The trouble with scientists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The trouble with scientists - Essay Example Although malnutrition and hunger remain grave problems globally, the issue of world food supplies continues to reemerge constantly. There could be numerous reasons for this. For example, it could be a result of a decrease in yields of key staple cereals, environmental damage, and pesticide resistance among many more. These are all courses for concern. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to bring to light the issue of global food crisis by analyzing it and demonstrating the responsibility of scientists in solving this problem especially through participating in science journalism. It is no doubt that agriculture and food are at the heart of the civilization of mankind. Many cultures celebrate the variety of aspects of agriculture and food since they are essential for the continuity of human beings. The serious food crisis that the world is facing is life threatening and perilous to millions of people. A great number of countries continue to experience crop failures and an i ncrease in fertilizer prices. An increase in population further worsens the problems as it means there are increasing mouths to feed. Moreover, people continue to make developments in the form of buildings which destroy the natural environment and habitat. Millions of people remain underfed due to inequality in the distribution of food among dissimilar socioeconomic groups. It is the goals of food distribution systems to connect producers such as fishermen and farmers to consumers. It is also the goal of the system to allocate this food accordingly. Establishment of markets has made distribution procedures easy. However, these markets are located in central locations where the food is distributed to outer regions. It is tough for consumers to purchase the food due to inability to access markets and their lack of ability to afford the costs. In developing nations, there is limited transportation; few roads with poor maintenance, which make the areas inaccessible and delays movement o f goods. According to past research, the chief cause of food shortages, which leads to hunger and starvation, is not scarcity of land for agriculture. The world has adequate arable land for food production and cultivation. Nations like Sudan, Bangladesh, Somalia, Mozambique and Ethiopia are some of the nations that are hardest hit by starvation and hunger, yet they have adequate arable land. The causes of deficient food levels and supplies are manifold, and this calls for numerous and diverse, appropriate strategies to overcome the problems. An awareness of the causes of hunger and malnutrition is imperative in poor countries. It will challenge and enable policy makers and scientists to lay the ground work for programs and measures that alleviate poverty and ensure food security. As experts, scientists have an obligation to participate in the alleviation of the worldwide food crisis. One of the principal strategies that scientists have established in alleviating the crisis is the cr eation of genetically modified crops. Genetically modified crops neither grow more intensely nor do are they bigger than common crops. Their main advantage is that they have a high resistance from pests and need minimum or no use of pesticides. Research into these crops has become a pillar into several nations’ agricultural reform strategy. With funding from the governments, scientists can continue to use research facilities to come up with more

Michael’s Reflective Paper Essay Example for Free

Michael’s Reflective Paper Essay * Who am I? What life experiences made me who I am today? Was it my family, my social environment where I went to school, the groups, or organizations that I belonged to, or was it certain life events that shaped me? * This paper is my attempt to show that my family and social environment, my life experiences from childhood to present influenced me to be the person that I am today and who I will be in the future. As I reflect upon my life, at the age of forty-nine, I have come to the conclusion that my family and social environment when growing up, surviving cancer in my twenties, and getting married in my thirties are the main social influences and life events that have shaped who I am today and who I want to become in the future. Every one of these experiences has given me something: learning to be independent from family attitudes; dealing with the state of uncertainty, which comes with the disease; responsibility of marriage; and the importance to find the field of expertise for effective work. All these insights can be described as building effective relationships with people and developing self-understanding on different levels. * To understand my family life, and why I feel that their negative attitudes to me shaped me to be a better person, I first have to give you some background on my family and me. The background of my family clarifies how important for me was to be independent from this alienating environment. My mother died when I was only a year old and my father raised my older brother Kevin and me by himself until he met my stepmother. My father remarried and had my two stepbrothers William and Robert. My father was a strict disciplinarian, racist, drank a lot, and worked as a machinist at a refinery plant. My stepmother was a homemaker as my father did not approve of her working and felt that she needed to be at home taking care of the children. My stepmother came from an orphanage, had polio in her left hand. She was also an alcoholic, meaning that she was nasty when drunk; in addition, she was a chain smoker. Kevin was the oldest son one and a half years older than me (and my father’s favorite one), I was the middle child, William was five years younger than me and was diagnosed at an early age as having severe attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD); Robert was the youngest. Witt and Mossler (2010) quote the longitudinal research study which has shown that the attitudes of parents towards children rather than the practices of raising children shape our personality in adulthood (Ch. 1, p. 11). It is evident that lack of my father’s attention has influenced me a lot, stimulating me to attract my parents’ attention, for better or for worse. The authors also stress on the importance of the environment of growing up, both social and physical (Witt Mossler, 2010, Ch. 1, p. 13). We lived in a relatively low middle class white community in Beaumont, Texas next door to my father’s brother and his family. The area where we lived in was close to the outskirts of Beaumont and was nestled back in the woods, so the woods were our playground. This could create the feeling of abandonment, but it was also empowering somehow, as I learned by these circumstances to rely on myself. Palkovitz, Marks, Appleby, and Holmes (2002) treat the relationship between parents and children as a complex unit consisting of father factors, co parental factors, mother factors, child factors, and contextual factors (p. 8). It is evident that in my family, there was disintegration in a sense on all levels. It was interesting to discover that, according to the study by Palkovitz, Marks, Appleby, and Holmes (2002), my father’s attitude was shaped by his experience in romantic relationships and then projected upon children (p. 8). I had to develop independence from this painful emotional context. My relationship with my father caused me to be non-racist, disciplined, and extroverted, as my father was a strict disciplinarian, controlling, and racist man. He gave all his attention to my older brother and ignored me unless I did something that angered him. His treatment of me caused me to crave his attention and to seek to please him until I reached my teenage years and decided that I did not want to be like my father. I rebelled against his control upon me. He tried to control what I did after school, how I wore my hair, how I thought, and what I wanted to be when I graduated high school. I was deeply afraid of him when I was a child, and only when I became a young adult did I see that what he was doing to me was wrong. I started standing up for myself. I started seeking attention outside my family and I got a job after school so that I started earning my own money. That allowed me to purchase my own clothes, get my haircut how I wanted, and purchase my first car that gave me the freedom to escape from my dysfunctional family on a daily basis. My first car and earning my own money gave me the ability to distance myself from my family. However, later circumstances of my life taught me that people can also be supporting and self-reliance is not enough. When I was in my early twenties working and going to college, I developed Hodgkin’s disease that has also changed my personality. Hodgkin’s is a form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system. Like other forms of cancer, it is believed to cause the feelings of uncertainty, lack of control, anxiety, isolation, discomfort, and – last but not least – re-definition of goals and roles (Halldorsdottir Hamrin, 1996, p. 34). On one hand, one feels that he has to re-define his place in the society; on another hand, people care about those with the disease more and help more (at least they are supposed to do so). I experienced how it was not to have the control upon my life, but also how it was to be cared for by others. Anyway, when one is ill and so evidently dependent upon the society, the natural question comes: â€Å"Did I do anything wrong? And what was it? † Often cancer is associated with suppressed anger and a desire to please other (or at least attract attention) (Broderick, 1996, p. 14), and this really could be my case. I must admit that this understanding came along with serious heart problems. Still, illness did not prevent me from shouldering responsibility in work and family life, as well as from the joys of both. I met my wife during my thirties when I was changing my careers from being a technician to a salesperson. Interestingly, psychologists nowadays view professional development of an individual as an ongoing process (not limited to certain age group), the first stage of which is exploration (Smart Peterson, 1997, p. 59). So, I was engaged in a kind of â€Å"double exploration†, searching for new ways in professional life as well as personal, consciously or not. In addition, like a career, marriage is a serious responsibility that implies both joyful outcomes and stress together with work on oneself. This personal responsibility has changed me a lot, teaching how to meet the needs of another person with whom I have been living day by day for a long time. I find the recommendations given by Witt and Mossler (2010, Ch. 3, p. 37) helpful, though challenging sometimes. People are happy in marriage when they support each other materially and emotionally, not forgetting to be positive, share feelings, thank each other, express affection, and do certain tasks together. In prolonged perspective, my family life and work taught me how to be productive and understanding in relationships with people and how to maintain stability in the changing world around and in the situations when inner conflicts arise. That is why in my future, I want to pass on the knowledge that my occupation as a sales manager has given to me. Perhaps I will start organizing some training sessions. This may also help to deepen my competence in the field of sales and on the level of personal communication, as people may share their valuable experience with me on the trainings. As I reflect upon my life now, from quite a distance, I have concluded that several events were the strongest in making me the person I am at present. They were my family and social environment in childhood, surviving cancer in my twenties, and getting married in my thirties. My family life stimulated me to earn living independently, cancer survival was essential in understanding my own potential and the ability to help of the people around, and marriage has given me the notion of responsibility. The dark years and events turn out to be ambivalent in the sense that they have given me certain experience and understanding of myself. Those main social influences and life events that I described in this paper have shaped my present personality and my thoughts about the future.

