Religions of the World Jesus/Mohammed

Two thousand years have come and gone, but still they remain the unfinished story that refuses to go away. Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew from rural first-century Galilee, and Mohammed from Mecca are without doubt the most famous and most influential human beings who ever walked the face of the earth. Their influence may at present be declining in a few countries of Western Europe and parts of North America, as has from time to time transpired elsewhere.But the global fact is that the adherents of Jesus and Mohammed are more widespread and more numerous, and make up a greater part of the world's population, than at any time in history. Two billion people identify themselves as Christians; well over a billion Muslims revere Jesus as a prophet of God (Freedman 2001). Unnumbered others identify themselves as know and respect his memory as a wise and holy man. This work begins with tracing the lives of Jesus and Mohammed historically. Then it deals with different aspects of the practice and th e teaching of Jesus and Mohammed. How their messages are being carried out in the world today will be considered in the conclusion.The personality of Mohammed remains obscure in spite of his sayings and the many legends about him. There have been almost as many theories about the Prophet as there are biographers. According to tradition, he was born in A.D. 570, about five years after the death of Justinian, into a cadet branch of one of the leading families of Mecca. His father died before Mohammed was born, and his mother died when he was still a small child. First his grandfather, then an uncle, who was in the caravan trade, reared him.As a youth in the busy center of Mecca he probably learned to read and write enough to keep commercial accounts; he also heard Jewish and Christian teachers and early became interested in their religious ideas. Mohammed must have suffered, in these early years, from hardships, and he evidently became aware of the misery of many of his fellowmen. The se early experiences were later to be the basis of his fervent denunciations of social injustice. At the age of twenty-five, he married a wealthy widow and probably went on some long caravan trips, at least to Syria.This gave him further contacts with Jewish, Christian, and Persian religious teachers. At the age of forty, after spending much time in fasting and solitary meditation, he heard a voice calling him to proclaim the uniqueness and power of Allah. Mohammed seemingly did not, at first, conceive of himself as the conscious preacher of a new religion. It was only the opposition from those about him at Mecca that drove him on to set up a new religious community with distinctive doctrines and institutions. In 632 Mohammed died, the last of all the founders of great world religions.Little is known of the early life of Jesus Christ. Born a few years before the year 1 A. D. in Bethlehem of Judaea, he lived in Nazareth, a city of Galilee, until he was about thirty years of age. We h ave no reason to doubt the tradition that after the death of Joseph, the head of the family, Jesus became the main support of Mary and the younger children. He worked at his trade, that of a carpenter, and lived the life which would be expected of a religiously-minded young Hebrew.At about the age of thirty Jesus suddenly appeared at the Jordan, where John, a cousin of his, was performing the rite of baptism on those who came professing a desire to amend their ways and live better lives. Jesus also came and, against the scruples of John, who saw that Jesus was in different case from the others, was baptized. It marked a turning-point, for with the outward ritual act came an inner spiritual experience of profound significance for Jesus. A voice assured him that he was in a unique sense his Father's â€Å"beloved Son,† in whom he was â€Å"well pleased† (Borg 1997). It seems to have been the consummation of his thought and prayer and eager yearning for many years.He had received his revelation; he would proclaim God as a Father and men as his sons. He was filled with a sense of mission, of having a work to do and a message to deliver, which to the end of his life did not leave him for a moment. He went from place to place in Palestine preaching in the synagogues and out-of-door places wherever the people congregated, and talking to individuals and to groups as they came to him with their questions and problems. He began to gather about him a little company of disciples, which soon grew to twelve and which accompanied him on all his journeys.He spent much time in giving them instruction and on several occasions sent them out to heal and to preach. Jesus came to establish a kingdom, and this was the burden of his message. But he never forgot that the form of the Kingdom and many things connected with its coming were of lesser significance than the inner meaning and the principles on which it was based. The first of these was man's relationship with G od.Jesus was not only a teacher; he was a worker of miracles. The Gospels tell us that he cured the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, fed the hungry, stilled the storm, and even raised the dead. Much was made of these wonders by former generations of Christians, who used them as proofs of the divine character of the One who performed them. Such use of these incidents does not produce the effect it once did and is being discarded.A closer study of the attitude of Jesus toward his own miraculous power clearly indicates that he minimized its significance. He would have men secure a better perspective and realize that moral power was on a higher level than the ability to work marvels. With this in view it scarcely seems congruous to use the miracles in a way which could scarcely be acceptable to Jesus himself. But of all the impressions Jesus made the strongest was that he was in touch with God his Father and that this was the explanation of all the wonderful things about him.Jesus, h owever, was not only winning followers and bringing them close to God; he had come into collision with the religious authorities of his people, and in the end lost his life at their hands. They were formalists and as such had not averted the danger of losing sight of the vital principles of their religion. Jesus was an innovator, and felt free to act in accordance with the inner spirit of the old precepts even when by doing so he ran counter to the letter of the law.When Jesus appeared in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, He was seized and, after having had a preliminary hearing before the Jewish high priest and Sanhedrin, was taken before Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator, and was condemned to death. He was crucified, together with two criminals, and died at the end of six hours' agony on the cross. His body was taken down by friends in the early evening and laid in a rock-hewn tomb. The hopes of his disciples were dashed to the ground, and undoubtedly the Jewish leaders a nd the Roman authorities thought they had rid themselves of an exceedingly troublesome creature (Allen 1998).But such was not to be, for a very remarkable thing happened the third day after. To the utter amazement of his disciples, who had not recovered from the paralyzing effect of their grief and disappointment, Jesus appeared to them so unmistakably that they were convinced that death had not been able to hold its victim and that Jesus was alive.Their new enthusiasm, the founding of the Christian Church on the assurance of the presence of the living Christ, the adoption of the first day of the week as a memorial of the day when Jesus reappeared alive -all these historic facts bear witness to the genuineness of the disciples' testimony that the same Jesus who had journeyed with them, who had died and had been laid away in the tomb, was raised from the dead, their living Master forevermore. They immediately went out to preach â€Å"the gospel of the resurrection,† and with t hat the history of the Christian Church was begun.Mohammed's teaching, from the beginning, shows strong Jewish and Christian influence. Mohammed learned the great stories of the Old Testament; especially was he impressed with the life of Abraham whom he later considered one of his own predecessors and who he claimed had founded the Ka' bah at Mecca. He, likewise, learned of the Christian Trinity whom he understood to be God the Father, Mary the Mother, and Jesus the Son.He was looking for common ground on which to found a faith for all monotheists. He had a profound respect for Jews and Christians, especially for the Jews, though when they refused to join him and when later they thwarted him, he attacked them fiercely. Mohammed took from Jewish, Christian, and also Persian teaching only what he wanted, and he combined all he borrowed in a set of ideas that always bore his own mark. In the Koran, for example, he uses the characters of the Bible as successful advocates in the past of the doctrines of Mohammed in the present. Mohammed called the Jews and the Christians the â€Å"People of the Book,† and he came to believe himself called to give his own people, the Arabs, a book.Soon after Mohammed's death in 632, a wave of conquest gathered in all of Arabia, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and part of Persia. In less than a century all of North Africa, Spain, Asia Minor, and Central Asia to the Indus River were swept by the conquering armies of Islam. These conquests were as orderly as they were speedy; little damage seems to have been done, and immediately after the Arab armies entered an area they organized it. The Arab annexation, at first, meant little more than a change of rulers.Life and social institutions went on as before with little interference and no forced conversions; the conquered peoples could even keep their own religion by paying a tax. The Arab colonies planted in each new territory became the centers from which Islamic religious ideas spread a nd in which, at the same time, a new culture developed. Not until the new peoples, like the Seljuks, who were outside the Graeco-Roman tradition, were converted to Mohammedanism did Islam become fanatical. Indeed, no such militant intolerance as characterized the Christian attack on paganism was normally shown by the Mohammedans until into the eleventh century.The reasons for these fantastic conquests were various. To his own people, especially to the desert tribes, Mohammed offered war and booty, and to those who lived in the Arab towns he offered the extension of commerce. Caravans travelled in the midst of the Muslim armies. For those who died, Islam promised a glowing paradise. One drop of blood shed in battle, even a single night spent under arms would count for more than two months of prayer or fasting.Christianity and Islam have, like every other religion, developed their own mythology. These mythologies are at its height in the beautiful imagery that centers around the festi vals of Christmas, Easter and Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha (â€Å"Eid† or â€Å"Id† means festival). Indeed, there is today a rediscovery of the value of myth in human life. Today Christianity and Islam provide a good framework for the religious life. Some people, possibly lots of people, would claim that if Jesus and Mohammed were wrong, they can no longer be relevant. That claim can probably be disputed on theological grounds (Freedman 2001).The remarkable ‘footprint' of Jesus and Mohammed in history has strangely contradictory implications for an encounter with them today. On the one hand, it means that a true and adequate understanding of the men remains a vital task, even as third millennium has dawned. Just as in the first century Jesus was embraced as Saviour of the world by Jews and Gentiles excluded from religious and political power, so today he is welcomed above all by ordinary, poor and marginalised people – in the west and the east, and especia lly in the South. Like Paul, they see him, God's gospel, as having the power to liberate them from sin, their personal sins, the socio-political, cultural and structural sins of their nations, cultures and churches and the unjust economic and technological structures of the so-called ‘global village'.At least in the western world, it remains true that we can understand neither Christian faith nor much of the world around us if we do not come to terms with Jesus of Nazareth and the two millennia of engagement with his heritage. The followers of Jesus and Mohammed live in every country of the globe. They read and speak of these people in a thousand tongues. For them, the world's creation and destiny hold together in their gods, the wholly human and visible icon of the wholly transcendent and invisible God. Jesus and Mohammed animate their cultures, creeds and aspirations.ReferencesAllen, Charlotte. (1998).The human Christ: the search for the historical Jesus. Oxford: Lion.Borg, Marcus J., ed. (1997). Jesus at 2000. Boulder: Westview Press.Freedman, David Noel. (2001). The Rivers of Paradise: Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, and Muhammad as Religious Founders. Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, MI.

