must be a general one that encourages visitors to discover the many facets of Albanias culture and nature. Albanias central product will be the discovery of Albania. The product is a presentation of a broad cross-section of Albanias history, nature, archaeology living culture, cuisine and hospitality. Visitors participating in this discovery will leave with a lasting impression of the diversity, complexity and beauty of culture and the land. This segment does not make a strong distinction between cultural, natural and other tourism products. Visitors in this segment tend to combine many different activities during their visits, and usually see the various natural and cultural activities as part of the process of discovering the destination. Referring to the major market segments mentioned above, the tourism resources in Albania are in favor and support the types of community-based tourism, i.e. nature-based tourism, adventure tourism and cultural tourism. Considering these tourism resources, the following types of activities can be developed: Nature: Visiting national parks and protected areas Viewing wildlife Seeing rare species Trekking, hiking Bicycle trips Education and learning Participation in local events; and River and lake exploring. Culture: Visiting cultural and heritage-related attractions Visiting museums and art centres Meeting with artists Meeting people from various ethnic nationalities Seeing local handicrafts and the process of making them Visiting scenic landmarks and religious sites Trying local food Participating in local traditional ceremonies and festivals Buying traditional crafts and local specialties. Potential to development Albania offers infinite potential to investors to take advantage of unexplored opportunities in tourism, and helping to develop this industry into a key strategic sector in the countrys economy. Albania has a young population, with a high level of instruction and able to communicate with foregners in defferent languagies. Albanian is located at short distances from the main European capital cities and albanians are friendly and very hospitable people. The improved Rinas international airport, and different ports from the north to the south easy the access to the country. The continuing improvement and development of the infrastructure in the country, is facilitating moving inside the country. Continuing improvements are being made to encourage investors to develop the infrastructure for tourism in Albania. Just like other countries in the Western Balkans, Albania has put into place legislation and investment initiatives designed to support the economic growth of the country compatible with European policies and working principles. The Albanian Government has made support of the current and future expansion of tourism a priority, with the goal of transforming the country into a Mediterranean tourist destination and placing it on the world map of tourism. In an effort to support the continuing development of the tourism industry in Albania and to make this country a tourist destination, the importance of the active engagement of the local and international Business Community and strong Partnerships between community based organizations, government and regional development agencies is a must. Internal transport is likely to remain a major limitation for tourism in the foreseeable future except perhaps for road transport along key highways where upgrading / reconstruction is already planned or committed. In the WEF Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, Albanias tourism infrastructure is rated in the bottom two in the region (See Table 2.2). In recent years there has been an increasing interest from incoming foreign tourists, especially with significant increasing numbers of international tourist groups generated from Croatia and Montenegro, organised in one or two days tours to Albania. Also Business and Trade tourism accounts a considerable number of foreign visitors. Neighbour countries, such as Italy, Greece especially are related to trade and business purpose of visit of their nationals. From the western tourists visiting Albania in 2006, are identified those arriving from Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Greece, USA, Canada, France, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Switzerland, the neighbouring countries and regions (Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonian, Bulgaria), East Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia). Diaspora is another source for the inbound tourism, where the ethnic Albanians from Kosovo do count considerable numbers. The new road under construction from Milot (the crossroad to the highway Tirane-Shkoder) to Morini (the boarder-crossing point with Kosovo) will influence to increase the numbers of Kosovos citizens to access the Albanian coastal area. The market profile of visitors who enter to Albania by road from Muriqani and Hani i Hotit (the boarder-crossing points with Montenegro) with interest for Shkodra region for the year 2006 is as below: Foreigners who are living and working in Albania have also recently started to create an internal tourism demand. While there is no official record on domestic tourism in Albania, domestic tourism is the dominating form of tourism. This is mainly focussed on beach centred holidays. 