Monday, August 19, 2019
The Curse and Blessing of Montana :: Free Descriptive Essay About A Place
The Curse and Blessing of Montana Montana seems to be one of those states that most people either love or hate. It is so distinct from any other state that it is no wonder this is the case. Montana is in so many ways such a great state to live in, with a wide variety of recreation, hobbies, and other enjoyable pastimes; however, many problems plague the state, from its lack of modern conveniences to its poor job opportunities. What many people do not realize is how much these good and bad characteristics are related. There are innumerable examples of Montana's good qualities, far too many to name all of them, but several of these examples are the recreation, history and beauty of Montana. Recreation in Montana includes sports like biking, skiing, hiking, and a many more outdoor recreational activities. The wide open areas create almost endless possibilities for outdoor recreation, and the relatively small population decreases the clutter along lakes, trails, streams, and other venues for recreation. Also, the small population and large open spaces have a preserving effect on Montana's historical buildings, monuments, and other objects of historical significance and interest. Montana is able to keep these historical sites safe because demand for these sites both for industrialization and by the general population is not too great. The small population and large open areas also allow for a broad range of wildlife habitation, which is excellent for both recreational activities like hunting and fishi ng and for wildlife viewing. Montana's beautiful and varied landscapes are also remarkable to view. The towering, craggy mountains; vast, spectacular forests; massive, grassy plains; and numerous lakes, rivers, and streams, many of which are very sparsely populated, are magnificent to behold. All these pleasurable aspects of Montana are direct results of its generally rural environment and would not be possible without this characteristic. It is evident that those who love Montana are most likely in love with its rural setting. Most of the reasons people dislike Montana are also directly related to its ruralness. Some of these reasons include difficult access to conveniences taken for granted in many areas of the U.S., the complete absence of other conveniences, and limited job opportunities. Because Montana is rural, many businesses are only attracted to the larger cities within the state. Because of this, many Montanans not living in these places must drive longer distances than would normally be required in most states to reach these businesses.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Tianjin Industrial Clusters :: essays research papers
Industrial Clusters in Tianjin Area About Industrial Clusters†¦ Nowadays, market competition is gradually changing from comptetition between enterprises to competition between value chains and even competition between industrial clusters. The development of industrial clusters is a social process changing from production of Ford type to specialized production. State owned enterprises cooperate with foreign companies, together to lower costs and improve market reaction to become world wide competitive. Industrial Clusters in Tianjin Factors that have triggered the development Tianjin to become an Industrial Cluster: 1.     Development of state owned enterprises as foundation. 2.     Large number of existent trained skilled industrial technical workers. 3.     Created manufacturing industry culture. 4.     Created industrial atmosphere and institutional environment. Measures that need to be taken to move Tianjin to a better world wide position: 1.     Government should promote research and cooperation with universities and create research institutions. 2.     Improve infrastructure to attract laborforce and international management. 3.     Reform state owned companies, and law frame. 4.     Strive toward a â€Å"Made in China†name. Overview of the 4 main important Industrial Clusters: Electronic Information Remarks:     -High LQ, (LQ =Location Quote, comparative advantage criteria of a certain industry in a certain region)      -Mostly foreign owned. (USA, Korea, Japan Taiwan)                -Very good cooperation between companies along the supply chain. Major Players:          Motorola (63% of sales). Main Problems:     -Mostly foreign companies leads to funds dependency (90% foreign, national average 73%. -State owned companies have small scale, insufficient investment, slow speed development, weak competitive power, brain drain and lack inner motivation force. -R&D interaction between companies, universities and research institutes are not present.                Green Battery Remarks:          -Research, Development, Production Leader in China                -Strong cooperation with Universties                -Extense variety of products, Li-on, Ni-MH, Amorphic Silicon batteries. Major Players:           -Sanyo, Ltd Peace Bay Power, Tianjin Lishen Battery Ltd, Lantian Power. Main Problems:          -Industrial Chain needs further improvement                -Lack of innovation due to inadequate R&D compared worldwide                -High degree of automation, but low degree of flexibility                -Fewer types of products, high costs and slow speed to meet market needs. Automobiles Remarks:     -High Tax rate on imported automobiles has promoted the establishment of Auto Makers.      -Almost 100% dependent on Foreign funds      -Rapid market demand growth leads to push the development of the Auto Industry.      -Since China enter the WTO acquisitions and mergers have been very dynamic in this branch.      -More than 700 foreign funded companies manufacture automobile accessories in China. Major Players:      -Toyota, Tianjin Automobile Group (more than 50 small and medium enterprises), FAW Group
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Why Csr Is a Key Concern in Managing the Operations?
