7 Bioteknologi og genteknologi Essays - , Term Papers

7 : Bioteknologi og genteknologi 7:1 Bioteknologi og genteknologi Levende organismer og DNA er verktoy I tusenvis av ar har vi brukt mikroorganismer until a fa brod until a heve og a lage ost, until gjaring av ol og vin og until produksjon av surmelk produkter. Dette kalles bioteknologi, og har pagatt I mange tusenvis av ar. Bioteknologi brukes for alt der vi bruker mikroorganismer, planteceller eller dyreceller until a lage produkter som er nyttige eller nodvendige for oss. Tradisjonell jordbruk og fiske regnes ikke som bioteknologi. Genteknologi - bioteknologi medications nye muligheter Fra gammelt av har vi valgt ut de individene medications onskede egenskaper og bruke disse individene until avl, dette er cave tradisjonelle metoden for an endre egenskapene until grower og dyr. Denne metoden tar lang tid og light presise. I midten av 1970-arene har forskerne lart an arbeide direkte drug gener. De har kartlagt arvestoffet DNA, men ogsa metoder som gjor det mulig a klippe og lime gener. Dad denne maten har de kunne gi mikroorganismer, grower og dyr helt nye eller forsterke egenskaper. Dette er eksempler dad det vi kaller genteknologi. Genmodifiserte organismer, GMO, er organismer som har fatt endret eller fatt nye gener. Hvis disse nye genene som er satt hotel kommer fra andre arter kaller vi det transgenene organismer. Moderne bioteknologi er metoder eller fagomrader der genteknologi inngar I storre eller mindre amazing. F.eks. stamcelleforsknong, kloning, kartlegging av gener, ulike metoder for kunstig stamcelleforskning og produksjon av legemidler og vaksiner. 67310850900184150202565 Genteknologi: Genteknologi er teknikker det man isolerer og kartlegger DNA modifiserer (forandrer) gener. Klipper ut og flytter gener fra en organisme until en annen og far dem until a virke der. Bioteknologi: Bioteknologi er all teknologien som bruker levende celler until a lage produkter.Moderne bioteknologi er et samlebegrep dad fagomrader og metoder der genteknologi inngar I storre eller mindre gras. Genmodifisert organisme, GMO:organismer som har fatt forandret dad genene sine eller fatt satt hotel nye gener, kaller vi genmodifiserte organismer 0 Genteknologi: Genteknologi er teknikker det man isolerer og kartlegger DNA modifiserer (forandrer) gener. Klipper ut og flytter gener fra en organisme until en annen og far dem until a virke der. Bioteknologi: Bioteknologi er all teknologien som bruker levende celler until a lage produkter.Moderne bioteknologi er et samlebegrep dad fagomrader og metoder der genteknologi inngar I storre eller mindre gras. Genmodifisert organisme, GMO:organismer som har fatt forandret dad genene sine eller fatt satt hotel nye gener, kaller vi genmodifiserte organismer Etikk og lovverk - det dreier seg om hvor grensen gar Genteknologien gir oss mange nye muligheter. Men ogsa mange nye sporsmal som vi mama ta stilling until. Muligheten for at ny viten skal misbrukes. Regjeringen har opprettet et radgivende organ som skal treffe kloke valg, dette radet kalles bioteknologiradet. De vurderer faglige, etiske, miljomessige og sikkerhetsmessige sporsmal knyttet until moderne bioteknologi. Det er sarlig to darling som er viktige for hvordan vi arbeider drug moderne bioteknologi I Norge: Genteknologiloven regulerer framstillingen og bruk av genmodifiserte organismer. Bioteknologiloven handler om a sikre at medisinsk bruk av bioteknologi blir utnyttet until beste for alle mennesker. Bioteknologi blir regulert av mange andre darling ogsa, for eksempel naringsmiddelloven og lov om dyrevern. 7:2 Genmodifiserte organismer Nye egenskaper dad nye mater Bakterier var de forste organismene som fikk overfort nye gener, fordi de formerer seg raskt og er derfor lette a jobbe drug, og er derfor brukt mye innenfor genteknologien. Det er ogsa fordi det ikke er sa mange dissenter quip a forske dad disse organismene. Teknikken Forskerne bruker nar de overforer gener until et organisme, kaller vi genspleising. Genspleisingenes verktoy - plasmider, enzymer og bakterier 7:5 DNA-analyser, gentester og genterapi Medisinsk bruk av genteknologi Et menneske har litt more than 20 000 gener. Det er uncovered en liten del av DNA-et som virker som gener og bestemmer egenskapene vare. Vi vet ikke sikkert hva resten gjor. Disse delene av DNA-molekylene har sma omrader, fingeravtrykk, som varierer mye fra craftsmanship until workmanship og fra individ until individ. Analyser av dette DNA-et blir brukt until an identifisere personer og organismer. En annen type DNA-analyzer er analyser av genene vare. Sanne gentester kan etterhvert fortelle oss mye om zzaA Sporsmal: 7:1 Bioteknologi og genteknologi Hva bruker vi mikroorganismer til?Hevemiddel I brod, lage ost, gjaring av ol og vin, until a lage surmelks produkter. Er bioteknologi noe som

'An emissions trading scheme is a better policy instrument than a Essay

'An emanations exchanging plan is a superior approach instrument than a carbon charge in handling environmental change.' Critically evaluat - Essay Example Two of the most generally acknowledged instruments in such manner are: ‘Emissions Trading Scheme’ and ‘Carbon Tax’ (Van Asselt, 2010, p.126). Them two are being used by the legislature so as to decrease poisonous discharge in the regular habitat. Be that as it may, the administration has just constrained the measure of outflows instead of fathoming this issue from the roots. Discharges exchanging plan permits the enterprises to discharge a specific measure of toxins in to the air. It is essentially a market based methodology which is bolstered by financial motivators (Cass, 2005, 38). At the point when a firm effectively decreases its emanation of toxins then it is no doubt esteemed by the legislature. As opposed to this the carbon charge is a minor evaluating technique as per which family units and firms are upheld to control contamination with the execution of different innovations and estate. For this situation the organizations need to pay a specific mea sure of assessment due to consuming petroleum derivatives or causing gas contamination (Eckersley, 2010, p. 367). This paper intends to fundamentally assess the viability and productivity of both the contamination controlling techniques while supporting the case that emanations exchanging plan

my application essays

my application essays Its been four years since I applied to MIT, and while Ive been irrevocably changed in many ways (my meme game has improved exponentially), I am sadly still 52. Thats 157 cm, for the 95.7% of humans who dont reside in America. Autumn came late this year; the leaves are only now ripening. The sky is full-bellied with sunshine. Still, were on the verge of November, and Im reminiscing about my own early action application. Heres what I wrote about, and what I would change if I could do it all over again. Of course, this is only one approach to the essays. The most important thing is to be true to yourself. We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. (100 words or fewer) I wrote this essay about K-pop. However, before I wrote about K-pop, I considered writing about a myriad of other things. I posted to College Confidential, asking which topic would best showcase my abilities, and promptly got roasted for trying to turn this essay into another opportunity to humblebrag. Lesson learned. Its actually okay to do things for fun, guys. I still love K-pop; however, I could also see current-me writing an essay about memes or naps. I didnt truly appreciate the value of either of these things until I got to college. Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why? (100 words or fewer) I initially misunderstood this question and wrote about wanting to help out with the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament, which I participated in during high school. Then my dad was like, Im pretty sure they mean an  academic  program, and I wrote a new essay, which you can read below: With passion for both English and mathematics, I’m drawn to MIT’s unique writing department, which offers both creative and science writing. I’m particularly interested in 21W.742[J] Writing about Race and 21W.032 Science Writing and New Media. In my own work, I examine an Asian-American narrative often marginalized in the media; these courses would allow me to explore new ways of bringing visibility to this identity. In addition, I want to study the roles writing can play outside of literature and learn how I can meld my interests to do something that will make an impact. In retrospect, this essay couldve focused more on why I particularly wanted to study at  MIT. I didnt look at the course catalog too carefully. I simply pulled the titles of some classes that sounded interesting and relevant. Perhaps similar courses are offered at other schools; I shouldve researched more about what made MIT unique. (Current-me can confirm MIT does have a pretty kick-ass writing department.) At MIT, we bring people together to better the lives of others. MIT students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way in which you have contributed to your community, whether in your family, the classroom, your neighborhood, etc. (200-250 words) I wrote about organizing my schools Harvard-MIT Math Tournament team and about starting an online writing mentorship program. Current-me wants to be obnoxious and point out that leading is not necessarily the same as contributing, but to seventeen-year-old Rona, these examples were the most obvious ones to write about, even if they werent truly the most impactful. Still, I cared a lot about these initiatives, had fun carrying them out, and saw their effects ripple through the communities I was part of. Maybe thats all that matters. Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations? (200-250 words) For this one, I wrote about slam poetry: The stage lights burst open, blinding and white. I trembled. I was at the citywide poetry slam, Verselandia, about to perform in front of hundreds.   Earlier in the month, I had qualified through my high school’s contest, which I had signed up for because, “Hey, there might be free cookies!” (There were not.) At the time, I didn’t know much about spoken word besides from street performers (this was downtown Portland, after all). But I practiced in front of my mirror, my friends, and my faithful stuffed animals. Ultimately, I’d placed first at school. At Verselandia, I watched others perform about abuse, racism, and feminism. A few talked about their LGBTQ+ identities; one addressed bisexual erasure, which I could personally relate to. Slowly, I realized that writing didn’t serve just as a cathartic outlet; it could startle others into empathy and create awareness.   At the slam, I delivered lines like “Your heritage is more than an exotic enigma.” Afterwards, several Chinese-American classmates told me they could relate. I realized that my writing had the power to give these experiences visibility, which in turn might help erase damaging yet common preconceptions about my ethnicity. As a Portland Youth Poet Ambassador, I have opportunities to not only promote creative writing, but also advocate for social equality. Through poetry, I want to depict not only a narrative from a person of color, but also a narrative of a queer person of colora perspective almost completely obsolete in the media. In my opinion, this essay doesnt do a great job of answering the actual question; it doesnt provide a good sense of what Portland is like, or how it has shaped me. In retrospect, the coolest part of doing slam poetry was the opportunity to see Portland outside of the upper-middle-class suburban bubble I resided in. Through poetry, I met kids from all over the city. Each one of them had something to say: sometimes devastating, sometimes uplifting, but always astonishing. I wish I had focused more on that. Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? (200-250 words) I had a lot of trouble with this essay, because I wasnt sure if I could write about a personal family issue. I fretted. Maybe it was oversharing; maybe I should stick with a safe topic, like failing my drivers ed test or not having a prom date. Ultimately, though, I took the risk, and I dont regret it. If youre applying to college this year, my best advice is to be yourself. Its overused, I know, and whether or not any of us even have a self is a discussion for another blog post. But the application process is an opportunity to reflect upon the last several years of your life; dont squander it by writing what you think someone else might want to hear. Also, being genuine seems way less stressful. Good luck! Post Tagged # ¯\_(?)_/ ¯

