Economic, Environmental And Social Impacts Of Tourism

Economic, Environmental And Social Impacts Of Tourism Tourism is one of the largest and most dynamic international sectors. Its rapid growth, evolving infrastructure, foreign currency flows, and the introduction of advanced management techniques have influenced numerous sectors positively by contributing to social and economic development. Negative impacts Positive impacts Social Foreign influence may cause society to lose values and traditions. Locals may have their privacy invaded. Creates new job opportunities Helps implement modern ideologies. Travel helps society on a psychological level as it gives people a degree of freedom of movement. Bringing foreign expertise to the destination through conferences, therefore strengthening ties. Developing intercultural understanding Developing friendships Environmental Tourism transportation harms the environment of the destinations of origin and arrival, and pollutes during transit. Harms the destinations appeal to foreigners. Tourism may give national authorities the incentive to safeguard the environment. Economic Pollution causes strain on the national health care system, which may increase government deficit and long term debt. Local economy may suffer because of competition from other emerging destinations. Allocation of funds may be directed towards pleasing tourists rather than pleasing long-term residents. Creates employment which adds to government taxation revenue. Financial gain by stakeholders. Tourisms actual and potential impact is astounding; however such impact is not purely positive. For almost every positive impact, there happens to be a negative one. These may be subdivided into economic, environmental and social impacts, as tabulated below: Society Social contact between tourists and locals may make way for cultural appreciation through understanding, tolerance and awareness. As tourism contributes to beneficial developments in sectors such as education, why not embrace it and ensure that people continue to visit? The human aspect is crucial for the success of any tourism product. Tourists enjoy speaking to locals, and locals should be open to discourse with tourists to add value to their experience. If local culture is the base for attracting tourists to the area, it gives added incentive to preserve the local traditions and crafts which are typical to that area. In certain localities of the Maltese islands, tourists contribute significantly to the preservation of local crafts such as glass blowing and lace, as well as the maintenance of important historical monuments and structures. Although it is fortunate that tourism drives national organisations to preserve historical artifacts and monuments, it is unfortunate to know that little would be done if it were not for tourism. To maximise the positive social impacts, foreigners and locals alike must be educated. Locals must be made aware that they must care for their belongings and surroundings, and respect other cultures to make their destination more attractive on a physical and social level. On the other hand, foreigners must also be educated to ensure that they respect the traditions, cultures and surroundings of host communities. As a result of the lack of awareness amongst tourists, the fortified city of Mdina in Malta is very much disturbed by tourists. It is home to just over one hundred people, but is visited by hundreds of people on a daily basis, often running into the thousands during the summer months. The city has become such a popular attraction that the local people are beginning to feel commoditised. As a result they are developing negative attitudes towards tourists. This concept is know as Greenwashing. Greenwashing refers to the commoditisation of indigenous residents and natural surroundings, creating severe social problem. Residents are often subject to invasion of privacy as tourists fail to respect their daily lives, often gazing into peoples houses, and on many occasions, entering them to take a few quick photos. On the other hand, tourism is often beneficial in helping relatively conservative societies become more open to the world. This is the case in certain regions of Libya for instance, where state leaders have recently given the go ahead for the development of numerous sea side resorts along the coasts, as well as eco-touristic areas. As a result, Libyans may become more open to foreigners in the long run. Even though these plans have been opposed to by numerous nationals, it was done for the long term benefit of the country. During the 1980s, the Libyans were very much resistant to the changes proposed by their leaders. Foreign observers believed that the heads of states were in for a difficult time trying to convince the public of the need for social change. The importance of travel must also be pushed within companies, as it not only broadens ones perspectives but it can also help people become more productive. Travel for leisure is proven to improve psychological health by reducing stress levels. Leave from work is now obligatory in most countries around the world, simply because of the importance of leisure time. Another benefit of tourism on the structure of society may be the introduction of foreign expertise to the destination, which in turn may improve the skills of the local workforce. Foreign experts may visit a