The Impact Of Deregulation Of Tourism Tourism Essay

The Impact Of Deregulation Of Tourism Tourism Essay National security has always been an issue dating back to as early as when man started organizing himself in society. Tourism has become a major pillar of modern-day economies and cultures. This research examines the impact of tourism deregulation or the simplification of government rules and requirements on tourism to national security. The study will also cover areas on importation of terrorism through tourism; compare tourism crime and other types of crime and finally investigate the changes in crime rate in countries that deregulate tourism. The resident attitudes towards the impacts of deregulation of tourism on national economy will be explored. Questionnaires and simple random sampling can be methods of data collection from the respondents. The data collected will be analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences. The findings of the study will be presented using pie charts and graphs. Tourism and security are interrelated and inseparable. The security of the tourists is the primary concern of every host government because of it only where they feel safe that they will spend and visit again. The current economic state of most countries has presented a problem because governments have to come up with ways of raising foreign earnings to raise money to service the national debt and keep the economy afloat. One of the solutions has been to simplify government regulations for the tourism industry to attract more traffic. While this has been successful in most countries, recent evidence has raised questions of what effects lower standards for tourists have on the national security of the host country. Tourism is a delicate and dynamic industry. Although tourists have specific countries they want to tour based on experience, recommendation or the spirit of adventure, it is worth noting that some tourists have other agendas. It is impossible to know legitimate tourists from people with hidden agendas such as terrorists without the proper legislation. At the same time tourists are usually free to travel to destinations of their choice avoiding destinations associated with risk. It has been observed that the consequences of disastrous events on tourist destinations are spontaneous and adverse. Some of the insecurity concerns include terrorism of any kind where governments issue travel advisories to their citizens to not visit the affected country. A problem presents itself when the tourism has been imported in the guise of tourism, such that terrorists disguise themselves as normal tourists to enter countries. If stringent laws for immigration were to be put in place as they were befo re, it would be possible to pick the wheat from the chaff. According to (Zurick, 2006) the concept of security has changed through the decades from one of collective security and common defense to embrace notions of common and cooperative security. Despite the damage done to the concept of collective security because of the United States led invasion of Iraq, the development of common security structures through collective as well as multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations is still an important aspect for the expansion of security concerns to cover a nations environment, health and economic security threats. This research also considers that tourism organizations have little influence on peace and security agendas despite the fact that they are important for tourism. This is particularly at the micro-level whereby appropriate tourism development initiatives may serve as a means to prevent potential future conflict over resource and environmental security challenges. 1.2 Safety, security and destination image The world has become a global village and the global relationships have become turbulent, this has therefore called for destination marketing organizations which focus their attention in demonstrating that there is safety for tourists. A tourist perception about a particular destination which may be caused by negative publicity is mostly a question of security and safety. Often, this negative publicity may be unrelated to the reality on the ground but it has more than significant effects on the tourism sector and the economy as a unit. Tourism deregulation impacts on national security can be categorized into positive and negative category based upon economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts. According to (Hall, Dallen Duval 2003), tourism is greatly affected by and affects security. The destination a tourist chooses is determined by how safe he or she knows it be, or has been advised is. Changes in the global security affect tourism greatly. The security concerns affect both tourists and the host country that has to face the fact that not all individuals visiting the country have good intentions. Responsible tourists take time to investigate the security situation in the countries they intend to visit. Such responsible tourists should be aware of security risks and take precautions to mitigate such effects or avoid them completely. The September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Towers in the United States of America are an epitome of events that can affect the tourist traffic of any country. Terrorist attacks have an impact on travel, leisure industries and tourist destinations. As a consequence more focus and attention has been directed towards tourism safety and security issues than ever before. The impact of deregulation on tourism laws on national security is a matter that cannot be ignored. Recent research is being focused further on the analysis of not only how travel safety can be promoted but also how security concerns may be incorporated in terms of tourism marketing. The management is also being enhanced to enable the industry become more responsive to chal lenges of security both internal and imported. Countries with unstable security history tend to be paranoid about security but stable and relatively safe countries have been continuously passing regulation that simplifies the process of obtaining tourist visas. The movement of the tourists is also not restricted or monitored. While this markets the country as place where the privacy of visitors is guaranteed and protected, it also attracts people of questionable character. These individuals might commit crime and abscond, or some might use the stability and anonymity to plan attacks on other countries. The latter situation can create a diplomatic spat which, unchecked, could escalate to war. Tourism activities can be affected by either external or internal forces; such forces may include war, terrorism activities, economic recessions, disaster, and financial crisis among others. Nations and cities which have experienced terrorist attacks for example New York and Washington faced profound impact on global travel (Blackford, 2004). The area of security is broad and sensitive and is affected by many things. The relationship between deregulation of tourism and national security can be explored in different perspectives. For example, in examining this relationship the research will look at whether the deregulation of air transport has influenced national security and the tourist destination countries in different nations. Terrorism will also be examined to investigate whether it can be imported in the guise of tourism. It will further examine the impact of deregulation on capacity as well as fares. The study also attempts to determine the impact deregulation has caused on marketing of tourist destinations and attractions. Finally, the research will investigate the impacts of tourism deregulation on transport at the destination areas. The research will also compare tourism crime and other types of crime (Hall, Dallen Duval 2003). 1.3 Statement of the problem The tourism industry has grown tremendously and thus every country is trying to gain a competitive advantage in order to market tourism adequately. This has lead to deregulation of tourism to assist raise tourist traffic. This research will seek to identify these impacts in a wider perspective with respect to crimes related to tourism and also seek to explore the rate of crime in countries that deregulate tourism. With globalization becoming embraced internationally the need for national security has been an issue of concern not only in tourism but in other areas as well. This concern is fundamental if nations are to enjoy and promote tourism while protecting the national security by preventing tourism crime, terrorism and other threats to a nations security that could be as a result of tourism deregulation. Research and experience have evidenced that tourism is a crucial factor that can contribute greatly to the development of a nations economy. It is therefore worth noting that tourism is directly associated and related with the cultural, economic as well as the intellectual potential of any nation. Currently available statistical data indicates that tourism is a leading profit earner in most developing industries in the world and thus the need to protect and uplift it as while not compromising as the national security of a country. It is expected that in the early 21st century the number of tourists will increase dramatically and consequently the revenues from tourism will increase considerably. The evident threats to national security are not something any country passing legislation to deregulate the market can ignore. The purpose of this research is to identify this threats and the correlation it has with deregulating the tourism sector. 