Organizational Systems And Impacts. Shortly After The...

Organizational Systems and Impacts Shortly after the acquisition of PacifiCare by UnitedHealth Group (UHG), the differences in the corporate culture and leadership styles were apparent. No longer did the PacifiCare motto of â€Å"every employee matters† ring true. Large numbers of acquired staff were laid off and for those who were allowed to stay the motto practiced by many of the acquiring managers was more reminiscent of â€Å"we don’t need you†. For those trying to assimilate into the UHG organization, it was clear that the mission and values spoken by senior leadership were not what was practiced by many of the management staff. Philosophy and Goals As sister companies and part of the UHG organization, United Healthcare (UHC) provided†¦show more content†¦For those units that did interact with patients the patient care model utilized was one focused on improving the health of specific populations of patients. Differing slightly from the traditional disease management approach of assisting patients in the management of their lifestyle choices that affected their chronic medical conditions, Optum subscribed to the population health focused patient care model. As described by Cramm and Nieboer (2016) the population health delivery model was one, which emphasized improving the overall quality of the patient’s life by addressing the physical, social, and financial difficulties typically faced by patients with chronic medical conditions. The goal of the population health model was to foster a sense of â€Å"well-being† within the patient by providing the education and resources needed to e mpower the patient to make life long changes (Cramm Nieboer, 2016). Systems Model From an organizational perspective, Optum utilized the divisional structure approach. Broken up across business segments and geographic locations, each division within Optum functioned as an autonomous business entity (Optum, n.d.). Each business segment was then organized according to the business needs of that particular unit. For the population health management unit, an informal team-based structure was implemented which allowed the individualShow MoreRelatedValley National Bank ( Vnb )1063 Words   |  5 Pagesprinciples and experience with acquisitions. After an extensive due diligence period, they decided to acquire 1st United Bank. 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The organizational structure of the company is also focused on establishing officers that will be destined to key manufacturing areas in all satellite areas around the world to maximize the production facilities and operation. In addition, manufacturing all kinds

Essay on Video Games and Violence - 1481 Words

Gun violence in the past years throughout the United States had been increased rapid. Examples of this are Virginia Tech incident, the shooting of congresswomen from Arizona Gabby Gifford, The Sandy Hook Shooting, etc. Most of these violence incidents had one thing in common and that is each of the suspect had psychological issues there were facing and they didn’t have support the system most of us have. Another fact is that most of the suspects were nonsocial individual who spend of their time in their room. With nobody arrived for the suspect confide to most they tend to find something that they can express to in most of these cases they are entertainment media like video games. Now I know there are some who would disagree that video†¦show more content†¦Video games are one of the fastest growing media industries. The Interactive Digital Software reports that from 1997 to 2000, there was a 15% increase in game software sales, which surpasses other U.S. industries su ch as amusement parks, fitness centers, and motion picture production (Weber). During this time of rapid economic growth, video games also incurred societal wrath due to some graphic, violent content. Such concern may be warranted, given the fact that playing violent video game has been found in the laboratory to increase aggressive responses (Weber). Correlational evidence documenting a positive relationship between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior has been accumulating especially since â€Å"shooter game† started to inundate the market in the late 1990s. Thus, it seems important to assess the relative frequency of gun use in popular video games (Weber). For example, multiple literature reviews and meta-analytic work have concluded that playing violent video game significantly increases the aggressive thoughts, aggressive feelings, and physiological arousal of the players, which in turn significantly increases the amount of aggressive behaviors that are o bserved (Baldassaro). With all the multiple literature review and meta-analytics we still have a lot to learn more about the influence of exposure to violent video games. As video games manufacturers continuously to produce more realistic games and violent video games, better measures ofShow MoreRelatedThe Effect of Video Game Violence on Physiological Desensitization to Real-life Violence2765 Words   |  12 Pageschildren who play video games for many hours daily. Addiction controls life of people, there is addiction to drugs, cigarettes, alcohol or gambling, and there are some forms of addiction associated with modern life, such as Internet and video games. Most people think that video games are harmful and waste of time. As a result, the main question of the research is how video games can influence on children and many minor questions come to mind about video games: Do video games influence a child’sRead MoreViolent Video Games Cause Increased Violence Essay1855 Words   |  8 Pagesobjective of video games is to entertain people by surprising them with new experiences.† (Shigeru Miyamoto) Shigeru Miyamoto is the creator of some of gaming’s most iconic video game characters, Mario Jumpman Mario, Link and Donkey Kong; while also, serving as co-Representative Director of the game company, Nintendo and is highly respected. Miyamoto, based on the quote provided, feels that video games are meant to entertain people and nothing more. However, many people feel as though video games only causeRead MoreVideo Games : Video Game Violence1502 Words   |  7 Pages2013 Video Game Violence The evolution of video games has taken a drastic change since the 1970’s when video games were first introduced. Since then every decade video games have become more violent in nature with strong language and realistic to suit society today. Craig Anderson states that with more violence in video games they would sell better than games with less violence (Anderson, Gentile, and Beckley pg.5). Violent video games really became popular when the first person shooter games wereRead MoreVideo Games : Video Game Violence Essay1693 Words   |  7 PagesVideo Game Violence Blood and gore, intense violence, strong sexual content, use of drugs. These are just a few of the phrases that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) uses to describe the content of several games. The future of entertainment revolves around technology. Along with the evolvement of technology, video games are also changing. More ways of playing violent video games are created each year, but most of us have this question in mind; do violent video games influence peopleRead MoreVideo Game Violence : Video Games892 Words   |  4 PagesVideo Game Violence On December 14, 2012, a twenty year old boy named Adam Lanza shot twenty children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Before arriving to the school, he shot his mother then committed suicide after the shooting. The reports say that he was influenced to shooting others by the video game â€Å"Call of Duty†. Video game violence is defined as a behavior including physical violence intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something impacted by videoRead MoreVideo Games : Violence And Violence1301 Words   |  6 PagesThe issue of violence in these media products has been a highly-debated issue for the past few decades. Recently it has become extremely popular in the subject of violence in video games. It is rumored that games such as â€Å"Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat, Battlefield, Halo and many more have been the culprit behind a recent spike in childhood aggression. Many people have their own views on the subject, but it has been most com monly deduced that aggression is caused by the games, but violence does not alwaysRead MoreVideo Games and Violence942 Words   |  4 Pages Video Games and Violence Awe entering in more advanced society of technology, video games has become a popular source of entertainment among us. Almost all of us has rented or owned a video game and we have spent hours playing it. As we all know, video games have become the second most popular form of entertainment after television; the source of entertainment is proven to be violent. Excessive playing of video games has a huge impact on our life as well asRead MoreVideo Games and Violence1011 Words   |  4 Pagesare probably millions and billions of video games sold every year to people. Some people seem to believe that violence correlates directly with video games. Video games are something that is usually a big interest in people at the ages of 13 to 19 years old. Video games usually start off as a little fun and then turn into a major hobby for some people. Emotions change based on whatever happens while a person is engaging in these games most of the time. These games are another way to observe how p eopleRead MoreVideo Games Violence664 Words   |  3 PagesUNV - 104 August 11, 2013 Video Games and Violence Video games and violence have different effects on children according to the type of video games that is being watched It is important to understand the world of video games. All video games do not prevent violence in children. Parents should take into consideration in monitoring their child while choosing video games. Depending on the video game that is chosen, does not mean the child will result in violent behavior later on in lifeRead MoreViolence in Video Games770 Words   |  3 PagesIn the article from Thom Gillespie states that Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is the latest video game to be known of demeaning our society’s youth in the U.S. He states though however, video games such as GTA are â€Å"art† and deserve protection. Moreover, those games just mirror humanitys violent instincts; they do not provoke violence, Gillespie argues. These games also offer chances for debates about ethical issues and the costs of actions. It is known from his writings that Thom G illespie is a professor

