Athletic Involvement

College Essay Topic #2 7 Essay Tips for Writing a College Application Essay About Your Sports/Athletic Involvement Almost as popular as the â€Å"My Grandmother† college application essay is the essay about sports.   If you are planning to write a sports essay, you risk boring the admissions committee as much as would a mediocre ballgame. Here are some tips to make sure your college application essay about your sports involvement makes a good impression: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Whatever you do, do NOT write an entire play-by-play essay about the â€Å"Big Game† – even if you scored the winning touchdown or home run. This topic is way overdone.   You can certainly write a paragraph about the game, but then move on to another aspect of your sports involvement. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consider writing about the experience of being on a team.   What does it take on a day to day basis?   What have you learned?   How have you grown?   How have you balanced your commitment to sports with your academics? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Don’t be afraid to write about your shortcomings.   If you start in a place where you didn’t know something, or where you weren’t on your best behavior, or even where you were injured, then you have somewhere to go/grow to. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consider writing about your particular role in the team dynamics.   Do you have a leadership role?   If so, what’s your leadership style and how does that style show up in other parts of your life? 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consider writing about what it takes to play your particular position.   Offense?   Defense?   Pitcher?   Outfield?   Team play or individual sport? What metaphors can you draw from the position you play or from your strengths in the game? Do you find yourself playing a similar role in life to the one you play on the court or the field or maybe even the opposite role? For instance, if you play offense, do you end up being aggressive about winning or going after things in other aspects of life?   Or has playing offense taught you strategies to defend yourself or your positions in life? 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stay humble even if you are a big winner!   You can share impressive facts and showcase your talent as long as you really share something about what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Talk about people and other topics that interest you, not just about the game.   If you’re all about the game, you don’t show your ability to interact with future classmates and you miss out on opportunities to sell yourself to the committee.   Colleges are looking for leaders – and leadership takes more than winning a game. For examples of successful college essays, The Essay Expert recommends Accepted!   50 Successful College Admissions Essays by Gen and Kelly Tanabe. Still not sure how to write a great college application essay about your sport?   Contact The Essay Expert for a FREE 15 minute consultation.

Party Tourism; the Effects of a Drug Sub-Culture in Ibiza Essay Example

Party Tourism; the Effects of a Drug Sub Party Tourism; the Effects of a Drug Sub-Culture in Ibiza Paper Party Tourism; the Effects of a Drug Sub-Culture in Ibiza Paper The following report examines the impact of party tourism in Ibiza, Spain. Ibiza has been widely regarded as the best spot for party tourism in the world and the amount of tourists visiting the destination for the sole purpose of partying replicates this trend. However, this type of tourism is not ideal and the pressure it creates on a small destination is quite extensive. The report gives insight into the amount of drugs taken by individuals, with the findings indicating the majority of visitors who use back home increase their amount when holidaying in Ibiza. For those who do not use at home, 16 per cent experimented for the first time while in Ibiza. Details are also given into the usage patterns of casual labour working in Ibiza over the summer period. The report shows the impact drugs have on a destination and in particular Ibiza, where increase in crime has become a major issue with gangs fighting for the drug trade. Moreover, a description for the potential damage this tourism market has on a destination’s image is reported, with most other forms of tourists beginning to relocate elsewhere. A comparison with an Australian Capital City is entailed. The results show similar drug usage, however Melbourne has more government support for strategies combating the use of illicit drugs in nightclubs. Finally, some recommendations of potential strategies to minimise drug consumption in Ibiza are discussed at the conclusion of the paper. Introduction 90 kilometres off the coast of Spain lays the island of Ibiza, home to 2. 6 million visitors per annum (Botsford, 2001). The figure may not seem immense, although considering Spain recorded an annual visitation number of 53. million in 2006 (UNWTO, 2007), and up to date tourist numbers in Ibiza would to represent a high increase in tourism arrivals, it is a large number in relation to the tourism market Ibiza attracts. Previously known for a culture of laid back attitudes and a hippie orientated life style, Ibiza soon started to attract tourism growth with the increase of music events and nightclub developments from owners already established in the United Kingdom (Horner, Swarbrooke, 2004: 230). Over the course of four decades stretching from the 70’s, Ibiza’s tourist market began to alter. The easy going lifestyle and relaxed atmosphere started to disperse, instead changing into a destination of constant late night partying and drug influenced tourists. â€Å"Ibiza has become synonymous over the past two decades with the drug-infested clubbing, or raving, subculture. Every summer, young tourists visit the destination and escape into drugs, alcohol, non-stop dancing and anonymous sexâ€Å" states (Harman, 2002). (Curley, 2007) reinforces this comment, although suggests that the drug culture has been symbolic for decades, â€Å"since late 1960’s drugs have been a factor in attracting tourists to Ibiza†. The increasing demand for party tourism in Ibiza has seen an increase in the amount of drugs available in nightclubs and party spots in Ibiza. (Chesshyre, 2001) supports this matter by stating, â€Å"Drugs, if you want them, are freely available in Ibiza. I was approached countless times during my visit. † Instances like these would be considered remarkable if, for instance, were reported from Venice or Hawaii, but it would appear now that this drug sub-culture that rules Ibiza has affected the island on many levels. However, there is the perception that Ibiza has become dependant on party tourism for economic growth and for the summer months when the party tourists are there, Ibiza residents like Pablo Vincente resent the clubbers, but benefit from the tourism money they bring in. â€Å"We complain, but we need them† (Harman, 2002). For the party tourist, why would you go anywhere else to experience the nightlife? This is the destination that charges 12 euros for a standard alcoholic beverage, but yet the cost of a pill that keeps you going for hours cost 5 (Govan, 2007). The question to be addressed however is what damage is this tourism market having on Ibiza’s destination image and local residents? Drug use patterns in Ibiza A key factor in the increasing use of recreational drugs is their association with nightclubs and dance music (Forsyth, Barnard McKeganey, 1997). The modern phenomenon of clubbing (late-night dancing, often in combination with drug use) was imported, largely from Ibiza, by individuals holidaying abroad and then returning to recreate the combination of modern dance music and ecstasy use in their country of resident (Garret, 1998, p. 29). The figures below show the increases in drug use and sexual activity in Ibiza by first time users and the increase in drug taking for those who use at home and then when visiting Ibiza. Tourist Tourists who use recreational drugs in their home of origin have a propensity to increase their levels of substance use when in Ibiza. (Bellis, Hale, Bennett, Chaudry Kilfoyle, 2001) undertook a study to compare drug use among UK residents to that of their use in Ibiza. The key findings of the report found that 12 per cent of 16 to 29 year olds in the UK general population have used recreational drugs at some time, however in Ibiza 51. per cent of young visitors use illegal drugs on holiday. Of the major party drugs, 43. 