Frankenstein and Prometheus Essay Example for Free

Frankenstein and Prometheus Essay Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein can be compared to the myth Prometheus by J.M Hunt in several ways. Frankenstein and Prometheus both created life in their own way and faced consequences that they had not expected to encounter although they differed in that Frankenstein abandoned his creation and abhorred him whereas Prometheus wanted to help and care for his creation. Both Frankenstein and Prometheus developed creations easily but did not realize the consequences behind it. In the novel Frankenstein Victor always wanted to understand the cause of life and death and he set his mind into finding the answer. â€Å"I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet (Shelley 58). Victor was excited to understand that what he has created was the answer to his problems. Prometheus also felt the same way when he was creating his creation. Prometheus had the task to create man. â€Å"Prometheus had the task to create man. â€Å"Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into his clay figure (Legend of Prometheus). Prometheus’ task in creating life was easy, as for Frankenstein it was much harder as he spent months creating it. With the goal of creating life they both faced consequences because of their actions. Frankenstein and Prometheus ended up with severe consequences when they had created life. When Victor left Geneva for Ingolstadt an incident had occurred. Once day he received a letter from his father. â€Å"William is dead! That sweet child, whose smiled delighted and warmed my heart, who was so gentle, yet so gay! Victor, he is murdered! (Shelley 73). When Victor had read the letter he was shocked. Upon returning to Geneva he realized the monster had murdered his brother. Prometheus also faced consequences when he created man. When Zeus discovered that Prometheus lied to him he took fire away from man. Prometheus then lit a torch from the su and brought ti back again to man. Zeus was enraged and punished Prometheus. â€Å"Take [Prometheus] to the Caucasus Mountains and chain him to a rock with unbreakable adamant chains. Here he was tormented day and night by a giant eagle learing at his liver (Legend of Prometheus). The pain wouldn’t end for Prometheus because his liver would grow back again. Frankenstein and Prometheus faced consequences that ended in Frankenstein losing his loved one Prometheus being physically tortured day and night. Despite their punishment, Frankenstein exhibited actions that led him to become a bad creator, and Prometheus showing qualities of being a good creator. Frankenstein fathered his monster with his own hands. He labored for years in order to successfully breathe life into his creature. Then later once it was alive he abhorred him. When the monster was alive Frankenstein said â€Å"Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance†¦ [Frankenstein] passed the night wretchedly†¦ Mingled with this horror [Frankenstein] felt the bitterness o f disappointment† (Shelley 59). This shows that all he wants to do with he creation is run away from it and to never see it again. Although Prometheus showed different qualities towards his monster. Prometheus fought to protect the human being he had given life to. â€Å"Prometheus lit a torch from the sun and brought I back again to man† (Legend of Prometheus). All he had tried to do was help his creation. Frankenstein and Prometheus differed because Frankenstein tried to hurt and abandon his creation but Prometheus did the opposite to his creation. Frankensten can be compared to the myth of Promethheus in many ways. When both are read the reader can infer many clear similarities between the two. Both Prometheus and Frankenstein faced consequences but treated their creations in different ways.

The Review Of Randomised Control Trials

The Review Of Randomised Control Trials The effectiveness of the methodological approach used in any study most certainly determines the accuracy and reliability of the research hence the need to select the most viable methodology. Subsequent studies indicate that the use of a poor methodology is not only misleading but it could also lead to detrimental consequences in the event that the results of the study are used as a basis for decision making or implementation of recommendations. Further, different methodologies are expected to be more effective in particular experiments only. The use of Randomised Control Trials Research is highly popular in nursing and medicine due to its effectiveness in obtaining outcomes that are relevant, mostly in testing the safety of treatments and drugs before they can be fully utilized in the health care system. RCT as Randomised Control Trials Research is often abbreviated is popular because unlike other methodologies, allocation bias is minimised and prognostic factors that are known or u nknown to the researcher are balanced, thus giving accurate results. This paper seeks to critique Randomised Control Trials Research with a view of establish its philosophical foundation and its application in research. In this regard, the paper also includes a critique of three experiments that were done using Randomised Control Trials Research. Methodological review The history of Randomised Control Trials can be traced back to about 600 B.C. It was first recorded by Daniel Judah, whose research is probably the earliest as far as clinical research is concerned. He sought to establish the effects of royal Babylonian diet and the vegetarian diet for a time period of 10 days (Stolberg, Norman Trop, 2004). While his research was devoid of contemporary medical standards such as ascertainment bias, allocation bias and confounding by divine intervention, the research has remained an influential record in the history of Randomised Control Trials. Major advancements were recorded in the 19th century. The credit for modern CRT is attributable to Sir Austin Bradford Hill. This was witnessed during the Medical Research Council trials which sought to test streptomycins effectiveness in treating pulmonary tuberculosis. The research is considered a landmark research in medicine and since Hills achievement, the use of randomised control trials has grown except ionally (Stolberg, Norman Trop, 2004). RCT are actually considered the basis for evidence-based medicine. Randomised Control Trials are used in modern day health care and medical trials in assessing the effectiveness of interventions such as drugs and medical procedures. Randomised Control Trials Research is a methodology that is highly popular in the medical and health services sector and which has been used in testing the efficacy of drugs, treatments and health care services such as nursing and medicine (Rosenberger Lachin, 1993; Jadad, 1998). Randomised Control Trials Research (RCT) is distinguished by the fact that once the eligible study subjects have been identified, they are put through one or other of the studys alternative treatments before the intervention to be studied begins. Once the study groups are randomized, they are followed up in exactly the same way and specific care standards are given to each study group depending on the research being performed (Edwards, Lilford Hewison, 1998). The use of Randomised Control Trials Research is considered highly effective because it minimises allocation bias to a significant level. Further it is possible to balance the known and unknown prognostic factors such that the treatments are more accu rate unbiased and reliable. A significant characteristic of Randomised Control Trials Research is that tests usually include a control experiment alongside the main treatment (Charlton, 1995). These are known as placebo-controlled studies and they are used in comparing changes recorded in the active treatment group in order to ascertain that the study group that was not included in the treatment does not react in a similar manner. This serves the purpose of proving whether the active treatment actually had an impact on the active study group. RCTs are occasionally known as randomised controlled clinical trials when they are used for clinical research (Charlton, 1995). Besides their use in medical research however, RCTs are also used in education, criminology, international development and social work. The use of RCT is mostly popular because of randomisation. This involves the selection of random samples and it has been identified as an effective approach because of various advantages as follows. Firstly, it eliminates bias because the researcher selects the participants from a random sample as opposed to convenience thus eliminating the possibility of researcher bias and confounding (Edwards, Lilford Hewison, 1998). Secondly, the use of RCT enhances blinding or masking of the treatments under study from the participants, investigators and assessors thus reducing the possibility of bias and irregularities (Charlton, 1995). The use of randomisation further permits the researchers to use probability theory in expressing that differences in outcome could have resulted from chance. Despite the efficacy of Randomised Control Trials Research, the method has raised various ethical issues that are said to limit the authenticity of the research methodology. To begin with, the Zelens design used in various RCTs is considered unethical because it randomizes the subject prior to obtaining their consent (Edwards, Lilford Hewison, 1998). This unethical