1.4 Research objectives This study will be focus on achieving the following objectives: 1. To investigate whether terrorism can be imported in the guise of tourism. 2. To investigate whether countries that deregulate tourism experience high crime rate. 3. To investigate the relationship and compare tourism crime and other types of crime. 4. To identify the impacts of airlines deregulation in international areas with respect to tourism. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), tourism is one of the top five foreign exchange earners in approximately 83% of countries and the main foreign exchange earner for at least 38% of countries globally. In most of these countries foreign exchange earnings are usually used to purchase imports and augment reserves. They generate income in the particular country and can stimulate consumer spending and investment in other sectors of the economy. Tourism provides an ideal situation where there is little need to compensate from outside because it grows the local industries and resources. It has ripple effect on the rest of the economy and any country that realizes this need to come up with innovative ways to encourage tourists to visit the country. Some tourists are turned away by stringent laws of immigration or stay and it has become the norm for most countries to deregulate the market. Tourism is an exciting and fascinating industry. The industrys contribution to the national economy is significant. The major threats to this lucrative industry are socioeconomic problems related to increased level of crime rates and the depletion of resources or sites and events that attract tourists. Similarly, due to the current rise in terrorist activity, it has become a major concern for the natives of the countries being toured. According to Williams (1997) crime is a common social issue which threatens the safety of the people, property, their sense of well being, and also causes entropy to the social order. Crime also reduces peoples quality of life because they are not psychologically at peace and are therefore not able to work as well or as much as they potentially can.(Cracraft, 2000). In all countries of the world associated with popular destinations, crime has been a major threat to the stability of the economy. In a Newsweek research conducted by Zakaria (2002) tourism safety and security matters raised by allowing tourists in is a major headache for any government. It is evident that crime against tourists or associated with tourism is considerably high in tourist destinations. This research therefore investigates the extent to which crime has an impact in a nations security. It is of importance to analyze the impact of passing legislation that lowers the bar for tourists and whether it has become an avenue for crme and threats to national security. 2.1 Impacts of airline deregulation According to (Fallon, 2002), nations globally have realized that liberal aviation agreements have significant impact tourism amongst signatory parties. Recently, there has been deregulation of airlines leading to the growth of low-cost carriers and overcapacity in airline industry to bolster tourist numbers. Further deregulation of international air travel has seen the tourism industry grow significantly as simplified requirements to visit countries are major attraction for potential tourists. In addition, governments are encouraging movements towards agreements with country blocks or many nations rather than individual nations to create open skies in different geographic regions. The result of this is that people are able to move across borders with minimal or no paperwork. For nations to ensure the sustained growth and success of the international airline industry it has become important to adopt aviation policies which are conducive to open skies agreements. This has liberalized air travel beyond existing restraining bilateral among nations. This has a significant impact on tourism as well as other industries, as this facilitates the movement of people around the world. For example the signing of the open skies agreement between the United States and the Philippines deregulated tourism rules. While this is a way of growing the economy, its potential effects on national security are far-reaching. The wanton and indiscriminate hosting of people without adequate paperwork carries with it the risk of encouraging criminal activates. 2.2 Socio-cultural impacts of tourism deregulation on national security According to (Blackford, 2002) it is a fact that tourism has a big impact on the economy of a nation, its cultures as well as the ecosystems. Despite this it is one of the least regulated industries in globally. This has opened up destination countries further to the influx of foreign earnings and capital. This trend of deregulation favors major international hotel chains and tour operators while at the same time providing the residents of the country to earn from the resources, whether man-made or natural. Tourism has long been viewed as the reason for the spread of the global mentality. Cultures and social practices are imported as locals learn from visitors. The lack of adequate background checks on tourists, while offering an ideal protection of the visitors privacy poses a problem. The host country is exposed to the risk of allowing individuals of questionable character into the country. Interaction of these individuals with the locals might do more harm than good. The possible causes of some of the security situations include crime related incidents, terrorism, war, and political unrest or instability. The crime related security incidents may be in different forms such as theft, robbery, rape, murder, piracy and kidnapping. Local residents may commit crimes against residents, tourists against locals, tourist against other tourists, or may take other forms such as organized crimes against tourism enterprises. A specific environmental issue relates to the increased number of planes traversing the skies has led to greenhouse warming. Airplane contrails generate cirrus clouds, which reflect the suns rays and warm the atmosphere (Zakaria, 2007). As this is mostly the result of new fuel-efficient aircraft, which produce less heat and a cooler mixture of exhaust air conducive to contrail formation, governments should consider the environmental impact of more commercial aircraft in the transatlantic market. This rise is directly proportional to tourist traffic because airlines will tend to increase flights to popular destinations so as to increase their turnover. 2.3 Deregulation of immigration and tourism laws. It is prudent to note that this research does not in any way imply that attempts to deregulate the market are inn-informed. On the contrary, liberalizing the industry is a crucial step toward achieving the vision of a global village vision and making the world a better place. However, to deregulate without adequately researching on the effects and impacts on national security is ill-advised. It is no secret that every country has enemies or people who would want to cause harm to it. While most of these groups or individuals might not make their intentions known, the methods they use to deliver the punch are criminal at the least. The template is to exploit the weaknesses in the countrys laws and find the opportune moment to strike and send the chilling message. Giving visas to all and sundry without first checking their backgrounds or requiring adequate and authentic proof of identification might be good for trade, but it is not the least conducive for the security of all affected. Tourists are not required to give detailed schedules of their stays in the countrys they visit and this is the perfect recipe for clandestine operations and activates. 2.4 Importation of terrorism through the guise of tourism According to Cracraft (1986) tourism is an activity that is sensitive and a nation will react rapidly to crime. Acts of terrorism are always a drawback to tourist destinations because it is followed by negative publicity and a host of travel advisories. This is because terrorism acts often indicate inadequacy of security and safety controls. Recent happenings have shown a disturbing trend where terrorists sneak into countries disguised as terrorists, leave among the locals as they plan their crimes. This worrying trend has created a situation of suspicion of people from certain places perceived to breed terrorists such as Middle East. This blanket stigmatization and the blanket security regulations that follow are saddening. The security concerns and weaknesses exposed can be pre-empted by having adequate laws that tend to pick the wheat from the chaff, instead of being left behind to sort the debris. 