1 per cent of tourists use ecstasy, 37. 5 per cent use cannabis and 24. 6 per cent use cocaine. For first time users â€Å"an increasing number of young British holidaymakers begin experimenting with illicit drugs at top clubbing resorts† (Bjortomt, 2003). The same author reports that those taking ecstasy in Ibiza for the first time has risen 16% from 1999 to 2002. 17. 4 and 33. 1 per 1000 people were introduced to cocaine and ecstasy use, respectively in Ibiza. For those tourists who constantly use recreational drugs at their place of origin, (Hughes, et. l, 2004) identifies that for ecstasy, 2. 9% of users in the UK who used the drug 5 or more times a week rose to 42. 6% whilst holidaying in Ibiza. Seasonal Employee Those people who travel to Ibiza for seasonal work in holiday resorts, nightclubs or bars (Hughes, Bellis Chaudry, 2004) conducted a survey to identify the level of drug use among casual labour in Ibiza, compared to that of visitors from the UK. As the research determines, those participating in casual labour are more likely to use illicit drugs when working in Ibiza than when working in the UK. Furthermore, casual labour used different types of drugs more frequent but used drugs on average two days a week, less frequent than recreational tourists in Ibiza. Sexual activity patterns in Ibiza Tourist Major concern for the island and home origin of the tourist is the amount of sexual activity that is evident in Ibiza. (Bellis, Hale, Bennett, Chaudry Kilfoyle, 2001) identify that 53. 8 per cent of tourists to Ibiza had sexual intercourse during their stay, with 26. 2 per cent not using protection and 23. 2 per cent having more than one sexual partner. These figures indicate a major problem for the spread of sexually transmitted infections in both Ibiza, with multiple partners being used without protection, and then the transference of these diseases to the home destination. Seasonal Employee For casual labour on the island, (Hughes Bellis, 2006) identify that 80. 5 per cent of casual labour in Ibiza had sexual intercourse with 65. 5 per cent having unprotected sex. The mix of drugs and sex among tourists and casual labour has become a risk for the sexual health of individuals and a potential conduit for the international spread of sexually transmitted infections. Destination Ibiza as a sense of ‘freedom’ The increase in drug taking and sexual activity can be described by (Dann, 2007) who developed a paper titled ‘Tourist Behaviour As Controlled Freedom’ with the purpose of identifying the correlation between a tourists perception of appropriate behaviour when on holiday to that of when they are in their home of origin. The paper suggests tourists assume the perception that the home environment portrays a lack of freedom to the individual through the idealisation of government laws and the sense that their lives are somewhat controlled by the notion of what is right and what is wrong. For the individual looking for a tourism experience, the event of taking a holiday can create a temporary respite from social incarceration – the pressures of a normal existence. Dann’s model in contrast with Ibiza is best described by (Bjortomt, 2003) as, â€Å"once abroad in Ibiza, the sense of freedom and atmosphere of excess means that some individuals who have never used drugs experiment. † It emphasises the argument from Dann that the individual gets empowered by the thought of ‘no boundaries’ whilst on holiday. With Spain playing host to 58. 5 million tourists in 2006 (UNWTO, 2007), and most of them looking for the escape of sun and sand, it’s a probable thought that the individual who visits Ibiza is looking to challenge the system that restricts them on a daily basis in their home environment. Influence of drugs in Ibiza The Tourism Market Once thought of as a hot-spot for lucrative market tourists, the new breed of tourism that Ibiza now attracts rivals most world destinations in terms of returning visitors (Nash, 2008). This new tourism market is known as party tourism. (Horner Swarbrook, 2004: 236) define party tourists as â€Å"tourists travelling to a destination with the purpose of experiencing the nightlife of a destination†¦consisting of dancing, consuming alcohol and as this report indicates, participating in drug related activities. The scope of party tourists that enter Ibiza is from a large population. (Gardiner, 2007) states that, â€Å"Ibiza attracts party people of every age and demographic. However, (Hughes, 2004) reports that 250 000 Britain’s aged between 18 and 30 travel there each year, suggesting that they are the main scope of the tourism market. A Drug Based Economy Just before the start of the 2007 clubbing season, three of Ibiza’s major nightclubs were closed down by police in what they described as â€Å"a preventative measure to make these clubs deal with the issue of drug dealing and consumption of patrons inside the venues† (Botsford, 2001). The closure lasted one month. The statement is an example of how much the Ibiza economy relies on tourists to support it. If local law enforcement agencies cannot implement a strategy long enough for it to have effect, as lost economic income is too great, then implementing any strategies that targets nightclubs will not be effective. Property Value The drug culture impacts highly on property owners in Ibiza. The seasonality of tourists entering Ibiza chasing the warm beach weather has implications on owners who rely on party tourists to rent their properties for various lengths of stay. (McDonald, 2007) reports that the hot, hedonistic summer period is when owners of rental properties will make most, if not all of their money. (Warncke, 2007) reports that when three of the islands major nightclubs, DC-10, Bora Bora and the world-famous Amnesia were closed in early 2007, it had a damaging effect on the tourism industry on the island. â€Å"News of the closures led to people cancelling their trips to the island,† stated (McDonald, 2007). Reliance on tourists for business income and employment For the summer periods in Ibiza, locals rely on the vast number of tourists entering the island to generate a majority of their income. Furthermore, the party tourism market that comes seasonally generates a large number of jobs for locals and working tourists (Hughes Bellis, 2006). Strategies by police and tourism officials with the purpose of restricting party tourism would damage the direct spending of visitors through fewer arrivals, therefore economic income for local businesses and employment opportunities would decrease. Suppliers of illegal drugs High concern for the Ibiza Tourism Commission has to be the amount of illegal drug supply that is easily available to those who want it (Chesshyre, 2001). The majority of supply is coming from the UK through rival drug dealers –one from Liverpool, the other a mixture of people from Newcastle and Morocco (Counzens, 2006). The article proposes that expat gangs have traditionally moved their operations to feed the summer demand for ecstasy and cocaine in Ibiza’s nightlife scene. The introduction of rival suppliers has had devastating impacts in Ibiza. (Townsend, 2006) reports that a spate of contract killings, some of Britain’s most wanted criminals and an illegal drug trade that links San Antonio to drug syndicates in most major UK cities are evident in Ibiza. In the same article, it is revealed that, â€Å"police believe hundreds of kilos of cocaine and hundreds of thousands of ecstasy tablets have been successfully dispatched to the 12-mile strip of sand and rock in the Mediterranean. † The supply of illegal drugs into Ibiza is an issue that needs to be addressed by governments in Ibiza and the UK. It is evident that the main supply comes from the UK, therefore the UK government has a duty to stop the illegal supply of drugs exiting their country and as shown, infecting another. Ibiza doesn’t have the resources to stop the supply of hard drugs entering their country, and assistance is required from the UK. Nightclubs and Police Involvement It is unclear whether nightclub owners and their employees and local law enforcement and are involved in the facilitation of drug dealing within the clubs however (Chesshyre, 2001) suggests that the island has tactically accepted drug dealing, and that police have effectively turned a blind eye to the problem for fear of destroying a lucrative tourist industry that attracts thousands of visitors each summer. Moreover, when asking a nightclub owner what would happen if police were to crack down on drugs in clubs, he noted, â€Å"I think most of the clubs would go under – and that just won’t