Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Consumers Dissertation

Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Consumers - Dissertation Example The advent of globalization and liberalization in the world markets has brought increased competition at the local level as well. Now, there are products and services that are available anywhere in the world and the customers are given a wide array of choice to choose from. There are a variety of products, substitutes, prices and overall value packages that are now made available to the customer due to the rapid development of information and communication technologies as well as logistics management. The changes in the technological and the global business environment have brought additional pressures on the organization to remain viable and competitive in the market. Organizations now have to invest in new product development strategies, look out for ways of reducing costs and expanding distribution channels and reaching out to the largest number of customers using their limited budgets. Consumer awareness, consumer acceptance and retention and consumer feedback have become an impo rtant guiding factor for the organizations to develop products and markets (Perrault et al, 2000). Researchers have increasingly found that the customers are greatly influenced by the fact that they can easily attain more information about the product or service, that they are able to recall the product or the brand and that their friends or family are already using the product. This means that the more the brand awareness, the greater the chance that the products will be bought by the customers and also recommended to others by them.

The Agrotourism In Malaysia Tourism Essay

The Agrotourism In Malaysia Tourism Essay Agrotourism is also known as agritourism and farm-based tourism. Agrotourism is actually the collaborations between tourism and agriculture since the visitor go to travelling as tourist to enjoy, relaxation, spend time and money for joyfullness and happiness in addition to visiting agricultural area, doing agricultural-related activities like harvesting, planting, fishing, and etc. It is a form of tourism in agricultural areas such as orchards, agroforestry farms, herbal farms and animal farms. According to World Tourism Organisation (WTO, 2002) that agrotourism is part of rural tourism and relates to tourism on farms. It gives farmers the opportunities to expand their activities and also to increase their income. Agrotourism is just a small part of rural tourism and agricultural practice worldwide, excluding in some European countries such as Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland, where the number of farms that offer some form of tourism is remarkably large. Agrotourism has differe nt definitions in different parts of the world. In Italy, it refers to farmstays. However in other parts of the world, agrotourism includes a wide range of activities which comprises of buying produce direct from a farm stand, navigating a corn maze, picking fruits, feeding animals or staying at a BB (bed and breakfast inn) on a farm. Agrotourism covers a wide range of agriculture-related activities about which visitors learn and can try them out by themselves. In ASEAN countries like Thailand, rice farming, flower growing, vegetable and herb cultivation and livestock farming are some common examples of agrotourism. Agrotourists or visitors are exposed to agricultural practices in a more leisure fashion, such as by joining picturesque canal tours or strolling through shady fruit orchards (tasting the fruits right from the trees) and working in rice farms. Almost all the agricultural research and study centres scattered throughout the country are supporting the agrotourism. Visitors are allowed to tour the centres, watch the demonstrations or take part in the hands on activities. Agrotourism and ecotourism are also closely-related. Agrotourism is when a native person or locals of the area offer the tours to their agriculture farm to allow a person to view them growing, harvesting and processing locally grown foods such as coconuts, pineapple, sugar cane, corn or any produce the person would not encounter in their home country. The farmers would also offer a homestay programme and education for the visitors. Activities that usually be offered to agrotourists or visitors: Opportunities for interaction between hosts and guests (visitors) Horseback riding Demonstrating and participating in daily farm work Providing courses in organic farming and gardening Demonstrating or offering classes in making traditional local crafts Demonstrating food processing, serving typical local dishes and offering cooking lessons Organising cultural events Offering excursions to natural and cultural attractions in the surroundings Exhibitions of agrotourist products Agrotourism in many European countries consists primarily of lodging and meals on the farm. Farm buildings are often remodeled by the farm families into rustic lodging facilities, and operate them as a type of bed and breakfast (BB) inn. Some farms especially in Switzerland, do little more than clean out a barn and spread straw on the floor, upon which people roll out sleeping bags. Other farms will provide fairly upscale accommodations for the visitors. Visitors are also able to tour the farms, help out with some farm chores and have meals with the farm family. Invariably, they experience life on the farm genuinely. In England, 23% of farms provide some type of commercial leisure service enterprise such as fishing, nature trails, picnic sites and so forth whereas 24% of English farms provide overnight accommodation and/or catering (Turner and Winter, 2003). In countries like France, hikers and cyclists can follow a network of trails around the country that leads from farm to farm. In the Netherlands and some other European countries, the farmers have centralized clearinghouses for contacting and booking stays services on working farms. Agrotourism, while new to many types of American agriculture, has been a major part of the development of the American wine industry for decades. Many wineries are part of organized regional wine tours, and some special events such as concerts, festivals, and weddings are also held for attractions. And another form of agrotourism that has been around for decades is dude ranches. Dude ranches are more common in the United States and Australian Outback. It offers vi sitors the opportunity to work on cattle ranches and the chance to take part in the cattle drives. In Australia, Canada and the Philippines, agrotourism is deemed as a growth industry. Reynolds (2005) mentions that agrotourism is a type of businesses conducted by farmers whose working agricultural operations for the enjoyment and education of visitors. Since it can complement farmers income and contribute to local economic development, agrotourism is being conceptualized as a business model in terms of product diversification. Referred to as agriturismo in Italy, sleeping in the straw in Switzerland, farmstays in New Zealand, and farm holidays in England, agrotourism is well established throughout Europe and