The Role of Packaging in Strategic Marketing free essay sample

You may ask yourself the question what is packaging? Its something that you may not even notice it just holds your product together. If that is what you answered you are very mistaken. Ok yes packaging holds your product together but that is not the only function. Lets take a deeper look into the world of packaging and discover what packaging is all about. The first packages used the natural materials available at the time: Baskets of reeds, wineskins, wooden, pottery vases, ceramic amphorae, wooden barrels, woven bags, etc. Processed materials were used to form packages as they were developed: for example, early glass and bronze vessels. The study of old packages is an important aspect of archaeology. Iron and tin plated steel were used to make cans in the early 19th century. Paperboard cartons and corrugated fiberboard boxes were first introduced in the late 19th century. Packaging advancements in the early 20th century included Bakelite closures on bottles, transparent cellophane over wraps and panels on cartons, increased processing efficiency and improved food safety. We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Packaging in Strategic Marketing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As additional materials such as aluminum and several types of plastic were developed, they were incorporated into packages to improve performance and functionality. What is Packaging? If you look up packaging in the dictionary you might come across these definitions: 1. The wrapping or container in which an item is presented for sale, or the materials used to make it 2. The design or style of the wrapping or container in which something is offered for sale, especially from the point of view of its appeal to buyers 3. The manner in which something or somebody is presented to the public in order to create a favorable image or impression Encarta ® World English Dictionary  © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Undoubtedly all of those meanings are correct but we are going to dive in even deeper to reveal importance of packaging and its role in marketing. The Purpose of Packaging These are the reasons why we have packaging. †¢ Physical Protection the product inclosed in the packaging may require protection from various elements like climate change shock and vibrations.

Substitute Goods Essay Example For Students

Substitute Goods Essay In economics, one kind of good (or service) is said to be a substitute good for another kind insofar as the two kinds of goods can be consumed or used in place of one another in at least some of their possible uses. Classic examples of substitute goods include margarine and butter, or petroleum and natural gas (used for heating or electricity). The fact that one good is substitutable for another has immediate economic consequences: insofar as one good can be substituted for another, the demand for the two kinds of good will be bound together by the fact that customers can trade off one good for the other if it becomes advantageous to do so. We will write a custom essay on Substitute Goods specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Thus, an increase in price for one kind of good (ceteris paribus) will result in an increase in demand for its substitute goods, and a decrease in price (ceteris paribus, again) will result in a decrease in demand for its substitutes. Thus, economists can predict that a spike in the cost of wood will likely mean increased business for bricklayers, or that falling cellular phone rates will mean a fall-off in business for public pay phones. It is important to note that when speaking about substitute goods we are speaking about two different kinds of goods; so the substitutability of one good for another is always a matter of degree. One good is a perfect substitute for another only if it can be used in exactly the same way, at exactly the same cost, and with exactly the same quality of outcome; that is, when there is no particular incentive for a customer to prefer one over the other. Needless to say, there are relatively few perfect substitutes except between two goods of the same kind. Much more common is for goods to be imperfect substitutes for one another. Compact discs and cassettes, for example, can both be used for the same purpose (as media for recording and replaying sound), but there are significant differences between the two in terms of durability, sound quality, and the cost of the recording media and the equipment used to record on it. As a result the two can be substituted for one another, but there are significant trade-offs involved in deciding to substitute one for the other: if you buy a tape instead of a CD, you may pay less, but you will get lower sound quality and a less durable good; if you buy a CD instead of a tape, you may get better sound quality but you will pay more and you may not be able to listen to the CD in your car. Nevertheless, CDs and cassettes are substitute goods (though only imperfectly): and so if changes in the market tend to erode the advantages f choosing cassettes over CDs (such as a decrease in CD prices or increased availability of car CD players) it will tend to increase the demand for CDs and decrease the demand for cassettes. The opposite of a substitute good is a complement good. In other words, good substitution is an economic concept where two goods are of comparable value. Car brands are an example. While someone could argue that Ford trucks are much different from Toyota tr ucks, If the price of Ford trucks goes up enough, some people will buy Toyota trucks instead.

US Involvement in Nicaragua essays

US Involvement in Nicaragua essays Some might say that Nicaragua has been a pawn in the US battle against Soviet-Cuban Communist control in Latin America. Relationships between the US and Nicaragua go back to the Gold Rush and Cornelius Vanderbilt's attempts to expedite the travel between the two coasts of the US. Vanderbilt bought the rights to shuttle fortune-seekers across Nicaragua to avoid their having to cross the width of the United States or travel around Cape Horn. Eventually, controversy among the Nicaraguan people led to a civil war in 1853. The US was further drawn into the conflict when the left-wing army hired an American, William Walker, to fight for them. Walker and his mercenaries quickly conquered Grenada, the stronghold of the Conservative parties and found themselves in charge of the army. Walker, however, had his eyes on the presidency, which he eventually took. Walker was not the end of US intervention in Nicaragua. The government had aligning aspirations with Cornelius Vanderbilt and decided to build their canal through Nicaragua, which was less disease ravaged than the other contender, Panama. However, due to previous treaty agreements, the US would have to share control of any canal built through Nicaragua with Great Britain, and so the plan was abandoned. Instead, the US built an exclusively controlled canal through Panama. From 1893 – 1909, a general by the name of Zelaya had exclusive control of the Nicaraguan government. However, in 1909, with US support, this government was overthrown and a pro-US government was established. Throughout the early 1900's, US Marines helped quell minor rebellions throughout Nicaragua and occupy much of the country. Finally, in 1933, the marines leave under the premise of peace with the guerrilla leader Gen. Sandino. A man named Anastasio Somoza is put in charge of the National Guard and therefore controls the country with an iron fist. Until 1979, the Somoza family serves as the totalitarian government i...

Work out vs. Workout

Work out vs. Workout Work out vs. Workout Work out vs. Workout By Maeve Maddox A reader who frequents health and fitness sites is disturbed by a lack of professional editing: Ive noticed that nobody, literally nobody makes a distinction between the noun workout and the verb work out. On every website, I find statements like You have to workout three times a week. So I was wondering if you could address that issue in one of your upcoming posts. The reader is not exaggerating by much. Here are some examples from health and fitness sites and forums that I visited: How often should you workout per week? Should be: How often should you work out per week? Where do you workout? Should be: Where do you work out? First, warm up with some joint rotations, in order to lubricate your joints and prepare them for  the work out.   Should be: First, warm up with some joint rotations, in order to lubricate your joints and prepare them for  the workout.   I’m a night person and prefer to workout at night. Should be: I’m a night person and prefer to work out at night. A few people have asked me what  my work out  routine is. Should be: A few people have asked me what  my workout  routine is. NOTE: One-word workout is also used as an adjective as in â€Å"my workout routine.† One way to avoid the error is to look for words that precede the terms. The noun workout is often preceded by an article or an adjective: â€Å"the workout,† â€Å"my workout.† The verb is often used in its infinitive form, so the preceding to provides a useful clue. Here are some examples of other noun/adjective/verb combinations that are confused in this way: 1. turnout (noun) / turn out (verb) Big turn out  for launch of new play area Should be: Big turnout  for launch of new play area We had many parents turnout for the second high school informational meeting Should be: We had many parents turn out for the second high school informational meeting. 2. washout (noun) / wash out (verb) It is during this time that most  recruits washout. Should be: It is during this time that most  recruits wash out. Authorities concerned over wash out rate. Should be: Authorities concerned over washout rate. Three more such combos are: rollout/roll out, checkout/check out, and cutout /cut out. I’m sure you can think of more. Here’s a mnemonic written in pig propaganda style (Animal Farm) that may help: One word, Noun, Two words, Verb. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names50 Types of Propaganda45 Idioms with "Roll"