happen†¦drug culture is one of the most important parts of clubs. † Consequence of a party culture Destination Image Ibiza first attracted the attention of artists, models, movie stars and musicians in the 60s and 70s. It was then the hippie clique descended on the island to practice yoga or to enjoy all-night parties and philosophical conversations around bonfires on the beach. The island had the image of a place to relax, somewhere to lose oneself in the tranquillity of sand and sun. Fast forward to the 80s and Ibizas hippie attraction was starting to fade. By then the island had begun to carve out a reputation as the place to go if you wanted the best nightclub experience that Europe perhaps even the world had to offer (NW, 2007). The shift in destination image also changed the tourism market. Tourists are now looking for the all night dance experience that floods the streets of Ibiza. Josefa Mari, head of Ibiza’s tourism and economic department, states that â€Å"the clubbing scene forms only a tiny part of what the island offers, but it’s what defines us internationally, and it’s damaged our image† (Nash, 2008). Ibiza is not alone in terms of the destination image being revolved around all night partying. Miami, South Florida, is also world renowned for tourists looking for the party experience whilst soaking up the sun on the beach during the day (McClure, 2008). However, Ibiza’s differentiation strategy, whether they want it or not, is dangerous. Ibiza is directly linked to the notion that a drug-culture is embedded in the tourism experience, as (Chesshyre, 2001) notes â€Å"drugs, if you want them, are freely available in Ibiza. † (Nash, 2008) suggests Ibiza’s tourism and economic department are trying to push the focus of Ibiza tourism to more nature-based experiences, with the hard partying scene being scaled down and in some cities, phased out. It would appear though, through the lack-lustre effort to control the party scene for the past decade, significant damage to Ibiza’s destination image has been done. Crime The impact of crime increase in Ibiza has damaged the belief of safety that an individual demands when participating in tourism (Weaver Lawton, 2006: 104). The rivalry between gangs competing for drug market-share has spilled out into the streets, affecting the safety of tourists visiting Ibiza. (Couzens, 2006) reports that a â€Å"shocking street gunfight between rival British gangs erupted with an 18 year old man touring the island shot in the face, spending a week in the hospital and another man being hit in the chest. Neither of the two had affiliations with the gangs. Other reports of crime rise come from (Fuchs, 2006) who reported that a group of tourists staying in a high-rise apartment were broken into twice in one week, having their belongings stolen on both accounts. (Marinos, 2004) identifies that Spain has one of the highest rates of drug related rapes in the world, with 244 rape victims reported in 2002. Crime experiences like these affect Ibiza in two ways. Firstly, there is an element of cocooning among tourists when they enter a resort on the island. They will often stay close to the resort and wont venture across the island in fears of having being burgled or worse, raped. Secondly, Ibiza is trying to change its destination image. Tourists who can change this are those who spend money in the communities and are their for a relaxation experience, not partying. However, this tourist demographic will not visit the island if they feel a sense of insecurity. If Ibiza is too attract a new tourism markets, or increase markets they see as importance in changing their destination image, then the government needs to take a string stand on eradicating their underlying drug-culture. Drugs In Nightclubs: An Australian Perspective In the capital city of Melbourne, Victoria, the party scene has developed into a major tourism market. It is common for intrastate and interstate travellers to fly or drive into Melbourne for the weekend and party for two days straight, returning home on the Sunday evening. The party tourism phenomenon is an existing market that has seen major developments in Melbourne over the past decade with the introduction of cheap domestic flights and nightclub incentives of free entry and free drink cards upon early arrival. Moreover, the affordable costs of a two night stay at a backpackers and the extra amount of discretionary income available for young people has seen this tourism market develop extensively. (Symons, 2004) reports that a study undertaken by the Australian Drug Foundation found that 60 per cent of patrons in Melbourne’s clubs and bars had tried ecstasy over the past six months. This pattern is not confined to Melbourne. The (National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, 2001) found it â€Å"staggering† that 20 per cent of people aged between 20 -29 had taken ecstasy. That figure is now taken conservatively as it was taken from the population in 2001. â€Å"It is clear that illicit drug use is relatively common among groups of Australian people, notably those involved in clubbing, dance music and alternative music subcultures† states (Holt, 2005) after conducting a study of drug use among youth in Australia. At the nightclub industry scene, Brendan Prendergast – president of Australia’s Crowd Control Employee’s Association – comments that â€Å"the Australian public’s only hearing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to drug use in Melbourne. Prendergast, who worked as a crown controller for 30 years, believes that a major reason why drugs are such an issue is because of the amount of illegal crowd controllers working in clubs and pubs (Nolan, 2007). This statement presents a relationship between Melbourne nightclubs and Ibiza nightclubs in regards to the involvement of nightclub employees in the facilitation of drugs in nightspots and as (Chesshyre, 2001) acknowledges; a major problem with the amount of drugs available in Ibiza has a connection with nightclub owners and security personal on the island. The difference between Melbourne and Ibiza, in relation to drug use in party nightspots, is the amount of preventative measures from within both the nightclub industry and strategies at local and national governments to prevent drug use. A report produced by the Australian National Council of Drugs (Price, 2000) discussing the issues of drug use in Melbourne states that â€Å"there are a number of judicial and police-diversion strategies being funded in the Melbourne area targeting drug use at the venue. In Ibiza however, drug preventative measures inside the venue are relatively scarce with (Govan, 2007) commenting, â€Å"Clubs are policed by their own security guards, with dealers still managing to ply their trade easily. † At the government level, drug strategies are non-funded and the introduction of preventative strategies through heavier police involvement in nightclub venues is desperately needed to stop the dealing of illicit drugs to new and existing users. Preventat ive Measures/ Minimisation Strategies – Interventions in dance music resorts (Bellis, Hughes, Bennett Thomson, 2003: 1717) identify that interventions are urgently needed in dance music resorts to prevent non-drug users from experimenting with illicit drugs and users from moving into a wider range of substances. Such interventions are currently scarce and therefore represent a missed opportunity to reduce the spread of illicit drug use. Moreover, (Deehan Saville, 2003) undertook a study to determine the scope of recreational drug use amongst clubbers in the South East of England. Key findings from the report found that many recreational drug users have actively sought out information about the potential health consequences arising from drug use and took measures to minimise the risk. This indicates the willingness that clubbers are likely to be receptive towards the provision of practical, evidence-based information focusing on safe use and reducing harm. Drug minimisation strategies related to Ibiza should focus on having educational information at major nightclub venues through either flyers in restrooms or leaflets upon entry. Furthermore, the same approach can be utilised at the hotels of interest for these club tourists to indicate the risk and minimise use before the individual is caught up in the nightclub atmosphere. Administering nightclub and after party curfews â€Å"The problem is that the party is non-stop†¦it’s difficult to keep going if you don’t take drugs† states Juan Pantaleoni, San Antonio’s town spokesperson (Fuchs, 2006). San Antonio, a town in