Characteristics of Developing Countries Essay

Characteristics of Developing Countries BY Hafeez260 The theme of this essay is: the importance of a study of other semi-developed countries as they struggle for economic growth, the elimination of mass poverty and, at the political level, for democratisation and the reduction of reliance on coercion. New countries are finding their voices in all sorts of ways and are managing to interest an international audience. South Africa is not least among them; contemporary international consciousness of the travail of our particular path towards modernity testifies at least to a considerable national talent for dramatic ommunication and (for those who care to look more deeply) a far from extinct tradition of moral conscientiousness. One aspect of this flowering is a rapidly growing crop of social scientific studies of semi-developed countries of which this university is fortunate to have a substantial collection, contained mainly in the library of Jan Smuts House. From this literature, one can extract five themes of particular interest. The first is the problem of uneven development and effective national unification, especially in deeply divided societies. Capitalist development has mpinged on semi-developed countries from outside rather than transforming slowly from within, incorporating different groups in different ways. Particular problems arise when differential incorporation coincides in substantial measure with boundaries between ethnic groups. If Donald Horowitz’s remarkable study of ethnic groups in conflict is right, more energy goes into attempting to maximise differences in the welfare of in groups and out groups than into maximising their Joint welfare, with adverse consequences for the possibilities of building the national political and economic institutions required for development. Gordon Tullock has argued that this is an additional reason for preferring market-based rather than state-led economic growth in deeply divided societies. In itself it is, but the secondary effects of different paths on distribution have to be taken into account. In so far as they lead to worsening differentials between groups, the possibility of heightened conflict is created. The only long-term hope is to make ethnic boundaries less salient; the happiest outcome would seem to be when ethnicity becomes decorative in a high income economic environment. This is likely to be the work of decades, perhaps of enturies; even so, appalling retrogressions always seem to remain possible. The consequence of deep divisions is that there is likely to exist an unusually large number of prisoner’s dilemma situations. The prisoner’s dilemma arises when partners in crime are apprehended and held separately. The prisoners will be Jointly better off if they do not inform on each other, but each prisoner will be better off if he informs on the other, while the other does not inform on him. Attempts at individual maximisation may lead to both prisoners informing on each other which leads to the orst Joint outcome. The dilemma arises because of the absence of the opportunity for co-operation. ) Under such conditions, negotiation skills are at a premium. There are also advantages in the acceptance of a deontological liberal philosophy which (in the shorthand of political philosophers) places the right over the good. This involves seeking to regulate social relations by Just procedures while leaving individuals as free as possible to pursue their own, diverse conceptions of the good life. Such an attention should be paid simultaneously to the reduction of poverty. The analytical Marxist, Adam Przeworski has analysed analogous problems which arise in the case of severe class conflict. In his view, social democratic compromises are held together by virtue of the propensity of capitalists to reinvest part of their profits with the effect of increasing worker incomes in the future. Class compromise is made possible by two simultaneous expectations: workers expect that their incomes will rise over time, while capitalists expect to be able to devote some of their profits to consumption. In conditions of severe class conflict, these expectations about the future become ncertain, time horizons shorten, workers become militant, capitalists disinvest and political instability results. Three forms of resolution are available: stabilising external intervention, negotiation or renegotiation of a social contract or the strengthening of the position of one or other class by a shift towards conservatism or revolution. Przeworski’s sternest warnings are to Marxists who assume that revolution and the introduction of socialism is the inevitable outcome of a crisis. The second theme in the literature on semi-developed countries has to do with their position within the world economy. Three related sub-themes can be identified. Firstly, there has been a debate about the forms and limits of the diffusion of industrialisation. Dependency theory – now somewhat out of fashion, since its predictions of severe limitations on industrialisation in developing countries have been falsified – asserted that relationships between developing and developed countries are such as to keep the latter in perpetual economic subordination. The contrary thesis – that advanced industrial countries have had to deal with increased competition arising from quite widespread diffusion – now seems more plausible.

Cloth vs Diapers

Cloth Vs Disposable Diapers†¦.. What’s Best? Introduction Diapers have been used by humans throughout history. But, the word diaper did not originally refer to its use. Instead, the term originally referred to a type of cloth with a pattern of small repeated geometric shapes. The first diapers were made of a special type of soft cloth cut in geometric shapes. The method of creating geometric shapes in cloth was called diapering, but it eventually gave the name of the cloth used in making diapers back in 1590s in England. Diaper is used on children who are not yet toilet trained to prevent bed-wetting and to keep babies’ skin clean and dry.While it was originally made of cloth material, several variations and improvements were made on the diaper resulting in the creation of disposable diaper. Unlike cloth diapers which can be washed and reused multiple times, disposable diapers are thrown away after use (Leverich). The boom of the disposable diaper industry suggests that it is more preferred by parents that its cloth counterpart. Parents choose what they think is best for their baby. Hence, while the use of disposable diaper has become a trend, it actually has a number of disadvantages that may want parents to reconsider using cloth diapers.Health and Comfort One of the main reasons of using diapers is to provide comfort for the baby by keeping their skin dry, healthy and free from rashes. Prolong wetness irritates the baby’s skin and cause rashes. Cloth diaper is made from non-absorbent materials and thus it requires frequent diaper changes in order to keep the baby’s skin dry. Frequent diaper changes can be avoided when using disposable diaper since it consists of a superabsorbent substance called sodium polyacrylate that is capable of absorbing water up to 100 times its weight (O’Mara, 2003).Since disposable diapers gives a sense of dryness even after a few wettings, parents can leave the disposable diapers on for hours . While disposable diaper is more convenient for the parents, studies have shown that it can cause a number of health problems to babies. A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics reported that 54 percent of one-month old babies using disposable diapers developed rashes, while 16 percent developed severe rashes. Another study also suggests that disposable diaper increased the incidence of diaper rash from 7. percent to 61 percent. Diaper rash occurs with disposable diapers because even if it can hold large quantities of urine, the slightly wet materials that are against baby’s skin for hours can cause rashes (The New Parents Guide, 2012). Moreover, disposable diaper is well-sealed and therefore prevents proper circulation of air. It also traps the bacteria and ammonia that is produced when bacteria breaks down urine (O’Mara, 2003). It is apparent that in terms of health and comfort, cloth diaper offers more comfort and helps keep the baby’s skin healthy. Co nvenienceParents opt for disposable diapers primarily for convenience. First, disposable diapers are thrown after use. Second, disposable diapers comes in convenient Velcro and snap closures that keep it securely fastened and well-fitted. Some diaper lines also include wetness indicator that tells the parents when it is time to change. Indeed, versus the traditional cloth diaper, disposable diaper is more convenient. However, cloth diapers have evolved as well. Gone were the days when cloth diapers are fastened by safety pins that could dangerously prick the baby’s skin.Modern cloth diapers are as convenient as its disposable counterpart. Most cloth diapers are now featured with Velcro fasteners and some are fitted similar to disposable diapers, which makes diaper changes convenient and easy (Leverich). However, despite the innovations of cloth diaper, disposable diaper is still more convenient especially during travels wherein soiled diapers can just be thrown and do not nee d to be carried along for washing (The New Parents Guide, 2012). CostCost is one of the factors that parents consider in choosing a diaper. Compared to disposable diaper, cloth diaper is more economical since it can be used again and again. Disposable diaper can cost as much as 32 cents per use compared to cloth diaper which only costs 5 cents per use. Washing the diapers yourself or even when using a laundry service will still result in significant savings (O’Mara, 2003). Moreover, the cloth diapers can be kept to be used as hand-me-down diaper for future babies. Environment ImpactThe environmental impact of disposable diapers is one of the important reasons why parents should use cloth diapers. While it could be argued that both types of diapers have the same environmental impact because of the processes required to clean the soiled cloth diapers, disposable diapers have greater environmental impact. Considering the number of disposable diapers used and discarded every day, and the number of diapers that could be used by a single child from birth until toilet-trained, disposable diapers is indeed a significant solid waste problem.Aside from being a burden in landfill sites, m disposable diapers are manufactured with wood pulp, which means that millions of trees are cut for its production. Manufacture of pulp and plastics used in disposable diapers also use toxic chemicals such as dioxins (O’Mara, 2003). Conclusion Parents only want the best for their baby, including the type of diaper to use. The main purpose of a diaper is to keep the baby’s skin from wetness and keep it healthy. The ability of disposable diaper to hold wetness longer is the very reason why parents opt for this type.It seems that parents choose disposable diaper mainly for convenience, but tend to disregard the potential adverse impacts of disposable diapers on their babies. Disposable diaper allows longer contact between the baby’s skin and slightly wet material s may lead to rashes. The well-sealed disposable diaper is also an unhealthy environment as it promotes breeding of bacteria. While the greatest concern for parents is their baby’s health and not the environment, parents should be aware of the adverse impacts disposable diapers have on the environment. References Leverich, L.Cloth Diapers. Donald C. Cooper. O’Mara, P. (2003). Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Simon and Schuster. The New Parents Guide (2012). Diapers, Diapers ; More Diapers: â€Å"Cloth vs. Disposable†. Retrieved August 8, 2012, from http://www. thenewparentsguide. com/diapers. htm. Gentry, Pamela. (2010, January 23). Cloth Diapers Vs Disposable Diapers. Retrieved July, 29 2012, from http://www. livestrong. com/article/75705-cloth-diapers-vs. -disposable- diapers. Lehrburger, C. , J. Mullen and C. V.Jones. 1991. Diapers: Environmental Impacts and Lifecycle Analysis. Philadelph ia, PA: Report to the National Association of Diaper Services (NADS). Stone, Janis and Sternweis, Laura. Consumer Choice — Diaper Dilemma. Iowa State University University Extension. ID. # 1401. 1994. Retrieved August 10, 2012, from http://www. rockwellcollins. com/daycare/pdf/pm1401. pdf Scott, Juila. (2011. October 3). Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers: A Cost Comparison. Retrieved July, 16 2012, from http://www. mint. com/blog/consumer-iq/cloth-vs-disposable-diapers- a-cost-comparison-102011.

