History of Hull House and Some of Its Famous Residents

Hull House was founded in 1889 and the association ceased operations in 2012. The museum honoring Hull House is still in operation, preserving history and heritage of Hull House and its related Association. Also called: Hull-House Hull House was a settlement house founded by  Jane Addams  and  Ellen Gates Starr  in 1889 in Chicago, Illinois. It was one of the first settlement houses in the United States. The building, originally a home owned by a family named Hull, was being used as a warehouse when Jane Addams and Ellen Starr acquired it. The building is a Chicago landmark as of 1974. Buildings At its height, Hull House was actually a collection of buildings; only two survive today, with the rest being displaced to build the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. It is today the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, part of the College of Architecture and the Arts of that university. When the buildings and land were sold to the university, the Hull House Association dispersed into multiple locations around Chicago. The Hull House Association closed in 2012 due to financial difficulties with a changing economy and federal program requirements; the museum, unconnected to the Association, remains in operation. The Settlement House Project The settlement house was modeled on that of Toynbee Hall in London, where the residents were men; Addams intended it to be a community of women residents, though some men were also residents over the years. The residents were often well-educated women (or men) who would, in their work at the settlement house, advance opportunities for the working class people of the neighborhood. The neighborhood around Hull House was ethnically diverse; a study by the residents of the demographics helped lay the groundwork for scientific sociology. Classes often resonated with the cultural background of the neighbors; John Dewey (the educational philosopher) taught a class on Greek philosophy there to Greek immigrant men, with the aim of what we might call today building self-esteem. Hull House brought theatrical works to the neighborhood, in a theater on the site. Hull House also established a kindergarten for children of working mothers, the first public playground, and first public gymnasium, and worked on many issues of social reform, including juvenile courts, immigrant issues, womens rights, public health and safety, and child labor reform. Hull House Residents Some women who were notable residents of Hull House: Jane Addams: founder and main resident of Hull House from its founding to her death.Ellen Gates Starr: partner in founding Hull House, she was less active as time went on and moved to a convent to care for her after she was paralyzed in 1929.Sophonisba Breckinridge: considered one of the main founders of social work, she was a university professor and administrator at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.Alice Hamilton, a physician who taught at the Women’s Medical School of Northwestern University while living at Hull House. She became an expert on industrial medicine and health.Florence Kelley: head of the National Consumers’ League for 34 years, she worked for protective labor legislation for women and for laws against child labor.Julia Lathrop: an advocate for various social reforms, she headed the U.S. Children’s Bureau from 1912 – 1921.Mary Kenney OSullivan, a labor organizer, built connections between Hull House and the labor movement.  She helped found the Womens Trade Union League.Mary McDowell: she helped found the  Womens Trade Union League  (WTUL), and helped establish a settlement house near Chicago’s stockyards.Frances Perkins: a reformer working on labor issues, she was appointed in 1932 as Secretary of Labor by President Roosevelt, the first woman in a US cabinet position.Edith Abbott: a pioneer in social work and social service administration, she taught and was dean at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration.Grace Abbott: younger sister of Edith Abbott, she worked with the Immigrants’ Protective League in Chicago, and served in Washington with the Children’s Bureau, first as head of the Industrial Department enforcing child labor laws and contracts, and then as director (1917 – 1919 and 1921 – 1934).Ethel Percy Andrus: a long-time educator and principal in Los Angeles, where she was known for progressive educatio n ideas, after retirement she founded the National Retired Teachers Association and the American Association of Retired Persons.Neva Boyd: she educated nursery and kindergarten teachers, believing in the importance of play and children’s natural curiosity as the basis of learning.Carmelita Chase Hinton: an educator known especially for her work at Putney School; she organized for peace in the 1950s and 1960s. Others Connected With Hull House Lucy Flower: a supporter of Hull House and connected to many of the women residents, she worked for childrens rights, including the establishment of a juvenile court system, and  founded the first nursing school west of Pennsylvania, the Illinois Training School for Nurses.Ida B. Wells-Barnett worked with Jane Addams and others of Hull House, particularly on racial problems in the Chicago public schools. A Few of the Men Who Were Residents of Hull House for at Least Some Time Robert Morss Lovett: a reformer and English professor at the University of ChicagoWillard Motley: an African American novelistGerard Swope: an engineer who was a top manager at General Electric, and who during the New Deal’s recovery from the Depression was pro-federal programs and pro-unionization. Official Website Hull House Museum

Literary Art Edgar Allan Poe - 1195 Words

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the best writers of any generation; he has contributed many devices such as â€Å"ratiocination† to the literary world (Corneilus 6). Poe had and used his own writing methods and he had many rules and guidelines to follow when writing a short story or even a detective story. He used the tragic events of his childhood, and used that for â€Å"fuel† to create the plot lines in his stories. He used the dark and somber events of his childhood and turned it into literary art to be remembered for many years to come. Instead of Poe taking his dark childhood out on other people, he put it into words, stories with so much effort put into it. Poe wanted people to follow certain guidelines when writing a short story; if you did not follow these guidelines he wouldn’t consider it a book of the short/detective story genre. He has written many well-known books such as â€Å"The Raven†, â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue†, and many poems such as â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum†. Poe is also considered the acclaimed father of the short story and also the detective story, with his story â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue†. Edgar Allen Poe has created what was known then and today as the short/detective story; he had his own methods to creating these stories and shared his ideas with the world. First, Edgar Allen Poe did not have what most children had, a good childhood. Poe was born to parents who were struggling actors, where Poe’s dad was an alcoholic. During Poe’s childhood, he knew oneShow MoreRelatedThe Life Of Edgar Allan Poe1666 Words   |  7 PagesThe Life of Edgar Allan Poe â€Å"Poets are shameless with their experiences: they exploit them.† ― Friedrich Nietzsche The life of Edgar Allan Poe s was short and mysterious - just like the lives of the heroes of his stories. And like his fictional heroes, Poe was passionate about painful, strange, gloomy existence of the human soul. The contradictory and unstable, inclined to extravagant whims and binges, he seemed to haveRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe721 Words   |  3 PagesEdgar Allan Poe Edgar Allen Poe, born is 1809, was an American short story writer, poet, and critic. He is commonly know as the father of detective stories. His most well know work of art is his poem The Raven (Werlock). Although Poe had a short lived career, his literature continues to influence many writers in the United States and Europe. He worked with many genres such as: gothic tale, science fiction, occult fantasies, and satire. While many critics consider his works of literature as grotesqueRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe1245 Words   |  5 Pagesbe discussing about my poet Edgar Allan Poe. Poe had written numerous of poems and stories but the one I chose was â€Å"Annabel Lee†. This poem was written in 1849 which was a long time ago. Even though this poem is centuries old, it is still a well known poem. 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Wealth Management Capital Model