Ibiza, is a renowned hot spot for British tourists looking to escape the pressures of home-life and party all night. It is San Antonio however that has started to deal with the issue of all night parties. Before the opening of its party season in 2007, the government banned so-called â€Å"after parties†, which start when the clubs close their doors and often run until noon that day. This strategy minimised the amount of drug influenced people on the streets during the day, reducing the potential risks of violence and contact with tourists who are not attracted to the destination for the party scene (Botsford, 2001). Ibiza would benefit from implementing the same strategy as San Antonio as its potential for success has been realised and regardless of the fact that it won’t stop drug taking, it will enable other tourists and locals to feel safer during the day. Cooperation between Ibiza government and origin destination Cooperation between the Ibiza government and that of tourists’ home country is desperately needed to help minimise the demand for first time drug users to experiment with drug taking. Focusing on the UK market, the demand for tourists to enter Ibiza’s party culture is an extensive market, with (Botsford, 2001) reporting that 700 000 British tourists arrive at the destination per year. Education for the tourist before they arrive in Ibiza is needed, wit possible strategies including information flyers at airports or on the plane, and information websites on the dangers of drug taking specific to the Ibiza nightlife. As presented earlier, individuals are open to risk information and having a wider spread of information outlets will increase the amount of tourists coming into contact with risk educational material. Bellis, Hughes Lowey, 2002) state that some countries have already developed approaches to nightlife health. However, growth in the international travel associated with nightlife and the additional risks posed by nightclubbing in an unfamiliar country mean both interventions and basic health and safety measures are now required on an international basis. Conclusion The impact of drugs within Ibiza is something of serious concern for government officials and the future of tourism at the destination. Ibiza has adopted a drug culture that is not only affecting the island and its residents, but is starting to develop a negative destination image. Immediate strategies to combat the ‘out of control’ spiral that party tourism is having on the destination are needed, and these strategies must be implemented and evaluated efficiently. A drug sub-culture is a problem for Ibiza to attract other potential tourism markets with many wanting the perception of safety and relaxation when on a holiday. The party tourism arket is starting to restrict the experience of other tourists, and if strategies aren’t implemented, these tourists will start to relocate elsewhere. Ibiza would benefit from understanding the scope of drug problems in countries where the majority of their tourists come from to get insight into the drug implementation strategies that have been proven to work. It is crisis time for Ibiza and cooperation between local governments, the Spaniard government and ni ghtclub owners is needed to restrict the drug issue as a whole industry, instead of trying to implement strategies that don’t have the funding or support of key stakeholders. Ibiza should move quickly in implementing new strategies, before party tourism is the only culture identified by tourists and they lose lucrative markets. References Author Withheld. (2007). Ibiza. News Weekly, 15(52), p. 2-5. Retrieved May 26, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Bellis, M. , Hughes, K. , Bennett, A. Thomson, R. (2003, April 3). The role of an international nightlife resort in the proliferation of recreational drugs. Addiction, 98(12), 1713-1721. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from Academic Source Premier. Bellis, M. , Hale, G. , Bennett, A. , Chaudry, M. Kilfoyle, M. 2000, April 25). Ibiza Uncovered: changes in substance use and sexual behaviour amongst young people visiting an international night-life resort. International Journal of Drug Policy, 11, 235-244. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from Business Source Premier database. Bellis, M. , Hughes, K. Lowey, H. (2002). Healthy Nightclubs and recreational substance use: from a harm minimization to a healthy setting approach. Addictive behaviours, 27(6), p. 1025. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from Academic Search Premier. Bjortomt, O. (2003, January 12). Ibiza gives young first taste of illicit drugs. The (United Kingdom) Times, p. 1. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Botsford, F. (2001). Clampdown on Ibiza Nightlife. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/europe/1435942. stm Chesshyre, T. (2001, July 28). Where drugs are sold like sweets. The (United Kingdom) Times, p. 1. Retrieved April 3, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Couzens, G. (2006, August 13). Guns wars on party island. UK Sunday Mirror. Retrived May 27, 2008, from Academic Search Premier. Curley, G. (2007, April). Make Ibiza Mine! Vanity Fair, 560, 252-265. Retrieved April 4, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Dann, G. M. S. (1997). Tourist Behaviour as Controlled Freedom. Australian Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Bureau of Tourism Research Deehan, A. Saville, E. (2003). Calculating the risk: recreational drug use among clubbers in the South East of England. Home Office Online Report, 43(11), p. 12-53. Retrieved May, 25, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Forsyth, A. , Barnard. M. McKeganey, N. (1997) Musical performance as an indicator of adolescent drug use. Addiction, 92, 1317-1325. Retrieved April 4, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Fuchs, D. (2006) Crimewave may mean the party is over for Ibiza. The Guardian, Retrived May 28, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Garratt, S. (1998). Adventures in Wonderland: a Decade of Club Culture. London, United Kingdom: Headline Book Publishing. Govan, F. (2007, July 16). Special Report: Ibiza’s Failing Drug Clampdown. Retrieved May 17, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Gardiner, A. M. (2007). Ibiza, Spain. New York Times, p. 13. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from Academic Search Premier. Harman, D. (2002, August 28). On a Mediterranean isle, drugs eclipse sun and sand. Christian Science Monitor, 94(192), p. 7. Retrieved April 6, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Hughes, K. , Bellis, M. Chaudry, M. (2004). Elevated substance use in casual labour at international nightlife resorts: a case control study. International Journal of Drug Policy, 15(3), 211-213. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from Business Source Premier database. Hughes, K. , Bellis, M. (2006, February 21). 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Retrieved May 23, 2008, from Academic Search Premier. Nolan, K. (2007). Fed: Time to Bounce the Bouncers. AAP Australian National News Wire. Retrived May 23, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Price, K. (2000) Melbourne AOD Agency Forum report. Retrieved May 26, 2008, from ancd. org. u/publications/forums/forum7. htm Symons. E. (2000, July 12). How safe are you on holiday? The Sun. Retrieved May 26, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. Townsend, M. (2006). Gang Violence erupts as rave craze returns. The Guardian, Retrived May 28, 2008, from Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre database. UNWTO. (2007). World U. S International Arrivals Reciepts. Retrieved May 27, 2008, from http://tinet. ita. doc. gov/outreachpages/inbound. world_us_intl_arrivals. html Warncke, C. (2007). Ibiza: DC10, Bora Bora, Amnesia Shut Down. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from www. inistryofsound. com/news/features/20070608_ibizaclubs Weaver, D. Lawton, L. (2006) Tourism Management (3rd Ed. ) Milton, QLD, Austral;ia: Wiley Publishers. Bibliography Woods, G. (1993). Drug Abuse in Society. Santa Barbra, California, USA: ABC-CLIO publishers South, N. (1999). Drugs: Cultures, Controls and Everyday Life. London, Great Britain: Athenaeum Press, Gateshed. Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse. (1971). Report from the Senate Select Committee. Canberra, ACT: Australian Government Publishing Service. Munns, R. (2007). Tourists flock to Spain for 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2008, from Academic Search Premier.