2.5The difference between tourism crime and other types of crime The growth of tourism has always been associated with increases in the level of certain types of crime (Goliath, 2004). The growth of tourism can also be associated with modernization and development which is a source of social instability which leads to criminal behavior. In addition, tourism crimes are often highly publicized, and the subsequent media publicity is a dent on the countrys image. Another consideration is the fact that tourism growth is mostly accompanied by growth in the resident population. It is important to distinguish between criminal acts directed towards the tourists and those committed by the tourists there are many factors that make tourists attractive as targets of crime which include. While crime is primarily an illegal attempt to earn a living, tourism crime is mostly premeditated and about more than just earning a days meal. It is about achieving a personal, social, religious or economic obligation either to oneself of to a group. As countries continue to pass laws that simplify the entry and stay of tourists without taking into account the dynamic nature of the human being, it becomes impossible to shield against crimes related to tourists. Most of the tourists may be usually highly noticeable because of their race, clothing, speech, and even the tendency to carry valuable items such as cameras, backpacks which attract therein criminals. It is often perceived that tourists are wealthy people and are more likely to be in possession of valuable items. Tourists are mostly accompanied by tour guides and at times they may be strangers. At times in the destination few people may be aware of their specific activity pattern. For example the murder of Meredith Kerche in Perugia, Italy has had huge media attention in the United Kingdom. In addition, issues such as drug and tourism, sex tourism as well as other related crime and social disorder among holidaymakers. The high rate of exposure of tourists as targets to criminal activity in some destinations is illustrated by the findings that have seen tourists being stolen of their belongings or property (Schollmeyer, 2003).This social wrongs impact negatively on the national security because negative social behavior such as drug use and sex trade are primary causes of crime. It has also been observed that criminal activities can as well be committed by the tourists themselves, either against the locals or other tourists. Where certain forms of tourism either foster or entail criminal activities, it is the tourist who is usually seen as the lead player in initiating or engaging in some kind of illegal activity-. The most, obvious example invokes forms of tourism, such as those involving certain types of related activity, which are defined as illegal by destination authorities. While tourism activity may be not completely illegal but a strong criminal association may exist. The best example of this indirect relationship is gambling, given the involvement of organized crime cartels in casino businesses. The influx in tourists to these places might raise the economic might of criminals, emboldening them and causing a general rise in the crime rate of the country. Finally, there are those tourist activities that can degenerate into criminal behavior because o f the presence of alcohol, drugs, arguments or stereotypes 2.6 Crime rate in countries that deregulate tourism It is evident that there is high crime rate in countries that deregulate tourism, for example sex tourism industry has increased all over South East of Asia and Burma (Kristiansen Trion, 2005) and the crime rates in South Africa during high tourism seasons is evident. In these regions tourists are highly involved in criminal activities and are often associated with several kinds of human rights abuses, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. For example women and juveniles are often coerced to engage in the sex trade against their will. While these crimes are abetted by locals, it is the presence of tourists with ill-intentions that causes the rise. As observed earlier the impacts of crime on the destination are diverse. Some cases involve crimes related to drug use, whereby the destinations image becomes blotted resulting in significant decline in tourist demand. On the other hand, theft may occur at tourist destinations where the tourists are at the wrong place at the wrong time. In addition, tourists may contribute to this by engaging in illegal activates or getting involved with criminals. (Magenta , 2009, pp56). CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction In order to achieve the research objectives a multi-method approach will be adopted, by use of both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Quantitative methods will focus on providing a broad statistical measure of the nature, extent and impact of deregulation of tourism on national security using a reasonable sample size. In depth and comprehensive qualitative information will be collected on the impacts of deregulation of security on national security, importation of crime through tourism, comparison between tourism crime and other types of crime. The research will employ questionnaires to collect data from the respondents as one of the data collection tools. Interviews schedules will also be applied to interview the randomly selected sample population. This chapter presents a description of the procedures and methods that the researcher will use in order to obtain the required data needed for the study. It comprises of research design, data collection instruments, the target population, the sampling strategy, and data analysis methods. 3.2 Research design The researcher will employ quantitative research method. The quantitative research design to be used will be a causal comparative design. The causal comparative design will allow the researcher to collect one or more information from one participant. A casual comparative research allows researcher to investigate the possibility of a causal relationship among variables that cannot be manipulated. This research design will be used to establish the factors that influence employee training. 3.3 Target population The target population will involve the immigration departments, tourists and locals of the target country. 3.4 Sampling strategy Simple random sampling techniques will be the data collection methods from the various departments. The employees will be randomly selected from each department to yield the total sample population. Purposive sampling will be used to select employees who are trained. Purposive sampling is a sampling technique that allows a researcher to use cases that have the required information with respect to the objectives of the study. 3.5 Data collection tools and instruments. The researcher intends to use questionnaires in this study. This is to provide high accuracy and validity of the study. The questionnaire is a convenient tool especially where there are a large number of subjects to be handled. The questionnaire facilitates easy and quick derivation of information within a short time. The information obtained will enable to investigate the impacts of deregulation of tourism on the national security. 3.6.1. T-test T-test will be used to test whether there are significant differences between two mean derived from the samples of groups at a specified probability level. 3.6.2 Chi-square Chi-square is a statistical technique which attempts to establish the relationship between two variables both of which are categorical in nature. The technique compares the proportion observed in each category with what would be expected under the assumptions of independence between the two variables. CHAPTER FOUR DISSECTION 4.1 Data analysis The researcher will establish whether all questionnaires are all completed. Data collected from open ended and closed questions will be coded for analysis purpose. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be used in data analysis. The data will be analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). The descriptive statistics which will be used in analysis includes means, frequencies, percentages and standard deviation. The inferential statistics that will be used in data analysis will be chi-square and T-test for independent samples. 4.2 Expected results It is expected that this research will yield results that show an upsurge in crime levels in countries that have liberalized tourism industry. In some countries with more stringent practices and therefore less tourism traffic, it is obvious that the crimes related with tourism will be less. This is a wake-up call to all legislators to take necessary precaution when passing laws that deregulate the market and give the players a free-hand to do what they want. National security should take priority over economic gain.