in many other countries (Rilla, 1999a). Agrotourism enterprise as a business conducted by a farm operator or farmer for the enjoyment and education of the public beside promoting the products of the farm, and generating additional farm income (Hilchey, 1993:4). Although the farmers may not always have the time, moneys and necessary skills and expertise to develop the tourism p otential of their business, agriculture and public sector tourism organizations are always promoting agrotourism (Stephen J. and Getz, Don (eds)). Trends of Agrotourism Agrotourism was recognized as a part of ecotourism formerly as both have similar principles to conduct nature attractions (Rilla 1999). Both have been identified as the fastest tourism development model in the world. They have been widely developed in developing countries as a potential development models as natural resources and support of local society economically (OTA, 1992). At the moment, agrotourism has successfully developed in many countries, for instance Switzerland, New Zealand, France, Netherlands, Australia, and Austria (Rilla 1999). In Indonesia, there are eight provinces trying to develop agrotourism such as North Sumatera with rubber and palm plantations, Riau with cacao plantations, West Java by botanical gardens, Central Java and Daerah Istimewa Yogjakarta by salak pondoh agrotourism in Sleman, East Java by sugar plantations, Nusa Tenggara Barat by Rinjani ecotourism, Middle of Kalimantan and West of Kalimantan by palm plantations. Currently, they are still simply managed with limited facilities and are not developed on community-based model, and have not been well promoted (Indonesian Agriculture Department, 2005). Previously, agrotourism attraction was only interpreted as panorama attractions and plantations area, but now agrotourism has been interpreted as a linkage system between tourism and agriculture sectors as well as a model of region development (Indonesia Agriculture Department, 2005). Application of Agrotourism Agrotourism is highly dependent on the type of agricultural activity that is practiced in that particular area. In other words, this means that not all agrotourism destinations in the world provide the same agricultural activities. So in this subtopic, we are going to introduce and discuss about some famous agrotourism destinations in our country, Malaysia. This will definitely exposed us the similarities and differences among the agrotourism destinations throughout the world. First of all, let us look at Malaysias agrotourism spots. There are some famous examples of destinations such as: (i) Cameron Highland (ii) Taman Pertanian Sabah (iii) Parit Jawa Johor (i) Cameron Highland Cameron Highlands is Malaysias premier hill resort. Located in the state of Pahang, on the Main Range of Peninsular Malaysia, at 1524m above sea level, it is the largest of the Malaysian hill resorts. Much of its appeal lies in the net sprawling tea plantations which date back to 1929, as well as terraced flower gardens, strawberry farms, orchard and vegetable gardens. Being a popular hill resort, Cameron Highlands is well-developed with visitor amenities, tourist attractions, activities and a range of accommodation for a comfortable, leisurely holiday in cool invigorating climate. The cool climate which never ranged more than 20 degree Celsius, along with its fertile soil also attracts tourist from various places. Initially, the virgin jungle cleared for cultivation of tea bushes. Thus began Boh Estate, the first highland tea plantation in the country. Subsequently, other tea estates were opened, among them, the Blue Valley and Bharat plantations. The highland was also found to be conducive for the commercial cultivation of vegetables, flowers and fruits such as oranges and strawberries. The increasing popularity of Cameron Highlands in recent years has attracted the development of more tourism facilities and spots to cater to the growing number of visitors. The practice of agrotourism can be observed in various agricultural places which is well equipped with facilities in Cameron Highlands. This is important as the combination of both agriculture and tourist attraction forms agrotourism. There are many activities and places to be visited in Cameron Highlands in the context of agrotourism such as: (a) Sungai Palas Tea Estate It is one of the four tea states on the highlands, also produces the world famous BOH TEA. Tourists may travel 1 km into this estate where the factory is located. Resident guides will introduce the complex processes involved in the production of fragrant tea. These include the picking of tea leaves and the intricate art of brewing a good cup of tea. Tourists can even purchase some tea, the main produce of the highland, as a souvenir. (b) Apiary- Honeybee Farm Apiary- Honeybee farm is a small cottage industry for the production of honey. It is a garden ere some 25 varieties of flowers have been cultivated not for sale, but as a food supply for honey bees in search of nectar and pollen. Honey, believe it contain amazing ingredients for treating ailments such as insomnia, lethargy, skin diseases and even impotence. (c) Strawberry Farm Strawberries are another unique and proud product of the Highlands, seen as a trademark of the hill resort. The variety is known as FRESNO. Tourist will not leave the farm without a jar of strawberry jam. (d) Flower Nurseries Fresh flowers are cultivated in the highlands and are a leading export. Most of the flowers are grown in Brinchang. Bloom like roses, chrysanthemum, carnations, dahlia, geranium and everlasting flowers are grown in the nurseries. No visit to the highlands is complete without purchasing some of these colourful cuts to take back home. (e) Vegetable Farm Cameron Highlands is the nations prime producer of fresh vegetables, with some of the produce exported to neighbouring countries. Most of the vegetable farms can be spotted from the road along Brinchang to Tringkap. Cabbages, cauliflower, tomatoes, carrots, leeks, parsley and pepper are grown here. Purchases can be made at the vegetable stalls. (ii) Taman Pertanian Sabah Taman Pertanian Sabah is part of the 1500 acres of the Agriculture Research Station, Lagud Sebrang Tenom which is administered and owned by the Agriculture Department Sabah. It is a complex consisting of the Agriculture Research Station, Seed production Centre for Cash Crop, Farmers Training Centre and Taman Pertanian Sabah itself. The Park sprawled over an area of 500 acres. The park was first opened to visitors in October 2000, and was officially launched by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on the 25 March, 2001. With its rich biodiversity, the Park has a magnificent collection for indigenous and introduced plants species. It is also a conservation centre for native Orchids of Borneo. This park would become a heritage for the next generation and this will help to educate people in nature conservation and the preservation of natural rainforest through cultivation of trees, shrubs, plants and flowers. The lush greenery, multitude species of plants or flowers of endemic to Borneo Island and very rare, panoramic view of the lakes, captivating