destination for conferences, through which they can develop or strengthen relationships with local entrepreneurs. As a result of such relationships, travel has given companies the possibilities to form partnerships or join affiliate programs with overseas companies. The distinctiveness of a destination is instrumental to its success, so national government or international agencies must ensure that the necessary systems are in place to avoid any sense of placelessness. Placelessness is a concept coined by E. Relph which states that places become more and more similar to each other due to globalisation. Although this may seem farfetched to some, it is still a probable scenario in the future as the world becomes even more connected. National and local governments must therefore do their utmost to promote the unique identity of the destination. For instance, Malta is the only island of its size to have its very own official language which is not spoken anywhere else in the world. Over the years Malta has been significantly influenced by foreigners, however, many of its traditions have remained intact, such as the local village feasts and the traditional Maltese folk music called ghana. However, while presenting a culture to tourists may help preserve the culture, it can also dilute or even destroy it. Local communities must therefore present traditions in their purest forms, without excessive tampering. Although the European Unions aim is to create a strong network between European countries, it strongly believes that each country must safeguard its own traditions to remain appealing. Environment The excessive development of a resource can lead to numerous negative impacts such as overdevelopment and loss of natural habitats. From an ecological point of view, some people may see tourism as the more acceptable industry. They may say that it is a lot less damaging than deforestation or overfishing, for instance, which may be true. However, those people who analyse tourism closely from all perspectives will notice that tourism does cause a significant amount of damage to the natural environment. Tourists tend to leave behind a trail of environmental degradation in the form of litter, from the excessive use of water in their hotel rooms, leaving lights on after they leave their rooms, to the burning of fossil fuels when making use of transportation to and from their final destination, as well as within it. It is well known that the tourism industry is not only made up of direct players, but also indirect players, and these play a significant part in polluting the environment. Another important factor to consider is the fact that certain localities can only accommodate a limited amount of people at a time. This concept is known as carrying capacity. Mathieson and Wall (1982) defined the tourism carrying capacity as The maximum number of people who can use a site without an unacceptable alteration in the physical environment and without unacceptable decline in the quality of experience gained by visitors. To ensure the longevity of certain attractions, carrying capacity guidelines must be respected and evaluated to ensure that little harm is caused. Although restricting the number of entrants into a facility may infringe upon profitability, in certain scenarios it is more valuable to protect something unique than to exhaust it. Advancements in environmentally friendly technologies are well underway, and numerous airline manufacturers are designing more fuel efficient aircraft which fall within emissions guidelines. Land transportation is also becoming increasingly environmentally friendly with the introduction of hybrid as well as all electric vehicles, and more fuel efficient fossil fuelled vehicles. US President Barack Obama is setting a big example by wanting all public transportation within the New York area to be environmentally friendly within the next few years. Tourism in Libya is on the rise, bringing increased demand for hotel accommodation and for capacity at airports such as Tripoli International. A multi-million dollar renovation of Libyan airports has recently been approved by the government to help meet such demands. At present 130,000 people visit the country annually; the Libyan government hopes to increase this figure to 10,000,000 tourists. Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, the second-eldest son of Muammar al-Gaddafi, is involved in a green development project called the Green Mountain Sustainable Development Area, which seeks to bring tourism to Cyrene and to preserve Greek ruins in the area. Economy Minimise the negative impacts- Economic The introduction of environmentally friendly transportation systems would reduce health risks, therefore cutting health care costs for national government. This would cause less strain on the economic system. Ensure that local markets are up to date and can compete with foreign markets. Organisations must be dynamic and adaptable to rapid change. Maximise positive impacts- Economic -Promoting a countrys most popular assets will create employment as new business ventures may begin and new job positions will be made available as a result. The government must promote its destination as a secure place for investment, therefore increasing financial gain for stakeholders. Government must improve the state of the environment and make it more appealing to tourists.

