An Overview Of Trends In Tourism

An Overview Of Trends In Tourism Tourism is a rapidly changing industry. Outline the key trends in tourism demand at the start of the 21th century and examine their impact on accommodation providers. Tourism is a travel outside for the usual environment. People travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The 21th Century tourism has become a popular global leisure activity that will grow in new heights as it becomes more accessible to a larger cross section of the global population. The tourism industry is one of the most resilient and dynamic sectors of the economy and will result in commensurate economic opportunities for developed and emerging destinations around the world. A big number of challenges will be also created in attracting and serving increased tourism demand and in mitigating any potential negative externalities that will emerge as a result of tourisms rapid growth. The tourist industries of the successful destinations will strike a sense of balance in developing by monitoring international trends, ensuring that the benefits of tourism are more than any potential negative impact and achieve a more fair distribution of tourism profits. Tourism is a profi table business and that is a good reason for countries to focus on honing their abilities in tourism. The 21th century improves that tourism is a rapidly changing industry. In 2001 was a decrease of 0, 6% in international tourist arrivals, compared with 2000, and the decrease is continued for the first six months of the 2002 of 0, 2%. In 2008, there were over 922 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 1.9% as compared to 2007. International tourism receipts grew to 642 billion euro in 2008, which mean an increase in of 1.8%. The international demand for a travel suffered a slowdown that began in June 2008, as a result of the late 2000 recession. During the first eight months of 2008 the growth from 2007 to 2008 was only 3.7%. The markets of Asian and Pacific were affected. Europe stagnated during the summer, while the Americas performed better, reducing their expansion rate but keeping a 6% growth from January to August 2008. During the same period the Middle East continued its rapid growth reaching a 17% growth as compared to the same period in 2007. This slowdown on international tourism demand was also reflected in the air transport industry, with a negative growth in September 2008 and a 3.3% growth in passenger traffic through September. The hotel industry also reports a slowdown, as room occupancy continues to decline. During September and October the global economic situation deteriorated dramatically, as a result of the global financial crisis. For the remaining of 2008 the growth of international tourism is expected to slow even further continuing into 2009. The slowdown in demand growth has already hit the top spender countries. The long-haul travel is the most affected by the economical crisis. This negative trend intensified as international tourist arrivals fell by 8% during the first four months of 2009, and the decline was exacerbated in some regions due to the outbreak of the influenza AH1N1 virus. During 21th century tourism industry is characterized by numerous issues and trends that present threats and opportunities. Many countries suffered from terrorist threats that have been increased. After the attacks in New York and Washington that followed by two wars, in Afghanistan and Iraq and continued with terrorist attacks in the Bali (bombing 2002 and 2005), in London, Madrid, Bangkok and other destinations. The result of this terrorist attacks is to increase the need of people for safety and security. These procedures are creating inconvenience. Inconvenience we see at the airports with longer lines and in visa policies and standards that are stricter. Another issue of this century is that China growth into a large source markets in the Asia Pacific region. China has become a primary focus of the worlds tourism industry and the Chinese nationals have been increasingly visiting international destinations and this trend will continue to increase from now on. During this century new destinations are coming to the tourism market. India, Egypt, South Korea, Vietnam, New Zealand, South Africa, Eastern Europe and the Philippines have been recently launched. As a result competition to mainstay destinations, such as Australia, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, increases. The UNWTOs Tourism 2020 Vision forecasts that international arrivals are expected to reach nearly 1.6 billion by the year 2020. The total tourist arrivals by region shows that by 2020 the top three receiving regions will be Europe (717 million tourists), East Asia and the Pacific (397 million) and Americas (282 million), followed by Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Regions like Europe and America are expected to show lower rates. Europe will achieve the highest level of arrivals, although there will be a decline from 60% in 1995 to 46% in 2020. It will be fast grow in the long-haul travel worldwide at 5.4% per year over the period 1995-2020, than intraregional travel, at 3.8%. In an attem pt to increase the value and synergy for the tourist and the participating economies the emergence of sub-regional cooperative agreements is on the rise. In the long term prospects is also to increase the awareness and consciousness among travellers for the sustainable and green tourism. For many countries tourism is