landscaped gardens provide an excellent base to expand your knowledge and ideal environment for those who seek peace, quiet and tranquility away from stressed and urban noise. This park also provides a great trekking ground as well as nature walks and jungle activities. The park is blessed with Mother Natures treasures. The park is a showcase of integrated activities carried out by all the Departments and Agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Food Industry. It also serves as a training and education centre for agriculture, horticulture, apiculture, seed production, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry. It is divided into four key areas: (a) Agriculture This included Living Crop Museum, Demonstration Farms, Agro forestry, Bee Centre and Germplasm collection. (b) Horticulture This include Native Orchid Centre, Hybrid Orchid, Evolution garden, Model Garden and Ornamental Garden (c) Animal Husbandry This included Animal Park and Animal Farm. (d) Fisheries This included Freshwater Fishing. Objectives of Taman Pertanian Sabah are firstly, as a major Agrotourism centre in the state. Secondly, to provide demonstration farms for Agricultural activities, Animal breeding and Fisheries. Thirdly, to serve as a centre for training and demonstration on Agriculture, Horticulture, Fishery, Apiculture, Seed Technology, Forestry and Animal Husbandry. Next is to provide facilities for nature-based recreational activities and the final objective is to promote awareness and love for nature. (iii) Parit Jawa Johor The following agrotourism destination that i recommended is a place which situated On the western coast of Johor, lies a small town called Parit Jawa. The main attraction here especially during the October-March migration season, is the birdlife. Despite the busy river mouth near the jetty the bird fauna seems unperturbed. The most noticeable of the birds are the Lesser Adjutants of the family of Storks, by sheer virtue of their endangered status and size. Standing at 120 cm tall, with a white body and dark grey wings this species is unmistakable. Its head is virtually bald, apart from a sparse covering of fine hair-like feathers. There are only 2000 odd numbers left in the world and its cousin, the Greater Adjutant, not found in Malaysia, is critically endangered with only 500 odd left in the wild. To be able to sight these amazing prehistoric looking birds is worth the weekend to this classic, pre-war-looking town of Parit Jawa. Birdlife The main attraction of Parit Jawa, especially during the October-March migration season, is the birdlife.  Though there is a regular traffic of fishing boats winding its way through the muddy channels, and though there are local people going about their business near the jetty the bird fauna seems unperturbed.  The most noticeable of the birds are the Lesser Adjutants, by sheer virtue of their size.  Standing at 120 cm tall, with a white body and dark grey wings this species is unmistakable. Comically, its head is virtually bald, apart from a sparse covering of fine hair-like feathers.  Ã‚   Active during the day, these storks feed on fish and amphibians such as the Crab-eating Frog. Once seized, the prey is subjected to a series of stabs with its powerful beak, before being swallowed whole.  At nights the storks roost in mangrove trees along the coast.   Nesting occurs mainly during the dry season, either in small colonies or as single nests.     Ã‚  Other shorebirds not commonly seen in Malaysia but which may be sighted at Parit Jawa include the Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris, the Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata and the Grey-tailed Tattler Heteroscelus brevipes.  Ã‚   Egrets and smaller herons are easily seen, including the Chinese Pond Heron Ardeola bacchus.  The Striated Heron Butorides striatus is very common, and is often seen perched close to the jetty or stalking small fish around the moored fishing boats.   Flocks of terns are often seen following fishing vessels back to harbour, swooping down to pluck small fish from the waters churned up by the boats propellers.   Kingfishers are common too, including migrants such as the Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis and the Black-capped Kingfisher Halcyon pileata; there are numerous sticks or posts close to the jetty where they like to perch.  Ã‚   Fishing Village For visitors unfamiliar with the laid-back charms of rural Malaysia the fishing village of Kuala Parit Jawa serves as a fine example.   The tidal inlet is crowded with wooden vessels which fish the muddy waters of the Straits of Malacca, and there are a number of open-air seafood restaurants specialising in spicy fish recipes.   Add to that a couple of brightly coloured Chinese temples and modest Malay kampung houses surrounded by banana, papaya and durian orchards and you have a scene of rural tranquility. Mud and Mangroves Beyond the rickety wooden jetty at the mouth of Kuala Parit Jawa is a wide expanse of mud, which is  exposed at low tide.   The coastal mudflats of the Straits of Malacca are rich in organic content, supporting an abundance of invertebrate life including worms, snails, bivalves, crabs and prawns.   In turn these food groups support a rich web of higher species including fish such as mudskippers, reptiles such as water snakes and monitors, and a wide range of bird species.  Ã‚  Mammals too live in the adjacent mangroves; groups of  Long-tailed Macaque Macaca fascicularis regularly venture out of the mangroves and onto the mudflats, probably to feed upon crabs hence their other name Crab-eating Macaque.   The Oriental Small-clawed Otter Aonyx cinerea can also be sighted here.   Implications of Agrotourism Agrotourism has contributed much to both the economic and social sector in our country development. However, there are positive and negative implications of agrotourism. First of all, agrotourism contributes lots in improving the economy of the local communities. When we are promoting about agrotourism, we are actually promoting both the agriculture and tourism as they are combined in this sector. Places of agriculture will sell the products and induce the tourism of the place at the same time. As a result, tourists will buy the agriculture products and spending for tour cost such as accommodation as well. Besides, agrotourism will help to increase the value of the village. For instance, the residents can provide home stay-themed-accommodation for the tourists. Home stay is a form of program that allows the tourists to live with a local family to experience their lifestyle. Besides this program, by spending on the service provided or products bought, the tourists can increase the incomes of the residents in rural area. This additional income will help to raise the status of the residents. Thus, the poverty rate in rural area can be decreased. Other  opportunity  generated from agrotourism is providing local employments. The residents of rural area, especially the youths, can work on accommodation service, tour guide service, restaurant or handicraft industry. This will decrease the migration of youths to cities. Thus, agrotourism