Policy Influences and Policy Stakeholder Reflection Essay

Policy Influences and Policy Stakeholder Reflection - Essay Example In the discussion henceforth, a solution would be provided with supportive arguments to the government acting as a representative of the stakeholder group in order to expand the capacity, especially of the Port of Melbourne. Policy Influences Essay Introduction In the discussion henceforth, a solution would be provided with supportive arguments to the government acting as a representative of the stakeholder group in order to expand the capacity, especially of the Port of Melbourne. Various aspects which include the role of the stakeholder group along with the evaluation of actual or likely partners or collaborators, who would contribute towards the expansion of the capacity, will also be portrayed in the discussion. ‘Melbourne Ports-Our Future’: Mission or Purpose The mission of the organisation named 'Melbourne Ports - Our Future’, is to present an appropriate decision in relation to expanding the capacity of the Ports of Melbourne. The expansion of the portsâ₠¬â„¢ capacity is quite necessary for the purpose of meeting with an ever rising trade demand and protecting the economic future of freight gateway (The Port of Melbourne Corporation, 2011). Hence, it can be stated that the main purpose of the organisation is to arrive a standpoint whether the dredging of the Port of Philip Bay or the expansion of the Port of Hastings would be the best suitable option to plan for increased shipping capacity of the Port of Melbourne. ... m a social point of view, the various benefits of dredging include the prevention of further degradation; developing the liveability of the river communities by improving parks along with greenways for the inhabitants and most importantly, helps to expand the shipping industry (EnviCom Working Group 100, n.d.). Alternatively, the most apparent impact of the facet of dredging upon the environment lay in the fact that it adversely affects the sea grass habitat, cultural heritage and most importantly tends to impose barriers to the augmentation of tourism sector causing disturbances to facilitate the various types of recreational activities including diving, boating and fishing (The Port of Melbourne Corporation, 2009). However, dredging could make greater economic benefit as the process tends to be less-time consuming along with requiring lesser amount of investment. Apart from the initiative of dredging in the Port Philip Bay with the purpose of expanding the capacity of the Port of M elbourne, another initiative is also taken into concern which includes the expansion of the Port of Hastings. However, the Port of Hastings is viewed as a chief container port which performs its operational functions in corresponding with the Port of Melbourne so as to increase the trade demand considerably. Moreover, in order to make suitable planning for future economic growth along with the expansion of the Port of Melbourne, the Victorian government largely supported the fact that the Port of Hastings can be regarded as the favoured location for a subsequent container port. The Actual or Likely Partners or Collaborators In order to extend the capacity of the Port of Melbourne by enlarging the Port of Hastings, there pertains the necessity to work with actual or probable partners or

Cervical cytology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Cervical cytology - Essay Example Other epidemiological risk factors for the development of this disease include sexual activity at an early age, a large number of different sexual partners, cigarette smoking, the use of oral contraceptives and additional socio-economic factors (Office of National Statistics UK, 2003b).   Cervical screening is one of the most effective approaches to detect early cellular pre-cancerous changes in order to prevent the occurrence of cervical carcinoma. The procedure is relatively simple and involves the removal of cells from the surface of the cervix using an instrument called a speculum (Kitchener 2006). This can be performed in several minutes time in a physician’s office. These cells are then spread on a microscope slide, called a smear, which is then analysed by a trained cytologist for the presence of abnormal cells or tissue that may presage the early stage development of cervical carcinoma.  When early cellular changes that may be pre-cancerous are  detected by cervical screening, there are follow-up procedures that can be implemented to prevent the further progression of tissue abnormalities to cancerous lesions of the cervix (Kitchener 2006). These procedures involve the removal of cervical tissue from the affected area and a detailed histological as sessment to ensure that all abnormal tissue is excised to prevent the further development of disease.   Cervical screening techniques were the brain-child of physician Georges Papanicolaou who developed this screening method to detect early stage cervical pre-cancerous lesions. Since then, the â€Å"pap smear† as it is called in honor of its discoverer, has been used world-wide for the routine screening of females in an effort to decrease the incidence of this common type of gynecological cancer in women. Despite the availability of this reasonably simple and inexpensive screening test, cervical carcinoma continues to extract a high incidence and mortality rate worldwide (Kitchener 2006).

Building Materials Market in Vietnam

Building Materials Market in Vietnam This part of the research provides a deeper view on Vietnam building materials industry with concentration on the recent business situation of construction and building materials market. Information about building materials firms is also provided. 1.1 Construction and real estate Vietnam’s economy has gone through a struggling period of insubstantial credit expansion, because of the decelerated development in the banking system characterized by non-performing loans (NPLs) and a property market slump. The property market in Vietnam is currently disheartened, disputing with market conditions including a lack of capital resources have resulted in construction companies being unable to complete projects, while purchasers are finding it challenging to afford property because of a lack of access to loans. As a result, many construction projects, housing, apartments, etc. are being unfinished .There are also signs of distressed property assets in the country. Therefore the construction industry’s growth rate declined from 19.7% in 2011 to 6.5% in 2012, although the industry reached a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19% from 2008 to 2012 (Timetric, 2013). The construction market in Vietnam is expected to be higher than average growth rates until the end of the decade (CB Richard Ellis Group, 2008 2013). Construction spending was approximately US$18.6 billion in 2012, which accounted for slightly under 20% of the country’s GDP. This spending is estimated to grow by nearly 7% per annual over the next five years (Savills, 2013). In Vietnam construction market, the residential sector made up the largest proportion of more than half of total construction spending in 2012, followed by the infrastructure sector. The non-residential market constituted just about 10% of total construction spending in 2012. (IHS Inc., 2012) Currently, a mismatch between supply and demand in the Vietnamese property market has happened. Demand perseveres for affordable housing, office but construction developers of mid to high end assets are in difficulty to attract buyers or rental consumers. This table showed the existing and the new supply for office market in Vietnam. Chart 10: Existing and new office supply. Unit: sqm (000s) (Savills, 2013) In Cushman Wakefield Market outlook 2013, it stated that current average rents for Grade A in Vietnam have decreased by 46% and 41% in HCMC and Hanoi respectively, compares to 2008. Meanwhile the total value of inventory in housing projects was estimated at more than VND125 trillion (US$6 billion) in 55 cities and provinces in May 2013. High real estate prices and over-supply, which have rocketed due to speculative activities at the peak of the market, are serious problems. They resulted in rental rates declined during the recent years with average rents throughout all grades falling by approximately 2% quarter-on-quarter (DTZ Vietnam, 2012). Contractors are holding on a lot of purchased real estate products at relatively high prices and are unwilling to sell at a loss price throughout the current downward trend. In many reports were submitted to construction firms and Vietnamese government, they all advised to address the over-supply issue, adjustments to the apartment size and lev el of development are necessary. In Asia Construction Outlook by AECOM in 2013, they forecasted that all major sectors in Vietnam would grow over the next five years at similar rates. Specifically, total construction output of Vietnam would be at around $18.5 billion till 2018, with the growth rate of about 6.7%. Infrastructure investment, such as highways, rail and ports, will be a main growth area until the end of the decade. However, the government is likely to have limited capacity for funding much of this because it is likely to be constrained by public debt levels. As a result Vietnam is set to offer significant opportunities through privately financed infrastructure projects, with the funding likely to take the form of foreign direct investment or PPP joint ventures. Geographically, the large amount of the investment will be focused on Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and the North-South corridor in between. 