1.3.2 National context for Tourism Development Albania has a great potential for tourism development based on its natural, cultural and human resources. The country has an attractive coastline, rich biodiversity with lagoons, lakes and the mountain areas each with unique flora and fauna, unspoiled nature and attractive scenery, cultural and historical sites and interesting traditional life-styles. The country therefore has the potential to develop the types of tourism products that are in demand from the international market in the Mediterranean region. Beside to the long and sandy beaches along the Adriatic coast and these rocky ones with crystal and clean sea waters of the Ionian coast, its natural and protected areas are basic for developing niche tourism activities such as eco-tourism and nature based activities. Such an activities can be hiking, trekking, walking, horseback-riding, river rafting, paragliding, mountain biking, climbing, canoeing, sightseeing, bird watching, fishing. Rural green and agri-tourism offers new opportunities for communities to benefit from tourism by offering visitor experiences based on traditional lifestyles. Albania also can offer cultural tourism through its archaeological sites and historic cities and villages. Albania is a short distance destination for Europe; it is within 3 hours of flying time of most major European cities and therefore is a short haul destination for the potentially huge European market, the World tourism Organisation predict that by 2020 the Mediterranean Region which includes Albania will be a hotspot for tourism, thus there is a great potential for Albania to develop and expand its tourism industry. On the other side, uncontrolled development in tourism areas has harmed the potential of these areas for tourism development. Even the measures taken by the government to legalise the illegal buildings are not considering for the moment those constructed in tourism areas, it is not clear what will be the measures taken in these areas to improve the environment by the harm of illegal buildings. Some significant measures are taken recently by the government. These measures, at the national level, encompass strategy and policy documents such as, the development of the Strategy for Cultural and Environmental Tourism in 2005 and the development of a new tourism website in 2006. A new Tourism Law (Nr.9734, dated 14.5.2007) was adopted by the parliament and a number of regulations approved by the government is thought to regulate the tourism sector development. Tourism development is the responsibility of the MoTCYS (Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports). NTA (National Tourism Agency) is an autonomous body outside the MoTCYS, being responsible for promotion activities through the production of promotional materials and participation in the international tourism fairs. The most attended fairs, regularly from years in Berlin (ITB) and London (WTM), and to RDA (Keln) from 2007. At the regional level, six tourist information offices are approved to be established in Tirana, Shkodra, Vlora, Saranda, Korà §a and Durres. At the national level there are operating two business Associations for Tourism Travel Agencies and one Association of Hotels. A GTZs project on Institutional building of tourism private sector in Albania is in the process for the time being with the aim to establish a strong representation for all the sectors involved in tourism, with the common interest providing services to the members as well as building relationship and cooperation with the public sector. Albanian Rourism Even the figures on tourist arrivals are growing considerably year after year in Albania, the country has remained highly dependant on summer holidays. Looking on the statistical data published recently in the websites of Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports (http://www.mtkrs.gov.al/) and of National Tourism Agency (http://www.akt.gov.al/akt/text.php?id=1lang=1), is easily evident that the number of visitors visiting Albania succeeded 2.5 million in 2008 and only for the period January August 2009 this figure was over passing 2.1 million. As reported by MTCYS, the number of visitors in 2008 (2.578.627 visitors) is compound as international visitors 1.330.138, from which 1.247.125 were overnight visitors and 83.013 same day visitors, and 1.248.489 visitors were Albanian nationals residing abroad. While the number of visitors for the period January August 2009 (2.111.981 visitors) is compound as 1.402.558 international visitors and 709.423 Albanian nationals residing abroad . But does this picture speak for real success in the development of Albanias tourism as a tourist destination visited by the western tourists? We have to bear in mind that the main reason for the development of tourism is attracting foreign visitors from countries with strong currencies. Tourism is considered a hidden export that brings money (hard currency) to the country. Referring to the Strategy and Action Plan for the Development of the Albanian Tourism Sector Based on Cultural and Environmental Tourism produced by Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports with the support of UNDP in 2005, Albania will specialize in attracting educated, independent travelers and specialized group travelers. The principal target markets will be upper-middle income individuals from Europe (primarily northern Europe and the United Kingdom) and North America. This segment represents the demographic segment with the highest willingness to pay for Albanias unique products, and whose spending patterns will most contribute to advancing development goals. Also, in this strategic document is specified that Albanias central product will be the discovery of Albania. The product is a presentation of a broad cross-section of Albanias history, nature, archaeology, living culture, cuisine and hospitality. Visitors participating in this discovery will leave with a lasting impr ession of the diversity, complexity and beauty of the culture and the land. The question is this: Are these kind of tourists visiting Albania contributing to this strategic direction? The answer is, NO.