Question: 1-The various external sources of finance clearly identified, carefully explained and distinguished. ? 2-The possible considerations that may have been taken into account by the management when choosing the type of finance. Remember that all financing decisions are not taken on purely financial/quantitative considerations. Are there other factors that may have influenced capital structure decisions? 3 - An attempt at the calculation of the WACC of the company within the published information available. Students should be demonstrating the ability to obtain data and use these to support their calculations. The main emphasis of the numerical analysis will be the ability to interpret and apply the results. A critical awareness of the financial models used is required along with their limitations and underlying assumptions.? Answer: Introduction Objectives of the assignment include: To state the various sources of external funding options available to a company. To explain the features of the various funding sources in detail. To study the various factors to be taken into account by the Management when choosing a particular source of financing; including conditioning factors within the local and globalised markets. To calculate the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) of the firm based on the existing capital structure of funds. As a multi-national company, there are several options available for external financing. Apart from the traditional forms of equity, there are many other options in the capital (Long-term) markets like debentures, preference share capital, long term loans and many others. Depending upon the current financial status of the company and after careful study of the micro and macro economic conditions should a company come to a decision about the source of fund to be employed. All options have various distinct characteristics and these options suit different companies differently. These are crucial decisions to be taken by the Management as this impact the future capacity of the company and more importantly the stake holder value. Also the determination of the cost of capital paves the way to reduce the various components contributing to that cost. Context of the Company TESCO, Britains leading food retailer, is the third largest globally in the segment. Incorporated in November 1947, the Company started pioneering several new innovations. It developed new concepts like Tesco Metro (city centre store for local shoppers) and Tesco express (first UK petrol station convenience store). The Company, through its subsidiaries offers services in segments like telecom, digital entertainment and banking. Tesco started its International operations from the year 1994, which now accounts for half of its retail space. The Company main focus has been on the non-food sales both in store and online mode, making Tesco UKs largest CD retailer. Tescos banking products include customer accounts for credit cards, loans, mortgages and savings. The company operates in the countries of UK, China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Turkey and many others. Clubcard, Tescos most successful loyalty card, helps attract customers and bring them into their fold. There are 2 key technological sources of innovation in the retail segment: online provisions market and improved supply chain. Both require improvement in efficiency, as these are highly customer focused areas. The Company operates around 3378 stores in UK, 2417 stores in Asia and 1510 stores across Europe. Further the company offers almost 4000 own brands under its label (December 2014). Main Body External Sources of Finance Apart from the issue of equity capital, bonds provide a very convenient option to companies to raise long-term capital. Bonds/Debentures represent the amount of capital indebted by the company to the bond holder. The bonds/debentures pay out periodic (usually Semi-annually) payments to its holders, based upon a certain coupon rate and the tenure of the bond finalized at the time of issue. The domestic bonds are issued in a particular company to domestic investors with tenors ranging from 1 to 30 years. There are several types of debt instruments. Non-Convertible Debentures are pure debt instruments that are issued with a specific coupon rate and tenor. The repayment is structured in one or more tranches. Partly Convertible debentures have two portions- the Convertible and the non-Convertible portion. The non-convertible portion pays the periodic coupon interest during the tenor of repayment. The convertible part gets converted into equity shares depending upon the terms of conversion. Zero Coupon bonds do not pay any interest to the investor. These are issued at a discount and redeemed at par; the differential being the payment out of such bonds to the investor. Deep Discount Bonds are issued at a discount and redeemed at its face value. Floating rate bonds offer interests that are pegged to the indices such as the Treasury bill interest rate or the LIBOR. Such floating rate instruments reduce the inflation risk since the coupon is linked to the current interest rate, which, in turn, is impacted by the rate of inflation. Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) are instruments that provide a mix of debt and equity. After paying the interest and the principal payments, these bonds provide the bondholder with an option to convert the bond into stock. FCCB is issued in foreign currency, different to the issuer countrys domestic currency. These bonds are easily marketable as the investors enjoy the option of conversion in to equity if there are instances of capital appreciation. Income bonds, similar to conventional bonds, make the coupon payments depending upon the companys income. Callable bonds provide the issuer to repurchase the entire bond issue at a predetermined price over a specified period of time. A Put bond allows the bondholder to force the issuing company to buy back the bond at a specific price. Equipref shares are fully convertible cumulative preference shares. One part of the instrument is converted into equity shares on the allotment date without any application. The other portion is redeemed at par value or converted to equity after a specific lock-in-period at the option of the investor at a slightly lesser price compared to the market price. Foreign bonds are issued within the domestic capital market of a country by a foreign issuer for subscription exclusively by the domestic investors. The main feature of such foreign issue is the compliance with the local regulations in the country of issue. Euro Bonds are issued and sold in the jurisdiction outside the country of denomination. These are external bonds to the domestic market of the country of denomination and not tied down to any location or individual domestic markets. Euro bonds are also issued as asset backed bonds that have structures that are rated. The Euro bonds can also be tapped using the Medium Term Notes programme, which is useful for investors who need to tap the overseas bond market frequently. This programme allows for a standardized documentation platform to tap the bond market and makes it flexible for issuers to manage their financing requirements efficiently and cost effectively across a variety of maturity patterns and a diversified investor base. Depository receipt is a security that represents ownership in a foreign security. It provides a useful mechanism for any company to get its shares listed on the stock exchange in the secondary market of the country where the securities are issued. It enables a company in one jurisdiction to issue depository receipts in other jurisdiction for individual investors. Any depository receipt traded in the United States of America (USA) is called an American Depository Receipt or an ADR. If the depository receipt is traded in a country other than USA, it is called a Global Depository Receipt or a GDR. Mortgaged backed Security (MBS) is a form of asset backed security that represents a claim on the cash flow of the issuing company via the mortgage loan. The loans derive value from the principals and are divided into various classes depending on the riskiness of the mortgages. Considerations to be taken by the Management Companys Debt Structure: The Company has not had a consistent debt level over the past 5 years. The levels of debt as a means of external financing used by the company by a large extent, varying from 10520 (2015) to 529 (2013). The Company has been repaying the debt and has been issuing new debt over the past few years. Such debt could be taken by the Company for the development of new fixed assets. Debt would increase the financial leverage. The current leverage structure of the business is also to be considered before going for external modes of financing. Growth: There is a close connection between External financing and Growth. All other things being the same, the higher the rate of growth in sales or assets, the greater would be the need for external financing. There is a need to establish the relationship between the External finance and growth is to be established to determine the level of financing, Profit margin: An increase in the profit margin will increase the ability of the firm to generate funds internally and thereby reduce the requirement of external sources of funds. Dividend policy: A decrease in the percentage of net profit, paid out as dividends to the shareholders, increases the retention ratio. This thereby increases the internally generated funds as equity and decreases the requirement for external finance. Total asset turnover: An increase in the firms total asset turnover increases the sales generated for each pound spent on assets. This deceases the firms need for new assets as sales grows and hence increases the sustainable growth rate (maximum growth rate that the firm can achieve by keeping the debt-equity ratio constant). The increasing total asset turnover is considered synonymous with decreasing capital intensity. Cost of funding: This forms a very important factor in selecting the source of finance. Debt usually comes at a lower cost compared to equity, because of the reward associated with the risk in investing in equity. Further, the interest rate of the debt is reduced by the tax benefits. Future economic conditions: Any proper debt management plan would not be successful in taking into account all the needs of the upcoming years. Any operational shock may make the payment to the creditors difficult. Credit rating: The cost of raising of new debt also depends on the previous financial transactions fulfilled by the company, the repayment of previous debt obligations and the prospects of the company for the years to come. The credit rating of the new debt issue by the company plays a crucial role in the rate of interest to be paid to the investors. The greater the risk the financier is exposed to, the higher the cost of capital for the company. Repayment Terms: The period of the financing option constitutes an important consideration. Longer loans can lead to significant amount of interest to be paid over time. Further, the allocation of each payment towards the interest and principal helps determine the overall cost of the debt obligation. Calculation of WACC Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) is the rate of capital that the company is expected to pay on average to all the security holders in order to finance its assets. A Companys assets are financed with a combination of debt and equity. WACC constitutes the average of the costs of financing, each given a weight age as per its use in the situation. Rf 2.27% Debt * 18990.11 Rp 7.50% Interest ** 765.34 Beta 1 Wd 0.418472 Re 9.77% Rd (Pre-tax) 4.03% Equity 26389.5 Tax rate 12.83% We 0.581528 Rd (Post-tax) 3.51% WACC 7.15% The Cost of equity is calculated on the basis of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), which provides that the expected return on a security is linearly related to the stocks beta. Beta is a measure of the responsiveness of a security to movements in the market portfolio. It provides the amount of fluctuation in the price of the security in response to the changes in the value of the market portfolio. The formula for the cost of equity is as follows: WACC gives an idea about the cost of funds employed by the company. The return on capital should be greater than the cost of capital in order to provide a positive return to the share holders. The CAPM takes into account the premium return for the risk undertaken for investing in securities, which is over and above the risk free return. The difference between the expected market return and the risk free rate is the risk premium, which is multiplied by the Beta value of the stock, to account for the risk taken fir investment in the stock. This is the additional return for the investor over the risk free rate obtained from the Government securities, which are of low risk nature and secured. If the = 0; then the expected return on the security is equals the risk free rate because the security has no relevant risk. Since the = 1; the expected rate of return on the security is equal to the expected return on the market, since the beta of the market portfolio is also 1. The risk free rate in the UK is 2.27%, which is very less compared to India, where is ranges between 7% - 9%. The company has higher funds in the form of equity compared to debt. The pre tax rate of debt is only 4% (Much cheaper source of fund compared to debts available at 12% in India). The tax rate being almost 13%, the post-tax cost of debt is 3.51%. So, as and when the debt equity ratio of a company increases, the cost of capital of the company would reduce, since the debt is available at a lesser rate compared to equity. The formula for Weighted Average Cost of Capital is We = E/ (E + D); Wd = D / (E + D) * The book value of debt was employed to do the calculation. (Adding the recent two-years average figures of Short term debt and Long term debt together) ** The latest fiscal years interest expense was divided by the two-year average amounts of debt to obtain the pre-tax cost of debt. Conclusions and Recommendations: The cost of capital plays a critical role in determining the cost of a new project or the cost of financing new assets. This gives an idea of the minimum return to be generated from the project or the asset. Asset beta (Beta of the assets of the firm is considered similar to equity beta) gives an idea of the risk involved with the purchase of the asset. The estimate of beta for the project is also an important criterion. Sometimes, the project does not belong to any of the existing industry and in such cases; it would not be suitable to use the average beta figure pertaining to the projects industry. The corporate has an incentive to lower the trading costs because that will lower the overall cost of capital. One method of reducing the cost is by bringing in more uninformed investors, through stock split mechanism. However, the brokerage commission may increase on lower priced securities (Amihud and Mendelson). The trading costs can be reduced by disclosing more information (Financial data and forecasts by management) by the corporate, thereby decreasing the gap between the informed and uninformed investors. Coller and Yohn confirmed that the spread between the bid-ask price is reduced after the release of such forecasts through a study. Liquidity also plays a very important factor in determining the cost of capital of a firm. A firm may be able to reduce its cost of capital by taking adequate steps to improve liquidity. The rate of debt available to the company is also dependent on the economic conditions prevailing in the domestic market. Changes in the Central Government policy rates, rating of the company, alternate sources of funds, and all these factors play a role in determination of the cost of debt borrowing to the company. The costs of different sources of capital are to be compared with the internally generated cash flow which can be used as a cheaper source of financing. Although debt provides a cheaper version of external financing compared to equity, debt adds up to the firm value only up to a certain level. The use of debt beyond a certain level puts pressure on the cash flow generation of the company and also deteriorates the firm value. Hence, the company should employ debt only upto the optimum level. The cost of capital and return to the share holders also throws light on the concept of Economic Value Added (EVA). EVA is basically the surplus which is left after making appropriate charge for the capital employed by the firm. EVA = NOPAT c * Capital employed. NOPAT = Net Operating Profit After Tax. NOPAT = PBIT * (1-T) EVA can be enhanced by lowering the cost of capital through altering the finance strategy. The Cost of Capital is to be compared with the Returns on invested capital, which provides a measure of how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital invested in its business. Any firm that continues to generate positive excess returns on its investments compared to the costs incurred to raise the capital needed for the investments is successful in earning excess returns. Such a firm will see an increase in its value as its growth increases. Whereas any firm that fails to earn sufficient returns compared to its cost of capital will destroy its value as it grows. References: "Dave", D., Stewart, A., Terrell, R., Tarry, J. and Masters, T. (2015). TSCO:London Stock Quote - Tesco PLC. [online] Bloomberg.com. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/TSCO:LN [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. Chorafas, D. (2006). Wealth management. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann. com, (2015). Tesco PLC (TSCDY) Stock Analysis - GuruFocus.com. [online] Available at: https://www.gurufocus.com/stock/TSCDY [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. com, (2015). Tesco PLC (TSCDY) Weighted Average Cost Of Capital (WACC). [online] Available at: https://www.gurufocus.com/term/wacc/TSCDY/Weighted%2BAverage%2BCost%2BOf%2BCapital%2B%2528WACC%2529/Tesco%2BPLC [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. Hagigi, M., Sivakumar, K. and Wu, E. (n.d.). The Effect of the Need for Subsequent Equity Financing on Earnings Management Around Equity Financing. SSRN Journal. Hannah, L. (n.d.). Funding Cost and a New Capital Model. SSRN Journal. org, (2015). Tesco | Company Profile. [online] Available at: https://innovationleaders.org/tes_company_profile.html [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. Krivogorsky, V. and Joh, G. (n.d.). Debt Financing Decisions by European Firms. SSRN Journal. Lake, H. (2015). Tesco's partnership with Diabetes UK raises 18.6m - UK Fundraising. [online] UK Fundraising. Available at: https://www.fundraising.co.uk/2015/02/26/tescos-partnership-diabetes-uk-raises-18-6m/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. Lavelle, K. (2004). The politics of equity finance in emerging markets. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Martinsson, G. (2010). Equity financing and innovation: Is Europe different from the United States?. Journal of Banking Finance, 34(6), pp.1215-1224. barrons.com, (2014). TSCO Stock Price News - Tesco PLC - Barron's. [online] Available at: https://online.barrons.com/quote/stock/uk/xlon/tsco [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. barrons.com, (2014). TSCO Stock Price News - Tesco PLC - Barron's. [online] Available at: https://online.barrons.com/quote/stock/uk/xlon/tsco [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. co.uk, (2015). Debt management plan considerations. [online] Available at: https://www.piggybankrupt.co.uk/debt/dmp-considerations.html [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. Retail-week.com, (2013). Profile: Tesco - the UKs largest retailer. [online] Available at: https://www.retail-week.com/home/profile-tesco-the-uks-largest-retailer/5046179.article [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. com, (2015). Tesco PLC (TSCO.L) Financials | Reuters.com. [online] Available at: https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/financialHighlights?symbol=TSCO.L [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. Ross, S., Westerfield, R. and Jaffe, J. (2005). Corporate finance. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. morningstar.com, (2015). Search Results: Tesco UK. [online] Available at: https://search.morningstar.com/sitesearch/search.aspx?s=oq=Tesco%20UK [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. Small Business - Chron.com, (2015). Factors to Consider When Choosing a Method of Financing a Business. [online] Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/factors-consider-choosing-method-financing-business-3665.html [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. com, (2015). Tesco.com - online shopping; bringing the supermarket to you - Every little helps. [online] Available at: https://www.tesco.com/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. Tham, J. (n.d.). Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) with Risky Debt: A Simple Exposition (I). SSRN Journal. Timmons, J., Spinelli, S. and Zacharakis, A. (2005). How to raise capital. New York: McGraw-Hill. reuters.com, (2015). Company Profile | Reuters.co.uk. [online] Available at: https://uk.reuters.com/business/quotes/companyProfile?symbol=TSCO.L [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015]. Velez-Pareja, I. (n.d.). The Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) for Firm Valuation Calculations: A Reply. SSRN Journal.

