Belief, Pain and Healing

Pain is a complex concept. No single perspective can fully encapsulate or explain how pain is generated, perceived and healed or taken away. Though one would usually think of a wound or sickness with the issue of pain, pain does not simply take into consideration the body, its parts and processes. Anyone would be familiar with phrases like â€Å"mind over body† and like phrases which take more than the isolated view on pain. As an attempt to explain pain, Ronald Melzack and P. D.Wall proposed the gate control theory which aims to explain the perception of pain in the psychological sense. Malzack and Wall developed the gate control theory which hypothesized that â€Å"there are special nerves that carry intense sensation to the spinal column† (Friedman, 2002, p. 91). However, these sensations do not simply travel directly to the brain as there is a â€Å"gate† controlled by signals from the brain. Hence, thoughts and feelings have an effect on pain perception.Anot her concept that plays upon the phrase â€Å"mind over body† is that of the Hawthorne effect. The Hawthorne effect occurs when attention influences a certain situation regardless of other factors (Friedman, 2002, p. 85). This concept is important for doctor-patient interaction because despite few and ineffective forms of treatment, a patient may experience positive effects when an attending physician caters to him or her. Finally, there is the placebo effect.Shapiro defines a placebo as â€Å"any therapy that is without specific activity for the condition being treated† (as cited in Friedman, 2002, p. 85). A placebo’s effects may either be psychological or psychophysiological. Placebos work upon an assumed or believed effect on one’s physical state by the said placebo to condition the mind of the individual taking it. Reference: †¢ Friedman, H. (2002). Health Psychology. Chapter 4: Belief, Pain and Healing (p. 85, 91) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education

Report on NatWest Bank’s Creativity and Innovation Essay

NatWest Bank is a member of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS Group). In 1968 National Provincial Bank (est.1833) and Westminster Bank (est.1836), fused as National Westminster Bank. Jointly, these banks could outline their history back down the centuries through a ancestry of influential constituents, since the 1650’s. The declaration totally astonished the public, but to both banks the benefits were obvious – the merger enhanced balance sheet strength, created opportunities to streamline the branch networks and enabled greater investment in new technology. The statutory process of integration was completed in 1969 and National Westminster Bank commenced trading on 1 January 1970, with the three-arrowheads symbol as its Logo of the company with 3,600 branches, established a wide range of new services, including the bank’s first credit card, Access, in 1972, and computer-linked cash dispensers, Servicetills, in 1976. Deregulation in the 1980s, culminating in ‘Big Bang’ in 1986, also encouraged National Westminster Bank to enter the securities business. County Bank, the Group’s merchant bank, acquired stockbroking and jobbing firms to create NatWest Investment Bank. In the mean time, the International Banking Division appeared to offer international banking services to large companies and to focus on expansion in the USA, the Far East and Europe. In the 1980s new services were developed such as telephone banking and touch- screen share dealing to assist the government’s privatisation programme. The 1980’s also saw the National Westminster Home Loans established in 1980 and the Small Business Unit in 1982. The Switch debit card extended the electronic transfer of money to point of sale in 1988. In the 1990s financial services markets world-wide underwent huge variations and in response the bank refocused its activities, exiting from a number of markets and adopting the title of NatWest. In March 2000, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group completed the acquisition of NatWest in a  £21 billion deal that was the large st take-over in British banking history. NatWest ranks fifth in the world and is now part of a financial services group which is the second largest bank by market capitalisation in the UK and in Europe. (NatWest 2006) Read more: Essay About National Westminster Bank Creativity and Innovation of the Bank: With granting a muscular competitive encourage to innovation, creativity and efficiency, it always attains lead on rival firms. Innovation is a driver of productivity growth. Novel products, processes and methods of working can relent efficiency gains and quality improvements not only within the innovating firm, but also within other firms that recap or institute on the innovation within their own firms. There are a number of reasons why the rate of innovation is likely to fall below socially optimal levels, and smaller innovating firms may face particularly severe barriers to innovation. The key constraints are: †¢ Limited access to risk capital: The informational impediments to free- functioning markets for SME finance were discussed earlier in this chapter, but it is particularly difficult for potential lenders or investors to assess likely risk and returns accruing to future research or to the implementation of unproven innovations. Newly-established innovating firms often m ake a loss and face severe cash-flow constraints in their early years. †¢Difficulties appropriating the full benefits of innovation: Whilst a competitive environment will provide the best general incentive for firms to innovate, firms need to be confident that they can reap the rewards of their innovation. This is why the intellectual property regime allows firms to prevent, for a limited period, their competitors from copying their innovations. This is a necessary reward for the