Explain why CSR is a key concern in managing the operations of a large business? Cadbury Corporate social responsibility is an important concern in managing the operation of a large business, as it integrates financial, social and environmental goals. Cadbury, an internationally well-known chocolate company, is now Fairtrade Certified, becoming easy for the consumers to recognise their products. And with this label, the company is now helping the Third World Producers by guaranteeing a better deal. These include the improvement in their financial, social and environmental performance.Being a Fairtrade Certified Company, Cadbury helps make a difference and provide better financial deals for the developing country farmers, producers and their community through the provision of a fair price. And this helps them protect themselves from damaging fluctuations in world market prices. Fairtrade is also the only system that provides farmers and the producers with an additional lump sum of mon ey for investment in social, economic and environmental development. These include, growing their business, investing in their communities by building schools, roads, hospitals etc.So when consumers buy Cadbury dairy milk chocolate, they are not only treating themselves, but at the same time helping improve the lives of Fairtrade farmers and their families in developing countries. This step is very valuable for their business to become known, encouraging customer awareness. It is Cadbury Schweppes's aim to help all the Cocoa farmers improve their social standard of living by helping them develop sustainable crops of quality beans. In Ghana, for example, where most of the cocoa is bought, the company supports farming communities through programs on tree crop management and building wells for drinking water.But it is not it, the Fairtrade also provides security to the farmers, provide good working conditions and support in gaining knowledge and skills to operate successfully in the gl obal economy. This assures their safety and a good social standard life. Cadbury also contributes to a better quality of life for the society by pursuing environmental awareness. Businesses nowadays are increasingly aware of the impact their decisions may have on the society and the environment. And therefore are aware of making decisions that are socially responsible.Some of the environmental responsibilities include; treating waste water prior to disposal, looking to improve energy efficiency, controlling the release of gases into the atmosphere and using environmentally sustainable farming methods. This not only helps the environmental aspect, but creates a good public image and encourages long-term profitability. Therefore CSR is a key concern is managing the operations of a large business, as it determines how consumers looks at the business, and whether the financial, social and environmental goals create a good impact for the business to work efficiently, grow and make a prof it out of it.
Economic factors affecting food choice Essay
The aim of this research is to find the economic factors that affect a person’s food choice for example the amount of disposable income, family size and spending patterns. This then helps us to decide a suitable dish for our chosen practical. This research helps understand the relationship between quality of diet and disposable income and how are eating patterns have changed from the past. Disposable income The amount of money left after tax and other deductions have been made is called the disposable income. The amount of money spent on food cooked at home has declined even though the disposable income has risen since the 1980s. Disposable income affects the food you eat because you tend to eat out more frequently, spend more money on premium ranges of ready prepared foods and shop at more expensive supermarkets and specialist shops if you have more disposable income. However families with less disposable income tend to spend more on convenience foods and snack foods. It takes careful budgeting and shopping around for cheaper prices to provide healthy meals for low income families. Family size and spending patterns Family size also affects how much you spend on food because declining family size and an increase in single person household has led to a change in patterns of spending on food as couples and single adult households spend more per person on food. Whereas due to larger families having young children with smaller appetites less is spent per person on food, also because less food is wasted in larger families. Larger families may also buy in bulk or shop around for cheaper prices or offers such as three for the price of two and buy one get one free. There is an increase in single person households because of an ageing population where there are more elderly people than young people in a population and due to more young, single people living alone.
Friday, August 16, 2019
Sox Research Paper
Running head: Nonprofits and SOX Heather Tanenbaum Student ID: 3750548620 Accounting Capstone: Senior Seminar in Accounting ACC499 004016 Summer 2009 Nonprofits and the Sarbanes Oxley Act Submitted: Submitted to: Tee M. Thein Table of Contents Abstract Introduction SOX regulations for nonprofits Reasons for nonprofits to adopt SOX Conclusion Research file memorandum Communication memorandum References Abstract Introduction The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 (U.S. House of Representatives 2002) was passed by congress as a result of a wave of accounting scandals and related financial irregularities in corporations such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. SOX is called the most significant securities legislation since 1933 and 1934 securities ACT. The Act attempted to make ethics more black and white rather than a gray area. The increased guidelines have changed businesses and business relationships.These new requirements have placed greater demands on directors, audit committees, auditors a nd management. Most, of these provisions where only made towards publicly held companies, similar regulations targeted nonprofit organizations (Panel on the Nonprofit Sector 2005). Two hundred and fifteen nonprofit organizations have voluntarily adopted provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Many, nonprofits are currently in the process of adopting SOX.The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector (2005), in its final report to Congress in June 2005, recommends more