Dead Man’s Bones Dead Man’s Bones free essay sample

Mention Hollywood heartthrob Ryan Gosling, and the grungy, bearded guy in â€Å"The Notebook† comes to mind. Most dont picture him at an indie rock music festival with his best friend, Zach Shields, and a bunch of kids dressed in Halloween costumes, and definitely not playing in an indie rock band. Zach and Ryan met in 2005 when they were dating sisters. They discovered a mutual obsession with ghosts, zombies, and monsters, and decided to write love songs about them. Their first album, self-titled â€Å"Dead Mans Bones,† was released in 2009, and they collaborated with the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Childrens Choir. They chose to play all the instruments on the album, including those they had never touched, and never did more than three takes, believing that imperfections highlighted the strengths of the music. My initial thoughts were What the †¦? and This is the creepiest thing Ive ever heard. But after I got over these feelings, this album started to grow on me. We will write a custom essay sample on Dead Man’s Bones: Dead Man’s Bones or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The songs provided a feeling of comfort through the trance-like voices of the men and the choir of children. Each song has its own feel. Some are catchy and humorous while others are resonant and serious. Ill start with the first creepy song, â€Å"Dead Hearts.† It begins eerily, with something that sounds like a heartbeat and rhythmic guitar. At the climax, glass shatters in time with the music, then it slows and you hear footsteps and scraping noises. I would probably get scared if I listened to this alone. The title track is my favorite because of its upbeat rhythm. The beginning is similar to jazz music. When the chorus comes in, a tambourine and piano join as well. The lyrics explain that no matter where you are, chances are youre standing on a dead mans bones. â€Å"Pa Pa Power† is one of the better-known tracks. It begins with a techno beat and tambourine, drums, and synthesizer. Then a man and the choir of children alternate singing â€Å"Pa pa power pa pa power.† Lyrics like â€Å"Burn the streets, burn the cars† and â€Å"Broken glass, broken hearts† seem to be about the destruction power can cause. â€Å"Dead Mans Bones† was definitely not what I expected, but turned out to be a lot less creepy than I first thought. This album is worth the listeners time, and Id recommend it to any fan of alternative or indie music. Its a combination of creepy, upbeat songs and background music from a zombie movie, and its perfect for any fan with an open mind.

Margaret Thatcher - Joint Session of Congress Speech free essay sample

buy custom Nepotism essay

buy custom Nepotism essay Employing Mary Smith in the organization is a practice of nepotism since she does not have the required qualifications for the job but she is simply a family member of one of the organizations founders. The practice of nepotism in this organization will definitely inflict a bad morale to the other workers. Mary is seen to misuse her office by arriving late for work, favoring some workers to others and, above all, tempering with the organization documents. For organizations to achieve their goals effectively, they should employ competent workers who are qualified for their positions and able to maintain good ethics and cooperation with other workers. Summary of the Major Problems That Mary Smith Has Caused In Her Short Tenure with the Company Basically, Marys contributions to the organization have been minimal and have been overshadowed by the problems she has caused to the firm since her employment. To begin with, Mary Smith has been irresponsible with her obligations in the organization by arriving late for work and sometimes failing to turn up completely. As a result, she has been unable to coordinate activities in the organization adequately as required and, therefore, meet the core objectives of an administrative assistant. Moreover, she has made working in the organization more unethical by being unable to promote work cohesion. Her inability to develop and maintain specialized reports and records that are used to reflect departmental work processes has made it impossible for the organization to make effective decisions of expanding their operations. Additionally, other employees have been disappointed by her wrong behavior in the organization and this has resulted to their inconsistent performance in the overall ro utines of the firm owing to their lack of appreciation (Darwin, 2009). Mary Smith has also been disrespectable to her seniors in the organization. For instance, she is unable to perform any duties delegated to her by the supervisors because she is certain her position in the firm is secure in that she cannot be fired. Therefore, the activities of the organization and its performance with regard to its objectives have been affected negatively and some key employees have quit their jobs due the frustration she has caused them. Generally, the company has been crippled by her negative impact on its functions, such as the inability to provide good performance evaluation of other departments, making planning of activities difficult. A Job Description That Details the Necessary Tasks That Ms. Smith Should Perform In Her Role as Administrative Assistant As her current supervisor, I would expect Ms. Smith to perform a number of tasks in accordance to her position in the company. First of all, she should create and maintain confidential files of all departmental operations and performance (Washington, 1999). By keeping records systematically, it will be possible for the firms top management to establish a good report of the firms position and overall performance and hence devise the relative measures that should be taken to advance it. To be able to maintain reliable files, Mary will be supposed to relate well with al other employees in all departments to make it possible for her to easily identify their performance. Secondly, she should coordinate work flow in the company and follow up delegated tasks to ensure that deadlines are met. Whenever the managers are not available, Mary should always be in a position to undertake all the activities of ensuring other employees carry out their duties adequately. She should maintain good ethics within the firm by enhancing superior work cohesion whereby every employee feels appreciated. When projects are assigned to the workers, she is supposed to develop adequate procedures on how the operations are to be undertaken. This will ease the manner by which projects are monitored and evaluated and therefore promote the performance of the workforce. She should also ensure that specific activities are carried out by specialized employees (Washington, 1999). Thirdly, Mary Smith is obliged to prepare and control administrative budgets for the firms management. She should evaluate how activities are being undertaken within the organization and establish whether there are additional costs in production that need to be provided. Therefore, she should produce budgets giving an overview of how various activities are to be financed. This will help the companys management to be aware of what amount of money to keep as contingency budget to make sure that the company does not experience deficit budgeting whenever other activities such as training new workers have to be funded. Additionally, she will be supposed to prepare and present expense reports in case some staff members of the firm go out for trips to other companies to learn skills and techniques so that they may improve their firm. Finally, she has to represent the organization in conferences or meetings that may be organized by the government to enrich companies with new production requirements that improve public welfare. In this case, she should prepare reliable reports that help the firm to have a better insight on how its operations should be carried out so as to comply with the law. Furthermore, she should coordinate the manner in which the company carries out interviews to recruit new employees and on how training of new workers is done. She has to monitor the human resource personnel to ensure that they embrace accountability in all their operations (Washington, 1999). The Steps I Would Take To Resolve This Situation If I Were Her Supervisor and How I Would or Would Not Include the Founder in My Communication To solve the situation of Marys failure to work responsibly, I will take a number of actions to ensure she can cooperate and carry out her duties satisfactorily. The first step will be to approach and advise her about the nature of her role. In this case, I will guide her to realize whatever is expected by the company from her and the need to undertake her duties responsibly. The next step will be to ensure that the company provides a good working condition for her. Having informed about the expectations the firm has of her position, I will ensure that other employees recognize her as their genuine administrative assistant and give her the required respect and therefore provide a good working condition for her to execute her duties. After providing a good environment for her in the company, the next step will be to offer her support and guidance so that I may influence her to deliver her best. This will be done by ensuring that she sets out her own targets and thereby instruct her on how make sure she achieves those goals. The following step will be to motivate her by offering some incentives to her and other workers whenever company objectives are realized effectively. Finally, I will exercise maximum monitoring of her performance, ensure that she gets to work early as required by the firm and by check the progress of her operations. I will have to ensure that she relates well with employees and executes her duties effectively and that she is a role model to the rest of the workforce. If she follows my guidelines adequately, there will be no need to involve the founders of the company in correcting her work ethics. Otherwise, if she proves defiant and is unwilling to cooperate, then I will inform the executives and explain to them how her bad habits have cost the company so that they may decide on what to do with her. Description of the Negative and Positive Effects On a Workforce for Hiring an Unqualified Individual Who Is Related To a Founder of the Company There are several effects to a workforce which may be either positive or negative for hiring unqualified individuals who are related to a firms founders. In this case, the negative effects surpass the positive ones. However, some of the positive effects may be that the company becomes more of a family business; hence, the workforce is able to share information freely. Moreover, these acts of nepotism help to create work opportunities for family members and equip them with some skills and ensure much of the benefits of the firm go to their families. The relatives may also have some inherited capabilities that are helpful in developing the company even if they are not highly qualified (Cooke, 2012). On the other hand, nepotism has several negative effects to the workforce. To begin with, it leads to discrimination of other workers in the organization. For instance, these workers tend to lean towards some employees than others, hence leading to unethical practices in the firm. Additionally, nepotism may lead to the loss of very important workers in the company. This is because people who are relatives seem to be tolerated by the management even when they are not performing. This leads to a lack of cohesion within the company, and hence the hard working workers who feel unappreciated leave the firm. When relatives are working in the same organization, it may also lead to the publicizing of family disputes to other members within the workforce. In conclusion, nepotism has more negative effects to the workforce than the positive effects. Therefore, it should not be encouraged if a firm is really interested in fulfilling its objectives. In most cases, when people are hired in organizations led by their relatives, they undermine other workers, and hence operations cannot be carried out appropriately. If it is a must for these people be retained in any organization, they should then be made to follow all the guidelines and obey the other authorities. Buy custom Nepotism essay