costs of R&D, and helps to encourage innovation. Nevertheless, the internal return to innovation may still be modest relative to the industry-wide benefits that arise once the innovation can be replicated by other firms. †¢ Inability to diversify risk: While larger companies may have a large portfolio of innovative activity, innovation in smaller firms may be concentrated on a single product or process, and the cost of undertaking the necessary R&D may be very large relative to the overall financial assets of the company. Accordingly, where SMEs are risk-averse, they will be discouraged from investing in innovative activities with uncertain returns. Assembling the enterprise confront will rely on the innovation and creativity of entrepreneurs themselves, but the Government must also provide the right cond itions and the necessary support for successful enterprise. (Cosh and Hughes 2000) The NatWest Group has a total of 6 UK banking licences and licences from several other authorities. There are two principal costs linked with getting to the position where a bank is in a position to obtain and maintain its banking licence: 1) Implementing a reporting system that satisfies the requirements of the regulators. In addition to standard financial reports these would include implementing the systems to monitor and report capital adequacy, liquidity, credit risk, and interest rate risk etc. 2) Ensuring that there is the necessary infrastructure in place to satisfy individual regulatory requirements on operational areas such as money laundering, advertising and sales of financial products. There are also noteworthy sunk costs in coping with the provision of creativity infrastructure. To replace the existing branch and service centre network and administrative buildings is a major project in its own right and in addition to the costs of such physical assets, which are on the balance sheet it would be necessary to handle the stipulation of such facilities. Costs would also be involved in the provision of such items as HR policies, for example the sunk costs associated with setting up employee benefit programmes, such as pension plans, stock options, bonus schemes, car schemes, health care etc. The same tactic has been adopted and this turns up at an total expenditure of  £ [255] m. This is probably a conservative estimate. Over the period 1996 to 2000 NatWest incurred expenses of around  £ [13] bn in respect of its Retail Transformation programme, which was only a modification of part of its existing infrastructure rather than creation of a totally innovative one. (RBSG, 2002) NatWest depends entirely upon the qualities of innovation, and suffer more acutely from the rapidity of transform. Whether in presentation, writing, the visual arts or advertising, the progress of new ‘product’ is at the heart of all doings. Without this self- generated action, there is not anything to put up for sale. The sector therefore has a specific and challenging manufacturing process or value chain which, at each stage, demands different talents. At the raw development end of production (ideas generation, creating, training) there is a need for concepts, leading edge ideas and formulations, creativity, innovation and initiative customer orientation. Problem solving is paramount. At the moment of production (turning ideas into products, locations for production) – this first set of aptitudes is still important but must be supplemented by: _ï€  Intelligence, understanding of the market, industry foresight and strategic view; _ï€  Effective management o f resources; _ï€  Ability to develop and manage relationships with partners, explore new connections and collaborations with suppliers. The merger of the Royal Bank of Scotland (BoS) and Halifax to form HBOS resulted from increasing competitive pressures in the financial sector. Since about 1980, with the decline of heavy industries and growth of a service economy, like other clearing banks, BoS was obliged to expand further into small business lending and new retail products (e.g. residential mortgages, financial services, credit cards, etc.). Competition was exaggerated by banking deregulation, which led to the growth of a secondary banking sector, the transformation of many building societies (including Halifax) into banks, and new amalgamations into ever-larger banks (as cited in Leyshon and Thrift 1993). During this period there was increasing concern in the Scottish banking community about the potential for takeovers to erode a distinctive Scottish banking sector (as cited in Saville 1996: 717-40), which had been partly maintained by an historical ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between the English and Scottish banks to limit their presences in each other’s markets. In September 1999, BoS surprised The City of London by making a  £20.85 billion bid to take over NatWest Bank, in effect striking first in an environment where further bank mergers seemed inevitable. Many in the financial press were quick to point out that under these new terms, BoS and other Scottish banks could not expect to have the ir future ‘independence’ protected. In late November the Royal Bank of Scotland, BoS’s main competitor in Scotland, made a successful counter bid of  £25.1 billion. The City now anticipated a takeover of BoS, compelling BoS to keep pace with the Royal Bank. BoS and Halifax began merger negotiations in April 2001, and the new banking group, HBOS, began trading on the stock market on 10 September, 2001. The Halifax was the dominant partner in the merger, being about twice the size of BoS in terms of number of employees and market value at the time of merger, and supplying key organizational leadership, including the CEO. The core rationale of the merger was that it brought together Halifax’s substantial mortgage lending income and BoS’s expertise and placement in the corporate