Apes to Man (Reaction Paper) Essay

Introduction Planet of Life: Apes to Man is narrated by Stacy Keach, presented by Discovery Channel. A must see documentary regarding the Theory of Evolution. Originally produced for Discovery Channel, each episode covers a separate chapter in the biography of the world. This episode examines the evolution with the use of computer animation. The film talks about how apes like Lucy, who is known to be a three million year old ape that walked upright or with two legs and revolutionized or grew and changed into one of the modern men and women who populate the world in every continent, nation and city today. The first stage in evolution is walking upright or with two legs just like Lucy did. The second is having the ability to speak or make different kinds of sounds. This is the cause of the straightening of the spine which allows the neck to follow for them to be able to speak. Summary One hundred million years ago, dinosaurs walked the earth. They no longer exist today because of the asteroids that hit their home and eventually killed all of them. The earth, after some time, regained its life forces because some small creatures that got through the great tragedy that  put an end to the era of the dinosaurs. One of those creatures that survived were the purgatorious, one of earth’s oldest primates that may have evolved throughout the ages A new era of animals rose to the occasion to a new beginning and to starting a new kind of living amongst the changed world around them. One particular creature happened to explore and discover new things in its surroundings more advanced than others. In the late 18th century, Charles Darwin wrote a book called â€Å"Origin of Species†. The book was intriguing. People thought he was losing his mind because most men and women during his time were very religious and really close to God. They didn’t believe him until a team of French-American researchers in the year 1974 found evidences of early apes. But by that time I think Darwin’s unlikely friends and haters won’t be able to say it in front of him. The people who found Darwin’s inspirational evidence called it â€Å"Lucy†. Lucy is a 3 million year old ape and is the very first one to walk upright or with 2 legs because according to the researchers she had wide hips like humans do. Archeologists say Lucy walked like a modern pig mea chimpanzee and bonobo. After a few decades, Lucy got to the second stage of evolution. And that is having the ability to speak or make different kinds of sounds. This is the cause of the straightening of the spine which allows the neck to follow for them to be able to speak and the rest is history. What Lucy became is what all of us are now. Generalization Evolution has really helped and changed every individual for the better. It made us realize and understand how the real world worked in the early ages and how it affected all of us today. We are now where we belong and that gives everyone the chance and the blessings they deserve. Reflection Personally, I do not believe in this theory as per the teachings in the Bible. There is no contest to what the Bible says about us  being formed in the image of God. But, for arguments sake, and if I were to believe it, let me just say that Darwin may have misconstrued the facts or the things he has observed based on the physical and genetic similarities of man and apes. He based his findings on the fact that because apes were able to walk upright, we are their descendants and from other scientists’ findings on the similarities of man and apes from different eras. Other important human characteristics – such as a large and complex brain, the ability to make and use tools, and the capacity for language added to the basis for his theory. Early human fossils and archeological remains offer the most important clues about this ancient past. These remains include bones, tools and any other evidence left by earlier people. Usually, the remains were buried and preserved naturally. Thinking About You A tornado flew around my room before you came Excuse the mess it made, usually doesn’t rain In Southern California, much like Arizona My eyes don’t shed tears, they pour When I’m thinkin’ ‘bout you (Ooh no, no, no) I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout you (You know, know, know) I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout you Do you think about me still? Or do you not think so far ahead? ‘Cause I been thinkin’ ‘bout forever (Ooh no, no) Or do you not think so far ahead? ‘Cause I been thinkin’ ‘bout forever No, I don’t like you, I just thought you were cool Enough to kick it Got a beach house I could sell you in Idaho You don’t think I love you, I just thought you were cute That’s why I kissed you Got a fighter jet, I don’t fly it though Lyin’ down thinkin’ ‘bout you (Ooh no, no, no) I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout you (You know, know, know) I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout you Do you think about me still? Or do you not think so far ahead? ‘Cause I been thinkin’ ‘bout forever (Oooh) Or do you not think so far ahead? ‘Cause I been thinkin’ ‘bout forever And I remember, how could I forget How you feel And though you were my first time A new feel And it won’t ever get old,not in my soul, Not in my spirit, keep it alive We’ll go down this road ‘Til it turns from color to black and white Or do you not think so far ahead? ‘Cause I been thinkin’ ‘bout forever(Oooh) (2x)

Critical Analysis of Sustainabilty in Marketing Essay

Focus on sustainability has appeared on the face of the earth over the last ten years and a lot of books and articles are published on the topic of sustainability. Early on, John Elkington developed and promoted the concept of â€Å"Triple Bottom Line† in his book Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business which was published in late 1999 (Creating a Sustainable Organization: Approaches for Enhancing Corporate value through Sustainability By Peter A. Soyka, Pg. 1) The concept of sustainability is transformed to cover three basic components known as the Triple Bottom Line which are complexly linked to one another: profits-it is the economical part that balances financial growth with awareness and concern for the social good and environmental stewardship; planet-it is the environmental part that safeguards and preserves the natural qualities of our ecosystem for the benefit and health of future generations; people-it is the social equity part that safe guards the benefits of opportunity and equality for every individual. See more: how to write a critical analysis essay step by step The growing importance of sustainable development establishes a significant and developing challenge for environmental economics and natural resources. This challenge is such big that if it is not measured and controlled then it will ruin the life of the future generations that’s the reason why every field now a days strive to work hard to have Sustainable Value Creation (SVC). The question arises what is sustainability, a more relevant answer is provided by The Brundtland commission (1987) which says to be sustainable is to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. While this looks clear but if we observe it thoroughly and closely there are some complications and difficulties in it (Smart Green: How to Implement Sustainable Business Practices in Any Industry-and Make Money By Jonathan Estes page 6-8). The first problem which is a marketing problem is in the needs of the present and no one today knows of what level of needs we are talking about. The second difficulty is an ethical question that relates to the future and intergenerational justice, how we know what the needs of the future generations will be and how far do we look into the future? These two questions i.e. marketing and ethical must be explained much more clearly and  precisely than the definition of the sustainability suggests. The world economies currently face many challenges in the domain of public and commercial policy and one of the most crucial challenges they are facing is sustainable development. According to the projections of United Nations (UN) on population growth, the population of the world will most likely reach nine (9) billion people by the year 2050 with most of the growth taking place in emerging and developing countries. It is the commitment of UN to improve environmental and social performance associated with sustainable development. It seems that it is highly unlikely to achieve the goals set by the UN with current unbalanced consumptio n, marketing and production practices. KEY IDEAS OF SUSTAINABLE MARKETING: SUSTAINABLE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR Creating consumer demand for sustainable products and services is not an easy task because the consumers traditionally behave to maximize their own utility. Many consumers think that anything which is good for the entire society in the long term is always the best option for the individuals in the short term and unfortunately for most of the consumers the positive attitudes toward sustainable development is not shown in their actual consumer behavior and purchases. There are differences in what people say and what they actually do. Sustainable consumer behavior can be enhanced by positioning sustainable behavior with consumers’ self-interest and by making sure that this self-interest is understood and recognized thoroughly and can be acted upon (Encouraging Sustainable Behavior: Psychology and the Environment edited by Hans C.M. van Trijp page 3, 4). Consumers when they consume sustainably also behave in a way that shows or signals there superiority over others. Marketing efforts should be made to enhance sustainable consumption that leads to reduction in the trait of signaling instinct i.e. our inclination to signal to others that we hold valued traits. SUSTAINABLE MARKETING STRATEGY AND PRACTICE The objective of sustainable marketing is to include and combine the environmental concerns in the marketing effort; this means that if the consumers are given better, more complete and more concise information on the sustainable products offered to them this will drive more and more  companies to produce products and services that are good for the environment. Sustainable marketing can take the strategies of conventional marketing to promote sustainable products and services not only by labelling the green products but also from working with positioning strategies of product, promotion, price and placement and rigorously engaging in market creation by addressing a large number of customers. The company’s marketing strategy throughout the supply chain from product development to consumption should include sustainability in it. Many companies are focusing on the implementation of sustainable consumption; they are finding the ways to direct the people’s thinking to forthcoming challenges and problems by using different marketing and communication strategies that lead to sustainable consumption. Sustainable communication and marketing strategies can make the companies think of their long-term socio-economic influence and the long-term perspective of it; this will help the companies to tell the public about their future program without diminishing their present less environmental performance. EFFECTIVE SOCIAL MARKETING Effective social marketing is a community and pragmatic based approach; it brings very operative behavioral change. This approach has five steps i.e. prudently pick the behaviors to be promoted; identify the benefits and barriers which come with the selected behavior; form a strategy that uses the behavioral-change tools to understand these benefits and barriers; test the strategy on a sample of certain community; and evaluate the effect of the strategy when it is tested on a large scale (Design for Environment as a Tool for the Development of a Sustainable Supply Chain by Bevilacqua, MaurizioCiarapica,Filippo Emanuele Giacchetta, Giancarlo, pg 147). Social marketing is different from commercial marketing it takes into account the changes in behavior that contributes social gains while commercial marketing’s objective is to produce financial gains by selling products and services. There are five important areas where social marketing focuses very heavily and they are; communit y involvement, health promotion, environmental protection, financial well-being and injury prevention (Social marketing: A pathway to consumption reduction? Ken Peattie, Sue Peattie. Pg. 262-264) TRANSFORMATION OF TRADITIONAL MARKETING TO SUSTAINABLE MARKETING Marketing has now changed itself it has a sustainability feature in nearly all of the  marketing practices. It is now somewhat compulsory for the companies to consider sustainability in all of their strategic marketing practices and marketing mix. It is a very distinctive and objective task to integrate sustainability in the marketing strategy and at the same time it is not an easy task because marketing strategies are developed by taking into account the needs and wants of the costumers. Previously the companies only tried to fulfill the consumer demand whether it has an adverse effect on nature or environment but now more companies are forming sustainable marketing strategies that makes relationships with customers better by fulfilling their demands and results in good profitability of the company and have good impact on nature and environment. Paettie and Belz (2010) after years of research came up with the idea of 4C’s i.e. (Cost, Communication, Costumer cost and Costumer Solution) and tried to mold traditional marketing Mix i.e. 4P’s (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) into 4C’s (Evolution of sustainability as marketing strategy: Beginning of new era Vinod Kumar, Zillur Rahman, A. A. Kazmi and Praveen Goyal, pg 486-487). SUSTAINABLE MARKETING- CHALLENGES AND ISSUES Developing a sustainable marketing strategy is not an easy task because there are some issues and challenges that should be dealt carefully and prudently before going on with the strategy. The issue is what sustainability principles demand is that we need to conserve the resources and consume less of it and at the same time marketing principles demands to sell or produce more which means consume more natural resources (jones et al 2008). The challenge is how to balance this discrepancy and which means that sustainable marketing strategies should be developed that still result in profits but not creating negative impact on the society or environment. The process of arising of a problem and solving it is an ongoing process one may come up with an idea or solution to an issue but there would be some problems with that solution too (Charter et al 2006). A good thing of sustainable marketing is not only competitive advantage but it also gives rise to innovation and reduction in costs. CONCLUSION The Marketing concept now has redefined which was acknowledged only as a functional concept and this concept is now dying and losing its grip on the  world stage. Now the redefined concept of marketing is strategic business concept that is intended to attain sustainable satisfaction for the three main players or stakeholders i.e shareholders, the costumers and people in the organization. The concept of sustainability marketing strategy started from ecological issues has now come to discuss sustainability issues. A company may have a sustainable marketing strategy if it involves sustainability in its business practices especially the marketing practices. The companies have to resolve the traditional issues and challenges which come in the way of implementing sustainability in their marketing strategies and then it will be a win-win situation for both the costumer and company. It has now becoming an informal moral obligation for a company to be sustainable. In this new era marketing and in the future, the companies have to be sustainable to compete on the world stage. REFERENCES Creating a Sustainable Organization: Approaches for Enhancing Corporate value through Sustainability by Peter A. Soyka, Pg. 1, Smart Green: How to Implement Sustainable Business Practices in Any Industry-and Make Money By Jonathan Estes page 6-8, Encouraging Sustainable Behavior: Psychology and the Environment edited by Hans C.M. van Trijp page 3-4, Design for Environment as a Tool for the Development of a Sustainable Supply Chain by Bevilacqua, MaurizioCiarapica,Filippo Emanuele Giacchetta, Giancarlo, pg 147, Social marketing: A pathway to consumption reduction? Ken Peattie, Sue Peattie. Pg. 262-264, Product, Price, Place and Promotion) into 4C’s (Evolution of sustainability as marketing strategy: Beginning of new era Vinod Kumar, Zillur Rahman, A. A. Kazmi and Praveen Goyal, pg 486-487, Jones et al 2008,