Functional and non-functional requirements in Software development Essay

Functional and non-functional requirements in Software development - Essay Example This involves the set of actions that clarify what exactly a particular system has to do. On the other hand, non-functional requirements engross the system constraints that define how it will do the functional requirements. It acts as a criterion for elaborating the performance of a particular system (Yang, 2010). The functional and non-functional requirements of any system always have a huge effect on the development life cycle. To be precise, all through the development life cycle of a system, functional requirements as the main subject of concern in each phase (Mishra & Mohanty, 2012). Right from the first phase, requirements analysis, to, maintenance phase, functional requirements act as the basis for each phase. That is, each phase, must ensure that the predefined functional requirements satisfy what the user is expected to get from the system. In this sense, functional requirements always define the amount of time to be spent in the system development life cycle (Shelly & Rosenblatt, 2012). A crucial example of functional requirements is, adding a new order into a web-based order entry system. This functionality requires a number of key attributes to be defined and they include, order name, its identification, time it was processed among others as stipulated in the requirements analysis phase. Therefore, as soon as this functional requirement is defined, then, throughout the development life cycle the developer must ensure that its features are perfectly satisfied until a final output product is delivered (Milanovic, 2011). One of the major non-functional requirements is efficiency. As stipulated earlier, non-functional requirements include the constraints that will elaborate how a system is to meet the pre defined functional requirements. To the development life cycle, efficiency depends on the outputs of the functional requirements. In this sense, non-functional requirements have very little effect

Six sigma method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Six sigma method - Essay Example Firstly, process outputs usually confront variations that are reduced by continuous efforts of the executives, in order to develop the business in an effective manner. Secondly, measurement, analysis, and controlling of different business processes, such as manufacturing, supply, marketing, etc. is done by the people at managerial positions. Thirdly, entire organization should be encouraged to participate in the different business processes, in order to achieve a quality position of the company. In this regard, every employee from the top-level management to the clerk has been emphasized in the Six-Sigma method. In definition, when quality production according to the specifications is acquired by the highly capable procedures and strategies, the ability of these processes has been referred as the Six-Sigma. Particularly, improvement of all the processes involved in a business is the major objective of the Six-Sigma method. In the year 1986, Motorola Company registered the service and trademark, Six Sigma. One of the major achievements of utilization of Six-Sigma method is the savings of more than fifteen billion dollars that was achieved by the Motorola in the year 2006. In addition, some of the major multinational companies have acquired and implemented the strategies of six-sigma method in their practices and have achieved significant results, such as Honeywell International, General Electric, etc. In specific, standard deviation of a population is generally represented by the Greek letter '' in lower case and referred as Sigma. In this regard, every item can be produced and supplied according to the given specifications, is the chief objective and theory of the six-sigma method. However, a number of experts have criticized the practicality of its approach, but this method has been able to achieve implementation in a number of companies around the globe. (Brue, 2002) A business process that implements a six-sigma method usually results in the production of approximate four defective parts out of every million production according to the definition of a six-sigma method, which has been significantly accepted by most of the business companies around the world. In terms of supply, 3.4 products will be supply beyond the specifications in every one million products in a six-sigma method. The process mean and the closest limit of specification share the number of standard deviations that is referred as the sigma in a capability study. The six-sigma method usually implies perfection rather than imperfection; however, the creators of six-sigma method have accepted that this method usually works effectively in short term processes, rather than the long-term procedures that usually produce more products that are defective. Methodology Generally, two important methodologies of six-sigma method have been accepted by most of the businesses around the world. In this regard, W. Edwards Deming was the first person to introduce and inspired others to the two strategies of the six-sigma method. Specifically, DMAIC and DMADV are the two abbreviations of the important methodologies found in the six-sigma method. When efforts are made to improve an existing business process, the efforts under the six-sigma met

Job Analysis, Descriptions and Specifications Case Study

Job Analysis, Descriptions and Specifications - Case Study Example Job analysis can be conducted using qualitative tools such as interviews with existing clients or quantitative tools such as surveys or comparison to similar job roles in the competitive job market at other companies. Once parameters of the skills and knowledge needed to perform a job have been identified, it becomes easier for HR professionals to determine new pay categories that are competitive or directly in-line with job role function. New performance appraisals can also be developed to help human resources track performance of the employee in this job to determine whether goals are being met based on research findings. The entire process can be research intensive, however it helps leadership understand each job role and have a form of documentation available that helps the business identify with strengths or weaknesses of the job or how to better allocate resources if redundancies between job roles are identified. Job Analysis Driving Job Descriptions After conducting research, the skills, knowledge and abilities needed to successfully perform the job are documented. This could include educational credentials or the mental and physical needs of the job, depending on the environment and the complexity of the role. For example, research might indicate that typing speed of at least 60 words per minute is required to manage multi-tasking activities in the job, therefore the new job description will indicate that interviewers should be looking for people with high manual dexterity and speed. Either through observation, interviews or other measurement tools, the description is designed to best fit what has been discovered about the skills needed to accomplish the job tasks successfully. Pay grades are then determined based on what has been identified related to skills and the job role. Job analysis would also determine whether performance goals are being met properly based on research findings about job role. Tasks that have been identified are then listed on th e description with essential functions and duties related directly to the research results. Job Analysis and the VA Case There was a great deal of redundancy in the VA case, involving nurses and doctors that were performing the same tasks, as was identified through the research study and the interviews. This showed there was a need for restructuring at the organization. From the study: â€Å"Based on the high levels of overlap†¦there appears to be a tremendous opportunity to reallocate work more efficiently† (Best, Hysong, Pugh & Suvro, 2006, p.304). If the organization had used more detailed job analysis, these redundant activities could be identified and streamlined in a single job function. For example, if the nurses and the physicians were routinely documenting patient medications, then implementation of a new electronic system for one-time entry could be implemented. Job analysis would show what specific roles were overlapping and then restructure each job title, ba sed on description, in a way that was more efficient. Only through internal research, either observational or through interviews, could job titles be more narrowly defined to avoid overlapping duties. The complexity of t