vital. Greece, Thailand, Egypt, Fiji, Maldives are examples of these counties due to the large intake of money for businesses with their goods and services and the opportunity for employment in the service industries associated with tourism. ¶ These service industries include hospitality services, such as accommodations, including hotels and resorts. Even with problems related to the global economic slowdown, travel and tourism are already part of consumer behavior. That mean that people like to travel are still willing to travel. The European countries have observed increases in domestic tourism, more travel within the same region, increases in travel by road and rail, increases in the individual trips, more direct booking, and an increased use of low-cost airlines. Some changes are temporary but many of them are structural. The supply has two main elements, the destinations and the industry. The future of the destinations depends on their ability to adapt to demand. The effects are more visible in the industry. The tour operators and the accommodation providers have been hit harder by the weakness of the outbound markets, later booking, the tendency towards shorter length of stay, and cost-cutting on business trips. The industry has to adapt to these new facts. The hotels all over the world enjoyed a boom through mid 2007. The levels of the occupancy were high as the room rates and the levels of the travelers were strong. However, the global financial crisis put a damper on hotel occupancy that continued into 2008 and 2009. A big number of hotel construction projects have been cancelled. Travel and tourism operators best-positioned to suffer the least damage are those able to offer low-priced options. In order to avoid losing sales  ¶during the periods of economic slowdown hotels and airlines have increasingly invested in low-cost brands. This economic downturn led to an increase of demand for low and mid-priced hotel and dec reased the demand for luxury hotels. The travellers looking for economy travel accommodation. On the other hand the average daily room rates become higher because of the non-existed competition and the low number of chained hotel outlets. http://www.ncsu.edu/tourismextension/documents/top10traveltrends.pdf http://www.ensino.uevora.pt/tmp/cursos/PPT/TIC/aula_02_anexo2.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/7543-Tourism-Trends-by-Tourism-Control-Intelligence http://www.tiac-aitc.ca/english/documents/advocacy/2009/2008StatisticsCompendiumFinal.pdf

Final Study Guide for Livanis Intl 1101

INTL 1101 Final Exam Study Guide Americanization – Consumerism, individualism – American products and values – Cultural imperialism? Trying to homogenize world? McDonaldization – Fast-food principles dominant in American and other societies – Uniform standards – Lack of human creativity – Dehumanization of social relations Infantilization – Benjamin Barber â€Å"consumed† – Against â€Å"ethos of infantilization† that sustains global capitalism – Turning of adults into children through dumbed down advertising and consumer goods – Targeting children as consumers Homogeneous global products for young and wealthy, and for children => soulless and unethical global consumerism in pursuit of profit Cultural homogenization – â€Å"More alike† theory of effects of globalization – Western culture industry – Homogenization of popular culture – Can be within western soci eties (McDonaldization) Market for loyalties – Regulation of communications to organize cartels of imagery – Domestic broadcast regulation maintains distribution of power – National identity reframed to political views and cultural attitudes that maintain existing power structure Facilitates predominance of one ideology Cultural imperialism – World patterns of cultural flow, mirror the system of domination in world economic and political order – Not confined to the west: see Mexico, Brazil (Latin America), India (East Asia), Hong Kong, Taiwan (China) Sustainable development – Long-term economic growth depends on careful stewardship of the natural environment – Environmentalists – Liberalization= unequal economic growth, resources for debt, competition (race to the bottom), increased pollution, unsustainable consumption of resources, political unrest – Free Trade Trade promotes growth and alleviates poverty= environmental benefits – Elimination of trade barriers= increased value of resources – Environmental progress is easier to achieve under conditions of prosperity Deterritiorlization of religion – Primarily caused by migration – The case of Islam: – Muslim Ummah – Re-islamisation as deculturalisation of Islam (not linked to a particular pristine culture, global Islam) – Quest for definition: Islam to fit every culture – By bridging the gap between secularism and religiosity, Fundamentalism overstretches religion to the point that it cannot become embedded in real cultureFree trade and the environment Technological Change and Disease – Transportation – Short term travel: 940 million tourists – Meningitis: 70,000 pilgrims to Mecca every year, secondary pandemics upon return – Expensive diseases in developing countries and eradicated diseases in developed countries – Medical technologies – Greater colla boration, more information – BUT, new technologies can be badly used – Ebola in DRC, AIDS epidemics in China from unsterilized needles Demographic Change and Disease – Population mobility Conditions that lead people to move are the same that favor the emergence of infections (poverty, overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, state