Disease in Bram Stoker’s Dracula

As science continues to illuminate the darkened corners of our world, another mythic tale–the drinking of blood by the ubiquitous Dracula–may have a basis in fact according to Wayne Tikkanen, a professor of chemistry at California State University, Los Angeles. â€Å"I am a trained scientist. I don't believe in vampires and werewolves,† Tikkanen told Anthony Breznican for an AP release on Halloween, 1998.Tikkanen speculates that some European monster myths were the product of a blood disease known as porphyria that causes the skin to weaken and be negatively affected by ultraviolet rays that change heme, a component of blood that carries oxygen to the brain, into a toxin. As the disease progresses, the skin blackens and ruptures in the sun, followed by hair growing in the scars. Lips are burned, causing them to peel back, thus making the teeth more prominent.In some cases the nose erodes and the fingers disintegrate, making the hands resemble paws. The disease af fects one in 100,000 people and is treatable with medication. Tikkanen thinks it is possible that those afflicted with the disease centuries ago may have drunk animal blood to relieve their pain as a folk remedy, and that they would have preferred to go out at night in order to avoid the sun, and that perhaps this behavior was co-opted into myths.â€Å"You may do this all the time, but people will only see you when the night is at its brightest–or in other words, a full moon,† Tikkanen said. Unfortunately, the result of such myth-making was that as many as 600 victims of this disease were considered to be monsters by the 16th-century European judge H. Bouget, who subsequently had them burned at the stake. â€Å"Just think: you're horribly disfigured but you're perfectly lucid,† Tikkanen said. â€Å"You don't know what's happening to you, and the doctor doesn't want to treat you even if he knew how.Your priest wants you to confess your sins or the judge will bur n you at the stake. But you don't know what you've done wrong. † Other elements of the Dracula myth often include garlic, which Tikkanen says causes victims of porphyria to suffer violent illness because of the creation of toxins in their blood. Fear of the cross also makes sense in this theory, because the cross represents the Church and thus the Inquisition, which would have instituted the torture and murder of the sufferers of porphyria.In the same vein, the superstitious Romanian society projected its fear of disease and deviancy onto Dracula, thus rising the well-liked folklore hypothesis that â€Å"a man or woman who has led a predominantly wicked existence will almost certainly become a vampire; it is his curse for the wicked deeds committed during the usual term of his life, as well as an entrance that a influential sin can not easily be put to rest† (Douglas, 39). This resembles the idea propagated by the religious right that AIDS is a visitation of heavenly pu nishment for sexual deviancy, i. e. , homosexuality.David Prindle in his book Risky Business â€Å"of all the diseases, the ones that are sexually transmitted seem to carry the heaviest burden of symbolic weight. Such diseases seem to bring our peoples anxieties about spiritual and physical pollution, their dread of being exposed as hypocritical sinners, their yearning to condemn those less righteous than themselves† (Prindle, 73). In Coppola's Dracula, Lucy, who is teasing, inquisitive, and immoral is punished for her â€Å"evil† behavior, her sexuality, by being seduced into the warren of Dracula and thus flattering a vampire herself.Once a vampire, Lucy takes a young child as her injured party, intimidating the guiltless child much in the same way that infants with AIDS often are fatalities of their mother's performance. Susan Sontag notes that these metaphors â€Å"are hardly in contradiction. Such is the extraordinary potency and efficacy of the plague metaphor: it allows a disease to be regarded both as something incurred by susceptible others and as potentially everyone's disease† (Sontag, 152). Bela Lugosi first gave Dracula filmic complexity in the 1931 Dracula. His moves were smooth and contemporary, steeped in gender and glamour.His affluent inflection gave the count the religion that awoke the sexuality of female audience members. Christopher Lee (1958) followed in Lugosi's steps and moved Dracula from sexual innuendoes to blatant sexuality. At one point in The Horror of Dracula, he bites a youthful woman's throat-not simply feasting, but apparently experiencing orgasm. Dracula had thus developed into a seduction fantasy, vitally disturbed with the circumstances and penalty of premarital or extramarital luxury in forbidden corporal relations, in this occurrence with the opposite sex.Gary Oldman takes Lee's erotic Dracula one step hither in Coppola's Brain Stoker’s Dracula. When Oldman attempts to nibble the neck of the i noffensive Mina at the Nickelodeon, the camera comes in on a taut attempt of his face as his eyes change color, his fangs are exposed and his corpse tremors with expectation. The transformation of Dracula to his present- day classification makes him the most sexual of all the creatures of the night.Dracula's sexual insinuation and blatant hunger for human blood make him the wonderful mythic vehicle to express American society's fear of the modern day plague of AIDS, since the HIV virus is transmitted through blood and semen. Coppola's Dracula visits his victims in the dead of night or in a dark milieu. He takes Lucy from her bed to connect her with both intercourse and feeding. These visits from the attractive creature who first exhausts the sleeper with fervent embraces and then withdraws her blood symbolically parallels the night-time emissions that convoy erotic dreams.Frank Jones points out in his book â€Å"On the Nightmare of Bloodsucking† : â€Å"In the unconscious mi nd blood is commonly an equivalent for semen† (Gottsman, 59). However, the sentence for these sexual interludes with the leech is the permanent alteration into vampirism; an illness that separates the afflicted from the rest of the society, one that insists on sucking the life out of other people. In this admiration the vampire enters the victim's blood stream, as does the HIV virus, to eventually exhaust the host of his/her life.Coppola cinematically reflects this correlation throughout the course of the film. Initially, Dracula renounces the church, and in doing so plunges his sword into the cross at the alter. Blood then flows from the cross, and Coppola cuts from a stone angel icon releasing tears of blood to a shot of Dracula satisfying a cup and consumption the blood. In this pre- recognition succession, the back illumination creates a striking similarity between Christ and Dracula (the shoulder length hair, smooth skin and ethereal glow).On his return home from war, Dra cula learns of the death of his wife. His stabbing of the cross is a phallic metaphor for intercourse with a virgin, whose loss of virginity is often marked by a loss of blood. The cathedral, infected and raped by war, denies the interment of Dracula's suicided bride. Dracula renounces the church by drinking the blood out of the chalice, declaring that: â€Å"Blood is the life and the life is mine. † Here he metaphorically takes on the position of the bug, gratifying the judge of life and death.David Prindle reinforces the vampire as a metaphor for the virus: â€Å"As a deadly threat, the disease was made to order for melodrama; as a potential sexual assassin, the HIV carrier could easily be portrayed as a demon. † (76). Coppola establishes a departure from innocence to evil by using peacock feathers, representative of innocence and vanity, as a transition between the â€Å"enlightened† world and the dark road to Transylvania as the young Jonathan Harker is sent to Transylvania to work for Dracula.Both virtue and pride are lost when Jonathan encounters a group of female vampires who seduce him throughout his first night in the castle. Coppola reinforces the anonymity of the participants by showing incorporeal footsteps appearing by the bed while the women appear from within his sheets and start to embrace and murmur to Jonathan. He does not resist and follows through in what could be termed a one night stand. The camera shows a head shot of one of the â€Å"vamps† whose hair is made out of snakes, referring to Medusa or the serpent From Genesis that caused the eviction of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.References Babuscio, Jack. â€Å"Camp and the Gay Sensibility. † Gays and Film. Ed. Richard Dyer. New York: Zoetrope, Inc. , 1984. Broeske, Pat. â€Å"Hollywood Goes Batty for Vampires,† New York Times, April 26, 1993. Canby, Vincent, â€Å"Coppola's Dizzying Vision on Dracula,† New York Times, Nov 13, 1993. Douglas, Drake. Horrors! The awful truth about monsters; vampires, werewolves, zombies, phantoms. mummies and ghouls of literature and how tiny went Hollywood. New York: The Overlook Press, 1989.Gottesman, Ronald. Focus on the Horror Film. Trenton, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1972. Hogan, David. Dark Romance-Sexuality in the Horror Film. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. , 1986. Prindle. David. Risky Business. the Political Economy of HollywoodBoulder: Westview Press, 1993. Russo, Vito. The celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies. New York: Harper arid Row Publishers, 1990. Sontag, Susan. Illness as a Metaphor/AIDS and its Metaphors. New York: Doubleday, 1989.