Property Law and Practice - Report on Legal Liability Assignment

Property Law and Practice - Report on Legal Liability - Assignment Example Act, 1996 states that no landowner can carry out construction or repair work to his property, which might impact an adjacent property without adhering the procedures laid down in the Act. An owner who is willing to initiate construction work stipulated under the Act must serve a notice to adjacent owners about their plan in the mode as prescribed in the Act. If a minor repair work is carried on the party wall, there is no need to serve notice under the Act. The Act covers both residential and commercial properties. (Wood et al, p.205). It is to be noted that adjoining owners may accept or disown what is proposed. When the adjacent owners oppose, the Act offers a way for solving the issues. The procedure set at the Party Wall Act is distinct from getting planning approval or approval under building regulations. Under section 2 of the Act, the owner should serve a notice to the adjacent owner where the proposed construction work is to a subsisting party wall even where the work may not extend away from the centre line of a party wall. It is not necessary that a party wall shall inevitably to have a border line running through its centre line but can stand astride peculiarly over it. A owner should serve a notice on the adjoining owners of a party wall about the intended construction or excavation and where a disagreement arises as regards to a party wall under section 1, or when no written consent has been received within fourteen days from the date of service of notice under section 2, then, issue has to be resolved with the help of a surveyor through a dispute resolution mechanism. The primary aim is that by placing the matters out of the parties’ purview, and assigning them to the independent experts, the Act offers Owners with a magnitude of certainty and minimises the peril of work being prolonged by protracted discussions. The Act places more onus on surveyors as the surveyors are required to comprehend where Act is applicable, and what has to be adh ered so as to make sure that a property owner adheres with the Act as the non-adherence will have disastrous outcomes. In Roadrunner case, Court of Appeal held that non-compliance of the Act will not only attract damages for non-adherence but also the Court will not take a lenient view of the failure by a party to adhere with the Act. Thus, this case stresses that a property owner who fails to adhere with the provisions of the Act is accountable for damages suffered by another party in spite of nonexistence of concrete corroboration that repairs carried out by that party really responsible for that damages. (Hannaford & Stephens, 2004, p.xiv). The above Act provides some rights to building owners who intends to carry out some sorts of structural changes to a subsisting party wall in addition to the rights available under common law. In Holbeck Hall Hotel, the Court of Appeal viewed that there is a measured obligation of care or fairness between neighbours to assess the respective pr ivileges and commitments between neighbouring owners. If a building owner must be careful not even start repairing his own side of the party wall without informing the adjacent owners of the proposed repair or construction. (Hannaford & Stephens, 2004, p.xiii). It is to be noted that though the Act does not make it compulsory to serve a notice on the adjacent owners, but adjoining owners can prevent the construction work through a court injection or through other legal means. Further, it is to be noted t

Up to the thing u write Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Up to the thing u write - Essay Example Foxfire has become a hero for the people working in atrocious conditions and even puts his own life in danger when it comes to savings lives of his own group and people. Otter is fascinated by his uncle’s stories about America and wants to accompany his father and his uncle to the country. Otter thinks very highly of his uncle. His uncle talks about the social upheavals in China. He then talks about his work in America, making himself a legendary figure in China. Listening to his stories Otter thinks very highly of his uncle. He thinks that his uncle is brave and heroic to have this opportunity and to lead it. What he doesn’t realize till he steps on the land of America that his uncle was very humble to the grueling circumstances around. Uncle foxfire in fact states his acceptance of the situation in the statement above. It is so true that there are only two ways to deal with a situation at hand. Either accept the change and adapt yourself to it or change the situation as per your requirement. Initially the statement may sound heroic but as we go on reading further it is very tragic to know that the heroic spirit has bowed to the inevi tability of the situation. Only in last few chapters uncle Foxfire leaves up to the heroic spirit he has within

Performance of Saudi Stock Market Research Paper

Performance of Saudi Stock Market - Research Paper Example According to Alshogeathri (2011), the Saudi stock market has experienced six major market collapses since it was formalized in 1984. During these collapses several million worth of investments was lost by the investors and the substantial debts accrued by the investors (Alshogeathri, 2011). This in return has turned major investment funds and mutual funds out of the market due to volatility. This is the main reason why the Saudi stock market continues to be dominated by individual, and mostly retail, investors. In comparison to other developing markets, Saudi Arabia’s stock market is grown in tandem with those economies. In particular with the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), the Saudi market has enjoyed more liberalized trading environment after the restructuring of the bourse in 2005. Most legal restrictions that had been imposed on the bourse were lifted, paving the way for a more integrated market (Marashdeh & Shrestha, 2010). Though Saudi Arabia’s stock market con trols approximately 35%-40% of the total traded volumes in the GCC, its market continues to face challenges that require it to have a more integrated approach to its neighbors.Marashdeh and Shrestha (2010) argue that the liberalization of the economies in the GCC markets has contributed to the increasing number of foreign investors in the GCC stock markets. Saudi Arabia’s market has benefited from this new wave. The number of foreign corporate investors in the market is increasing, though still the market is largely dominated by retail traders... Marashdeh and Shrestha (2010) argue that the liberalization of the economies in the GCC markets has contributed to the increasing number of foreign investors in the GCC stock markets. Saudi Arabia’s market has benefited from this new wave. The number of foreign corporate investors in the market is increasing, though still the market is largely dominated by retail traders. The fact that the market is susceptible to huge collapses has kept foreign corporate investors away from the market. This is steadily changing with changes in the governance structure of the market and the investment environment. Seeking further market integration with other GCC economies strengthens the Saudi market. The major downside of the Saudi market is the restriction on investment avenues by foreign investors. Foreign investors can only participate in the market through mutual funds managed by Saudi banks (Marashdeh & Shrestha, 2010). In comparison with other markets in the GCC, a Saudi investment cei ling of 25% foreign investment is a barrier to growth of the market. Other researchers that have done much of work in the area of performance of the Saudi stock market, such as Fama (1991) and Al-Saleh and Al-Ajmi (2012), are in agreement that efficient allocation of ownership of the economy across various sectors is the prime objective of a capital market. This means that the Saudi economy, with all other external factors remaining constant, should grow at the rate of the stock market growth. This is not the case in Saudi Arabia as shown by the many stock market collapses while the economy was growing. In this paper the researcher will review the existing literature on the performance of the Saudi stock market,