aspect of this design however is mostly considered where screening and selected therapies are used as opposed to common therapeutic trials. The principle of clinical equipoise is common in defending the ethics of Randomised Control Trials. The principle which represents the genuine uncertainty about a preferred treatment within the expert medical community is used as a justification for the use of RCT (Gifford, 1995). On the other hand however, the clinical equipoise also raises ethical concerns, with suggestions being put forth that equipoise cannot generally justify RCT because it is likely to conflict with the unavaila bility of personal equipoise where a person believes that a particular intervention is effective (Gifford, 1995; Edwards, Lilford Hewison, 1998). Other limitations of RCT apart from ethical issues mostly concern external validity. They include differences in where RCT is performed such that one treatment works in a particular country and fails to work in another; characteristics of the patients such that there may be differences in their natural features; study procedures, for example where RCT patients are likely to receive more intensive treatment and care, which would certainly be impossible to achieve in the real world; and incomplete reports of adverse effects recorded during the interventions (Jadad, 1998). RCTs can also be highly expensive and are therefore considered inapplicable where financial resources are limited. Stolberg, Norman and Trop (2004) further notes that RCTs cannot be used in all types of trials. They note that there are a significant number of situations in which the use RCT is not appropriate, feasible or necessary in solving the said problems. Examples include cancer screening, ability to cease smoki ng and assessment of interventions that are likely to have rare outcomes or whose outcome takes long to develop. Critical discussion The use of randomised control trials research in nursing is undoubtedly relevant in that it aids in obtaining the desired results of the interventions used. It can be established that the use of random samples helps greatly in ensuring that authenticity of data is assured. As noted by Altman, Machin and Bagant (2000), data authenticity can only be assured if it can be established that there is no bias in the selection of the sample. Furthermore, unscrupulous researchers have been known to manipulate the research samples in order to ensure that the outcome of their studies favour the desired outcome. It is also clear that there is a limited possibility of coming up with false results because randomised control trials are mostly done hand in hand with control tests. This ensures that comparison of results yields the differences that exist between the two study groups. It is these differences that can determine for sure that the active group actually underwent a change as a result of a particular treatment. In Altman, Machin and Bagant (2000) definition of a control experiment, he notes that a control experiment serves as proof that the changes recorded in the active experiment is actually true and that the effect should not be recorded in the control experiment if the results are indeed true. Further, the status of the two study groups should have been the same at the beginning of the experiment. The use of randomised control trials in nursing promises the possibility of obtaining highly reliable results. This is because the research groups can be easily sought from medical records as opposed to where the researchers have to obtain samples from highly dispersed populations (Altman, Machin Bagant 2000). Furthermore, randomised control trials unlike other forms of research do not limit the researcher to a particular geographical region but only to persons with similar characteristics to be used for the study. This could however be disadvantageous in that the inability to locate the required sample population may result in inadequate results. Such an occurrence is likely to occur in cases where potential participants refuse to take part in the study for one reason or the other. An example is where the researcher seeks to experiment a certain medication with individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS and potential participants are unwilling to participate. According to Jadad (1998), ma ny individuals actually have the fear of being used as guinea pigs without the knowledge on whether the results will have positive or negative effects on them. Case studies Further critical analysis of the randomised control trials is done through the use of various case studies in the medical field as indicated below: In a study by Dulin, Hatcher, Sasser and Baringer (2006), they sought to prove that an over the counter supplement known as Policosanol used in the treatment of elevated cholesterol levels was ineffective. The study made use of Randomised Control Trials to examine the effectiveness of Policosanol derived from sugarcane; which had not been tested since its effectiveness was questioned. The objective of the study was to examine the efficacy of the sugar cane-derived policosanol in improving the health conditions of adults with mild hypercholesterolemia. The study would take eight weeks and it involved observing the percentage change in cholesterol level among the participants. The researchers studied the total cholesterol change, triacylglycerols and lipoprotein as well as the dietary habits, blood pressure and weight of the participants. A group of 40 healthy adults with mild hypercholesterolemia were included in the study and they were to receive 20mg of policosanol orally or placebo for the 8 weeks. The results of the study indicated that no significant changes were witnessed in cholesterol levels between the 20 adults under policosanol treatment and the 20 adults under placebo. The same applied to triaclyglycerol and other components tested for. In conclusion therefore, policosanol was ineffective in altering the serum lipid profile of individuals and therefore not effective in reducing cholesterol levels. Richardson and Montgomery (2005) sought to experiment the effectiveness of a dietary supplement for use by children who suffered from developmental coordination disorder. This is a form of disorder affecting approximately 5 percent of school going children and results in learning and behaviour difficulties as well as psychosocial adjustments that are likely to be evident even in adulthood. The researchers sought to experiment whether the use of a supplement to replace the polyunsaturated fatty acids whose absence are said to cause the disorder could help in treating the disorder. The basis for this experiment was that there was insufficient evidence-based treatment for the disorder; such that experimenting with the fatty acid supplements would provide useful information for use in treating developmental coordination disorder and treating motor skills. Richardson and Montgomery (2005) used a randomised controlled trial of the dietary supplementation which consisted of -3 and -6 fatty acids. The test was compared with Placebo and included 117 children with the developmental coordination disorder, aged between 5 and 12 years. This augurs well with Jadad (1998) who explains that a Randomised Control Trials Research should include the population under study as well as a control group to be used for comparing the outcome of the research. The research which took three months included a parallel observation of the two groups in order to establish any changes in the population. This was followed by a 1-way crossover in which the placebo group was changed to active treatment for another three months. The results of the study indicated that while there was no effect on motor skills treatment, students who received active treatment showed a significant improvement in spelling, reading and behaviour. The same was observed when the placebo group was put under active treatment; while the children continuing with active treatment continued to improve or maintain improvement. I t was thus concluded that the fatty acid supplements could be used in take care of educational and behavioural challenges for children who suffer from developmental coordination disorder. In the third example of the use of CRT in medical practice, the study by Blinkhorn, Gratix, Holloway, Wainwrit-Stringer and Worthington (2003) sought to determine the importance of health educators in enhancing general dental care. The question was on whether dental health educators should be placed to educate parents of at-risk children in order to advance dental care. The study involved 269 mothers who received tooth-brushing advice, sugar control and the use of fluoride toothpaste for 2 years at intervals of 4 months each. 334 pre-school students were included in the study. 