Introduction To Organic Functional Groups And Hydrocarbons Biology Essay

Introduction To Organic Functional Groups And Hydrocarbons Biology Essay Hydrocarbons are compounds made up entirely of carbon and hydrogen. The major types of hydrocarbons are alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, and aromatic compounds. Alkanes are parent compounds of all organic compounds and only composed of single bonds (C-H and C-C bonds). The linear (non cyclic) alkanes have a molecular formula of CnH2n+2. Alkanes that are cyclic (ring structure) are called cycloalkanes. For every ring that is present, there are two less hydrogen atoms than the equivalent (in terms of number carbons) linear alkane. Alkanes are non-polar and are the least reactive and simplest of all hydrocarbons. This is because alkanes do not have a functional group, which is usually the part of a compound that is reactive. There are very types of reactions that alkanes undergo such as reaction with oxygen and mostly all types of highly combustible substances. Alkanes are important as they are used in heating gases, gasoline, fuel oil, motor oil, jet fuel, paraffin, and many other types of f uels.1 Alkenes are hydrocarbons with functional groups of at least one carbon-carbon double bond. The double bonds are the reactive part of an alkene. Double bonds are stiffer than single bonds and do not allow for rotation and thus create cis-trans (geometric) isomers. Alkenes have a molecular formula of CnH2n and relatively non-polar. Alkenes that are cyclic are called cycloalkenes. The formula that takes into account double bonds and number of rings is CnH2n+2-2(number of rings + number of double bonds). Alkanes are much more reactive than alkanes due to unsaturation (containing double bond) and can undergo combustion, halogen addition, hydrogenation, epoxidation, oxidative cleavage, and other non-specific free radical reactions. Alkenes are used for synthesis of polymers, drugs, pesticides, and other valuable chemicals including ethanol, acetic acid, ethylene glycol, and vinyl chloride. The polymers are important in making a variety of products ranging from plastic bags to car bumpers.1 Alkynes are hydrocarbons with functional groups of at least one carbon-carbon triple bond. Since the triple bond is linear, there is not geometric isomerism. This is the reason that cyclic alkynes (cycloalkynes) are very rare, and could only be present with eight or more carbons. Alkynes have a molecular formula of CnH2n-2. They are relatively non-polar and virtually insoluble in water. Alkynes have similar reactivity to alkenes and are able to undergo halogenations, hydrogenations, and oxidation. Acetylene is a very important type of alkyne as it is used as fuel for oxyacetylene welding torch and used as industrial feedstock.1 Aromatic hydrocarbons are derivatives of benzene, a singular carbon ring with three double bonds. These compounds look like cycloalkenes but have differing properties. They are very stable due to large resonance energy. It is hard to hydrogenate these compounds to cyclohexane and can be only under forcing conditions. Oxidation also requires specific conditions. Halogenations are possible, but only with the aid of catalysts. Though, they can undergo reaction with chloroform through a series of Friedel-Craft alkylations in the presence of anhydrous aluminum chloride. Charles Friedel and James Crafts discovered these reactions in 1877 and include alkylation reactions and acylation reactions.2 Alkyl halides alkylate benzene to form alkylbenzenes in presence of Lewis acid catalysts. The alkylation is a part of electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction where an electrophile substitutes for a hydrogen atom in an aromatic hydrocarbon to make a carbon-carbon double bond. The acylation part is similar to the alkylation except that the reagent is not an alkyl chloride and is instead an acyl chloride.1 In this experiment, alkanes, alkenes, and aromatic compounds were put through various different tests to observe the outcome and help identify the class of an unknown substance. The tests include, physical appearance, odour, solubility in water and cyclohexane, test with bromine, test with aqueous potassium permanganate, and aluminum chloride with chloroform test. The different types of classes result in different products and can be distinguished from one another. The results of the tests on the unknown compound can be matched with the recorded observations of each class to help determine the hydrocarbon functional group of the unknown. Experimental: The experimental procedure carried out for this lab followed the steps listed in the lab manual. Refer to Organic Chemistry Lab Manual Fall 2010-Winter 2011 pages 34-39. It was noted that among alkene and alkyne, an alkene compound was used as these two types of hydrocarbons exhibit very similar properties in terms of reactivity. Results: Table 1: Shows the compounds used to represent each class of hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes, and aromatic compounds) including an unknown compound and blanks. All the compounds were analyzed for their chemical and physical properties and underwent various types of tests and the observations were recorded in the table below. To determine if a reaction occurred, the results of tests on each class were compared to that of the blanks, with a deviation in result leading to show that a reaction occurred. Class: Alkane Alkene Aromatic Unknown Blank Compound Name: n-Heptane 1-Octene Naphthalene #663 (Solvent Only) Molecular Structure: - - Chemical Formula: C7H16 C8H16 C10H8 Physical Appearance Liquid, transparent Liquid, transparent Solid, white, shiny Liquid, transparent - Odour No odour Smells a bit strong No odour Slight odour - Solubility in Water Insoluble Insoluble Insoluble Insoluble - Solubility in Cyclohexane Soluble Soluble Soluble Soluble - Test with Br2in CH2Cl2 Light orange colour, transparent, no reaction Clear solution (transparent), reaction occurred Dark orange colour, no reaction Dark orange colour, no reaction The solution remained brown/orange (control) Illuminate Br2 solution White colour, translucent, reaction occurred (slow) (Not necessary as a reaction was observed with Br2in CH2Cl2) Light orange colour, no reaction Translucent, clear, very light yellow, slight reaction The solution remained brown/orange (control) Litmus Paper Test pH=acidic (paper turned pink) pH= neutral (no change in paper) pH=acidic (paper turned pink) pH=acidic (paper turned pink) Paper stayed the same colour pH=neutral (control) Test with aqueous KmnO4 (Baeyer Test) The solution remained purple (just darkened), no reaction The solution turned brown, reaction occurred The solution remained purple, no reaction The solution remained purple, no reaction The solution remained purple (control) Test with AlCl3 and Chloroform The solution remained white and cloudy, no reaction The solution remained white, no reaction The solution turned blue, reaction occurred The solution turned yellow, reaction occurred The solution was white, and cloudy (control) Discussion: The substances that were used to represent alkane, alkene, and aromatic compounds were n-heptane, 1-octene, and naphthalene, respectively. There was an unknown sample given which was tested alongside the different classes of hydrocarbons in order to deduce the functional group present based on the chemical and physical properties observed. The first test was the test of physical appearance. The alkane, alkene, and unknown products were all clear, transparent, and in liquid form, while the aromatic compound was white in colour, had a shiny texture, and was in a solid state. Colourless and white compounds are thought to be pure organic compounds and since the unknown was a colourless liquid, it was believed to be an organic compound.3 