Molar Enthalpy of Fusion Definition

Molar enthalpy of fusion is the amount of energy needed to change one mole of a substance from the solid phase to the liquid phase at constant temperature and pressure. It is also known as the molar heat of fusion or latent heat of fusion. Molar enthalpy of fusion is expressed in units of kilojoules per mole (kJ/mol). Finding Molar Enthalpy of Fusion One method of finding molar enthalpy of fusion is experimentally using a calorimeter. The other method is to consult a table of the molar enthalpies of selected substances. A table usually includes the molar enthalpies of vaporization and fusion. Usually the pressure is 1 atm (101.325), unless otherwise stated.

Osteology Definition and Applications

Osteology is the science of bones, both of humans and animals. Osteologists work in careers ranging from sports medicine to forensics. Key Takeaways: Osteology Osteology is the science of bones, both of humans and animals.It can be used in a variety of applications, including criminal investigations, engineering, and the study of human evolution.Osteology should not be confused with osteopathy, which is a type of alternative medicine that emphasizes the healing of the â€Å"whole patient.† Definition of Osteology Osteology covers the study, identification, and analysis of bones, including their structures and functions. There are two main subdivisions of osteology: human and animal. Human Osteology In the human body, there are 206 bones, which can be classified according to their shape: long bones, short bones, flat bones, and irregular bones. Bones are also made of different types of tissues based on their texture—there is compact bone, which is found on the surface of bones and is dense and solid, and spongy bone, which is porous and is found on the inside of bones. Bones have several functions, which include: Acting as a frame to support the body and protect our organs like the heart and lungs. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments also attach to our bones to help us move.Producing blood cells and platelets, which are important for the formation of new blood and for healing wounds.Storing minerals like calcium and phosphorus, as well as energy reserves like lipids. Animal Osteology Animal bones can differ from human bones in things like their structure, density, and mineral content. Birds, for example, have hollow bones for air sacs that help the birds get enough oxygen to fly. The teeth of other animals can also be shaped differently depending on that animal’s diet. For example, herbivores like cows have wide, flat teeth to help them chew plant matter. Applications of Osteology Since bones can provide a lot of information about an individual, osteology is used in a variety of applications, which include: Elucidating the diet and evolution of humans over time, as well as diseases they may have incurredIdentifying remains dug up at a historical siteInvestigating a criminal sceneShowing the migration of humans across different places throughout history Careers in Osteology Forensic Osteologists Forensic anthropologist Tracy Van Deest takes an inventory of skeletal bones at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner on December 9, 2014 in Tucson, Arizona. Getty Images / Getty Images News / John Moore. Forensic osteologists or anthropologists look at the remains of bodies to aid in investigations with unidentified remains. This study can be done in conjunction with medical examiners who may focus on any remaining soft tissues. Forensic osteologists can look at a number of factors to help in the investigation: Identifying whether the bone is human. The forensic osteologist can often use a process of elimination to determine whether the bones have the characteristic sizes, shapes, and densities of human bones. Osteologists can also identify whether the remains indicate an animal that walks on two legs, like humans do. If the bones are not big enough for identification, osteologists can look at them under the microscope.Identifying how many individuals were at the scene. If there are too many of a certain type of bone, this may indicate that more than one person is present. They can also check whether certain bones fit correctly against each other.Fitting a profile to the unknown remains. Based on factors such as tooth growth and the size and morphology of bones, forensic osteologists can figure out the age and sex of the humans.Reconstructing events like the cause of death. For example, the bones may differ depending on whether the person was hit with a sharp or blunt object. The forensic o steologist may also figure out what may have happened to a body after death, such as if it had been rained on or damaged by plants. Physical Anthropologists altmodern / Getty Images. Physical (or biological) anthropologists study the diversity and evolution of humans. For example, if you’ve ever seen a picture of how humans evolved from monkeys, or how the jaws of humans evolved over time, those pictures were probably figured out by physical anthropologists. To figure out exactly how humans evolved over time, physical anthropologists rely on osteology to piece apart the lives of individuals by looking at their skeletons. Analyzing their bones can help a physical anthropologist identify factors such as the diet, age, sex, and cause of death. Such anthropologists can also look at the bones of other primates to piece apart how humans may have evolved from a monkey ancestor. For example, human skulls can be distinguished from chimpanzee skulls in the size of their teeth and the shape of their skull. Physical anthropologists aren’t limited to just primates, either. Scientists can also study how the bone structure of a human compares to other animals like giraffes. Medicine and Engineering JohnnyGreig / Getty Images. Osteology is also very important for medicine and engineering. For example, understanding how the bones work can help doctors fit prosthetic limbs to a patient, and help engineers design artificial limbs that can work with the human body. In sports medicine, bones can also help predict the success of an athlete, and help doctors prescribe treatments that will help bones mend correctly. Osteology is also important for astronauts, whose bone density may shift due to the lower gravity in outer space. Osteology vs. Osteopathy Although osteology sounds very similar to osteopathy, the two terms should not be confused with one another. Osteopathy is a type of alternative medicine that aims to treat the â€Å"whole patient† (in mind, body, and spirit) and emphasizes the role of the musculoskeletal system in human health. Sources Boyd, Donna. â€Å"Forensic Anthropology Best Practices for Law Enforcement.† Radford University Forensic Science Institute, Radford University, May 2013, www.radford.edu/content/csat/home/forensic-science/outreach.html.Hubley, Mark. â€Å"7. Skeletal System: Bone Structure and Function.† Human Anatomy Physiology I, Prince Georges Community College, academic.pgcc.edu/~mhubley/ap/ap.htm.Persons, B. â€Å"Week 8: Comparative Osteology.† UA Outreach: Anthropology Partnership, The University of Alabama, 21 Apr. 2014, anthropology.ua.edu/blogs/tmseanthro/2014/04/21/week-8-comparative-osteology/.