helps improving the social situations, particularly poverty alleviation, decreasing unemployment and declining urbanization. Generating agrotourism-related businesses  is the most potential opportunity of agrotourism development. Due to the increasing amount of the tourists, traditional cakes or chips are produced in order to introduce the local food to them. In the handicraft industry, souvenir such as batik and canes products are made to sell to the tourists. To maintain the amount of visitors, agricultural product improvements and stimulations of tourism-related  enterprises are done. Last but not least, abandoned land can be developed in the practice of agrotourism. The development of agrotourism brings about the utilization of lands. These lands can turn out to be a new tourist attraction spot. They can be used as aquaculture rearing, orchard farm or recreational park. Nevertheless, agrotourism has its negative effects towards the environment when it is over-developed. Climatic change is one of the major problems which the agrotourism sector caused. Recently, we can see the global temperature is increasing drastically from year to year. The best example is Cameron Highland, a place that practice agrotourism. It was known as a cold place but now, the temperature is actually increasing. This has caused the crop yield of the agriculture products such as vegetable and fruits to decrease because these plants are only suitable in temperate condition. Another negative effect that we can see is the pollution problem. Extensive agrotourism activities have released polluting by-products which results in environmental problems. The increasing number of tourists causes air pollution in a particular area as they using vehicles which release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These polluting gases are emitted into the atmosphere and translate into the acid rain. Acid rain has adverse affect on the plants, fresh water and soil because it can kills some of the living organisms. Besides, the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides also result in soil pollution. Excessive use of chemical pesticides which exceed permissible limit causes undesirable health effects and reduces biodiversity. Continuous use of fertilizer that contains heavy metals such as cadmium in phosphate rocks will pollute the soil and render the crops to be toxic. When the rain falls, the pollutants in soil will be brought to the river along with the rain, which will then cause water pollution. In addition, increases in use of chemical fertilizer results in higher level of nitrates being washed from the soil into the water ecosystem. This causes an excessive enrichment of the water, eutrophicaton, leading to rapid algal growth that creates oxygen deficit and killing of aquatic life. This chain reaction will further affect our ecosystem and biodiversity. When agrotourism is allowed to develop without proper planning, deforestation might happen. As this sector is growing rapidly, more and more land is required. So, the limited availability of land will lead to deforestation. Deforestation will brings to decrease in the wildlife population and at a more critical state, the biodiversity of the area will be affected. Consequently, there will be agricultural mismanagement which results in less arable land for agriculture and at the meantime, affect the agrotourism sector. Constraints of Agrotourism Lack of promotion is another constraint of agrotourism. Advertisement related to agrotourism is not established to a wider range of places. People will not have much information about the agrotourism places. Besides, the pamphlets that provide incomplete information will confuse the tourists. The information given may not be interesting or fascinating enough to attract the tourists. Furthermore, many places are lack of tour guides to introduce the places to the tourists. These will deter them from visiting the agrotourism spot. The authorities should promote the uniqueness of each village to strengthen the destination by combining with other related activities to reach the goals of agrotourism. Facilities also play an important role in the development of agrotourism. The hardest barriers of agrotourism development are inadequate infrastructures, limited public facilities and imperfect human resource skills. It will be a trouble when the facilities such as transportation, hotel and toilet do not fulfill the tourists demands. Another problem in agrotourism is insufficient government supports. Due to the small amount of governmental expenditure on research and development of agrotourism, technical assistance and support, as well as agro-marketing, agrotourism always faces problems in developing. Government empowerment, investment in agricultural sectors, infrastructure development, human skill improvement, public facilities development, and local communities empowerment and involvement need to be immediately committed to apply an ideal agrotourism. Besides, the younger generation is the important factor in the development of agrotourism. However, they are not concerned and interested about the greenery. From their point of view, agrotourism spot is not an interesting place to travel and it is not worth to go for such an unmemorable and uncomfortable trip. Water World or Extreme Park will draw more attention from them. Also, they are not interested to work in the agrotourism sector. Fresh graduates are not enthusiastic about the job in agrotourism as they thought it is not well-paid compared to the professional sector. As a consequence, there is no new generation to take over this sector. Lastly, scarce investment is a big problem for agrotourism sector. It is more risky to invest in this sector compared to the other sectors which are stable in development. Investors are less likely to invest in agrotourism as this sector is not a popular trend in the world yet. All in all, the government, non-governmental organizations, and even the people of our country should do their best to contribute to agrotourism. The government should not just fork out money in maintenance. Instead, they should find alternatives in supporting the development of agrotourism. Solutions to solve the constraints and implement to improve this sector should be their priority concern. Ways to Improve Agrotourism In Malaysia Agrotourism and homestay programmes provided opportunities for local involvement and additional sources of income. A total of 19 agro-tourism locations were developed with the participation of farmers and fishermen during the Seventh Plan period. The products included day visits, farm-stay and agro-tourism packages. Agrotourism is rapidly carving a niche in Malaysia, especially as the country has a wealth of products to offer locals and visitors alike. Agricultural tourism, as it is formally known, helps by improving incomes and economic potentials of small farms, rural communities and agro-based ventures throughout the country. Visitors can also help with the locals daily chores, feeding the ducks, tending to the vegetables and see how the local communities thrive in todays fast-paced world. There are also homestays where visitors can discover more of local agrotourism practices. There are also fruit farms and parks where locals and visitors can learn more of agroutourism in Malaysia. In Malaysia, an agriculture park measuring over 10000 hectares has been opened, showing visitors how Malaysian agriculture has developed. For example, Cameron Highland located at Pahang and Dusun d Paradise that is situated in Melaka. These places have become tourist hotspot as it offer variety of activity and different experience for tourist. Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism ( MAHA ) is the main organization that promotes the practice of agrotourism. Today, the industry is still growing and need a lot of improvement to achieve optimum benefit. Supportive government policies are one of the ways of improvement. It maintains a business environment with oppurtunities for growth and profits have made agrotourism in Malaysia an attractive sector. The private sector in Malaysia is encouraged to become partners with the public sector in achieving the nations development objectives. Governments commitment to maintain a business environment should be the main objective that provides companies with the opportunities for growth and profits. Government can also pay constant feedback from the business community through channels of consultation such as regular government- private sector dialogues. These allow the various business communities to air their views and to contribute towards the formulation of better agrotourism. Air, land and sea transportation will be continuously upgraded to facilitate accessibility and the growth of the tourism industry. The comfort, safety and security of tourists are crucial for the success of the agrotourism industry. The government will increase security patrols, especially in remote tourist resorts, to ensure the safety of tourists. At the same time, adherence to safety measures in the transportation of passengers by road, rail, sea and air will remain a top priority. Operators, guides and instructors in the tourism business will need to be more conscious of the well-being of tourists and strive to ensure their comfort and safety. In addition, further efforts will be made to provide tourists with quality goods and services at reasonable prices. Over the years, extensive promotional campaigns have been engineered both locally and overseas to attract tourists from around the world. Despite the economic slowdown, the tourism industry remains strong. Today, Malaysia is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia. This will allow the agrotourism industry to continuously expanding. Government must take initiative, which are undertaken by its official tourism promotional board, Tourism Malaysia. This will create potential investment opportunities in many areas. Tourism Malaysia has established video clips in local television programme to promote agrotourism. Stable political condition is also essential for marketing in agrotourism even for major tourist attractions. Government should ensure the political condition is always stable so as to allow the continuous of tourist flowing into the country, thus promoting agrotourism. Besides that, this will make investor feel secure and allow them to expand the field safely. Malaysia government should offers investors a young, educated and productive workforce at costs competitive with the other countries in Asia. This will allow the investors to develop and practice agrotourism in a more convenient way. Thus, this will attract more investors to develop in Malaysia and directly contribute to the countrys economy. The investors also need to play their role to improve the practice of agrotourism. They should provide better infrastructure for their customers such as transports, accommodations and catering facilities. They must provide good transport links because even attractive regions can be almost impossible to market for tourism if they are not accessible from the population centres. Investors should ensure that the agriculture they planted must be in healthy condition and always fresh to attract more people to come and have a tour. Investors can cooperate with government to create partnership with travel agency of other country to promote local agrotourism. Tour agency can provide attractive tour packages and promotion for the tourist where is the investor will give cheaper price for the agent. This is a form of symbiosis interaction between the tour agent and investor. Both parties will get benefit from the interaction. Investor must provide wide d

The Life of Paul Gauguin Essay -- Painter Gauguin Biography Papers

The Life of Paul Gauguin Paul Gauguin was born in Paris on June 7th, 1848. His childhood was filled with radical beliefs and a libertarian lifestyle. In fact, his own father Clovis Gauguin was a republican journalist by trade, whose own writings were criticized for their radicalism and eventually forced the family into exile in 1849. With no stable source of income due to his father’s death, the family established residency in Peru, a decision made in accordance to his mother’s Peruvian descent. At age seventeen, Gauguin decided to enter into the French merchant navy. After a six year stint on the seas, Gauguin returned to Peru. His mother then died in 1867, and he was sent to live with Gustave Arosa, a wealthy art collector, who sparked his interest in art. It was Arosa who led Gauguin to eventually devote his time to painting. However, he did not begin his business career in the realm of art; rather, he succeeded as a stockbroker in Paris. It is there in Paris that he me t and married Mette Sofie Gad, and together they had five children. Despite the draw of finance and promise of substantial wealth, he could not temper his desire to paint. His attempts to paint and collect impressionist paintings frustrated Gauguin as he could only devote a meager amount of time and resources. Thus, he determined that he needed to focus his time solely to his lifelong passion: painting. To do so, Gauguin felt the need to sever all personal ties; consequently, he abandoned his family in 1883 without adequate funding. He died in Atuana, Marquesas on May 9th, 1903, a renowned painter, alone with the exception of his works. However, despite his attachment to an eclectic and hermit lifestyle, his contributions to art c... ... Biography. Nov. 12, 2002. http://www.expo-gauguin.com/2.cfm This site gave a brief overview of the life of Gauguin. It did not go into great detail on any given part of his life, but rather included the major points and influences throughout. Encarta Online. Paul Gauguin. Nov. 12, 2002. http://www.renoirinc.com/biography/artists/gauguin.htm This site also gave an overview of Gauguin’s life, but also included more descriptions of the changes in his art throughout his life. It provided the paintings that represented these changes. Works Consulted Paul Gauguin Biography. Nov. 13, 2002. http://www.repropaint.com/Gauguin/gauguin.htm This site was almost identical to the second listed in works cited. It gave a very broad listing of the events in Gauguin’s life, but also gave a few more names involved in shaping his life and painting.