Ecological Succession Essay

Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and their environment. In relation to The Lion King, ecology is the circle of life. Ecological succession can change a community by making exponential changes to the ecosystem over time, symbiotic relationships are important in maintaining a stable ecosystem because they provide competition, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism to have balanced populations, and the impact of a change in the food web would be drastic to the ecosystem because one change can and will alter the life of every animal in the ecosystem. Ecological Succession is predictable changes over time. Ecological succession relates to ecology because they both are a form of change in an ecosystem, species, or organism. Ecological succession can change a community by making exponential changes to the ecosystem over time. An example of ecological succession in The Lion King is when Scar, a lion, takes command of Pride Rock, an ecosystem, and lets the hyen as take over the land and climb to the top of the food chain over time. This movie example is different than a real life situation because hyenas would most likely not be able to take over a population of lion’s spot on the food chain. Ecological succession changed the community in this movie example by rearranging the order of the food chain. Another example of ecological succession in The Lion King is when the pride land’s ecosystems were destroyed by fire and other harmful elements, the initiation of secondary succession took place. This example of ecological succession from The Lion King is the same as a real life situation because during secondary succession, an ecosystem has been destroyed and gradually regains its former appearance and function, which was shown in the movie. Ecological succession changed the community in this movie example by creating a brand new ecosystem due to secondary succession. An example of ecological succession in real life is when the island of Krakatoa, an undeveloped land mass, exploded. On the same site a new island, a volcanic cone, was born. This event is an example of primary succession, another form of ecological succession. The ecological succession on the island of Krakatoa changed the community by creating growth and life. The real world Krakatoa example of ecological succession is related to both movie examples because all three situations included different forms of ecological succession. A symbiotic relationship is an ongoing relationship between two species who live closely together. Symbiotic relationships are related to ecology because they are interactions between organisms and species, which is similar to the definition of ecology. Symbiotic relationships are important in maintaining a stable ecosystem because they provide competition, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism to have balanced, healthy, and interactive populations. An example of a symbiotic relationship in The Lion King is the relationship between Scar, a lion, and the hyena population. The Scar and the hyenas are symbiotic because they have a commensalism relationship; where one benefits (hyenas) and the other is neither helped or harmed (Scar). The hyenas benefit in this relationship because their trophic level is raised on the food chain; Scar is neither helped nor harmed because he was not affected by the change in the food chain. The symbiotic relationship between Scar and the hyenas is important in maintaining a stable ecosystem so the lion population doesn’t receive total dominancy. This example of symbiosis from The Lion King is different from real life because hyenas are an energy source for lions, so lions wouldn’t allow their food source to be on the same trophic level as them. This would be predation in real life. Another example of a symbiotic relationship in The Lion King is the relationship between Timon, a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog. Timon and Pumbaa’s symbiosis is mutualism because both benefit from each other’s compa ny and energy source findings. The movie example of a meerkat/warthog symbiotic relationship is important in maintaining a stable ecosystem because they share the same food source and are on the same trophic level. This movie example of symbiosis is different from real life because meerkats and warthogs are not closely related in the wild. A symbiotic relationship in real life would be the relationship between dogs and ticks, a symbiosis of parasitism. This real life relationship is important in maintaining a stable ecosystem because the parasitism symbiosis allows an organism to feed off of another. This real life example of a symbiotic relationship is different than The Lion King examples because it is a common symbiosis, unlike the unrealistic movie representations. A food web is a network of complex interactions that link all of the food chains in an ecosystem together. Food webs are related to ecology because they represent the interactions between species to obtain energy. The impact of a change in the food web be drastic to the ecosystem because one change can and will alter every animal’s life in the ecosystem. The food web of the ecosystem of The Lion King would start with the first trophic level; primary producers. The producers include grass, trees, and fruit. Following the first trophic level is the second trophic level, which includes herbivores, who are primary consumers. The herbivores/primary consumers include zebras, beetles, and red-billed hornbills. Following the second trophic level is the third trophic level, which includes omnivores and carnivores, who are secondary consumers. The carnivores/omnivores/secondary consumers include meerkats, warthogs, and hyenas. Following the third trophic level is the fourth trophic level, which includes carnivores, who are tertiary consumers. The only carnivore/tertiary consumer is the lion population. The impact of a change in this food web would be exponential because eery organism would be affected either negatively or positively by it. This example of a food web from The Lion King is the same as a real life food web because it has the same characteristics and species that a food web would have in Africa. An example of a real life food web is one of a forest. The food web of a real life forest would start at the first trophic level; primary producers. The primary producers include trees and shrubs. Following the first trophic