Investment Banking ( calculation and short answer) Essay - 1

Investment Banking ( calculation and short answer) - Essay Example The accretion analysis provides an platform for evaluating control premium of purchasing the acquisition and hence its profitability. Further, accretion analysis is also triggered by the need to evaluate project earnings from for an acquisition. Intuitively, application of accretion analysis helps the acquirer to evaluate the effect of the acquisition on the expected earnings per share and hence the ability of the project to provide favorable earnings. In LBO, assuming the sponsor sells ValueCo at the end of year 5 at an exit multiple equal to its entry multiple, determine enterprise value and equity value at exit given the ending debt balances provided. Based on equity returns and leverage levels, LBO analysis helps in evaluating purchase price. Intuitively, the firm would have to calculate the maximum price that can yield enoughreturns and also cover the debt levels. In which case, the firm in questin will apply LBO analysis to determine a maximum price through the calculation of IRR. Consequently, this ensure that the expected equity returns from the investment is adequate and can cover administrative costs and expenses for the operations. A financial buyer can also use LBO analysis to serve in characterizing the leverage and equity at various prices available for the investment. The financial buyer would consider it suitable to choose a price that would readily yield expected returns on equity for the post-transataction. Further, evaluating the charateristics of the price also allows the buyer to make a decision that would increase the potential returns from the financial leverage of the same. In this case, IRR is an essential tool used in the analysis to depict the charactertisitcs of the various prices. In a case of absence of a strategic buyer for the transaction, LBO analysis proves essential in making LBO firms to be willing buyers. Through determining

Self Values and Listening Habits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Self Values and Listening Habits - Essay Example It gave me huge opportunity to reflect on my non verbal communication that significantly impact on relationship building. Eye contact shows that person would be honest in his communication and upright posture would indicate that one is confident that one would be given leverage to give his or point of view of the situation. Listening intently would reassure speaker that I understand viewpoint. Hence rather than looking at pictures and elsewhere, I must make eye contact with people and nod occasionally. A feedback at the end would help to convey my proactive participation in the interaction. I believe that improving non verbal communication would significantly promote relationship building. As a manager, it helped me communicate effectively with the workforce and inculcate an environment of trust and mutual respect. It has given me huge opportunity to improve both as an individual as well as a manager. I am more confident and am better able to exploit the potential of my workers. (246 ) Self values We are all driven by the long term goals and larger mission in our life. It generally comprises of achieving socio-economic security for oneself and one’s family, happiness, a comfortable life and sense of achievement. Our value system helps us in meeting our personal and professional goals and objectives. The three most important values for me are: accountability of action; commitment to people and work; and lastly positive attitude. The self values are critical elements that play vital role in my interaction with the people in the work place. These values have been greatly influenced by my family and highlight integrity, power and authority tempered with empowerment of individuals. I have imbibed them through my association with my family and peers and know that commitment towards other people not only promotes trust but is also key to happiness. Happiness is important as it greatly contributes towards improved productivity. My priorities in life are to become financial secure, have a large family and use my authority for the wider welfare of the people. I try to fulfill the priorities by correlating my values within the broader framework of my professional life as a manager. As a manager, I have achieved financial security for myself. Though I have not yet my own family (meaning children), I believe that as a manager, I have judiciously used my power and authority. Indeed, commitment to organizational goals and welfare of people, have been intrinsic parts of my managerial leadership initiatives. I have developed effective communication skills and positive attitude that helps to motivate workers to be creative and highly productive. Time management has been other key factor which had adversely impacted my performance. I realized that there were three major aspects of work which must be addressed. Minor tasks were ignored, I lacked motivation at the beginning of the work and lastly I used to forget important assignments or meetings. These were very crucial issues which were hindering not only my professional development but also undermining my authority and power as an effective manager. Hence, the thing that I did was to keep a diary where I could jot down all the work that needed to be done. It was a great help because it helped me to streamline my work and significantly reduced mental tension and worry. The diary also helped me to plan my work and schedule work so that I could address all the work/ projects and workplace

Electricity and Economy in Kenya Essay Example for Free

Electricity and Economy in Kenya Essay ICT has been the main driver of Kenyas economic growth over the last decade, growing on average by 20 % annually, and propelling the combined transport and communications sector into the economys second largest after agriculture. In chapter three I have discussed the impact of electricity on key economic sectors in Kenya which are agriculture, educational services, banking and communication services, microenterprises and tourism all of which are key pillars of Kenya Vision 2030. It costs approximately Ksh. 5,000 to connect to the grid and about 15 US cents equivalent per kWh of electricity service. This high cost is a major obstacle to the expansion of electricity connection to low-income households. Chapter 1: Introduction 1. 1 Overview and statement of the problem Broad agreement exists that the level and the intensity of energy use in a country is a key indicator of economic growth and development. A number of researchers claim that for modern energy to make a difference on poverty, it must necessarily contribute to productive uses that generate income and create jobs. Kenya’s Vision 2030 identified energy as one of the infrastructure enablers of its pillars and it is expected that more energy will be required to realize the objectives of the Vision. The economic pillar of Vision 2030 aims at providing prosperity for all Kenyans through an economic development programme aimed at achieving an average GDP growth rate of 10% per annum over the next 25 years. Electricity remains the most sought after energy source by the Kenyan society and access to it is normally associated with rising or high quality of life. Its current consumption is at 143 kilowatt hours (kWh) per capita and national connectivity rate of about 28. 9% which is below the average of 32% for developing countries. Electrification plays an important role in the start-up and growth of microenterprises which may lead to sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction. Energy can be directly linked to improved food security because energy can be used in any part of the food supply chain, from growing, processing, storage and cooking, through to marketing and distribution.

Essay --

Have you ever wondered how one person can make such a substantial difference and inspire so much change? In The Hunger Games novels Suzanne Collins creates Katniss Everdeen, the main character and protagonist. She is the empowered female character who through her atypical qualities and actions inspires incredible change. Collins uses Katniss as a lead because she disrupts the natural order of power in Panem and she is the unconventional representation of a heroic figure. The Hunger Games take place in Panem, a dystopian society that is divided into twelve districts and ruled by the Capitol, a totalitarian power. The people of the districts are suppressed; they have no rights and no freedom of speech. In Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults, literary criticism by Patrick Smith, he contributes to the idea of a dystopian society saying â€Å"dystopias feature totalitarian regimes and shattered economies, global war, climate change, the lack of meaningful personal relationships and lost identities, and the underdog fighting against near-impossible odds. All current societies, dystopian novels suggest, are just one cataclysmic event away from collapse.† This accurately describes the occurrences in Panem. Every year a male and female tribute between the ages of twelve and eighteen are selected from every district in a ceremony called the reaping. They are then forced to fight to the death in the hunger games while all of Panem watches on screen until there is one left standing, the victor. The hunger games were created as a means of which to restore order after the â€Å"Dark Days†, a rebellion that happened decades ago. The people must watch their young be slaughtered on screen to pay for the rebellion. â€Å"Taking the kids from our districts, forcin... ...ames is the rebellion that breaks out in district eight. Katniss gets an unwarranted glance at a TV with updates on the action taking place there. She sees masses of people, flags with the Capitol’s emblem being burned and banners with her face waving from the tops of buildings. The disorder is ultimately traced back to Katniss. Collins uses Katniss as the protagonist because she is the unconventional representation of a heroic figure due to her strong characteristics and her powerful representation; she inspires many people and gives them hope because of her sincere and self-sacrificing nature. As she defies the rules of the Capitol others follow in her lead and over time the natural order of power in Panem is not only disrupted but turned upside down. Katniss shows that it is possible for one person to make substantial differences and inspire unbelievable change.

