Written submission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Written submission - Essay Example The rest of the tenants (15%) are single. There is some ethnic diversity in the estate. The current turnover is at 18%, however, re-letting is a major challenge especially in the case of smaller properties due to the estate’s poor reputation. There is also the problem of a high percentage of the tenants having rent arrears. Most of the customers are in the Housing Benefit scheme and this is one of the major reasons why so many of them have rent arrears. Currently the tenants do not have their own Tenants Association. The level of sense of community is very low, but a few of the residents are eager to change this. There is also very limited customer engagement with Southway and other agencies. Some of the issues and problems facing the estate include a high crime rate which is one of the reasons why the estates has such a high turn over rate and a low re-letting rate. Some of the most common crimes committed in Lowfeaf include burglary and drug dealing. The estate’s physical appearance is also very shabby with poorly maintained gardens and litter scattered everywhere. There is also a lot of graffiti on the walls which makes the place look unfriendly. Lowfeaf estate has an annual community budget of  £10,000 which is currently not being used. The regular staff available includes a community officer and income management officer. There is also the Customer Involvement Team and Your Neighborhood Team Manager who provide support services. There are plans to begin a home improvement programme which is set to take off within six months. There is also an environmental programme which is planned to start in the next nine months. The major issue in this estate is its reputation. Therefore the best plan is one that will help create a good name for Lowfeaf. I have developed a three year plan that will see Lowleaf turn from a shabby-looking, crime-laden estate to one of the most enviable residential areas. The plan

Media Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Media - Research Paper Example Illustrative of this changing landscape are the 2004 presidential election campaigns. The top Democratic and Republican candidates were John Kerry and George W. Bush. Some of the key issues on which the campaigns turned included: the invasion on Iraq and generally the war on terror and defense issues, gay marriages, abortion, health, environmental issues, education, budget, trade and issues of gun control. It is on these controversial issues that voters divided between both the Republican and Democratic camps. It is mainly on media, specifically ad campaigning that opponents communicate ideas to the populace and it has proved instrumental in influencing voting patterns, voter turnout and even tipping the vote in tight races the main focus being in battleground states. The race between Bush and Kerry was so close that many issues were predicted to be likely to tip on the balance. One of these was television ad campaigns. The amount of financial resources spent was staggering. In 2004, with fifty sponsors, the Republicans having nineteen and Democrats the rest, hundreds of ads were aired up to over 670, 000 times in prime markets and on cable. Over $ 550, 000 was spent by these sources. Swift boating or shadowing can also be a function of election advertising campaigns; analogous to smear campaigns, these are attacks on an opponent’s credibility and patriotism. ... The Bush-Kerry race was a competitive one and one in which commercials were a dominant and decisive feature. The unprecedented amount spent on the 2004 election ad campaigns is one of its distinctive features. The second was that it commenced earlier than had been witnessed before, on March 4th and third was the record set by outsiders, non-candidate groups for example the SBVT, a veteran group which felt itself bound to step forward to apparently correct Kerry’s ‘exaggerated’ claims about his service in Vietnam. An anonymous source is of the view that while investigations into the effects of political ad campaigns hasn’t been proven to improve voter turnout or set the pace for the discussion of issues or other agenda they are widely agreed to affect a voter’s choice, stimulate interest in the election, help change perceptions about a candidate and generally increase knowledge on issues and policy. Candidates in election ads can acclaim defend or att ack. Research according to Gallup & Newport shows that attacks on policy rather than the character or person are more effective. There are two major ads that can prove the statistics right. Kerry's "fought for his country" ad and George Bush's "100 days" ad are perfect examples of what electoral electioneering encompasses. â€Å"Fought for his country†- John Kerry The words spoken are in normal print whereas the music is italicized and the images are in prentices. The ad opens with a three way split-screen. As the announcer begins on Kerry’s history and soft music starts in the background and piano strokes continue throughout the whole commercial. Its upbeat music that progressively increases in tempo and pitch throughout the