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Research Paper - 1

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Research Paper Example However, in the past few years, the company has implemented different changes in its business processes to offer its products. The top management of Amazon.com with the support of its founder Jeff Bezos, separated the trading platforms with on geographical grounds such that individual trading sites are developed to offer the products and services for consumers of UK, USA, Canada, Japan, China, Germany, France, Italy and other countries. There are two main reasons for bringing such global change in its business operations. Firstly, Amazon.com targeted the specific consumer needs for each geographical territory and aimed at catering the local customers through local platforms i.e. a decentralized platform. Secondly, the company managed to invest in the logistics and operations in different parts of the world on local basis. This means that the company has established the local supply chain in different countries and the products are not shipped from its global warehouses to a customer in a particular country, rather local orders are fulfilled through using local warehouses and logistics. Industrial Organization Model and Resource based Model Industrial organization model reflects that the external environment of any business poses a large influence upon the earnings of an organization as compared to the internal environment of any business (Johnson, Scholes, & Whittington, 2008). Amazon.com initially opted a business of e-retailing the books and similar reading content material and kept polishing this product line. However, this product line turned out to be a niche market for Amazon.com, as the company’s earnings remained stuck because several other online book retailers saturated this market as well as the market itself lost its momentum and showed a declining phase. Realizing this phase at an early stage, the top management of Amazon.com decided to enter into new product lines while staying as an e-retailer. New product lines provided Amazon.com a bette r opportunity to penetrate into other industries rather quickly as well as earning above average returns because of having an already established supply chain. From the resource based model perspective, the resources, which Amazon.com currently has, are quite capable of providing it the competitive advantage (Pitts & Lei, 2006). The most promising and trustworthy resource is the logistics and supply chain infrastructure. The company has developed its logistic infrastructure across the world on local basis such that if the specific consumer of a country orders a product, that product can be delivered through local supply chain within the least amount of time. Another resource which acts as a competence to Amazon.com is its highly dependable and secure Web-based IT infrastructure which ensures the safe transactions and privacy elements for the customers and eliminates the likelihood of system failure. Impact of Mission and Vision Statement Following are the mission and vision statemen ts of Amazon.com: Mission Statement â€Å"We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for four primary customer sets: consumers, sellers, enterprises, and content creators.† (Amazon.com, 2012). The above mission statement of Amazon.com provides the company a room for several different areas such as the company has not confined its purpose of business operations to a specific

The Technology Effects in Human Life Research Paper

The Technology Effects in Human Life - Research Paper Example The paper will focus on the impact of technology to the lives of humans. Technology has transformed the manner in which people perform their function; this has had both positive and negative impact to their lives. According to Hall (2007) has enhanced the manner in which student’s access information. The concept also has enabled the teacher- student interaction. Software development has enhanced tolls that accommodate different curriculum integrated. The technology has enhanced e-learning in that people are able to work and study at the same time. This has in essence enhanced access to information. Different search engines have made information available to different technological users. People can access information regardless of their age or financial status. The internet has increased the literacy levels of individuals by relaying information to direct users at different time. The ability of the tool to accommodate a higher number of individuals at a given period has reduced the connections within schools and other higher learning institution. Technology interacts with different age groups hence ensuring convincing to both young and old. Information seeking has been a tool utilized by different parties in designing their models and technology has enabled the part access this information. Technology has enhanced the manner in which people interact with the household spaces. The televisions, radios and mobile phones have been an effective tool as far as entertainment is concern. These tools have reduced boredom. The interactions with these gargets have reduced the need for human interaction. Technology has enhanced the manner in which people carry out their daily chores. Vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, drycleaner have enhanced the need for human labor in performing duties. This has reduced the amount spend by households in hiring helps. Technology has enhanced multitasking among individuals. People can

Economic Nature of the Construction Industry Assignment

Economic Nature of the Construction Industry - Assignment Example Later on, Karl Marx introduced his ideas of exploitation of labor by capital and concluded that the huge constructions that the economy witnessed were all the result of labor that were unjustly and unethically denied the fruits of their efforts which were usurped by capitalists. With progress of time, came the Great Depression and the development of a radically new approach to macroeconomics by John Maynard Keynes. Faced with gloomy prospects of an ever deepening economic depression where the roaring economy of United States that was confident that good times will last forever suddenly faced a scary scenario where jobs vanished and with it the much vaunted purchasing power of populace, Keynes had to think of an way out of that desperate situation. He realized that increasing aggregate demand was the only way out and chose construction industry as the most convenient vehicle of autonomous investment to undertaken by the US government. He prescribed large doses of investment by the gov ernment in construction industry that would, through multiplier effect, generate substantial aggregate demand and consequent rise in general price level that would be sufficient to motivate producers to undertake induced investment. Once this process gets started the upward moving price-wage spiral would pull the entire economy out of the depths of depression. Construction industry is seldom characterized by cutting edge innovations. Any new technique implemented by a builder is quickly replicated by competitors and generally all firms in the industry have access to similar technology. Thus it is an industry that experiences intense competition among equally formidable rivals. It is also an industry where production cycle is possibly the longest and with huge potential for employment requiring substantial levels of continuous investment to keep the industry healthy, construction industry becomes one of the benchmarks for judging the overall

Disability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Disability - Essay Example However, the experiences encountered served to improve the quality of my life. Through medical treatment, I even visited the US a number of times, a luxury several individuals lacked. ‘You are a very lucky child’ my mother kept telling me. I did not know the meaning of that until I could dance and exercise with my friends at 18 years old. Among the triplets, I was the only one born with a disability. My right foot was completely disabled and found it as if all hell was on me when it came to walking. I later came to note that it was ‘club foot’ as referred to by doctors. Initially, it was a nightmare for me to understand because of two reasons: I was a child and was the only one with the disability. ‘Why me’ I wondered most of the times. However, most of the doctors in my city (Maracaibo as one of them) claimed that even with the surgery and therapy that I was to undergo, it was not a guarantee for a normal life like other human beings. My parents’ resilience in searching for a competent doctor resulted in a contact with a Miami based doctor. He was a specialist and dealt with clubfoot in children. His name was Doctor Peter Romano. He was my ‘savior’ as he assured me that I would walk again and continue with my duties just as the other kids would do. As activists claim, the disabled have to go against all social, economic, political, and legal odds to make it in life. Davis identifies the historical struggles that the disabled underwent to secure the same privileges as guaranteed by the law (Davis, 16). However, I was lucky as the people around me supported me in all ways. Following intense research, I found out that clubfoot has no main cause and is caused by many syndromes (Adams 12). ‘Do your job as long as she will walk like me’ I recall my mother saying to the doctor. At the time, stigma in relation to disability study was a major factor affecting the U.S. (Longmore 350). However, the breakthrough

Reflection paper about Service learning project Essay

Reflection paper about Service learning project - Essay Example My main responsibility at the center was to teach the Arabic language for non-Arabic speakers. I taught the children how to write on Arabic and make the correct pronunciation. I am actually a substitute teacher but aside from teaching, I also volunteered to clean the MCC. I worked at the center twice a week with four hours shift every time. My immediate supervisor is Mr. Mohammed Safder who provided me with all the assistance I needed. Actually, the whole learning experience did not teach me new knowledge since I am the one imparting skills and knowledge to my students. However, it has been a fulfilling program because I felt personally enriched with my interaction with the students. I discovered that I really enjoy teaching kids and I should pursue this interest. If I want to become successful, it is not enough to know my strengths and limitations; rather, I must also develop more skills in teaching kids such as motivating them to study. It is also worthwhile to experience the enthu siasm shown by non-Arabic speakers when they are learning the language. This further pushed me to give my best as I carefully planned the lessons I would present in class. On a personal level, I believe that my self-confidence has been enhanced and that one should not let obstacles overcome them.

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 38

Homework - Essay Example This discusses how inventory as a whole may just be given representation by average inventory and thus solve the related issues which crop up from time to time. 11- Suppose an operation has excess capacity (i.e., it is not a bottleneck); however the set up time between batches is not insignificant. Should process batches be large or small? What determines the size of a process batch? Process batches should neither be large nor small. However their size should be equal to the size of the operation so that neither excess capacity is an issue nor minimal levels stand as a concern. The need is to know how excess capacity can be kept at a safe distance and so is the case with minimal levels where set up times focus more on how time between batches can be increased or decreased as per the need. Therefore, the set up time between batches should be considered in essence to have a better know-how of how things shall shape up within the batch routines. It will take care of all the concerns that either excess capacity or under capacity may have at a given time and thus protect the batches as

Is the Euro area converging or diverging Critically discuss whether Essay

Is the Euro area converging or diverging Critically discuss whether the Euro becomes a vehicle for creating divisions in Europe - Essay Example The union has undeniably attained some of these targets. It has assured price stability, making a striking change to its inflation prone member states. Most of the countries within the Euro area benefited from an accountable nominal interest rate reduction (Blanchard 2007). Due to the changes experienced in terms of the major domestic demand expansion and the persistent deterioration of their current accounts, the member countries also enjoyed a reduction in real interest rates. The Euro area has increased trade intensity for all countries lying within its dynasty. Within the Euro area, states that are more economically advanced have witnessed the greater financial integration. The union has accelerated this change. Lastly, it has enhanced the level of business synchronization (Allington, Kattuman & Florian 2005). However, despite the major achievements, the performance of the economy of the Euro area over recent years has been on the decline. The debt crisis and specifically the slow recovery from the 2008-2009 recession in the core EU Member States, has triggered many questions on the capabilities of the Union (Estrada, Là ³pez& Galà ­ 2013). The higher number of cases of debt crisis and inflation amongst its member states has caused arguments whether the endorsement of a common currency, may be behind the scenario. The currency endorsement has acted as a factor of divergence in terms of growth and unemployment (Andrà ©s, Eva & Javier, 2008). According to Estrada, Là ³pez and Galà ­ (2013), in order to examine the convergence and divergence of the countries, the performance of their labor markets, evolution of key competitiveness measures, current account imbalances and the factors affecting it such as productivity and wages have to be properly analyzed. All through the nine years of operation, the European Monetary Union was associated with a strong convergence in terms of lowering unemployment rates across the member countries.