failure) – Refugees: sanitation, food, healthcare – 50,000 dead in a month (Rwanda, 1994) – Haiti: cholera from Nepal? (4,800 mortalities) – Long-term migration – Disease to non-immune populations, and transfer of new disease back home – Eradicated diseases re-introduced – Migrant workers in Africa (AIDS epidemics) – Urbanization – Megacities=megaspread Global economy and disease – Global trade IMF/structural adjustments and liberalization reduces the role of governments (mostly in providing healthcare) – Trade in food – Change in dietary habits, convergenc e of tastes – Demand for year-round availability of fresh fruit and vegetables – Products from less expensive labor markets, worldwide ingredients and transport – Food may be contaminated – Unhygienic irrigation, packaging practices, storage, non-indigenous crops more susceptible to indigenous pathogens – E-coli in Germany: 2,800 affected, 26 dead (91 in EU) – Mad Cow Disease Environmental change and disease Climate change-global warming – Higher ambient air temperature, precipitation/humidity (mosquitoes) – Water supply-dams etc – Profound ecological changes that affects disease vectors-most dams associated with increase in malaria – Deforestation – Increases contact between humans and pathogens – Decreases natural predators of disease vectors – Increases in malaria (runoff water stagnant in pools) – Loss of biodiversity Jihad and McWorld – Dialectical nature: one cannot exist w ithout the other – Babel: retribalization – Global jihad against globalization – Disneyland Globalizations – Jihad and McWorld make war on the sovereign nation state – Indifference to civil liberty – McWorld, focus on consumption and â€Å"invisible hand† for common good (rather than democratic institutions), repeal government regulations – Jihad, bloody politics of identity, exclusion and hatred, paternalism and tribalism – Neither global markets nor blood communities service public goods or pursue equality and justice – Future? – In the short run – Jihad likely to dominate? – In the long run – McWorld dominates? – Convergence of political ideologies? Triumph of liberalism? Convergence of political cultures? Triumph of Western individualism? – Or greater divergence and even conflict? Ethnicity – High ethnic solidarity: willing to redistribute resources within the g roup – No â€Å"master list†; what differentiates groups in one place may not be important in another – Example: in Serbia, common language and culture, but religion divides (Hutu and Tutsi) – Ethnicity as a â€Å"social construction†Ã¢â‚¬â€not inherently political Ethnic identity – Any specific attributes and societal institutions that make one group of people culturally different from others Language, religion, geography, customs, history, and others – Ascription—an identity assigned at birth – Largely fixed during our lives Clash of civilizations – Samuel Huntington: â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations† – â€Å"The next world war, if there is one, will be a war between civilizations† – De-Westernization and indigenization of societies – Hinduization of India and Islamic fundamentalism (Iran, Algeria, Egypt, Turkey) – The Confucian-Islamic connection – Kin-country s yndrome (Bosnia, Iraq) – Civilizations do not control states; states control civilizations Interpreted the same events as Fukuyama, but made very different conclusions †¦ — Outlined 7 main cultures (and a possible 8th); equates â€Å"culture† with â€Å"religion†: â€Å"people who share ethnicity and language but differ in religion may slaughter each other, as happened in Lebanon, the former Yugoslavia, and the Subcontinent. † 1. Western 2. Confucian 3. Japanese 4. Islamic 5. Hindu 6. Slavic-Orthodox 7. Latin American 8. Possibly African – Why will they clash? – Differences are both real and basic (â€Å"fundamental†) – World smaller due to globalization – Nation-state as source of identity grows weaker Fundamentalist religion grows stronger – Backlash against West enhances civilization consciousness – Cultural differences less easily compromised than political and economic ones (can you be both Catholic and Muslim? ) – Economic regionalism is growing – Result: unable to mobilize support for governments based on ideology, turn to religion and civilization identity Environmentalism and the developing south Collectivity Irreducibility Characteristics of environmental issues – Complexity – Interpenetration, pollution down the road. – Temporal and spatial uncertainty – What will happen in the future, how much is it going to affect us. Irreducibility – Holistic in nature, we cannot approach only one part, we have to consider them as a whole. – Spontaneity – Things tend to happen fast especially in environmental disasters. – Collectivity – Collective action problems, common pool resources, shirking/free-riding Chinese triad Food security – All people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, self-nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active an d healthy life. (UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization) – Peak oil, peak water, peak phosphorus, peak grain, and peak fish Green revolution Problems in beginning of 20th c: not producing enough food to feed expanding population – Green Revolution: 1950-1984 – Development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains – Expansion of irrigation infrastructure – Hybridized seeds & – Synthetic fertilizers & – Pesticides to farmers in developing countries – Transformed agriculture