banking world to create new business opportunities for the merged organisation. It also saw the dislocation of BoS’s rather conventional, cautious and habitual banking ethos by the more modern, competitive and market driven ethos of the Halifax organisation. Thus the merger was experienced by staff as an encounter between two different corporate cultures, and two different national cultures, at the same time. By ‘the ideology of change’ it specifies an ideological condition that corresponds closely with Therborn’s conception of modernity. With this phrase I want to dire ct attention not so much to a set of ideas and beliefs about change, but more to a disposition, or attitude toward change. I mean to suggest a normatively charged attitude in which established ways of doing things are devalued and innovation and change is positively valued in principle, regardless of the particulars of any given situation. It is, in a sense, a ‘presumption of guilt’ in regard to the old, and ‘presumption of innocence’ in regard to the new. This attitude is deeply naturalised, so that the imperative and positive value of change is widely regarded as self-evident, and not easily questioned. Thus rather than the great social critiques and political programmes associated with the formation of modernity, I mean to invoke a routinized and normalized aspect of established modernity—seen in the way political parties and governments promote themselves through promises of reform, in the way corporations and public institutions are constantly restructuring in order to ‘modernize’ and keep pace with their competitors, and in the way consumer-citizens in capitalist society come to expect scientific and technological advances that will increase knowledge and improve commodities and services, while fashions in popular culture rapidly replaces one another. The ideology of change is mundane, relentless common sense. Some problems of ‘innovation and creativity’ lay with the organization and its leadershi p, rather than personnel, the exhortation to embrace change was ultimately being translated into a message of personal moral reform. In this way the ideology of change, while meeting resistance, percolated down to beleaguered selves seeking some greater purchase on their state of affiars. (Hearn 2006) HRM Strategic Milestones in NatWest: During 1990–91 County NatWest, an investment bank, asked all its business units, including its personnel department, to set up strategic milestones for a five-year period. Their performance was to be measured against those milestones at specified target dates. The requirement to produce strategic milestones as an input to the bank’s five-year marked an important watershed in defining the contribution of personnel to the business at a strategic level. It forced the department to reflect on the nature of that contribution. Senior management of the bank duly authorised 18 separate strategic milestones. The milestones were consistent one with the other, and overall addressed issues that consultation within business units and across the three personnel teams had shown to be critical to business success. Each milestone was assigned to a designated individual and was incorporated into his or her own targets of performance. Quarterly reviews on progress, involving the whole department, were subsequently held to ensure that the milestones were on target. The operational tasks that a centralised T&D planning process involves seek to ensure that: T&D considerations are taken fully into account when business strategy is formulated. They form part of a human resource plan within the wider business plan. At business unit/divisional level there are policies to ensure people are trained and developed in line with the needs of the business. At the individual level T&D is an integrated part of daily routine and procedures, helping people to achieve performance standards and behavioral objectives and building up the kind of workforce needed in terms of productivity, quality and flexibility. T&D staff operates a collaborative approach to planning at every stage in order to ensure a high level of buy-in from line management and other stakeholders. (Harrison 2001) Conclusion: NatWest Bank had recently a remarkable triumph over the competitors on November 15 2006 in the 12th Annual Convention- CCA Excellence Awards categorized for â€Å"Best Customer Focus: Financial Services† (details available on http://www.ccai.org.uk/events). The Bank is the second giant bank in the entire Europe (after Deutsche Bank) and incredibly progressed in a very short span of time (as discussed in the historical background). NatWest’s creativity and innovation â€Å"line of attack† led the bank to the stature of success. Chinua Achebe (1930 – ), Nigerian novelist, poet, and essayist rightly says: â€Å"Contradictions if well understood and managed can spark off the fires of invention. Orthodoxy whether of the right or of the left is the graveyard of creativity†. (Anthills of the Savannah) References NatWest; A History, (2006), NatWest Bank, available on accessed April 29 2007. Cosh and Hughes, (2000), Tackling Market Failures, British Bankers Association. Jonathan Hearn, (2006), National Identity, Organisational Culture, and the Ideology of Change in Scotland, BSA Annual Conference, Scottish Study Group. Rosemary Harrison, (2005), Producing and Implementing L&D Strategy, CIPD Publications. Appendix A: NatWest Glossary AER – Annual Equivalent Rate. This shows what the interest rate would be if interest were paid and added to your account each year. APR – Annual Percentage Rate. The interest payable on what you’ve borrowed is added up along with other charges (e.g. arrangement fees) and then expressed as an annual rate of charge. The APR helps you compare the true cost of borrowing, for example for a mortgage. The APR takes into account all fees and charges applied to