Love and Loneliness using Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami Essay

Humans are probably the greediest animals that have walked on the face of earth. There is always a want to achieve something greater than what one has. This might be a positive force on one hand, but on the other it can leave someone completely unsatisfied and unhappy with their life. One of the things out of the many which humans strive to look for in their life is love. Love, a recurring theme in novels, movies, music, poetry, drama and what not, is hard to escape from. Whether it is motherly, friendly or romantic love, we all have experienced it at some point in our lives. But does love actually exist? If we look at this question from Haruki Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart’s point of view, the answer would be no. Even though love is a major part of the book, there is not a single moment where two people are in love with each other. All the characters of the book have had some experience with love, but in the end all of them are managing their own lives all by themselves. The book strongly hints the nonexistence of love and the loneliness caused by it. The best way to know as to what exactly love is, is to look inside our own self. If we claim to â€Å"feel† it, something must be going on inside our bodies to give us that sense of falling or being in love. Firstly, â€Å"it’s your brain, not your heart, that falls in love† (Myers’, 51). It is evident from many scientific and psychological experiments that â€Å"human romantic love is associated with dopaminergic pathways in the brain† (Fisher, Aron, Brown, 2175). So when Sumire, a lesbian in the book Sputnik Sweetheart, â€Å"fell in love, as if she was crossing a field when bang! a bolt of lightning zapped her right in the head,† the real culprits were something known as neurotransmitters and hormones which are, in simple words, chemicals in our body that control us (Murakami, 9). Sumire was in the â€Å"lust phase† and most probably under the influence of the hormones called testosterone and oestrogen. â€Å"These hormones  as Helen Fisher says ‘get you out looking for anything’† (â€Å"The Science of Love†). The second phase or the â€Å"truly love struck phase† is seen in the book when Sumire cannot escape from the thoughts of Miu (â€Å"The science of love†). â€Å"That’s the ballpoint pen she uses; the mug she drinks coffee from† (Murakami, 50). One cannot blame Sumire for being so sappy as she has no control over the dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine levels in her body. These chemicals are responsible for the â€Å"cloud-nine feeling†, and the loss of appetite, sleep and concentration when one is in love. This is seen in Sumire’s case too when every single time she sat down to start writing something â€Å"no matter how much she stared at the screen, not a single sentence came to her† (Murakami, 36). Heart racing, flushed cheeks, butterflies in the stomach, these all the signs of being in â€Å"love†, but it is not love, it is just chemicals in our bodies making us feel that way. Very closely tied to the brain is our mental psych and genetic makeup and it can help explain the complex topic of love well. The main objective of animals and plants on this earth is to make more of their kind so that their genes are passed on, have a better chance of surviving in the future, and can compete against others genes. Like any other animal, humans are predisposed to this kind of behaviour too. In Sputnik Sweetheart K, the narrator and Sumire’s best friend, is in love with Sumire who is a lesbian and hence cannot reciprocate his love. Even though K knows Sumire is the one he has true feelings for, his body seeks sex. This makes him â€Å"sleep around† with other women on a daily basis. Though â€Å"these little flings never aroused much passion in [him]; they were, at most a kind of comfort† for his body (Murakami, 64). According to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, sex is considered as important as air, sleep, food and shelter (Myers’, 331). It is one of the basic needs in life regardless of any emotional connection to the other person. Also, all the women who K had physical relationships with were â€Å"older and either were married or had fiancà ©s or steady boyfriends†. Psychology can explain even this as â€Å"men are most attracted to women who were at ages associated with peak fertility and thus teen boys are most excited by a woman several years older than themselves.† (Myers’, 106). When it comes to attraction every small factor like skin, smell and body shape play a huge role in deciding whether a woman is good to mate with or not (Myers’, 106). All these behaviours are a result of a phenomenon known as  natural selection where â€Å"nature selects behaviours that increase the likelihood of sending one’s gene into the future† (Myers’, 106). So in the end, it is not us who get to decide who we will pair up with and have children with, but it is our genes that get to choose. How can love exist when we do not even get to choose the person we get attracted to? After looking at the scientific explanations of love, it is important to know how philosophy describes it to get an overall idea of what love is. Kierkegaard, an existentialist philosopher believes only â€Å"Christian love† is true and â€Å"all other love, whether humanly speaking it withers early and is altered or lovingly preserves itself for a round of time—such love is still transient; it merely blossoms. This is precisely its weakness and tragedy, whether it blossoms for an hour or for seventy years—it merely blossoms.† (25). There is no sense of any kind of God in the book Sputnik Sweetheart, so there is no possibility of â€Å"Christian love† which Kierkegaard seems to support. The only kind of love seen in the book is either friendly or erotic love. But what he said about other kind of love, like Eros, seems to be very true since there is not a single moment where two people truly love each other and show it; the love people have for each other never really â€Å"blossoms†. Kierkegaard in his â€Å"Work of love† clearly states that there is no love if it bears no fruit and in the book, there is no â€Å"fruit†, only loneliness which can be considered as the opposite of something fruitful (28). When Miu rejects Sumires love, Sumire disappears from everyone’s lives, which was very painful for K as well as Miu. And when she comes back to K she admits how she feels and says â€Å"I think I cut something’s throat†. One cannot say if she meant it literally or not, but even if she said it metaphorically, she must feel extremely dreadful to say something like that. Secondly, love makes one completely dependent on someone else. When Sumire leaves everyone without any proper explanation K admits, â€Å"She [Sumire] helped me forget the undertone of loneliness in my life†. His love for Sumire is making him completely dependent when throughout the book it is shown how much she who is dependent on him. Love has turned the tables for him and now he is the one who is weak and vulnerable. And anyway, there is no point of loving someone if it keeps making one feel more and more alone. It is impossible to see the good part love plays as there is none. And as Kierkegaard said, love does not exist if it does not bear any fruits. If one was asked to  summarise the story line of Sputnik Sweetheart it would be something like this; K, the narrator, loves Sumire, but Sumire realises she is lesbian when she falls for Miu, a married woman 17 years elder to Sumire, and hence she cannot love K back. But due to an extraordinary incident, Miu has lost all sexual desires and so cannot reciprocate Sumire’s love. So after disappearing â€Å"like smoke† for a few days, Sumire comes back to K to give their love a try even though she knows she is a lesbian (Murakami, 103). It is easy to pick out that there is a constant search for love in Sumire’s life. â€Å"In the spring of her twenty-second year, Sumire fell in love for the first time in her life.† (Murakami, 5). Even though â€Å"in high school she had a few boyfriends, guys she’d go to the cinema with, go swimming with†, she took 22 years long to find the â€Å"right person† to fall in love with, and when she finally did, it was someone she could not get (Murakami, 11). If it was something other than love, one would have long given up on it. It is called learned helplessness in psychology. But, Sumire did not stop from trying to find love all over again and she came back to K. Love clearly seems to be a purpose in life for some people. But what is the purpose of life? There is a point in the book where K realises and says, â€Å"I’d have to survive on my own.