Managerial Organization Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Managerial Organization Assignment - Essay Example The attention of numerous buyers made some hidden truths to depict. The interpretation and treatment of financial accounts was breaching the accounting standards. To make the financial statements appear profitable, WorldCom increased the value of assets by charging and recording its expenses as assets, this reduced the expenses, and the factual figures became attractive. The managers manipulated the receivable figures as well and chose to ignore the evidences relating to receivables. By doing so, the debt figure went down and provisions started to move significantly high resulting in high earnings. The good will of the company and the brand name was deliberately increased with considerable values. The management was awarding high bonuses on the performances and executives were given heavy loans on the terms of repayment were not decided. The above facts resulted in the shutdown of operation and closure of WorldCom (Info Center, 2007). The organizational theories are the best practices were developed to facilitate the companies and management in order run the organization on the designed path and to evaluate the performance of the company as per the universal framework, the theory. In the case of WorldCom, many organizational theories could have supported in the detection of corporate failure in the initial stages. Few of the theories will be discussed in this research report. The Theory of Ethics provides guideline regarding the ethical behaviours and means to retain those behaviours in the organization’s culture. This theory focuses on multiple aspects of the organization. It caters the idea of building and enhancing employee trust, fair play, and competition, Transparency in business practices, and reducing the work waste (Lister, 2010). To build up employee trust the organizational theory of ethics suggests focusing on the working environment and the

Population in United Kingdom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Population in United Kingdom - Essay Example This represent an increase by 35 per cent from the previous year, but this is lower than the net peak in immigration in 2004/2005.The net increase in immigration is due to continuous decrease in emigration. For instance in the year 2009 net emigration decreased by 13 per cent. And almost 20 per cent since the net peak in 2008.9(Office of National Statistics-Quarterly report, 2011) Declining net emigration occasioned the increase in the net immigration by British citizens was 30000 as at June 2010, compared with 61000, June 2009.This was the rock bottom of net emigration of British nationals since 2001 and a decline from peak of net British emigration of around 130000 in 200/2007. Mean while the net immigration by non British nationals was 225000 in the year to June 2010, up to 23 per cent on the year to June 2009, but lower than the peaks of over 300000 seen in 2004 and 2007.In the year to June 2010, 11.4 percent of the UK population were non-UK born. Non-UK population made up 7.2 pe rcent of UK population in the year to June 2010. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 2011) The likely reason for many immigrants in the UK to stay for more than 12 months is education, work or look for a job. People of India subcontinent were given the highest settlement in UK.

Features Of The Freshmen's Life In Colleges Essay

Features Of The Freshmen's Life In Colleges - Essay Example But although students in college are required to work hard so as to pass their exams, there are a lot of deviant behaviors in colleges, through which the students manage to score high grades without working hard for it. This paper looks at the general challenges faced by the freshmen in colleges. The information on the challenges faced by the freshmen in college is based on Reading My Freshman Year Chapter 6. The paper also includes the answer to interview questions on college life. And finally, the paper concludes with a paragraph that synthesizes the challenges of college life obtained from the Reading My Freshman Year Chapter 6, with the answers to the interview questions. In colleges, freshmen students indeed find themselves in a new environment, with a lot of challenges, and the students have to adapt to the challenges of the college life if they are to survive in college life and come out successfully, having achieved their goals. As we have stated in the introduction, there are diverse cultures and classes of people in colleges; student joins colleges from different cultures and social status. And when the student people from different cultural backgrounds and social status find themselves together, the students start to re-group based on one’s culture, social status, religion, believes or worldview. As it is clearly expressed in the Reading My Freshman Year chapter 6, â€Å"College Culture, like any culture, is neither singular nor monolithic†. One of the common cultures in USA colleges is the culture of students disrespecting their professors. This culture was developed by elite male students in the colleges who had a negative view towards education. One of the main challenges faced by freshmen student in colleges, therefore, is relating with their professors.

Fruit content of fruit juice and apple juice content of cider using Literature review

Fruit content of fruit juice and apple juice content of cider using DNA methodology - Literature review Example For instance, orange (Citrus sinensis) juice is more in demand and thus have a higher value than mandarin (C. reticulata) juice though both belong to the Citrus species. Fruit varieties are qualitatively graded using characters such as composition and quality of syrup and this too makes a vast difference in prices. Therefore, especially in mass-scale fruit juice production, the producers may be tempted to adulterate highly-priced products with a less expensive alternative to increase the product volume and thereby gain better profits. Such adulteration may be in the form of diluting with water, sugars, high fructose corn syrup, spent process water and addition of juices from less expensive fruit varieties (as with orange juice dilution with mandarin). Authentication is an important issue in food industry and it is essential to provide the consumer with correct information about the contents of a product. Food labeling and traceability are regulated by EU directive 2000/13/EC and its amendments and by EU regulative 178/2002 respectively (Commission Regulation (EC) No 13/2000 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 178/2002). ... antitatively as well as qualitatively and determine the actual ingredients in a product to protect high quality of food products and thereby certify consumer rights. 2. Detection methods used in fruit juice industry In fruit juice industry, many technologies have being used to detect composition of a product. In the past, Analysis of total nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) was practiced to assess fruit content of (eg. orange) juice but, this method could be applied only when levels of these components are well documented. Hence it was apparent that other methods were in need and hence minerals, organic acids (citric acid, malic acid), amino acids and sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose) were analyzed. During past years, assessment of food products has been conducted using spectroscopy (UV, NIR, MIR), isotopic analysis, methods based on chromatography (High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), LC, TLC, GC MC and LC MS), electronic nose, immunological methods such as ELIZA and thermal analysis (Reid, O’Donnell and Downey, 2006). Paper chromatography and HPLC has been used in detecting sugars and acids, Gas liquid chromatography (GLC) and electrophoresis for amino acids and chemical analysis for acidity are some examples for these applications. Lately, as reported by Li, Goovaerts and Meurens (1996), Near- infrared spectroscopy (near-IR) was used to detect sugars (glucose, sucrose, fructose) and acids (citric and malic acids) in orange juice. Each of these methods has their own advantages as well as limitations and thus, more refine and more sensitive technologies were in constant demand. Anthocyanin pigment analysis with HPLC and electrospray mass spectroscopy (ESMS), stable isotopic carbon analyses, NMR spectroscopy and analysis of trace

Case Study of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company - Case Study Example This is highlighted by the famous words of its founder: "Never say no when a client asks for something even if it is the moon. You can always try" (Lampton 2003). Thus, "guests remark that they are "pampered," "respected," "treated like royalty," and "incurably spoiled" (Lampton 2003). Recognizing the importance of customer service in extending the Ritz-Carlton experience, the company has been passionate in training their staff and treating them as their strategic partners. The hotel chain makes it a point to make employees absorb the core value in the organization, train them, prepare them to serve the market. What is remarkable is the company's strong adherence to strategic human resource management. Ritz-Carlton's staff irrefutably becomes its competitive advantage (Lampton 2003). Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company's popularity is highly due to its upscale, luxury brand of hotels and resorts with locations in major cities in the United States and other internationally famous destinations such as Montego Bay, Jamaica, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Bali, Hong Kong and Qatar. The hotel company owns 59 hotels in 20 countries 37 of which are hotels while 22 are resorts. The operation of the hotel company began in 1983 with the purchase of the Ritz-Carlton, Boston by William B. Johnson. However, the legacy of the hotel is attributed to the celebrated "king of hoteliers and hotelier to kings," Csar Ritz. The company states that "his philosophy of service and innovations redefined the luxury hotel experience in Europe through his management of The Ritz in Paris and The Carlton in London." The company's quest of providing quality accommodation and service named it one of the best hotels in the world as it consistently reaped awards from prestigious organizations like Forbes, Travel Weekly, Luxury Institute, and Consumer Reports. In 2006, it was awarded the Mobil Five-Star Award and AAA Five Diamond Award (Ritz-Carlton 2007). Serving Ladies and Gentlemen Ritz-Carlton's market segmentation is reflected on its different product offerings. The company irrefutably utilized geographic, psychographic, as well as behavioral factors in designing their product line. In terms of geographic it can be noticed that Ritz-Carlton offers accommodation in four key strategic locations-tourist spots, business districts, metropolitan, and countryside. The company offers luxurious accommodations in scenic tourists' destinations like Bali, Milan, and Barcelona as well as in the business districts of New York, Tokyo, and Dubai International Financial Center. Metropolitan like areas like Seoul and Kula Lumpur as well as the countryside of Florida and Montego Bay are conquered by the pleasure offered by Ritz Carlton (Ritz Carlton 2007). In terms of psychographic and behavioral factors, Ritz-Carlton segments its market by looking at the general and specific interests of its customers. The hotel company divides its target company according to the purpose of their use of facility. Three general classifications are generated: those who stay in the hotel for business purposes;