the mortgage as well as the monthly payments over the life of the loan. arrangement fee â₠¬â€œ a fee to cover administration. arrears – money that was due to be paid but has not been paid. When you are behind in payments, you are in arrears. assets – your money, property, goods and so on that have a financial value. assurance – a policy that you pay for, and that pays money to your next of kin when you die. banker’s draft – a cheque drawn on the bank (or building society) itself against either a cash deposit or money taken directly from your own bank account. A banker’s draft is a secure way of receiving money from someone you don’t know and where a cash is inconvenient. Banker’s drafts are commonly used for large purchases such as homes and cars. base rate – the interest rate from which lenders set their rates for lending and savings products. It’s usually based on the base rate set by the Bank of England. capital – money that you’ve invested or borrowed (e.g. to buy a home). It doesn’t include the income or profit you get from an investment, or the interest you have to pay on a loan o r mortgage. CHAPS – Clearing House Automated Payment System. This is a system that enables money to be transferred from one bank account to another on the same day. chip and PIN – a system to reduce card fraud. A chip and PIN card has a ‘smart’ chip that holds your four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN). When you pay in a shop with a chip and PIN card, you’ll be asked to enter your PIN into a keypad instead of signing a receipt. This PIN is the same number that you use to withdraw money at a cash machine. cleared balance/cleared funds – includes credits (cheques and cash) that have completed the clearing cycle. You can only withdraw or transfer money to another account with money from your cleared balance. The cleared balance is updated during the day as you make payments into and out of your account. clearing cycle – the process that your cheque goes through when you pay it into your account. A cheque won’t be cleared if, for example, the person who gave it to you doesn’t have en ough money in their account. credit card – allows you to borrow money to pay for goods and services without using cash or cheques. credit balance – the amount of money in your account. credit limit – the maximum amount of money that you may borrow. debit card – allows you to pay for goods and services without writing cheques or using cash. The money is taken directly from your current account (you don’t borrow the money as with a credit card). Some debit cards can also be used to guarantee cheques. debt – an amount of money that you owe to a person or company. Direct Debit – an instruction from you to your bank or building society allowing someone to take money from your account. The amount of money taken can vary, but you must be told the amounts and dates beforehand. Direct Debits allow you to pay bills automatically from your account on a regular basis. discounted rate – a variable rate that is set at a fixed percentage amount below the lender’s standard variable rate for a period of time. At the end of the period, the mortgage goes back to the lender’s variable rate. EAR – Effective Annual Rate. This is the amount of interest charged on an overdraft and is stated as an annual rate. Unlike the APR, the figure does not include any fees or charges. Equity (in property) – the difference between how much your property is worth the balance of your outstanding mortgage and any other debts secured on the property. Equity release – a way of releasing extra money by borrowing against the equity in your home. ERTF – Exchange Rate Transaction Fee. This is a fee that you pay when withdrawing foreign currency from a cash machine or when paying for something in another currency (e.g. when you’re on holiday abroad). The foreign currency is converted into pounds sterling (using the bank’s exchange rate) and a fee for doing this is added. fixed-rate interest – an interest rate that stays the same throughout an agreed period. flexible mortgage – a mortgage that allows you to make overpayments and underpayments on the mortgage without penalty, and, in some cases, to take payment holidays. gross – the whole amount before any deductions (such as tax or fees) are made. gross interest rate – interest before income tax is deducted. Insurance policy – a policy that you pay for, and that pays money to you to cover possibilities such as theft, damage to property, loss and so on. interest – the amount that you pay when you borrow money. It’s expressed as a percentage rate over a period of time. interest-free – no interest is charged on money that you borrow. interest-only mortgages – a loan on which you only pay the interest element. The amount of capital you owe remains the same throughout the term of the mortgage and is due to be repaid at the end of the term. interest rate – the rate at which you pay back interest, expressed as a percentage of the amount you borrow. investment – something you put money into that will provide income in the future (such as savings) or gain in value so that you can sell it at a higher price later (such as a house). loan – money that you borrow (e.g. to buy a new car) on condition that you pay it back. lifetime mortgage – a type of equity release product for the over 60s, which allows you to release money by borrowing against the value of your home. There are no monthly repayments, instead the interest is added to the loan and the whole amount is repaid when you die or move into long-term care, usually from the sale of the house. This means more interest will build up than with a conventional mortgage. mortgage – a loan to help you buy property on condition that the company giving you the loan has certain rights, including the right to sell the property if you don’t pay back the loan. net – the amount after deductions (such as