Tourism In Saarc Nations Tourism Essay

Tourism In Saarc Nations Tourism Essay South Asia is home to one third of the worlds population. It comprises of one of the most diverse populations and cultures which have worked as potential economic and geographical resources for several countries all over the world. Significant researches found that one of the best brains that run the world on different platforms have their roots from South Asia. SAARC countries are rich in natural resources with unique and astounding geographical locations and ecology (Timothy, Nyaupane, 2009). The top highest mountain peaks of the world exist in the region of South Asia; Mount Everest and K2. One of the worlds best water resources lie in South Asia, having a vast river system mainly originating from the Himalayas. Moreover, some of the richest ocean resources exist in South Asia which include rich mangrove areas such as Sunderbans and coral reefs of Maldives. The biodiversity of South Asia is vast and holds great historic values. The cultural heritage of South Asia dates back thous ands of years and hence it hosts marvels such as Ajanta, Timpu, Taj Mahal, Taxila and many other great wonders (Timothy, Nyaupane, 2009). Factors Resisting the Survival and Growth of Tourism Industry in South Asia SAARC countries have been extracting several riches such as spices, gold, coal, gas and several more gemstones. Because of the availability of rich resources and great manpower, South Asian countries have been a common playground for several colonial powers. Now South Asian countries are independent and host almost all the religions of the world, contributing an increase in the diversity and cultural importance of the region (Alwis, 2009). Regardless of such attractive aspects of South Asia, more than 400 million people live below poverty line and approximately 71 million people are impacted by some sort of violence or similar threats. There are several issues revolving around the region which include health, poverty, child and gender issues (Alwis, 2009). All such issues are unregulated due to the weak control of the government and lack of proper attention to these issues. One of the latest and most talked about issues that revolve around South Asia, is the issue of Terrorisms. Afgh anistan is considered the originating land of Taliban, Pakistan is considered the host for Taliban, India is facing terrorists attack due to conflicts regarding Kashmir and the list goes on. These are few significant factors which have deteriorated the tourism industry of South Asia (Alwis, 2009). Current Conditions of Tourism Industry in South Asia In order to analyze the condition of SAARC nations tourism industry it is important to ponder upon the rates of visitors in this particular region. In the year 2010, the region of South Asia was able to attract only 1.1% of the 898 million visitors from all over the world. This makes a total of only 9.7 million visitors in South Asia which comprises of a total of eight countries. If compared with Europe, this is a very low number of visitors because Europe received 53% of the total visitors from all over the world during the same year (UNWTO, 2011). On the other hand, Asia Pacific region was able to double its tourism industry within seven years as they received 85 million visitors in 2003 and 198 million visitors in 2010. During this period of growth, South Asia was able to grow on a marginal scale that also was not achieved among all countries of South Asia (UNWTO, 2011). Few SAARC countries sparked off its tourism industry such as India and Maldives and hence, they are the potential tourist attractions in the whole of South Asia (Hassan, 2006). Not to forget Nepal, which is considered the gemstone of South Asia, is famous for its beautiful sights and great cultural heritage. Nepal has also increased its tourism industry quite well, however due to their internal political issues; the government has not paid much attention towards the tourism sector of the country (Timothy, Nyaupane, 2009). Other beauties of South Asia include Sri Lanka which is surrounded by exotic beaches and is also one of the most visited countries of the world. Bhutan is known as the Himalayan Kingdom of South Asian nations because it is an adventure attraction and has great cultural heritage adding to the enjoyment of the visitors. Alpine forests and 7000 meters of Himalayan region along with the beautiful architecture of its kingdom have been attracting an abundant amount of vi sitors to Bhutan (Saarc Tourism, 2011). Pakistan has great cultural heritage and historic places. The various tourism attractions of the country range from the ruins of civilizations like Taxila, Mohenjo-Daro, Harrapa, to the kingdoms of Mughals such as the Alamgir Gate, Badshahi Masjid, Faiz Mahal, Animist Kalasha and many more. Natural beauty of Pakistan includes Malam Jabba, Khyber Steam Train Safari, Naran Valley, Swat Valley, Murree, Bhurban, Indus River, and many more stunning areas where people can visit and be amazed by the gorgeous natural structures. Most importantly the Arabian Sea, mainly at the Gwadar Port and Kund Malir are one of the most