Poverty: Causes and Effects Essay

I. Introduction Most of us today experience the feeling of being poor. It might be in material things or in monetary matters. We can even see the people around begging just to live. It can somehow be the picture of our corrupt government. Officials don’t see the thirst and hunger these people are experiencing. They just think of themselves. Thus, worsening the increase of those people in the poverty line. Isn’t bad to look after our country full of beggars? Asking for pennies and food to eat. We might not be effective in terms of monetary problems, but at least we can give them the feeling of love and care. The supply of basic needs can be restricted by constraints on government services such as corruption, debt and loan conditionalities and by the brain drain of health care and educational professionals. Strategies of increasing income to make basic needs more affordable typically include welfare, accommodating business regulations and providing financial services. Today, poverty reduction is a major goal and issue for many international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. The English word â€Å"poverty† came from Latin pauper = â€Å"poor†, via Anglo-Norman povert. There are many definitions of poverty depending on the context of the situation and the views of the person giving the definition. Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation. Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life. II. Literature Review The individuals who are most at risk of developing problem drug use are those who are at the margins of society. They are individuals who are socially and economically marginalised and disaffected from school, family, work and standard forms of leisure. However the relationship between these factors and drug use is not linear. For example although the majority of problem drug users may have experienced a number of these problems the converse may not hold true; that is, individuals who are economically and politically/socially marginalised will not necessarily become problematic drug users. Neale suggests however that particular sub-groups of the population such as the homeless, those who have been in care and/or excluded from school and those in contact with the criminal justice system or mental health services are more susceptible to the various risk factors and that drug misuse is more prevalent among these particular groups (Neale 2002). According to Spooner (2005) the social environment is a powerful influence on health and social outcomes. In this context drug use and related problems result from the complex interplay of the individual and the environment whereby social institutions or structures can influence the environment in a manner that can influence drug use and related problems. Societal structures include government policies, taxation systems, 11 laws and service systems such as welfare, education, health and justice. As such increased attention to the ‘social’ determinants of drug use is required. People from all backgrounds and classes take drugs for many reasons: for pleasure, to treat physical or emotional pain, for stress or anxiety, or because their friends do. But the pattern of who develops a drug problem and encounters other problems shows a close link between drug misuse and social exclusion. The first signs of the link between problematic drug use and social exclusion became apparent in the US post-war period as some of the big cities encountered the first shocks of de-industrialisation. A series of studies by the Chicago School of Sociology showed clearly that poverty and decay in inner cities were the key causes of the heroin epidemics of the 1950s and 1960s in New York, Chicago and other US cities. In the 1980s those same factors helped to fuel the crack epidemics in the US. An influential study by Parker et al (1986) undertaken in the Wirral during the 1980s showed the average prevalence of heroin users across the peninsular was 18.2 per 1,000 among 16-24 year-olds. But the spread ranged in different districts from zero to 162 per 1,000. The variation in geographical prevalence was highly correlated with seven indicators of background deprivation levels in each area: unemployment rate, council tenancies, overcrowding, larger families, unskilled employment, single parent families and lack of access to a car. A study by Dr Laurence Gruer of some 3,715 drugrelated emergency hospital admissions in Greater Glasgow from 1991 to 1996 plotted them by postcode using a standard index of deprivation (cited ACMD 1998). The admission rate from the most deprived areas exceeded that from the least deprived areas by a factor of 30, so that if the admission rate for the least deprived area had applied across the city, the number of admissions would have been 92 per cent lower. It was noted that the relationship between deprivation and drug misuse is higher than any other health variable they had studied. III. Discussion Health One third of deaths – some 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day – are due to poverty-related causes: in total 270 million people, most of them women and children, have died as a result of poverty since 1990. Those living in poverty suffer disproportionately from hunger or even starvation and disease. Those living in poverty suffer lower life expectancy. According to the World Health Organization, hunger andmalnutrition are the single gravest threats to the world’s public health and malnutrition is by far the biggest contributor to child mortality, present in half of all case. Hunger Rises in the costs of living making poor people less able to afford items. Poor person spend agreater portion of their budgets on food than richer people. As a result, poor households and those near the poverty threshold can be particularly vulnerable to increases in food prices. For example, in late 2007 increases in the price of grains led to food riots in some countries. TheWorld Bank warned that 100 million people were at risk of sinking deeper into poverty. Threats to the supply of food may also be caused by drought and the water crisis. Intensive farmingoften leads to a vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural yields. Approximately 40% of the world’s agricultural land is seriously degraded. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to United Nations University’s Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa. Every year nearly 11 million children living in poverty die before their fifth birthday. 1.02 billion people go to bed hungry every night. According to the Global Hunger Index, South Asia has the highest child malnutrition rate of the world’s regions. Nearly half of all Indianchildren are undernourished, one of the highest rates in the world and nearly double the rate of Sub-Saharan Africa. Every year, more than half a million women die in pregnancy or childbirth. Almost 90% of maternal deaths occur in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, compared to less than 1% in the developed world. Women who have born children into poverty may not be able to nourish the children efficiently and provide adequate care in infancy. The children may also suffer from disease that has been passed down to the child through birth. Asthma and rickets are common problems children acquire when born into poverty. Education Research has found that there is a high risk of educational underachievement for children who are from low-income housing circumstances. This often is a process that begins in primary school for some less fortunate children. Instruction in the US educational system, as well as in most other countries, tends to be geared towards those students who come from more advantaged backgrounds. As a result, these children are at a higher risk than other children for retention in their grade, special placements during the school’s hours and even not completing their high school education. There are indeed many explanations for why students tend to drop out of school. For children with low resources, the risk factors are similar to others such as juvenile delinquency rates, higher levels of teenage pregnancy, and the economic dependency upon their low income parent or parents. Families and society who submit low levels of investment in the education and development of less fortunate child ren end up with less favorable results for the children who see a life of parental employment reduction and low wages. Higher rates of early childbearing with all the connected risks to family, health and well-being are majorly important issues to address since education from preschool to high school are both identifiably meaningful in a life. Poverty often drastically affects children’s success in school. A child’s â€Å"home activities, preferences, mannerisms† must align with the world and in the cases that they do not these students are at a disadvantage in the school and most importantly the classroom. Therefore, it is safe to state that children who live at or below the poverty level will have far less success educationally than children who live above the poverty line. Poor children have a great deal less healthcare and this ultimately results in many absences from the academic year. Additionally, poor children are much more likely to suffer from hunger, fatigue, irritability, headaches, ear infections, flu, and colds. These illnesses could potentially restrict a child or student’s focus and concentration. Housing Poverty increases the risk of homelessness. Slum-dwellers, who make up a third of the world’s urban population, live in a poverty no better, if not worse, than rural people, who are the traditional focus of the poverty in the developing world, according to a report by the United Nations. There are over 100 million street children worldwide. Most of the children living in institutions around the world have a surviving parent or close relative, and they most commonly entered orphanages because of poverty. Experts and child advocates maintain that orphanages are expensive and often harm children’s development by separating them from their families. It is speculated that, flush with money, orphanages are increasing and push for children to join even though demographic data show that even the poorest extended families usually take in children whose parents have died. Violence According to experts, many women become victims of trafficking, the most common form of which is prostitution, as a means of survival and economic desperation.] Deterioration of living conditions can often compel children to abandon school in order to contribute to the family income, putting them at risk of being exploited, according to ECPAT International, an NGO designed to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children. For example, in Zimbabwe, a number of girls are turning to prostitution for foodto survive because of the increasing poverty. In one survey, 67% of children from disadvantaged inner cities said they had witnessed a serious assault, and 33% reported witnessing a homicide. 51% of fifth graders from New Orleans (median income for a household: $27,133) have been found to be victims of violence, compared to 3212% in Washington, DC(mean income for a household: $40,127) IV. Conclusion The main problem in our country nowadays is poverty. Many experts made a research on how to solve it. Most in the community of the Philippines are graving. But sad to say that until now it is still in the stage of calamity. Poverty happens everywhere. They think citiesmay offer them a better-off living. They think they’ll be much better off living in the cities than in their own villages, which only offer them natural resources. Being rich and having a great sum of money instantly are often the cause of massive exodus. What happens later is beyond their expectations; they become jobless, homeless, and the worse impact is that they are unable to return to their villages for they don’t even have money to return. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness. Poor children are the most prone to this and are often the victims to malnutrition, deficiencies, diseases and ultimately deaths caused by hunger. The persons who are in the position must have enough knowledge about the solutions on the problem. They should make a step by step process to ensure the proper on the global major problem.