Pretense rather than Reality Turns Blanche Dubois Free Essays

string(45) " view of his sister-in-law, Balance Dubious\." Pretense rather than Reality Turns Balance Dubious Desire into Devastation in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire By bouquet Research Paper Title: Pretense rather than Reality Turns Balance Dubious Desire into Devastation in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire Course Title: Research Paper and Viva Voce course code: ENG – 426 Date of submission: 02. 05. 2013 Submitted by RMI Roy Erg. We will write a custom essay sample on Pretense rather than Reality Turns Blanche Dubois or any similar topic only for you Order Now NO. 2008236032 4th Year 2nd Semester Department of English Shallot University of Science and Technology, Sylphs Submitted to DRP. Handmaid Seeker Roy Associate Professor This Research Paper is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree B. A. (Honors) in English. Shallot University of Science and Technology, sylphs- 3114 (Signature of Supervisor) DRP. Handmaid Seeker Roy Associate Professor (Signature of Author) Declaration I hereby declare that, this research paper entitled â€Å"Pretense rather than Reality Turns Balance Dubious Desire into Devastation in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire† is based on my own study under the guidance of my supervisor, DRP. Handmaid Seeker Roy, Associate Professor, Department of English, Shallot University f Science and Technology. I have prepared this paper in the form of Research Paper as partial fulfillment of the degree B. A. (Honors). I have neither taken any part of this paper directly from any other sources nor submitted any part of it or in full to any other institution or for the award of any degree. Acknowledgment First and foremost, I would like to thank my respectable supervisor DRP. Handmaid Seeker Roy who shared his ideas with me and offered his time and helpful comments during the stressful period. This work is a product of my sincere effort and my oppressor has certainly being a helping one in this regard. I am grateful to him for his invaluable guidance and co-operation. I should also thank my dearest friends who were always eager to assist me. I acknowledge my debt to all of the faculty members of my department for their contribution to my education and this work. 02 May, 2013. Into Pretense rather than Reality Turns Balance Dubious Desire Devastation in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Abstract In today’s rough and tough world, there seems to be no room for failure. The pressure to succeed in life sometimes seems unreasonable. Others often set expectations for people too high. This forces that person to develop ways to take the stress and tension out of their lives in their own individual ways. In the play A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams, the main character Balance Dubious is incapable of living in the present and facing reality and that’s why she takes lies and pretense as a defensive shield. Throughout the play she lives her life in illusion. An in-depth psychological study of this text will show that the final catastrophe of Blanches life is the outcome of her own lie and pretense. This paper ring the truth that Allan, Stella and Stanley pretense has a clear influence on Blanches devastation. Balance Dubious the protagonist of Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire is a fallen woman in society’s eyes because of her numerous sexual liaisons. Losing her ancestral estate due to a foreclosed mortgage, losing her young husband to suicide years earlier and her Job,evicting from a motel, she seeks solace and refuge with her married sister Stella and her husband Stanley Kowalski who are living in New Orleans. She comes with her new desires leaving behind her licentious past. Pretentious Balance is disdainful of the cramped quarters of the Kowalski’ two- room apartment and of the apartment’s location in a noisy, diverse, working-class neighborhood. In the Kowalski household, Balance pretends to be a woman who has never known indignity. Her false propriety is not simply snobbery, however; it constitutes a calculated attempt to make herself appear attractive to new male. She always pretends to be a young lady despite crossing that period earlier. The raw and unrefined working class Stanley can not put up with her pretense. Stanley intense tater of Balance is motivated in part by the aristocratic past Balance represents. His view of life, stripped of illusion and artificiality, sees beneath the pretenses and disguises of others. He investigates Blanches past and very cruelly reveals it to Mitch with whom Balance is dreaming of her marriage. As a result Mitch leaves her. Later Stanley in a state of drunkenness rapes Balance. After doing all these Stanley goes back to his real life and pretends as if nothing has happened. Still Balance knows truth and reality. Until the very last scene Balance does not lose touch with reality. In the last scene Stella confesses to Eunice that she simply cannot allow herself to believe Blanches assertion that Stanley raped her. Stella pretends only to save her own married life. Finally Balance losing her grip on reality soon goes to an insane asylum, but Balance believes she is leaving to Join her millionaire. All her hopes and desires of a better life ends up here with her going to an mental hospital. The researcher wants to show that Blanches own pretense is responsible for her fall. Reality can be fearful to a pretender as truth can only be harmful to a liar. Reality as tough for her but not hard enough to lead to her insanity. If she had shown the mental strength of accepting reality without pretending, certainly her life would have been different. A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. Multiple works and researches have been done on this famous drama by different critics. Alvin B. Korean presents A Streetcar Named Desire as Williams clearest treatment of the human dilemma which entails the dramatic dilemma. He offers in Streetcar two polar says of looking at experience: the realistic view of Stanley Kowalski and the eggnog- realistic view of his sister-in-law, Balance Dubious. You read "Pretense rather than Reality Turns Blanche Dubois" in category "Papers" Joseph N. Riddle showed A Streetcar Named Desire- Nietzsche Descending where Williams borrows from Nietzsche in great chunks, often undigested, using his sources with that liberal freedom that has become characteristic of the American artist in search of a theme. Again Leonard Bergman exemplifies traditional tragedy of A Streetcar Named Desire which enlist the array of forces emporal and eternal, comprehensible and beyond human ken- against which the heroic struggle must be waged. A Streetcar Named Desire is an inspired refutation of the linking of modern American drama with the common man. Balance Dubious was a troubled woman who throughout the play lives her life in illusions. To deal with the problems and hardships of her lives she retreats into her own separate world of illusion and lies. Balance says: gel don’t want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, Magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell the truth, I tell what ought to be the truth. Eh (Sc. 9 p. 204) . The story begins with Balance going to New Orleans to stay with her sister Stella, and her husband Stanley for a while. She describes her voyage: eighty told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields(Sc. 1 p. 177). This Cheshire is the driving force, the vehicle of her voyage. This driving force encourages her to evade harsh reality and create an illusory world with her imagination. When Balance first appears in agelessly Fields, she is presented through her congruousness appearance: she is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace ND earrings of pearl, white gloves and hate(Sc. 1 p. 1 17). In appearance, she is a glamorous, ladylike aristocrat, who is perhaps slightly nervous. She parades about the house as if she is a regal figure, wearing elegant gowns and delicate Jewelry. Balance likes to appear richer than she really is, in a similar way to costume Jewelry emulating real gold or silver. Her reaction to Stellar apartment is somewhat shocking an its a part of her pretension: ego, left not going to be hypocritical, I’m going to be honestly critical about it! Explain this place to me! What are you doing in a place like this? H (SC. I p. 121) This reaction would be Justified if she had her previous high standards as a result of growing up in Belle Reeve, a great big place with white columns. Now she is a penniless woman with no place to live in. But her words to Stella shows that in her mind she is still living in her aristocratic world and unable to bear this common surrounding. She pretends to be someone very concerned with moral values and social reasoning. She does not want to be seen by the men before she powders herself. She hides behind a mask of manufactured beauty, struggling to stay attractive. She says: guy know I haven’t put on one ounce in ten years, Stella? I weigh what I weighed the summer you left the Belle Revere (Sc. L p. 123). It seems that she believes she is still having the same glam-our as she had ten years earlier. Balance cannot seem to leave behind the moribund past of Belle Reeve and accept the sterile, modern New South of the Elysian Fields. Thus when Balance gets to New Orleans, she decides that in order to not reveal anything, she must create the illusions that she is happy and the reason she is there only because she’s on vacation. This is so that nobody would think less of her. Even she lies to her loving sister Stella and hides the fact that she has lost her Job. gel was so exhausted by all left would been through my nerves broke. So Mr. graves is the superintendent – he suggested I take a leave of absence (Sc. P. 122). Thus she conceals the truth so that no one can know her weaknesses. But such attempts only reveal her pretension and superficiality throughout the play. She says to Stella: Egypt don’t you look at me, Stella, no,no,no, not till later, not till leave bathed and rested! Looked at in this merciless glare! Eh And turn that light off I won’t be (S c. L p. 120). She tries to avoid bright light of any kind. Her reaction to light can be regarded as an attempt to hide her true nature as well as her vanishing beauty and youth. By hiding from the light, she tries to escape reality. She covers the naked light bulb with a Chinese paper lantern, saying, gel canine stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action (Sc. 3 p. 150). This remark shows that Balance would rather hide behind polite phrases than accept truth and reality. However her illusory world soon confronts with Stanley straightforwardness and honesty which seems to pose a strong threat towards Balance. Balance deceives everyone for a good portion of the play. Stanley does not enjoy agencies, he says that visage men are took in by this Hollywood glam-our stuff and some men are note(Sc. P. 137). As Balance Dubious has created a sort of glass cube around herself, for protection, and people such as Stanley threaten to shatter that glass cube by learning her secrets. Swell, life is too full of evasions and ambiguities , I think. I like an artiste who paints in strong, bold colors, primary colors (Sc. 2 p. 137). She is denying her reality and urging for a life filled with all b rightness and colors. In front of Stanley she pretends that she is not vulnerable. Pretension is her primary means of self-defense. She is not deceitful out of malice. But, Stanley does not buy into her facades. Stanley and Balance gradually become enemies. He starts questioning her and others about her last few years. Stanley continuously tries to discover her true history so that he can destroy her pretensions and let everyone know the real Balance. He does this because he is straightforward and doesn’t like to be deceived. Stanley search ultimately explores the reasons of her pretensions. :What initially leads to her illusions is love. When she was young sixteen, . Made the discovery – love All at once and much, much too completely (Sc. 6 p. 182). She met Allan Grey and fell in love. The young couple got married and, to Balance, were falling more and more in love, when one day coming into a room that I thought was empty (Sc. 6 p. 183), this illusion would be shattered. In this room she found her husband, Allan, and a older male friend of his. Allan Grey was gay. Allan was in fact a pretender himself, by trying to appear straight. At first, they tried to deny it but very soon the illusion was totally destroyed as Allan killed himself. From that moment she is afraid of reality and hides herself behind her pretentious world. But she forgets illusions honest last forever and pretensions must face truth someday. Balance came to Elysian Fields to forget her horrible past, and to have a fresh start . In fact Balance admits in the fourth scene that she wants to make herself a new life. Though she forgets, creation of happy life based on lies will soon be demolished with the blow of truth. After coming in New Orleans she meets a friend of Stanley, Mitch, and eventually she starts to think that maybe he is the one. Immediately, she realizes that, Mitch needs someone too. With Mitch she puts on the airs of a woman who has never known indignity. Although Balance was once a kind, normal, sweet girl, her very being has deteriorated. Now, all thefts left is what she struggles desperately to maintain on the outside. Balance thinks of Mitch as a future husband, and therefore she does not want him to know her past or her true age, and the best way to hide her age is to stay out of bright light where he could possibly see her wrinkles and fading youth in her face. However her deception soon brought into light by Stanley. Her promiscuity in laurel, sexual relations with anyone who agreed to it and finally her mistake of trying to seduce a 17 – year old student of hers. While staying in New Orleans she tries her best to forget her past and purify herself. She is always having baths so no one can see her dirty or tired. She is obsessed with bathing, though it doesn’t t necessarily washes her dirty past. Her past catches up with her and destroys her relationship with Mitch. Mitch accuses her of lying and pretending. But she denies such accusation asserting that gender inside,’ didn’t lie in my hearted(Sc. P. 205). Suddenly everything begins to fall around Balance Just as quickly as she has built it. Mitch realizes that Balance has been deceiving him and looks down on her true impure self. It is now that Balance completely unravels. Mitch leaves her and she is left all alone only with her broken illusions. This incident with Mitch makes Balance mentally and emotionally battered. Then Stanley comes to inflict more damage to her. Still then Balance is making stories about her supposed lovers (Sheep Hunting) to salvage her pride, pretend to play along with the charade. He asks peculiar questions that force Balance to a point where she could no longer keep up her act. Then, to deliver the ultimate insult to Balance, Stanley brutally rapes her. This shock actually leads her to a permanent illusive world. Previously she used to lie with others but now she loses her touch with reality. Nobody is ready to accept her fairy tales anymore though this time she is telling the truth. Even Stella denies her truth. Stella tells Eunice: who replies: gel couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley’, . Goon’s ever believe tie Life has got to go on. No matter what happens, you’ve got to keep owing† (Sc. Al p. 217). Here it almost seems as though Stella is realizing what is reality and what is not. But she pretends to disbelieve Balance in order to avoid any kind of rift in married life. Thus Stella makes a conscious decision to believe Stanley instead of her sister because to do otherwise would be both emotionally and economically difficult with a new baby so she, too, is engaging in a measure of self-deception. Stanley is also revealed to be capable of deceit, he does not admit the truth of what happened between him and Balance to his friends, to Stella, and maybe not even to himself. Stellar deception shatters the least hope and strength of Balance. She is no more be capable of pulling herself to face the reality. Once she created this fantasy world to hide the hurts from her youth. But now she begins to fabricate lies so complex that even she believes them. All she ever desired was a good, clean life. What she acquired is complex enigmas buried in the deepest catacombs of her soul and an asylum, or psychiatric hospital to live with her own imagination and deceive none but herself. Finally Alliances shocking reality would not disturb Blanches life so much if he had never pretended to be straight. Balance felt she could evade reality and live up with illusion. But that was not to happen because reality stays with people like shadows. Balance blurt the truth in front of Allan which results in the suicide of him. It messed up her life and she sank herself into an illusory world to get some relief. Her illusion gave her temporary relief but snatched the opportunity of real happiness. She lied to her sister who as a result denies to accept her truth at last. She thought of finding happiness and escaping sorrow by hiding herself under the roof of Mitchell love. She wished to be loved and supported by Mitch. But he hardly spent a peaceful moment with Mitch as she was always afraid of the revelation of her lies. How to cite Pretense rather than Reality Turns Blanche Dubois, Papers