striking natural beaches in South Asia (Timothy, Nyaupane, 2009). Regardless of such attractions, Pakistan has been losing its tourism industry due to the consistent terrorist activities going on in the North Western part of the country. The attack on Swat valley, capture of Osama bin Laden from Abbottabad and the consistent drone attacks on the North-Western borders of the country and all such events which have discouraged global visitors from coming to Pakistan. The risk of security, rising pollution, health problems, poverty and lack of overall government funding has led to a declined number of tourists in this region and hence the tourism industry has almost collapsed (Hassan, 2006). Plausible Solutions Keeping in mind such beautiful sights of each SAARC country and the potential experience attached to visiting these sights, it is important to consider why tourism rate has been declining and how these declining rates can be reimbursed (Kaur, 2008). The region of South Asia has promoted tourism since decades and only few countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, India and Bhutan have been successful in achieving considerable amount of growth in their tourism industry. In the year 1980, an organization led by the Secretariat in Colombo aimed towards promoting tourism in SAARC countries by developing World Tourism Organization. This initiative, however, failed due to the lack of appropriate support from each SAARC countrys tourism sector (Kaur, 2008). Another attempt was made by the SAARC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) which mainly began from Nepal. A promotional tagline was also designed Magic that is South Asia. This attempt by SCCI hoped to improve the private sector of the SAAR C nations, however productive outcome was not achieved within the same decade (Marg, 2009). SAARC countries have always emphasized on the importance of tourism and have considered it as a major asset for their countries. During several SAARC Summit meetings SAARC leaders have emphasized on accentuating the tourism industry of the region. On the 12th Summit which was held in Islamabad in the year 2004 during which SAARC Leaders exerted extra significance on the mutual support of the SAARC countries to accentuate tourism because it would bring social, economic and cultural dividends. Due to such immense emphasis, the year of 2005 was designated as the South Asia Tourism Year and each country was supposed to celebrate it both individually and jointly. Similar efforts were conducted in the year 2011 along with the review of previous Action Plans in order to improve past mistakes (Marg, 2009). Other plausible solutions have been suggested many times, which include the mutual agreement among all SAAR nations to accumulate certain funds jointly and invest in the tourism sector in areas such as security, pollution control, health care and other promotional activities. Such mutual accumulation of funds will require every countrys involvement and hence certain amount of improvement can be sought in each country even if a country doesnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t attempt to do so. This sort of step can help in areas where government is not concentrating and thus SAARC leaders can assign private organizations to lead the tasks. This is a very long term solution and it would require strict involvement by at least half of the SAARC nations for effective implementation, or else the main idea would fail (Raghavan, 1995). Conclusion There is considerable improvement found in countries like India, which is being marketed as Incredible India along with its wide spread Bollywood industry which is supporting the tourism industry with its pseudo-participation and promoting Indian culture globally (Kumar, 2011). On the other hand Sri Lankan beaches are being used by several companies as an investment for hotels and also movie locations. Another significant improvement is noticeable in Nepal where they are providing discounted packages for travelling places like Kathmandu and similar beautiful areas (Hassan, 2006). Certain amount of improvement is visible in almost all countries of SAARC, but countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh are suffering different issues which are consistently resisting them from promoting their tourism industry. Bangladesh is facing consistent floods and health issues that it is unable to concentrate on its tourism sector. Potential solutions for such countries can be inspired by other countries of SAARC (Alwis, 2009). Pakistan has recently developed its Gwadar Port and beaches, so Pakistan can market these ports in the international market. Furthermore, Pakistan can invest in good promotional techniques like designing a tagline like: Explore Pakistan, similar to that of India: Incredible India. Such promotional techniques would require certain amount of funding which can be generated from the private sector, because at the current stage of the country, the government sector does not seem to be in a condition that they would concentrate on tourism. Eventual ly such efforts could lead towards improvement in Tourism (Alwis, 2009).