Environmental Impacts of Tourism in Mauritius

Environmental Impacts of Tourism in Mauritius CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Tourism has become the main focus for countries mainly for Small Island developing states and has affected residents in terms of economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts. So, there is a need to understand how local residents perceptions contribute towards tourism. The purpose of the study is mainly to provide a theoretical basis and framework for assessing host attitudes on the environmental impacts of tourism in Mauritius. Tourism and the environment are interrelated; the relationship between tourism and the environment has been universally recognized with the rapid increasing demand of tourists interacting with the natural environment. Tourism has the capacity to preserve as well as to destroy the environment. Studying the environmental impacts is a critical component of understanding how tourism affects the environment in Mauritius. An extensive literature covers the nature of the main interaction of tourist and host, characteristics of host-tourist relationship and thei r association with the environment. Researchers have been more interested towards the interaction between the tourists and the host. However, there are previous studies that have looked into the issue from tourist perspective. For achieving the purpose of the study a questionnaire was designed and a survey was done among the local residents. For the analysis part, quantitative approach was applied and the aim and objectives were in line with the majority of relevant literature. Consequently the methodology was elaborated, the sampling designs adopted, choice of instrument used, data collection follow the requirements, the limitation of the study was discussed and this leading to the conclusion and recommendation of the study. 1.1 Profile of Mauritius Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean situated in the African continent. The area of Mauritius is about 2,040 sq.km. and its population is around 1.3 million. The ethnic groups consist of: Indo-Mauritians 68%, Creoles 27 %, Sino-Mauritian 3% and Franco-Mauritian 2%.Religions found in Mauritius are: Hindu 48 %, Creoles 27 %, Muslim 16.6 %, Christian 8.6% and others 2.5 %. Since 1968, Mauritius has evolved from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial and tourist sectors. The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel and financial services and it is also expanding into information technology. Annual tourism growth has been in the range of 5 % to 6%. This remarkable growth has led to more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality and much improved infrastructure. Mauritius is has become is one among the most successful and competitive economies in Af rica; 2010 GDP at market prices was estimated at $9.5 billion and per capita income at $7,420, one of the highest in Africa. Moreover, Mauritius also has international relations with countries found in the west ,with India and countries of southern and eastern Africa. It is a member of the African Union (AU), World Trade Organization (WTO), the commonwealth, La Francophonie, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Indian Ocean Commission, the common market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. 1.2 Problem Statement Tourism is a major industry and remains a valuable sector in many countries of the world. Tourism also contributes significantly to the countrys economy. Like most destinations; the development of tourism presents challenges to a countrys environment. As tourism development become more widespread, there tend to be changes in the environment (Husband Harrison, 1996), the capacity to absorb large numbers of people will be challenged (WTO, 1990) and environmental problems tend to rise. Recently, Mauritius has been facing some considerable negative environmental impacts from the tourist industry. This issue is quite debatable, because negative environmental impacts of tourism must be minimized and the aim must be towards building a green Mauritius. The challenge is therefore to maintain the long-term sustainability of tourist industry in Mauritius and subsequently derive benefits from it. Very oftten, tourism is seen as an opportunity for economic development, a tool for natural resourc e conservation and an opportunity for community development and empowerment of locals. As such, it becomes important to assess residents perceptions of the environmental impacts of tourism in Mauritius and to know whether residents support tourism development occurring or not. Understanding residents attitudes is complicated. Research shows that residents attitudes towards the environment are an indication of support for tourism development (Gursoy, 2002 Jurowski, 1997). A good understanding of the factors influencing support for development is important for residents, investors and policy makers (Gursoy Rutherford, 2004). Residents must have positive perceptions of tourism in order to sustain tourism development in a country and it is agreed that active support from the host population contributes towards sustainability of a country. 1.3 Aims and Objectives The aim of this study is to assess residents perceptions of the environmental impacts of tourism in Mauritius. Tourism impacts are very complex to model as such investigating residents perceptions is a good method to analyze the status of tourism impacts prevailing in a country and to know residents support for future tourism development. The purpose of this study is therefore, to analyze environmental impacts in Mauritius resulting from tourism activities with the objectives to understand the nature of these impacts. To meet the above goals, four specific objectives have been developed. The objectives are as follows: To investigate residents perceptions of the environmental impacts of tourism in Mauritius To find out if residents in Mauritius are aware of environmental issues To investigate the extent to which locals are involved in sustaining the environment To measure residents attitudes and responsibility towards environmental practices  Ã‚   Following these objectives two hypotheses have been put forward for testing. H1: There is a significant relationship between length of residency and positive environmental impacts of tourism H 5: There is a significant relationship between gender and environment oriented activities 1.4 Outline of dissertation Chapter 1-Introduction This chapter outlines the purpose of the research and the layout of the dissertation. The profile of our study that is Mauritius is also found in this chapter. Chapter 2-Literature Review In this chapter, the literature review consists of the various issues such as: residents perceptions towards tourism, positive and negative environmental impacts of tourism, tourism development and environmental sustainability in Mauritius. Chapter 3-Methodology This part covers the type of methodology that was used for conducting the survey and also highlights the limitation of the survey. Chapter 4-Results and Discussions This part shows the results obtained from the questionnaires that were distributed to residents in different regions. Data has been analyzed using graphical and Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) Software. Chapter 5-Conclusions and Recommendations The last part identifies the possible solutions for the problems encountered with the poor involvement of locals and of the positive perceptions of residents towards environmental impacts of tourism, leading to a concluding note of the project. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction The Tourism Industry is regarded as one of the most important and fastest growing industry around the world. Travel has been of great interest to people since the beginning of the civilization. Recently, it has been noted that there has been an increase in tourists arrivals, especially in small island states. According to UNWTO, tourism will continue to grow in 2011. Tourism sector has suffered from the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, but thanks to the improved economic conditions worldwide, international tourism has been able to recover from the decline brought in the financial crisis (United Nations, 2010). The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest and most dynamic industries in the world and this industry is expected to generate about 9% of global GDP and provide for more than 235 million jobs representing 8 % of global employment (Merco Press, 2010).The WTO has set up the long-term forecast of the assessment of the development of tourism up to the first 20 y ears of the new millennium known as the Tourism 2020 vision.UNWTOs Tourism 2020 vision predicts that international arrivals are expected to be over 1.56 billion by the year 2020. Among the worldwide arrivals in 2020, 1.2 will be within the same region and 0.4 will be long distance travellers. The top three receiving regions will be Europe with 717 million tourists, East Asia and the Pacific around 397 million and the Americas with 282 million, followed by the Africa, Middle East and South Asia (UNWTO, 2011). As such, the tourist will continue to be a flourishing industry in the coming years. Tourism has been described as the smokeless industry that can bring maximum benefit to a community as compared to other economic activities. 2.2 Tourism impacts There are many academic researchers that have been done on the impacts of tourism. Many local communities believe that tourism bring changes in social, cultural, environmental and economic positions where tourism activities have had a close connection with the local communities (Beeton, 2006; Richards Hall, 2000).It is imperative to understand and assess tourism impacts so as to ensure that sustainability is maintained in the long-term of the tourism industry (Diedrich Garcia-Buades, 2008).As such, it becomes important to understand tourism impacts towards the community. Thus, the model at figure 1 helps to illustrate tourism impacts on the community. 2.2.1 Model of Support for Tourism development In the twenty-first century, researchers on tourism believe that there are two categories of impacts which are the positive and negative impacts and they have a direct occurrence on the host community as a result of tourism development (Fredline and Faulkner, 2000; Upchurch and Teivane, 2000). For example, as Ryan (1991) states that the greatest impacts of tourism will occur when there is a greater gap between the culture and income level of both host and tourist. Locals perceptions towards the tourism impacts can vary significantly. According to Sharma (2004), if residents have more positive attititudes towards tourism impacts, tourism development will be more successful in a community. If residents benefit from tourism development they support additional tourism planning and development in a community. Gursoy Rutherford (2004) outlines that tourism developers need to consider the perceptions and attitudes of residents before investing in scarce resources. In addition, understanding of residents perceptions towards tourism impacts can also help in identifying the types of tourism which have the potential for building community capacity (Moscardo, 2008, p.86). So, there exist different types of tourism impacts which have been discussed in details. 2.2.1 Economic impacts In the beginning, tourism was encouraged because of its economic impacts. It is highly accepted that tourism provides economic benefits to the community..Economic impacts are easier to research in a local community because it is small and generally it is more accessible. Moreover, tourism bring positive benefits on local economies and creates a visible impact on a countrys national GDP growth which can be an essential component for community development and poverty reduction. (Ashe, 2005). For instance, tourism creates employment for locals, investment opportunities, business opportunities, tax revenues for government and it also help small and medium enterprises for countries, regions and communities to expand (Ryan, 1998; Choi Sirakaya, 2005; Dyer, 2007) but on the other hand tourism can have negative economic impacts on the society such as: too much dependency on foreign capital, inflation , leakages and a low education trap for locals (Giannoni Maupertus, 2007). Yet, more impor tant is the benefits spread to the residents of local communities (Scheyvens, 2001). 2.2.2 Social and cultural impacts According to (Law, 1993) social and cultural impacts refer to changes to residents everyday experiences as well as to their values, way of life and intellectual and artistic products such as: arts, artifacts, customs, rituals and architecture. Social and cultural impacts are strongly interrelated and not limited only to the host area population (Glasson, 1995, p.34).In many destinations, the nature and traditional meanings of culture may be substantially changed when culture is redefined as market share (Earrington and Gewertz, 1996). Because of this, a host community may face cultural problems of the commercialization of culture, religion and the arts together with the misuse of indigeneous culture as attractions and be forced to adopt cultural habits of the tourists, such as their language, dress and manner to satisfy visitors (Cohen, 1979).Another downside of tourism development is seen in many parts of the world where tourism developments threaten the displacement of local people . On the other hand, (Glasson, 1992) argues that along with the downside of development, there are cultural benefits and intercultural communication between hosts and visitors that increase good understanding between them and without tourists, local culture and tradition may have been lost completely, as there is no market for traditional products. 2.2.3 Environmental impacts Environmental impacts occur as a result of tourism development in many regions of the world as communities struggle to find an optimal balance between optimal and conservation. Recently, it has been found that tourism activities are highly dependent on the environment. Research has shown the impacts that tourism has on natural resources (Green, Hunter and Moore, 1990).Most of the researchers have been conducted on natural or semi-natural areas, with very little research done on urban settings (Green, 1990).Specific sites have been examined such as Alpine areas (Goodman, 1989; Rodriguez, 1987), islands (Wilkinson, 1989), coastal areas (Martinez-Taberner, Moya and Forteza, 1990). In addition, most research has been focused around the negative impacts that tourism has on natural resources after the damage has taken place. As such, tourism is always blamed to be responsible for resource degradation (Farell and McLellan, 1987). Broader perspectives of the environmental impacts of tourism are discussed in the next paragraph. 