tax or fees) are made. net interest rate – the rate payable after the lower rate of income tax is deducted. (NB the rate of tax may vary, so a net rate is usually only given as an example.) nominal annual rate – the rate of interest that would apply if the interest were not added each year and if there were no inflation. overdraft – borrowings from your current account. overpayment – higher or extra mortgage payments that you make (usually to pay off your loan or mortgage early). p.a. – ‘per annum’, which means ‘each year’. payment holiday – a period of one or more months when you don’t make repayments on your loan or mortgage, although interest continues to accrue during that time. PIN – Personal Identification Number. This is the four-digit number that you enter into a cash machine when you want to take out cash, and that you use when you pay with your chip and PIN card. Never give this number to anyone, or write it down. rate – the percentage interest rate charged by a lender. remortgage – replacing a mortgage with a new one (from your existing or a different lender), without moving home. You use the money you borrow for the new mortgage to repay the old one. repayment method – the means by which a mortgage is repaid. The two main repayment methods are ‘interest only’ and ‘repayment’. repayment mortgage – a loan where you pay back some of the capital as well as interest each month. The amount you owe is gradually reduced. return – the profit you get, for example, when you invest money. share – a unit of ownership in a company. share certificate – shows the amount of ownership. share dealing – the process of buying and selling shares. standing order – a method of making regular payments directly from your bank account. It’s a fixed sum and you tell your bank when to start and stop paying it. stock – another term for share. transaction – each time you pay money into or take money out of your account, it’s called a transaction. unarranged borrowing – an overdraft that is higher than your bank or building society has agreed to. uncleared balance – the amount of money in your account including all the uncleared items in your account and any items paid in during the day. underpayment – a loan or mortgage payment that is less than the amount that you should normally pay for that month. variable-rate interest – the interest rate that you pay on your loan or mortgage and that rises and falls roughly in line with a stated index, such as the base rate set by the Bank of England. (NatWest , 2006, available on http://www.natwest.co.uk/glossary.htm/>)

Going Green in Hospitality

Hospitality Studies Report GOING GREEN IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY Word count: 1328 ? Introduction3 Benefits3 Are there actually disadvantage of staying the same? 3 The definite advantages of changing3 What people think4 Are there side effects? 4 Knowledge aquired4 Financial5 Conclusion5 Bibliography6 ? Introduction The effects of global warming continue generating intense debate among businesses that see it as a major threat to their operations.In this regard the global community is seeking partnerships with governments and other stakeholders to formulate policy guidelines that will act as means of ensuring that they adopt green technology in their operations to counter this threat. Failure to do this will result to irreversible decline in profits, deterioration of people’s health through emergence of killer diseases like skin cancer and closure of businesses. Benefits The hospitality industry has not been left out in adopting green technologies in their operations to ensure they slay this global phenomenon.In doing this they have realized the immense benefits that come with the green technology in almost all areas of their industry. The use of renewable power like solar energy, wind power and bio fuels reduces the energy costs incurred in the hospitality industry a great deal. Due to their nature of operations they require power throughout; when preparing food, entertaining guests and also when cleaning. This therefore means they incur huge electricity bills through out and this can be reduced by the adaptation of green technology.Installation of solar panels or wind power can reduce these expenses in a great way and this can increase their profits and enable investment in other projects like expansion. Are there actually disadvantage of staying the same? The use of green technology reduces the pollution of the environment. The damage that is usually done to the environment when hotels use petroleum products is very catastrophic. They use the product o n large quantities especially in cooking.Diesel products for instance emit a lot of hydrocarbons into the air that cause global warming, which is known to hamper marine life and make some species of the marine bio diversity extinct. This affects the product range available for offer to their clients. They also poison most fish species which make them unfit for human consumption. These diesel emissions are also known to be carcinogenic and cause a lot of cancer related ailments that pose a very great danger to the workers in the industry and to the whole world at large.However all this can be avoided if the industry adopts green technology. There are no side effects of using green energy since they are environmentally friendly and they use ecologically friendly resources. The definite advantages of changing The industry has also come alive to the fact that ecotourism is a major attraction to many people who want to conserve the world we live in. (Hotelinteractive. com. 2008) People a ppreciate and value those involved in environmental conservation and most like being associated with them.Many organizations and governments prefer holding their meetings and conferences in venues that are accredited by environmental conservation agencies as compliant to set green standards. The