The USSR’s Ill Fated Military Intervention in Afghanistan Essay

The USSR’s Ill Fated Military Intervention in Afghanistan In the Fall of1994 the Bulletin of the The Cold War International History Project mentions in an article, †Despite the declassification of numerous high-level Soviet documents the precise reasons behind the USSR’s massive, ill fated military intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979 remain murky†. Reading these documents it becomes obvious that intervention was the result of a long and sometimes bitter struggle within the politburo mostly in Chernenko’s handwriting. Six days earlier, the Politburo had approved sending a 500 man â€Å"Spetnaz†(military intelligence special unit) force to Afghanistan and now the Politburo subgroup of Andropov, Ustinov, and Gromyko, (Ponomarev was absent) together with Chernenko, obtained Breshshenev’s sighed consent to implement the agreed-upon measures leading to the deployment of 50-75,000 Soviet troops in Afghanistan later that month, and using the (Spetnaz) force mentioned above to the killing of Amin and his replacement by Karmel as Afghan leader and head of PDPA,† The Soviet Documents do contain a number of complaints while failing to say, â€Å"this is the last straw, let’s invade.† One of the first of these is the Poliburo’s nervousness at the increasing conservative Islamic activity in the country coupled with activity in Iran whom they suspected of sending missionaries to Afghanistan dressed as natives. They also find the PDPA guilty of ‘draconian’ measures and miscalculations and mistakes.’ One of the first signs of major trouble on the horizon was a revolt in Herat in which many of the government troops joined with the rebels. Afghanistan (Taraki) asked for help to squash the situation but this help was denied. Seven months late... ...inister, and president of the Revolutionary Council, and secretary general of the PDPA. Opposition to Karmal and the Soviets, as you can see from Afghani history too much Afghani blood had been shed for its citizens to even consider a ruler from outside. By early 1980 the mujahideen had united inside Afghanistan and were resisting Soviet invaders or Soviet backed Afghani forces. In January 1987 a six month cease fire was declared by the Soviets. It was largely ignored by the Afghani. By 1986 the Afghani fighters had begun receiving shoulder fired ground-to-air missiles. These were capable of easily bringing down helicopter gunships and jet bombers. This is what brought the Soviets to the table. Peace accords largely in Afghani favor were signed in 1988. The last Soviet soldier left on Feb 15, 1989. The war, however, continued, now between the Afghani and themselves.