The next test was that of odour. This task was difficult and is not believe to be a reliable test as the presence of a definite smell fluctuated in opinion between different experimenters. Only alkene seemed to have a very distinct and strong smell to it. It was hard to figure out the approximate type of smell of alkene as the compound was whiffed for a brief time due to precautionary safety measurements. Other compounds did not have a strong scent to them. There were two solubility tests that were performed. Firstly, the compounds were tested for solubility in water. All the organic compounds were in soluble in water as water is a polar compound and the organic compounds are non-polar in nature. When water was added to the compounds, there were two distinct layers that formed every time, indicating insolubility. The compounds were then tested for solubility in cyclohexane (cyclic alkane), a non-polar compound. When a few drops of cyclohexane were added, all the organic samples seemed to dissolve readily and no layers were observed. The results observed were expected as all organic compounds are non-polar and would only be able to dissolve in non-polar substances. Since the unknown sample behaved like the alkane, alkene, and aromatic compound in terms of polarity, it was to be concluded that the compound was indeed an organic compound (non-polar). As a safety measurement, all the tests that followed were performed under the fumehood. Also, the whole experiment was performed wearing safety goggles, lab coat, and gloves as many chemicals are corrosive and toxic. The tests performed next also included a control (blank) in order to check for a reaction occurring by comparing the results of the organic compounds to that of the blanks. When the organic compounds were tested with bromine in the presence of CH2Cl2, only alkene sample reacted at first. It was observed that a reaction took place because the control remained a brownish orange colour, while the alkene sample turned clear. This made sense as alkenes readily undergo halogenation reaction (Refer to Figure 1). The bromine addition is usually a stereospecific anti-addition across the double bond of an alkene (1-octene in this case) that could be seen in Figure 2.1 This gave an indication that the unknown was not an alkene. The samples that did not initially react (even after warming) were subjected to illumination with the use of a sun lamp. It was noted that the alkane solution had a reaction occurring as it turned clear compared to the control which was still brownish orange in colour. This was probably due to the radical formation of bromine, from the energy provided by the light, that reacted with the C-H bonds.1 Refer to Figure 3 for a general reaction m echanism. Along with the control, aromatic and unknown compounds did not show a change in colour and remained brownish orange. This could have been due to the fact that bromination is very selective and doesnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t readily react with aromatic compounds. When the solutions were subjected to a litmus paper test, only alkene and the control showed no change in colour of the paper, concluding that they were of a neutral pH. Meanwhile, alkane, aromatic and unknown compounds all turned pink, showing that they all had an acidic pH. This indicated that there was a reaction due to the illumination of the Br2 affected solutions. This was due to the formation of HBr (a strong acid) after the free radical bromination of alkanes and halogenations of aromatic compounds.3 Referring to Figure 4, there are three major and one minor product formed from the bromination of alkane (n-heptane) as secondary hydrogens are more reactive than primary ones. While in the aromatic, naphthalene compound, the bromine tends to attach to the tertiary carbon (refer to Figure 5). The halogenation of aromatic compound has substitution occurring between a tertiary hydrogen and bromine in order to retain all the original double bonds of the compound. After this test it was concluded that the unknown was more similar to alkane or aromatic compound and definitely not alkene. Figure 1: A sample mechanism showing the addition of halogens to alkenes. First, there is an electrophilic attack by a halogen molecule that results into the formation of a halonium ion and a halide ion. The halonium ion is a three-membered ring with a positive charge on the halogen. The halide ion acts as a nucleophile and attacks the halonium ion from the back to open it up and attach itself to the carbon. This creates an overall anti-addition of halogens to the double bonds. Figure 2: Reaction of 1-Octene (alkene) with Br2 in the presence of CH2Cl2 results into two products. Figure 3: A general sample reaction mechanism of free radical halogenation. The mechanism is broken down into a series of steps that include initiation and propagation. During initiation, halogen (bromine) radicals are formed. Light provides sufficient energy to split a bromine molecule to form two bromine radicals. Propagation is divided into two steps. During the first step, one of the bromine radical reacts with alkane and abstracts hydrogen to form an alkyl radical and HBr (strong acid). In the second step, the alkyl radical reacts with a new molecule of bromine and abstracts a bromine to form a alkyl halogen and bromine radical. Figure 4: Reaction of n-heptane with Br2 results into four different products due to radical bromination. The first product (top most) shown is a minor product because the bromine takes place of a primary hydrogen. The rest of the products are major products because they all replace a secondary hydrogen. The more substituted the intermediate radical, the more stable the product. Figure 5: Halogenation of Naphthalene with a bromine molecule in dichloromethane. This is a substitution reaction which retains all double bonds of the aromatic compound. The organic compounds were all then tested with aqueous potassium permanganate (Baeyer test). The only sample that reacted was the one with the alkene as the solution turned brown when 95% ethanol and 2% potassium permanganate (in a drop-wise manner) were added. The alkene was oxidized and a diol was formed due to a syn addition of two hydroxyl groups across the double bond (refer to Figure 7).1 This lead to the formation of MnO2 which in turn lead to the brown colour of the solution.3 The alkane, aromatic, unknown, and control all remained purple as there was no reaction. Further oxidation would lead to an oxidative cleavage of the glycol (two hydroxyl groups) to form ketones and aldehydes, which forms acid. This test further proved that the unknown did not have a functional group of an alkene. This whole test is called the Baeyer test as the potassium permanganate is a Baeyerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s reagent, discovered by Adolf von Baeyer, in order to test for presence o f unsaturation (such as double bonds) in a compound. Refer to Figure 6 for a general reaction mechanism. Figure 6: A general sample mechanism of permanganate hydroxylation of an alkene. The hydroxylation occurs with syn stereochemistry. Further oxidation of the product splits a carbon-carbon bond. Figure 7: Reaction of 1-Octene with 2% potassium permanganate in 95% ethanol. Initially, the reaction results into a diol but further oxidation splits the product and leads to formation of an aldehyde. The final test was of aluminum chloride with chloroform test. The aromatic and the unknown compounds were seen to have undergone a reaction as they had a change in colour (blue and light yellow, respectively) while the alkane, alkene, and control solutions remained white and cloudy. Since most of the tests determined that the unknown was not an alkene, this test proves that the unknown is not alkane, either and hence, it is aromatic. Aromatic