Argue and Persuade Essay Example for Free

Argue and Persuade Essay I can see why some people may think that there is no benefit to be gained by analysing the poem Half-Past Two, as some may find it tedious and would rather enjoy the poem as it is. Yet, I firmly believe analysing a story/poem definitely does assist our understanding of a certain story/poem. In the poem Half-Past Two there is no doubt in my mind that without discussing the poem with others you can not understand or appreciate it fully. As with all poems there are so many concealed or secret meanings with in it, by discussing the poem these can be revealed so everyone knows the whole meaning of the poem. By understanding a poem/story you will also enjoy it more as you wont have to try and figure out the plot of the story. After reading a poem you can then analyse it then read it again with a better understanding, therefore relish its full significance. If you were reading a story or a poem, which you do not understand it would become more of a choir to read, rather than a pleasure. By studying the poem Half-Past Two you can see the good use of puns, personification, repetition and other literary devices and begin to cherish the real effort and skill put in by the writer. You can also learn new ways that you could possibly improve your own standard of writing. You may acquire improved methods of adding literary devices into your work, you can also expand your vocabulary by reading professional poets/writers work. When analysing the poem Half-Past Two you are given a good insight on how a young boys world might work, when not being able to read time. You can understand his feelings when he is left alone, without a clue what to do, but only left to stare at the clock and fall in to a timeless land. You can see that by not knowing time a child my have his own regime which he sticks too, yet when put out of it would find it hard to get back into it as he may have lost track of his own time. My opinion has been obviously displayed in this essay, I think that without fully understanding a poem/story (mainly poems as they usually have the writers own personal feelings embedded into the poem they have wrote) you can not enjoy it to its full potential. Im sure everyone has watched a film they did not understand and therefore did not enjoy it fully. Yet after watching it a second time (a form of analysis) you will understand the plot sufficiently and will prefer it on the second viewing. This is what my argument is based on, without understanding you do not have the full enjoyment from anything, be it a film, a poem or a story.