1.2 Building materials market 1.2.1 Characteristics The companies In Vietnam building materials industry, almost top manufacturers are state-owned. See the table 3 and 4 below for the top building materials firm in Vietnam according to VNR500: Table 3: Top 12 biggest building materials firms in Vietnam Rank Company Type Products 1 Ha Tien Cement JSC State-owned Cement 2 Viglacera Corporation State-owned Tiles, Building Glass, Sanitary wares, AAC, bricks 3 Cement Holcim Vietnam Joint Venture Cement 4 Nghi Son Cement Joint Venture Cement 5 Chinfon Cement Corporation Joint Venture Cement 6 Vincem Hoang Thach Co. Ltd State-owned Cement 7 Vincem Bim Son JSC State-owned Cement 8 Vissai Group Private Cement 9 Phuc Son Cement JSC Joint Venture Cement 10 FICO JSC State-owned Cement 11 Phu Tai JSC Private Stone, Tiles, Wood 12 Vincem Hoang Mai JSC State-owned Cement Note that the joint venture companies above are among state-owned companies and foreign investors. Table 4: Top 12 biggest private building materials companies in Vietnam Rank Company Products Note 1 Vissai Group Cement 2 Phu Tai JSC Stone, Tiles, Wood 3 Quangninh construction and cement JSC Cement Sub-company of SOE 4 Prime Vinh Phuc Company Tiles 5 Vinh Tuong Industrial Corporation Ceiling, drywall grid 6 Song Gianh Cement Co. Ltd. Cement Sub-company of SOE 7 Viglacera Ha Long JSC Terracotta tiles Sub-company of SOE 8 DIC Intraco JSC Steels, AAC, Wood, Roof tiles, Klinkers Sub-company of SOE 9 Le Phan Construction Co Ltd Concrete 10 Vicostone Stone 11 Prime Dai Viet JSC Tiles 12 Tay Do Cement JSC Cement Sub-company of SOE As you can see from the above tables, the state-owned building materials companies account for large proportion in the industry. They also are the dominating factor in private sector, it has created bad business environment in Vietnam due to incentives that SOEs have received. Therefore, they do not have very active domestic rivals who put pressure on them to innovate. Regarding to types of products, it is seen that cement is the top priority in the industry. 10 out of 12 biggest manufacturers are producing cement and cement related products. This sector has contributed a large ratio in export activities of Vietnam (see table 9). However, nowadays, tiles sector attracts more attention of government because of this sector’s importance on the global market. Vietnam ceramic tiles sector was ranked in the top ten countries of manufacturing and exporting tiles (Stock, 2010). 1.2.2 Domestic performance As stated in above part, all 3 main sectors of construction and real estate (residential, infrastructure and non-residential) has been struggling in the ability to complete their projects. Not only that, the economic crisis led to high inflation, tightened credit expansion, and lower spending of people. It made people less likely to buy, or rent a new house or even fix or upgrade their house. Therefore, the building materials market of Vietnam has also suffered a serious downward trend in development. Regarding ceramic market, according to reports and articles from Vietnam building ceramic association (VBCA) in 2013, the amount of manufactured tiles was slightly under 70% of total capacity, estimated around 289.8 million square meter. This number is much lower than 375 million square meter in 2010 when Vietnam was ranked the 5th on top manufacturing countries over the world with 3.9% on the world production (Stock, 2010). Stock of tiles that was difficult to clear, was approximately 50 days of production, about 40 million square meter or 112.800.000 USD. On the other hand, sanitary ware products were produced nearly 70% of total capacity, assessed at 9 million units, and number of units in inventory hit an average of 50-60 days of production, about 1.2 million units or approximately 28.200.000 USD. Table 5: Total consumption for tiles and sanitary ware of Vietnamese manufacturers. 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Total domestic consumption volume Tiles (million sqm) 150 203.65 297.5 290 272 246,9 Sanitary ware (million unit) 7.5 7.8 9.0 9.7 9.3 8.5 (Vietnam Ceramic Business Association, 2013) As we can see from Table 5, the volume of domestic consumption for tiles and sanitary ware started to decrease significantly from 2011, since Vietnam stand in its own recession. Before this year, the world economic crisis obviously had no negative effects on the local market because the amount kept raising until 2010. Table 6: Total tiles (ceramic and porcelain) in stock of some Vietnamese manufacturers No. Company Max Capacity (million sqm/ year) Actual Capacity (million sqm) In Stock (million sqm) 1 Mikado 1.5 1.07 0.1 2 Viet Y 1.8 1.30 0.25 3 Granite Trung Do 3.5 2.43 0.4 4 Prime 99 74 5.5 5 Catalan 15 10.5 1.3 6 CMC 5 4 0.3 7 Vinh Thang 9 6.5 0.6 8 Vitaly 4.5 2 0.3 9 Thach Ban 2 1.2 0.2 10 Toko 15 10.5 2 11 Viglacera 25 20 2 (Vietnam Ministry of Construction, 2013) From Table 6, it is clearly seen that those 11 manufacturer of tiles in Vietnam did not reach the maximum target capacity of them, and also had a large quantity of tiles in stock which is very difficult to clear. Regard to building glass products, Vietnam has 7 companies producing over-size building glass with maximum capacity is over 150 million square meter. However, in 2012, the goods in stock was approximately more than 60 million square meter of standard glass. It slightly equaled 4 month capacity of all manufacturers. Moreover, in that 60 million, there was 57 million meter of float glass, respectively 5 month production output. Besides that, imported glass from China and ASEAN countries with lower price also impacted on Vietnamese firm’s consumption. Therefore, some factories had to temporary stop producing for a while, for instance, Viglacera Dap Cau glass factory was closed from middle 2012 to September 2013 due to oversupply. In 2013, consumption of bricks and roofing tiles experienced a 70% of overall capacity. The actual produced quantity of brick was estimated of 17 billion units, but the purchased quantity just reached 14 billion bricks, about 80%. Table 7: Bricks manufacturing capacity and consumption in 2012. Product Maximum Capacity Actual output Consumption Factory standard brick 14 billion 12 billion 10 billion Manual brick 6 billion 5 billion 4 billion Total 20 billion 17 billion 14 billion Unit: brick. (Vietnam Ministry of Construction, 2013) A new kind of brick (or block that is non-fired) which was started to produce in Vietnam not long ago, is Autoclave Aerated Concrete (AAC) blocks. It also has been struggling with output clearance because of low demand in construction, especially no new projects tend to implement this kind of brick. Beside the unstable quality, lack of synchronous building solution also one of the stand-out issues. Therefore, there was not many construction contractors in Vietnam using this building material. As a result, consumption of AAC is limited, it reached just around 60-80% of total capacity and some fresh-built factories are facing perfunctory production or threat of bankruptcy. However, according to non-fired products development program of the government, the prime minister signed the decision that AAC will replace 30-40% traditional bricks, and it is mandatory for building higher than 8 floors. So, with this policy the future of AAC in Vietnam is valuated as brightest