Journal Entry 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Journal Entry 3 - Assignment Example In most situations, a manager often analyze the task at hand and then determine the skill necessary to per take on the task. Studies have shown that most individuals have a better understanding or rather quicker understanding of tasks and hence per take then faster than others. It is for this sake that some tasks end up stalling because the team to undertake the task was not scrutinized or analyzed properly by the management. Other than stalling the process, this also slows down many processes and in turn might not only affect that department but the whole organization. When this happens, then the organization is likely to suffer a loss. In reality, a manager is meant to use the available resources for the undertaking of the task assigned. If the manager picks a task and the resources for the task are not available, then the process will be slow. At such instances, the employees under that manager also get frustrated because of lack of work and resources. At the same time, the employees are supposed to have the ability to understand the task at hand as they are part of the resources of an organization. There are various ways of determining the human behavior model. One of them is cognition. It is the process in humans which describe how information which is constantly acquired is transformed and stored for later use as knowledge in decision making. It includes a range of mental processes such as visual images, problem solving, languages and decision making. The task an employee is meant to be assigned depends on how this model has been analyzed and how quickly the employee works. The interpersonal process depends on how well the employees in the organization work and relate to each other. The grouping of employees during tasks also depends on their speed of working and the chemistry that exists between them. At the same time, the groups have to be put in manageable ways. One of the issues experienced is the grouping of

Women’s Rights in Tunisia Essay Example for Free

Women’s Rights in Tunisia Essay During a Conference held in 2002, members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women commended Tunisia today for its great strides forward in promoting equality between men and women, and urged it to withdraw its reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. [Acting in their personal capacity, the Committees 23 experts from around the world monitor compliance with the Convention, which requires States parties to eliminate discrimination against women in enjoyment of all civil, political, economic and cultural rights. Tunisia ratified that human rights instrument in 1980, with reservations to several articles of the Convention, including article 9 on nationality, article 15 on womens choice of residence and domicile, and article 16 on womens equality in marriage and divorce. The countrys first and second reports were considered by the Committee in 1995.] As the Committee discussed Tunisias third and fourth reports during two meetings , experts commended the Governments strong political will to implement the Convention through numerous amendments to national legislation and measures to improve de facto gender equality. Besides many institutions and programmes for gender equality, the experts noted Tunisias efforts to integrate women in development and reduce illiteracy, maternal mortality and womens health problems. It was encouraging to see the countrys efforts to harmonize the provisions of Islam with the human rights approach, which integrated law and policy in a holistic way, speakers said. To improve the situation of women in the family, the country had done away with polygamy and introduced the concept of partnership in marriage under its personal code. Warning the country against complacency and resting on its laurels, however, experts pointed out that despite impressive achievements, patriarchal stereotypes still hindered progress in Tunisia in many respects. A large portion of the countrys female population was still illiterate and unaware of its rights. To rectify the situation, it was important to educate the people and raise womens awareness of their human rights. Addressing concerns about Tunisias reservations to the Convention, members of the delegation said the country would consider withdrawing its reservations in the future, but, for the time being, its main goal was to develop means of implementing womens rights and giving them a higher profile. At present, the country was doing everything in its power to implement the Convention. Above and beyond legislation, institutional machinery had been established to make equal rights a practical reality for all Tunisian women. A set of initiatives was under way to implement the national strategy on gender issues. [According to the countrys responses to questions by the Committees pre-session working group (document CEDAW/PSWG/2002/II/CRP.2/Add.2), in line with article 9, paragraph 2, of the Convention regarding equal rights in transferring nationality, Tunisias nationality code had been amended as far as acquisition of Tunisian nationality by a child born abroad of a Tunisian mother and an alien father was concerned. In connection with article 15 of the Convention, the document explains that freedom of choice of residence is guaranteed under the Constitution, but to ensure stability and cohesion of families, the law provided for a conjugal duty of cohabitation, incumbent on both spouses. With respect to Tunisias numerous reservations in connection with article 16 of the Convention on womens equal rights during marriage and upon its dissolution, Tunisia explains that a major development in that respect has been the abolition of the wifes duty to obey her husband. With respect to divorce, the countrys personal code now allows the wife to request and obtain a divorce under the same terms as her husband. By further amendments to the personal code, the country has protected the wife against attempts to manipulate divorce proceedings against her interests. The countrys law now stipulates that both parents should cooperate in managing the familys affairs, including childrens education, travel and financial transactions. Yet another amendment has given a say in the childs affairs to the father, guardian and mother.] Among other issues highlighted in the debate were problems associated with prostitution, the age and conditions of marriage, the situation of women prisoners, Tunisian inheritance laws, matrimonial property, and the countrys achievements in education. Background The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women met to consider the combined third and fourth reports of Tunisia (document CEDAW/C/TUN/3-4), submitted in compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. Tunisia ratified the Convention in 1980. The report notes that womens rights in Tunisia have been strengthened, their roles diversified and their image enhanced. It details various measures taken to advance the status of women through the countrys Personal Status Code, several international conventions on womens rights, and internal reform. Such measures ban discrimination in political parties, lay down principles for cooperation between spouses, establish the rights of women as individuals as well as daughters, wives and mothers, and bring in more balanced individual and civil rights. A major amendment to the Personal Status Code aims to eliminate the link between women and submission, which represents a break from the former treatment of women as inferior beings. Another major innovation obliges women to contribute to the familys expenses, recognizing the economic role of women. Under the Code, however, the husband remains head of the family, albeit in an economic rather than domineering role, as the provider for his wife and children. The report states that Tunisia has attempted to combat sexist stereotypes through the celebration of National Womens Day on 13 August, through an exhibition called Women through the Ages, through revision of school textbooks to remove inferior images of women and through the media. Several mechanisms have been set up to improve the medias portrayal of women, including the Commission for Monitoring the Image of Women in the Media, an observatory within the Centre for Research, Documentation and Information on Women that monitors the image of women, and the Tahar Haddad Prize for a balanced image of women in the media. In addition, the Ministry for Women and Family Affairs is developing a communications strategy to change attitudes towards women and also ensure that human rights become part of family life, using radio, television and the press as well as intermediaries working in the family environment. Efforts have also been made to combat violence within the family, the report continues. For example, an article of the Penal Code which granted attenuating circumstances to husbands who had murdered adulterous wives has been repealed. Husbands who murder their wives now face life imprisonment, and those who practice marital violence are subject to two-year prison terms as well as a fine. According to 1998 statistics, 3,600 women representing 0.21 per cent of families instituted legal proceedings against their husbands. The countrys Child Protection Code now shields children from any form of violence, and a body of regional child protection officers takes preventive action when the health or physical and mental integrity of a child is threatened. Officers may take measures to eliminate the source of the threat or temporarily place the child with a foster family or social institution. The report notes that prostitution has declined as Tunisian women have become more emancipated, and several establishments have closed. In 1998, the number of authorized prostitutes came to 422 in a total of 15 establishments. The remaining brothels are subject to strict medical and health controls by the Ministry of Public Health. The report states, however, that Tunisian society is tolerant of prostitution, and the practice can be only gradually reduced as relationships between men and women based on equality and reciprocity are strengthened. Regarding political and public life, the report states that the number of women in the Chamber of Deputies increased from 1.12 per cent in 1957 to 11.5 per cent in 1999, or 21 women out of a total 182 deputies. In 1998, the Higher Magistracy Council comprised 28 members, including two women. Since 1983, two women have also held ministerial