around the globe – World agricultural production more than doubled (world grain production increased by 250%) – Increased fossil fuel-based energy use: – Natural gas (for production of synthetic fertilizers) – Oil (for development of pesticides) – Hydrocarbon fuelled irrigation Unsustainable? (Malthusian argument) – May not necessarily increase food security (other political causes) – Promotion of monoc ultures, hunger vs malnutrition – Benefited wealthier farmers at the expense of poorer ones => urban migration – Extensive use and abuse of pesticides and fertilizers associated with negative health effects (cancer) – Land degradation, soil nutrients depletion Earth’s carrying capacity – No one knows!!! The Future of Food – Film watched in class, google if can’t remember GMOs Montreal Protocol – The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer mandated that industrialized countries reduce their production and use of the five most widely used CFCs by 50 percent. – Delegates agree to give developing countries a ten-year grace period, allowing them to increase their use of CFCs before taking on commitments – Without the Montreal Protocol, global CFC consumption would have reached about 3 million tons in 2010 and 8 million tons in 2060, resulting in a 50 percent depletion of the ozone layer by 203 5 – Montreal Protocol currently calls for a complete phaseout of HCFCs by 2030 (does not place any restriction on HFCs)Arms Trade Treaty – 2003, Control Arms Campaign was launched (Controlarms. org) – 2006, Control Arms handed over a global petition called â€Å"Million Faces† to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan 2006 – 2006, 153 states vote resolution 61/89 requesting the UN Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States (U. S. votes against, national controls better) – 2009, UN General Assembly launches a time frame for the negotiation of the Arms Trade Treaty. U. S. osition overturned – 2-27 July, 2012 (New York) – Currently under final negotiations – Require states to have national mechanisms for express authorization of international transfers of arms – Prohibit transfers of arms that could violate human rights and international law – Treaty Failure: – United States said it â€Å"needed more time† to review the short, 11-page treaty text (Obama administration torpedoed the treaty exactly one week after the massacre in Aurora, Colorado) Not to export weapons to countries that are under an arms embargo, or to export weapons that would facilitate â€Å"the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes† or other violations of international humanitarian law. – Exports of arms are banned if they will facilitate â€Å"gender-based violence or violence against children† or be used for â€Å"transnational organized crime. † – The sides, now: – Nearly 120 countries, led by Mexico, issued a joint statement on Monday saying â€Å"the overwhelming majority of (U. N. ) Member States agree with us on the necessity and the urgency of adopting a strong Arms Trade Treaty.Our voice must be heard. † – The five permanent Security Council members – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia â⠂¬â€œ issued their own joint statement of support for a treaty that â€Å"sets the highest possible common standards by which states will regulate the international transfer of conventional arms. † – Important Points: – Ammunition. – Exports of ammunition are covered in the draft treaty but not imports. – Self-defense. – Some major arms-importing states (Middle East), expressed concern that their ability to import weapons could suffer if the treaty comes into force. Exemptions. – There are a number of scenarios under which arms deals would be exempt in the current draft, such as defense cooperation agreements (India) – and gifts, loans and leases of weapons. – Reporting. – Current draft says countries will send reports to the U. N. on their international arms trade but does not call for them to be made public. China, Iran and others do not want that information disseminated openly. – The NRA says the treaty would undermine gun ownership rights under the Second Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. MalnourishmentObstacles to cooperation on environmental issues (regime, actor, general) National Identity – National identity is inherently political – Defined as a sense of belonging to a nation and a belief in its political aspirations – Often, but not always, develops from existing ethnic identity – Sense enhancers: – Common history, territory, culture, economy, rights – Why form? – Ethnic group may feel oppressed – Ethnic group may form a minority population – These conditions may call for self-government Boat people Ozone success – The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer mandated that industrialized countries reduce their production and use of the five most widely used CFCs by 50 percent. – Delegates agree to give developing countries a ten-year grace period, allowing them to increa se their use of CFCs before taking on commitments – New scientific evidence late 1987 – scientists announced that CFCs probably were responsible for the ozone hole – 1988, satellite data revealed that stratospheric ozone above the heavily populated Northern Hemisphere had begun to thin – Changes in the pattern of economic interests Du Pont announced that they would soon be able to produce CFC substitutes – Followed the next year by other large chemical manufacturers, including several in Europe – Major producers no longer opposed a CFC phase-out – Lobbied for extended transition periods and against controls on potential substitutes – Particularly hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)—a class of CFC substitutes that deplete ozone but at a significantly reduced rate. – The ozone regime stands as the strongest and most effective global environmental regime. – The worldwide consumption of CFCs, which was about 1. m illion tons in 1986, was approximately 100,000 tons in 2010. – Without the Montreal Protocol, global CFC consumption would have reached about 3 million tons in 2010 and 8 million tons in 2060, resulting in a 50 percent depletion of the ozone layer by 2035 – HCFCs, and HFCs, are now thought to contribute to anthropogenic global warming – Up to 10,000 times more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide – Montreal Protocol currently calls for a complete phaseout of HCFCs by 2030 (does not place any restriction on HFCs) Restaveks (or stay-withs) 300,000 children in domestic bondage in Haiti – Forced – Unpaid Overcropping – Deplete soil by continuously growing crops on it Overpopulation – Carrying capacity – Estimates vary widely – Inadequate fresh water – Depletion of natural resources, especially fossil fuels – Increased levels of air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination – Deforestat ion and loss of ecosystems – Changes in atmospheric composition and consequent global warming – Irreversible loss of arable land and increases in desertification – Mass species extinctions from reduced habitat in tropical forests due to lash-and-burn techniques (140,000 species lost per year – High infant and child mortality. – Intensive industrial farming: evolution and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria diseases – Increased chance of the emergence of new epidemics and pandemics. – Low life expectancy in countries with fastest growing populations. – Unhygienic living conditions – Increased levels of warfare – Elevated crime rate – Less Personal Freedom / More Restrictive Laws. Demographic Transition – If standard of living and life expectancy increase, family sizes and birth rates decline Later ages of marriage, careers outside child rearing and domestic work, decreased need of children in indu strialized settings – Led to increased worry about aging populations and decreased worry about future impact of population growth – BUT, after a certain level of development the fertility increases again! – Fertility-opportunity hypothesis Food vs. fuel Precision farming – Soil erosion dropped, no-till seed planting – Drip irrigation, level fields (eliminate runoff) – Global positioning: efficient harvest, less chemicals Citizenship Citizenship: individual’s or group’s relationship to the state – Swear allegiance to the state – State provides benefits – People have obligations in return – Ethnicity is fixed but citizenship is not – Can be changed by individual or state – Potentially more inclusive concept than ethnicity or national identity – Three (ethnicity, citizenship, national identity) are often connected—an ethnic group forms the nation, and they represent the citiz ens of a country Nationalism – Nationalism as a pride in one’s people and belief in sovereign destiny Seek to create or preserve one’s own nation (political group) through an independent state – Sovereignty is thus key – Example: Great Britain – Governments determine nationality – 1707 – The United Kingdom came into existence – Yet there was no British nation since the people of the English isles were thinking of themselves as English, Welsh, Scots, or Irish. – Propagation of the dominant English culture and language through the years created a sense of English identity. – During the 19th century non-English cultures were suffocated. Global fundamentalism Return to traditional religious values as a reaction to modernity and global culture – Restoration of sacred tradition as basis for society – Cultural authenticity vs universalizing global culture – Global phenomenon – Modern ph enomenon – Fundamentalism vs globalization or fundamentalism as part of globalization? AIDS – Peaked in 2005 with 3. 4 million deaths – ~35 million infected – 14,500 new infections daily – Approximately 8000 deaths daily (3million/year) – > 90% new infections in Global South – Global responses – Millennium Development Goal 6 – Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Government-subsidized antiretroviral medications (Brazil, Argentina etc) – Samaritan’s Purse – The importance of Global Health Partnerships – Improving access to medicines – Financing health activities – BUT, primarily â€Å"vertical† (focus on specific diseases, and development/distribution of medicines) – Retroactive: does not focus on improving health care systems and primary care – Multiplicity of donors and actors: not aligned with government priorities International Organized Crime †“ Effort to exploit mechanisms of globalization – Transportation and communications technology Aided by deregulation – Possible through corruption of authorities, unethical practices of individuals and corporations – Extremely large profits (and high risk) – Global cities are main areas of activity (New York, London, Tokyo, etc. ) – Using financial services to disguise criminal activities – Defy the state, offer parallel black market structure Deforestation – Increases contact between humans and pathogens – Decreases natural predators of diseases vectors – Increases in malaria (runoff water stagnant in pools) (mosquitos) – Loss of biodiversity Arms