among other material s. Table 8: Vietnam AAC Factories production and consumption in 2012. No. Company Location in Vietnam Capacity (m3/year) Actual Consumption (m3) Total 9 factories 1.500.000 1 Viglacera AAC Bac Ninh 200.000 150.000 2 Vinema Ha Nam 100.000 60.000 3 Song Da Cao Cuong Hai Duong 200.000 100.000 4 Phuc Son Hoa Binh 150.000 90.000 5 An Thai Phu Tho 300.000 240.000 6 Truong Hai Hai Duong 200.000 110.000 7 Vinh Duc Lam Dong 100.000 50.000 8 Vuong Hai Dong Nai 100.000 60.000 9 Ky Nguyen E-block Long An 150.000 70.000 (Vietnam Ministry of Construction, 2013) Concerning cement market in Vietnam, it has been even worse than other materials. Due to government policy on lowering inflation, stabilizing market price and macroeconomic, from 2008 to present, cement price just increased about 30% while input materials, coal price raised 4 times. In addition, electricity, fuel price also rocketed continuously. Moreover, from 2010, the exchange rate between VND-USD rose and the access to banking credit was difficult, so cost over cement price jumped up 20-30%. According to Vietnam Cement Association, total cost of manufacturing is 60% of selling price, exchange rate increased, loan interest is about 20%/year, almost all cement companies in 2011, 2012, 2013 suffered losses. For example, Cam Pha and Ha Long cement factory had accumulated debt of 1200 billion VND (about 56 million USD) and 1090 billion VND (51 million USD) respectively. Reports of Vietnam Cement Association said 48 million tons of cement was manufactured in 2012, the number decreased 5% compared to that of 2011. Domestic consumption recorded a figure of 40 million tons, around 18% of decline. The designed capacity is approximately 70 million tons, but the actual production just hit 52 million tons (72% of capacity). Vietnam steel and metal industry has stayed in the same situation. However, the troubles are not only oversupply caused by frozen construction sector, but also the limited capital, numerous debt from loans, raw input ingredients relied on importing sources, out-of-date production technology. All of those reasons led to weak competitive strength on its own home-market. According to Vietnam steel association’s 2013 report, about 30% of Vietnam steel manufacturers were using old technology, more than 40% with average technology, and just less than 30% of steel firms had new technology for production and management. Moreover, 2013 growth rate was 7%; total capacity reached 10 million tons, 8.5% y-o-y growth but the actual domestic consumption poorly hit 1/3 of capacity. In summary, Vietnamese building materials companies have been endeavoring to find solutions to overcome domestic crash since crisis happened. Although the government provided some supporting actions for the sector since 2011 and then ratified $3.3 billion economic package in early 2014 (Dieu Tu Uyen, 2014), the building materials industry seems to be difficult to recover. In 2013, there were 10077 construction and real estate companies went bankruptcy, while other firms were struggling in tackling the oversupply issue. 1.2.3 Export international business situation Due to the difficulties of local market, many companies have tried to enhance exporting activity. However, the majority of products is still mainly used for consuming inside the country and export’s profits could not cover the losses of domestic sale. It happened to all kind of building materials. In general, export turnover of building materials in 2011 hit slightly over 766 million USD, that was an 86.45% increase compare to 2010. See the table below: Table 9: Export turnover of building materials in 2011 and percentage of increase. No Type of building material Turnover (thousand USD) Percentage of increase (%) 2010 2011 1 Building Stone 105.646 131.715 24.67 2 Tiles 109.656 185.144 68.84 3 Sanitary ware 46.481 64.343 38.42 4 Glass 40.135 49.027 22.15 5 Clinker and cement 96.887 319.101 229.35 6 Raw materials 12.027 16.682 38.70 Total 410.832 766.012 86.45 Regarding building stones, top ten companies accounted for more than 66% of total exporting revenue of stone. The top consuming markets of Vietnam stone are Belgium (29.21%), Australia (13.38%) and United States (9%). Referring to ceramic products, just about 15% of total manufactured goods was exported. Top ten companies constituted 56% of total revenue, and the biggest markets are Laos, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, etc. Besides that, tiles and sanitary ware have been imported with lower price than Vietnamese firms, most of them come from China. It has pushed domestic manufacturers to face high pressures and challenges in selling products in the country market. Table 10: Import and Export situation of tiles and sanitary of Vietnam. Consumption 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Export (million USD) Tiles 77.16 80.88 69.57 109.66 185.14 190 Sanitary ware 35.7 41.3 37.4 46.5 64.3 65 Import (million USD) Tiles 33.65 22.4 70.16 95.5 46.4 46 Sanitary ware 4.2 6.8 6.7 8.07 12.54 12 (Vietnam Ceramic Business Association, 2013) According to top exporting countries of ceramic tiles, Vietnam was ranked the 12th with 28 million square meter exported in 2010, that accounted for 0.3% and 1.5% on the world consumption and the world export respectively (Stock, 2010). However, in terms of money, the total value of exported tiles of Vietnam is much lower than Thailand and Malaysia (not mentioned China here). The Vietnam Association for Building materials A said that the reason is because the competitive strength of Vietnamese firms is lower than Thailand, Malaysia, and China. Regarding to glass, total value of glass and glass related products was $0.54 billion in 2012. It was a 46.7% rise compare to 2011. However, because of the domestic downturn, this increase could not cover the loss in glass sector. For example, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan said in the interview that Viglacera Corporation still had to close their glass factory in the north for more than 12 months in spite of having foreign customers. About cement sector, in the last 10 years, Vietnam cement generally had the lower selling price than other countries in ASEAN. It stayed at around $50/ton, while the ASEAN average cement price fluctuated from $65 to $75/ton (Vietnam National Cement Association, 2013). In 2012, exporting volume levelled up to 1.7 million tons of cement and 7.3 million tons of clinker. After that, in 2013, total cement and clinker exported increased to nearly 14 million tons. This was a big leap in Vietnam cement industry on international business. It is clearly seen that building materials products such as tiles, sanitary ware, glass, cement, or steel have had a stable increase in export. However, these improvements could not help to overcome the downward trend in domestic market. According to building materials business community, the ASEAN market is considered as similarities and has strong points for Vietnamese companies to expand businesses. So, most of building materials manufacturers in Vietnam has focused mostly on this areas. The imposed tax for goods from Vietnam is 0%, but the technical barrier and quality is highly required. Especially, ASEAN countries also strictly control and apply the anti-dumping policies. Together with the competition with China, it makes the profits of exports stay relatively small. However, if Vietnam succeeds in signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, Vietnamese firms will have greater chances to expand their business into different nations outside ASEAN. Currently, Vietnam companies are paying import tax for members of TPP such as Mexico 25%, Chile 6%, Peru 5%, etc. Therefore, when Vietnam joins TPP, import tax equals 0%, companies will have more incentives to exploit these potential markets. This also true for other trade agreements Vietnam is negotiating. 1.3 Conclusion The financial crisis did have an extremely negative impact on construction and building materials industry. Factories had to cut down their capacity around 30% in general. The goods in stock increased and was difficult to sell, especially for tiles sector. Many companies went bankrupt, some have to close their factories, and many of them suffered losses. The export volume and value of building materials products have kept rising recent years. However it can not cover the huge losses in domestic market. On the other hand, the state-owned enterprises have dominated the sector over the private companies.