office, as Minister of Public Health and Minister for Women and Family Affairs. In the late 1990s, women accounted for over one quarter of civil servants, 34.4 per cent of the banking sector and 48 per cent of the health sector. The role of women has also increased in ministerial departments, the economy, entrepreneurship, social and educational care facilities and in public life. Tunisian women have become increasingly active as international representatives, accounting for 14.3 per cent of the diplomatic corps in 1999, as compared to 9.1 per cent in 1993, as well as in international forums, intergovernmental and NGOs (non-governmental organizations). In the field of education, gaps between girls and boys at all levels are quickly closing, the report states. Promotion rates for both sexes have increased at an almost identical pace, but girls are now ahead. In higher education, the proportion of women rose from 37.2 per cent in 1988 to 50.4 per cent in 2000. Despite those figures, female illiteracy remains high at 36.3 per cent, compared to 17.7 per cent among men in the same age groups. A national programme to combat illiteracy has been set up to eliminate illiteracy among the 15-44 age group, narrow the difference in illiteracy between males and females, and prevent any backslide into illiteracy. Regarding employment, some 65.6 per cent of Tunisians are employed in the urban areas and 34.4 per cent in rural regions. Women hold 24.6 per cent of jobs in urban areas and only 20 per cent in rural areas, although the latter figure has climbed from 17.6 per cent in 1989. Tunisias legal system has gradually shifted towards integrating women in employment on the basis of equal skills, equal pay, and the demand for female employment grew consistently between 1993 and 1997. A priority objective under the countrys Ninth Development Plan is to more effectively integrate women into economic activity by giving them access to new technologies, improving their professional qualifications, achieving equal opportunities in training and retraining, and promoting equal opportunities in investment. Tunisia has also made gains in the field of womens health, which has been specifically recognized as a main component of the countrys overall health system, the report states. Currently, 90.6 per cent of basic health centres offer maternal and child health services. Due to improved living conditions and national programmes for women and children, including those providing immunization, fighting diarrheal diseases and enhancing prenatal follow-up and delivery, child mortality declined from 150 per 1,000 live births in 1966 to 45 in 1990. The adoption in the 1990s of a risk-free maternity approach reduced the child mortality rate to 27.2 per 1,000 by 1997. The mortality rate for women of childbearing age (15-49) fell from 1.6 per 1,000 live births in 1985 to 0.66 per 1,000 in 1994. Contraceptive use rose from 49.8 per cent in 1984 to 65.6 per cent in 1998 in Tunisia. In addition, abortion is now part and parcel of human rights for women, which makes Tunisia the first Muslim country to permit it. However, a significant gap remains between urban and rural areas in attitudes towards abortion, and there are pockets of resistance in the south and central west of the country. The report notes that the State has made considerable efforts to ensure access to basic health care as well as to maternal and reproductive health care. Attention is devoted to the health of women at various stages of their lives. But persistent gaps remain in some areas between the medical means employed and the results recorded. The Ninth Development Plan has rightly emphasized the need for better supervision of womens health in particular, including mental health, by stepping up prevention. In the financial field, womens access to home loans and income-generating credit has been increasingly encouraged by public authorities to strengthen the role of women in development. The creation of new finance mechanisms as well as a new system of micro-credit should open up new and promising horizons for women who have difficulty accessing traditional forms of bank credit. Diversification of micro credit sources will help strengthen both average and vulnerable social groups, the report states, favouring an increasingly active role for women undertaking small projects in the informal sector. According to the report, rural women have benefited from technical and financial support in the fields of agriculture and handicrafts. It highlights efforts to improve education, literacy, access to health services, and employment, to assist women farmers and craftswomen, and set up anti-poverty and other governmental programmes to assist agriculture and urban development. The quality of rural life had improved considerably, due to a combination of regional development policy, overall sectoral policies and efforts of the National Solidarity Fund and the Tunisian Solidarity Bank. New mechanisms and the launch of regional plans of action for rural women should open up real prospects for self-development and better living conditions, and the access of women to various services, including employment and production support. Tunisian women have also gained in the legal area, the report states. Women now have the right to conclude contracts in their own name, dispose of property, serve as administrators of estates and institute proceedings before any court. Other legal rights include access to judicial office, the right to choose their home, equality and partnership within the family, possession of their dowries, mutual respect between spouses, and the right of women to own, acquire, retain and dispose of property. A new era had been marked in the further strengthening of womens rights in Tunisia, as enshrined in the countrys Constitution of 1959. That Constitution promulgated equal political, economic and social rights and duties for men and women. Since the formation of the new Government in 1987, Tunisia has witnessed an important quantitative jump forward in the promotion and consolidation of womens status within the family and society as a whole, as well as a strengthening of their role in the development of the country. In this respect, Tunisia has implemented a comprehensive strategy to develop womens capacities and protect them against all forms of discrimination. The approach adopted was one in which democracy and development were closely related and solidarity and tolerance were complementary.   Since August 1992 Tunisia has fostered partnerships between women and men in the management of family affairs and of children, as well as in the areas of employment, social security and other fields related to civil and economic relations. She said that since the 1990s, Tunisia has been active in the development of a comprehensive system of mechanisms and programmes, such as the Committee on Women and Development, a planning methodology based on social gender. Tunisia had responded positively to the recommendations and working methodologies flowing from discussion of the countrys first and second reports in 1995. Various actions and decisions have been taken moves considered as breakthroughs in the consolidation of the status of Tunisian women. Among them were establishment of a committee on the image of women in the media and a national committee for the promotion of rural women. Tunisias determination to enhance the status of women by developing its legislative system is one of the options pursued in line with societys developing needs. Since 1995, Tunisia has passed legislation introducing a joint ownership scheme for couples; granting women the right to give their own family name to children born of unknown fathers and the opportunity for gene testing to prove parenthood; giving Tunisian women married to non-Tunisians the right to confer Tunisian citizenship on children born outside the country. This could be done by making a mere declaration when the father was dead, legally incapacitated or missing. Tunisia is proud of its success in achieving equal rights between men and women in most sectors. The eradication of illiteracy was another of the objectives of the comprehensive development schemes adopted by Tunisia. Female illiteracy rates has dropped from 80.4 per cent in 1966 to 36.2 per cent in 1999. Tunisia has also initiated a national adult literacy programme in April 2000 to reinforce the programme already in place. These programmes sought to reduce illiteracy rates to 20 per cent by 2004.Promoting the economic capacity of women, facilitating their access to appropriate vocational training, and encouraging them to set up small- and medium-sized enterprises were some of the highest priorities in the strategy for the promotion of Tunisias women. The ratio of girls benefiting from vocational training had increased from 27 per cent in 1996 to 35 per cent in 2000. The number of women benefiting from micro-project mechanisms had similarly increased, with the proportion of women granted loans rising to as high as 35 per cent in 2001 from 10 per cent in 1997. Tunisian women have gained access to all fields of employment and public life, their participation rate reaching 25 per cent in 2000. Today, women accounted for one out of two teachers, one out of three doctors, one out of four magistrates, 25.2 per cent of all journalists, and 14 per cent of all executive positions in public administration. Tunisia had not excluded anyone from its development plan, adding that women in both rural and urban areas had actively benefited from adequate care, allowing them to participate in economic and social programmes. There has been a dramatic increase in decision-making positions for women. Their presence in Parliament has increased from 7 per cent in 1995 to 11.5 per cent today. Women accounted for 9.3 per cent of government positions; such achievements would not have been accomplished were it not for the staunch political determination and firmly-rooted belief that democracy could not be achieved. Tunisia is unwavering its determination to safeguard all the gains so far made and to continue its efforts to eradicate all forms of discrimination against women.   Associations play a major part in the countrys development effort. As womens rights come centre-stage within the universal system of human rights, and as the number of worldwide initiatives to consolidate the status of women increases, Tunisia is determined to further develop its programmes and form forces with other countries and regions as well as international institutions and bodies.