138 families and 172 children were included in the test group and 131 families and 162 children were used as a control. Mothers in the test group were required to visit a dental health educator while the rest were used as a control group. After 2 years, 271 children and 248 mothers were remaining in the study. The end result indicated that there was increased general knowledge, tooth-brushing skills and attitud es among parents who had visited a dental educator. Children in the test group however showed little difference in terms of caries experience in relation to the control group. Accordingly, primary care trusts are expected to consider the cost of sending dental health educators in relation to the outcome. According to the study, Â £40 was used in every 2 hour session for counselling 10 parents. Critique of the articles It can be established that the use of randomized control trial research is effective in testing the outcome of various treatments and interventions, mostly through the use of a placebo study group. Similarly, the use of random study groups represents the authenticity of the researches identified above as far as the randomised control trials are concerned. The use of randomised control trials main characteristic is the use of a random sample in testing the efficacy of a certain subject or practice. This is well exhibited in all the three studies where the researchers note that they selected the samples randomly. This most definitely played an imperative role in ensuring that there was no bias in the study and that the results obtained could effectively be used in representing the entire population (Altman, Machin Bagant, 1998). As noted by Jadad (1998), the nature of randomised control trial research ensures that the subjects of the study are not in any way related to the researcher and that results are not manipulated to suit the researchers purpose. The research by Dulin, Hatcher, Sasser and Baringer (2006) represents a well researched paper which is characterised by a well designed methodology. It represents a true picture of how randomized control trial research should be done in order to achieve the most desirable results. Notably, Richardson and Montgomery (2005) make use of an active group study and a placebo group. According to Altman, Machin and Bagant (1998), the use of a control group in RCT is highly imperative as it helps in establishing the authenticity of the research and in comparing the eventual results. The same is witnessed in the study by Richardson and Montgomery (2005) and Blinkhorn, Gratix, Holloway, Wainwrit-Stringer and Worthington (2003) who made use of control groups to establish whether the results obtained in their studies were actually a true representation of the real picture. Richardson and Montgomery (2005) and Dulin, Hatcher, Sasser and Baringer (2006) and Blinkhorn, Gratix, Holloway, Wainwrit-Str inger and Worthington (2003) however fail in that they make use of different sample sizes for the active participants and placebo groups. Richardson and Montgomery (2005) use 117 children indicating that the number was uneven between the control group and the placebo group. The same applies for Dulin, Hatcher, Sasser and Baringer (2006) and Blinkhorn, Gratix, Holloway, Wainwrit-Stringer and Worthington (2003) who used 138 families and 172 children in the test group and 131 families and 162 children as a control. According to Charlton (1995), such differences in the study sample are likely to cause biased outcomes because the population sample in each case does not equal the other, thus defeating the rationality of comparison. The study by Dulin, Hatcher, Sasser and Baringer (2006) consistently defines the variables and shows how the population sample was obtained. This is one of the requirements for ensuring consistency and authenticity as defined by Altman, Machin and Bagant (1998). This is because with the ability to define the population sample and how it was obtained determines the overall outcome of the study. Richardson and Montgomery (2005) also define their population samples thus giving authenticity to the study. It is notable however that in Blinkhorn, Gratix, Holloway, Wainwrit-Stringer and Worthington (2003), only the sample size is given and there is limited information on how the 269 mothers and 334 pre-school children were obtained. Conclusion Randomised control trials research proves to be an effective methodology in enhancing nursing research. This can be evidenced by the use of randomised control trials in various medical and clinical researches, aimed at determining the efficacy of certain interventions in treating various complications. It can be established that through the use of random samples and a control group, the use of randomised control trials is expected to produce highly authentic results which can be used as a basis to introduce the intervention to the rest of the population. Notably however, there are disadvantages associated with randomised control trials research methodology as well as ethical issues related to the methodology. Common limitations include external validity in the research and the justification of the use of randomised control trials in complicated cases. In conclusion however, there is no study methodology without its own limitations and randomised control trials are no exception. This means that the benefits associated with the research methodology should be given more attention as opposed to the cons in conducting effective studies in nursing research.

Does Crime And Violence Affect The Tourism Industry Tourism Essay

Does Crime And Violence Affect The Tourism Industry Tourism Essay This group assignment will discuss the impact of crime and violence on the tourism industry in Jamaica using statistical data such as graphs, charts and figures to support our factual findings. The purpose of this report is to show whether crime and violence will affect Jamaica potential investments in the near future or in the present, also if this factor affects the different sectors of tourism which include entertainment, sports, health, and food amongst others. These facts and statistics are taken from a variety of sites, which include the Gleaner, Statinja and other sites stated in the reference of the report. What is Crime and Violence? There are many definitions for both Crime and Violence. What is crime? Crime is a harmful action, omission or an activity considered to be evil shameful or wrong which is against a person or a country. It is also an illegal act which or can be punished by law. What is Violence? Violence is a behaviour that involves the use of physical force which unlawfully exercised towards property and or persons, situations like these; may cause intentions which may lend to the killing or hurting of someone. What is Tourism? Tourism is an activity which an individual or a group of individuals, that leads to the movement from one place to another within a country, or from one country to another. This happens due to the performing of specific tasks or the awareness that the particular place have to offer like its civilization and culture and also the increase of knowledge about the country and its culture and history. The different types of Crime and Violence When it comes on to Crime and Violence there are many different types because every day there is something new that doesnt falls under the previous types of crime and violence. Lets starts off with the different types of Crime. There are many but just to name a few: Crime against Persons -includes rape, robbery and murder etc. Crime against Property- this is self-explanatory, theft of home without harm such as body burglary larceny and etc. Crime against Morality- may include illegal gambling, illegal use of drugs. White-Collar Crime- committed by people in high social status against people of the same status like embezzling (stealing money from employees) The type of Violence: Physical Violence- is the intention with the use of physical force which in the ended injury, harm, death or even disability may occur. Sexual Violence- takes place without consent or understanding. Psychological/Emotion Violence- may involve trauma of a victim cause by threats of acts. Domestic Violence- is this self-explanatory violence within the home, family or between spouses. Types of Tourism and if Crime and Violence has an Impact on them There are a lot of different types of tourism in Jamaica, just to name a few we have: Eco tourism/ Nature Sports Heritage/ Cultural Adventure Leisure Business The ones that crime and violence will most likely to affect is Adventure tourism and Leisure tourism. Visitors who come here for adventure are more likely to go out on their own without any form of trained tour guide, trying to learn about the country and its history and sometimes fall prey to those out there looking for trouble and trying to cause problem for other people. The ones, who come for leisure, relax and party. Especially when they go out o party they might hook up with people that they dont know, just wanting to have a good time and end up being robbed or taken advantage of or worst. Does Crime and Violence have an Impact on the Tourism Industry? Tourism in Jamaica is seen as the primary foreign exchange industry. This industry has a few negative impacts attached to it, such as theft, murder, scams, harassment amongst others. Since the Norman Manley International Airport is a form of entrance and exit point for visitors and it is located near some of the volatile areas of Kingston such as Bull Bay, Rock fort and others; it puts them at risk for violence to be perpetrated against them. According to the Jamaica 2012 crime and safety report, these are the following set of crime and violence that impact tourism, they include: Theft (robbery -jewellery, money, credit cards etc) Murder Rape/ Sexual Violence Fraud (Lottery scam, credit card fraud) Extortion Kidnapping Harassment (Craft Vendors, Street Sellers or Rent-A-Dreads) The report states that there is no evidentiary support that criminals are targeting U.S. citizens directly, but it further states that skimming