level is the second trophic level, which includes herbivores, who are primary consumers. The herbivores/primary consumers include deer, squirrels, crickets, and rabbits. Following the second trophic level is the third trophic level which includes omnivores and carnivores, who are second level consumers. The omnivores/carnivores/secondary consumers include cardinals, mice, fox, owls, and spiders. Following the third trophic level is the fourth trophic level which includes carnivores, who are tertiary consumers. The only carnivore/tertiary consumer in this food web is the eagle population. The impact of a change in this food web to the ecosystem would be drastic, because again, every organism would be affected by it. This real life food web is similar to The Lion King food web because they each have the same amount of trophic levels. Ecological succession can change a community by making exponential changes to the ecosystem over time, symbiotic relationships are important in maintaining a stable ecosystem because they provide competition, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism to have balanced populations, and the impact of a change in the food web would be drastic to the ecosystem because one change can and will alter every animal’s life in the ecosystem. The movie The Lion King had great examples of ecology because the various characters and species interacted with each other and their environment uniquely and distinctly. It’s the circle of life, after all. Sources Simon Winchester. Krakatoa. Perennial. New York, NY. 2004. Pp.351-355 W.G. Moore. A Dictionary of Geography. Penguin. Middlesex, England. 1965

Ferdinand de Saussure and Onject of Study: a Brief Illustration Essay

Ferdinand de Saussure was a Swiss linguist who laid the foundation on the ideas of structure in the study of language. His Book Course in General Linguistics that was published in 1916 has detailed all that he claimed to be his views. In his book Saussure shows us a clear reaction against many of the ideas raised and he emphasizes the importance of seeing language as a living phenomenon as against the historical view, of studying speech, of analysing the underlying system of a language in order to demonstrate an integral structure, and of placing language firmly in the social milieu. Saussure’s theoretical ideas are a must read and his influence has been unparalleled in European Linguistics since and, it had a major formative role to play in the shaping of linguistic thoughts in Europe. Saussure’s Object of Study theorised his structuralist view of language and shows how his essay forms the basis of structuralist theory. Saussure equipped his essay with a theory and a method of linguistic analysis from the structuralist point of view. Saussure envisaged langage to be composed of two aspects- the language system and the act of speaking. Langage is that faculty of human speech that is present in all human being due to heredity, and it requires the correct environmental stimuli for proper development. It is our facility to talk to each other which Saussure has infused in his work. Saussure also argues strongly that the characteristics of the system of language are really present in the brain, and are not simply abstractions. It is something which the individual speaker can make use of but cannot affect by itself. It is a corporate and social phenomenon. Saussure in the very beginning of the essay claims that the linguistic study cannot be judged from the study of other sciences. Linguistic study is completely a different process. In linguistic a particular object of study may have several series of different things- the sound, the idea, the derivation- to light up after study. Hence Saussure says that the object of study cannot be at the first to the view point. It is the viewpoint that creates the object of study. The linguistic phenomena can be always found in bi-complimentary facets which are dependent on one another. That is, the perception of the ear of the articulated syllables as the auditory impressions cannot be the sounds in questions that come to be existed with the vocal organs. Speech sound is no equal to language and they do not exist independently and are mere instruments of thoughts whereas, language is completely an individual aspect. Saussure emphasis on these two distinctions comes at this point of his analysis. The language system as Saussure admits should be studied independently. He cites the example of Dead language that even though it is no longer to be spoken, however, we can acquaint to its linguistic structures. The language is incongruous and its systems are of similar nature. The language is a structured system and it differs from speech. Saussure has cited a example of a man who has lost his power of speech can also grasp the language system through vocal signs by which he can understand. Saussure in his essay discusses the linguistic structures as only to be a part of language even though it is an integral part of it. The structure of a language is both the social product and the body of necessary conventions adopted by society to enable members of society to use their language faculty. It comprises in various domains and it is purely physical, psychological and physiological. It is for the individual and for the society. The language faculty of the both rest upon the structure of the language and there cannot be a proper classification for that as such language has no proper distinctions. The linguistic structures are that faculty in the study of language by which the articulating words, natural or not, are put in use only by means of linguistic instruments that are created and provided by society. The language itself is a structured system and a self contained whole and principle of classification. Saussure in his essay mentions the role of speech circuits of how speeches are exchanged from one individual to another. He gave a proper illustration of it with a proper diagram. This he calls purely a physical process. In order to understand this tract one must leave the individual act, which is merely language in its young stage, and he proceeds to consider it a social phenomenon. If done so all individuals will linguistically link among themselves and all individuals will reproduce whether it may or may not be that exact but will be almost the same signs related to the same concept. Saussure says that the language cannot be the function of the speaker but it is a