Poems by Emily Dickinson: An Overview

However, to most efficiently express her thoughtful yet Judicious mannerisms would be through her choice of words to create an Image. Emily Dickinson uses Dalton (a style and choice of words) and Imagery (a description of a setting or Image) to paint a picture of splendor and stoically. For Instance, In the poem â€Å"Some keep the Sabbath,† when she writes words Like â€Å"Bobolink† Instead of easy terminology like, hem, a bird! Other Interesting words she chooses to use are â€Å"Chorister (a choir singer), â€Å"Dome† (a church roof Sabbath† (Sunday), â€Å"Surplice† (robes for the choir) and â€Å"Sexton† (the person who tolls the bells for a church).Not only are all of these words unorthodox, but they are all capitalized, whereas all the other words not beginning each verse are lower case, as if they are of another allegorical importance. She also shows the reader a halcyon orchard, where the birds sing as beautifully as the church choir , where the songs ring as delicately as the bells. Emily Dickinson uses the same type of diction in â€Å"There is no Frigate. She writes words like â€Å"Coursers† (horses), â€Å"Traverse† (a journey), â€Å"Toll† (she's expressing no cost), and the word â€Å"Frigate† itself (a large boat or vessel).With a new intention and theme of travel, Dickinson uses word choice in yet another didactic poem. And she draws the reader a new purpose to read, a chance to let go, and enter a utopian world, without a penny's cost. Through her diction and imagery, Emily Dickinson personifies majestic beings and animals into humans, and also personifies objects into vessels persons use. With bird and human-like attributes, Emily Dickinson uses personification (the attribution of human characteristics to things) illuminate a pleasant natural setting.As Dickinson says she sees a â€Å"Bobolink,† she personifies it as a â€Å"Chorister,† but the â€Å"Sextonà ¢â‚¬  who â€Å"toll[s] the Bell† is entitled to sing, which is only an action that can be taken by a human or bird. When she notes God, she claims him to be a â€Å"Clergyman† (a Christian minister). She also writes about how she wears her â€Å"Wings† instead of â€Å"Surplice,† which signifies freedom and naturalist views. Emily Dickinson uses personification In â€Å"There Is no Frigate,† nevertheless, in a peculiarly different way.. She turns man's use of vessels and travel Into miscellaneous things through comparison.She compares a â€Å"Frigate† to a book and â€Å"Coursers† to pages of poetry. Progressively, Dickinson becomes more abstract and makes a connection between a â€Å"Chariot† and the human soul. It Is almost as If she Is making negative connotations about ways of travel, compared to the more special things like the Imagination a person uses, the special feeling a person gets room reading a book in the comfor t of his/her own home (which In turn enlightens the human soul). Lastly, Emily uses biblical allusions and references to God in both poems, to slightly tenet elastic themes.According to most Talent, Is Like ten ultimatum. Or the Lord of all that is categorized as objective or subjective. Emily Dickinson uses God variously in her poetry, there are a plethora biblical allusions (references) and Godly references because of her religious background. The fact that she writes about wearing a pair of â€Å"Wings† caught me by surprise.. To be honest, at iris, we thought she meant a bird, but now we are almost positive Dickinson is saying she will become an angel and return to Heaven.Even mentioning â€Å"Heaven,† going to â€Å"Church† on â€Å"Sabbath† and â€Å"God† preaching are all biblical allusions. Unlike her poem â€Å"Some keep the Sabbath,† which is buzzing with all sorts of allusions, we could only find one relevant reference to the bibl e in â€Å"There is no Frigate. † When the Bible was written, the common way of transportation was by â€Å"Chariot. † In the Bible, the king of Canaan owned nine-hundred chariots, Philistines had thirty thousand chariots.. There were even horses designated to carry the chariots, and there were chariots made for war alone.

Displaying a PDF File in a VB.NET Form

Displaying a PDF File in a VB.NET Form PDF files have an internal document format that requires a software object that understands the format. Since many of you might have used the functions of Office in your VB code, lets look briefly at Microsoft Word as an example of processing a formatted document to make sure we understand the concept. If you want to work with a Word document, you have to add a Reference to the Microsoft Word 12.0 Object Library (for Word 2007) and then instantiate the Word Application object in your code. Dim myWord As Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word.ApplicationClass Start Word and open the document. myWord CreateObject(Word.Application) myWord.Visible True myWord.Documents.Open(C:\myWordDocument.docx) ( must be replaced with the actual path to the document to make this code work on your PC.) Microsoft uses the Word Object Library to provide other methods and properties for your use. Read the article COM -.NET Interoperability in Visual Basic to understand more about Office COM interop. But PDF files arent a Microsoft technology. PDF - Portable Document Format - is a file format created by Adobe Systems for document exchange. For years, it was totally proprietary and you had to get software that could process a PDF file from Adobe. On July 1, 2008, PDF was finalized as a published international standard. Now, anyone is permitted to create applications that can read and write PDF files without having to pay royalties to Adobe Systems. If you plan on selling your software, you still may be required to get a license, but Adobe provides them royalty-free. (Microsoft created a different format called XPS that is based on XML. Adobes PDF format is based on Postscript. XPS became a published international standard on June 16, 2009.) The Uses of PDF Since the PDF format is a competitor to Microsofts technology, they dont provide a lot of support and you have to get a software object that understands the PDF format from someone other than Microsoft right now. Adobe returns the favor. They dont support Microsoft technology all that well either. Quoting from the latest (October 2009) Adobe Acrobat 9.1 documentation, There is currently no support for the development of plug-ins using managed languages such as C# or VB.NET. (A plug-in is an on-demand software component. Adobes plug-in is used to display PDFs in a browser.) Since PDF is a standard, several companies have developed software for sale that you can add to your project that will do the job, including Adobe. There are also a number of open-source systems available. You could also use the Word (or Visio) object libraries to read and write PDF files but using these large systems for just this one thing will require extra programming, also has license issues, and will make your program bigger than it has to be. Just as you need to buy Office before you can take advantage of Word, you also have to buy the full version of Acrobat before you can take advantage of more than just the Reader. You would use the full Acrobat product in about the same way that other object libraries, like Word 2007 above, are used. I dont happen to have the full Acrobat product installed so I couldnt provide any tested examples here. How To But if you only need to display PDF files in your program, Adobe provides an ActiveX COM control that you can add to the VB.NET Toolbox. It will do the job for free. Its the same one you probably use to display PDF files anyway: the free Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader. To use the Reader control, first make sure that you have downloaded and installed the free Acrobat Reader from Adobe. Step 2 is to add the control to the VB.NET Toolbox. Open VB.NET and start a standard Windows application. (Microsofts next generation of presentation, WPF, doesnt work with this control yet. Sorry!) To do that, right-click on any tab (such as Common Controls) and select Choose Items ... from the context menu that pops up. Select the COM Components tab and click the checkbox beside Adobe PDF Reader and click OK. You should be able to scroll down to the Controls tab in the Toolbox and see the Adobe PDF Reader there. Now just drag the control to your Windows Form in the design window and size it appropriately. For this quick example, Im not going to add any other logic, but the control has lots of flexibility that Ill tell you how to find out about later. For this example, Im just going to load a simple PDF that I created in Word 2007. To do that, add this code to the form Load event procedure: Console.WriteLine(AxAcroPDF1.LoadFile( _   Ã‚  Ã‚  C:\Users\Temp\SamplePDF.pdf)) Substitute the path and file name of a PDF file on your own computer to run this code. I displayed the result of the call in the Output windows only to show how that works. Heres the result: Click Here to display the illustrationClick the Back button on your browser to return If you want to control the Reader, there are methods and properties for that in the control too. But the good folks at Adobe have done a better job than I could. Download the Adobe Acrobat SDK from their developer center (adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/). The AcrobatActiveXVB program in the VBSamples directory of the SDK shows you how to navigate in a document, get the version numbers of the Adobe software you are using, and much more. If you dont have the full Acrobat system installed - which must be purchased from Adobe - you wont be able to run other examples.