† (Murakami, 187) However much we, as humans, feel that we are living for a purpose and there are people who care and love, the truth is that we are all by ourselves. K realises it, even though it is quite far into the book, but he does in, and in a rather painful way. Sputnik Sweetheart, the name of the book itself, suggests loneliness as it refers to Sputnik II, the Soviet satellite which was launched into space with the dog Laika, the first living being to go into space which died barking of hunger. It gives a picture of â€Å"the dark, lustrous eyes of the dog gazing out of the tiny window† into the empty space all alone (Murakami, 10). What is it about love that makes humans so desperate for it? Biology and psychology clearly explain that it is just how our bodies are made and how the animal kingdom functions. Also, according to Kierkegaard, erotic, romantic, friendly or philia love is just temporary and never develops fully. It is also seen that being in love never has a positive outcome and from what Kierkegaard said love does not exist if it does not produce something useful. So why is it that we keep seeking love? Are we just lonely  and anxious to find something more than life itself? Is it that we are lonely and by ourselves in this world, and hence cannot love, or is it that we cannot love that is why we are lonely? Either way, there is no love, but only loneliness. Work Cited â€Å"The Science of Love.† BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 14 May 2013. Myers, David G. Myers’ Psychology for AP. New York, NY: Worth, 2011. Print. Helen E. Fisher, Arthur Aron and Lucy L. Brown Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences , Vol. 361, No. 1476, The Neurobiology of Social Recognition, Attraction and Bonding (Dec. 29, 2006), pp. 2173-2186

Penn Foster Journal Enteries

That decomposing bodies can bring disease. Many religions turned such b when church and state were homogeneous. Modern medicinal technology allows for the harvesting of organs from a corpse, and the successful implantation of that organ into a living human being. Why is that worse than letting that same organ decompose? Treating our dead with respect and reverence is a beautiful characteristic of any society. By honoring the dead we are cherishing the memory of our loved ones, following paradigms of our various belief systems, and honoring the radiations of previous generations.None of those are time valued traditions hold their value if we do not put a higher value on our living than our dead. Our societies need to move forward, and let go of archaic belief systems that hinder our society and hold our citizens health hostage. Reflect If feel that my attitude to writing is relatively the same. My knowledge about writing though has increased substantially throughout this process.I fee l a lot of growth has happened as I have made my way through this Journey. I know a little bit more about my writing style. I have also learned many essay writing techniques that will prove invaluable as I continue my academic and professional careers. I think I could improve as a writer, by being more patient and allowing more time for my ideas to form. Some I am very thankful for the educational opportunity the English module at Penn Foster College has provided.

Highrise pictures Essay Example

Highrise pictures Essay Example Highrise pictures Essay Highrise pictures Essay Executive summary In all commercial, business and even government Institutions, the management has a task of ensuring that the public image for the Institutions Is never tainted. Bearing In mind the cut edge competition that exists In any Industry, a bad image of any organization can really ruin Its profit margins. Employees are one of the mall stakeholders and have a great role In ensuring that clients and all the consumers of the product or service that is being offered are fully satisfied. Consequently, the management of any organization has to make a great deal of decisions for the better f the business. Highest Pictures Company deals with video and film editing and is based in Toronto Canada. It is owned by Joseph Hatch who is a former student at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Highest company has four employees and two interns. Hatch acts as the president of the company and the overall manager for the daily activities of the company. As the owner and the final decision maker, Hatch is faced with situations that if not well handled may complement the reputation of his film editing business. Palmer is a former school mate to Hatch and currently the cost recent Intern In Hatchs company. He Is really talented In film editing. However, Palmer starred to compromise the Image of Heelers Pictures Company something that causes a great worry to Hatch. Bearing In mind the completion that exists In the picture editing and film industry, a small dissatisfaction to the customers can cause more harm than good to the company. Consequently, Hatch has to act fast and in utmost care to ensure that his business is not pushed out of the marked due to poor services to the clients. Overview Highest Picture is relatively young in the film industry. Stared by fresh a person whose expertise is little, a lot had to be done to acquire and prove to the customers of perfect services. Hatch, from his passion in film editing started the company with great aspirations of fulfilling his dreams. Additionally, he wanted to beat the completion In the Industry and be able to make a fortune from the production company. In January 2011, the young but ambitious twenty four years Joseph Hatch founded the Heelers Pictures Company. As a beginner and without a lot of technical expertise, human resource and even finances, Hatch resolved to start his dream many by focusing on wedding petrography, commercials and corporate videos. He did a lot to put his company in the limelight of the film industry. This included submitting some of his short films to film festivals in the whole of North America. Despite all the challenges, Highest was able to commence business with the small number of orders and jobs. Hatch had an a mission that if well followed would earn him and his company a great deal of the film market. The company mission is, we at Highest promise to provide high quality, custom made, high-definition films for our lintel. Hatch believed that the only way that could guarantee Highest Pictures Company a grand entry In the market Is to offer the best to his clients. This could ensure that the company Is able to retain Its current clients. In addition, If the clients were satisfied, they would act as advertisers for his company. In the verge to achieving his dreams for the company, Hatch had to make sure that he had the best who were not to be paid. All of them worked to achieve the best for the companys clients. Need for more employees were to be dictated by the availability of more Jobs. One of the interns, Charlie Palmer was very talented and had a great passion for film production. On the onset of is unpaid internship, Palmer was of great help and his work was very impressive not only to Hatch but it received positive responses from the clients. Hatch was not willing to drop him at the end of the four month internship duration. However, Palmer changed to a liability for Highest Picture Company by the end of the first month. His work deteriorated and clients were complaining. Hatch as the president of the company may not let the company image to be fully tarnished by Palmers actions despite them being friends. Problems facing Highest Pictures Company All businesses are faced with countless problems from the point of inception. Some can be avoided but others crop in during the normal running of the business. If not well dealt with and on time, a large number of the problems may be fatal to the mission of any company or organization. Timing is very important in problem solving. Delay in taking actions may be very costly to the company and sometimes may have a lasting impact even after it is already resolved. A