which is a type of fraud is becoming popular among the Jamaican employees in restaurants, hotels, resorts and villas. These persons are capturing visitors credit card information and utilizing it for their benefit by stealing money out of the visitors accounts. The report also states that tourists are becoming a target for pick pocketing and petty cash crimes. To support these findings, below is table and graph to illustrate. Table showing crimes reported over the last seven years against U.S. citizens Type of Crimes Reported Amount Murders 7 Rape/ Sexual Assault 12 Aggravated Assault 9 Robbery 37 Kidnapping 1 Domestic Violence 5 Child Abuse 3 Also, the report states that the hotels and resorts employees have brought sexual violence towards the visitors in a number of hotels not named which are located on the north coast. On the other hand lottery scam as become prevalent on the Jamaican north coast (Mobay, Trelawney and Hanover) concerning the U.S. citizens. The criminals set up legitimate companies to defraud these Americans, the criminal element convince these persons to send large amount of money to specific account or fraudulent name here in Jamaica. They do this by telling them that they either won some bogus prize or a all expensive paid trip to Jamaica. This resulted in the closing of Grace remittent service areas which further cause a decrease in remittance in those areas. However these problems are been recognized by the government of Jamaica and they are taken steps to prevent these crimes from happening. These steps include more policing by foot and bicycle patrols in cruise ports and tourist areas, also an upgrade in training on how to deal with these types of crimes. For example the state has taken serious measures to clamp down on the lottery scam on the north coast; there has been numerous arrest and seizures of high end vehicles over the past year. Therefore, all of these factors mentioned above prove that crime has an impact on Jamaicas tourism industry. Facts and figures derived from the Jamaican Constabulary Force about the latest crime figures in Jamaica. J.C.F. latest homicides figures of 2012 January-February Type of Crime Places/Parishes No. of Deaths Murders St. Catherine North (Spanish Town, Bog Walk) 25 St. Catherine South (Portmore, Old Harbour, Central Village) 13 St. James 22 Clarendon 13 St. Andrew South 10 NB: a comparison of murders/ homicide cases for 2011 and 2012 In the period of February 11, 2011 murder cases stood at 114 compared to the same time period for 2012 it has risen to 137. J.C.F statistics show there was 536 murders between January 1 and June 23 of 2012, 32 more than last year. Statistics for the hot spot parishes of Jamaica according to the Gleaner news paper and the Jamaica Constabulary Force Hanover: 22 murders, a 267 per cent increase when compared to last year St. James: with the lottery scam 79 murders, the highest of all 19 divisions Kingston Central: 117 per cent increase when compared to last year St. Andrew North: 76 per cent increase compared to last year Kingston Eastern: 42 per cent increases compared to last year St. Andrew Central: 33 per cent compared to last year Other graphs to show that crime has an impact on the tourism industry in Jamaica Bar  chart showing  total number of  drug  crimes  between1995 to1999http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQePxuzlRIHxO6746D_DvaHX9KrcVMO4XNuadeDVdZ8tN5yXnsdUA Crimes committed over the Period of 2003 to 2012 in Jamaicas North Coast Area Montego Bay Year Type of Crime 2003 Murder 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Fig 1 Table showing the crime figures from 2003 to 2012 for Montego bay Trelawney Year Type of Crimes 2012 Carnal Abuse Rapes Shooting Robberies Larceny Fig 2 Graph showing crime figures for Trelawney in 2012 St. Ann Year Type of Crimes 2010 Murders Rapes Shooting Larceny Recommendations to Improve Crime and Violence in Jamaica tourism Industry 1. Develop special legislation to address acts of terrorism. 2. The political leadership in the country must recommit to a set of values and a code of conduct consistent with the vision of a safe, peaceful and prosperous Jamaica so that tourist can feel safe. 3. To encourage visitors not to wonder into unknown territories unless they are being accompanied by a tour guide or someone recommended by the hotel or by the JTB. 4. When travelling to other areas in Jamaica it is better to drive or get a shuttle than walk on the road so that they wont be harassed by some of the locals. 5. Since 1956 the tourist industry has been regulated by the Jamaican Tourist Board (JTB) which greeted tourists, provided courtesy police, trained workers to help keep our visitors safe and happy and from being harassed. Most harassment stemmed from frequent peddling of goods to tourists, at times incessantly; this peddling most likely reflected the high unemployment rates. Tourists were also approached to purchase drugs, primarily marijuana, colloquially called ganja.   Conclusion It has been concluded that crime and violence has its tool on tourism. Due to the crime and violence such as scamming, theft etc. But it still hasnt stop visitor from to Jamaica, because at the end day crime and violence happen all over the world but its just up to the government to control the crime rate. Hence the crime and violence will have a lesser impact on tourism.

Napoleon Bonaparte :: essays research papers

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte, the son of Carlo and Letizia Bonaparte, was born in Ajaccio, Corsica on August 15, 1768. In 1779, he was sent to a military school in Paris. He was made fun of by the French there, and gave him the dream of power. Napoleon was waiting for the right time to achieve greater power, and that moment came when the French monarchy was overthrown. Napoleon’s parents were radicals, and both died soon after he turned 16, therefore leaving him the estate. His first battle was when he directed the artillery siege of Toulon in 1793, and afterwards he was promoted to brigadier general. In 1795, he scattered a group of rioters by firing a grapeshot, a shot gun version of a cannon, into the crowd. Napoleon was then made commander of the Italian army and won four straight battles against the Austrians. In 1797, Austria surrendered to France when Napoleon was just 80 miles from the capitol. When the fight was taken to Egypt, he again won the battle of the pyramids, but lost his fleet of ships in his next fight over the battle of the Nile. He returned home to France to see that the French government was really messed up. "In 1799 he abolished the Directorate and set up a consulate." He was not happy and wanted more power, so he went after the rest of Europe, but had settled with many treaties. Those treaties had put Fran ce at peace with all of Europe. Then in 1803, war broke out again in Europe, and Britain allied with the other countries of Europe to fight against France. "Napoleon brought those European countries to their knees and forced them to sign humiliating treaties, and now, Britain was the only country left not under Napoleon’s rule." One of Napoleon’s few bad campaigns was when he went into Russia, and instead of the Russians just letting the French capture them, they used guerrilla tactics and also the weather, to fight France. Once Napoleon finally defeated the Russians, he went to Moscow, only to see it in flames. The Grand Army, which was originally made up of 500,000 troops, now had a short of supplies and shelter from the harsh winter. Because of that, they had returned to France being known as "One of Napoleon’s worst blunders." Europe noticed that Napoleon was now weak, and they allied against him and came out victorious, and the European’s forced Napoleon the abdicate power on April 6, 1814.

Julius Caesar Tragic Hero (Brutus) :: Julius Caesar Essays

Tragic Hero Essay In the play the Life and Death of Julius Caesar (just as in all of Shakespeare’s tragedies) there is much death, much tragedy, and of course, a tragic hero. However unlike most of Shakespeare’s plays this time the tragic hero is not particularly obvious. Throughout the play a few main characters present themselves as possibilities for being the tragic hero. But as being a tragic hero is not only having a tragic flaw but also entails much more, there really is only one person to fit the mold. The character Brutus is born into power and is higher/better then we are. He has a tragic flaw that causes his downfall and at the end he realizes his mistake (a trait none of the other characters can really claim). Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar. This flaw eventually leads to his downfall because of all the bad decisions it causes him to make. The first mistake pride causes him to make is to kill Caesar and the next mistake follows right after. â€Å" Mark Antony, here, take you Caesar’s body. You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, but speak all good you can devise of Caesar, and say you do’t by our permission; Else shall you not have any hang at all about his funeral; and you shall speak in the same pulpit wherto I am going, after my speech is done.† (24) This was said by Brutus to Antony right after Caesar’s death. Brutus not only allows Antony to live but then allows him to speak at Caesar’s funeral after Brutus speaks, completely unsupervised. This choice of Brutus’ is brought about by his pride (and maybe a little bit of shortsighted stupidity).