2.3 The Environmental Impacts of Tourism â€Å"The environment is probably one of the most important contributors to the desirability and attractiveness of a destination. Scenic sites, amenable climates and unique landscape features have an important influence in tourism development and the spatial distribution of tourism movement.† (Coccossis and Nijkamp, 1995, p.4) Tourism and the environment are interrelated as tourism is dependent on natural resources to survive. There are studies that have identified both the positive and negative environmental impacts of tourism (Burns Holden, 1995; Puckzo Ratz, 2000). Some of negative and positive impacts of tourism on the environment are illustrated in table 2.3. Table 2.3.1 Balance sheet of environmental impacts of tourism For the negative impacts of tourism, Puckzo and Ratz (2000) observed that tourism development that are not well-planned often leads to increased stress on destinations and in negative changes in the destinations physical and socio cultural attributes. According to Wood (1991), it is possible to identify broad categories of impacts that may affect all destinations. Therefore, it is important to elaborate on the positive and negative impacts of the environment. The negative environmental impacts of tourism can be as follows: 2.3.1 Water Pollution Water pollution is believed to be one of the environmental impacts caused by tourism. It can affect surfaces such as rivers, lakes and oceans. Chemical and oils spills from boats can cause devastating water pollution that kills water birds, shellfish and other wildlife. Tourists can also contribute to the degradation of the marine life also through:snorkelling,scuba diving and sport fishing can threaten fisheries and other marine resources. For example, tourism is known to have contributed to inappropriate development around Lake Tahoe in the United States (Iverson, Sheppard Strain, 1993) and at Pattaya in Thailand (Mieczkowski, 1995); oil pollution in water at King George island (Harris, 1991). 2.3.2 Waste Disposal Apart from the consumption of large amounts of natural resources, the tourism industry also produces considerable waste and pollution. In fact, disposal of liquid and solid waste generated by the tourism industry has posed a problem for many developing countries and some countries are incapable of treating these waste materials. This has led to reducing the availability of natural resources such as fresh water. For example, in Kerala state the tourist industry collapses after two decades of fast growth because there was inadequate disposal of solid waste. Tourists also contribute to land pollution from solid waste and the contamination of marine waters and coastal areas from pollution generated by marinas, hotels and cruise ships. For example: the cruise ships in the Caribbean Sea alone produced more than 70,000 tons of liquid and solid waste a year during the mid-1990s (UN,1999).the cruise sector around the world are facing this problem. In fact, the expansion of the cruise sector e nsures that the environment is protected across the world oceans and between the worlds tourist destinations (Johnson, 2002). 2.3.3 Coastal area degradation Tourism has already had adverse effects on coastal areas, especially in small islands developing states. Beaches are destroyed by sand quarrying and are normally not being replenished because of the destruction of coral reefs by waste disposal and pollution. Erosion occurs because of tourism facilities and infrastructures built too close to beach destruction and coastal degradation. Destruction to coastal areas is the removal of the mangrove forests which act as a home for birds and other animal which act as a barrier against damage to sea. Marine life can be disturbed by intensive use of thrill craft, boat tours and boat anchors. Anchor damage is regarded as one of the danger to coral reefs in the Carribean Sea as there are a growing number of both small boats and large cruise ships in the region (Michael Hall, 2001). 2.3.4 Climate Change External environmental shocks could be threatened to tourism, especially climate change such as: global warming and sea-level rise. Rises in sea level could threaten tourism activities particularly in coastal regions and small islands. Global warming is expected to change climate temperature and provoke climate events such as: tropical windstorms, coastal flooding and storms that may affect tourist activities in a destination (UN, 2000). 2.3.5 Land Degradation and littering Land resources include minerals, fossil fuels, fertile soil, forests, wetland and wildlife. Pressures on natural resources have been increased due to intensive tourism development. Tourism can lead to the clearance of native vegetation for the development of new facilities and infrastructure; demand for fuel wood will be increased and even forest fires. Fragile areas such as: rain forests, wetlands and mangroves are threatened by tourism activities. Littering cause by tourists degrade the physical appearance of the environment. For example: tourists on expeditions leave behind their garbage and belongings. Such practices by tourists degrade the environment and some areas have few disposal facilities. 2.3.6 Damage to ecosystems The delicate ecosystems of most small islands are damaged by tourism activities, because they rely heavily on tourism. Tourism activities which are not properly controlled can also cause severe disruption of wildlife habitats and increased pressure on endangered species. For example, in Africas national parks tourists vehicles approach wild animals and very often distract them from hunting and breeding, (Masny, 2001). Trampling occurs by tourists, they use the same trail and trample the soil, causing damage which lead to loss of biodiversity and other impacts. Habitat loss, fragmentation and erosion in Nepal (Croall, 1995); destruction of wildlife at Zakynthos in Greece (Prunier, Sweeney Green, 1993); disturbance of animals and loss of area for production in Kenya (Sindiga Kannunah, 1999). 2.3.7 Air pollution Tourists contribute towards air pollution. Transport by air, road and rail are continuously increasing. Moreover, polluted air and water, dust, fumes from traffic congestion also degrade the quality and natural beauty of tourist destination (Williams, 1998, p.2) .Air pollution is the result of emissions from vehicles. Although, tourism is not so concerned for the overall emissions problems, recent issues such as: ozone destruction, greenhouse effect and global warming make tourism related to air pollution (Wheatcroft, 1991).But tourism is responsible for a large share of emissions, it accounts for more than 60% of air travel. 2.3.8 Noise pollution and visual pollution It is a fact that noise pollution from airplanes, cars, buses, discotheques and recreational vehicles are becoming an ever growing problem for modern life. Noise pollution cause disturbance and annoyance to the lives of people, stress for humans and it also causes distress to wildlife in sensitive areas. For example, noise generated by vehicles of tourists can cause animals to change their natural activity patterns .There is a lack of planning that fails to integrate tourism structures. Large resorts may clash with indigenous design. Building and structures; poorly designed do not comply with local building control and cause negative impacts on the picturesque scenery (Williams, 1998, p.2). These may include violations congestion of buildings and structures that are not harmonious with the natural landscape. 2.4 Preservation and conservation On the other side, tourism also contributes positively towards the environment. Tourism is regarded as the catalyst for preserving natural areas. Doswell (1997) argues that tourism lays emphasis to conserve and protect the environment. Tourism also draws attention to subjects regarding biodiversity, natural resources,endangered species and human impacts on the environment. Tourism is also used as a means to preserve natural areas rather than to develop them for alternative uses such as: agriculture, forestry and mining (Master, 1998). Mathieson and Wall (1982) further argued that tourism has fostered the protection of many species since they serve as major attractions. For example, in Ghana tourism has helped in maintaining the natural reserves.. In this way, natural areas become valuable and this can lead to creation of national parks and wildlife parks. National parks in East Africa were developped almost exclusively because they attract large number of international tourists .For example, in Hawaii, new laws and regulations have been set to preserve the rainforest and to protect native species. 2.4.1 Improvement of infrastructure The government is encouraged to invest more in infrastructure and recreational facilities when there are large number of tourists coming to a destination. As such, there is an improvement on road system, sewage disposal, and telecommunications among others which tourists use. Tourism can also act as a medium for improving the environment, according to Youell (1998) revenue received from park-entrance fees can be used to pay for protecting and managing sensitive areas. On the hand, in some places government collect money from tourists in indirect ways. For example: revenue obtained from recreation of equipment, license fees   obtained from hunting and fishing can help the government to fund and manage natural resources and finance infrastructure. As such the community will be able to benefit from facilities such as: attractive places, signage, lighting, litter bins and renovation of parks. 2.4.2 Creating environmental awareness People of the community become more environmental conscious of the problems prevailing in the environment. Tourism makes people becomes more environmental conscious. As such, peoples behavior towards the environment will change. Ross Wall (1999) suggested, tourism has the potential to contribute to both conservation and development and it involves the creation of positive synergetic relationships among tourism, biodiversity, and local people through the application of appropriate management strategies. 2.5 Residents perceptions towards tourism Sustainable tourism development can be achieved normally when all stakeholders are involved in tourism development process (Bryd, 2007). Sustainable tourism believes that the community is the focal point of tourism and planning process (Choi and Sirakaya, 2005).In addition, investigating the residents perceptions towards tourism is important because it influences their behaviour towards tourism (Andriotis and Vaughan, 2003). Studies show that the perceptions of residents towards tourism differ from resident to resident. Sustainable tourism development largely depends on the hosts acceptability of tourists and tourism-related programs, offerings and activities by locals (Musa, Hall, and Higham 2004). The active support of the local population is required for tourism development to occur in a community. One indicator that affects tourism development in a destination is the host attitude (Lepp, 2007). In a destination area, the attitudes of the tourists and residents are taken into acco unt. Another factor that is likely to influence the negative and positive impacts of tourists destination is residents attachment to community. Some researchers, Canan and Hennessy (1989) states that the longer the residents live in a community, the more negative they are towards tourism development. The lengths of residency of locals have a direct impact on tourism development. Theories such as the attribution theory (Pearce, 1989); dependency theory (Preister, 2008), the social representation theory (Andriotis Vaughan, 2003), Butlers (1980) tourist area life cycle, Doxeys Irridex model (1970), the intrinsic and extrinsic framework (Faulkner Tideswell, 1997) and the social exchange theory (SET) (Ap, 1982) have been developed   in an attempt to better understand the host perceptions towards tourism. However, it is the SET that have received the greatest attention by scholars attempting to study residents attitudes towards tourism and their support towards tourism development (Gursoy Rutherford, 2004). 2.5.1Social Exchange Theory In a tourism context, social exchange theory would mean an exchange of resources between the tourists and the host population where each of them supply each other with valued resources (Ap, 1990).SET implies that residents who gain benefits from the tourism industry are likely to perceive the industry as positive and thus support tourist industry, while those who perceive themselves incurring costs because of tourism would display negative attitudes towards tourism thereby opposing such development. Social exchange theory firmly believes that a need exists to measure the level of active participation of residents in the planning and development process associated with tourism development (Wang Pister, 2008). But, the theory has been criticized by stating that humans are isolated individuals and they respond like computer machines (Pearce, 1996). Furthermore, this theory needs to be further tested due to the complex nature of residents both in isolation and as collective individuals (Zhang, 2006). So, to have a better idea of resident attitude it is important to look at the intrinsic and extrinsic model. 2.5.2 Factors affecting residents attitudes towards tourists 2.5.