than 120 actions to be taken by charitable organizations, Congress and the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) to strength nonprofits against, transparency, governance and accountability. The most significant provision of the Act is the requirements in Section 404 the reporting on the effectiveness of internal controls over the financial reporting. PCAOB auditing standard 2 requires that the audit of internal control be integrated with the audit of the financial statements.The PCAOB requirements also only apply to public and private for profit companies, these would be new requirements for nonprofits wishing to adopt to SOX. The requirements of SOX section 404 requirements on internal controls have proven to be quite expensive for public companies (D’Aquila 2004; Pomeroy 2006), further research in to the current state of governance in the nonprofit sector would be beneficial before similar measures are mandated. Nonprofits have several reasons they might be compelled to adopt SOX provisions. First, several states are likely to emulate provisions similar to those of SOX.Some of these new laws incorporate elements of SOX including: expanding whistleblower protection, requiring officers of the organization to sign the corporation’s annual report, appointing an audit committee and increasing penalties against those who commit fraud or impede an investigation of fraud. California passed the Nonprofit Integrity Act in 2004. This Act addresses financial reporting, corporate governance, compensat ion, independence and fund raising (Silk and Fei 2005). New Hampshire requires audited financial statements for nonprofits with revenues greater than one million.Massachusetts, Connecticut and Kansas have similar requirements (Anderson and Kelley 2006). Second, unethical behavior seems as common in the nonprofit organizations as it does in the private sector. Recent scandals in nonprofit organizations such as: The NYSE, Upsala College, United Way and Education & Research Foundation, have had a negative effect on the public trust in their charitable organizations (Gibelman 1997). For nonprofits trust from the public is vital because the majority of their funds come from donors.SOX could result in more positive responses from donors, investors and future board members (Orlikoff and Totten 2004). Finally, some provisions of SOX already apply to nonprofits. Nonprofits must establish whistleblower protection and document destruction policies. Other provisions are inevitable, because of t he large amount of grants nonprofits receive which come with the own regulations and restrictions (BoardSource 2003). The purpose of this paper is to provide a reasonable understanding of how nonprofits have been affected by SOX. SOX regulations for nonprofitsSOX requires that companies have an audit committee that includes independent members and members of the board. SOX also requires the company to disclosure whether one of the internal auditor is a financial expert and whether they are directly responsible for overseeing the external auditors. This is to ensure that the financial statements are understand, that there is proper communication with the external auditors and that there is an understanding of internal controls. In order to enhance standards for nonprofit accountability and financial reporting all nonprofits should have an independent audit committee (BoardSource 2003).Sox requires that nonprofits disclose whether a code of ethics has been adopted for senior financial officers. If they do not have a code of ethics reasons for not having one have to be disclosed. This is to encourage the development of a code of ethics in order to enhance trustworthiness to contributors and other constituents. The whistleblower protection policy applies to nonprofits as well as for profit organizations. This regulation protects whistleblowers from special damages and attorney’s fees. It also, prohibits the employer from punishing the whistleblower in any manner.SOX provides additional protection for whistleblowers by, instating criminal penalties for actions taken against whistleblowers. Nonprofits should develop confidential and anonymous procedures for handling employee complaints. Although the CEO and CFO do not need to sign financial statements they do need to understand them and ensure that they are fairly presented in all materially respects. The responsibility for approving the financial statements ultimately belongs to the board of directors. Secti on 404 of SOX requires companies to include an internal controls report along with their annual report.Their internal control report should state the responsibility of management to establish and maintain an internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting. It should also contain, an assessment at the end of the most recent fiscal year as to the effectiveness of internal controls and the procedures for financial reporting (O’Hare 2002; BoardSource 2003; Walters 2003; Tran 2005). SOX requires auditors of public companies to prepare and maintain audit workpapers and other information related to any report in sufficient detail to support the auditors conclusions, for a period not less than seven years.Failing to do so is a criminal offence subject to fines and up to ten years in prison. Existing standards for audits of nonprofits do not include a mandated audit documentation retention period. Instead, those standards require nonprofits and auditors to retain rec ords long enough to sastify any pertinent legal requirements of record retention. Reasons for nonprofits to adopt SOX Larger organizations with more resources will be more likely to adopt SOX. The public and media are more likely to be harsher on larger nonprofits, which makes them more likely to have stronger governance mechanisms.The board of directors have the ultimate responsibility of overseeing proper financial statement presentation (BoardSource 2003; Walters 2003). Research on the relationship between board size and firm value has had mixed results. Yermack (1996) provides evidence that smaller boards are associated with a higher firm value. In 2008, Coles find that are diversified among industries or have high leverage, are more likely to benefit from a larger board of directors. Corporate governance characteristics, have been shown to be related to the size of the board.Bradbury (1990) finds board size and intercompany ownership to be determinants of voluntary audit commit tees in public companies. In