Privatization: Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority (MBTA) and the Cal

Privatization: Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority (MBTA) and the California State Compensation Insurance Fund According to Robert B. Denhardt, Public Administration an Action Orientation, privatization "is the use of non governmental agencies to provide goods or services previously provided by government." (P.95). Privatization comes in various degrees, from the outright selling or transfer of government ownership of assets (for example public utilities), to, as is more common in the United States - the contracting of goods or services to private firms. Contracting is not something new in government. For example the Defense Department procures new weapons systems from the private sector all the time and the Pentagon oversees contracts totaling more than $150 billion a year. From the outset, it must be made clear that privatization is an enormously complex issue for which there is no simple solution. However, it is an idea that has grown tremendously popular among politicians (and by natural extension Administrators who must carry out policy issues once policy decisions are made by the politicians) in recent years. The idea of privatization will likely not diminish as cash starved governments from the federal to the local levels seek to reduce costs while promoting efficiency. It is this idea of reducing costs that will be the focus of this paper. We will see as the debate unfolds that when it comes to government, costs alone is not always the determining factor in the delivery of goods and services. There are many arguments that cost reduction does not necessarily improve efficiency nor does it guarantee equal delivery in the delivery of goods and services (equality being a fundamental constitutional value). Fin... ...bility of Public-Private Competition As A Long - Term Service Delivery Strategy." Public Productivity & Management Review 19, Number 1 (September 1995): 12-24. Newslibrary.krmediastream.com/cgi-bin/doc../nl_auth?DBLIST=1b96&DOCNUM=1392 Cohen, Steven, Eimicke, William The New Effective Public Manager - Achieving Success in a Changing Government. 2nd ed. Jossey-Bass San Francisco 1995. Wallin, Bruce A., "The Need for a Privatization Process: Lessons from Development and Implementation. Public Administration Review 57 Number 1 (January/February 1997): 11-20. http://fpac.fsu.edu/parbaby/pdf/1997/janfeb/wallin.pdf Dilger, Robert J., Moffett, Randolph R., Struyk, Linda, "Privatization of Municipal Services in America's Largest Cities" Public Administration Review 57 Number 1 (January/February 1997): 21-26. http://fpac.fsu.edu/parbaby/pdf/1997/janfeb/dilger.pdf

Native Son: analysis of rhetorical strategies Essay

Max concludes his argument for Bigger’s life with a speech in a final attempt to persuade people to see the greater good in letting him live. His purpose is to convince that public as well as the judge that Bigger’s violent nature is spawned from the oppressive society that keeps him and other African Americans in constant fear and poverty. He achieves success in articulating his points by employing various rhetorical strategies: similes, cause and effect, and comparison. The speech is punctuated with similes. He uses them to relate Bigger and society to other parts of life. â€Å"The complex forces of society have isolated here for us a symbol, a test symbol. The prejudices of men have stained this symbol, like a germ stained for examination under the microscope.† This simile shows how the white public looks down upon the African American population as a â€Å"germ† or plague of society, under constant interrogation and examination. Max extends this simile by relating society to a â€Å"sick social organism†. He describes the â€Å"new form of life†, the African American oppressed as â€Å"like a weed growing from under a stone†, which expresses the immense burden of the white public. Max also illustrates the African American lifestyle as â€Å"gliding through our complex civilization like wailing ghosts; they spin like fiery planets lost from their orbits; they wither and die like trees ripped from native soil.† This shows the aura of distress and hardship of the African Americans. Max tries to explain that Bigger is the product of a racially oppressive society in which all African Americans must live by using the strategy of cause and effect. â€Å"What Bigger did†¦ was but a tiny aspect of what he had been doing all his life long! He was living, only as he knew how, and as we have forced him to live.† He describes Bigger’s offenses as results of their own actions. In reference to the hardships that the white society consciously forces upon the African American population, Max states: â€Å"We know this evidence for we helped create it.† After stating all the oppressive and dominative actions taken upon the African American society, he speaks of the murders as being obvious end products, which should have been expected. â€Å"We planned the murder or Mary Dalton.† In order for Max to eliminate the obvious racial bias that was present in the minds of the public, he employs comparison. He highlights the fact that because he is black, his crimes are completely indefensible and horrible. Max dismisses Bigger’s villainous persona by comparing him to the freedom-fighting patriots that founded America. â€Å"These twelve million Negroes, conditioned broadly by our own notions as we were by European ones when we first came here, are struggling within unbelievably narrow limits to achieve that feeling of at-home-ness for which we once strove so ardently.† Max’s speech combines the rhetorical strategies of similes, cause and effect, and comparison to convey his views on racial maltreatment and persecution. He effectively illustrates the very parts of society that caused Bigger’s actions, and makes an notably moving case for Bigger’s life.