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Model The factors that affect residents attitudes towards tourism are intrinsic and extrinsic variables (Faulkner Tideswell, 1997).The intrinsic variables refer to â€Å"the characteristics of the host community that affect the impacts of tourism with the host community† (Faulkner Tideswell, 1997, p.6) and includes factors such as: employment, length of residence, proximity to tourist zones and involvement within the tourism industry. Length of residency affect tourism development in a community, native born of the community have been found to have more negative perception of tourism development because they are attached to that place (Madrigal, 1995). On the other hand, Bisle and Hoy (1980) found a positive relationship between distance of residence from the tourist zone and perceptions. As regards to community attachment, studies showed that the longer a host has been a resident in the area; as such they become less attached to tourism (Weaver, 2001). Residents who are dependent and involved in the tourism sector are more likely to have positive attitudes towards tourism (Lindberg, 1 Environmental Impacts of Tourism in Mauritius Environmental Impacts of Tourism in Mauritius CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Tourism has become the main focus for countries mainly for Small Island developing states and has affected residents in terms of economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts. So, there is a need to understand how local residents perceptions contribute towards tourism. The purpose of the study is mainly to provide a theoretical basis and framework for assessing host attitudes on the environmental impacts of tourism in Mauritius. Tourism and the environment are interrelated; the relationship between tourism and the environment has been universally recognized with the rapid increasing demand of tourists interacting with the natural environment. Tourism has the capacity to preserve as well as to destroy the environment. Studying the environmental impacts is a critical component of understanding how tourism affects the environment in Mauritius. An extensive literature covers the nature of the main interaction of tourist and host, characteristics of host-tourist relationship and thei r association with the environment. Researchers have been more interested towards the interaction between the tourists and the host. However, there are previous studies that have looked into the issue from tourist perspective. For achieving the purpose of the study a questionnaire was designed and a survey was done among the local residents. For the analysis part, quantitative approach was applied and the aim and objectives were in line with the majority of relevant literature. Consequently the methodology was elaborated, the sampling designs adopted, choice of instrument used, data collection follow the requirements, the limitation of the study was discussed and this leading to the conclusion and recommendation of the study. 1.1 Profile of Mauritius Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean situated in the African continent. The area of Mauritius is about 2,040 sq.km. and its population is around 1.3 million. The ethnic groups consist of: Indo-Mauritians 68%, Creoles 27 %, Sino-Mauritian 3% and Franco-Mauritian 2%.Religions found in Mauritius are: Hindu 48 %, Creoles 27 %, Muslim 16.6 %, Christian 8.6% and others 2.5 %. Since 1968, Mauritius has evolved from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial and tourist sectors. The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel and financial services and it is also expanding into information technology. Annual tourism growth has been in the range of 5 % to 6%. This remarkable growth has led to more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality and much improved infrastructure. Mauritius is has become is one among the most successful and competitive economies in Af rica; 2010 GDP at market prices was estimated at $9.5 billion and per capita income at $7,420, one of the highest in Africa. Moreover, Mauritius also has international relations with countries found in the west ,with India and countries of southern and eastern Africa. It is a member of the African Union (AU), World Trade Organization (WTO), the commonwealth, La Francophonie, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Indian Ocean Commission, the common market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. 1.2 Problem Statement Tourism is a major industry and remains a valuable sector in many countries of the world. Tourism also contributes significantly to the countrys economy. Like most destinations; the development of tourism presents challenges to a countrys environment. As tourism development become more widespread, there tend to be changes in the environment (Husband Harrison, 1996), the capacity to absorb large numbers of people will be challenged (WTO, 1990) and environmental problems tend to rise. Recently, Mauritius has been facing some considerable negative environmental impacts from the tourist industry. This issue is quite debatable, because negative environmental impacts of tourism must be minimized and the aim must be towards building a green Mauritius. The challenge is therefore to maintain the long-term sustainability of tourist industry in Mauritius and subsequently derive benefits from it. Very oftten, tourism is seen as an opportunity for economic development, a tool for natural resourc e conservation and an opportunity for community development and empowerment of locals. As such, it becomes important to assess residents perceptions of the environmental impacts of tourism in Mauritius and to know whether residents support tourism development occurring or not. Understanding residents attitudes is complicated. Research shows that residents attitudes towards the environment are an indication of support for tourism development (Gursoy, 2002 Jurowski, 1997). A good understanding of the factors influencing support for development is important for residents, investors and policy makers (Gursoy Rutherford, 2004). Residents must have positive perceptions of tourism in order to sustain tourism development in a country and it is agreed that active support from the host population contributes towards sustainability of a country. 1.3 Aims and Objectives The aim of this study is to assess residents perceptions of the environmental impacts of tourism in Mauritius. Tourism impacts are very complex to model as such investigating residents perceptions is a good method to analyze the status of tourism impacts prevailing in a country and to know residents support for future tourism development. The purpose of this study is therefore, to analyze environmental impacts in Mauritius resulting from tourism activities with the objectives to understand the nature of these impacts. To meet the above goals, four specific objectives have been developed. The objectives are as follows: To investigate residents perceptions of the environmental impacts of tourism in Mauritius To find out if residents in Mauritius are aware of environmental issues To investigate the extent to which locals are involved in sustaining the environment To measure residents attitudes and responsibility towards environmental practices  Ã‚   Following these objectives two hypotheses have been put forward for testing. H1: There is a significant relationship between length of residency and positive environmental impacts of tourism H 5: There is a significant relationship between gender and environment oriented activities 1.4 Outline of dissertation Chapter 1-Introduction This chapter outlines the purpose of the research and the layout of the dissertation. The profile of our study that is Mauritius is also found in this chapter. Chapter 2-Literature Review In this chapter, the literature review consists of the various issues such as: residents perceptions towards tourism, positive and negative environmental impacts of tourism, tourism development and environmental sustainability in Mauritius. Chapter 3-Methodology This part covers the type of methodology that was used for conducting the survey and also highlights the limitation of the survey. Chapter 4-Results and Discussions This part shows the results obtained from the questionnaires that were distributed to residents in different regions. Data has been analyzed using graphical and Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) Software. Chapter 5-Conclusions and Recommendations The last part identifies the possible solutions for the problems encountered with the poor involvement of locals and of the positive perceptions of residents towards environmental impacts of tourism, leading to a concluding note of the project. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction The Tourism Industry is regarded as one of the most important and fastest growing industry around the world. Travel has been of great interest to people since the beginning of the civilization. Recently, it has been noted that there has been an increase in tourists arrivals, especially in small island states. According to UNWTO, tourism will continue to grow in 2011. Tourism sector has suffered from the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, but thanks to the improved economic conditions worldwide, international tourism has been able to recover from the decline brought in the financial crisis (United Nations, 2010). The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest and most dynamic industries in the world and this industry is expected to generate about 9% of global GDP and provide for more than 235 million jobs representing 8 % of global employment (Merco Press, 2010).The WTO has set up the long-term forecast of the assessment of the development of tourism up to the first 20 y ears of the new millennium known as the Tourism 2020 vision.UNWTOs Tourism 2020 vision predicts that international arrivals are expected to be over 1.56 billion by the year 2020. Among the worldwide arrivals in 2020, 1.2 will be within the same region and 0.4 will be long distance travellers. The top three receiving regions will be Europe with 717 million tourists, East Asia and the Pacific around 397 million and the Americas with 282 million, followed by the Africa, Middle East and South Asia (UNWTO, 2011). As such, the tourist will continue to be a flourishing industry in the coming years. Tourism has been described as the smokeless industry that can bring maximum benefit to a community as compared to other economic activities. 2.2 Tourism impacts There are many academic researchers that have been done on the impacts of tourism. Many local communities believe that tourism bring changes in social, cultural, environmental and economic positions where tourism activities have had a close connection with the local communities (Beeton, 2006; Richards Hall, 2000).It is imperative to understand and assess tourism impacts so as to ensure that sustainability is maintained in the long-term of the tourism industry (Diedrich Garcia-Buades, 2008).As such, it becomes important to understand tourism impacts towards the community. Thus, the model at figure 1 helps to illustrate tourism impacts on the community. 2.2.1 Model of Support for Tourism development In the twenty-first century, researchers on tourism believe that there are two categories of impacts which are the positive and negative impacts and they have a direct occurrence on the host community as a result of tourism development (Fredline and Faulkner, 2000; Upchurch and Teivane, 2000). For example, as Ryan (1991) states that the greatest impacts of tourism will occur when there is a greater gap between the culture and income level of both host and tourist. Locals perceptions towards the tourism impacts can vary significantly. According to Sharma (2004), if residents have more positive attititudes towards tourism impacts, tourism development will be more successful in a community. If residents benefit from tourism development they support additional tourism planning and development in a community. Gursoy Rutherford (2004) outlines that tourism developers need to consider the perceptions and attitudes of residents before investing in scarce resources. In addition, understanding of residents perceptions towards tourism impacts can also help in identifying the types of tourism which have the potential for building community capacity (Moscardo, 2008, p.86). So, there exist different types of tourism impacts which have been discussed in details. 2.2.1 Economic impacts In the beginning, tourism was encouraged because of its economic impacts. It is highly accepted that tourism provides economic benefits to the community..Economic impacts are easier to research in a local community because it is small and generally it is more accessible. Moreover, tourism bring positive benefits on local economies and creates a visible impact on a countrys national GDP growth which can be an essential component for community development and poverty reduction. (Ashe, 2005). For instance, tourism creates employment for locals, investment opportunities, business opportunities, tax revenues for government and it also help small and medium enterprises for countries, regions and communities to expand (Ryan, 1998; Choi Sirakaya, 2005; Dyer, 2007) but on the other hand tourism can have negative economic impacts on the society such as: too much dependency on foreign capital, inflation , leakages and a low education trap for locals (Giannoni Maupertus, 2007). Yet, more impor tant is the benefits spread to the residents of local communities (Scheyvens, 2001). 2.2.2 Social and cultural impacts According to (Law, 1993) social and cultural impacts refer to changes to residents everyday experiences as well as to their values, way of life and intellectual and artistic products such as: arts, artifacts, customs, rituals and architecture. Social and cultural impacts are strongly interrelated and not limited only to the host area population (Glasson, 1995, p.34).In many destinations, the nature and traditional meanings of culture may be substantially changed when culture is redefined as market share (Earrington and Gewertz, 1996). Because of this, a host community may face cultural problems of the commercialization of culture, religion and the arts together with the misuse of indigeneous culture as attractions and be forced to adopt cultural habits of the tourists, such as their language, dress and manner to satisfy visitors (Cohen, 1979).Another downside of tourism development is seen in many parts of the world where tourism developments threaten the displacement of local people . On the other hand, (Glasson, 1992) argues that along with the downside of development, there are cultural benefits and intercultural communication between hosts and visitors that increase good understanding between them and without tourists, local culture and tradition may have been lost completely, as there is no market for traditional products. 2.2.3 Environmental impacts Environmental impacts occur as a result of tourism development in many regions of the world as communities struggle to find an optimal balance between optimal and conservation. Recently, it has been found that tourism activities are highly dependent on the environment. Research has shown the impacts that tourism has on natural resources (Green, Hunter and Moore, 1990).Most of the researchers have been conducted on natural or semi-natural areas, with very little research done on urban settings (Green, 1990).Specific sites have been examined such as Alpine areas (Goodman, 1989; Rodriguez, 1987), islands (Wilkinson, 1989), coastal areas (Martinez-Taberner, Moya and Forteza, 1990). In addition, most research has been focused around the negative impacts that tourism has on natural resources after the damage has taken place. As such, tourism is always blamed to be responsible for resource degradation (Farell and McLellan, 1987). Broader perspectives of the environmental impacts of tourism are discussed in the next paragraph. 