another study shows that larger boards are more likely to create audit committee boards (Beasley, Salterio, 2001). In a NASDAQ over the counter study done by Pincus (1989), he found that managerial ownership, leverage, size of the company, proportion of outside directors to total directors, use of Big 8 auditors and participation in the National Market System are related to voluntary formation of audit committees.As a result as the size of the board of directors of a nonprofit increases, so does the likely hood that they will voluntarily adopt SOX. Nonprofits with independent boards of directors are also more likely to adopt SOX. The main reasons nonprofits would voluntarily adopt SOX would be to increase the trust in the public in order to receive more funds. However some nonprofits, feel that the provisions in SOX burden the nonprofits so much that it is beneficial not to adopt SOX.These nonprofits strongly believe that SOX should not be required for n onprofits for the following reasons: †¢ One, nonprofits are grassroots organizations with small staffs and have boards filled with community- minded people with little or no business and management background. If SOX was required out of these nonprofits, the staff would be overwhelmed, along with the board and it would take away from the nonprofits primary mission. †¢ Two, nonprofits are already held to higher standards by the public then private or government agencies because, if the public doesn’t trust the organization they won’t donate their money.Also, nonprofits receive a large portion of their funds from government grants which are held to strict oversight and laws and regulations. †¢ Three, certain regulations of SOX will increase overhead costs and make the nonprofits look less efficient to contributors. On the other hand, by voluntarily adopting SOX, nonprofits are showing to the public that they are concerned about protecting funds, increasing operating efficiency and effectiveness, also enhancing accountability. Conclusion Research file memorandum Communication memorandum References Anderson, S. , and C. L. Kelley. 2006.Advising nonprofit organizations. The CPA Journal 76 (8): 20-26. Beasley, M. S. , and S. E. Salterio. 2001. The relationship between board characteristics and voluntary improvements in audit committee composition and experience. Contemporary Accounting Research 18 (Winter): 539-570. BoardSource. 2003. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and implications for nonprofit organizations. Available at: http://www. boardsource. org/clintfiles/Sarbarnes-Oxley. pdf. Bradbury, M. E. 1990. The incentives for voluntary audit committee formation. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 9 (1): 19-36. Broude, P.D. 2006. The impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on private & nonprofit companies. Foley and Lardner, LLP. Available at: http://www. foley. com/publications/pub_detail. aspx? puibid=3511. Coles, J. L. , D. D. Naveen, and L. Naveen. 2008 . Boards: Does one size fit all? Journal of Financial Economics 87 (2): 329-356 D’Aquila, J. M. 2004. Tallying the cost of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The CPA Journal 74 (11): 6-9. Gibelman, M. , S. Gelman, and D. Pollack. 1997. The credibility of nonprofit boards: A view from the 1990s and beyond. Administration in Social Work 21 (2): 21-39. Grant Thornton LLP. 2006.Grant Thornton National Board governance survey for not-for-profit organizations. Available at: http://www. granthornton. com/staticfiles/GTCom/files/Industries/NotForProfit/nfp_board1. pdf. GuideStar. 2005. Nonprofits, Sarbanes-Oxley, and the states. Available at: http://www. guidestar. org/DisplayArticle. do? articleId=779. Hempel, J. , and A. Borrus. 2004. Now the nonprofits need cleaning up; Cozy boardrooms at colleges and charities face increasing government scrutiny. BusinessWeek (June 21): 107. Hymowitz, C. 2005. The Sarbanes-Oxley era, running a nonprofit is only getting harder.Wall Street Journal (June 21): B1. O’Hare, P. 2002. Sarbanes-Oxley raises red flag for not-for-profits. Healthcare Financial Management 56 (10): 42-44. O’Regan, K. , and S. M. Oster. 2005. Does the structure and composition of the board matter? The case of nonprofit organizations. Journal of Law Economics and Organization 21 (1): 205-227. Orlikoff, J. , and M. Totten. 2004. Applying for-profit governance reforms. Healthcare Executive 19 (3): 52. Panel in the Nonprofit Sector. 2005. Strengthening transparency, governance and accountability of charitable organizations. Available at:
Thursday, August 15, 2019
What is the impact of the Lord of the Rings on New Zealand’s Tourism industry?
Introduction During a more relaxed PBL session in a prior module, the tutor presented a safety instructional video from Air New Zealand to the group. In this video the actors were all dressed up as figures from the famous Lord of the Rings movies. Ever since, the author of this proposal confronted himself with the question how exactly New Zealand's tourism industry is influenced by the aforementioned phenomenon. There already has been quite some research on the movie induced tourism of New Zealand. However, whether it brings lasting economy growth to New Zealand's tourism industry, is an issue barely covered.Thus, this assignment will attempt to answer the question: What is the impact of the Lord of the Rings on New Zealand's Tourism industry from the release in 2001 till the year 2016? First, the paper will begin with defining what film induced tourism is and why it is an option for New Zealand's tourism industry. This is done to create a basic understanding of the subject. After th at the question will be answered how â€Å"The Lord of the Rings†is used for marketing purposes and the degree of dependency on this marketing form.In return that will lead to the third item of this paper, the customer satisfaction level of movie tourists. This is also relevant for evaluating the efficiency of the marketing efforts. Lastly the impact of movie-induced tourism on New Zealand's economy will be discussed. That is necessary to predict future developments and the fortitude of the impact on industry. Body Before the impacts of film-induced tourism on New Zealand can be discussed, an understanding of what Film-induced tourism is and why it exists has to be provided.The origins of the modern tourism form lie in the late 18th century. Ever since the eras of romanticism and storm and stress, fictional stories and characters influenced