Sustainability of tourism in Bhutan free essay sample

Bhutans tourism industry began in 1974. It was introduced with the primary objective of generating revenue, especially foreign exchange; publicising the countrys unique culture and traditions to the outside world, and to contribute to the countrys socio-economic development1. Since then the number of tourists visiting Bhutan has increased from just 287 in 1974 to over 2,850 in 1992 and over 7,000 in 1999. By the late 1980s tourism contributed over US$2 million in revenues to the royal government. In 1989, the royal government raised the tourist tariff. That year only 1,480 tourists visited Bhutan but the government still earned US$1. 95 million through tourism. By 1992 tourist revenues contributed as much as US$3. 3 million and accounted for as much as 15-20% of the total of Bhutans exported goods and services. The royal government has always been aware that an unrestricted flow of tourists can have negative impacts on Bhutans pristine environment and its rich and unique culture. The government, therefore, adopted a policy of high value-low volume tourism, controlling the type and quantity of tourism right from the start. Until 1991 the Bhutan Tourism Corporation (BTC), a quasi-autonomous and self-financing body, implemented the governments tourism policy. All tourists, up to that time came as guests of BTC, which in turn operated the tour organisation, transport services and nearly all the hotels and accommodation facilities. The primary responsibilities of the Department of Tourism include ensuring compliance by travel agents with the tourism policy of the royal government, including the regulation of the number and segments of foreign tourists; fixation of rates for trekking, expeditions, and cultural tours; receiving of tourist payments and processing of tourist visas; issuing and ensuring compliance with guidelines and regulations related to tourism activities; ensuring conservation of culture, tradition, environment and protection against ravages of pollution and exposure from tourism activities; and developing new opportunities for generating growth and foreign exchange through protective tourism, and to undertake research and development in such areas. Currently the minimum daily tariff set by the Department of Tourism for both cultural tours and treks is US$200 for the high season and US$165 for the low season2. There is no quota or limit on the number of tourists allowed to visit Bhutan. Rather the volume of tourists coming to Bhutan has been limited by the capacity constraints of tourism infrastructure due to the pronounced seasonality of tourism in the country. March/April and October/November are the top tourist seasons as the weather is best for 85 Journal of Bhutan Studies trekking and cultural festivals are taking place in different parts of the country. So far the royal governments overall objective of maximising foreign exchange earnings while minimising adverse cultural and environmental impacts of tourism seems to have paid off. The tourism industry has made significant contributions to the socio-economic development of the country, especially after the privatisation of the industry in 1991. A high level of profits is available to tour operators and an increasing number of Bhutanese entrepreneurs are investing in the tourism sector. Bhutanese have also found employment as guides, cooks, transport operators, and hotel and restaurant owners. Tourism contributes significantly to rural incomes through earnings from tourist transport and portage. Tourism has also provided the impetus for the development of the service sector, including hotels, restaurants, transportation and communication. Another visible impact of tourism has been the promotion of the indigenous cottage industry and the setting up of handicraft shops in Thimphu and other frequently visited areas. Bhutans main tourism attractions are its traditional culture and way of life, its religious festivals, historic monuments and its pristine environment. Bhutan has received much international acclaim for its cautious approach to development that places a high priority on conserving the nations natural and cultural heritage. Protecting nature and culture is part of the Bhutanese value system and is an important aspect of the traditional way of life in Bhutan, and the tourism policy reflects these concerns. The policy of imposing a high tariff has succeeded in making tourism in Bhutan an exclusive and distinctive experience. However, with the increase in the number of tourists coming to Bhutan every year there is a need to monitor and evaluate the environmental and cultural impacts of tourism and offer measures to reduce any adverse impacts. World tourism is evolving as well as growing and tourists increasingly want to engage in recreational or sporting activities, learn more about local cultures or develop special interests. Among these special interests is the natural environment resulting in what is commonly termed eco-tourism. This offers new opportunities and challenges for Bhutan. 86 Sustainability of Tourism Bhutan is keen to develop its tourism industry in a way that is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. It should be recognized that tourism in Bhutan has been sustainable so far due to the sound environmental and cultural policies of the royal government which has considerable authority over setting policy direction. The future sustainability of tourism will, however, depend on greater participation from the tourism industry. The tourism industry must realise that our environment and culture are the basic resources on which it thrives and grows. It must recognize its responsibility for conservation and sustainable natural resource management by committing to and working within principles and guidelines to achieve sustainable tourism development. The sustainable development of tourism will require partnership and cooperation within the tourism industry, and between the industry, government, tourists and people. Local input and involvement are also important for the long-term sustainability of tourism in Bhutan. If local residents and communities are part of tourist operations and receive benefits from tourism, then the goals of the local communities, tourism operators, and the government can be met. Environmental and Cultural Impacts of Tourism Although tourism in Bhutan is referred to as a model for other fragile mountain areas where there is much concern over the societys traditional heritage, there has emerged a number of pressing tourism-related environmental and cultural problems in the last few years. Among the problems currently encountered are3: The destruction of vegetation through the cutting of slow-growing trees for firewood. This is particularly more pronounced in Bhutans high alpine regions through which most of the trekking routes are located. The local people in these areas rely on wood for fuel and tourism adds more pressure on the forests. Erosion of delicate vegetation is another visible problem associated with tourism in Bhutan. Although tourism activities are not solely responsible for erosion in the high mountain areas, the use of horses and yaks during treks have a significant impact. Also local residents tend to increase the size 87 Journal of Bhutan Studies  of their domestic herds for transport contracts with the tourism industry, which in turn adds to the limited carrying capacity of fragile mountain ecosystems. The creation of garbage trails from the indiscriminate disposal of nonbiodegradable waste is another visible environmental problem associated with the tourism industry. It has been pointed out that tourism is promoting changes from sustainable farming and cropping patterns to other more profitable and less sustainable livelihoods to meet the needs of affluent tourists. Some people also argue that interactions with tourists have led to the erosion of Bhutanese culture and value systems. Several steps have been taken by the royal government to address these problems. The Department of Tourism has banned the use of firewood on treks. Tour operators now use liquid petroleum gas or kerosene. The Department also levies a fine of Ngultrum 5,000 on operators who continue to use firewood on treks and for littering. Although the fine is not very substantial, operators might not get trekking permits for the next season if they are charged with two violations in a particular season. The Department has also constructed permanent campsites, rest houses and toilet facilities along the more popular trek routes. The Department of Tourism has conducted several training courses for guides and has instituted a system of licensing cultural and trekking guides. All guides employed by any tour operator in Bhutan have to be licensed. This ensures that all guides have basic training in trekking and mountaineering techniques and are briefed on all aspects of tourism in Bhutan with special emphasis on the environmental and cultural issues. Problems that Affect the Future Sustainablity of Bhutans Tourism There are other problems associated with tourism in Bhutan that might affect the sustainability of the industry in the long run if they are not addressed now. These include: Seasonality : Tourist arrivals in Bhutan are subject to pronounced seasonality. March/April and October/November are the top months as the weather is ideal for trekking and religious and cultural festivals are taking place all over the country. January/February and June/July are the months. Sustainability of Tourism with the lowest activity as the weather is too cold or rainy for trekking and there are hardly any significant cultural events taking place. The seasonal nature of tourism leads to a highly inequitable distribution of visitors throughout the year adding pressure on the limited infrastructure during the peak seasons. As a result there is a severe shortage of facilities during the peak seasons and private operators resort to makeshift arrangements that may not meet the desired quality of service.. As such tourism is mostly limited to the western valleys of Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Wangdiphodrang, and the central valleys of Trongsa and Bumthang. Insufficient Product Diversification: Tourism in Bhutan is so far mostly limited to cultural tourists, sightseers and trekkers. In 1999, out of a total of 7,158 tourists there were 6,328 cultural tourists and 830 trekkers. Although Bhutan has vast potential for other forms of tourism and special interests 89 Journal of Bhutan Studies such as sports tourism, adventure tourism and nature tourism, the process of product diversification is just beginning. The Department of Tourism lacks both Weak Institutional Base: manpower and finance to manage and monitor the tourism industry effectively. There is a lack of qualified manpower, particularly at the management and entrepreneurial levels. There are no formal hotel and tourism training institutes in the country. Most companies have problems in attracting and keeping adequately trained employees at all levels. Involvement of the Local Community: The government and local communities are now beginning to argue that local communities need to be more involved in the business and should receive more benefits from tourism. Local community involvement is currently limited to providing tourism transport and portage. Lack of Substantive Tourism Research Base: Proper research, surveys, feedback, statistics, data collection and processing and research related to tourism development are needed for making sound policy decisions in the future. Deterioration in Pricing Integrity: Although the governments policy allows a high margin of profitability to tourism operators, increasing competition has brought about undesirable results. This has led to a break down in pricing integrity. Operators are resorting to discounts and rebates to foreign operators in order to snatch business away from competitors. This practice not only has a direct impact on the royal governments policy of high value low volume tourism but also leads to deterioration in the quality of services provided. 