Timber frame and masonry construction

Timber frame and masonry construction Modern construction comes in many forms, from traditional masonry, to precast concrete, to steel, and in recent times timber frame construction. Timber frame and masonry construction are very similar looking buildings. Over the last thirty years in Ireland the main type used in domestic dwelling was masonry construction which consists of block inner leaf, cavity, insulation and a block outer leaf, externally finished normally with a brick or plaster rendered block. Over the last twelve years timber frame construction has grown to account for nearly forty percent of the market. Timber frame construction consists of an off site engineered building which arrives to site and the pieces are assembled to complete the unit. The external finish is similarly to masonry with brick or plaster rendered block. The reason for chosen this topic is to find why this change occurred. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the Irish housing market over the last number of years, also to find out the reasons for timber frame construction becoming more popular. Aim To find out why the trend of building domestic housing in Ireland has changed from masonry construction to timber frame construction. Objectives * To investigate the Irish housing market and find reasons for the trend change from masonry construction to timber frame construction. * To examine the reasons why timber frame construction has grown to the level it has over masonry construction. * To examine the views of homeowners and property developers towards timber frame construction. Literature Review The primary data will be sourced from RGU database, Internet sites, RGU books and journals. Relevant Irish government reports and websites will also be looked at to gain an unbiased view. Also the views of the construction agencies in Ireland will be explored. Research and methodology The author plans on doing a comparison of the two construction types in order to achieve reasons for the shift in trend. The brief comparison case studies will include cost, time, heat and energy of both types of construction. Questionnaires Questionnaires provided the primary research for this dissertation. The author shall do up one and give it out to relevant homeowners and property developers to gain an insight into their views. By doing this the author will find out the market potential of timber frame construction. Structure of Dissertation Chapter One This chapter explains the title of the dissertation, introduces the motivations and gives a background for the reasons for choosing this topic. The author explains to the reader the aim and objectives of the dissertation and how they are going to be achieved. Chapter Two The literature review will investigate in trend in Irish construction. Current construction agencies reports will be looked to try and gain an insight to the change in trend. The author feels that this will achieve the first objection of this dissertation. Chapter Three This chapter will investigate the two building options with regard to cost, time, heat and energy. This will be done by a number of interviews and case studies. Areas looked at will be construction cost and life cycle costs. Also will include a case study of both types of construction where U-Values and Building Energy Rating will be achieved and assessed to gain an insight into why the trend shifted. The author feels that this will achieve the second objection of this dissertation. Chapter Four This chapter the opinions and views of homeowners and property developers towards timber frame construction and masonry construction are explored by means of a questionnaire. The author feels this will achieve the third objection of the dissertation. Chapter Five In this finally chapter the conclusion provides a brief summary of the finding of the preceding chapters. Literature Review Background Over 70% of home in the developed world are timber frame homes. 60% of Scottish new dwelling are timber frame and over all in the United Kingdom timber frame accounts for 15% of new homes. Ireland is slowly following our neighbours. Over the last ten year Ireland had been experiencing a construction boom. Housing units been completed in 2000 being 49,812 units growing to 62,686 in 2003, peaking in 2006 with 82,980 unit completed. After 2006 the housing market in Ireland started to fall, numbers of units being built in 2007 being 71,356 continuing to fall in 2008 as 48,151 units and continuing to fall in 2009. (Central Statistics Office Ireland 2008) Many housing estates and apartment blocks had been popping up in every city, town and village mainly around the computer belt around the capital city of Ireland Dublin. Then slowly the rest of the country following. In 1992 timber frame construction account for only 5% of the new dwelling market. Since then it has grown to enormous levels to account for 30% of total housing construction nationally (Construction Industry Federation 2009). Typical these building were constructed by masonry construction, this consisted of a 300mm cavity wall with block inner leaf, insulation, cavity and a brick/block outer leaf finished with a plaster render. Over the last seventeen years timber frame construction has shown steady growth. Timber frame construction consists of an off site engineered building which arrives to site and the pieces are assembled to complete the unit. The external finish is similarly to masonry with brick or plaster rendered block. Some industry experts predict that by 2012 it will account for 50% of the new dwelling market. The timber frame industry in Ireland has shown strength and resilience, despite these difficult economic times. When the upturn comes, timber frame construction will be presented with numerous opportunities. (Maurice Buckley, CEO, NSAI National Standards Authority of Ireland.) Reasons for this happening? Energy In Ireland over the last number of years there has been a turn in attitude regarding the environment, which has in some part resulted in changes been implemented by the construction industry with regard to energy conservation. The main topic that has come to the fore on an Irish domestic level is the conservation of fuel and energy consumption. The construction industry has been identified as a considerable part of the national energy bill. Attitudes of developers and homeowner are changing to environmentally friendly buildings. Due to this timber frame construction has seen a steady growth. Timber frame is renewable building option, for every tree cut down two more are planted. The cost of turning the raw product into a building material is conceivably less than traditional methods. Timber is the only sustainable renewable commercially viable building material. The production of concrete produces vast amounts of Carbon Dioxide (C02), which has a negative impact on the environment and contributes significantly to global warming. (Irish Timber Frame Manufacturing Association 2009) Speed As the construction boom grow so did the need for housing and more importantly fast housing. One of the main factors for this turn towards timber frame is speed of construction. The frame of the building can be erected in a number of days which compared to typical masonry building is incredibly faster. This is due to the timber frame been constructed off site in a factory and delivered to site as a planned process of assembly. Masonry on the other hand takes a number of weeks to reach roof level where as timber frame is erected in a number of days. Even in wet weather work can still continue as a scaffolding system is in place around the foundation, where as blocks for masonry construction can only be laid in dry weather. Also with timber frame construction the building is weather proof much faster so internal works can begin much quicker. Also a lot of the slower work for plumbers and electricians such as first fixing is much easily done in a timber frame house. Timber frame has 30% shorter, more predictable construction time than brick and block (UK Timber Frame Association 2009) In masonry construction the use of wet trades in the build causes extra time needed for drying out. Because timber frame is a dry form of construction there is no drying out time which is a saving of a number of weeks. Also because of this there is less lightly a risk of cracking appearing on walls and ceilings for shrinking which can occur in masonry frequently. Time scale for both for of construction Standard Masonry Home Weeks Timber Frame Homes Foundations 1 Foundations Foundations 2 Foundations Bricklayer Ground Floor 3 Erect Timber Frame Structure, Fix Glaze Windows Bricklayer 4 Felt, Battens, Tile Roof Fix Glaze Windows 5 Brickwork First Fix 6 Roof Structure 7 Insulate Felt, Battens. Tile Roof 8 Dry Line First Fix 9 Second Fix Plasterwork 10 Decorate, Move In Plasterwork 11 12 2nd Fix, Plumber, Electrician 13 14 15 16 17 2nd Fix 18 19 Decorate, Move In 20 = Drying out period Taken from (Energy Efficient Homes Ireland 2009) Cost The cost of a timber frame house is similar to masonry built. Unlike masonry, costs of a timber frame build can be fixed long before the foundations are poured. This is due to most timber frame suppliers also fix the structure. So a fix price for a fixed solution. No rain days for wet trades or no additional costs. This ensures that the additional expenses that spiral as a building progress can be eliminated. (Irish Timber Frame Manufacturing Association 2009) The number of persons need to fix the structure is lower than a masonry build, also with regard to time, time is money so the faster the build the cheaper for the developer and homebuilder. Also the hand over time for a complete dwelling is must faster so this will benefit developers cash flow and profitability. Due to the speed of construction on site security cost or greatly reduced. Flexibility of Layout Because timber frames internal walls being construction out of light weigh partition walls the internal space of a timber frame build is very flexible. Any mistakes in layout of internal walls is easily rectified, where as masonry internal wall would be particularly more difficult to correct. Case Studies Introduction To get real reasons for the trend mover towards timber frame construction and to get a true indication of the cost difference in both timber frame and traditional masonry domestic construction the author looked at two key areas, construction costs and life cycle costs. In relation to construction costs the areas of preliminary costs; plant and equipment costs and site labour costs are looked at in greater detail. Construction Costs Preliminary Costs Every construction project incurs preliminary costs. Preliminary costs are defined as, Costs which are directly involved with the overall completion of a construction project ( Roy Chudley 2002) These costs include items such as site management, insurance for the project, drivers and operatives. On larger sites where site cabins, offices, storerooms, toilets and canteens are required the costs incurred are also referred to as preliminary costs. For each project there is an allowance set aside for preliminary costs. However in relation to timber frame construction these costs are included in the overall timber frame package. This is a result of the majority of the work required for timber frame construction being carried out off site, which in turn makes the budget costs a lot cheaper than traditional masonry. Derek Moore a director with Timberline building contractors Ltd Dublin states, by pre-manufacturing the timber frame off-site, houses are constructed more cost effectively. (Pick a Pro 2009) To back up this point the Irish Timber frame manufactures association states this method of construction is not cheaper particularly if the builder hasnt thought his practices through but because factory fabrication means much greater predictability, better controls and of course, a faster pace (Irish Timber Frame Manufacturing Association 2009) This is not the case for its traditional masonry counterpart as preliminary costs are required as a separate budget, this is due to the fact that all of the work required for traditional masonry is carried out on site. A majority of the preliminary budget for the traditional masonry method includes hire of plant and provision for skips and concrete silos on site etc. Another factor to be taken into consideration is the time period taken to construct a timber frame house, which is significantly lower than that of traditional masonry counterpart. Costs such as site supervision and the need for engineers and the like on site are greatly reduced. Plant and Equipment Costs Plant and equipment costs should be taken in to consideration when dealing with construction costs. Every project requires certain types of equipment and plant to carry out work to a conclusion. According to Colm Kilroy a quantity surveyor with Michael Higgins and associates in Galway, plant and equipment costs are a major part of all construction projects, the utilization of such equipment is vital as a lot of money can be wasted due to bad management and planning on site. He continued to say if plant is required on site for a certain job it is vital that the site is ready for that equipment as once it arrives on site it has to be paid for. (Colm Kilroy 2009) The weather can also plays a part in plant and equipment costs, adverse weather conditions can lead to a lot of equipment being left idle while the cost for having it on the site is still being charged. Obviously the weather conditions cannot be controlled by the project team but in periods of forecasted inclement weather the ordering of plant and materials should be avoided if possible. Site Labour Costs This area of site labour costs greatly differs with both methods of construction. A lot of the factors in relation to