the being and desires of its consumers. As common knowledge, the novel â€Å"The Sorrows of Young Werther†, for instance, resu lted in a phenomenon referred to as â€Å"Werther-fever†. The audience celebrated the hero of the novel by dressing up identical to the main character; reading circles were found and festivals with Werther themes were held.However, the most remarkable of all events associated with the Werther-fever were the journeys to Switzerland, undertaken by many enthusiasts of the Goethe novel. Readers felt the need to experience the described scenery of the Swiss alps in person. This occurrence is transferable to the fantasy literature success, The Lord of the Rings. The fantasy novel caused fan clubs, fan art and some even learned the languages used by certain characters in the books. Despite the popularity of the trilogy, written by J. R. R.Tolkien, the relevance of the novel for New Zealand would have been of no significance, if the movie industry had not made the decision to produce a movie series transferring the story from paper on to the screen. In addition Tolkien is not direct ly connected to the country. Director Peter Jackson, a New Zealander himself, brought the production to his native land. Once the audience was confronted with the movies, showing New Zealand's' landscapes as breathtaking scenery of â€Å"Middle Earth†, the bases for film-induced tourism was laid.In 2004, The third part of the series, â€Å"The Return of the King†, won 11 Oscars, exposing the landscapes of New Zealand to approximately 200 million viewers worldwide. (Carl, Kindon & Smith 2007) Following the logic of the aforementioned matter, movie-induced tourism simply is on-location tourism that relates to a successful movie. Thus, the term can be widened to film-induced tourism, taking television, DVD and other mediums into account. (Beeton 2005)Nonetheless, film induced tourism is not restricted to only one form. There are two main forms: On-Location tourism and Off-Location tourism.On-location tourism includes all activities that are related directly to the film lo cation. Therefore it can have different characteristics. As portrayed by Sue Beeton, movie tourism can be the main reason to travel to a certain destination. Nevertheless, the participation in movie related tourism activities can also only be one of various events during a holiday. The same applies to off-location tourism which ,in contrast to on-location tourism, covers all film touristic activities not related to the film location, such as studio theme parks or studio tours. (Beeton 2005)Since it is now established what film induced tourism is and why it works for New Zealand, it is necessary to determine the degree of influence of The Lord of the Rings on destination marketing. The Importance of the movies to not only the tourism industry but the country as a whole becomes obvious when reckoning that already in 2001, when the first movie was released, a â€Å"Minister of the Rings†was announced, by the government to optimize the profits gained from the movies to nation in a holistic approach.Therefore, the minister not only managed the film-induced tourism related issues but also in terms of the film industry and connected employment. (Beeton 2005) Though this may seem to be a drastic measure on first sight, it quickly becomes evidence of wise foresight. In Forbes online magazine Gregg Anderson, general manager of western long haul markets for Tourism New Zealand, stated: â€Å"We’ve seen a 50% increase in arrivals to New Zealand since Lord of the Rings†(Pinchefsky 2012) This increase is the result of various promotion efforts that include official government initiatives as well.During the time period of 2001 to 2004, more than 20 million $NZ were spent on promotion related to the trilogy. The destination marketing, of public and private entities was executed on all four levels: National, local, individual and media. Activities ranged from releasing themed stamps, setting up Lord of the rings tourism websites, renaming street names (Gandalf street),over specialized guidebooks, to reports on world premiers. After Pinchefsky, even â€Å"†¦ New Zealand Custom Service currently stamps visitor’s passports with a â€Å"Welcome to Middle Earth†stamp.†(Pinchefsky 2012)Another key player giving in to the trend towards film based marketing is Air New Zealand. The air carrier uses safety instructional videos with a Lord of the rings theme. Further, in 2004 several air craft's were painted with characters and scenes from the movies and the pilots welcomed passenger in Wellington with: â€Å"Welcome to Middle Earth†. Overall film induced marketing was a successful approach to increase the exposure of New Zealand as a tourism destination.According to Tourism New Zealand, New Zealand's national tourism board, 87 percent of potential customers considering a trip to the country were familiar with the fact, that the trilogy was filmed in New Zealand. In contrast to that, in the year 2004, tourists who came to the destination primarily motivated to participate in film induced tourism, only made up one percent of all travelers entering the country. Though one percent does not appear to be a significant number, it translates into NZ$32. 8milion of tourist spending. Six percent acknowledged the movies to be one of their main reasons for traveling to New Zealand. (Tourism New Zealand n. d. ) As a result, that means 94% of the tourists posses a secondary or no interest in New Zealand's film tourism.The conclusion deriving from that circumstance is essential. Despite using Jackson's movies for a broad range of promotional tools, the tourism industry is not solely relying on them. This can be demonstrated with the following example: Approximately 30 percent of New Zealand's territory consists of protected parks with hiking trails in most of them. The responsible institution for the parks is the Department of Conservation. It solely promotes the protected area for common purp oses such as hiking or walking. Thus â€Å"The Lord of the Rings†is consciously excluded in promotional activities to protect the environment.Simultaneously this helps remaining the image of the country being a destination for outdoor adventure travel. (Beeton 2005 p. 82) In addition, Tourism New Zealand promotes the destination with the slogan: â€Å"100% pure New Zealand†, emphasizing on natural beauty and cultural heritage. After having established that New Zealand's tourism industry can and actively promotes its