90 Sustainability of Tourism Sustainable Tourism in Bhutan4 A few countries including Bhutan have demonstrated that tourism is not ugly. Bhutan is perhaps the best example where controlled tourism has been effective in ensuring the sustainability of the industry in the long run. It has contributed significantly to foreign exchange earnings and government revenues, to income and employment generation and to regional development to a certain extent. It has created opportunities for the development of locally owned and operated private sector enterprises. Tourism has been an important mechanism for publicising the countrys culture and traditions to the outside world, and interactions with tourists have contributed to a sense of national identity, making Bhutanese proud of their country’s unique culture and environment. Tourism has further enhanced the need to conserve the countrys natural and cultural assets. Bhutans tourism potential is considerable with comparative advantages in many areas to ensure economic growth and diversification. Cultural tourism, eco-tourism and adventure/sports tourism (rafting, canoeing, climbing) which are based on the countrys natural beauty, biodiversity and unique and distinct culture offer numerous opportunities for further development of the industry. The tourism industry can also generate jobs at a time when unemployment is becoming a problem with limited job opportunities in the government and private sector. Bhutan has a clearly established framework for the development of tourism. It has clear tourism policies, excellent tourism resources, a developing and expanding private sector, qualified and experienced personnel, established marketing channels and contacts. In short, the initial phase of setting up the tourism sector, of privatising the industry, and of establishing Bhutan as an exclusive, distinctive destination has been achieved. The future development of tourism should now involve a process of refinement whereby attempts are made by the industry itself to mitigate any negative environmental and cultural impacts; explore and develop the numerous niche markets, such as eco-tourism, that offer significant growth potential and are consistent with the other development objectives of the royal government; and increase the participation of local communities in tourism activities. 91 Journal of Bhutan Studies The future development of tourism should still be guided by the concept of high-value tourism and should include a well-defined and effective policy on sustainable tourism. Such a policy should continue to advocate caution and control instead of aggressive tourism development, and be inclusive rather than sector-based. The policy should also promote value consciousness and heritage conservation. Bhutan has considerable tourism resources today because of the cautious approach adopted by the government. This approach should be applied to policies regarding the future development of the industry to ensure that tourism development is consistent with the royal government’s goals of environmental and cultural preservation. A cautious and controlled policy will also allow periodic monitoring and review to ensure that the country’s tourism develops sustainably, avoiding the negative impacts of tourism. As tourism is a wideranging social and economic activity that is multi-sectoral by nature, such a policy should include inter-ministerial committees to facilitate coordination between different ministries, agencies, and the industry. Bhutan’s traditional way of life and  culture, its religion and its pristine environment have always been the main tourist attractions. A sustainable tourism policy should ensure that these values are promoted amongst visitors and that our cultural and natural heritage is preserved. The following are a few issues that need to be addressed urgently to ensure that tourism in Bhutan remains sustainable. Organizational Development: The future sustainability of tourism will depend largely on the effective functioning of the Department of Tourism and the industry association (Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators). To this end there is an urgent need to strengthen the capacity of the Department and establish an effective co-ordination and organization of the private sector. Product Development: The addition of facilities and services which will improve and enrich the tourism product, lead to greater visitor satisfaction, contribute positively in terms of environmental, economic and sociocultural impacts will further help to reduce the seasonal nature of tourism and also spread tourism activities and benefits to other regions of the country. There is also a need for the development of more niche, high-value special interest market segments e. g. Photography, zoology, ornithology, 92 Sustainability of Tourism botany, white water rafting. Related to product development there is a need for more emphasis on a classification system for tourism facilities and specification of minimum standards. Marketing Strategies: The collection and processing of more complete market information, and improved analysis of characteristics of market behaviour is another basic requirement for developing future policies and plans. Also the development of new products and attractions requires effective joint marketing initiatives that combine public and private resources. Human Resource Development: The development of human resources, not only within the Department of Tourism, but also within individual private operators and other bodies is a must for the success of future programs. With careful planning and management of the industry and the appropriate inputs, the tourism industry in Bhutan could well surpass its economic expectations without eroding the cultural and environment of the country. To this end several initiatives have already been undertaken to a) build up the resources to finance development of the industry b) involve all relevant partners in drafting future policies related to tourism; and c) form an industry association that will take steps to promote, encourage and assist in the development of tourism in Bhutan. The Tourism Development Fund The Tourism Development Fund was set up by the Department of Tourism in 1999 to fund tourism development in the country. The Department collects US$10 per visitor from tour operators and it is intended that this fund will be available for the maintenance of tourism infrastructure, joint marketing programmes, and development of new tourism products (ecotourism and adventure sports such as white-water rafting and kayaking). The fund has also been utilised to set up the office of the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO). The Tourism Development Committee 93 Journal of Bhutan Studies Tourism is not a sector in itself but a wide-ranging social and economic activity that is multi-sectoral by nature. As such, it poses problems of coordination between a variety of different government ministries and agencies. For this reason special inter-ministerial committees or councils are necessary to provide the necessary degree of co-ordination useful to ensure that tourism development plans take into consideration the concerns and sensitivities of all the sectors involved. In Bhutan the Tourism Development Committee was established with the following functions: a) to act as the apex body to oversee all matters related to tourism development in the kingdom of Bhutan; b) to provide advice and guidance to the Department of Tourism in carrying out its functions; c) to approve all plans and programs drawn up by the Department of Tourism in consultation with the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) and other relevant organizations on an annual basis; d) to approve the annual budget for the development of plans and programmes to be allocated out of the Tourism Development Fund (TDF); and e) to act as a medium between the government and the private sector and facilitate effective and expeditious resolutions of issues emerging from time to time. The Committee consists of 12 members from government agencies as well as the private sector. It is hoped that the wide representation on the Committee will ensure that issues related to the cultural and natural integrity are addressed at this committee during the development of future plans and policies. The Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) The Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) was formed in December 1999 with the overall objective of bringing together all the private sector interests involved in the tourism industry. One of the objectives of ABTO is to establish a channel for closer and more effective collaboration between the tourism industry and the Department of Tourism. ABTO is also the first step that the industry has taken to create a mechanism for self-control and self-regulation. Ecotourism 94 Sustainability of Tourism The royal government has realized that it is now time to think strategically about the need for and the impact of future development of tourism in Bhutan. There is a need to monitor and review the impacts of current policies and to develop further guidelines to ensure that the industry grows in a sustainable manner. Numerous policy documents of the royal government, including Bhutan 20205 and The Middle Path- Bhutans National Environmental Strategy6- have recognized the need to promote ecotourism as a way to achieve sustainable tourism development in the country. There is considerable scope for ecotourism in Bhutan as it offers significant growth potential and is consistent with the other development objectives of the royal government while enhancing the cultural integrity of local people. The countrys rich biological resources that includes over 165 species of animals and more than 770 species of birds offer vast opportunities for ecotourism. Also within Bhutans borders there are over 60% of the endemic species of the eastern Himalayan region. Bhutans rich floral wealth also includes more than 50 species of rhododendrons and over 300 species of medicinal plants that are used in traditional herbal medicine. Such a rich natural environment coupled with the royal governments conservation policy are what make Bhutan a prime destination for ecotourism. Ecotourism is considered the fastest growing market in the tourism industry today and with Bhutans enviable resources, it should explore ways of developing this market. Bhutan must, however, be careful and aware that not all forms of ecotourism are well designed. As in other sectors of tourism, lack of planning and foresight even in well-meaning ecotourism projects can cause serious negative impacts. It may lead to the exploitation, and destruction of ecologically fragile areas where tourists might not have been allowed if not for ecotourism. Proper management is needed to reduce the adverse impacts on environment and culture from other forms of tourism. Developing this niche market will require a national strategy to balance nature-oriented tourism, foreign exchange earnings, and protection of the natural resources such as protected areas. Therefore, it is imperative that the government and the industry define ecotourism in the Bhutanese context, addressing both tourism policy and the potential for specific nature-related tourism products. Such an exercise will help determine the nature of ecotourism development in Bhutan. Ecotourism must be compatible with 95 Journal of Bhutan Studies  effective conservation and operate within the areas natural capacity, for the regeneration and future productivity of natural resources. Ecotourism must minimise ecological footprints and give proper consideration to local cultures and local people in the areas they visit, and ensure that these people have an equitable share in the economic benefits of tourism. Ecotourism must be undertaken in Bhutan very carefully so that it is a positive force for conservation and environmental protection that also provides a unique opportunity for raising awareness and enhancing support for conservation. Therefore, if Bhutan is to explore its ecotourism potential, the following investments will have to be implemented7. Marketing and Marketing Survey The first stage in developing the nations ecotourism industry will be to conduct basic market research to determine the types of infrastructure, information, trips, and accommodations that will attract potential tourists. With proper and active marketing of the uniqueness of Bhutan as a tourist destination, it is likely that tourists might be willing to pay more than the current minimum tariff to experience Bhutans biodiversity and culture. However, it must be recognized that the promotion of opportunities must go hand in hand with the development of more information about biodiversity, training of guides, and development of infrastructure. The royal government and the tourism industry must undertake a marketing survey to better understand the potential for this type of tourism in Bhutan and to identify specific areas where Bhutan has a comparative advantage. Training and Capacity Building A weakness in Bhutans present tourism is the lack of well-trained and knowledgeable guides, especially for specialist tours like bird watching, photography and flora tourism. A formal system of training and accreditation will help the country provide the high standards expected by specialist tourists. Ecotourism requires trained guides who have knowledge of specific parks and other sites and who are able to identify the biodiversity of the region. The Biodiversity Action Plan of Bhutan points out that many local residents in Bhutans parks have considerable expertise of the local biodiversity and that the prospects of using them as guides should be explored in order to increase employment opportunities for them. 96 Sustainability of Tourism The Biodiversity Action Plan also proposes that Bhutan encourage natural history tours with organisations that can supply their own guides with some knowledge of the region and pair those visiting guides with local people who could enhance their own knowledge. In the long-term strategies will have to be developed to build up this important human resource that is a vital component of ecotourism. Information Although much has been written about Bhutans rich biodiversity and pristine environment, there is a genuine lack of interpretive materials that can be used by interested visitors to Bhutan and school children, particularly field guides and biodiversity tour guides. For ecotourism to be a success the royal government and the tourism industry needs to invest in the development of basic scientific information on the countrys biodiversity. Infrastructure Promoting ecotourism in Bhutan will require the development of appropriate infrastructure. Although this type of tourism traditionally requires fewer infrastructures than other forms of tourism, many countries have built elaborate facilities within protected areas in the name of ecotourism. Such developments have given ecotourism a bad name with protestors calling it eco-terrorism instead. The development of ecotourism in Bhutan should be limited to development of trails and access routes, and basic interpretative facilities like visitor centers. It is recommended that the development of infrastructure for ecotourism in protected areas undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment to ensure the suitability of the project and to prevent costly environmental degradation. 