The Miller Inside and Out Essay -- Character Analysis, Miller, Alison

The relationship between the Miller and the Miller’s Tale is close, for the tale is a reflection of the teller. The Miller’s tale is a fabliau, a genre best described as a short story full of ribald and humor. The Miller’s tale consists of events of â€Å"cuckoldry† (Chaucer 1720), â€Å"foolishness† (1718), and â€Å"secrets† (1719). Telling such a story, the Miller can immediately be classified as a man of low social status with a vulgar sense of humor full of shrewdness. However, as the tale continues, it reveals the unexpected soft side of the Miller as he sympathizes with the distressed woman trapped in the norms of society. Thus, the Miller’s characteristics of obscenity, deception, and sympathy drive the plot of his tale. In his attempt to surpass the Knight, the Miller sacrifices decorum for the sake of entertainment, reflecting his bawdy nature. When first traveling with the Miller, Chaucer listened to the Miller bellow â€Å"his ballads and jokes of harlotries† (1712). Scandalous topics appear throughout the Miller’s tale of a young girl â€Å"so graceful and so slim† named Alison who cheats on her husband, John, with his student, Nicholas (1720). When â€Å"handy Nicholas† first encounters Alison, he â€Å"[catches] her between the legs† and woos her, and they devise a plan to sleep with each other secretly (1721). This lecherous scheme fuels the entire plot of the tale. However, the parish clerk Absolom with his â€Å"gray eyes† and â€Å"nightingale† nature, typical attributes of lusty men, attempts to win Alison’s heart (1722, 1723). Although Absolom utilizes every method to win Alison’s heart even chewing â€Å"licorice and carda mom,† he ends up kissing her â€Å"bare bum† whereas Nicholas sleeps with her (1729, 1730). Chaucer’s initial encounter with the drunken Mi... ...nsequences (1732). By justifying Alison’s actions and letting her remain unharmed, the Miller sympathizes with the helpless Alison, revealing his unexpected sensitive quality. The drunken Miller tells his tale of obscenity, deception, and sympathy in his attempt to surpass the Knight. Although his physical traits and actions characterize the Miller as bawdy and dishonest, his hidden sympathy for Alison reveals he is somewhat gentle. Each character resembles the Miller’s attributes. Nicholas is both deceitful and lusty while Absolom is just lusty. Alison’s helplessness may exist since the Miller is helpless in his own life, causing him to steal in order to survive in the medieval society since it was harder for poorer men to make a living. Thus, the manifestations of the Miller’s characteristics and their outcomes bring light to the Miller’s true humane nature.

Environmental Laws of Bangladesh

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www. emeraldinsight. com/0959-6119. htm IJCHM 18,4 Hotels’ environmental management systems (ISO 14001): creative ? nancing strategy Wilco W. Chan and Kenny Ho School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong Abstract Purpose – Environmental concerns have been increasing in the travel industry. However, most hotels are unwilling to develop an international environmental management system (EMS) probably due to a lack of resources and knowledge.In order to encourage more organizations to take part in the EMS, three cases adopting international EMS are investigated to ascertain the ways to support the formation of EMS. Based on their experience, hoteliers are encouraged to team up with green members to apply for research funding for the investigation and implementation of EMS. Also, â€Å"energy performance contracting† methods to ? nance environmenta l improvement projects in hotels were also discussed.Design/methodology/approach – A single case study approach was adopted to illustrate the differences in the resources mobilization for setting EMS in these three hotels. A search of documentary evidence and interviews with hotel staff was the main instrument for data collection. Findings – The Shangri-la Hotel used its own resources to set up its EMS and strategically used its developed template for other hotels in the group to follow. The other two hotels, Nikko and Grandstanford, adopted a creative and â€Å"non-balance sheet† approach to mobilize resources for the formation of EMS.Both hotels have recourse to external resources including a university’s engineering department, hotel management school, green bodies, government funds and trade associations to develop and implement the EMS. The study further identi? ed energy performance contracting as another promising ? nancing tool for the implementat ion of the energy-related part of the EMS. Research limitations/implications – The representative and general nature of the ? ndings are limited to large hotels in metropolitan areas, as the three case hotels are located in the metropolis of Hong Kong.Practical implications – The ? ndings provide informative details on how to secure external resources to set up internationally recognized environmental management systems and the safe way for hotel operators to trial use energy-saving facilities. Originality/value – This study provides indications and details on some creative ? nancing techniques for setting up EMS in hotels. These ? nancial strategies are the ? rst of their kind in print and can serve as a useful reference for hotels to develop international EMS. Keywords Environmental management, Hotels, Financing Paper type Case study 302International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management Vol. 18 No. 4, 2006 pp. 302-316 q Emerald Group Publishing Limit ed 0959-6119 DOI 10. 1108/09596110610665311 Introduction Many efforts on environmental protection work in hotels in the 1990s were a continuation of some long-standing environmental concerns such as energy Support for the author from Mr Tamiyasu Okawa and Mr Jean-Marie Leclercq, the present general manager and ex-general manager of The Hotel Nikko Hongkong is gratefully acknowledged. The author would also like to thank The Hong Kong Hotel Association for the help in providing valuable information. onservation, sewage discharge, air and noise pollution that occurred over the past few decades (Stipanuk, 1996). Coupled with this development have been the growing concerns for a â€Å"green† hotel in the eyes of customers. A study indicated that 75 percent of interviewed customers claimed that they were environmentally-minded consumers and would choose hotels which showed concern for the environment (Feiertag, 1994). Also, Cook et al. (1992) pointed out that business in the travel industry was required to adapt to new environmental realities and to implement environmental policies and strategies.In 1995, a comprehensive environmental action checklist and action development guide for small and medium-sized hotels was jointly published by international hotel and environmental associations (International Hotel and Restaurant Association, 1995). This publication provided hotels with more detailed information to launch environmental management systems (EMS). Under these circumstances, EMS, as across the world, has recently become more recognized in the hotel industry. Almost all hotels have implemented their in-house EMS with varying degrees of intensity.Kirk’s survey found that the most signi? cant bene? t of environmental management was the improvement in public image and better relationships with the local community (Kirk, 1995). However, many hoteliers with written environmental policies saw the greatest bene? t in ? nancial management performance. Thu s, to implement the EMS, the ? rst step is to have a clear environmental policy, objectives, targets and good planning. To further enhance effectiveness, hoteliers should always monitor and review the system after the implementation.However, due to resource limitations, many hotels’ environmental efforts pause after they have taken some environmental actions such as implementation of water saving campaign, installation of energy-ef? cient lighting, reuse of waste paper and other initiatives. Recent ISO 14000 series provides an effective guideline on the content of EMS, auditing, environmental performance evaluation and so on, as shown in the appendix. Among them, ISO 14001 documents all essential elements in the EMS as shown in Table I. Most importantly, a successful EMS requires a lot of resources, including manpower, cost and time for planning (Sayre, 1996).The costs arising from the implementation of ISO 14001 include those associated with initial set-up, maintenance and i mprovement (Chin et al. , 1998). The cost of initial set-up refers to all costs associated with the provision of hardware and software facilities, plus tools for establishing the system in compliance with the ISO 14000 EMS standards. Speci? cally this category of cost involves the purchase of monitoring and measuring equipment, documentation processing and storage equipment/accessories, hiring specialist environmental assistance, initial staff training, computer software as well as staff recruitment.Added to the cost pool is the ? nancing of maintenance and improvements. This category of expenditure refers to the costs of maintaining and continually improving the EMS in the company so that optimum environmental performance can be achieved with the changing environmental conditions and requirements. It also includes the costs associated with ongoing staff training, environment equipment replacement and upgrading, periodic environmental auditing and third-party certi? cation and so fo rth. Environmental management systems 303 IJCHM 18,4 1. 