hospitality industry being a major player in this field does not want to be left behind. This is because those who comply and champion these interests will attract wide clientele and this will be a major boost to their businesses. Many players in the industry have sought to comply with the set standards to ensure they remain competitive in the industry.The industry has therefore invested heavily in imparting the required knowledge and skills to its staff and other stakeholders to ensure best practices. They are then seeking certification from recognized regulatory institutions that also continuously monitor their progress through regular visits and checks. What people think The adoption of g reen technology by the hospitality industry improves the public image and the perceptions that people have towards the industry. â€Å"Going green is no longer a request, but rather a demand. † ( Nowpublic. com. 008) The world today is doing everything to combat global warming which is seen as a major threat to future earnings of almost each sector in the global economy. This will also attract a lot of customers to those who will be seen to be compliant. The hospitality industry is therefore viewed as one of the environmentally sensitive industries and this places it strategically on the global arena of attaining sustainable development. Are there side effects? The players in the hospitality industry must embrace the use of renewable sources of energy like wind power and solar energy.Such installations will ensure minimal environmental pollution and also availability throughout. This is because the sources such as sun and wind are naturally available and apart from installati on costs and routine maintenance there are no other major associated costs. The electricity bills and the costs of running stand-by generators will be done away with and profits will increase both in the short and in the long run. Knowledge aquired The industry players should also minimize the amount of wastes that is usually dumped. This can be done through recycling most of these wastes.For example , a hotel can recycle waste paper into scratch pads, the cartridges used by printers and fax machines can be refilled when empty instead of being dumped, they can also install soap and shampoo dispensers in their facilities to reduce the waste from small plastic bottles, they can also replace toxic and hazardous cleaning agents with good friendlier biodegradable cleaners, they can also donate reusable dishes and other cutlery to charities instead of dumping and also they should install recyclable bins in all areas for collection of waste cans and plastics.When these measures are underta ken, the industry will enjoy the enormous benefits associated with the green technology. The industry players should also invest heavily in the provision of skills and knowledge to the stakeholders who must be involved in the attainment of desired objectives. The stakeholders are mainly their workers, customers and also their suppliers. They should organize workshops and seminars to educate them on the necessity of adopting the green technology.When they fully understand the benefits they will commit to observe and adhere to the standards set in the industry and this will ensure attainment of desired results.? Financial The adoption of the above measures will nonetheless be an uphill task to most of the players in the hospitality industry. Most of these measures like installing and maintaining solar and wind energy systems require huge budgets and skilled workers. Most of the players in the industry are midlevel enterprises that lack the financial ability to manage such capital-inte nsive projects.Also those who carry out these projects may take a long time to recover and return to profitability. Nonetheless the hotels will save BIG money in the end. Conclusion The green technology should be implemented by all the industries not only the hospitality industry. This will enhance the realization of the aspired results which will guarantee the global population of a better environment to live in. This is because global warming is a major threat to all industries regardless of the area of specialization. Failure by the industry players to implement these policies will be threatening the same businesses they rely on. Reference List Patrice A Kelly (2008) So you want to go green [Internet] Available from: http://www. hotelinteractive. com/article. aspx? articleid=12180 [Accessed 2 May, 2012] Commonwealth of Pennsylvania †¢ Department of environmental protection (Unknown) Fact Sheet [Internet] Available from: http://www. google. com/url? sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&sourc e=web&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CCsQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Finfohouse. p2ric. org%2Fr ef%2F03%2F02592. pdf&ei=mcWiT6X9HMTsOdbgmd0I&usg=AFQjCNGbSE_1baXV5YwYwqMxCkhfrYUsUg [Accessed 30 April, 2012]Ursula Tillmann (2008) Hotels going â€Å"Green† demanded by guests [Internet] Available from: http://www. nowpublic. com/environment/hotels-going-green-demanded-guests [Accessed 2 May, 2012] Roza Gazsi (2011) Hotels going green – So much more than a pleasant stay [Internet] Available from: http://www. ecowizer. com/2011/03/hotels-going-green-so-much-more-than-a-pleasant-stay/ [Accessed 3 May, 2012] Epa. gov (2011) Why go green [Internet] Available from: http://www. epa. gov/region2/p2/hospitality/why/index. html [Accessed 3 May, 2012] Bibliorgaphy Gogreencleaning. bravehost. om (Unknown) Go green! Cleaning products [Online Image] Available from: http://www. google. com/imgres? um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org. mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1280&bih=657&tbm=isch&tbnid=xEbt0DfSpFO7FM:&imgre furl=http://www. gogreencleaning. bravehost. com/&docid=TTradC0z9xRMaM&imgurl=http://gogreencleaning. bravehost. com/myPictures/gogreen. jpg&w=390&h=448&ei=TdiiT8mXPMGfOufoqdMI&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1032&vpy=93&dur=1870&hovh=241&hovw=209&tx=161&ty=150&sig=111890973347592325663&page=1&tbnh=125&tbnw=101&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0,i:158 [Accessed 3 May, 2012 ]