Future Sustainability Of The Mauritian Economy Tourism Essay

Future Sustainability Of The Mauritian Economy Tourism Essay 1. Introduction In recent years, many studies and researches were carried out on the contribution of tourism in the economic development of a country (Mishra et al, 2011). There is a general agreement that tourism has been of central importance in the social progress as well as an important contributor of widening socio-economic and cultural contacts throughout human history. Over the past years, many developing and developed nations have considered tourism as an option for their sustainable development. Mauritius is a small independent island located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar with an area of 2,040 square kilometers (including St Brandon and Agalega Islands) and a population of almost 1.3 million. The island consists of people originating from India, China, Africa and Europe. With regard to its geographical position and of its volcanic origin, Mauritius has been gifted with natural assets that attract a very large number of tourists every year (Sobhee, 2008). As a small island economy, Mauritius has experienced very rapid industrial and tourism development during the last thirty years and until recently tourism has been growing very rapidly. In the 1970s, it has successfully transformed itself from a mono-crop economy to a diversified economy comprising agricultural, textile, tourism, Information and Technology and financial services. Tourism has become an important sector of the Mauritian economy playing a substantial part to the sustainable development of the country and in generating foreign exchange and employment opportunities. 2. Literature Review Tourism has developed itself from a relatively small-scale activity into one of the worlds largest industries and a rapidly growing global economy from the 1960s onwards. There has been an uninterrupted growth in international tourist arrivals from 25 million in 1950 to 438 million in 1990 and 681 million in 2000. In 2009, the international tourist arrivals were 880 million and the corresponding tourism receipts were US $852 million. For the year 2010, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) forecasted a growth of 3% to 4% in arrivals generating about 21.7% of world GDP, 10% of global capital investments, 9% of worldwide employment and 22.2% of worldwide exports of goods and services. All the figures demonstrate the significant role of the tourism sector in the long-run growth of host countries across the world (Mishra et al, 2011). Today, many islands depend on international travel and tourism to enhance their economies. For example, tourism industry accounted for 20% of GDP, 33% of revenue and 66% of foreign exchange earnings in Maldives. Likewise, in Seychelles the tourism sector accounted for 12% of GDP, 30% of workforce and 70% of foreign exchange earnings (Lee et al, 2010). In Vanuatu, the contribution of tourism to the GDP increases from 16% in 1991 to 21.6% in 1998 (Meheuxa Parkerb, 2006). In Fiji, the sector accounted for 29.5% of GDP and 37% of foreign exchange earnings (Becken, 2005). In Bahamas, 60% of jobs are mainly due to the tourism industry (Apostolopoulos Gayle, 2002c). The above statistics shows that many Indian Ocean, Pacific and Carribean islands are highly dependent on tourism for their economic growth (Duval, 2004). In such cases, the economies of these islands are more vulnerable to external shocks and natural calamities like in the years 2008 and 2009, unless they have diversified thei r economies. Many developing countries have managed to increase their participation in the global economy through development of international tourism. International tourism is increasingly viewed as an important tool in promoting economic growth and alleviating poverty (Richardson, 2010). Researchers are of the view that the rapid growth of tourism sector causes an increase of household incomes and government revenue through its multiplier effect, improvements in the balance of payments and the growth of the tourism industry by itself. Tourism dollars are new dollars injected in an economy as they are spent and respent by employers and employees. The more money flows within an economy, the larger the multiplier effect. As such, tourism development has usually been thought to have a positive contribution to economic growth (Khan et al, 1995). Baum (1994) identified the following as the positive impact of tourism in an economy: Generating foreign exchange and foreign direct investment; Employment opportunities; Contribution to the local/host community; Conservational or environmental impact. 2.1 Revenue and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) In terms of GDP, the tourist industry is the second most important after the manufacturing sector. Statistics (CSO, 2011) (Table 1) show that the annual tourist arrivals in 2010 has increased to more than 930,000 as compared to 871,356 in 2009, that is an increase of 7.3%. The industry contributes to 3.8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and tourism receipts for the year 2010 amounted to around Rs 39,456 million, thus showing an increase of 10.5% as compared to Rs 35,693 million in 2009. It is estimated that 980,000 tourists will visit Mauritius in 2011with receipts of Rs 42,500 million (+7.7%). The fall in tourist arrivals in 2009 can be explained by the world financial crisis that started to attain our economy and the government has taken several measures through the Additional Stimulus Package to redress the situation. Faced with the slumping revenue from the tourism industry in 2009, Directors of the various tourism boards of the Indian Ocean islands (Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion, Seychelles, Comoros and Mayotte) develop a plan for the regions tourism industry under a common regional label, The Vanilla Islands. The objective was to address new target groups and to launch an authentic regional destination. The concept is based on four pillars: Facilitation of visa-free travel within the islands of the Indian Ocean; Extension and enhancement of the inter-island transportation network; Close operation between tour operators, hotels and authorities; The development of a homogenous marketing strategy focusing on the uniqueness of each island and at the same time strengthening the joint identity. The government also encouraged the liberalization of air access to stimulate tourism growth. Airlines like Corsair, entered the market, by linking France and Reunion Island with Mauritius. Also, the national airline, Air Mauritius, increased its flight frequency towards Europe and Asia. As a result, the tourism sector beneficiated from this policy. Tourists from all over the world come to Mauritius. They originate from Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and America as shown in the chart below. Our main market remains France and Reunion Island. Source CSO, 2011 The competitiveness of the tourism industry in Mauritius depends mainly on the service quality, value for money, safety, road infrastructure, communication network, political stability and social harmony among the different communities and ethnic groups. The main aim of the government and the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) is to continue to attract high-income visitors whose economic impacts are acknowledged to be more beneficial to the local economy than low-spending visitors. Figure 2 : Tourist arrival and Receipts (Rs m) from 2000 2006 Source: CSO, 2011 The Mauritian government has been under economic pressure to find other ways to sustain the economy following the phasing out of textile and sugar agreements and recent shocks of rising oil prices (Ramkissoon Nunkoo, 2008). The development of integrated resorts has been considered as an alternative to generate cash flows and sustain the economy. Several Integrated Resort Schemes (IRS) and Real Estates Scheme (RES) were approved with the idea that they will bring Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the economy. The total FDI for the year 2010 was Rs 12 billion, a record mark. FDI into hospitality and real estate sector reached Rs 3.7 billion in the first eight months of 2010 (Board of Investment, 2010) groping its way towards a semblance to the level of Rs 6 billion recorded in 2009. FDI brings long lasting and stable capital flows as they are invested in long term assets such as infrastructure. These funds are introduced into the economy contributing to the aggregate demand of the economy, and therefore to the economic growth of the economy. Local firms, due to the competition brought in by FDI, tend to become more productive to effectively counter the threat of the competitor from abroad. Higher productivity of firms contribute to the growth of the economy. 2.2 Employment Several strategies for tourism development have been found to be effective in creating employment and income opportunities for vulnerable and communities (UNWTO, 2000: Ashley et al, 2001). The tourism development projects that have been most successful include those that: Promote employment of the people in tourism businesses ( including training) Promote the establishment of tourism enterprises ( such as micro and small enterprises) Promote the supply of goods and services to tourism businesses by enterprises that are owned by local people (Supply chain) Promote the direct sale of goods and services to tourists Figure 3:- Employment in the tourist industry as at end of March, 2006-2010 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Restaurants 1,805 2,012 2,251 2,431 2,464 Hotels 19,536 20,233 22,314 20,478 20,847 Travel and Tourism 4,457 4,296 4,188 4,093 3,850 Total 25,798 26,541 28,753 27,002 27,161 Source: CSO, March 2011 The tourism industry contributes to around 9% of the total employment in 2010. The table shows that there has been a continuous increase in employment from 2006 to 2008 with a decrease in 2009 and again rises in 2010. The decrease in 2009 was due to the financial crisis that hit some tourism businesses and the renovation of some hotels. Employment in the services sector is rapidly increasing in Mauritius. As employment generated by the primary and secondary industries stagnates or declines with the Voluntary Retirement Scheme in the sugar sector and closing of some textile units, tourism provides new opportunities to generate new jobs. Tourism is a labour-intensive industry in an age of great technological advancement and declining relative demand for labour. The tourism industry and the related industries provide many full-time and part-time jobs across a range of skill areas such as tour operators, car rentals. The integrated resorts newly built also demand for jobs among the local community such as baby-sitters, gardeners, personal drivers, cooks, etc. 2.3 Contribution to the local community The literature point out that host communitys support for tourism-related development is crucial for the industrys sustainability (Tovar Lockwood, 2008). Once a community turns into a destination, the quality of life of the local people tends to be affected by the development impacts (Gursoy et al, 2002).Tourism is the only export sector where the consumer travels to the exporting country, which provides opportunities for local people to become exporters through the sale of goods and services to foreign tourists. Employment opportunities (Andriotis, 2008) and revenues (Jurowski et al, 1997) for the community and government are the major benefits derived by the local community from tourism development. Local employment opportunities arise during the construction and from the subsequent staffing of the resort (Ioannides Holcomb, 2003). The creation of new investment opportunities and opportunities for local businesses are other notable benefits perceived by local residents. Tourism provides new small business opportunities. Good opportunities for development of new tourism enterprises arise from low capital requirements and comparatively low barriers to entry for small businesses. The potential beneficiaries of tourism activity are spread across various sectors of the regional economy. For example, in Grand Baie, many individuals from the region benefit from tourism through the renting of small bungalows, cars and cycles. They also benefit by running restaurants and cafes meant for tourists. O ther activities like glass bottom, surfing and boats are also other means by which the local people generate incomes. Resort developers attempt to integrate the resort within the local community through fostering economic linkages with that community (Richardson, 2010). Tourism also stimulates demand for local craftsmanship, create opportunities for cultural exchange, stimulate better services and infrastructure and provide alternatives for leisure activities. It has been pointed out that in economically depressed areas (such as Le Morne), residents tend to underestimate the cost of tourism development and tend to overvalue the economic gains (Liu Var, 1986). Var et al (1985) argue that such residents are willing to accept some inconveniences in order to receive some benefits resulting from the development. Local community involvement in the planning, development and management of the projects is a factor that contributes to the success or sustainability of a tourism development project. Strategies that can be adopted by host communities (Honey Gilpin, 2009) include: Identify and protect cultural and natural assets that form the basis for comparative advantage in tourism Maintain and focus on the community as the centre of the tourism development strategy to ensure local ownership of projects and retention of profits Encourage widespread community participation in tourism planning processes Build capacity through the development of physical infrastructure and human capital Promote improvement in the delivery of tourism services to ensure quality and authenticity Raise awareness among tourists to encourage them to appreciate and respect the sites they visit. Tourism also plays a negative role to the local community. The erosion of moral values contributing to increase the generation gap between the older generations who are more attached to traditional values and the young who are eager to adapt to the tourists way of life. Hence, it is important to keep a balance in terms of number and type of tourist the local community is capable to tolerating or sustaining. A good example of the negative impact is the building of hotels and restaurants on our beaches, depriving Mauritian to enjoy the natures gift to them. We are near to renting a parasol on a private beach for a picnic at the seaside. Another example is the imposition of entry fees at Pamplemousses Botanical Garden both on tourists and local citizens (except on Sundays and public holidays free entrance). 2.4 Environment aspect Environment is one of the major elements which form the foundation of the tourism industry of a country. The impact of tourism on both man-made and natural environment is beneficial as well as harmful. One of the major benefits is the conservation of the natural and man-made environments. Tourism can contribute significantly in environmental protection/conservation and restoration of biological diversity and sustainable use of natural resources. Tourism impacts are linked with the construction of general infrastructure such as roads and airports and of tourism facilities such as resorts, hotels, restaurants, shops, golf courses and marinas. Cleaner production techniques can be important tools for planning and operating tourism facilities and thus minimizes their environmental impacts. Tourism has the potential to increase public appreciation of the environment. It brings people into closer contact with nature and the environment. Awareness of the value of nature leads to environmentally conscious behavior and activities to preserve the environment. Tourism industry can play a role in providing environmental information and awareness among tourists of the environmental consequences of their actions. User fees, taxes on sales rental of recreation equipment and license fees for activities like hunting and fishing can be used to provide the government with funds needed to manage natural resources. Such funds can be used for conservation programs and activities. Recently, the Minister of Tourism came with a proposal to have differential paid access at Ile Aux Cerfs for tourists and Mauritians. According to the authorities, this islet attracts more than 350,000 tourists yearly with a turnover of about Rs 500 million (Star, 2011).He stated that the funds raised will be used for cleaning of the beach and for the conservation of the environment. But, the effect of this policy on the local people in terms of jobs that may be lost need to be assessed. Tourism also can have negative impact on environment. Tourism development can put pressure on natural resources when it increases consumption in areas where resources are already scarce (land, water and local resources). Pollution caused by tourism include air emissions, noise, solid waste and littering, releases of sewage, oils and chemicals. 2.5 Threats for the tourism industry. In recent years, oil prices, natural disasters, crime and international terrorism impacted on the willingness of global tourists. Small islands depend on the double efficiency of tourism income. Therefore, developing tourism industries is imperative. However, to avoid damage by natural disasters, those islands may through early warning and alarm systems reduce losses (Mehexua Parkerb, 2006). In Malta, Egypt and Greece, many factors like terrorist attacks and tsunamis may influence tourism consumers and thereby affecting the tourism industry. In Fiji, problems of climate change such as strength of wind resulted in coastline damages thereby affecting beaches which tourists prefer the most during their stay. Since November 2009, when some European countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal and Britain started facing high budget deficit and debt problems, the euro has been weakening against the dollar and as a result against our rupee. Since then, these countries adopted austerity measures to exit from these economic problems. This resulted in a drop in demand for our exports and lower tourist arrivals due to the high dependence on European markets. There was a need, then, to diversify our markets by tapping fully the rapidly growing countries like China, India and Russia. From statistics (CSO, 2011), the trend of tourist arrivals from China, India and Russia shows an increase of 9.9%, 26.8% and 17.5% respectively over the figures of 2009. Vector-borne diseases such as chikungunya and dengue fever have become a major public health problem in tropical countries, especially in Asia and the Indian Ocean. For example, one third of the population in Reunion Island was affected by chikungunya in 2005 2006 (Reiter et al, 2006). Dengue is the fastest growing vector-borne disease in the world (WHO) when 55% of the worlds population was at risk in 124 countries (Beatty et al, 2007). Mavalankar et al (2009) pointed out that a 4% decline in tourists from non-endemic countries would result in a substantial loss of tourism revenues at least US$ 65 million for Malaysia and US$ 363 million for Thailand. This indicates that the impact of these diseases on tourism revenues should not be ignored when calculating the burden of infectious diseases. Another negative factor related to tourism is the perception people have of safety and security issues. Olurunfemi et al (2008) posits that security is an important knot in tne chain because it forms an organic bedrock of a sustainable benefit for both the tourists and the host communities. For example, assurance of adequate safety of life and property during their stay must be given to tourists and on transit on sites. Safety and security in tourism refers to the protection of life, health, physical, psychological and economic integrity of travelers, tourism staff and the people constituting host communities (WTO, 1991). Recently, the tourism sector has been seriously undermined by the growing lack of security among the citizens and tourists. Some types of crime affecting tourists include attacks on tourists visiting nature parks and on beaches and in hotels. In order to tackle the issue of security in tourism, the government has taken some preventive measures. For example, a close circuit camera system has been set up in the regions of Flic en Flac and Grand Baie which are reputed places for tourists in Mauritius. The results have been encouraging in the sense that there has been a fall in the number of attacks and thefts on tourists. Even the recent murder of a popular personality of Ireland in a resort seems to have little impact on tourist arrivals due to the prompt action taken by the local police. Conclusion The governments contribution to the tourism sector has been very beneficial in terms of planning and policy formulation. During the Assises Du Tourisme held in 2006, the Prime Minister expressed his vision to welcome two million tourists by 2015. He pointed out that many less endowed countries are doing much better than Mauritius. There are many factors that must be taken into consideration in order to achieve this target and these factors will be analysed in the methodology section.