2. 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 2. 4 3. 3. 1 3. 2 3. 3. 4 3. 5 3. 6 3. 7 4. 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 4. 4 5. Environmental policy Planning Environmental aspects Legal and other requirements Objectives and targets Environmental management program(s) Implementation and operation Structure and responsibility Training, awareness and competence Communication Environmental management system documentation Document control Operational control Emergency preparedness and response Checking and corrective action Monitoring and measurement Non-conformance and corrective and preventive action Records Environmental management system audit Management review 04 Table I. ISO 14001 environmental management system elementsSource: Fredericks and McCallum (1998) In addition, EMS certi? cation costs at least HK$100,000 (about US$13,000) should also be budgeted (Anon, 1996). The cost is paid to the certifying body, which would examine whether the hotel has ful? lled all the necessary conditions of international EMS standard ISO 14001. However, most organizations lack the knowledge, experience and expertise required to develop an EMS and many are unable or unwilling to commit the required staff and ? ancial resources to undertake this development (Chapman, 1997). Earlier studies also found that lodging customers in the US are not willing to pay extra to support environmental policies (Watkins, 1994; Jaffe, 1993). However, some hotels launched pilot schemes to encourage guests to contribute to local environmental schemes (Green, 1995). Though new international EMS standard ISO 14001 certi? cates in Hong Kong have recently been obtained by several hotels, the progress on industry-wide adoption is still slow. The phenomenon is not just con? ned to Hong Kong.Pryce (2001) highlighted, according to a Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ report, that only 40 percent of large hotel groups surveyed in Europe had a formal EMS and only one was externally veri? ed. Pryc e (2001) further quoted the results of a survey of small and medium-sized hotels in three UK countries and pointed out that none of these hotels had implemented a formal EMS. Thus, it is valuable to understand how environmental pioneers in the hotel sector, Shangri-la, Nikko and Grandstanford set up their EMS under resource constraints. Especially after the Asian ? ancial crisis, 9/11 event and SARS, the resources available to the hotel sector appear to be less than before. Therefore, the principal objective of the study is to identify and analyze the ways that these hotels mobilize resources to establish EMS up to ISO 14001, especially any creative and non-conventional ? nancing (that is neither debt or equity issues, nor borrowing or requesting funds from the hotel owners). Methodology The approach adopted in the study is close to action research, using case studies that aim to explore the rich background of the cases.As the purpose of this study is to explore the variations in en vironmental management systems and its associated ? nancing measures, the study adopted a non-traditional case selection criterion. Decisions are based on which case studies provide the most fruitful data for the research question (Doyle, 2003) or provide the most â€Å"opportunity to learn† (Stake, 2000). In addition, the investigating topic is new and falls into the â€Å"timing in the early stages of the ? eld†, studies of individual cases are particularly suitable (Eisenstadt, 1991).These single cases have been used to offer vivid, powerful and penetrative descriptions of events, relationships, and ways of working that are not captured by existing theories (Cunningham, 1997; Crane, 1998; Dyer and Wilkins, 1991). To analyze these cases strategically, a descriptive framework consisting of search of documentary evidence and interviews with hotel staff of the hotels studied was developed to organize case studies. The documentation encompasses hotel EMS manual, universi ty’s published reports, fund application documents, periodicals, and hotel reports.The total number of interviewees is 14 including one owner representative, two general managers, one resident manager, three chief engineers, four green managers or quality assurance managers and three departmental head’s assistants. Shangri-la case The island Shangri-la hotel is a ? ve-star hotel located at the top of a large shopping complex near Central Hong Kong, and with 565 rooms and seven catering outlets. In September 1996, it started the process of developing an EMS and soon became the ? rst hotel in Asia to obtain ISO 14001 certi? ation. Its prompt development of EMS up to international standards is based on its existing â€Å"best practice† in each department. The EMS brings signi? cant bene? ts – reputation and competitive edge – to the hotel and these bene? ts have always outweighed the cost (Tsai et al. , 2003). In general, the funding sources of most l arge business are mainly derived from equity and debt issues. For Shangri-la’s environment management system, it most likely came from internal resources of the group (Tan, 2004).A further investigation of the group’s annual reports indicate that, apart from funds originating from regular income, the group issued convertible bonds with the total principal amount of US$258 million with interest at the rate of 2. 875 percent per annum. This implies that ? nancing for environmental works should not just be limited to equity ? nancing, reserve and income fund. Funds available from debt ? nancing can also be considered as an alternative. The successful ISO 14001 certi? cation in Hong Kong’s Island Shangri-la hotel provides a model for the groups’ other hotels to set up environmental management systems and its certi? ation. An environmental management manual was also developed to address the immediate and long-term environmental impact of hotel Environmental ma nagement systems 305 IJCHM 18,4 306 operations. In addition, an environmental consultant was hired to inspect hotels to ensure not merely that the EMS is being maintained but that continual environmental improvement is achieved by setting new environmental goals (Shangri-la Hotels Group, 2005). Therefore, Shangri-la’s certi? cation in Hong Kong can be regard as a pilot practice and reusable resource for further development of EMS in the group’s other hotels that do not have a proper EMS.Nikko’s case Hotel Nikko Hongkong (Nikko) is a member of Nikko Hotels International, with headquarter in Tokyo, Japan. The hotel continues the tradition of Japanese hospitality, which is renowned throughout the world. Opened in April 1988, Hotel Nikko Hongkong is a ? ve-star deluxe hotel in Hong Kong, with 462 rooms. The hotel is located at Tsim Sha Tsui East overlooking Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. Environmental protection has always been at the heart of the philosophy of Nikk o. Even as early as 1992, the hotel was pushing for environmental improvements by implementing energy and water conservation practices throughout the hotel.As soon as the green practices on water and energy were on track, the hotel started looking for ways to minimize waste production (Hotel Nikko Hongkong, 1999). Over the past years, the management and staff of Nikko have continued through different stages of improvement on the environment. Nikko is the leader in implementing EMS in the Hong Kong hotel industry. The environmental management system (based on the ISO 14001 standard) of Nikko was set up in April 1999 (Hotel Nikko Hongkong, 1999). However, before Nikko’s completion of EMS implementation, Nikko did face many dif? culties and had spent tremendous efforts on environmental protection.Among these, resources and ? nancial support are the main concerns in launching an EMS campaign. Operating budgets may not allow hoteliers the extravagance of calling in expert consulta nts to set up the environmental system. While operating budgets were tight, Nikko from 1992 sought help from community bodies such as academic institutions and government departments (Department of Building Services Engineering and Hotel Nikko Hongkong, 1996). Partnership with community bodies Over the past years, Nikko developed a cohesive partnership with outside bodies in implementing its EMS.The collaborating partners of Nikko are categorized as four types. These include educational establishments, green bodies, government’s departments as well as the industry council. Collaboration with community bodies is one way to reduce costs of research and enables hotels to acquire funds for ongoing environmental work. Figure 1 shows the relationship between Nikko and its partners, plus the contribution of these partners in supporting Nikko’s environmental endeavors. Nikko has gained support and recognition from partners such as the