Hengisbury Head Coastal Processes

What are geomorphic processes and how do they affect the coast at Hengistbury Head? Setting the scene Hengistbury Head is a scenic and historic headland near the town of Bournemouth on the south coast of England. It stands mid-way between Poole harbour and Hurst spit and forms the main division between Poole and Christchurch Bays. Coastal Processes| Description| Sub Aerial | Coastal erosional processes that are not linked to the action of the sea. Erosion occurs via rain, weathering by wind and frost. Its impact is often seen in soil creep, slumping and landslides. Corrosion| When waves approach the coastline they are carrying material such as sand, shingle, pebbles and boulders. Abrasion occurs when this material is hurled against cliffs as waves hit them, wearing the cliff away. | Human activity| Much building and recreation occurs at the coast, and this increases pressure on cliff tops, making them more liable to erosion and subsidence. The building of sea defences upsets the dyna mic equilibrium of the coastline| Hydraulic pressure| Cliffs and rocks contain many lines of weakness in the form of joints and cracks.A parcel of air can become trapped/compressed in these cracks when water is thrown against it. The increase in pressure leads to a weakening/cracking of the rock. | Corrasion| When waves approach the coastline they are carrying material such as sand, shingle, pebbles and boulders. Abrasion occurs when this material is hurled against cliffs as waves hit them, wearing the cliff away. | Coastal Transport| Description| Solution| Minerals are dissolved in seawater and carried in solution. The load is not visible.Load can come from cliffs made from chalk or limestone, and calcium carbonate is carried along in solution. | Suspension| Small particles are carried in water, e. g. silts and clays, which can make the water look cloudy. Currents pick up large amounts of sediment in suspension during a storm, when strong winds generate high-energy waves. | Saltati on| Load is bounced along the seabed, e. g. small pieces of shingle or large sand grains. Currents cannot keep the larger and heavier sediment afloat for long periods. | Traction| Pebbles and larger sediment are rolled along the seabed. |

Water Pollution. Dangers and Causes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Water Pollution. Dangers and Causes - Essay Example Most of the water on the surface of the earth is sea water which is not usable for most of water’s essential purposes, including drinking. Fresh water is the most essential form of water for survival of life. The events of past years have raised the concern over the perennial availability of fresh water and are slowly converting fresh water into a commodity rather than an available for all resource. Preservation of the quality and availability of fresh water has become one of the most pressing environmental challenges in the 21st century. This concern is very high for third world countries where there is an alarmingly high dearth of drinkable water, rendering scores of people to die due to diseases emanating from poisonous water. Pressures on water resources: The increasing stress on water resources is from several sources and can take various forms. The impact of these pressures can vary and contribute to the ever increasing problem of easily available fresh water. Several fa ctors contribute to increasing the stress on water resources. The growth of urban metropolises and changing lifestyles impacts the amount and pattern of water consumption. From using fresh water solely for necessary purposes, consumption patterns have changed to lavish and unessential patterns including embellishment of hotels, malls, etc. Increased industrial activity with respect to the use of water has increased the pressure on water resources. ... The excessive industrial waste has significantly hampered the natural cleansing process, leaving previously fresh water, polluted and not useful for the purposes it was meant for. Human waste contributes significantly to the problem also. Every day, approximately 2 million tons of human waste are disposed in water courses (UN Water). The dilemma of developing countries is alarmingly bad, approximately 70 percent of all industrial waste is dumped into waters, leading to the pollution of usable water supply. Dangers of water pollution: All water pollutants are dangerous to humans as well as lesser species. Some of the key ingredients of the most prevalent pollutants, including industrial waste, include sodium, which is implicated in cardiovascular diseases; nitrates are guilty of causing blood disorders, whereas mercury and lead can cause nervous disorders. DDT, which is found in some forms of industrial waste, is toxic and can not only impact living humans but can also affect chromoso mes. Another dangerous toxic ingredient found in industrial wastes, PCBs, is known to cause liver and nerve damage, skin eruptions, vomiting, fever, diarrhea and significant fetal abnormalities (Geol). The impact of pollution from sewage and human wastes is also lethal. Dysentery, salmonellosis and hepatitis are some of the diseases transmitted by sewage in drinking and bathing water. This problem is extremely frequent in developing and less developing countries where there is no clear mechanism to separate fresh and drinkable water from polluted water (Tripathi and Pandey). Causes of water pollution: The sources of water pollution can be divided into point sources and nonpoint sources. Point sources refer to factories, wastewater treatment facilities, septic systems, and other