cost for the timber frame method of construction are all inclusive of the over timber frame package, the majority of the work to be carried out by specialised labour is completed in the factory and once the timber frame unit leaves for the site their work is finished. This in turn reduces any call back costs, to complement this, the Irish timber frame manufactures association states that, There are lower call back costs; any problems encountered can be eliminated immediately by the timber frame specialists before leaving the factory. (Irish Timber Frame Manufacturing Association 2009) The cost for the labour to rectify these problems is still inclusive of the timber frame package. Traditional masonry construction is in comparison carried out differently with all the construction work associated with traditional masonry been carried out on site and with each individual trade requiring labour to carry out the work. Cost Case Study The author compiled a cost comparison from a construction contractors point of view for the development of a timber frame and masonry domestic dwelling. The house plans used to carry out this comparison were based on a single house within a development of five similar houses, only the major elements of the structures were included in the pricing. The figures for the comparison were obtained from Barry Doyle a quantity surveyor with a Co Carlow company and John O Connell a construction contractor in Co Galway. Cost Case Study Findings Element Timber Frame House Masonry House Raft Foundation â‚ ¬ 3,855.50 â‚ ¬ 4,602.60 Supply and erection of timber frame Kit â‚ ¬ 28,114.00 Block work â‚ ¬ 3,680.00 â‚ ¬ 11,460.00 Roof â‚ ¬ 5,382.00 â‚ ¬ 17,535.50 Windows and Doors â‚ ¬ 11,000.00 â‚ ¬ 11,000.00 Plumbing â‚ ¬ 5,780.00 â‚ ¬ 5,780.00 Electrical â‚ ¬ 5,275.50 â‚ ¬ 5,275.50 Insulation â‚ ¬ 3,191.00 â‚ ¬ 1,946.00 Supply fit plasterboard â‚ ¬ 3,210.00 â‚ ¬ 1,821.00 Plastering â‚ ¬ 5,815.00 â‚ ¬7,215.00 Carpentry â‚ ¬ 3,575.25 â‚ ¬ 4,485.00 External Works â‚ ¬ 3,275.50 â‚ ¬ 3,275.50 Floor Screeds â‚ ¬ 954.50 â‚ ¬ 954.50 Kitchen â‚ ¬ 5,500 â‚ ¬ 5,500 Fireplaces â‚ ¬ 2,500 â‚ ¬ 2,500 Total measured work excluding Vat â‚ ¬ 91,108.25 â‚ ¬ 83,350.60 Main Contractors Profit â‚ ¬ 4,555.41 â‚ ¬ 4,167.53 Vat @ 13.5 % â‚ ¬ 12,299.61 â‚ ¬ 11,252.33 Total â‚ ¬ 107,963.27 â‚ ¬ 98,770.46 The timber frame house is more expensive to construct than its masonry counterpart. There is a cost difference of approximately â‚ ¬9,000 between both methods to construct a single house taking the main structural elements in to consideration. For the development consisting of five houses where this house is located the total price difference in the construction of the five houses using both methods of construction can be up to â‚ ¬45,000 to â‚ ¬50,000. The following information shows the reasoning behind the price differences for the important elements of the construction. Timber frame kit This element looks to be very expensive but the majority of materials needed to complete the timber frame house including the labour needed for the construction are included. Concrete raft foundation The price of the raft foundation differs as there is less steel required in the raft for the timber frame house in comparison to the masonry built house, this leads to savings for both the labour and materials. Block work The difference in the price of the block work is due to the inner leaf and the internal walls of the timber frame house been constructed of timber. Roof The timber frame kit incorporates a majority of the roof in the over all package which leads is a massive price difference from the standard roof for the masonry dwelling. Insulation Due to the requirement for more insulation in the timber frame house there is a difference in price over its masonry counterpart. Slabbing As with the insulation due to the amount of timber stud internal partitions and timber inner leaf walls the timber frame dwelling requires more plaster board than the masonry method which increases both the amount of material and labour. Plastering The plastering element differs solely because of the reduced quantity of scratch coat required in the timber frame house. Carpentry The price difference in relation to carpentry is a result of a lot of the timber work coming pre fabricated as part of the timber frame kit, an example being the doors coming pre hung with ironmongery fitted and architrave already attached. Main contractors Profit The main contractors profit has been calculated on the standard percentage being 5%. Life Cycle Costs Introduction Life cycle costs are commonly interpreted as, The operating costs of buildings over the forecast useful life attributed to them (Bruceshaw 2009) These costs include initial capital costs, occupation costs and operating costs. In relation to the building industry and in particular to the traditional masonry and timber frame methods of construction, life cycle costs are essential in deciding which is the overall cost effective method of construction is. In this chapter the author discusses areas such as the running costs and other costs that are involved with both forms of construction. Design Differences and Alterations From an aesthetic point of view timber frame and traditional masonry constructed dwellings when constructed look very similar, however timber frame houses, Allow for more versatile designs than block built houses (Pick a Pro 2009) The question is once the house is constructed how easy is it to carry out modifications to the design. In relation to these alterations Kingspan Century state, Due to the fact the inner leaf of your timber frame house is constructed of solid wood and plasterboard, and not concrete blocks and plaster, extensions and alterations generally have significantly reduced impact on the existing building. (Kingspan Century 2007) To further this statement MBS Timber frame Ltd state, Because the interior of a timber frame house is made of wooden panels and plasterboard, alterations and extensions will not involve the mess and severe disruption of knocking down solid block walls, and all the other trials and tribulations that accompany this type of work. (MBC Timber Frame 2009) Alternatively the block work internal leaf of a masonry house has distinct advantages over is timber frame counterpart. Tasks such as fixing a shelf or curtain rail can be a tricky with the timber frame method, There is no problem doing this in a masonry build home as all the walls are capable of holding shelves, curtain rails etc. it would be a simple matter of drilling the holes in the correct place and screwing your shelf into place (Irish Concrete Federation 2009) In comparison, with a timber frame house, according to John Meehan a carpenter with a Co Galway Company, If you are installing a new kitchen or television unit, you may find that there are no grounds in the wall where you need a fixing. If in this situation if your fixing is put in place without finding a stud, the unit is sure to fall down under pressure. (David Treacy 2009) Property Market and Selling Value Influencing factors in relation to domestic construction include resale value and ease of sale. The traditional masonry constructed process has built up a reputation of been a good seller and a favourite with the Irish public, Galway auctioneer John Gilmore states, Block built houses are easier to sell as people generally go for the trusted method, a lot of people inquiring about timber frame houses are wary and are not easily convinced as to its benefits (Liam Gordon 2009) The view of an Irish timber frame company is that, Auctioneers and estate agents are generally of the opinion that not only is timber frame not an obstacle in selling a home, but on the contrary, is becoming more and more a major selling point. The energy efficiency of timber frame houses is becoming an increasingly valued characteristic. (Kingspan Century 2008) To reiterate this, For mortgage purposes and insurance, most lenders and insurers rank timber frame equally with block work. As far as resale value is concerned, there appears to be no difference at all between the two systems. However some individuals have their own preferences, built up from their own experience or things they have heard about either system. (Homebuilding and Renovating Magazine 2005) Running Costs The timber frame method of domestic construction encounters large savings over its traditional masonry counterpart. These savings result from the timber frame house having an allowance for insulation on both the external and internal walls; this differs considerably from the traditional masonry method where in most cases only the external walls contain insulation. Because timber frame structures are extremely well insulated and have less mass than more traditional forms of construction, significant savings can be made in heating costs. (Homebuilding and Renovating Magazine 2005) A leading Irish timber frame company states, Savings of between 30% and 40% on heating bills are fairly typical. (Devsan Timber Frame Homes 2009) In relation to further savings in the future with timber frame, It is estimated that the heating cost of a timber frame home can be 30% lower than that of a masonry dwelling, and the rapid rise in energy costs these costs look set to increase. Sunday Business Post Newspaper 2007) In conclusion the savings to be made with the timber frame method of domestic construction in relation to heating and energy use are extensive over its masonry counterpart Time of Construction Introduction From a time to construct perspective the length of time it takes to build and finish both forms of construction differs. The construction of a traditional masonry dwelling has a longer time programme than its timber frame counterpart. The main factors contributing to the difference in construction times include. Programme of works The programme of works for both methods has a time difference of approximately seven weeks from foundation stage to decorating and moving in stage. Derek Moore of Timberline building contractors states, In terms of build speed, timber frame can deliver a significant 30% reduction on traditional construction times, which affect cash flow and reduces local disturbance. (Pick a Pro 2009) The view of another Irish timber frame supplier is the construction time of both methods of construction is even larger depending on the building, Construction time is cut by almost 40% as your timber frame structure is erected on site within days depending on size and complexity of building. (Clark Group 2008) Building Finishes During the stage whereby the timber frame unit is erected the internal first fixing work can commence. This work can proceed inside the house as the masonry skin is being built, in comparison no internal work can commence on the masonry house while the block work element is being constructed. The long drying out period associated with traditional masonry construction is also a disadvantage in comparison to the timber frame method. Apart from the obvious labour saving, timber frame doesnt need any drying-out time, unlike a standard masonry construction, which needs up to 1,500 gallons of water to evaporate before it is dry. (Sunday Tribune 2001) To reiterate this a leading Irish timber frame supplier states, Timber frame aids internal finishes, all walls are straight and plumb, corners are square and true. With timber frame there are less of the wet trades, plasterboard needs only to be skimmed and paint, decorative materials and floor coverings can be applied sooner to dried surfaces. (Castle Timber Frame Homes 2009) Heat Loss in Buildings Introduction For the purpose of this dissertation the author compared the U Value of the external walls of both a timber frame and masonry constructed dwelling, the author also decided to obtain the Building Energy Rating (BER) for both methods of construction so as to make an accurate comparison. Both the U Value calculation and the Building Energy Rating are based on the house plans. With the expertise of Michael Sweeney of Sweeney Energy the U Value and BER calculations were compiled and the results are as follows. U-Value Calculation A U-value is the term given to the measure of heat loss through sections of a building. It measures the rate that heat transmits through a component or structure when there is a difference in air temperature at both sides. U Values are expressed in Watts per metre Kelvin which is the rate of heat transfer in watts through 1m2 of the structure for one unit of temperature difference between the air on the two sides of the structure. (Roy Chudley 2002) U-Value Terms The following are terms associated with the calculation of the U-Value. Thermal Conductivity It is the measure of a materials ability to transmit heat and is expressed as the energy flow in watts per square metre of surface area. (Roy Chudley 2002) Thermal Resistance This is symbolized by the letter R, as representative of a materials thermal resistance achieved by dividing its thickness in metres by its thermal conductivity. (Roy Chudley 2002) Findings Traditional Masonry Cavity Wall Fabric Thickness Conductivity Thermal Resistance External Res. 0.04 Render 0.015 0.57 0.03 Ex. Block 0.1 1.33 0.08 Cavity 0.18 60mm Insulation 0.06 0.027 2.22 Internal Block 0.1 0.57 0.18 Plaster 0.015 0.43 0.03 Internal Res. 0.13 2.88 U-value = 0.35 W/m ²K Table Traditional Masonry U-Value Calculation Timber Frame External Wall Fabric Thickness Conductivity Thermal Resistance External Res. 0.04 Render 0.015 0.57 0.03 Ex. Block 0.1 1.33 0.08 Cavity 0.18 Insulation 0.1 0.021 4.76 Plasterboard 0.019 0.25 0.08 Internal Res. 0.13 5.29 Table Timber Frame U-Value Calculation Timber Frame External Wall Cont. Fabric Thickness Conductivity Thermal Resistance External Res. 0.04 Render 0.015 0.57 0.03 Ex. Block 0.1 1.33 0.08 Cavity 0.18 Timber Studs 0.1 0.13 0.77 Plasterboard 0.019 0.25 0.08 Internal Res