97 Journal of Bhutan Studies The Role of the Government The role of the government is important to ensure that the low-impact scale of ecotourism is not exceeded and that proper planning is undertaken before ecotourism initiatives are implemented. Strong government controls are also necessary to ensure that tourism practices by the private sector are environmentally and culturally sustainable. In most countries, ecotourism has either failed or not lived up to expectations as it has been promoted without an overall strategy, effective protected areas management plans, and without consultation or inclusion of local communities. Therefore, the government must adopt a national ecotourism strategy to improve the environmental and cultural success of ecotourism. Such a strategy should aim to co-ordinate government and private efforts to achieve positive economic, environmental, social, and cultural impacts of tourism. Excessive or unmanaged visitation adversely affects ecotourism sites, both ecologically and culturally. Also the ecological and cultural value of the sites diminishes if visitation is not managed properly. Limitations on visitors must be imposed in order to maintain the ecological and cultural integrity of a ecotourism site. The Biodiversity Action Plan for Bhutan advocates that the most derisible approach to control visitor number is to maintain the existing fee charged by the royal government, while setting limits to the total number of tourists visiting the country and allocating tradable rights to the existing tour operators. The document argues that operators would thus have to pay the government the current $70 per visitor per day fee, but then would be free to charge what the market would bear. Using this approach, the government would also seek to direct visitors to other parts of the country or to other seasons of the year through either regional quotas or limits in hotel construction in the more busy regions of the country. 98 Sustainability of Tourism Current Status of Ecotourism in Bhutan. Several workshops on ecotourism have been conducted by the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature (RSPN), the World Wildlife Fund, and the Nature Conservation Division (NCD) of the Ministry of Agriculture. An Ecotourism Management Plan for the Jigme Dorji National Park was drafted in 1998. Also the Integrated Community Development Programmes (ICDP) that are being implemented in several areas have made attempts to get local communities more involved in managing tourism within their own communities. Such community-based tourism is being encouraged in Laya and Soe within the Jigme Dorji National Park. The RSPN has drafted an Ecotourism Management Plan for Phobjikha valley which has been declared a conservation area for the endangered Black-Necked Cranes. The ecotourism management plan for Phobjikha aims to integrate the conservation of the winter habitat of the Cranes and development of the Phobjikha valley by providing the local community with ecologically sustainable income opportunities to boost the local economy. The programme aims to promote the development of alternative energy, eco-tourism, conservation and education programs, Black-Necked Crane research, and monitoring and development of infrastructure for ecotourism. As such the Phobjikha programme is the first real attempt at developing ecotourism in Bhutan. The prime objective of the RSPN is the conservation of the winter habitat of the Black-Necked Cranes. The society hopes to achieve this by promoting ecotourism in the area. The society works closely with the International Crane Foundation (ICF), based in Wisconsin, USA, which organises tours for its members to Phobjikha every winter. The International Crane Foundation pays US$100 per person over and above the regular tourist tariff to the RSPN to support its work. The RSPN gives 50% of such earnings to the Phobjikha Area Development Committee, a local community organisation. The Bhutanese tour operator also pays RSPN 10% of its earnings from any group that comes through the ICF. The RSPN uses the money to maintain the basic infrastructure in the area. So far, the RSPN has built a photography hide from which to observe the cranes and also developed footpaths to improve access in the area. It is also building a 99 Journal of Bhutan Studies visitors centre and is educating tourists and other visitors on the need for conservation in the Phobjikha valley. Although critics are of the opinion that promotion of ecotourism in Phobjikha attracts more tourists and thereby cause more disturbances to the cranes, the RSPN program with some refinement can be a good model for ecotourism in other areas as it: a) offers a source of financing for development or maintenance of an important natural site; b) promotes local economic development; and c) provides needed foreign exchange and national benefits. This is the first such project in Bhutan that endeavours to promote partnership between an international organisation, a local tour operator, an NGO and the local community. More active commitment and involvement of the tourism industry and the participation of local communities in tourism activities, including the sharing of financial benefits, are important ingredients for the future success of ecotourism in Bhutan. The government must continue to play the lead role in policy and programme co-ordination, which are developed in partnership with the tourism industry and local communities. One of the most quoted benefits of ecotourism is that its success rates are much higher if it is conducted as a partnership between the government, the tourism industry and local communities. Bhutan has immense potential as an ecotourism destination and it must explore ways in which this form of tourism can be implemented effectively in partnership with the private sector and local communities. 100 Sustainability of Tourism Conclusion Bhutan is in a very fortunate position in terms of tourism. While tourism resources are being destroyed elsewhere, Bhutans assets in the form of its natural environment and culture are well preserved. The international community has lauded the countrys policy of giving the highest priority to environmental and cultural preservation. This has further increased the profile of Bhutan as a prime tourist destination. The tourism industry has created a wide range of opportunities for Bhutanese who have begun to grasp economic opportunities offered by the industry. Tourism has also been a self-financing mechanism for promoting the countrys environment and facilitating an awareness and understanding of the uniqueness of this country. Tourism has resulted in some adverse impacts but the government has recognised the need to address them. Tourism has also promoted Bhutanese culture by creating employment opportunities for traditional musicians and dancers and encouraged the resurgence of local festivals in different parts of the country. Although the government still maintains control over the industry, it has become much more diverse and complex since it was privatized in 1991. The private sector is being more involved in not only monitoring itself but also in developing future tourism policies. Tourism bodies like the Tourism Development Committee and the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators have been established to foster partnership between relevant sectors involved in the industry and within the industry itself. Both the organisations are still in their formative stages but have crucial roles to play in determining the future sustainability of tourism in Bhutan. Ecotourism offers a way of achieving the benefits of tourism in a way that is consistent with the countrys development philosophy. Adventure sports: rafting and kayaking is another form of tourism that is being promoted in Bhutan. Bhutan has a comparative advantage in this area as it is endowed with free-flowing and challenging rivers. Opening up rivers around the country for white-water rafting and kayaking will bring tourism to parts of the country that are otherwise not visited and help distribute tourism benefits to these areas as well. Other innovative schemes8 such as providing meditation centres in national parks, replicating traditional and religious festivals so that the real ones are not corrupted, and sponsoring exhibitions 101 Journal of Bhutan Studies of traditional ethnic minority cultures with the aim of returning a fair share of tourism revenues to these communities, offer avenues for sustainable tourism. A Tourism Master Plan is under preparation and once completed will provide a guide to the future development of the industry. However, there should be extensive consultation between various stakeholders before the document is formally approved and implemented. So far the governments policy of high value-low volume tourism has been successful in regulating the growth of the industry and maintaining the number of visitors at an acceptable level. To ensure that our valuable tourism resources are developed in a cautious manner the government must continue to regulate tourism through its pricing policy. It is also time for the government to think of a well-defined and effective policy on sustainable tourism, especially ecotourism. Only the government can provide the strategic planning base for tourism and ensure that valuable and fragile habitats are identified, that baseline monitoring is carried out, and that the overall needs and implications of tourism are assessed. For major developments, environmental impact assessments should be carried out. The tourism industry also has a fundamental role in maintaining the sustainability of tourism in Bhutan. Individual firms can take the lead role by showing how self-regulation can work in practice, by taking voluntary action to reduce pollution, by initiating and abiding by the Codes of Best Practices, and by educating clients. The tourism industry association must continue to develop and adopt such codes of conduct and good practice, and provide members with the information to implement them. The industry association must also develop mechanisms for effective selfregulation and introduce sound environmental practices. Lastly, local involvement and input are essential for the long-term economic and environmental sustainability of tourism in Bhutan. If local communities are involved and have a stake in tourism activities, it will be in their interests to ensure that tourism is sustainable. Furthermore, partnership between the government, the private sector, and the local people can open up a wide range of opportunities that make good economic sense and benefit all the partners. Tourism will be sustainable only if 102 Sustainability of Tourism Tourism planners and operators give due consideration to the carrying capacity of our natural resources, recognise that people and communities, customs and lifestyles contribute to the tourism experience and, therefore, accept that these people should also get some of the benefits from tourism. Notes 1 Edward, Inskipp â€Å"Sustainable Tourism development in the Maldives and Bhutan,† UNEP industry and Environment, vol 15, no. 3-4, July-December 1992. P. 34. 2 These prices include services for land transport, accommodation, food, sightseeing, guides and cultural programs. 3 National Environment Commission, Royal Government of Bhutan: The Middle Path-National Environmental Strategy for Bhutan. 1998. â€Å"Tourism and Its Effects on the Culture and the Environment† p. 52 4 Sustainable tourism in the context of this paper means that tourism continues to generate revenue, especially foreign exchange; publicize the country’s unique culture and traditions to the outside world; and play an active role in the country’s socio-economic development in a manner that is consistent with the royal government’s policies aimed at sustainable development. Sustainable tourism therefore means that the growth of the industry will place emphasis on the preservation of the country’s culture, environment and traditional lifestyle.