tainted image of a company is hard to refurbish it back to an appealing image. Highest Picture Company is faced with a great deal of problems. These problems may be categorized into three main sub divisions: 1. Normal problems 2. Abnormal problems 3. Pathological problems. Normal problems These problems are unavoidable in any business scenario. If this kind of problems is well sorted in good time, they can facilitate not only a normal growth but a healthy progress. Highest Picture Company is not an exception of the other businesses. The company is faced by these normal problems mainly because it is a young company. There exists a lot of competition in the film production industry. Hatch had to device plans or else he could have been pushed out of the industry. To make the matter worse, the company was not known to the public. As a result, advertisements had to be done. It Hatch didnt have means to counter the completion, his profit margin would have been too little, As a fresh graduate from the university and having never worked for any paid position, Hatch the president of Highest Pictures Company could not afford expensive gadgets and funds for large film production. Consequently, he had to start by limiting his company to wedding pictures editing and small corporate stricture editing. The problem of inadequate finances spilled over to making Hatch opt off unpaid interns as a source of labor because to hire more employees would be uneconomical. Abnormal problems Abnormal problems are basically the ones that are hard to evade. They crop out during the normal running of the business. If they could be detected on time, these problems could be solved. But they are unplanned for or hidden. These abnormal problems may require outside intervention in order to be resolved. Highest Pictures Company is faced by the problem of unexpected disloyalty from some of the workers. Palmer is able to tarnish the image of Hatch to the other intern, Freeman. In addition, complains from the clients and subsequent loss of confidence on the capabilities of the company. Hatch had not expected such a turn on the behaviors of Palmer because they were great friends and he was talented despite being an intern. Pathological problems Pathological problems are Just like the abnormal problems but they are chronic and have a greater intensity. These problems range from; decline in the market share, investors losing confidence on the company, declining quality and serviced and a regressive loss of some of the most important human resource in the company. The pathological problems are very fatal to any business if not well resolved. Hatchs company is faced by some of the pathological problems. Clients start losing their confidence on the services being offered by Highest Company. Most of the works that are handled by Palmer receive negative feedback ranging from lack to follow instructions and even not responding to them. Despite warnings from the companys president, Palmer goes from bad to worse. If Hatch does not take quick action the robber may turn worse and may be too costly for him to bear. He may lose all the clients. In addition to poor work delivery and cases of unmet deadlines on clients jobs, Palmer goes ahead to incite Freeman, the other intern to neglecting his work too. In the long run, Hatch loses the devotion of two of his human resource. A lot of man hours that could have been used constructively in the Job, Palmer and Freeman spans a lot of time outside. As a result, poor quality work is delivered to the customers. This is very negative to the companys progress in the competitive film production industry. Causes

Why You Need an Experienced SSD Lawyer

Why You Need an Experienced SSD Lawyer Why You Need an Experienced SSD Lawyer on Your Side Approximately 50 million Americans live with disabilities. Unfortunately, disabilities can cause physical, emotional and financial strains that are too much to handle alone. One of the most challenging aspects is that those who were once able to work and earn a livelihood find the pain to be too much, and can no longer complete the work they used to do, or cannot complete any other kind of work.With their livelihoods stripped away, their entire lives are turned upside down, and they don’t know how to provide for themselves and their families or where to turn.The Social Security Administration offers Social Security Disability (SSD) to those who meet its disability and work credit requirements. Applying for SSD can be overwhelming and complicated, and one mistake could cost a person who desperately needs benefits to start the process all over again, which could take months to years.Let’s take a closer look at why an experienced Social Security Disability lawyer can make all the difference.Hiring an Attorney to Help with Your Initial Application Can Improve Approval Chances If you are disabled, navigating through the complicated process of applying for benefits, including all of the paperwork and medical evidence, can be daunting and confusing. You need to focus on your health, and you’re not expected to be an expert on applying for disability. You’ve likely never been through this before.An experienced Social Security Disability Attorney can walk you through the entire process, filling out necessary paperwork correctly and on time. An SSD lawyer with a proven track record of handling cases such as yours has an in-depth knowledge of the system and the skills to help you receive the benefits you deserve. They will answer all of your questions and provide compassionate and personalized attention to your case.Turning to an experienced lawyer from the beginning can make the process smoother, eliminate errors and help you get accepted on th e first try. An experienced SSD lawyer can help eliminate delays caused by inaccurate documentation and other common mistakes that could be costing you your benefits.An SSD Lawyer Can Successfully Represent You in an Appeal Hearing If you have applied for disability and were denied, you will need to file an appeal to continue your journey to obtain the benefits you deserve. At this stage, it is critically important to hire a skilled SSD lawyer to represent you and handle everything for your hearing. Experienced SSD lawyers will work tirelessly for you, and have experience representing clients just like you in court to make a thorough case for your benefits.A skilled SSD attorney will answer all of your questions, gather crucial evidence for your case, prepare legal memorandums, opening and closing arguments during court, cross-examination of vocational an or medical experts and other filings.Its important to note that waiting for an appeal and waiting for a decision can be a very le ngthy, drawn-out process. Some disability applicants wait years for an appeal. You have already invested a lot of time into applying for benefits, and with your health and future on the line, you can’t risk drawing out the process further. An experienced SSD lawyer can help bear your burdens and work to win your benefits.A Law Firm That Specializes in Social Security Disability Provides You With a Unique Advantage When looking for an SSD lawyer to help with your application or appeal process, look for an established firm that focuses on Social Security Disability. Through focusing solely on SSD, these lawyers know the complexities of the law inside and out and are uniquely qualified to represent you. When an entire law firm dedicates itself to practicing one type of law, they do it better.We Can HelpIf you are disabled and unable to work, call  Disability Attorneys of Michigan  for a free confidential consultation. We’ll let you know if we can help you get a monthl y check and help you determine if any money or assets you receive could impact your eligibility for disability benefits.Disability Attorneys of Michigan  works hard every day helping the disabled of Michigan seek the  Social Security Disability benefits  they need. If you are unable to work due to a physical, mental, or cognitive impairment, call  Disability Attorneys of Michigan  now for a free consultation at  800-949-2900Let Michigan’s experienced Social Security Disability law firm help you get the benefits you deserve.Disability Attorneys of Michigan, Compassionate Excellence. Michigan Social Security Disability Attorney, Michigan Social Security Disability Lawyer