compounds are known to go through Friedel-Craft alkylation in the presence of a proper catalyst (refer to Figure 8). As observed during the experiment, these types of reactions often yield in vibrant colours due to the delocalization of charge among the aromatic rings of the compound.3 In this experiment, the addition of chloroform to naphthalene with aluminum chloride as a catalyst caused a reaction (refer to Figure 9). Figure 8: A sample general mechanism of Friedel-Crafts Alkylation, an eletrophilic aromatic substitution. During the first step, a carbocation is formed. In the second step, an electrophilic attack from a benzene forms a sigma complex (resonating structure). In the last step, a proton is lost from the sigma complex to reform the aromatic ring to result into a alkylated product of benzene. Figure 9: A reaction of Naphthalene with chloroform in the presence of aluminum chloride in a series of Friedel-Craft Alkylations. Thus, based on the experiment performed and the comparisons made, the unknown sample #663 was found to contain a functional group of an aromatic compound. There were probably some sources of errors while performing the experiment. One of the sources of errors was that the measurements were all taken as an approximate as there were no indicators on the pipettes while transferring liquids and the solid compounds were not weighed. Furthermore, the pipettes that were used to transfer the liquids from the main containers could have been contaminated as they were shared. The impurities were probably the reason for some of the solutions having a very slight change in colour despite not reacting. Questions: R S Figure 104: Shows the structure of (-)-trans-carveol with chiral centers that are circled and labeled as having S or R configuration. Refer to Figure 10. The chiral centers are circled and they are classified as S or R configuration shown by the arrows point to them. Figure 11: Hydrogenation reaction of trans-carveol. The reaction formula translates to C10H16O + 2H2 -> C10H20O. Moles of C10H16O: = mass of C10H16O / molar mass of C10H16O = 27.2g/ 152g/mol = 0.179mol Moles of H2: ratio of C10H16O / H2 = moles of f C10H16O / H2 1 / 2 = 0.179mol / mol H2 H2 = 0.358mol Volume of H2: PV = nRT (1atm)(V) = (0.358mol)(0.08206 L atm K-1 mol-1)(273.15 K) V = 8.02 L Therefore, 8.02103 mL volume of H2 needed for hydrogenate 27.2g of trans à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬carveol at STP. Figure 12: Extensive hydroboration reaction of trans-carveol results into two products. Litmus paper is made up of an indicator called Litmus, which is a water-soluble mixture of 10-15 dyes that are extracted from Lichens and many other types of natural plants such as red cabbage and absorbed onto a filter paper. Litmus paper is used as an acid-base indicator based on pH values. The dyes respond differently to different pH by changing colour. Paper indicates alkaline (basic) solutions by turning blue and indicates acidic solutions by turning red. There are slight variations in colour that relate to different ranges of pH values but blue and red colours are sufficient to determine if a solution is acidic or basic. This test was discovered around 1300 AD by Amaldus de Villa Nova, a Spanish alchemist. A regular use of litmus paper is to test and regulate the pH level in swimming pools and spa.5

War Aid Advertisement :: Papers

War Aid Advertisement What sort of person are you? Would you be able to survive if you had to live in extreme weather conditions? Would you be able to work 18 hour days, with only a few hours sleep? Would you be able to help those who are in pain, and suffering? If you think the answer to these questions might be yes, you might be the one that we need. If you decide to join War Aid, to help those who are less fortunate than yourself, then you will need many different skills to help. These skills are a vital part of the job, and you will also learn more whilst you work with us. We need our workers to be brave and determined in every aspect of their job. When you are sent to the area where you will work, the situation will be completely different to what you are used to. You could be sent anywhere, to do any job. You could be sent to work in a war zone country, and their will be a variety of jobs that you may possibly be involved in. For example, you may be working in a refugee camp handing out food parcels, or you could be taking food to the soldiers who are fighting for us. You could help to create a sanitation system in areas that have nothing. You may help to build pumps and taps for clean running water, in a small village in Africa, where the people usually have to walk 2 or more hours each day to find the small amount of dirty water that is available. You would be looking after the civil order of areas. Working for War Aid is similar to joining the army, but in many ways it is also different. Becoming a War Aid volunteer allows you to help, by giving us your services for a three month period, which may differ in length. You will be sent to war zone countries to help with the overall running of refugee camps, and other tasks that will take place

House of a Loving Friend Essay -- Observation Essay, Descriptive Essay

House of a Loving Friend My eyes were half shut as drool brimmed on my lips about to escape any minute and drip onto the desk. Mr. Johnson didn't seem to notice, and lectured on in his steady monotone voice. A piece of paper landed on my desk, which snapped me back to reality causing me to slurp up the excess liquid on my lips. The paper was a note from Keli. That seemed to be all we ever did in Philosophy, write notes. I opened it and peered down at her neat, smooth handwriting. "What's wrong?" was what I found staring back at me. I frowned at the question asking myself the same thing. The day had been terrible, and for what reason I was unsure. I was unhappy and wanted to get away. I wanted to go somewhere where happiness overflowed and would surround me in its warmth. Then, at that moment, I knew what I needed to do. I needed to go see Ella. As I stepped from my car, the icy wind rustled my hair and stung my face. I shut my car door and turned around to see Ella's house. A small cream colored one-story house, sitting underneath a brown metal roof, met my gaze. Eye-like windows peered at me with a cheerful light saying that everything was going to be al-right. Crawford Reservoir lingered in the background, making it look like the picture perfect house. Pine trees were sporadically placed around, and Ella's old, blue car sat in the carport giving it a homey atmosphere. I smiled and rushed to the door not wanting another minute to be spent in the cold air. I pulled back the old storm door, twisting the brass handle of the white wood door at the same time; I just wanted to get inside. The second I was in the house, warmth flooded my heart and soul. I stood there drinking it in; it was the feeling I had wished for all day... ...xist, and I grimaced at the idea. These pale white walls would be empty indeed when that day came. Not wanting to entertain the thought, I drove it from my mind, smiled and decided to enjoy every second with her I had today! As I sat there listening to Ella, I realized there wasn't anything special about the house. It was Ella. She made the house seem alive with love and joy. I had never known a day when I walked through her door and didn't feel my heart swell with the love inside these walls. As I got up to leave the look of, "Please don't leave me!" appeared in Ella's eyes, and I wanted to cry. I promised to return next week and live the wonderful moment over again. I stepped outside, and again, the wind tried to grab me with its icy fingers, but it couldn't. Happiness was overflowing in my heart, and the warmth of Ella's love surrounded me like a warm blanket.