Negotiation Planning Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Negotiation Planning - Case Study Example They provide an estimate with respect to the direct material and direct labour, and this puts the ball in their court despite the company or the buyer providing their estimates with regard to direct material and labour in order to make the modifications, because the sellers are the ones being used for their services. Furthermore, the sellers are in a better position because they are able to quote a price that covers damages caused during the process of making modifications and, thus, keeping aside a negligible amount for the same. They also have taken into account an estimate for spoilage, new items, etc. in order to be on the safer side, keeping their profit margin at the best possible rate for the buyers. 3. In a contract, each party will do its best to emerge as the winner and have the best possible consideration at his/her end. In this contract, the sellers are in a better position than the buyers; however, it must be understood that the two parties do have misconceptions regardi ng one another. First, the buyers are doing their best to decrease the material and labour costs as much as they can because of the price that they will have to pay. The sellers, on the other hand, are trying to negotiate the same in order to maintain a profit margin, as well as to keep room for damages and arrears. The sellers must understand that the optical instruments require modifications to be done within the best possible cost estimate in order to keep the buyers from shelling out much money. Nonetheless, the misconception that the buyers have that the sellers will give them a quote more than they expect may be considered outside the scope of negotiation because ultimately, the buyers need to look into quality and take into account that they would be ready to pay the estimate rolled out by the sellers in order to be left with the best possible end results which will, in turn, help them cover the investments that they made. It is yet again another misconception for the buyers or the Gilbert Company to estimate the overheads and material costs that will be required for the purpose of modification, because the sellers will be able to provide a better estimate knowing that they have to provide their services while keeping a 10% profit margin. 2. In the second answer, we need to analyse the data carefully to ascertain the elementary assessment of the information. Negotiation Plan for the Buyer: The buyer’s position over here is conceptually taken on a different role than the seller’s position. When Pilgrim asked for a cost analysis programme to be conducted for the product, there was a major difference between the cost analyses of Gilbert and Price Analyst. This catapulted Pilgrim to extract the date based on the report conducted by both the parties and a combination of the report between these two parties was evolved to determine the actual cost elements in the negotiation planning. Pilgrim finally called Price Analyst to conduct a negotiation plan for the company since there was an immense difference coming out of the analyses conducted by Gilbert and Price Analyst. The proposed price by Pilgrim was 225,893 USD. This was the price at which he ideally wanted to sell all his 45 optical instruments to the buyer, which is Gilbert Instruments. Price analyst in its analyses compared the labour rates, the GA rates and the Overhead rates which went in modifying the optical instruments at the peak of their prowess. At the current level which is designed by the Price analyst,

What is the Threat to the US from North Korea Assignment

What is the Threat to the US from North Korea - Assignment Example Due to this conflict, it is feared that North Korea may be planning to attack the United States directly or indirectly through its everyday developing nuclear program. One of the main threats to the United States from North Korea is that North Korea might soon become capable enough of developing nuclear weapons that can be used against the United States and its allies. North Korea and South Korea have been in continuous conflict over the issue of Korean Peninsula and United States has tried to help South Korea as South Korea is an ally of United States (U.S. Department of State, 2014). The threat is that if North Korea develops nuclear weapons, it may directly attack the South in order to solve and gain victory on the dispute of Korean Peninsula. If North Korea attacks the South, there is the huge possibility of a World War consisting of the use of nuclear weapons taking place. A World War may erupt because the US being friends with the South may help the South, while on the other ha nd China being an ally of North Korea may try to defend them (Schneider, 2014). The United States already owes a huge debt to China and China has the ability to completely destroy the United States and due to this United States may not be able to assist the South in order to protect its own nation. The United States has been fighting the war for peace and the war against terrorism for several years. Due to these several nations such as Afghanistan and militants living in those nations are quite angry with the United States. One reason due to which the United States has an upper hand over the extremist terrorist group is that these terrorist groups do not control nuclear weapons. If North Korea is able to develop its own nuclear weapons, then there is a possibility that North Korea may supply these weapons to the terrorist organizations and the terrorist organizations will then have the ability to attack the United States with nuclear weapons (Snyder, 2013). North Korea is kind of an isolated region which blindly trusts its government and is ready to take any action that may be commanded by their government.  Ã‚