offerings to tourists around the globe, the efficiency of the practiced movie brand marketing has to be determined. This can be achieved by regarding the site sacralization as an indicator for the effectiveness of using Tolkien's fantasy story for promotion purposes.The site sacralization theory classically describes four phases; naming, framing and elevation, mechanical reproduction and social reproduction. ( MacCannell 1999) Since the lord of the ring si tes are not naturally developed but a product of transitioning fictional places and items to reality, the theory has to be adjusted. The naming is already given through the story itself. Further, the second phase of framing and elevation is completed. Tourist attractions such as â€Å"Hobbiton†stand out being staged as a meaningful subject of its own.In case of the mechanical reproduction, meaning that the attraction is materialized and sold as for example a souvenir, it has to be understood, that there is also merchandize not related to New Zealand. The Lord of the Rings is a brand producing figures, cosplay and much more. Since the film locations and set are part of the merchandize product, the mechanical reproduction of many film-induced tourism sites mixes with the Lord of the Rings brand. The consequence is a blur of the boundary between fictional place and real tourism attraction. Therefore the last phase, social reproduction, is only reached partly. The nature of t he final phase is that it lets the attraction identify itself as the destination.In other words, the attraction is noticed as identical to the destination. The consequence is, that tourists visit a tourism simply for the attraction, not the destination including the site. The positive aspect of that condition is the large exposure of the attraction to potential visitors. New Zealand's destination marketing managed to benefit from the incompleteness of the social reproduction in two ways. Firstly, those who identify the tourism sites, and therefore New Zealand as a whole, with the scenes of â€Å"The Lord of the Rings†will directly react to promotion measures embracing fan culture.Secondly, for all others the movies will act as an ambassador for the country as destination itself with its natural beauty. Therefore, using destination marketing based on the movie is highly sufficient, as long as the trilogy is present in the heads of the people. This will not be an issue for the next two decades, as the prequel to the Lord of the Rings, â€Å"The Hobbit†, premiered in early 2013. The Hobbit will be a trilogy as well. As any business in the tertiary sector might agree with, maintaining customers is more efficient then attracting new ones. Thus customer satisfaction is an elementary aspect to every business.For New Zealand's film-induced tourism that raises the question of how tourists experience sites and whether they are satisfied. The difficulty lies in the fact that most backdrops used for the movies have been edited and the tourists experience of the attraction interferes with the experience of the watching the movie. In return that might cause dissatisfaction, if the imagined experience differs significantly from the actual experience. (Carl, Kindon & Smith 2007) Karl, Kindon and Smith analyzed three tours specialized in activities related to â€Å"The Lord of the Rings†. Those tours included film sets and pure scenery used for backdrops. The conclusion drawn was that the vast majority of the tourists was satisfied with the experience. In most cases expectations were met or even exceeded. Further, it was argued, that success and satisfaction level for activities, connected to scenery only, depend heavily on the performance of the tour guides presenting the attraction. Therefore, the quality of the products offered by New Zealand's film-induced tourism is difficult to evaluate. On a macro level â€Å"The Lord of the Rings†, is absolutely suited for film induced tourism. There are three qualities a film has to posses in order to be successfully used for film tourism.Those are: uniqueness, status and timely significance. The trilogy inherits all three qualities. It is a unique film experience on the verge of becoming an all time classic. Moreover, it has a high status as a movie setting new standards to its time and winning 11 Oscars. Lastly the movie was shot to a time where the aftermath of the 11th September a ttacks led to a war against terror. The story of the trilogy contains similar elements of good versus evil, which made it almost a metaphor for the historical developments at the time. The result was â€Å"The Lord of the Rings†as a part of pop culture.The intermediary result from the aforementioned issues lead to the conclusion, that Tourists participating in film-induced tourism related to Jacksons movies, are majorly satisfies with the provided experience. This is also conditioned by the quality of the trilogy itself. To be able to indicate the impact the movies had on the economy in the past and what the future might look like, economic statistics have to be critically reviewed. An intricacy is the limited amount of film-induced tourism data available. Hence it will be attempted to draw conclusions from the existing general tourism data.Last year, tourism generated a direct contribution to New Zealand's' GDP of $6. 2 billion, or 3. 3 percent of the total GDP. (Statistics New Zealand 2012) As already stated before, one percent of the tourists in 2004 named The Lord of the rings as the main reason to have chosen New Zealand's as travel destination. Another six percent named it to be one of their main reasons. Thus it could be assumed that those six percent directly are responsible for the same percentage of the tourism GDP equaling $370 million. The tourism industry provides 6. 2 percent of the national employment. (Statistics New Zealand 2012)That makes tourism the second biggest industry after dairy, which demonstrates the importance of the sector to the country. The annual tourism expenditures can be used to indicate the immediate influence of the trilogy on the industry. Especially the expenditure of international tourists increased explicitly, c, one year after the premier of the final part of the trilogy. Though the higher expenditure is not necessarily combined with film tourism attractions, the great exposure of the destinations scenery in the movies, obviously had an effect on the higher expenditure, which is also related to the higher amount of travelers.The number of international visitors rose from approximately 1. 