2.3 The Environmental Impacts of Tourism â€Å"The environment is probably one of the most important contributors to the desirability and attractiveness of a destination. Scenic sites, amenable climates and unique landscape features have an important influence in tourism development and the spatial distribution of tourism movement.† (Coccossis and Nijkamp, 1995, p.4) Tourism and the environment are interrelated as tourism is dependent on natural resources to survive. There are studies that have identified both the positive and negative environmental impacts of tourism (Burns Holden, 1995; Puckzo Ratz, 2000). Some of negative and positive impacts of tourism on the environment are illustrated in table 2.3. Table 2.3.1 Balance sheet of environmental impacts of tourism For the negative impacts of tourism, Puckzo and Ratz (2000) observed that tourism development that are not well-planned often leads to increased stress on destinations and in negative changes in the destinations physical and socio cultural attributes. According to Wood (1991), it is possible to identify broad categories of impacts that may affect all destinations. Therefore, it is important to elaborate on the positive and negative impacts of the environment. The negative environmental impacts of tourism can be as follows: 2.3.1 Water Pollution Water pollution is believed to be one of the environmental impacts caused by tourism. It can affect surfaces such as rivers, lakes and oceans. Chemical and oils spills from boats can cause devastating water pollution that kills water birds, shellfish and other wildlife. Tourists can also contribute to the degradation of the marine life also through:snorkelling,scuba diving and sport fishing can threaten fisheries and other marine resources. For example, tourism is known to have contributed to inappropriate development around Lake Tahoe in the United States (Iverson, Sheppard Strain, 1993) and at Pattaya in Thailand (Mieczkowski, 1995); oil pollution in water at King George island (Harris, 1991). 2.3.2 Waste Disposal Apart from the consumption of large amounts of natural resources, the tourism industry also produces considerable waste and pollution. In fact, disposal of liquid and solid waste generated by the tourism industry has posed a problem for many developing countries and some countries are incapable of treating these waste materials. This has led to reducing the availability of natural resources such as fresh water. For example, in Kerala state the tourist industry collapses after two decades of fast growth because there was inadequate disposal of solid waste. Tourists also contribute to land pollution from solid waste and the contamination of marine waters and coastal areas from pollution generated by marinas, hotels and cruise ships. For example: the cruise ships in the Caribbean Sea alone produced more than 70,000 tons of liquid and solid waste a year during the mid-1990s (UN,1999).the cruise sector around the world are facing this problem. In fact, the expansion of the cruise sector e nsures that the environment is protected across the world oceans and between the worlds tourist destinations (Johnson, 2002). 2.3.3 Coastal area degradation Tourism has already had adverse effects on coastal areas, especially in small islands developing states. Beaches are destroyed by sand quarrying and are normally not being replenished because of the destruction of coral reefs by waste disposal and pollution. Erosion occurs because of tourism facilities and infrastructures built too close to beach destruction and coastal degradation. Destruction to coastal areas is the removal of the mangrove forests which act as a home for birds and other animal which act as a barrier against damage to sea. Marine life can be disturbed by intensive use of thrill craft, boat tours and boat anchors. Anchor damage is regarded as one of the danger to coral reefs in the Carribean Sea as there are a growing number of both small boats and large cruise ships in the region (Michael Hall, 2001). 2.3.4 Climate Change External environmental shocks could be threatened to tourism, especially climate change such as: global warming and sea-level rise. Rises in sea level could threaten tourism activities particularly in coastal regions and small islands. Global warming is expected to change climate temperature and provoke climate events such as: tropical windstorms, coastal flooding and storms that may affect tourist activities in a destination (UN, 2000). 2.3.5 Land Degradation and littering Land resources include minerals, fossil fuels, fertile soil, forests, wetland and wildlife. Pressures on natural resources have been increased due to intensive tourism development. Tourism can lead to the clearance of native vegetation for the development of new facilities and infrastructure; demand for fuel wood will be increased and even forest fires. Fragile areas such as: rain forests, wetlands and mangroves are threatened by tourism activities. Littering cause by tourists degrade the physical appearance of the environment. For example: tourists on expeditions leave behind their garbage and belongings. Such practices by tourists degrade the environment and some areas have few disposal facilities. 2.3.6 Damage to ecosystems The delicate ecosystems of most small islands are damaged by tourism activities, because they rely heavily on tourism. Tourism activities which are not properly controlled can also cause severe disruption of wildlife habitats and increased pressure on endangered species. For example, in Africas national parks tourists vehicles approach wild animals and very often distract them from hunting and breeding, (Masny, 2001). Trampling occurs by tourists, they use the same trail and trample the soil, causing damage which lead to loss of biodiversity and other impacts. Habitat loss, fragmentation and erosion in Nepal (Croall, 1995); destruction of wildlife at Zakynthos in Greece (Prunier, Sweeney Green, 1993); disturbance of animals and loss of area for production in Kenya (Sindiga Kannunah, 1999). 2.3.7 Air pollution Tourists contribute towards air pollution. Transport by air, road and rail are continuously increasing. Moreover, polluted air and water, dust, fumes from traffic congestion also degrade the quality and natural beauty of tourist destination (Williams, 1998, p.2) .Air pollution is the result of emissions from vehicles. Although, tourism is not so concerned for the overall emissions problems, recent issues such as: ozone destruction, greenhouse effect and global warming make tourism related to air pollution (Wheatcroft, 1991).But tourism is responsible for a large share of emissions, it accounts for more than 60% of air travel. 2.3.8 Noise pollution and visual pollution It is a fact that noise pollution from airplanes, cars, buses, discotheques and recreational vehicles are becoming an ever growing problem for modern life. Noise pollution cause disturbance and annoyance to the lives of people, stress for humans and it also causes distress to wildlife in sensitive areas. For example, noise generated by vehicles of tourists can cause animals to change their natural activity patterns .There is a lack of planning that fails to integrate tourism structures. Large resorts may clash with indigenous design. Building and structures; poorly designed do not comply with local building control and cause negative impacts on the picturesque scenery (Williams, 1998, p.2). These may include violations congestion of buildings and structures that are not harmonious with the natural landscape. 2.4 Preservation and conservation On the other side, tourism also contributes positively towards the environment. Tourism is regarded as the catalyst for preserving natural areas. Doswell (1997) argues that tourism lays emphasis to conserve and protect the environment. Tourism also draws attention to subjects regarding biodiversity, natural resources,endangered species and human impacts on the environment. Tourism is also used as a means to preserve natural areas rather than to develop them for alternative uses such as: agriculture, forestry and mining (Master, 1998). Mathieson and Wall (1982) further argued that tourism has fostered the protection of many species since they serve as major attractions. For example, in Ghana tourism has helped in maintaining the natural reserves.. In this way, natural areas become valuable and this can lead to creation of national parks and wildlife parks. National parks in East Africa were developped almost exclusively because they attract large number of international tourists .For example, in Hawaii, new laws and regulations have been set to preserve the rainforest and to protect native species. 2.4.1 Improvement of infrastructure The government is encouraged to invest more in infrastructure and recreational facilities when there are large number of tourists coming to a destination. As such, there is an improvement on road system, sewage disposal, and telecommunications among others which tourists use. Tourism can also act as a medium for improving the environment, according to Youell (1998) revenue received from park-entrance fees can be used to pay for protecting and managing sensitive areas. On the hand, in some places government collect money from tourists in indirect ways. For example: revenue obtained from recreation of equipment, license fees   obtained from hunting and fishing can help the government to fund and manage natural resources and finance infrastructure. As such the community will be able to benefit from facilities such as: attractive places, signage, lighting, litter bins and renovation of parks. 2.4.2 Creating environmental awareness People of the community become more environmental conscious of the problems prevailing in the environment. Tourism makes people becomes more environmental conscious. As such, peoples behavior towards the environment will change. Ross Wall (1999) suggested, tourism has the potential to contribute to both conservation and development and it involves the creation of positive synergetic relationships among tourism, biodiversity, and local people through the application of appropriate management strategies. 2.5 Residents perceptions towards tourism Sustainable tourism development can be achieved normally when all stakeholders are involved in tourism development process (Bryd, 2007). Sustainable tourism believes that the community is the focal point of tourism and planning process (Choi and Sirakaya, 2005).In addition, investigating the residents perceptions towards tourism is important because it influences their behaviour towards tourism (Andriotis and Vaughan, 2003). Studies show that the perceptions of residents towards tourism differ from resident to resident. Sustainable tourism development largely depends on the hosts acceptability of tourists and tourism-related programs, offerings and activities by locals (Musa, Hall, and Higham 2004). The active support of the local population is required for tourism development to occur in a community. One indicator that affects tourism development in a destination is the host attitude (Lepp, 2007). In a destination area, the attitudes of the tourists and residents are taken into acco unt. Another factor that is likely to influence the negative and positive impacts of tourists destination is residents attachment to community. Some researchers, Canan and Hennessy (1989) states that the longer the residents live in a community, the more negative they are towards tourism development. The lengths of residency of locals have a direct impact on tourism development. Theories such as the attribution theory (Pearce, 1989); dependency theory (Preister, 2008), the social representation theory (Andriotis Vaughan, 2003), Butlers (1980) tourist area life cycle, Doxeys Irridex model (1970), the intrinsic and extrinsic framework (Faulkner Tideswell, 1997) and the social exchange theory (SET) (Ap, 1982) have been developed   in an attempt to better understand the host perceptions towards tourism. However, it is the SET that have received the greatest attention by scholars attempting to study residents attitudes towards tourism and their support towards tourism development (Gursoy Rutherford, 2004). 2.5.1Social Exchange Theory In a tourism context, social exchange theory would mean an exchange of resources between the tourists and the host population where each of them supply each other with valued resources (Ap, 1990).SET implies that residents who gain benefits from the tourism industry are likely to perceive the industry as positive and thus support tourist industry, while those who perceive themselves incurring costs because of tourism would display negative attitudes towards tourism thereby opposing such development. Social exchange theory firmly believes that a need exists to measure the level of active participation of residents in the planning and development process associated with tourism development (Wang Pister, 2008). But, the theory has been criticized by stating that humans are isolated individuals and they respond like computer machines (Pearce, 1996). Furthermore, this theory needs to be further tested due to the complex nature of residents both in isolation and as collective individuals (Zhang, 2006). So, to have a better idea of resident attitude it is important to look at the intrinsic and extrinsic model. 2.5.2 Factors affecting residents attitudes towards tourists 2.5.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Model The factors that affect residents attitudes towards tourism are intrinsic and extrinsic variables (Faulkner Tideswell, 1997).The intrinsic variables refer to â€Å"the characteristics of the host community that affect the impacts of tourism with the host community† (Faulkner Tideswell, 1997, p.6) and includes factors such as: employment, length of residence, proximity to tourist zones and involvement within the tourism industry. Length of residency affect tourism development in a community, native born of the community have been found to have more negative perception of tourism development because they are attached to that place (Madrigal, 1995). On the other hand, Bisle and Hoy (1980) found a positive relationship between distance of residence from the tourist zone and perceptions. As regards to community attachment, studies showed that the longer a host has been a resident in the area; as such they become less attached to tourism (Weaver, 2001). Residents who are dependent and involved in the tourism sector are more likely to have positive attitudes towards tourism (Lindberg, 1