Emperor Galerius, A Brief History essays

Emperor Galerius, A Brief History essays Emperor Galerius was the ruler of Rome. He was born in 250 and died in 311. He served a military career and is best remembered for issuing edicts ordering tolerance of Christianity. In upper Moesia, near Florentine, there is a small Danube village where Galerius was born. His parents came from an area beyond Danube, and his father was a simple peasant. Galerius was a herdsman before he joined the army. In the army he had a successful career, and rose to become a senior officer during the reign of Diocletian. During this time, Galerius, along with Constantias Cholorus, was chosen to be one of the principal leaders by the Emperor Diocletian. Galerius received the rank of Junior Caesar and that is when he changed his name to Gaius Valerious Maximainus. He ruled over the powerful Balkan Provinces, which were located in the dioceses of Pannonia Moesia and Thraciae, along with the Diocese of Asiana in turkey, which is in Asia Minor. The most important job in this position was of guarding the Danube frontier from any incursions from the Goths, who were pressing to take hold of the Danube frontier regions. In addition, after successfully defending against the Goths, he also fought off the Samaritans and Marcomanni in AD 296-297. He then divided the lands and formed a new Province in the northern half of lower Pannonia, which he named after his wife Valeria. Then, in AD 296, Diocletian called on Galerius to help deal with the Persians' invasion of Syria. In the course of the conflict, Galerius had to cross the Euphrates River, but he suffered defeat and had to withdraw and in doing so, lost control of the province of Mesopotania. Because of his failure, Emperor Diocletian punished Galerius and publicly humiliated him. This humiliation led Galerius to attempt to defeat the Persians for a second time in AD 297. This time, he prepared a much stronger army, and with a plan to attack the Persian forces and take all they had, including th...

Enthalpy Definition in Chemistry and Physics

Enthalpy Definition in Chemistry and Physics Enthalpy is a thermodynamic property of a system. It is the sum of the internal energy added to the product of the pressure and volume of the system. It reflects the capacity to do non-mechanical work and the capacity to release heat. Enthalpy is denoted as H; specific enthalpy denoted as h. Common units used to express enthalpy are the joule, calorie, or BTU (British Thermal Unit.) Enthalpy in a throttling process is constant. Change in enthalpy is calculated rather than enthalpy, in part because total enthalpy of a system cannot be measured. However, it is possible to measure the difference in enthalpy between one state and another. Enthalpy change may be calculated under conditions of constant pressure. Enthalpy Formulas H E PV where H is enthalpy, E is internal energy of the system, P is pressure, and V is volume d H T d S P d V What Is the Importance of Enthalpy? Measuring the change in enthalpy allows us to determine whether a reaction was endothermic (absorbed heat, positive change in enthalpy) or exothermic (released heat, negative change in enthalpy.)It is used to calculate the heat of reaction of a chemical process.Change in enthalpy is used to measure heat flow in calorimetry.It is measured to evaluate a  throttling process or Joule-Thomson expansion.Enthalpy is used to calculate minimum power for a compressor.Enthalpy change occurs during a change in the state of matter.There are many other applications of enthalpy in thermal engineering. Example Change in Enthalpy Calculation You can use the heat of fusion of ice and heat of vaporization of water to calculate the enthalpy change when ice melts into a liquid and the liquid turns to a vapor. The heat of fusion of ice is 333 J/g (meaning 333 J is absorbed when 1 gram of ice melts.) The  heat of vaporization of liquid water  at 100 °C is 2257 J/g. Part A:  Calculate  the change in enthalpy, ΔH, for these two processes. H2O(s) → H2O(l); ΔH ?H2O(l) → H2O(g); ΔH ?Part B:  Using the values you calculated, find the number of grams of ice you can melt using 0.800 kJ of heat. SolutionA.  The heats of fusion and vaporization are in joules, so the first thing to do is convert to kilojoules. Using the  periodic table, we know that 1  mole of water  (H2O) is 18.02 g. Therefore:fusion ΔH 18.02 g x 333 J / 1 gfusion ΔH 6.00 x 103  Jfusion ΔH 6.00 kJvaporization ΔH 18.02 g x 2257 J / 1 gvaporization ΔH 4.07 x 104  Jvaporization ΔH 40.7 kJSo the completed thermochemical reactions are:H2O(s) → H2O(l); ΔH 6.00 kJH2O(l) → H2O(g); ΔH 40.7 kJB.  Now we know that:1 mol H2O(s) 18.02 g H2O(s) ~ 6.00 kJUsing this conversion factor:0.800 kJ x 18.02 g ice / 6.00 kJ 2.40 g ice melted Answer A.  H2O(s) → H2O(l); ΔH 6.00 kJ H2O(l) → H2O(g); ΔH 40.7 kJ B.  2.40 g ice melted