Favorite House Styles in the USA

Favorite House Styles in the USA Cape Cod and Ranch style houses were once the rage, but Americas tastes have changed over the past decade. Here are todays favorite house styles, according to our Dream House Survey. Mind you, this survey isnt scientific, but the results suggest some interesting trends. Readers are choosing homes homes with cozy details and a romantic flavor. Do you agree? 1. Craftsman Bungalow House Style Homey bungalows with low-pitched roofs and exposed rafters took America by storm in the early 1900s... and then faded from favor after 1930. But perhaps the style is making a comeback. Craftsman and Arts Crafts homes and bungalow homes were the most popular pick in our Dream House survey. 2. Tudor and English Country House Styles Scoring a close second in our Dream House Survey, this cozy style with half-timber details is reminiscent of Medieval English cottages and manor homes. Readers who responded to our survey were drawn to the small, diamond-paned windows and exposed wood framing found in many Tudor Revival homes. 3. Victorian Queen Anne House Styles Victorian is not actually a style, but a period in history, and Victorian architecture comes in many forms. There are the austere stick style homes, the fanciful Gothic Revival cottages,  and the majestic Italianates. But when people discuss Victorian architecture, they are often thinking of Americas so-called Queen Anne  style an elaborate, rather feminine, fashion with lavish details such as towers, wrap-around porches, bay windows, and elaborate trim. Queen Anne ranks number three in our survey, falling behind the more restrained Craftsman and Tudor styles. 4. Georgian Colonial House Styles Symmetrical, orderly Georgian houses became a prominent Colonial house style. Today, Georgian Colonial Revival is a model often imitated for elegant new homes. 5. Prairie House Styles Frank Lloyd Wright pioneered this style in Chicago at the turn of the century. Low-pitched hipped roofs give Prairie style  homes the appearance of hugging the earth, and the square, often symmetrical lines suggest strength and homespun values. 6. Dreams for the Future Borrowing ideas from the past, modern-day styles take on many shapes. One imaginative reader said that he dreamed of owning a home designed for desert living. The floors, he said, would be polished concrete. Air conditioning and heat will duct through the cement slab up through sand-filled interior walls, he wrote. Sounds very modern. Desert Modern. 7. Homes for Right Now Dream houses dont have to be big. In fact. sometimes our deepest passions come in small packages. One man from Ohio has created his own dream house. The 150-year-old cottage has no electricity, so hand tools and elbow grease were used to paint the shutters, sand the floors, and decorate the rooms with an admittedly eccentric style. A quirky man with dogged independence, he writes, This was meant to be fun, not some job to be instantly done. We cant argue with that. More Top Picks A few more questions: Out of all the styles to choose from, whats your favorite? Why do you love it? Here are responses:   High Victorian: Queen Anne, Second Empire, and the like are a showcase of fine craftsmanship not likely to be seen on such a grand scale again. I own an original foursquare. While I appreciate the nice woodwork, its too rectilinear.I like Colonial Revival and Ranch homes, but I also like Foursquare houses because that is what my grandparents had.Arts and Crafts: As a design enthusiast, my favorite style is Arts Crafts. Its wide and low pitched roofs, use of natural materials, earth-toned color schemes, and overall craftsmanship makes the Arts Crafts style hard to ignore and almost impossible to duplicate today. Morris, Greene, Stickley (Sears Roebuck) and, to a great extent, Wright owe much of what they did for architecture in this country, to the East (Asia if Im not mistaken). From Bungalow to Craftsman to Prairie, you will find very, very few people who are NOT taken with the Arts Crafts style.Tidewater: I love the tidewater houses. The wrap-around porches are efficient ventil ation systems. Living in the South, we are able to enjoy a lot of porch weather! Tropical Architecture: This is not a very recognized style but I love it because it addresses issues of the humid climate.Dutch Colonial: I like the dutch colonial revival with the gambrel roof, and also the standard colonial revival..Give Me a Ranch: I love the classic Raised Ranch. The home can be small in square footage but has potential to be designed in such a way that it feels bigger.Federalist Style House: The look of size is impressive in itself but the appearance of sturdiness and durability says home. Even Katrina couldnt blow this house down.Greek Revival: Greek Revival is American architecture at its besta style that is distinctly American for Americans. Chaste and classical, while formal and informal, yet beautiful and timeless are just a few of its many attractive qualities.Spanish: I absolutely love the Spanish-Mediterranean-Pueblo-Missionary type houses. They have a beautiful tropical warm appearance with a comfortable at home feel. Its like living a dream.

PESTLE Analisys Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PESTLE Analisys - Essay Example There is minimal political interference since the company deals with entertainment products. Though, the government once ordered the CDs produced by HMV to be investigated. This is simply because the company was making too much profit that led to a rise in suspicions of the eligibility of the CDs. Economically, several factors pose a great effect on the company. The crash on the company finances due to the acquisition of Waterston’s agency had a severe impact. The company’s shares performed poorly in the London stock exchange. The great impact made the company to have a partial closure. The unstable currency in the past recession years had a great impact on the company’s economy. This is because currency exchange from the signed deals produced futile results. Another factor that greatly affects the economy of HMV is the decline in the company’s performance in 2009.This affected the market as many customers felt that the company did not offer the best. The overall decline in the entertainment industry by 3.4% in 2008 had diverse effects on the company too. Firms in other countries working under the brand name of HMV contribute revenue to the company empowering it economically. The sales revenue of the company rose by 3.1% in 2010. This increased popularity of the brand and the cash inflow. On the sect of social factors, change in consumer demands or else lifestyle changes affects the company. This is whereby the customers drift their demand from one product completely to the other. If there were large stocks of the product, the company may experience a loss. It is mostly brought about by celebrities and other influential people. Advertising these items on a more apparent note helps to adhere to the lifestyle changes by reducing stock. The tapping of music and entertainment is another social factor. Most people can easily burn personal CDs posing a great challenge on the markets of HMV. They can also transfer music from one device to t he other without necessarily purchasing it. On the technology trends, several factors are considered. These include; Online business. Most of the music and computer games can be sold online. This is in line with business protection. The use of DVD s may not be applicable anymore since the sale of music can be easily done through the internet. The company can direct its focus on dealing with such issues to keep up with the pace of the fast developing technology.HMV has created a website whereby it sells its products through an online market. Another one is filming technology. There is the use of high filming technology that provides a live coverage of events. It can be used to record live performances of celebrities. The performances can be sold online for example through YouTube. This easily copes the growing technology. The company also utilizes the social media sites, for example face book. These sites can be used as advertisement centres. This is because they can be accessed by a large number of people. The various products offered by the company are displayed to the customers giving updates on the trending issues (Adams, J. L, 2002, 44). There are ecological factors that can be depicted. The shift from plastic DVDs to using the internet in order to protect the environment is a considerate factor. The plastic CDs that are not re-used but instead disposed off, can affect the environment since they are non-biodegradable. The cost of purchasing CDs is higher than that of selling music