Trafficking Lack of international treaty regulating legal arms trade – Illegal arms trade – Arms fuel conflict and crime – $60 billion a year industry – Lack of transparent data – UN: attempt to â€Å"crush illicit trade of small ar ms† – Cold War – Preoccupation with nuclear arms control – Small arms were not as widely disseminated – End of Cold War – Small arms â€Å"surplus† – Warsaw Pact/NATO upgrades – Difficulty in negotiations? – U. S. position – Nuclear weapons easier to negotiate Human trafficking – Labor trafficking – Sex trafficking – Victims are primarily women and children – Organ trafficking Trafficking of babies and pregnant women – Baby farm in Nigeria: sold for illegal adoption or for use in ritual witchcraft Child Soldiers Slavery – â€Å"A slave is a human being forced to work through fraud or threat of violence for no pay beyond subsistence. † (Benjamin Skinner) – â€Å"Do you want a job? † – Modern slavery: – More slaves now than ever before in history, 27 million – Each year 50,000 children and teenagers enter the US against their w ill for purposes of sexual slavery (CIA est. ) – Over 2 million trafficked slaves forced into prostitution and labor around the world 10 million slaves in South Asia (many through more than one generations) until they pay off their â€Å"debt† – 300,000 children in domestic bondage in Haiti Small arms – Over half a million people are killed each year with small arms across the world – In the United States 34,000 people are killed per year by small arms – The cost of small arms on public health, in Latin America at 14% of GDP, 10% of GDP in Brazil, and 25% of GDP in Colombia. – Registered homicide rates for Colombia, the United States, Brazil, and Venezuela among males aged 15–24 have doubled in the last ten yearsMonocultures – The agricultural practice of producing or growing a single crop or plant species over a wide area and for a large number of consecutive years. – It is widely used in modern industrial agricu lture and its implementation has allowed for large harvests from minimal labor. – Monocultures can lead to the quicker spread of diseases, where a uniform crop is susceptible to a pathogen Sustainable agriculture – http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sustainable_agriculture Environmental change and conflict – http://www. accord. org. za/downloads/ct/ct_2011_2. pdf Environmental security Environmental change is an important source of social conflict – Many societies face more dangers from environmental change than from traditional military threats – Security policies must be redefined to take account of these new realities – Only by framing the environmental problem in security terms can the necessary level of governmental attention and social mobilization be ensured – Security institutions could contribute directly to environmental protection, given their financial resources, monitoring and intelligence-gathering capabilities, and scientif ic and technological expertise – Is there enough evidence to support the claim that ecological change is, or will be, a major new source of conflict? – Proponents: – Environmental scarcities are already contributing to violent conflicts in many parts of the developing world. These conflicts are probably the early signs of an upsurge of violence in the coming decades that will be induced or aggravated by scarcity – Opponents – Environmental problems are a symptom of conflict-prone social systems rather than a root cause of conflict – Are the advantages of linking environmental problems to security concerns worth the risk of militarizing a society's responses to environmental problems? Risks undercutting the globalist and common fate understanding that may be necessary to solve the problem – If pollution a national security problem, then pollution by other countries worse than home born – It is analytically misleading to think of environmental degradation as a national security threat. – Environmental degradation and violence are very different types of threats – Organizations that provide protection from violence differ greatly from those in environmental protection – Military organizations are secretive, extremely hierarchical and centralized, and normally deploy vastly expensive, highly specialized and advanced technologies – Is environmental security an idea with more appeal in the North than the South? An excuse to continue the North's longstanding practice of military and economic intervention – Focus on the South is a way for the North to deny its own responsibility – Calls to link the environment with security raise deep suspicions about ulterior motives Concern, contractual environment, capacity – da fuk? Fertility opportunity hypothesis – Fertility follows perceived economic opportunity – Against food aid, and development Transnational organized crime groups – Operate above and below the state – Create demand – Reach to the marginalized, impoverished and other â€Å"losers† of globalization – Use market strategies: – Hierarchically structured – Strategic alliances – investing/laundering capital – New growth areas (ex. umping toxic waste in developing countries and then negotiating lucrative contracts for the cleanup industry) – R&D – Modern accounting systems, information technologies, insuring against risk Global health partnerships Global food crisis – Enough food in the world to feed everyone but†¦ – 925 million people experience hunger – 2/3 of these people are in Asia and the Pacific region – Highest concentrations in