Hong Kong Hotel Association (HKHA), govern ment’sIndustry Department (ID), Friends of the Earth and other environmentally-friendly enterprises. With the help of those partners, Nikko has successfully solved resource-oriented problems in launching the hotel’s environmental activities and eventually obtained the ISO 14001 certi? cate. Environmental management systems 307 Figure 1. Relationship in partnership of Hotel Nikko Hongkong Educational establishments The major educational partner of Nikko is the Department of Building Services Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.Table II shows various projects or publications conducted by the educational department in improving many aspects of Nikko’s EMS. As can be seen from Table II, most of the student-assisted research focused on evaluating the performance of environmental improvement that required a signi? cant resource. The ex-GM said that collaboration with universities was a program of mutual bene? ts. On the side of universities, students m ight have on-site working opportunity provided by Nikko whilst professors might use Nikko as a test case. For Nikko, the hotelier might save a huge amount of research costs, as most of the research work is unpaid.Besides, the University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s (HKUST) Institute for Environmental Studies also lend their effort in supporting the hotel’s environmental pursuits. The former assisted in the compilation of the energy and water conservation guide and the IJCHM 18,4 Student research project 1998-2000 308 Publications 1996 and 1998 Table II. Joint projects collaborated by Nikko and the Department of Building Services Engineering of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University 1. Indoor air quality study 2.Review of building labeling scheme – checking compliance with energy ef? ciency codes 3. Parameter setting for boiler and chiller data log – calibration of equipment 4. Air ? ow balance and distribution in hotel food and beverage outlets 5. Indoor air quality survey 6. Opportunities for energy ef? cient lighting retro? t 7. Study of power factor and distribution losses 1. Keeping Hong Kong’s Hotel Industry Competitive into the Twenty-? rst Century – Environmental Management Systems for Hotels. With overall objective helping the Hong Kong hotel industry to be more competitive and pro? able and, at the same time, reduce adverse environmental impacts 2. A Guide to Energy and Water Conservation in Hotels. Aimed to contribute to reduce energy and water consumption in all hotels, contributing to their pro? tability whilst helping to protect the environment for future generations. Based on a number of energy and water conservation projects carried out in hotel buildings in Hong Kong, but particularly the extensive range of projects at Hotel Nikko Hongkong Source: Hotel Nikko Hongkong (1999) latter was involved in bidding for a HK$1 million fund (arou nd US$130,000) for developing an EMS template for hotels.As such, the hotel’s environmental performance and operating ef? ciency would increase. This partnership creates a win-win situation. Environmental-supporting parties Nikko has set up a cohesive partnership with parties endorsing environment conservation. Friends of the Earth Association supports Nikko’s efforts in saving energy and improving environmental performance. The parties provided Nikko with the latest environmental information related to the hotel industry and shared their professional ideas or recommendations with Nikko. In this way, Nikko saved costs in information collection and expert consultancy.Furthermore, the environmental-supporting groups usually give recognition to environmental-friendly businesses, including Nikko, with outstanding performance. The award is not merely a simple recognition of effort in environment conservation, but also adds to their reputation and can become a strong stimulu s to push environmental conscious visitors choosing Nikko. Government departments In 1997, Nikko received the Energy Ef? cient Building Award 1997 from the Planning, Environment and Lands Bureau. In 1998, Nikko further joined with other partners and successfully obtained HK$1 million from the Industry Support Fund of the IndustryDepartment for a project entitled â€Å"Keeping Hong Kong’s hotel industry competitive into the twenty-? rst century – environmental management systems for hotels†. The project aimed to develop an EMS template for the local hotel sector. Apart from awards and funds, cohesive linkage with governments and bureaus also enable Nikko to have up-to-date environment-related legislation data more easily, and express its ideas more directly to government of? cials. Industry councils Hotel Nikko plays an active role in sharing experiences and participating in projects proposed by the local hotel association, the Hong Kong Hotel Association (HKHA). In return, Nikko receives relevant environmental information from other member hotels of the association. The association also assisted Nikko by assigning its Environmental Committee to take up an advisory role in the above-mentioned EMS template development. In addition, the association also helped in translating the Guide to Energy and Water Conservation in Hotels developed by Nikko into Chinese by introducing Zhengzhou Holiday Inn and Zhengzhou Crowne Plaza to aid the translation. Nikko’s endeavor and effort was further recognized by international industry councils.In 1995, the International Hotels and Restaurants Association granted Nikko the award â€Å"Corporate Green Hotelier of the Year 1995†. The award further identi? es Nikko as a successful leader in the global green hotel movement. Inter-continental Grand Stanford Grand Stanford is a waterfront ? ve-star hotel located in Tsim Sha Tsui East. It has 579 rooms and four food and beverage outlets. The hotel was managed by Holiday Inn in the 1980s and by the owner’s management company in the 1990s.The resources available to the development of ISO 14001 EMS in Inter-continental Grand Stanford mainly include Nikko’s experience, the government funded scheme of hotel environmental system, and university’s assistance (Chan, 2005). Thanks to Nikko generous sharing of ISO 14001 certi? cation experience and the data required for setting up an EMS, Grand Stanford’s senior management embarked on the development of EMS under ISO 14001 version in the early 2000s. Besides Nikko’s experience, Grand Stanford also bene? ts substantially from the government funded scheme bout the environmental assessment of the hotel buildings. The scheme includes the development of a number of environmental assessment manuals for different phases of hotels – project, new building and existing building. In addition, Grand Stanford also acted like Nikko in the past by co-operating wi th nearby university to conduct a number of measurements for environmental performance indicators. Apart from these external resources, Grand Stanford also progressively employed internal funds to install energy-saving facilities including heat pumps for the hot water system and solar-control ? m for windows.Implications Based on the investigation of these three cases, the study summarized the similarities and differences in their approaches. As shown in Table III, all these hotels have strong partnerships with green bodies and have been involved in sharing experience with trade association, other hotels and government. Two hotels were also found to have strong collaboration with a university’s engineering department and hotel school. The Environmental management systems 309 IJCHM 18,4 Collaborate with university’s: 1.Engineering department 2. Hotel school Nikko ? ? ? ? ? Shangri-la Grand Stanford ? ? 310 Partnership with environmental supporting parties Written suppor t to apply: 1. Government fund 2. Private fund Free EMS template Sharing experience from: 1. Trade association 2. Other hotels 3. Of? cial department Internal reserve or debt issue ? ? ? ? Table III. Similarities and differences in approaches ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? former provides technical expertise and the latter provide operational knowledge in the environmental projects in hotels.In terms of monetary investment, one hotel placed a large amount on formation of EMS while the other purchased a number of energy saving facilities. In fact, the project funds secured by Nikko represent a small part of the funds available in the community. Further research indicated that there are other sources of funds available for quality environmental projects, as shown in Table IV. However if one wants to successfully secure the funds, a good and meaningful proposal for application of funds is required.This implies an experienced proposal writer and a team of related experts is a pre-requisite. Agai n, this type of caliber is not easily available in hotels. Thus, collaboration with educational institutes in writing up the proposal may enhance the likelihood of success. Energy performance contracting Besides applications for public or private funding for hotel’s environmental work, energy performance contracting can be considered as another alternative to ? nance environmental improvement.Performance contracting is