Shakespeares As You Like It - The Romantic Love of Silvius and Phebe :: Shakespeare As You Like It Essays

As You Like It:   The Romantic Love of Silvius and Phebe    There are several types of love depicted in Shakespeare's As You Like It.   One variety of love portrayed in this comedy is romantic love, the romantic literary ideal which became popular in the Middle Ages. According to the courtly love tradition a lover worships his lady and serves her, suffers all sorts of indignities for her sake, and thinks only of her. He must be loyal to her for life, no matter how badly she treats him, or how much he suffers for unrequited love. A true lover never ceases to adore his lady, and when he speaks of her he only uses poetic language and style. These conventions of courtly love are clearly exemplified in As You Like It in the romantic attachment of Silvius and Phebe. When Rosalind, Celia and Touchstone arrive in the forest of Arden they meet Silvius and Corin, an old shepherd, who are engaged in a conversation about love. Corin is advising his friend on how to treat the woman he loves. However, Silvius doubts the old shepherd's authority in such matters, for although Corin admits having been drawn into acts of madness for the sake of love during his youth, he cannot recall any of them. Silvius clearly manifests that if Corin has forgotten even the most insignificant detail of the actions love made him run into, then he has never been truly in love. Even more, Silvius also explains that a true lover never ceases to adore his lady in speech, even if this moves his listener to discomfort, and further explains that sincere love may drive a lover to interrupt a conversation out of passion. To prove this last point, Silvius suddenly interrupts his speech passionately crying the name of Phebe, his beloved, several times. Silvius reflects the behavior of the courtly lover, who is capable of the most foolish actions for the sake of his beloved, and who suffers the pangs of unrequited love and the abrupt separation from his lady. His only concern is love and, although he is uneducated, his language is lofty, poetic, and artificial when he speaks in praise of Phebe. Indeed, both Phebe and Silvius speak in elaborate verse in order to comply with the courtly love conventions. In their courtship, Silvius praises her virtues and begs for the slightest sign of affection, and Phebe scorns and rejects him all along.

What Every Leader Needs to Know

In the book Leadership 101` by John C. Maxwell he delivered his point of views on how to develop the intellectual insight regarding and spiritual beliefs. Based on his achievements as a leader himself, Maxwell points out that it is important to express leadership through the application of public education the true meaning of faith in leadership. He further notes the procedures behind how to become a more enlightened leader, by having a common purpose and common vision. Through the said book, he discussed his hopes and dreams for himself as well as for the public education, for the different leaders and for the world. His major goal is to build a strong public education that will help the children to easily enhance their skills, and to support the needs of the students primarily with regards the moral and spiritual values. Through public education, the different kinds of beliefs can easily be discussed in formal and legal ways, and public education is the best opportunity to build different essential concepts that will connect the people within the human society. Another goal of Maxwell is to frequently develop the â€Å"Dimension of Leadership†; though leadership is a great privilege to a person who has the chance in having the skills needed for it, the authors define the exact value of what are the valuable insights that a perfect leader should have. Also the responsibilities of the leader, which should always be his major priority for the benefits of his community; this will lead to a wellness and successful organization in the society that he serves. Wise leadership in spiritual, moral, and educational program is one of the major keys in a certain country’s future success; it is the best way to create a fruitful result that can give hope to the citizens of a particular society. Moreover, in order to build and have better leadership status in the future, the authors of book entitled â€Å"Spiritual Dimension of Leadership† provide some important guidelines that will fit to the prospective leaders. They offer the eight key principles that can lead to a prospective leader to become a valuable and enlightened leader, it is important to discussed this eight key principle in order to understand and enlightened the important point of views on how to become a better leader and spiritual adviser to the societies and communities. These are the following guidelines that a prospective leader should have to seriously apply and understand carefully in order to empower his leadership. Intention- In leadership it is important to know what is the real intention of the leader in his activities and programs, because all the related activities that are usually directed by the leader and provided by the members will always reflect his physical and moral values. Attention- A true leader must always visualize the needs and benefits of his team; in order to develop a progressive idea the leader should always give his full attention to the programs and activities that are very beneficial to the community. Unique Gifts and Talents- Special skills and talents are God given gifts to every individual; it is also temporarily stored to human body, by building and developing a set of better programs and activities, leaders are extending their best to use their skills and intellectual thinking to provide a humanistic and unbiased leadership to his community. Gratitude- Leadership is not all about the giving of commands and duties, in order to achieve the main goal; an acting leader should have an interpersonal emotion, greater acceptance, and dipper appreciation for handling a serious obligation, also by receiving a lively sense of favors grateful acceptance is also required in order to have a better leadership practice application. Unique life lessons- Though leadership is always creating some comparisons, developing uniqueness is a big factor to create a better relationship towards other members, by using personal experience to provide a useful knowledge, â€Å"Unique life lessons† is a big contribution in having an enlightened leader. Holistic Perspective- This kind of principle is also required to inspire the members to also achieve their goals. By emphasizing the importance of the members in the society, through the implementations of the holistic perspective true leadership will be more effective. Openness- To achieve a wise leadership especially in education, openness is a big impact to create a better leadership. Leaders should always be open-minded in terms of the ideas and theories that are represented by the members of the public constituents. Any problems should seriously be discussed properly. Trust- The most important things that the leaders in spiritual and educational area should apply is trust, leaders should always create their different perspectives as well as the progressive idea on how to lead a certain group; however, trust is the major factor in continuously aiming and becoming a leader. However, trust remains to be the core reason needed for the leadership skill applications to be successful enough for the organizations being served. If the insights written within the pages of the book being discussed in here will always prevail within the society’s leaders, it could be easily expected that better days are ready to come ahead as the future generation of human civilization sprouts out to serve the different countries around the globe. The book indeed provides the most necessary inspiration that leaders need to posses in leading the nation or any other social organization, trust and knowledge that would lead to a more successful future and a more effective leading procedure. Several Important Ideas of the Reading: Part I: The Development of a Leader 1. Why Should I Grow as a Leader? The McDonald brothers versus Ray Kroc in developing McDonalds. 2. How Can I Grow as a Leader? Teddy Roosevelt Part II: The Traits of a Leader 3. How Can I Become Disciplined? Jerry Rice 4. How Should I Prioritize My Life? Paul Tsongas 5. How Do I Develop Trust? Billy Graham 6. How Can I Effectively Cast Vision? Walt Disney Part III: The Impact of Leader 7. Why Is Influence Important? Princess Diana 8. How Does Influence Work? Robert Dilenschneider 9. How Can I Extend My Influence? His father 10. How Can I Make My Leadership Last? Roberto Goizueta Within the entire context of the reading, Maxwell intended to help everyone see the importance of leadership both to one’s self and towards the others. This is a particular fact that needs to be considered well by every individual wanting to become a leader of others towards the betterment of the system of any organizations or groups that they intend to work for. BIBLIOGRAPHY: John Maxwell. (2002). Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know. Thomas Nelson Press.