Britain’s Relationship With Its African Empire In The Period 1870 †1981

Assess the significance of strategic concerns in influencing Britain’s relationship with its African empire in the period c1870 – c1981 The last three decades of the 19th century saw an unrelenting wave of expansionist policy followed by most, if not all of the major European powers over the African continent, and so has been dubbed as the â€Å"Scramble for Africa†. France, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, Italy and Britain all laid claim to vast swathes of African land and by the turn of the century controlled roughly ninety per cent of the continent. The question this essay seeks to answer is why this â€Å"scramble† was triggered.There are a variety of arguments that have been put forward by historians: the economic arguments are the most important as the vast availability of much needed and highly prized goods (precious metals, diamonds, metals, ivory, palm oil, etc. ) would ensure a rich market. The second most important factor could be argued as one of t he key triggers for the â€Å"Scramble for Africa† was the strategic factors of the Africa Continent, in terms of the protection of trade routes and of valuable assets. Also the â€Å"civilisation and evangelisation† argument plays a role, but largely as an appeaser for the British public.Upon completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, British interest in Egypt increased, as the canal opened up a much more effective trade route to the â€Å"Jewel in the Crown†; India. The Suez Canal drastically decreased the time taken for ships to sail from Britain to India, from a six week journey that entailed navigating the Cape, to a two week journey, resulting in better improvements in communications between the Viceroy and Whitehall and greatly increasing the profits of trading companies as shipments could be made more frequently.The importance of the Suez Canal to Britain was paramount; the Nationalist Rebellion in 1882 saw the occupation of Egypt by British forces, in order to protect the European population (an estimated fifty European civilians were killed in the rebellion), but most importantly, to protect, and maintain control of, the Suez Canal. The strategic motivation behind this was to reinforce British interests in the area, especially trade with Egypt as any unrest in the area could affect British trade with the rest of its Empire.Furthermore, the Canal was a significant link to India, which held absolute importance to the British. Protection of the canal, therefore, ensured protection of India. As well as that, the Ottoman Empire’s sphere of influence was expanding to envelop Egypt, which, if occurred, would have been a severe blow to British supremacy; as a vital trade link for its Empire, Britain would have to have secured the safety of the Suez Canal, which could have resulted in war with the Ottoman Empire, or a treaty and/or a tariff imposed, a move that would have severely damaged Britain’s image of â€Å"glorious isolat ion†.The occupation of several African nations can also be seen to have been motivated by imperial strategy. The Berlin Conference in 1885 set a precedence that would change the face of imperial expansion. Most empire building had previously been an informal process; the creation of trade posts, creating and strengthening of ties with local traders/chiefs etc. the conference, signed by the major European powers (including Britain) stated that a power much formally annex a territory if it were to become part of the empire.This triggered a rush to formally annex the territories informally controlled by said powers- a process that especially endangered Britain’s position in Africa, as it relied much more upon informal expansionist policies to build its empire. Territories such as Bechuanaland, Kenya, Sudan and Egypt were similarly annexed. In this way, Britain prevented the expansion of other European powers and protected its own sphere of influence on the Continent. The m ost important factor for the â€Å"Scramble of Africa†, is however, the economic factors.The Continent provided an untapped source of raw materials that were much needed by the European powers; fuel consumption was at an all-time high, much in part due to the later arrival of the Industrial Revolution in the newly unified Germany and Italy. Not only that, but goods such as gold, and diamonds were found in seeming abundance in parts of Africa- by the early 1900’s, the Rand (a strip of land in Southern Africa that encompassed the Transvaal State) was home to gold mines valued at  £700million and was a key factor that prompted the Second Boer War between 1899-1902.What one must also not lose sight of is that although Britain committed itself to the expansion of its Empire in Africa for strategic concerns, these reasons all link back to increasing Britain’s wealth, be it controlling new markets, controlling highly demanded products (such as Egyptian cotton)or bein g the first European access to much needed raw materials.Even the annexing of the original Dutch Cape Colony in the 1830’s was primarily due to economic factors; strategically important to protect the trade route with India, but only necessary due to the great economic importance of said trade route. It is for this reason that economic factors were the main reason to explain Britain’s expansion in Africa, not strategic concerns. There is also the â€Å"civilised and evangelise† argument to consider, dubbed by Rudyard Kipling as â€Å"The White Man’s Burden† argument.In the late 19th century, as the height of British Imperialism and expansion, a national pride in the Empire was rife. The British considered themselves to be the greatest race in the world, created by God to rule, justly and fairly, and civilise the world. This was done in the form of providing infrastructure, such as improved transport, civil service etc. in the hope that this would m ake the lives of Africans more civilised and productive. Christianity was also used to spread this, as it was it was hoped that it would instil a strong moral code amongst the â€Å"natives†.However, it is unlikely that this was a strong motivation factor for British expansion in Africa for many reasons, and was instead something used to pacify the British public; after all, the â€Å"average Joe† would have been more likely to submit to the idea of imperial expansion to help out Africans, rather than knowing that they were allowing the richer to get richer, as was the case with Cecil Rhodes, who, with funding from the British Crown, created a vast personal fortune, became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and had a country named after him; Rhodesia.As well as this, there is little evidence to show that Britain tried to improve the infrastructure of any of its African colonies. To conclude, it is clear that strategic factors are not the most significant explanation for British expansion in Africa, as, although, important, were only made necessary by economic factors at the time. The â€Å"civilised and evangelise† argument is much less integral to the expansionist policies, but was perhaps instead a method of control over the native populations.

Reform in government Essay

When it comes to making reform in government, politicians are programmed to act in one distinct manner. They want to prop up spending on government programs. The idea and prevailing thought on this is that if you throw enough money at something, it is bound to improve. This type of thinking is what causes politicians to add lots of new programs to the docket when in reality, they have not yet taken the time to evaluate the success of progress of their already implemented programs. There are many reasons why this type of thing might happen, but one of the most important is because, simply put, there is not enough time to sit back and evaluate new programs. The thought, at least in the minds of politicians, is that these programs take a few years to really have an impact. This means that the positive or negative things associated with a new program will not be seen for many months, so politicians do not think that they can correctly evaluate it (USGovernmentspending. com). The solution for this problem would be to evaluate programs starting further back before commiting to spend more money on new government programs, but this is not the way that politicians are programmed. They are programmed in a way that rewards public spending and new reform. This is one thing that politicians can point to when they run for re-election, so that people will see that they are doing something in Washington. Even if a program is not successful in affecting change in society, politicians are able to say that they were doing something in order to fix the problem, even if that something was counterproductive in nature.