Flooding in Ottawa Illinois Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Flooding in Ottawa Illinois - Essay Example Finally, by choosing to discuss this hazard, the solutions that come from it will educate public and they will therefore have knowledge in handling such an incident when it occurs. In the last five years, seven disasters were experienced in Illinois. For instance, last summer, more than $300 million was put into operation to aid in management of the aftermath of the flood. Also in June 2008, Midwest floods initiated widespread flood destruction across Illinois owing to insistent heavy rains that caused rivers to spill over their banks. Insured losses to Illinois inhabitants totaled $5.3 million. The Great Midwest Floods of 1993, was one of the biggest floods in U.S. history. The outcome was approximately $273 million uninsured flood destruction and an estimated $15 billion in total damages. The approximate amount of damage cause tolled to around $2.6billion and $60.7 million of them insured losses (Barry, 2007). The probabilistic point of view for flood potential issued by the NWS on March 6, 2014 gives a probabilistic valuation of flood potential using the vocabulary presented below. These viewpoints indicate that the likelihood in percent that slight, modest, or major flooding will take place. Additionally, they provide statistics regarding the possibility a given river stage will be equaled or exceeded during the present forecast period. Property destruction and financial losses are one side of the story. Alternative perspective focuses on the consequence the flooding has had on the surroundings and the modifications it made to the physical land. Flood waters leads to erosion thus changing the shape of the land. This is caused by the chemicals and organic material deposit carried within the floodwaters. Also flood interfere with shipments of essential commodities like foodstuff, chemicals and other products. When canal are flooded and becomes impassable, ship and other marine means of transport

Communication and organizational performance Essay

Communication and organizational performance - Essay Example The work of management is to facilitate formal communication in all levels of the hierarchy to ensure proper spread of correct data, directives and initiatives so as to raise the output of the firm. Basically, significant announcements, policy changes, information affecting the organization management, rule and procedures are all made available through communication. The management thus uses this vital tool to manipulate understanding and ensure that the employees comply with organizational directives by facilitating both formal and informal communication. The mode and tone of conversation in communication set the boundaries in the firm between the parties. The communication pattern is essential since, through it, most of the goals are met in the organization. Individuals are encouraged to bring out their feelings, concerns and even proposals to the management all of which are achieved through communication. There are various ways and in a different scenario through which the managem ent uses communication to ensure that the goal are achieved. Firstly, in any organization, a proper team is required to meet the activities. In other words, a reliable human resource is normally selected to meet the activities and work in the firm within a period. This requires proper advertising, recruitment and training of the appropriate team and an eventual induction in the office place. The process of recruitment entails setting up job advertisements with specifications so as to reach a wide base and also facilitating a team to select the most appropriate and qualified personnel that will meet the target of the firm. All these processes entail communication between the outside world and the internal parts of the management. To meet the directives of a firm communication is used during recruitment to achieve a strong team that is capable of producing the expected output. Secondly, a brilliant and a clear sense of the organizational direction are essential if the objectives of th e firm re to be met. This promotes the corporate health as it maintains awareness and focus of the core business, purpose, strategies and the visions of the firm. Communication is a tool used to achieve this awareness in the induction process where all employees are detailed on the corporate policies and structure of the firm. Subordinates are informed of the policy changes and information from the supervisors through an efficient channel of communication. If an agency is to maintain high performance in a particular sector, a continuous circulation of information is essential both formally and informally. The middle management level receives information from the top management and communicates this to the low level which reciprocates this to the top level management. Informal communication is also established, and a rapport created in the internal environment so as to create free interactions of the workers. Informal communication is actually essential as it accelerates the flow of information thus speeding up the communication process. However, when this is overused in a firm, it distorts the leadership pattern and undermines the management structure of the firm through too much familiarity (Kuhn, 2008, p.1234). The chain of command thus becomes

Los Angeles Lakers: A history

Los Angeles Lakers: A history The Lakers were founded in 1948 and named after Minnesota. They were named after Minnesota because it was the land of ten thousand lakes. The Lakers have become a great franchise because of their player and their great sportsmanship. Pro Basketball has been around since 1898, only seven years after the game was invented. The Lakers hired John Kundla as their first coach from Saint Thomas College. The Lakers then won the 1948 NBL Championship. The next year the team moved to BAA (which is another basketball league) and also won the Championship. In 1979 they moved to California. The old Lakers owner traded the team, The Forum and the Kings to Jerry Buss for a 70 million dollar deal. After the purchase, Jerry Buss wanted the Laker games to be the most exciting event in Los Angeles, so he introduced the Laker girls dance team. This attracted many viewers. In their half century of basketball, the Lakers have had many outstanding players and many memorable games. This has made many Los Angeles residences die hard fans. Their team colors are, purple gold and white. They have played in many world wide arenas. The following arenas are, Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis Armory, L.A. Memorial Sports Arena and the Los Angeles Forum. The Lakers currently play at the Staple Center located in down town Los Angeles. Which can hold up to18,997 people per game. The NBA was formed in 1949 and the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers is Phil Jackson. The Lakers have 14 championships, 29 conference titles and 28 division titles. They are currently in the Pacific Division, also in the Western conference. The Lakers are currently in the NBA finals vs the Boston Celtics. Some of the Lakers best memories began on, November 5th when the Lakers beat Baltimore and went onto winning 32 more games in a row. They lost their first game on January 9th to the Milwaukee Bucks ending their 32 game winning streak. In one of the many playoff games. In the playoffs the Lakers swept the Bulls. In the finals the Lakers played the Knicks. New York won the first game but that was it. The Lakers reeled off 4 straight victory wins. In 2000, 2001 and 2002 the Lakers wons back to back Championships. The Laker bacame the NBAs first Champions in the 1949 -50 season. In 1984 through 1985 Lakers finally beat the Boston Celtics in the finals. Over the years the Lakers have had many all star players on the team. The Lakers have one of the most exciting players, who is known as now MVP player Kobe Bryant. Bryant rose to national prominence in 1996 when he became the first guard in league history to be drafted out of high school. Bryant and then-teammate Shaquille ONeal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. Since ONeals departure following the 2003-04 season, Bryant has become the cornerstone of the Lakers franchise, and was the NBAs leading scorer during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. In 2006, Bryant scored a career high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second highest number of points scored in NBA history. He was awarded the seasons MVP in the 2007-08 NBA season after leading his team to the 2008 NBA Playoffs as the first seed in the Western Conference. In 2003, Bryant made headlines when he was accused of sexual assault at a ski resort in Eagle, Colorado by a hotel employee. Bryant admitted an adulterous sexual encounter with the accuser, but denied the sexual assault allegation. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser informed them that she was unwilling to testify. Bryants accuser brought a separate civil suit against him that was ultimately settled out of court. Later in the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 at the start of the 2006-07 NBA season. Bryants first high school number was 24 before he switched to 33. After the Lakers season ended, Bryant said on TNT that he wanted 24 as a rookie, but it was unavailable, as was 33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant wore 143 at the Adidas ABCD camp, and chose 8 by adding those numbers. During the 2006-07 season, Bryant was selected to his 9th All-Star Game appearance, and on February 18, he logged 31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 steals, earning his second career All-Star Game MVP trophy. Here are some of the well known players in the Laker history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlin, Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Jerry West. Jerry West became the only player in the NBA on the loosing team of the finals to win the MVP award. This is to show you how good the players were on the team, even though they lost. Jerry West picture is the NBA logo. It was taken when he was in college. The Los Angles Lakers are the 2nd most valuable team in the U.S.A., valued at 568 million dollars. They also have the 2nd most Championship following Boston. The Lakers are notable for having (at the end of the 2005-06) the most wins (2,905), the highest winning percentage (61.5%), the most finals appearances (28) of any NBA franchise, Lakers are still continuing their legacy and keeping their fans happy and proud. Im proud to say that Im a die hard Laker fan. Sources www.wikipedia.org The Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Team By William W. Lace www.nba.com/lakers/history/history.html#36