a unique arrangement where contractors usually assume responsibility for purchasing and installing the equipment, as well as maintenance throughout the contract. Only when the installed equipment actually reduces expenses does the contractor get paid. This allows the hotel owners to make necessary improvements while investing very little money up front. Meanwhile, it is also a risk-sharing relationship between the host and the contractor that is sometimes called as the Energy Service Company (ESCO) (Woodruff and Turner, 1998).ESCO is a company that provides bot h the technical expertise to reduce energy costs and the ? nance for energy ef? ciency investments. In the UK, performance contracting is called contract energy management (The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, 1991). In fact, the name is relatively new, but some of the companies in the industry have been in business for over 20 years. Name of environmental fund USa Richard King Mellon Foundation John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The Pew Charitable Trusts The Ford Foundation W. K. Kellogg Foundation The Andrew W.Mellon Foundation Environment Wales The Environmental Action Fund The Environmental Know How Fund The Environmental Protection Research Program Environmental Conservation Fund and Woo Wheelock Green Fund Innovation and Technology Fund: Innovation and Technology Support Program Innovation and Technology Fund: University-Industry Collaboration Program Innovation and Technology Fund: General Support Fund Sustainable Development Fund Competitive E armarked Research Grant (CERG) University Internal Fund Departmental Research Fund in University National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC)Environmental management systems 311 Europeb Hong Kongc Source: a Stein (1993); b Forrester and Casson (1998); c www. itf. gov. hk/Default. asp Table IV. Fund available for quality environmental project According to Hansen and Weisman (1998), performance contracting is now poised on the threshold of even greater opportunities to work with government, utilities, institutions and commercial establishments. In the mid-late 1990s, performance contracting received more attention in the US.For example, the US federal government has used performance contracting to upgrade facilities, even when budgets were being dramatically cut. In essence, they â€Å"sold† some of their future energy savings to an ESCO (Woodruff and Turner, 1998). In the case of Canada, trade associations urged government to fund the set up of ESCO, as there was little prospect for setting up private sector ? rms in the short-term (Association of Energy Engineers, 1998). In Hong Kong, a research report also found that most interviewees considered that performance contracting for energy conservation may be suitable in the future (Chan, 1999).The key elements of applying performance contracting suggested by the interviewees were â€Å"management commitment, government support, technical and human factors†. Conclusions Environmental management systems are well-recognized in the hotel industry across the world. Unfortunately, many hoteliers are unable or unwilling to implement the system due to resources constraints. However, two cases studied reveal that resources for the formation of internationally recognized EMS 14001 can be drawn outside the balance sheet (that is equity and liabilities).In the mid-1990s, two professors’ suggestions that sound environmental management can reduce costs also occurred to IJCHM 18,4 312 Kirk (1995) who subseque ntly advised the hotel business to start with easy-to-achieve and low cost environmental projects. Moderate and high investment projects can be scheduled later when hoteliers had con? dence in and established bene? ts from earlier environmental actions (Iwanowski and Rushmore, 1994; Kirk, 1995). This approach is particularly suitable to hotels with tight resources or when the hotel sector experiences a business downturn.Nevertheless, hoteliers may learn from successful cases, particularly Nikko, and collaborate with various â€Å"green† partners – universities, government, trade associations and green bodies – to work on more complex environmental matters. Speci? cally, hotels can team up with these green members to apply for research funding for the investigation and implementation of EMS. This practice, in turn, accelerates the speed of environmental actions. Apart from EMS with ISO certi? cation, Green Globe 21 also offers a certi? cation to travel-related or ganizations that wished to demonstrate their commitment to environmental improvement.The Green Globe program provides travel and tourism companies with a framework for achieving year on year improvement in environmental performance (Rodgers, 2002). The framework contains ? ve sections, including environmental policy, regulatory framework, environmental performance; EMS as well as requirements for stakeholder consultation and communication. Other-related certi? ed programs may include Australia’s International Ecotourism Standard, Americas’ Sustainable Tourism Certi? cation Network and Europe’s Voluntary Initiatives for Sustainability in Tourism (Hammond, 2004).Similarly, obtaining these certi? cations also requires a signi? cant amount of resources and effort. The ? nancial tools – mainly collaboration between hotel and external parties including universities, governments, trade associations and green bodies – ascertained in these case studies can thus be applied when any organization plans to pursue these programs. Other than green certi? cation granted by ISO and Green Globe, the voluntary environment assessment scheme for hotels (Hong Kong Hotels Association, 2000) also receives a considerable amount of technical resources and research expertise.The scheme sets a scoring scheme in two areas. One is to consider actions by the hotels in endeavoring to reduce environmental impacts through more effective management and maintenance practice. The other is to assess the building facilities performance by referring to indoor environmental performance criteria, local codes of good practice and benchmarked energy and water consumption. As such, hotel’s collaboration with university staff in conducting research and applying for research funds as manifested in the studied cases may provide valuable and enormous assistance to attain a good scoring result.The lesson learnt from these cases reveal that trade association’s p articipation in environmental work cannot be neglected. The association in these cases not merely promoted the green activities by presenting environmental awards and organizing seminars but for instance also coordinated with enthusiastic hotels by arranging transport to ship all discarded bottles for recycling. Most importantly, the association also assisted in writing endorsement letters to apply for funds for creating a template for hotels to develop EMS according to ISO requirements.Thus, the association indeed provides a catalyst function to advance the function of EMS in the industry. Embedded in these supportive activities are enormous time and resources. On the other hand, the government also played an important role in the industry’s green environment, not just by creating environmental funds to assist the business. In fact, the government of? cials have always shared their experience on environmental work with the practitioners. In order to keep updating their envir onmental technology knowledge, the of? ials regularly liaise with manufacturers, professors and their colleagues in the environmental protection department as well as the engineering department. Without their endeavor in environmental improvement, the pace of environmental movement would de? nitely slow down. In the late 1990s, a survey conducted by the United Nations and the International Hotel Association identi? ed a lack of training resource as the major concern when introducing environmental matters in hotel management curricula.The French Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment together with some hotels have sponsored the production of teaching tools for environmental issues in hospitality curricula (United Nations Environmental Program, 2001). The Hong Kong and French government’s funding in these two cases further indicate the importance of government support in pursuit of sustainable tourism by the industry. In fact, besides funding, the government of? cials hav e always shared their experience on environmental work with practitioners and listen to environmental problems encountered by practitioners. This two-way communication also implies a signi? ant amount of time devoted by both parties. Thus, government’s active participation may hasten the pace of environmental change. Other than the above-mentioned stakeholders in the hotel industry’s pursuit of sustainable tourism development, green groups are also another major contributor. They often complement the university’s environmental research, and green groups have also conducted some environmental research which may, to a certain extent, be applicable to the hotel environment. For instance, Friends of the Earth has investigated disappearing timber in tropical rain forests in relation to buildings.