Forensic Science Work Placement Personal Development Essay

Forensic Science Work Placement Personal Development Essay The organisation I was introduced to for my work placement was the department of forensic science. Forensic science usually goes hand in hand with Law. It specialises in the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to legal systems. This may be in relation to crime, burglary or murder investigation. Simply put it usually involves the use of scientific techniques to retrieve crucial pieces of evidence which may be of utmost importance to an ongoing police investigation or court case. The Department of Forensic Science where I worked during my placement was situated in the green area of the Erasmus Darwin Building on the Clifton campus. Over the past few years the course itself has become quiet popular so much so that it now not only attracts students from across the United Kingdom but from all over the world too. The activities that are developed by the department are a combination of practical examples as well as theory in order for the students to understand some of the certain concepts that are involved in this particular field of science. On top of this the department works closely together with the Nottingham police. This is a huge advantage for the students as it enables them to get first hand information of how to go about certain methods when it comes to retrieving evidence. During my time in the forensic department I was working alongside senior technician Arthur Richards who was my supervisor and Paul Mason-Smith who was also part of the forensic technician team. The roles that we carried out ranged from setting up lab practicals to setting up different crime scenarios for the students to tackle in the crime scene house. Some of the things one needed in order to get the jobs done were a good sense of communication and the ability to work as part of a larger group. Some of the tasks that I carried out individually during my work placement were things such as collecting together the equipment that would be used in the lab practicals, charging the camera batteries as well as collecting new equipment from the downstairs store, organising them in order of their usefulness and storing them away in a suitable location. Other aspects of my tasks did not require setting up practicals or coming up with scenarios but rather to attend talks that were focusing on the health and safety viewpoints of the workplace. These talks placed a fundamental part of the placements as they showed the problems that could arise if one was not paying particular attention to the way they were carrying out their tasks. The information obtained from talks such as this one proved to be very useful during the placements. Not only did they enable my to mind my surroundings while executing my work but they also taught me how to optimise my working capacity by using a few simple examples that were provided during the talk. Skills and knowledge gained The tasks that I was undertaking over the 5 weeks of the work placement not only helped tremendously in further developing my practical skills, but they also help shape the key attributes that one needs in order to succeed in any workplace. In my particular workplace the skills that were required from me in order to work efficiently were a good sense of communication, teamwork and organisation skills. Fortunately for me, these were some of my better skills. During my time in the forensics department I also gained exceptional knowledge about some of the techniques that were involved in crime solving. During my placement I carried out two major practicals. One of the techniques that I remember carrying out was The Footwear and Tool mark Impression practical. This practical comprised of a sequence of 4 activities which together were intended to provide one with the opportunity to enhance their skills in examining tool mark evidence and collecting footwear evidence as well as identifying the characteristics of footwear sole patterns. Tool mark impressions are usually the marks that are left behind during a burglary. Lets take a house for example. If the point of entry is a locked door, the suspect would most definitely use some kind of tool to force entry to the premises. The imprint that is left behind in the door is the mark. The role of a forensic scientist is to find out what tool is compatible with the tool mark that was left on the do or. The same concept applies to the footwear impression which will be left behind in the house. Even if the footwear that is left behind is not visible to the naked eye there are certain techniques and equipment that are used in order to make these imprints visible. These however will be explained at a later stage. Upon successful completion of the practical one could: Demonstrate the competency in casting footprint impressions Show the ability to use of Electro-static lifting apparatus Correctly identify sole pattern characteristics Correctly eliminate sole print using inkless pad Safely prepare silicon cast of tool mark impression Apply theory of identification of impressions to practical scenario. Before the students could tackle the exercise I had to run through the practical in order to see whether everything the practical was going to work without any faults. Before the going through the practical however we had to create a suitable scenario that fitted with the practical. The scenario my supervisor and I came up with was as follows: Crime Number: NTU/221208 Location: 10 College Drive, Clifton Mr. Richard Sole Burglary at the above address overnight break entry gained via rear lounge window. Window forced using instruments. Climb in steal laptop and mobile phone. Exist as entry. There is footwear mark in flower bed below window and tool marks t scene. 2 suspects have been arrested and tools recovered from them. Their footwear has also been recovered for further examination. Once the scenario was in place my supervisor and I started the practical. The first activity was the casting of a footwear mark in damp sand. This activity was done as a team. It involved sketching the mark which was mentioned in the crime report with appropriate labelling. After this, the mark that was visible was coded using the letter coding system. This was necessary in order to identify the type of shoe that left behind the imprint. When the results of the mark came back from the letter coding system we prepared to cast the mark. For this we set casting frame around the mark and embedded it into the sand to prevent seepage of the plaster. This part had to be done as a team in order to ensure that the cast did not damage the mark and that the cast was evenly distributed. To cast the mark I had to: Take double bagged 2kg crownstone plaster and add 500mls of tap water to the bag, massage it well ensuring that the top of the bag remained closed. Add further water as necessary bearing in mind that the ideal consistency is runny (like pouring cream) without lumps. When the mixture is well mixed, snip off the corner at the bottom of the bad and using trawler pour plaster mix over the cast. During this step my supervisor pointed out that the mixture was not to be pour directly into the cast as this would destroy fine detail. Using the trowler gently tap the surface of mixture to ensure plaster settles into all of the impression and any air pockets are released. After 5 minutes using a craft knife inscribe suitable detail into the cast. This was not necessary in my case as I was just running the practical in order to see whether everything was going as intended however once the students started to do this activity they would have to inscribe their initials into the cast so they could distinguish between their casts. After the inscriptions the cast was left to take form for 45 minutes. Once the cast was dry I carefully tapped the edges of the casting frame to loosen and remove it. Then gently lifting the cast and keeping it over the tray brush off excess debris with brush so the details of the tread can be seen. At this point the cast was finished. I was told by a police officer how worked with us during the practical that in a real life crime scene the cast would not be cleaned. The cast plus soil would have been allowed to dry for at least 48 hours before they would be packaged and send intact to forensic scientist laboratory to be examined. The soil or debris attached to the cast may hold a small piece of evidence which could be crucial in solving a case or in the case of the above activity identifying the correct suspect which left the imprint behind during the burglary incident. The skills and knowledge that I took away from this activity was to pay attention to small details such as these which could really make a difference when it comes to solving a crime. The second activity was the Electro-Static Lifting Apparatus. This device is more commonly referred to as ESLA. ESLA consists of a high voltage power supply/control unit, a nickel-plated steel ground plane and a metalised lifting medium. It is used to lift impressions in dust from nearly any surface. It uses static electricity to attract the dust particles from the surface to a dark-colored lifting film, allowing for a clear and accurate photograph of the print. A grounding wire attaches to a grounded metal surface and a live wire attaches to a special metallic film. The unit is then activated. The film is statically attracted to the surface and dust particles are attracted to the black side of the film. A roller is provided to smooth the film over the surface. A flashlight is provided as an oblique light source to detect and photograph dust marks. This procedure ultimately produces the desired image which in my case was the footwear imprint. The activity was again carried out as a t eam however since this activity included the use of high voltage was done as a group of three to ensure that everything was cautiously done. The objective of this activity was to visualise a footwear print which was left behind on a clean surface using the dust particles that remained on the ground. The procedure went as followed: Using the crime light 80L ( a LED line light which is used for locating evidence such as fibers, hair or footwear prints in a crime scene) at a low angle we had to locate the area of shoe dust print to flooring sample. Using the Projectina Dustprint lifter my supervisor lifted the dustprint mark Following this I turned on ESLA and let the current run over the metal foil which was covering the of the shoe dustprint. After approximately 30 seconds ESLA was turned off to lift over the foil and using the crime light 80L I visualised the left to determine whether the electrostatic attraction drew the dust particle together to form the footwear mark. After confirming that it did I had the other colleague sketch the resultant lift on the crime report. This delicate procedure not only depended on precision but also accuracy. When the students carried out the activity, the sketch of the imprint was given a mark depending on the quality and accuracy of the sketch so one had to take extra care when placing the metallic foil on the dustprint not to destroy the arrangement of the particles and also while sketching the imprint. The third activity in the practical was the suspect shoe comparison. This activity differed from the other two I had done so far. Instead of retrieving footwear marks or dustprint marks my job was to examine 2 pairs of suspect shoes I received for comparison. After close examination I noted their code according to the FSS coding sheets. The FFS coding sheet holds the information of shoe types and patterns. Using the Bigfoot (a specialised set of equipment used to take footprints from shoes) I made a print of each shoe and labeled them appropriately then using a pen I had to highlight the areas of interest on the Bigfoot prints that were made. Finally I compared the Bigfoot prints against the Cast which we made during the first activity as well as the ESLA lift produced in the second activity to see whether any of the pairs were the ones which were found in the crime scene. I was told that in real life forensic scientists do this to point out the areas that overlapped with footwear evidence that was retrieved from the crime scene. Sometimes there are factors that help identify which shoe corresponded with the print that was left behind at the crime scene these include the size of the shoe. Some of the not so obvious features become more apparent following the completion of the Bigfoot analysis. The analysis tells you a lot about the sort of person which wore the shoes for example worn out soles indicate that the person wearing the shoes must have done a lot of walking. Distorted sole patterns arise due to the weight which is put on them. It is little clues such as these which narrow the number of suspects down. The final activity of this practical was the Tool Marks activity. What I had to do here was to examine the UPVC (a material used in manufacturing windows, gutters as well as doors) sections with the tool mark damage on them. Using silicon casting kit I made a cast of the marks and allowed them to dry for approximately 15 minutes before removing the from the wood. Once the silicon cast had dried I took it and compared it to the tools which were recovered from the suspects to see if any of the tools matched the cast. To identify the features and pattern of the tool mark and the cast I used a magnifier. This delicate procedure required a lot of patience and a steady hand as it took a while until align the tools with the cast however once this was done I was able to confirm which tool was used to make the tool mark. The final stage of this activity was to sketch and label the tool that made the tool mark. The information gathered from the practical was tabulated and filed away. The tabul ated results would then be used by the member of the teaching team to compare them against the results the students would gather. Following the completion of the practical I was asked by my supervisor to prepare a table of results using the computer. This table was to be used by the students to fill in their obtained results. The table also included a set of question which they had to answer. During my second week in the placement I was introduced to the crime scene house which was also situated on Clifton campus. The Crime