Analysis of the First Two Acts of Brechts The Caucasian Chalk Circle :: The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Set shortly after World War two, the Prologue commences with two groups of peasants seated in the ruins of a Caucasian village, present is a delegate from the State Reconstruction Commission. We are introduced to the two parties as they argue the retrieval of a valley; the goat herders (on the right) originally owned the land and therefore believe that as they were there first they should hence keep the land, whereas the party on the left (the fruit farmers) argue that they could put the land to better use by means of superior production. The delegate moderating the debate chooses the fruit farmers. This introduction not only sets the plays structure but also possesses many communist undertones as in a capitalist government the land would be returned to its original owner, yet under Communist supervision the "logical" explanation is to give the land to whoever will put it to the best use. In order to celebrate the peaceful resolution to the dispute the peasants on the left provide a singer named Arkadi to sing a song entitled "The Chalk Circle." The positioning of the two parties on the stage is very effective, as one immediately comprehends the political significance. The party on the right representing right-wing beliefs and that of the left conveying that of the communists, the fact that the delegate selects the Communists to receive the land suggests the topic of the play and the eventual outcome of it, resulting in a foreboding and somewhat confusing atmosphere. The prologue serves as a means for Brecht to present his ideas before the play essentially commences thus allowing the audience to accept the moral of the play and be inclined to acknowledge the Communist message before the actual production begins. The singer appears to be symbolic of wisdom throughout the play; he narrates the fable in a lyrical and poetic fashion with metaphors that offers insight on the various characters feelings and clarification of the various scenes. The prologue appears historically accurate yet the initiation of Act One presents an entirely different mood; the singer causes his story to be perceived as a fairytale. By speaking in verse all realism is taken away and the audience is transported to a fabled world created by the singer. Though not announced, the Acts having titles emphasizes the storybook theme. The play commences with the singer seated on the floor surrounded by a group of listeners (the chorus) in his hand is a book, as he commences his tale he does not read from the book but rather narrates from memory "the manner of his recitation makes it clear that he has told his story over and over again.

Generoso Pharmaceutical Inc

Malijan, Mary Erjoy D. GENEROSO PHARMACEUTICALS AND CHEMICALS, INC TIME CONTEXT 1978 and in 1988 – GPC engage in the contract manufacturing of  pharmaceutical products for both the domestic and export markets and the Generics Bill came in. SUMMARY / ABSTRACT This case examines the management of Mr. David Genereso in the GENERESO PHARMACEUTICALS AND CHEMICALS, INC to become a productive and successful company. Mr. David Generoso was a philosophy graduate of a sectarian university in the Philippines.He began his career in the Philippine pharmaceutical industry at the Central Luzon Region. He married Elizabeth Reyes, a nurse and certified public accountant and they have been blessed by 5 children’s. David established a company called Generoso Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals (GPC) with Elizabeth and a business associate Mr. Rafael Buenaventura, the team set up shop at the Generoso residence in Tarlac. An initial capitalization of P300 started the business with a dozen bottl es from the pharmaceutical firms which they had been connected with before.GPC was able to establish a good track record fast and its customer base expanded beyond the region. David and Rafael had to hire extra hands to peddle their goods: 2 sales  representative in1978, 5 in 1979, 12 in 1980, 25 in 1981, 53  in 1982, and 75 in 1983. From its initial assets of P300 in 1978, GPC had total assets of P12 million in 1983which consisted of a dozen vehicles, a few pieces of real estate in the Central Luzon Region, an office, a modest amount of inventory and cash.Elizabeth initiated GPCs reorganization to control over different product lines, which by the year 1988 was composed of several subdivisions: Pharmaceutical Distribution Division, Agrovet Division, Cosmetics Division, Raw Materials Indenting Division and the Contract Manufacturing Division. As of 1988, there were 32 large-scale pharmaceutical laboratories in the Philippines, most of  which manufacture only their own brands a nd/ or brands licensed by foreign drug manufacturers and about six  were engaged in contract manufacturing. There were an estimated 150 distributors of imported pharmaceutical products in the country, and among them is GPC.Together they serviced an estimated market of at least P5. 7billion, based on retail sales statistics from the National Census and Statistics Office. No one is engaged in theextraction of active ingredients from locally available raw materials or in the  formulation of new products from known active ingredients. As a result, the country continues to rely heavily on imported pharmaceutical products and raw materials, which have averaged at U. S. $67. 853million annually from 1982 to 1986 according to Foreign Trade Statistics of the Philippines.In 1988, the American principal offered his plans to David of GPC engaging in the contract manufacturing of pharmaceutical products for both the domestic and export markets. The proposed project was to compound locally al l products that it will manufacture and sell, importing only the active ingredients and bulk materials that it is unable to produce locally. Heavy emphasis would be placed on applied research to extract and develop active ingredients from locally available raw materials, health foods, fibers, food supplements, and other over the-counter products. The company was now a going concern valued at P40 million.The proposed project would cost approximately P135 million. I. STATEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVE * To be able to continues strategic planning. * To be able to come up with the additional budget to implement the project. * To have environmental strength. II. CENTRAL PROBLEM * To determine possible action of GPC in order to continue in the competition and find additional fund for the project. III. AREAS OF CONSIDERATION (SWOT ANALYSIS) * The company has a going concern value of P40 million, and the project will cost P135 million. * The American principal offered his plan to engage GPC to expo rt the products.SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGHTS| WEAKNESSES| 1. Ready for expansion| 1. Short on financial resources| 2. Strong financial condition| 2. Expansions are too costly| 3. Reputation of good customer service | 3. Weak advertising and promotions| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| 1. Ability to grow rapidly| 1. Risk of the project because it is costly| 2. Business expansion| 2. Entry of new competitors| 3. Opening to emerged with new technologies| 3. Government new policies and regulatory restrictions| IV. ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION 1. Generoso Pharmaceutical and Chemicals should not accept the project and stay small. ADVANTAGE Less cost and risk. DISADVANTAGE * The company will not be competitive. 2. Generoso Pharmaceutical and Chemicals can borrow money to the bank. ADVANTAGES * Can implement the project early. * Long term payments. * Can support the project. DISADVANTAGE * Has an interest. * The longer the period the debt is not paid the higher interests. * The borrower pledges some ass ets as collateral for the loan. 3. Generoso Pharmaceutical and Chemicals should accept the project. ADVANTAGES * Higher quality of product should be obtained. * The company will remain competitive. DISADVANTAGE * It’s too costly. * Risky The creditors need to provide funds. V. RECOMMENDATION I therefore conclude that the best solution to the problem in alternative course of action is number # 2 which is the Generoso Pharmaceutical and Chemicals can borrow money to the bank because even though you had a debt and it can generate interest you can pay it because of you new technology that has and you will remain as a competitor and has a high quality of product but in a lower price. VI. STRATEGY FORMULATION Discussed the project to everyone. Have a budget. Consider the new customers that you might have. Your environment can suit with this project.Your employees were capable of doing this project. VII. PLAN OF ACTION ACTIVITIES| PERSON RESPONSIBLE| TIME FRAME| BUDGET| Discussed th e project| Owner and Principal| 1 day| | Make a detailed plan| Principal| 1 – 2 weeks| | Borrow money from banks| Owner| 1 month| | VIII. POTENCIAL PROBLEM 1. What if the project failed? 2. What if the company was not capable to pay his debt? 3. What if the budget that you collect was not enough for the project? IX. CONTINGENCY PLAN 1. Make a plan that can recover the company if the project failed. 2. Find some businessman who wants to be part of a GPC. 3. Make some Marketing and Advertising strategy.

Nigeria and South Africa

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