Discuss Is Socila Stratification Functional Essay Example

Discuss Is Socila Stratification Functional Essay Sociology gives us an in depth insight into social stratification and how it effects our lives. We as individuals are social beings who are ranked in categories within the hierarchy of society, but within our society we have the means to progress up the hierarchy and become part of the elite. Social inequalities are functional for the elite as they are the ones with the power and control over us as we are socially controlled. Social stratification affects the way we think about life. If were born in Ethiopia you would be illiterate and you would expect the same from your children. You would not be surprised when your children died young. Social stratification is a system in which groups of people are divided into layers according to their relative power, property, and prestige. It is a way of ranking large groups of people into a hierarchy according to their relative privileges. Every society stratifies its members. Some societies have greater inequality than others, but social stratification is universal and can vary due to gender, age and ability When we look at the social stratification system we must take into consideration the five key features: Social stratification is a characteristic of society, not just a reflection of individual differences. Social stratification persists over generations. Social stratification is universal but variable. Beliefs are central to social stratification. Social stratification engenders shared identities. We will write a custom essay sample on Discuss Is Socila Stratification Functional specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Discuss Is Socila Stratification Functional specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Discuss Is Socila Stratification Functional specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will also need to explore ‘Open and Closed’ stratification. In describing social stratification in particular societies sociologists (Tumin, 1985) often stress degrees of social closure and mobility that is allowed in the society ‘Closed’ systems allow little change in social position, while ‘Open’ systems permits some mobility. ‘Open stratification social class gives us some degree of social mobility Saunders (1990) believes that Britain is a true meritoracrcy because rewards naturally go to the most able. Saunders uses data from the National Child Development study to show that children who are bright and hard working will succeed regardless of social advantages they experience some misunderstanding. ‘Closed’ stratification refers to systems where social position is ascribed at birth and various social institutes reinforce the stratification system and there is little opportunity to change position ie: The Caste system (Giddens) is extremely elaborate and varies in its structure from area to area, so much so that it does not really constitute diversity of varying beliefs and practices. Through out our lives we will be confronted with certain types of social stratification in our everyday lives within certain cultures and societies therefore we need to explore the Functionalist approach and the Marxists Approach. Like the functionalists, Marxists agree that education is functional in that it maintains the dominance of certain powerful groups in society. Unlike the functionalists, however, Marxists do not believe that it works for the benefit of all. Instead Marxists argue that the education system sustains one small group’s ideas about appropriate forms of schooling and assumptions about what knowledge is. The system also maintains different levels of access to knowledge for different groups and thereby prohibits the widespread dissemination of knowledge to everyone. From a functionalist perspective, the main parts of society (its institutions such as education, religion and the family) are the foundations for social structure. These institutions have interconnected roles and interrelated norms to form a complete system. All of the institutions have a role to meet the functional prerequisites (society’s basic needs). Integration between the parts is necessary so therefore integration is a functional prerequisite in itself. Social relations are organized, in result of values providing general guidelines for behavior. These state that the function is a consequence, which adds to the stability of the system. A dysfunction is a consequence, which takes away stability from the system of social stratification. There are certain institutions, among them include the family, religion and economy, etc. , which aid the structure of society. These institutions, working in order, with harmony, will not only increase the stability of social stratification, but will add to it. The functionalist will then point out that these institutions, while independent of each other, have a shared system of values which guides them and helps hold the society together. To find out what function each institution performs in the whole social stratification system, one must ask themselves the question of what are the consequences of each institutions contribution to the social stratification of the society Functionalists view on social stratification of our society is centered on their basic interpretations. The role of education is to educate individuals within society and to prepare and qualify them for work in the economy as well as helping to integrate individuals into society and teach them the norms, values and morals of society. Yet there are two sociological theories that differ greatly between them on the role of education. These are Functionalism and Marxism. Like many functionalists, Talcott and Parsons believe that stratification systems derive from common values, it follows from the existence of values that individuals will be evaluated and therefore placed in some form of ranking order. In Parsons words â€Å"Stratification, in its valuational aspect, then is the ranking of units in a social system in accordance with the common value system†. In other words those who perform successfully in terms of society’s values will be ranked highly and they will be likely to receive a variety of rewards. Most societies have different value systems, the ways of attaining a high position will vary from society to society. Parsons argument suggests that stratification is an inevitable part of all human societies and there is a general belief that stratification systems are just, right and proper since they are basically an expression of shared values. In Parsons words he sees social stratification as both inevitable and functional for society, it is inevitable because it derives from shared values which are a necessary part of all social systems and functional because it strives to integrate various groups in society. Functionalists view the role of education as a means of socializing individuals and to integrate society, to keep society running smoothly and remain stable. Durkheim believes that society can only survive if its members are committed to common social values and that education provides these to children and young people as well as raising awareness of their commitment to society. Durkheim also believed that schools teach young people that they must co-operate with their peers and be prepared to listen and learn from their teachers. Individual pupils eventually learn to suspend their own self interests for those of society as a whole, work together and that success in education, just like in society, involves commitment to a value consensus. Bowles and Gintis, writers of ‘Schooling in Capitalist America’ (1976) believe in the ‘Correspondence Principle’, where they suggest that the hierarchy in work is similar to the hierarchy in school, particularly in the differences in social class between state school pupils and fee paying school pupils. Bowles and Gintis also believe that schools are no longer about the teaching of a subject but the social principle or control of the pupils meaning that schools concentrate more on the hidden curriculum than the knowledge process. Equally, schools don’t reward independence and innovation; therefore meritocracy cannot exist within our capitalist society as capitalism is based on the principle of the ruling class (the bourgeois). Bowles and Gintis (1976) refer to the social reproduction theory as a ‘Correspondence Principle’ between schooling and career. This theory suggests that school and careers are closely related and that this correlation is essential for the production of an efficient workforce. For example, the hierarchical structure at school, with the principle at the top and the pupil at the bottom can correspond with life in the workforce where the manager or boss is located at the top and the manual staff at the bottom. Pupils also have little control over what they learn, when they learn it and how; this is, to some extent, decided by the teacher and the curriculum. This is much the same in the workforce where a person may have little option over their task and is set tasks by people above them in the hierarchy. Similarly, Davis and Moore (1945), believed that education is strongly linked to social stratification by members of society and that education ‘sifts, sorts and allocates’ people to their correct place in the economy and society. By rewarding the most talented and most dedicated by allowing them into the highest paid and highest status jobs, education performs the function which is always necessary to Functionalists – differentiating all members of society so that the system runs smoothly. Davis and Moore argued that social stratification exists in every known human society and that all social systems share certain functional prerequisites’ which must be met if the system is to survive and operate efficiently. They regard social stratification as a functional necessity for all societies, and seen it as a solution to a problem faced by all social systems, that of placing and motivating individuals in the social structure, they offer no others means of solving this problem and imply that social inequality is an inevitable feature of human society. Davis and Moore concluded that differential rewards are functional for society, because they contribute to the maintenance and well being of social systems. The Marxists theory on social stratification can be found out by asking the simple question of Who benefits? from the social arrangements of the day. One must look at those who hold the power of the day to find out who benefits. The power elite control the wealth, and impose their will on those who dont control the wealth. This class system of social stratification dates back to the days of Andrew Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller who where the owners of big business who controlled the lives of their workers. Whoever the power elite want to be in power will be in power. This structure of social stratification will lead to conflicts that have been pre-determined to happen. These conflicts include all social institutions. Marxists, in general, argue that equality is impossible in a class-based society. Like functionalists, they think there is a belief in the link between education and the economy. Functionalists see the link as a positive one, which serves to benefit industrial society, However, Marxists see the education system, existing in order to put children into their class-defined roles in order to benefit capitalist society. Thus, it serves the bourgeoisie well and keepstheproletariatdown. Some researches supported the view that class differences played a role in classrooms. Hargreaves (Luzzo) demonstrated that teachers constantly under-estimated or were ignorant of the power of the peer group in regulating the behavior of pupils. Hargreaves found that boys placed in lower streams were associated with failure at school. Keddie(Luzzo) found that teachers in the humanities department of a mixed comprehensive school tended to see students from the top stream as displaying middle class conforming behaviors, and students from the lower streams as having working class noisy behaviors. Marx predicted a new and final epoch. A society would have complete equality. There would be no new force of production but the relations of production will be transformed. The ownership of production would be collective, as the members of society would share the wealth. The ruling class would no longer exploit or oppress the workers. It is interesting how Functionalists see people as unequal a positive thing and Marxists believe it a negative one. Karl Marx was struck by the inequalities the capitalist system creates. Marx’s theory was that there are two main classes in society, those who own the means of production and those who do not; he recognized that class systems are much more complex. Marx believed that there are splits which can occur among the classes. Examples of these are within the upper classes there are often conflicts between financial capitalists and manufactures. Marx’s concept of class directs us towards objectively structured economic inequalities in society and that class does not refer to beliefs people hold about their position, but to objective conditions which allow some to have greater access to material rewards than others. Marx believed that large scales of inequalities would persist within industrialized countries as the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. American sociologist Erik Olin Wright has developed a theoretical position which owes much to Marx, but also incorporates ideas from Weber (Wright 1978-1985). According to Wright, there are three dimensions of control over economic resources in modern capitalist production, and these allow us to identify the major classes which exist ie: 1)Control over investments and money capital. 2)Control over the physical means of production (Land or factories and offices. 3)Control over labour power. Those who belong to the capital class have control over each of these dimensions within the production system and members of the working class have control over none of them. In between these two main classes, however there are groups whose position is more ambiguous. These people are what Wright called contradictory class locations because they are able to influence some aspects of production but are denied control over others. Wright terms the class position of such workers as ‘contradictory’ because they are neither capitalists nor manual workers, yet they share certain common features with each. Melvin Tumin a critique of Davis and Moore argues that they have ignored the influence of power on the unequal distribution of rewards. Tumin concludes that stratification by its very nature can never adequately perform the functions which Davis and Moore assign to it. Tumin argues that those born into the lower strata can never have the same opportunities for realizing their talents as those born into the higher strata. Tumin believes that stratification can weaken social integration by giving members of the lower strata a feeling of being excluded from participation in the larger society. Tumin concluded that their enthuastic search for positive functions of stratification Davis and Moore have ignored or tried to play down its many dysfunctions. The time I have spent looking at social stratification has brought me to the conclusion both the structural-functionalist and the social conflict theorists have very strong and explained theories. I believe that in today’s world the structural-functionalist theory is very accurate and seems to be true in our everyday lives. The media makes it so clear to everyone that an education is the only way to make it in the world. The world has advanced tremendously in the past century and continues to expand in technology, making it essential to have a college background and extensive educational background. It’s our choice on where we want to go in life and I feel that no one can shape it for us, we must do it ourselves. We can not live in this world without structure, although personally I think the Marxists approach works better for society as people can change their positions within our society through hard work. The functionalist approach works better for certain societies therefore why would we change it if it is working effectively, although within certain cultures social stratification produces a lot of inequalities which is vital for that society to work. Giddens. (1997). Stratification and Class Structure. In: Anthony Giddens Sociology third edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers ltd. 240-282. Ken Browne. (1998). Social Stratification. In: Polity Press an introduction to Sociology. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Haralambos and Holborn. (1995). Social Stratification. In: Micahel Haralambos and Martin Holborn SOCIOLOGY Themes and Perspectives. 4th ed. London: HarperCollins Publishers. 21-122. Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore with a response by Melvin Tumin. (1996). Class readings in Sociology. Available: http://www. soc. iastate. edu/sapp/DavisMoore. html. Last accessed 18th Nov 2010. ________________________________________