800. 000 in the millennium year to more than 2. 370. 000 in the year 2005. ( TRADING ECONOMICS n. d. ) For the future, the Ministry of Tourism forecasted 3. 12 million visitor annually by 2016. This forecast appears to be reasonable as the prequel to The lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, premiered in November 2012, with two more episodes to come. This is likely to cause an increase in brand exposure and therefore another growth in tourist arrivals similar to the development of the time frame 2001-2005.Taking the above mentioned numbers and statistics into account, it can be concluded, that film-induced tourism has a positive impact on the entire economy of New Zealand, though the precise details are difficult to attain, due to lack of research and data in the field. Most likely, this trend will be continu ed during the next decade.Conclusion Having demonstrated the issues related to the question :†What is the impact of the Lord of the Rings on New Zealand's Tourism industry from the release in 2001 till the year 2016?†, the following conclusion can be drawn: Film-induced tourism contains on-location and of-location activities related to successful films or movies. It's origins lie in the literature tourism of the late 18th century, during the eras of romanticism and storm and stress. Further, The Lord of the Rings as opportunity for New Zealand's tourism industry was not relevant before the countries scenery was chosen for the trilogy's backdrop. Moreover, the Tourism board of New Zealand, Tourism New Zealand, and private businesses fully embraced the Lord of the Rings as marketing opportunity.Hence, the film-induced destination marketing of public and private entities was executed on all four levels: National, local, individual and media. The usage of Jacksons movies for promotion purposes was a success, considering that 87 percent of all people considering New Zealand as a destination, were familiar with the fact that the country served as film location. Further, the country is not solely relying on film-induced marketing as it benefits from the only partly reached fourth phase of the site sacralization process. As it is an essential element for long lasting customer relationships customer satisfaction is a significant issue.The majority of travelers participating in film tourism related activities was satisfied. In general expectations were met or even exceeded, depending on the degree of imagined experience influenced by the movies. That is why tour guides contribute a considerably to customer satisfaction. Lastly the impact of film-induced tourism on the overall economy is not completely researched. Never the less it represents about 6% of the tourism GDP. In addition the visitor numbers and tourism expenditure has increased drastically duri ng the time The Lord of the Rings ran in theaters.International tourism spending rose from $6,398 million in 2001 to $8,619 million in 2005. For 2016 the amount of visitors was forecasted to 3,2 million. As a result it is most likely that film induced tourism will be growing similar to the growth between 2001-2005. This is supported by the prequel â€Å"The Hobbit†that premiered November 2012. Taking all the aforementioned data into account, it can be stated that â€Å"The Lord of the Rings†and its prequel will have a lasting positive effect on New Zealand's Tourism economy, for at least, the next decade.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Narcotics Anonymous Essay
Specific Purpose: I will inform my audience about Narcotics Anonymous. Central Idea: Narcotics Anonymous is a worldwide self-help organization that has been around for many years and continues to impact our society. Introduction Attention Getter: Imagine 60,000 people in one city, all dealing with the same problem, addiction. According to an article written by Carter M. Yang for ABC news on March 14th of this year, there are 60, 000 people in Baltimore alone that are addicted to illicit drugs. These numbers are disheartening and unfortunate. I can relate to every one of these people struggling with substance abuse, because I am an addict. A program called Narcotics Anonymous has helped me stay clean for the last two years. Narcotics Anonymous is a worldwide self-help fellowship that has been around for many years and has an impact on our society. Preview: First, I will discuss general information about Narcotics Anonymous, then the development of Narcotics Anonymous, followed by how this organization impacts our society. I. Narcotics Anonymous is a worldwide fellowship most people are unaware exists. A. Narcotics Anonymous is a 12 step non-profit program that helps people struggling with substance abuse change their lives. 1. Meetings are the foundation of the fellowship. a. Meetings are held when addicts come together to share their experiences and troubles. b. Meetings take place in a safe environment, such as hospitals, churches, and institutions. c. According to an article from the National Center for Biotechnology Information written by William White, and Dr. John Kelly who did thorough research at a conference held on September 25, 2009, titled _How AA and NA Work: Cross-disciplinary perspectives_, three or more AA/NA meetings per week are optimal and associated with complete abstinence. c. Also stated by the same authors, even one or two meetings per week also increase the probability for long term abstinence. d. Diversity is also embraced in meetings, because although members may be different they all share a common voice. 2. Another aspect of this support group is sponsorship. Sponsorship is a personal and private relationship that varies in nature. A sponsor is a member of the fellowship, living the program of recovery, who is willing to build a special, supportive, one-on-one relationship with newer members. Sponsors can help guide other recovering addicts through times of need and give them advice on how to continue through hardships without using drugs or alcohol. Stated in the Basic Text, sponsorship is the heartbeat of the fellowship. 3. The Basic Text states that â€Å"If you want what we have to offer and are willing to make the effort to get it than you are willing to take certain steps. These are the principles that made our recovery possible.