India, China, DRC, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia – 5 million children under 5 die of hunger in developing countries – Charity may help immediate problem but is no long-term sustainable solution – Causes for food crisis 1: Natural disasters – Floods, tropical storms, and, especially, long droughts – More common and more intense (global warming) – Wars – Population displacement – Famine used as a weapon – Fields and water wells mined or contaminated – Poverty trap – Lack of seed money, land and agricultural education – Trapped in poverty by hunger – Causes for food crisis 2: – Lack of agricultural infrastructure – Lack of roads, irrigation systems, warehouses – Emphasis on urban development – Overexploitation of the environment – Poor farming practices – Deforestation – Overcropping – Overgrazing – Economic downturns FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Policy and technical assistance to developing countries for food security, nutrition and agriculture – Forum for negotiation of a greements and debate on policies Fukuyama (the end of history) – Francis Fukuyama, â€Å"The End of History† – â€Å"The triumph of the West†¦an unabashed victory of economic & political liberalism†¦& the total exhaustion of viable systematic alternatives to Western liberalism. † – Liberal democracy will make the world safer – Democracies do not go to war against each other – Globalization – interdependence – Great faith in International Organizations – Washington Consensus – Critics: – Environmentalists – Marxists – Anarco-capitalism – Etc.

Nature and Victor Frankenstein

Nature plays an important role In Frankincense, although to the deader familiar with romantic poetry, it may seem that nature Is somewhat less Important or less central than the role It plays, but from the novel's opening, the importance of the reader getting a sense of physical place is established by situating the text within a particular environment, the qualities of which will both mirror and contradict the inner states of the main characters. Even from the very beginning of the novel, theme of nature is incorporated into Shelley work. The icy wilderness in which the novel begins and ends is the barren land of isolation from human warmth ND companionship, Into which Walton foolishly sails and Into which Frankincense Is Inexorably led by the monster, whose inescapable destiny is It†. Later, on the morning after Victor gives life to his creation, he says, â€Å"Morning, dismal and wet †¦ As if I sought to avoid the wretch whom I feared every turning of the street would present to my view'. When Victor is scared or upset the weather is nasty to complement the way that he is feeling in certain situations.And also Victor notes that the landscape of the Orkney and that of his native country are quite distinct. His ascription of the Orkney Is cold, barren, gray, and rough. In contrast, he recalls Switzerland as colorful and lively and the landscape as teeming with blue lakes that reflect the brilliant blue sky. It is symbolic, of course, that Victor has chosen such a barren place to create the companion for the Creature. The contrast between the two places is as stark and distinct as the differences between Frankincense's Creature and the human world.The Creature occupies a world that is bleak, that Is attacked on all sides by an unforgiving set of conditions. Victor, his family occupies a world that as beauty, even though each has had to deal with occasional harsh realities. These appropriate pairings of characters with their environments will be re-e mphasized throughout the novel, and the physical qualities of the environments will provoke contemplative thought for most of the main characters, especially Victor. By chapter five of the first volume, Shelley creates a connection between Victor and nature.Instead of describing his moods with metaphor, as In earlier images, she describes his recovery from grave Illness through his affinity with nature. Although nursed by is closest friends, It Is the breathing of the alarm that finally gives him strength: We passed a fortnight in these perambulations: my health and spirits had long been restored, and they gained additional strength from the salubrious air I breathed, the natural incidents of our progress †¦ The air is not simply necessary for life; Victor is so taken with it that he actually gains strength from it that he had not had before.Another role of nature is a deep understanding of the mysterious forces of nature by Victor Frankincense. So Victor acknowledges tense Tor tes when en says: It was ten secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things, or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquires were directed to the metaphysical, or, in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world. It is the great force of nature that drives Victor into his scientific pursuit in the first place.When lightening shreds the tree in front of Victor's eyes he is doomed for life. On the night that Victor first gives life to his creation, it is dark and dreary. Victor makes his declaration of purpose hen he says, â€Å"more, far more will I achieve: treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation†. In Victor's case, an obsession with the nature of science pushes him to cross the boundary that separates the forces of human power and nature when he decides to co nstruct his creation.Along with his own feelings of ambition, Victor also constructs his creation because of the want to bring about change in his society. And when he creates