Ethical practices in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical practices in Business - Essay Example These include community, environmental and social aspects and also the economic impacts (Holm & Lillywhite, 2002). Let us try and find out the ethical practices followed in some leading organizations. Westpac Banking Corporation Take the example of Westpac Banking Corporation. This is the first Australian bank which has developed and implemented a strict social, environmental and ethical code of conduct for the complete supply chain of about ten thousand companies. Such supplier companies need to strictly adhere to the requisite minimum standards of regulatory compliance and follow responsible and ethical business practices. According to the general manager of Westpac Banking Corporation, Lyn Lennard, companies which fail to maintain the standard business practices will be removed from the supply chain. The bank will be working closely and encourage these companies to adhere to the business practices. Moreover there will be time to time monitoring and review which will help the bank to ascertain whether such supply chain organizations are strictly following these standards (Westpac.com, 2008). BP Australia Pty Limited Let us consider the ethical practices at BP Australia Limited. Initially a local Australian company, this has now grown into a global energy group operating over 100 countries and employing over 100000 people worldwide (bp.com, 2011).

Fundamental Principles of Personal Selling Essay

Fundamental Principles of Personal Selling - Essay Example Many salespeople will use previous customer sales lists. The second fundamental principle is communicating. By continually keeping customers that have a history with the company, or, through cold calling potential customers, up to date on the latest products or services that are being offered by the company, there is a higher chance of that salesperson having repeat or new clients. It is important to keep communication up as existing customers will quickly turn to the competitor if they feel that they are not being given special information or deals by their history of business dealings. The third fundamental principle is actually selling. This means that a sales pitch can be done over the phone or through a walk-in client. By providing "eye" contact and body language that shows interest in the customer only and answering questions that the customer may have, without the customer repeating the question, will enhance the probability of closing a deal. It is said that in the first 30 seconds upon walking in a store, the customer will or will not walk out that door depending on how they are greeted or if they are greeted at all. The fourth fundamental principle is in the servicing of the customer by helping the customer with any post-sale questions, service questions with respect to the product and providing support prior to delivery of the product, as well as guiding them toward relying on the warranty and service department when they have a problem. The fifth fundamental principle is information gathering during the sale of the product in an effort to gauge future sales and help in the "marketing planning process" (Tutor2U, n.d.). This will also help in earmarking the existing customer for future purchases based on the product they have bought. The sixth and final fundamental principle is allocating. This is an important factor in the personal selling profession in that if a salesperson is not on top of the current inventory or inventory that is coming in at a certain time, it may be necessary to advise the client and then "decide how the stock should be allocated". (Tutor2U, n.d.) Advantages and Disadvantages As personal selling is very much an involved and personal activity (face to face), the potential buyer or existing customer demand a certain level of personal attention and it is important for that salesperson to be privy to this entire concept or they will face certain disparagement by fellow sales staff. This can lead to loss of sales and market share for the company. Conclusion Personal selling in itself has the potential to make or break a person. The main advantages of personal selling include: "a) the sales message can be customized to meet the needs of the customer; b)