†a. This fellowship is based on 12 different steps and each one relevant in the recovery process. b. The 12 steps are a way for addicts to figure out who they are, why they are addicts, and how the 12 step fellowship can help. d. One condensable way to describe what these steps can do is stated from a website formed by members working through Narcotics Anonymous World Services, â€Å"These steps include admitting there is a problem, seeking help, developing a spiritual self, confidential self-disclosure, making amends where harm has been done, and working with other drug addicts who want to recover.†Transition: Now that I have discussed what Narcotics Anonymous is, I will give some history of Narcotics Anonymous. II. Narcotics Anonymous started as a small US organization that has grown into one of the world’s oldest and largest international programs of its type. A. Narcotics Anonymous has been around since the late 1940s and over a period of time has developed into a notorious global community. 1. It was extremely difficult for addicts to find help, especially in the 1930s and 1940s. a. Searches, harassment and incarceration were normal for addicts, and even doctors trying to help addicts at this time. b. Many soldiers came back from World War II and Vietnam (59 to 75) with addictions to habit forming drugs including alcohol, tobacco, nicotine and heroin. c. At this time in the U.S very few addicts had proven solutions until the formation of NA. 2. Narcotics Anonymous was derived from another well know fellowship called Alcoholics Anonymous. a. The 12 steps and 12 traditions laid a foundation for the early members of NA struggling with addictive substances other than alcohol. b. Houston Montgomery, a member of AA, had a difficult time helping a man with an addiction to multiple substances. The other man could stop drinking, but was unable to stop using drugs. c. Houston thought that it was important to form a group for those with specific drug problems. 3. According to a book written by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, called _The Birth of Narcotics Anonymous_, the Narco group was created in 1947 allowing a group of addicts to meet in Lexington Kentucky. a. The Narco group was later developed into Narcotics Anonymous by a man named Jimmy K. b. The first NA meeting was in Southern California in a church basement. c. Different books and pieces of literature were published at this time. d. In the late fifties the first piece of NA literature was published in order to help addicts identify if they belonged in the program. Transition Narcotics Anonymous has had a long history, bringing me to explain how NA has an impact on today’s society. C. According to the National Institute of Drug abuse, over 600 billion dollars in spent annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity and healthcare due to abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. Narcotics Anonymous helps to bring these numbers down by helping those addicted. 1. The Narcotics Anonymous World Services clearly states that this program is not affiliated with other organizations including other self-help fellowships, treatment centers, or correctional facilities. a. Not only is NA a non-affiliated program but it is also fully self- supporting, declining all outside contributions. b. Narcotics Anonymous helps recovering addicts, but it does so without the need of nonmember’s money or endorsement. c. Recovering addicts donate money inside meetings in order to support rent for meeting places, literature and other expenses to keep the fellowship running. 2. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Narcotics Anonymous offers an added layer of community-level social support to help people in recovery with abstinence and other healthy lifestyle goals. a. Family relationships are reestablished once a member utilizes the fellowship and finds a new way to live. b. The official Narcotics Anonymous website states in a survey taken in 2011, 95% of NA members stated that their family relationships had drastically improved. c. These improvements in family relationships help create better home lives, communities and social atmospheres for members and nonmembers alike. 3. When those with addiction begin to follow the 12 steps, they also become better employees. a. In the same survey, 61% of NA members stated they were employed full time and 10% employed part time and the other percent were home makers, retired, unemployed or students. b. Too many times those struggling with addiction are unemployable or unable to function in everyday society. c. Narcotics Anonymous helps people become responsible and productive members of the community and world around us. Conclusion Summary: Today, I spoke on general information about Narcotics Anonymous, the history of the fellowship, and the impact Narcotics Anonymous has on our society. Closure: After thinking about 60,000 people struggling with addiction, I can now give you a much greater and more enlightening number. According to the Faces and Voices of Recovery organization website, there is an estimated 23 million Americans that are in recovery from alcohol and other drugs. In conclusion, Narcotics Anonymous is an organization worldwide, created to help those struggling with substance abuse. This organization has been around for over 60 years, and has helped many people. Narcotics Anonymous has an impact on people everywhere by teaching addicts how to become normal, productive members of our society. Bibliography Narcotics Anonymous World Service Office,. _It works: How and Why_. 1993. 159. Print. Narcotics Anonymous World Service Office, . _Miracles Happen: The Birth of Narcotics Anonymous in Words and Pictures_. Canada: 2002. Print. Services, N. A. W. , and W. S. Office. _Narcotics anonymous_. 6th. Van Nuys: World Service Office, 2008. 17,27. print. Services, N. A. W. , and W. S. Office. _Sponsorship_. Information Packet #11. Van Nuys: World Service Office, 2005. Yang, Carter M.. â€Å"ABC News.†_Part 1: Baltimore is the U.S heroin capital_. ABC News, 14 Mar 2014. Web. 6 Apr 2014. . â€Å"Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction.†_NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse: The Science of Drug Abuse and Addiction_. National Institute on Drug Abuse, n.d. Web. 6 Apr 2014. . â€Å"Trends and Statistics.†_NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse: The Science of Drug Abuse and Addiction_. National Institute on Drug Abuse, n.d. Web. 6 Apr 2014. . â€Å"Narcotics Anonymous World Service.†_Information about NA: Public Relations_. Narcotics Anonymous, 01 Jan 2012. Web. 6 Apr 2014.
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