passively registered product of the individual whereas, speech is the act of the will and of intelligence of the individual. In his essay, Saussure also speaks about the evolution of language from times. There are some words which are rarely spoken in our daily contemporary word and usage of such words in our day to day life is kind of absurdity. So Saussure argues that language and linguistics goes on evolution from time to time. It is an institution of the present and of the past at any given time. Saussure also notes on the sciences that claims to language as falling under their domain. But Saussure says that their methods are different and are not as it were needed. He says that the linguists should only take up his primary concern in studying language and to manifest all other concerns with it. Saussure also speaks about the question of the vocal apparatus and he says it a secondary one in comparison to language. Linguists disagree to the notion about the vocal apparatus and it is not clear that the vocal apparatus is solely made for our speaking as that our legs are made for walking. Saussure cites the example of Whitney who regards this vocal apparatus is that we uses for our linguistic purposes. The contribution of Saussure in the concept of language system is the main theoretical contribution and many linguists feel that it was this facet of his thought which had the most profound influence on subsequent scholarship. His view of a language as a system of mutually defining entities is a conception which underlay his works to philology. It is fundamental to his account to his structure in language. Any sentence, for Saussure, is a sequence of signs, and each signs contributes something to the meaning of the whole, and each contrasting with all other signs in the language. The sign, for Saussure is the basic element of a language. A sequence of a syntagmatic relationship- which is a linear relationship between the signs are present in the sentence. The sign is the basic unit of communication and it is a mental construct. Saussure accepted that there must be two sides of meaning that posits a natural relationship between words and things. His labels for the two sides were signifier and signified, one which the thing which signifies and the other the thing that is signified. It can also be taken as the concept and the acoustic image. The signified is thus always omething of an interpretation that is added to the signifier. He calls this relationship a linguistic sign. This linguistic signs are not abstractions, although they are essentially psychological. Linguistic signs are, so to speak, tangible and writing can fix them in conventional images, whereas it would be impossible to capture the acts of speech in all their details. When we say signified, this do not exist in sensible form, it is a thought and creation of mental image that the signifier has signified. Saussure’s main concern is linguistic sign does not link a name and a thing; instead it links a concept and an acoustic image. That is, language is more than just a list of terms that correspond to things. An acoustic image is the mental image of a name that allows a language-user to say the name. However, a linguistic sign links signifier and signified. A signifier is the sound we say when we say an object, and the signified is the concept of that said object. The said object is the sign. In Saussure’s theory of linguistics, the signifier is the sound and the signified is the thought. The linguistic sign is neither conceptual nor phonic, neither thought nor sound. Rather, it is the whole of the link that unites sound and idea, signifier and signified. The properties of the sign are by nature abstract, and are not concrete. He says that the linguistic principles operate on two principles. The first principle is that the linguistic sign is arbitrary as there is no interior link between the concept and the acoustic image. The second is that the signifier being auditory in nature unfolds in time only. When the signifier and the signified are joined together they produce a sign which is of positive order, and concrete rather than abstract. The idea of structuralist theory has achieved the status largely on the account of Saussure Object of Study which made it the major linguistic theme of the later years after his death. The linguists were also much influenced by the notions of Saussure, although less directly. The essay forms the basis of a concept of language as a vast network of structures and systems was emphasised on the syntagmatic relationships of the Saussurean emphasis in structures which was taken as the keynote of a number of theories of language and which underlies many other linguistic approaches to language. The central tenet of structuralism is that the phenomena of human life, whether language or media, are not intelligible except through their network of relationships, making the sign and the system (or structure) in which the sign is embedded primary concepts. As such, a sign — for instance, a word — gets its meaning only in relation to or in contrast with other signs in a system of signs. Thus we can analyse that Saussure’s Object of Study has its basis of the structuralism theory.

Octet Rule Definition in Chemistry

The octet rule in chemistry is the principle  that bonded atoms share their eight outer electrons. This gives the atom a valence shell resembling that of a noble gas.  The octet rule is a rule that is sometimes broken. However, it applies to carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, the halogens, and most metals, especially the alkali metals and alkaline earths. A Lewis electron dot diagram may be drawn to illustrate the octet rule. In such a structure, electrons shared in a covalent bond between two atoms are counted twice (once for each atom). Other electrons are counted once. Sources Abegg, R. (1904). Die Valenz und das periodische System. Versuch einer Theorie der Molekularverbindungen (Valency and the periodic system – Attempt at a theory of molecular compounds). Zeitschrift fà ¼r anorganische Chemie. 39 (1): 330–380. doi:10.1002/zaac.19040390125Langmuir, Irving (1919). The Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms and Molecules. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 41 (6): 868–934. doi:10.1021/ja02227a002Lewis, Gilbert N. (1916). The Atom and the Molecule. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 38 (4): 762–785. doi:10.1021/ja02261a002