Virgin Corporate Strategy

VIRGIN’S GROUP CORPORATE STRATEGY DIVERSIFICATION 1. Introduction The Virgin Group is one of Britain’s biggest and successful empires in the 21st century. The company has successfully incorporated a great number of diverse industries under the Virgin brand. This includes travel, mobile, financial services, leisure, cosmetics, retail, and music businesses. Virgin has been able to dominate the British market and has therefore continued to rapidly expand into other regions such as the United States, Canada and Australia. The enterprise was founded by Sir Richard Branson in 1970 as a simple mail-order record retailer and has grown into one of the most prosperous business empires in the business world. To date, the Virgin Group has globalized and established in over 200 small to mid-sized firms, employing over 25,000 people. As a result, the company has exceeded over $7 billion in revenue in 2002. Each one of Virgin’s 200 firms operates as a single entity. Branson either holds ownership of a firm as CEO, or has a minority or majority stake. The Virgin Group does not hold a hierarchal presence within the empire, which allowed its various subsidiaries to operate in an autonomous manner. 2. Richard Branson: The strategic thinking As the creator of Virgin and a famous personality around the world, Richard Branson has created an entrepreneurial culture that is carried throughout the Virgin group of companies. His anti-corporation and anti-bureaucracy spirit resulted in a flat organizational structure with transparency and quick communication; his loyalty and care for friends let to an organization with great employee focus, and also attracted some of the best people to work for him for a moderate salary. Looking into his kind of strategic thinking, we can see that it is characterized by having a strong relationship with risk. His attitude towards risk is explorative, willing to take risks in order to enter into completely new businesses that the company knew nothing until now. In addition to this, their type of thinking, as an mage of their leader, is characterized by being intuitive, requiring no systematic risk analysis, based largely only in the rapid perception of alternative strategic intuition. This kind of thinkers are formerly known as entrepreneurs but in this situation combined with a strong social component as Sir Richard Branson often uses himself to convey the group’s message into the media or as a tool to promote the group’s brand. Is this kind of strategic thinking that explains the high level of unrelated diversification of the group that we are exploring in this report. 3. Organizational Analysis and Corporate Strategy Values The Virgin Group’s overall brand identity is built upon the founder Richard Branson’s philosophy which states that â€Å"if you keep your staff happy then the customer will be happy, and if you keep the customer happy then the shareholders are happy†, â€Å"shape the business around people†, â€Å"Build don’t buy†, â€Å"Be the best, not the biggest†, â€Å"Pioneer, don’t follow the leader† or â€Å"staff first, then customers and shareholders† are some the main guidelines of Richard Branson and we can see it as some of the company values. This underlying belief transcends into each one of Virgin’s subsidiaries and into each individual organizational culture. This is evident in the way in which members of the Virgin group interact with one another, as it is apparent that all members at Virgin agree strongly about certain beliefs, values, and assumptions, which are reinforced within the company. Virgin has continually retained a strong belief that it is their employees who: deliver brilliant customer service; give the company its personality, shape its culture, and innovate. They are viewed as Virgin’s greatest asset and as such, management believes that employees should be treated with respect. Management looks after their employees’ welfare and allows them the freedom to grow and be themselves. Virgin actively encourages personal expression, whether it is in their speech, creative and conceptual thinking, or dress code. It is these fundamental values and beliefs that have allowed Virgin to thrive in such a competitive environment, challenge new opportunities and excel in its markets, while still continuing to operate with integrity. As we know the core competencies of a company should meet three requirements: -Significant value creation for the clients Difficulty of imitation by competitors -Access to new markets As we look into Virgin we can see that each subsidiary shares a set of values that are continually strengthened: value for money, excellent quality products, brilliant customer service, innovation, competition and consistently having fun throughout the process. Virgin would only put its name to a project if it met four out of five criteria: it must be innov ative, challenge authority, offer value for money by being better than the competitors, be good quality, and the market must be growing. In such a large conglomerate empire as the Virgin Group, these broad set of fundamental beliefs continually work to strengthen the company’s brand as well as its culture. 3. Corporate Strategy formulation: Diversification Entering new markets using the brand Virgin is the strong asset of the group. Diversification is the name of this process in which Virgin leveraged his brand recognition as a form of growth strategy for the company. It seeks to increase profitability through greater sales volume obtained from new products and new markets. There are two kind of reasons for which a company look for diversification: – Defensive reasons which may be spreading the risk of market contraction, or being forced to diversify when current product or current market orientation seems to provide no further opportunities for growth. – Offensive reasons may be getting into new positions, taking opportunities that offers greater profitability than expansion opportunities, or using retained cash that exceeds total expansion needs. Instead of focusing in increasing the main competencies of their initial core business Virgin focused in diversifying risk acquiring new skills, new techniques and new facilities hence through an offensive strategy. Therefore, they followed not the internal development of new products or markets or acquisition of new firms but alliance or joint ventures with a complementary company which could enable them to operate in a new and unrelated market based on a set of attributes and values rather than a market sector. It was about being the consumer's champion! We can all this type of strategy as Conglomerate diversification (or lateral diversification). The corporate strategy of the Virgin Group is to operate like a venture capital firm based on the Virgin brand. This strategy involves non-related diversification at the individual business unit level. By leveraging on the Virgin Brand which has established prominence in the minds of consumers, Virgin is able to enter new business areas s haking up existing orders. Branson’s has entered in a business after another in which he perceived a set of consumers that were being underserved by a complacent and dominant player. The unique Virgin culture also allows Virgin to execute its ventures very effectively which were inspired in the keiretsu system as Branson was a convicted fan of the Japanese approach to business and â€Å"their commitment to long-term development and focus on organic growth†. The similarities are in a sense that Virgin is a group of companies pretty much diversified which have formal links in management and financial and also share a common identity. The formal linkages between the companies are, as we saw in the case, the ownership, the brand and the management. In order to protect the brand Virgin and Branson’s name the group is keeping some companies that are running with losses. Speaking in financials they are selling some of the most profitable companies as Virgin Records to finance the new start-ups. This is due to the fact that they identify a company operating in a segment which is clearly moving toward maturity to decline and instead of keeping it they sell moving to a new and growing market through diversification. The Virgin Group covers a wide range of industries-from Travel and Tourism (Limousines, Vacations, etc. , Leisure and Pleasure (Spa, Games, etc. ), Social and Environment (Green Fund, Virgin Earth), Beverages (wines and soft drinks), Media and Telecommunications (Radio, Broadband, Mobile, etc), Books, Clothing, Finance and Money, and Health (Health Bank, Life Care). But despite its diversification in terms of industries and products, it never diversified its brand names. All of its services and products in every in dustry have the name Virgin affixed to it. Virgin is a strong but universal brand name; so universal that many analysts believe the group should franchise to others unrelated companies. The Virgin brand made it possible to overcome barriers to entry in various industries and sectors and has been the group’s most important asset, together with Richard Branson. 4. Virgin Cola: Overview of Strategy Formulation Virgin Cola was created up during the early 1990s in a joint venture with Cott, a Canadian company that specializes in bottling own-label drinks for the UK market. Cott was looking for a major international brand that could have global appeal. That’s when Richard Branson attempted to extend the Virgin franchise into the cola market. Using the brand pattern in the Virgin Group’s diversification strategy, Branson claimed to fight the incumbents, Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola in alliance with an organization with core competencies in this area. Within a few months of its release, Virgin Cola had a 50% market share in the outlets that sold it. As Virgin stands for value of money, quality, innovation, fun and a sense of competitive challenge they focus in the brand awareness to create the differentiation from the main competitors. Cross-promotion has been Branson's main weapon, serving Virgin Cola on Virgin Atlantic flights and (until they closed down) at Virgin Cinemas. In fact, we can see that this pattern was repeated successively in each new diversification, in each one was followed by expansions of the products markets, based either on new strategic alliances or within internal development and Virgin Cola followed the trend and also increased the portfolio and created new products (flavor expansions). The strong brand positioning and the innovative character were the key issues in the product differentiation options which can be can be explained due to the client’s linkage with the High risk perception associated with the product’s potential malfunction and the client’s low level of confidence in the choice of the product. We can also observe several stages of internationalization to countries where there was an Anglo-Saxon matrix, in this case France, Belgium, South Africa and later on the US. We can also see that there are still some actions regarding vertical integration, but more with a commercial purpose rather than operational. So far it has failed to overtake Pepsi in the UK as Richard Branson claimed it would, and unlike Pepsi or Coke it's relatively hard to find cans of Virgin Cola on sale anywhere as they have a weakness in distribution channels.