scene house had been established very recently as It was formally an accommodation for postgraduate. It was now being used as a sort of training facility that simulated real life situation. The houses propose was for the students to hone their investigation and retrieval skills as well as get used to the idea of operating in a real life surrounding. The house itself was equipped with CCTV cameras in order to monitor the students while they were carrying out various scenarios. The forensic science department worked closely together with the Nottinghamshire police as stated earlier. The benefits of this was of course the fact that students would get advice from experienced officers on how to deal with murder investigation, burglary cases and drug searches. My role as an assistant technician was to prepare the house for the appropriate activity that was going to take place. The scenario that I was asked to set up was a Drug search activity which was scheduled to take place during the course of the week. I was working alongside my supervisor and a member of the Nottinghamshire police who told me that this activity was quiet complex in a real drug search. Sometimes the places the drugs were hidden were unimaginable thats why you had to think like a criminal in order to find them. For health and safety measures the items which were to be used for the exercise were not real drugs. Once the drugs were all placed away I went back to the offices and designed a table using Microsoft word which held the information of the different kinds of drugs and equipment that were used and the precise location they had been placed in the crime scene house. This was done in order to keep track of the items the students retrieved and to remember which items had been placed where in the house. On the following day while the students were undertaking the Drug search activity my supervisor and I went into the CCTV room in order to monitor the students progress. My supervisor familiarised me with the operating system and the different functions that were necessary in order to control each CCTV individually. After I was comfortable with operating the CCTVs I was left with the task of monitoring the actions of the students as they were doing the activity. During this I had to note down any action which went against the code of conduct they had been taught during their lectures. When entering a crime scene it is of utmost importance that one wears the appropriate equipment such as a protective suite which covers you from head to toe, gloves and a mask. This is to stop you from covering the scene with your fingerprints, hair strains or saliva traces. Some of the students made mistakes such as the ones mentioned and it was precisely these acts that I had to write done in the log b ook. While I was watching I noticed that some of the students were retrieving the items quicker but in turn they did not find all of them. The items they did not find or rather overlooked were the items which I placed in the more obvious locations such as under the carpet. The others were retrieving the items at a slower pace however they managed to find all of them. This highlighted the fact that patience really was a virtue. After they had retrieved everything the unknown samples of drugs were brought back to the lab for testing. The other activity which took place in the crime scene house towards the end of the week was the murder scene activity. The preparation of this activity involved using life size dummies which looked shockingly real. Depending on the scenario the dummy was either male or female. The dummy we used that week was the male dummy which had cut wrists as well as a slit throat. It was placed in the double bed room. During this activity the students had to examine the room the victim was found in for fibre traces, footwear and any DNA traces. Once the room was adequately searched the students would go back to the lab to observe one of the members of staff demonstrating how to properly transport a corpse. During the demonstration it became apparent to a lot of students including myself that the transport of a corpse from a crime scene was not as straight forward as it seemed. Before the corpse was put in a body bag the limbs had to be wrapped in forensic evidence bags as they may hold crucial pieces of evidence which could be uncovered during the autopsies which take place in the forensic labs. I mentioned earlier that as part of being an assistant technician I had to take place in a Health and safety talk in order to familiarise myself with the daily hazards which encompassed the workplaces. The talk raised some interesting points of about the dangers of carelessness during work or how the arrangements of items could cause serious problems during evacuation. The talks main focus was about maintaining a good workplace at all times. It showed how one could increase their work efficiency by rearranging their desk, prioritising the items they need in order of their usefulness at the time. The talk went on to explain the necessity of taking short breaks when working on the computer. The breaks would allow you to take your gaze away from the monitor thus easing the strain on your eyes. A general rule of thumb is to look into the distance as this relaxes your ciliary muscles. Moving about during these small breaks is also very useful as it gives you the chance to get up from your chair and stretch your muscles. These few simple roles proved to be a very useful set of skills even now as Im writing this report. Throughout the practicals and scenarios that my supervisor, colleague and I did, I felt that our teamwork and communication kept improving to the point were it was almost flawless. This in turn greatly enhanced the rate of completing various tasks and practicals as there was less mistakes. After a while I was even able to help the students with minor technical difficulties of the camera equipment. The other major practical that I prepared and tested was the Inked Fingerprint practical. Fingerprints are taken for several reasons some of them are: To establish an individuals identity. To find out whether someone has a criminal record. In the case of migration the home office takes fingerprints to identify whether a person is illegal in the country. To clear a suspect of committing a crime. Using fingerprints as evidence in a court case. The Police use them to find out whether an individual has had any previous convictions. This practical also involved several different stages which when tied together provided me with the chance to develop an understanding of the range of fingerprint pattern types. Also while doing this practical my supervisor introduced me to the procedure that is involved in taking fingerprints from actual crime suspects. Once I had completed this exercise I understood the nature of fingerprint characteristics and I was able to handle fingerprint equipment as well as taking fingerprints from individuals. Before starting the procedure however I was made aware of the health and safety aspects of this practical. Even though the risks that encompassed were minimal I had to wear a lab coat to ensure that no ink came in contact with my clothing. The first part of the practical required teamwork as such I worked with my supervisor. This part of the practical divided the groups into two roles. One person had to supervise and take the prints whereas the other had to assume the role of the susp ect who was having their fingerprints taken. For the sake of understanding the practical I assumed the role of supervision. The materials that were used included: National arrest form Fingerprint ink Copper plate Ink roller Card form holder Palm roller Wipes A4 paper Magnifying glass ID sheet Linen tester Russell Comparator In order for obtaining the best possible prints I had to ensure that my hands were thoroughly washed, dried and free from perspiration, the ink plate was clean and inked appropriately and my wrists and fingers were relaxed making sure not to assists the prints by adding pressure to the plate as this only leads to inaccuracy. Once the precautions were set we went into the preparation procedure which was as followed: Complete the details on the form Fold the paper along the lines indicated Place the form under the fingerprint card in such a way that it leaves the right hand impression visible. Dot 8 to 12 equally spaced out dots of ink on the plate. Once this has been done roll the ink out evenly until it has a semi mat finish. Take a test impression on the plain A4 paper. If too much ink is used on the paper clogging will form between the ridges if however too little is used the ridges will appear grey. The aim in each case was to produce a fingerprint which had sharp black ridges and white interspaces. The trick of removing excess ink from the plate was to lay a blank piece of paper over it and pass the roller over it until the plate had an even layer of ink. As part of the health and safety precautions I had to bear in mind to check for cuts, skin disease and the quality of the ridges. This was to make sure that the ink would go into the cuts and cause an infection or agitate the skin. Once the practical had been set up we went through the practical as followed: The rolled impressions were obtained by rolling the digit through 180 degrees from nail edge to nail edge in order for the complete area of rigid detail on the inner surface of the finger to be recorded. My supervisor indicated that it is recommended to do this slowly as it produces a better quality of fingerprint. Take the fingerprints starting with the right thumb and working your way across the form, taking each finger in turn to the right little finger making sure that the right digit appears in the suitable space. After completing the right hand adjust the fingerprint form in the holder in such a manner as to allow the left hand prints to be taken. Once it has been repositioned repeat the same steps with the left hand taking care to position the digits. The reason the plain impressions are taken before the rolled impressions is to certify that the rolled impressions have been taken in the correct manner on the fingerprint form. I was told that they may prove very useful to a fingerprint office therefore it is very important that they are recorded within the area chosen for them and do not overlap onto other lines or printing. When these were taken I had to move the form down in the holder to expose the plain expression section. As soon as this is done I took each of the suspects hands and pressed all four fingers together onto the ink plate, lifted them off and onto the appropriate space and pressed all four fingers down together. After this I took them of and used the same procedure to get the thumb prints. The final part of the practical was to take the palm prints. Using the ink roller I covered the whole palm and finger surface of my supervisor with a coating of ink. Finally I had done this I placed the heel of the palm onto the paper and drew the hand back over the over the roller to the fingertips, exerting a little pressure. Once the practical was complete I put away the equipment and prepared the lab for research students that were working on a project that involved the use of cameras and 80L crime lights. I realised that throughout the placement my organisation and communication skills kept improving. Thanks to this it made me a more reliable person. The various tasks that were allocated to me by my supervisor reflected this. Being responsible for setting up practicals, backing up CCTV footage for later use and preparing equipment for research students has also increased my confidence of managing tasks by my self. The health and safety speech has also helped as it made me aware of the hazards that I used to ignore before. Personal development Having completed my placement at the forensic department I must say that this has been a priceless experience for me. The placement has not only given me an insight in the day to day activities that encompass a forensic scientist but it has also helped in further developing the key attributes and understandings that one needs in order to excel in any given workplace. I believe that the way I carried out the tasks that were assigned to me had a direct influence on my personal development and of course vice versa. Judging by this I would like to think that I carried out my daily tasks and completed them to the best of my ability. My attitude also contributed to my development. Generally I was quiet content with my workplace. At the beginning it took a while to adjust to certain aspects of the placement such as timekeeping, sticking to the deadlines and schedules and bearing the responsibility of setting up practicals. These demands and responsibilities required that I had to learn quic kly and adapt in order to prevail in this workplace. I realised during the placement that one of my weaknesses was the accuracy and reliability of the practicals I had prepared. This is only natural as forensic science was not my area of expertise however since I applied for this placement it meant that I had to follow the same conduct and set up the practicals in the exact same manner as a forensic technician would do. My supervisor also gave me the advice of taking my time while setting up the practicals. In order to resolve this issue I paid particular attention to the other technicians while they were setting up practicals. As a result of this the reliability of my practicals improved immensely over the course of the placement. One of my stronger assets that my supervisor commended on was my organising ability and initiative. I was able to resolve an issue that occurred with the backing up of the CCTV recordings. The recordings were usually burnt on a CD however for some reason when they were empty even though the burning of the CC TV recordings was successful. I suggested the idea of uploading the recordings on an external hard drive. This had a number of benefits as it was capable of storing many more Giga bytes of CCTV recordings and in the long run would work out cheaper than to keep purchasing CD ROMs. Overall I would say that this placement has transformed me into a more responsible, reliable and punctual individual who is able to work as part of a team, as well as work individually in order to accomplish the task that is set out to the best of his ability.