Origins of the Arab Spring The WritePass Journal

Origins of the Arab Spring Abstract Origins of the Arab Spring ), the Middle East was run by tyrants who had taken up ownership of their countries. Many Arabs had a feeling that they had been cursed and that the running of affairs in their countries was a source of moral embarrassment. All the events in the Arab Spring originated from an act of protest by Bouazizi, a 26-year-old man from Tunisia on 17th December, 2010. He set himself on fire after a brush with police forces.   As reported by The Telegraph (2011), â€Å"his cart was confiscated by a policewoman who slapped him and spat in his face†. This adds police brutality to the perils that Arabs were going through in regimes prior to the spring. This report aims to present an in-depth look into events before, during and after the recent Arab spring. 2.Events During the Arab Spring Bouazizi succumbed to injuries sustained after torching himself in protest. However, the events that followed transformed Tunisia’s political landscape. Mass protests were organized over oppression, unemployment and the wide gap in income between the rich and the poor. The ultimate goal of the protests was to ensure that Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the then president of the country, is removed from office. Slightly less than a month after the protests started, Ben Ali fled Tunisia on 14th January, 2011 after ruling for twenty four years (Willis, 2012). This victory of Tunisian reformists inspired protestors in neighbouring Egypt, who believed that they had to end Hosni Mubarak’s thirty-year reign of the country. Egypt protests were brutally resisted by security forces. In February 2011, the persistent protestors succeeded in making Mubarak to leave office (Abou-El-Fadl, 2012). The third casualty was Libya, whose protests were triggered by the arrests of human rights lawyer s in February, 2011. These protests took a violent turn, with the opposition being assisted by NATO in destabilizing the Libyan army. In October 2011, after eight months of fierce exchanges between the army and protestors, Gaddafi’s rule was brutally ended when he was captured executed (Prashad, 2012). In the Middle East, countries that experienced Arab spring protests were Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. Just like it was experienced in North Africa, protests in these countries were violent and received brutal resistance from police and other security forces. After surviving an execution attempt, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had been Yemen’s president for over 30 years, resigned in 2012. However, Bashar Al-Assad, Syria’s president managed to cling to his presidency amidst criticism from the international community (Weyland, 2012). 3.Characteristics of Arab Countries that triggered the Arab Spring Springborg (2011) argues that the economic conditions in Arab countries are not conducive for democratic leadership. There is a high dominance of governments in the private sector, a fact that limits the sources from which autonomous organizations can draw capital. As a result, these countries score negatively in terms of employment and other aspects that contribute to economical stability. Dominance of businesses by the government gives it an economic advantage over its opposition. Unless reforms are made to reduce the economic power of governments, attainment of democracy is difficult (Campante Chor, 2012; Stepan Linz, 2013). With no financial power to match that of the government and minimal avenues through which grievances can be made, mass protests were the only viable options for the oppressed. Thus, the majority of the population collaborated against the few who were in power. However, there is no assurance that ousting one person from power and transferring it to another ca n bring instant economic transformations to a country. According to Springborg (2011), the attainment of democracy in the Middle East is challenged by the fact the economies are too young, poor and rural. For a democratic transition to effectively take place in a country, Cincotta and Doces (2011) established that the median age of the country’s population has to be approximately thirty. However, Arab countries have the second lowest median ages in the world. Tunisia is the oldest, with a median age of 29. Such youthful ages, according to Springborg (2011), are associated with volatility, a characteristic that was displayed in the Arab spring. For democracy to be effectively sustained, the per capita annual income for citizens was approximated in 1997 to be $6,000 (Przeworski Limongi, 1997). Given that this was 15 years ago, the current figure is $12, 000. Apart from Tunisia, the per capita GDPs of Arab countries are currently less than $6,000. The attainment of democracy is also closely related to how urbanized regions are (Davis Henderson, 2003). Even though there are varying degrees of urbanization in the Arab world, the overall level of urbanization is lower than expected. This is even worsened by the fact that Egypt has been in the process of de-urbanizing since 1986 (Springborg, 2011). Other factors that pose a challenge to democracy in the Arab world include shrunken middle classes, high illiteracy levels among populations, insecurity and overdependence on governments. Arabians from the poor, rich and middle class heavily rely on their governments for their wellbeing. This has increased the governments’ budgets on subsidies of energy and food (Springborg, 2011). For these reasons, governments are largely authoritarian. This leaves those in power at liberty to do whatever they please with the resources of their countries, regardless of what effects it shall have on other citizens. This also contributed to the rage among protestors who complained about the ineffective distribution of resources. 4.Impacts of the Arab Spring There are several impacts that resulted from the Arab Spring on both local and international levels. For countries that actively took part and ousted their leaders, the vacancies had to be filled. This led to the competition of leadership among several groups, each considering itself the right heir of leadership (Brom, 2012). These included groups fighting for democracy, Islamic organizations, military groups and groups allied to previous regimes. However, the current reality in these countries is that the potential of Islamic organizations getting power is higher than that of the other groups. In the entire Middle East, the Arab Spring brought about a shift in the interests of each country. Prior to the spring, countries in the Middle East had segmented themselves into groups, each contesting to attain regional leadership. The two main groups into which these countries were divided were the anti-western camp and pro western camp. The anti-western camp was against the ideologies of countries from the west and posed certain challenges for the international community. On the other hand, the pro-western camp was moderate and supported some ideals of the west. After the spring, countries quit contesting for supremacy and concentrated on their own domestic issues. Relationships between these countries have considerably reduced to a minimum (Yadlin, 2012). Vacuums that were left after the revolution are being filled and measures are being taken to prevent such uprisings from taking place in countries that did not experience them. On a global scale, countries are competing for a chance to participate in reshaping the Middle Eastern countries in the aftermath of the revolution. The Russians and Chinese are competing with western countries to support these countries, each pursuing its own interests in these countries. Several countries from the European region have also shown interest in assisting these nations to undergo a successful democratic transformation (Perthers, 2011). Businesses have also seen an opportunity in investing in these countries. Just like the Spring of Nations, the Eastern European Spring and the Prague Spring in 1848, 1980s and 1968, respectively (Susser, 2012), attaining an equilibrium state after the Arab spring is expected to take quite some time. Whether the regimes that shall take over leadership shall overcome all challenges and embrace democracy is a fact that is unknown at present. 5.Conclusion The Arab Spring was triggered by political and social problems that are synonymous with most of the Arab countries. As it has been indicated in this report, most of these problems have occurred because of the lack of democracy. The key cause of this revolution was the utter dissatisfaction of the people with their rulers, whose leadership had been characterized by huge gaps between the rich and the poor, violations of the rights of their citizens, dictatorial rules, high levels of unemployment and poverty. It is also argued by some researchers that the spring might have been inspired by the Kyrgyz revolution that took place in 2010. Impacts of the Arab Spring have been felt across the globe, with countries competing to participate in the transition of these countries while at the same time pursuing their personal interests. However, addressing the challenges that face Arab countries needs a lot of resources and time. 6.Bibliography Abou-El-Fadl, R., 2012. The Road to Jerusalem through Tahrir Square: Anti-Zionism and Palestine in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Journal of Palestine Studies, 41(2), pp.6-26. Ajami, F., 2012. The Arab Spring at One. Foreign Affairs, 91(2). Brom, S., 2012. Regional Implications of the Arab Spring. In Guzansky, Y., Heller, M.A. (ed) One Year of the Arab Spring: Global and Regional Implications. Tel Aviv: Institute for National Security Studies. pp.39-43. Campante, F.R. Chor, D., 2012. Why was the Arab World Poised for Revolution? Schooling, Economic Opportunities, and the Arab Spring. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26(2), pp.167-87. Cincotta, R. Doces, J., 2011. The Age-structural Maturity Thesis: the Youth Bulges Influence on the Advent and Stability of Liberal Democracy. In Goldstone, J.A., Kaufmann, E. Toft, M.D. Political Demography: identity, conflict and institutions. New-York, Palgrave-MacMillan. Davis, J.C. Henderson, J.V., 2003. Evidence on the political economy of the urbanization process. Journal of Urban Economics, 53(1), pp.98-125. Perthers, V., 2011. Europe and the Arab Spring. Survival, 53(6), pp.73-84. Prashad, V., 2012. Arab spring, Libyan winter. New York: AK Press Pub. Przeworski, A. Limongi, F., 1997. Modernization: Theories and Facts. World Politics, 49(2), pp.155-83. Springborg, R., 2011. The Precarious Economics of Arab Springs. Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, 53(6), pp.85-104. Stepan, A. Linz, J.J., 2013. Democratization Theory and the â€Å"Arab Spring†. Journal of Democracy , 24(2), pp.15-30. Susser, A., 2012. The Arab Spring: The Origins of a Misnomer. Tel Aviv Notes, 6(6). The Telegraph, 2011. Arab Spring: timeline for the African and Middle East rebellion. The Telegraph, 25 October. Weyland, K., 2012. The Arab Spring: Why the Surprising Similarities with the Revolutionary Wave of 1848? Perspectives on Politics, 10(4), pp.917-34. Willis, M.J., 2012. Politics and Power in the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Independence to the Arab Spring. London: C. Hurst Co. Yadlin, A., 2012. The Arab Uprising One Year On. In Guzansky, Y., Heller, M.A. (ed) One Year of the Arab Spring: Global and Regional Implications. Tel Aviv: Institute for National Security Studies. pp.11-20.