life from lifeless matter to bring change n his society, readers are forced to use their imagination to give life to this creation themselves. Later, when Victor returns home on receiving word of Williams death, he notes that â€Å"Night closed all around; and when I could hardly see the dark mountains, I felt still more gloomily.This picture appeared a vast and dim scene of evil, and I foresaw obscurely that I was destined to become the most wretched of human beings†. At the end of the novel during Victor's honeymoon, â€Å"the wind, which had fallen in the south, now rose with great violence in the west†, before Elizabeth is ordered by the creation. In conclusion, the natural settings in â€Å"Frankincense† play a vital role in enhancing the impact of the story and progression of the plo t and characters.What has been said so far, then, is that man attempts to control nature believing to be the master over all. In fact, man's effect is Just that, an unnatural one, in that it works against nature instead of with nature. The question then, is why man is unable to emulate nature, why he is unable to work with nature without harming it in some way, as we have seen above. One answer is that man is unable to see ahead, hat he refuses to see the purpose in everything that nature does.Victor Frankincense is so obsessed with his mother's death and with his desire to remove it, that he does not see the purpose that death has. So, Just because mankind has the power to do something, does not necessarily mean that he must, or should. Instead, perhaps he should respect the natural course of things. And nature surrounds us during our whole life, and it has a great influence on us, as well as on our mood and behavior. Resources: http://www. Gutenberg. Org/files/84/84-h/84-h. HTML h ttp://Ankara. English. Upend. Demesnes/nature. HTML

JavaScript Nesting IF Statements

Nesting if/else statements helps to organize and isolate conditions in order to avoid testing the same condition twice or to minimize the number of times various tests need to be performed.   By using if statements with both comparison and logical operators, we can set up code that will be run if a specific combination of conditions is met. We dont always want to test the entire condition in order to run one set of statements if the entire test is true, and another if it is false. We may want to choose between several different statements, depending on which particular combination of conditions is true. Suppose, for example, that we have three values to compare and wish to set different results depending on which of the values are equal. The following example shows how we can nest if statements to test for this (in bold below) var answer;if (a b) {  Ã‚  if (a c) {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer all are equal;  Ã‚  } else {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer a and b are equal;  Ã‚  }} else {  Ã‚  if (a c) {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer a and c are equal;  Ã‚  } else {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if (b c) {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer b and c are equal;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  } else {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer all are different;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }  Ã‚  }} The way the logic works here is: If the first condition is true (if (a b)), then the program checks for the nested if condition (if (a c)). If the first condition is false, the program bumps to the else condition.If the nested if is true, the statement is executed, i.e. all are equal.If the nested if is false, then the else statement is executed, i.e. a and b are equal. Here are a few things to notice how this is coded: First, we created the variable answer to hold the result before we started the if statement, making the variable global. Without that, we would have needed to include the variable on the front of all of the assignment statements, since it would be a local variable.Secondly, we have indented each nested if statement. This allows us to track more easily how many nested levels of statements there are. It also makes it clearer that we have closed the right number of blocks of code to complete all of the if statements that we opened. You may find that it is easier to put the braces there first for each if statement before you start writing the code that belongs inside that block. We can simplify one section of this code slightly in order to avoid having to nest the if statements quite as much. Where an entire else block is made up of a single if statement, we can omit the braces around that block and move the if condition itself up onto the same line as the else, using the else if condition. For example: var answer;if (a b) {  Ã‚  if (a c) {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer all are equal;  Ã‚  } else {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer a and b are equal;  Ã‚  }} else if (a c) {  Ã‚  answer a and c are equal;} else if (b c) {  Ã‚  answer b and c are equal;} else {  Ã‚  answer all are different;} Nested if/then statements are common in all programming languages, not just JavaScript. Novice programmers often use multiple if/then or if/else statements rather than nesting them. While this kind of code will work, it will quickly become verbose and will duplicate conditions. Nesting conditional statements creates more clarity around the programs logic and results in concise code that may run or compile faster.