The Amphawa Floating Market Of Benefit Tourism Essay

The Amphawa Floating Market Of Benefit Tourism Essay Heritage cultural tourism defined as the nostalgia tourism that places special emphasis on heritage and cultural attractions. Cultural tourism began to be recognized as a distinct product category in the late 1970s when tourism marketers realized that some people traveled specially to gain a deeper understanding of the culture or a heritage destination This paper concentrates on the area of Amphawa community. This community is composed of many cultural characteristics and themes which relate to the history of the area, cultures and lifestyle of Amphawa community, current situation problems and effects of tourism. Even though the benefits from tourism brought the development of infrastructure and the income from tourists expenditure, rapid development of community tourism may led to troubles and conflicts. Many people who came from Bangkok and neighbor had been interested in this area, so the local community had been adapted for new tourism. Cultural tourism with local people participating would make them realize the tourism management which could lead the community to real cultural tourism. Tourism has become the worlds largest industry as the tourism marketplace has become increasing dramatically, there has been a trend toward increased specialization among tourists with cultural tourism has becoming the fastest growing segment of the industry (Huh, Uysal, and McCleary, 2006). Cultural tourism began to be recognized as a distinct product category in the late 1970s when tourism marketers realized that some people traveled specially to gain a deeper understanding of the culture or a heritage destination (McKercher and du Cros, 2002). Sigala and Leslie (2005) define heritage and cultural tourism as the segment of the tourism industry that places special emphasis on heritage and cultural attractions The Travel Industry Association of America (Domestic Travel Market Report, 2003) also listed visiting historic destinations as one of the top five activities for tourists in North America. Furthermore, Andersen, Prentice and Guerin (1997) identified the important attributes of cultural tourism in Denmark as being castles, gardens, museums, and historical buildings, when tourists made a decision to visit the country. In a similar in China, Sofield (1998) identified history, culture, traditional festivals, historical events, beautiful scenic heritage, historical sites, architecture, folk arts (music, dancing, craftwork) and folk culture villages as the attributes of significance. Therefore, the increasing number of tourists and the corresponding trend towards cultural tourism that action must be taken to deal with the issues associated with quality tourism and the protection of a countrys cultural heritage places from improper and over-use. Moreover, the cultural tourism need to awareness of the variety of cultural heritage places and the preservation of environmental equilibrium in order to develop a compatible tourism (An Ethics Charter for Cultural Tourism, 2000). Tourism may strengthen some aspect by using culture and diminish others, even to the point of disappearance. The changing has relationship between cultural expressions under the influence of a change causing agent, such as tourism. However, it is possible that under the influence of an agent of cultural change, an expression will be substituted or adopted. The result can be no effect on other cultural expressions or varying degrees of effect (Carter and Beeton, 2004). In this paper, Amphawa community is located in Samutsongkhram province. It is an interesting case to study because of its real attributes of local settlement and community and their evolution through time from the early Rattanakosin period (the late 17th century) to the present. This community is composed of many cultural characteristics and themes which relate to the history of the area, ways of life, and ways of living. The aims of this paper are to study and analyze both positive and negative impacts of cultural tourism to Amphawa floating market destinations in areas of local history, attractions, economy and community. In additions, the paper looks for some solutions to resolve problems of cultural tourism to push tourism will become real cultural tourism that offer a lot of benefits to local community. Cultural Tourism For cultural tourism in India, it is prevailing factor of the tourism segment, because India has the land of ancient history, heritage, and culture. The government of India has launched the Incredible India campaign and this has led to the growth of culture tourism in India. One can see the influence of various cultures in dance, music, festivities, architecture, traditional customs, food, and languages. This richness in culture goes a long way in projecting India as the ultimate cultural tourism destination given boost to tourism in culture in India. Rajasthan is the most popular. The reason for this is that Rajasthan is famous for its rich cultural heritage. The state is renowned for many magnificent palaces and forts which showcase the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan. The various folk songs and music also reflect the cultural heritage of Rajasthan. A large number of festivals and fairs are held in Rajasthan such as the camel festival, Marwar festival, and Pushkar festival (Cultural Tourism India). For cultural tourism in New Zealand, it provides tourists a unique experience into the indigenous people of New Zealand. Maori people live throughout New Zealand, and many are actively involved with keeping their culture and language alive. Within Maori community has focus on social, cultural and spiritual life. Traditional carvers also help to keep Maori culture alive by creating intricate works that pay respect to the past. Every pieces carved tells a story, which can be read by those who know how. Maori Tourism in New Zealand started over 130 years ago with local Maori guiding visitors through the Central Plateau region of (Aotearoa) New Zealand. Tourists can enjoy a Maori experience with a variety of options. The Maori people are the indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and first arrived here in waka hourua (voyaging canoes) from their ancestral homeland of Hawaiki over 1000 years ago. Today, Maori has over 14 percent of the population. Their language and culture has a major impact on all facets of New Zealand life (NewZealand Tourism Guide). The Maoris mask is shown in the figure 1. Figure 1 The Maoris mask Source: http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/maori-culture.html For Thailand, it is a country of scenic diversity and ancient traditions, of tranquil temples and Thai rural style excitement. With independent history, it has managed to absorb a variety of cultural influences and blend them into something uniquely and memorably Thai. Each region of Thailand offers a distinctive experience for the traveler in search of discovery. In this case concentrate on the area of Amphawa community located on Samutsongkhram province. History of Samutsongkhram Figure 2 Samutsongkhram provincial Logo Figure 3 Samutsongkhram tourist map Source: http://www.tour.co.th/th/map.php Samutsongkhram province is located in the lower part of the central region of Thailand. The former name of Samutsongkhram province is Maeklong. Its name comes from the attribution of geography, which is the location that Maeklong River runs through. This river is very important to this province. Samutsongkhram province is around 72 kilometers west of Bangkok. It is assumed that Samutsongkhram might have been established in the Ayuddhaya period. The modern Samutsongkham province is a little province, 416 square kilometers, and is divided into 3 administrative districts. There are Muang, Bangkhonthi and Amphawa districts. There are around 200,000 people in this province which is composed of 36 sub-districts or 278 villages (Samutsongkhram). History of Amphawa community This paper concentrates on the area of Amphawa community. Originally, Amphawa area was named Kwang Bang Chang. There is no evidence to prove that when Kwang Bang Chang was formed. Even though it was a small community in the past, it was prosperous with commercial and agricultural activities. There was rich traditional riverside living and classical architecture. It could be said that it was an important source of food and commodity for the capital city as Krung Thonburi and Bangkok. Most settlements are established near a waterway, which is the traditional settlement style of gardener communities, although, in the present, there is more convenient transportation systems such as main roads and sub roads. This style of settlement has been preserved as a unique characteristic of gardener communities showing that their way of living depended on rivers and canals. There was a cluster of structures at the side of Amphawa canal. The densest settlement was in the business area, which was the center part of the town. This was located near the Amphawa canal mouth. Usually, a community settlement was spread two-sides along the banks of the Mae Klong River, which is a major water route. In addition, there are small canals, creeks and irrigation canals such as the Amphawa canal, Bangjak canal and Dow-dung canal, which all join the Mae Klong River. As in many Thai provinces the spiritual center for Thais in this community has always been the temple. On the Amphawa canal there were plenty of boats which sold local fruits, vegetables, clothes, food and products necessary for living. At the mouth of the Amphawa canal there was a riverside single house having its cultivatable area along the canal. The Amphawa community was established at the intersection of Mae Klong River and Amphawa canal which is about 20 Km. from the Gulf of Thailand (Tourism Thailand). Characteristic of Amphawa floating market Amphawa floating market is located in SamutSongkram Province. Amphawa floating market  is an afternoon floating market by the canal near Wat Amphawan Chetiyaram and brings visitors back to a rural Thai lifestyle of years gone by. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, during 12.00 p.m. 8.00 p.m., the Amphawa Canal is occupied by vendors who pack their boats with food and drinks, such as fried sea mussel, noodles, coffee, O-liang (iced black coffee), sweets, etc. Visitors can enjoy a comfortable atmosphere and music broadcast by the community members, explores the market, have food, and hire a boat to see fireflies at night (Amphawa Floating Market, Thailand). Figure 4 Amphawa Floating Market, Thailand Source: http://www.amphawafloatingmarket.com/ Amphawa is the most significant community in Samut Songkharm province in terms of role model for the local communitys involvement in the community-based tourism that had beginning of community-based tourism (CBT) in Thailand since early 1990s (Richards, 2009). In 2008, there were 558,326 visitors who traveled to Samut Songkharm. Being short distance from Bangkok, tourists can make one day trip to travel to the Amphawa. The most preferred activities for tourist, was to stay in home stay and an evening trip to watch fireflies. The length of stay was average 2.63 days for Thais and 4.40 days for foreigners. The Expenditures per day were approximately 2,866 Thai baht. There were 96 homes stay and resorts that increased by 75% from 2007 (Office of Tourism Department, 2008). In addition, diverse biodiversity attracts tourists to come and travel about the nature such as fireflies that live in Lam Poo Tree along the canal of Amphawa. These natural and environment has been created as a tour program for tourists to visit and have sightseeing. Tourist can contact the counter to book the tour at the floating market themselves which cost 60 Baht per person (Amphawa Floating Market, Thailand). This community is also significant artists of traditional Thai arts and musical instruments prosper. In particular, it is generally acknowledged that the best coconuts for making fiddle are grown in this area. This is also a renowned center of excellent handicrafts made in time-honored fashion. The best way to get around in Ampawa is to walk or ride a bike because the roads and bridges are narrow. Most home stays have bikes available for hiring to guests at a nominal fee. Most of tourists are Thais, and ages under 25years. The main transportation is personal car. The purpose of visit is holiday, and they are independent tourists (TAT, 2008). This is playing as the heart of CBT, both as a movement and a shared their cultures for hosts and guests (Richards, 2009). According to UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award (2008) Amphawa canal community has successfully achieved public-private cooperation in the preservation of heritage structures in Thailand. This award demonstrates recognition of the cultural significance of Amphawa and an appreciation of both the architectural and living heritage of the historic canal community. Figure 5 Amphawa canal community Source: http://www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=8109 All tourism involves the consumption of experiences and products (McKercher and du Cros, 2002). Cultural tourists want to consume a variety of cultural experience therefore cultural heritage assets must be converted into cultural tourism products that tourist can utilize. The transformation process should be sustainable management of the cultural product. Cultural heritage places are usually designated by communities for tourism potential. However, it is undeniable that cultural attractions are also for cultural tourism. However, since the Amphawa floating market has prospered progressively and reputation. The number of the home stay increased each year to support demand of tourists. Even though the benefits from tourism brought the development of infrastructure and the income from tourists expenditure, rapid development of community tourism may led to troubles and conflicts. The advantage impact by tourism Social Advantages According to ATTA (2010) tourism can help communities as tourism industry provides high standard of local people living. As a result of causing the income distribution and distribution of employment opportunities to local people directly such as employment in various business tourism industries as hotel staffs, transport staffs and local guides etc. Including creating career indirectly as people who delivering newspapers to the hotel, textile workers, banker etc. Also it provides a comfort and convenient from the development of infrastructure tourism. This is an important outgrowth that the local people will be able more comfort and convenient along with tourism such as main road, electricity, water supply and buses etc. Furthermore, more and more tourists come that are inspiration of local people for preservation and cherish their owe culture as immaculate condition. All of Developing, managing and operating CBT (Richards, 2009) helps local people to develop new skills and knowledge which can assist them to communicate and to support effectively in support of their traditional cultures and ways of life. Economic Advantages The local tourism industry help reduce migration of population flows to capital that the nature of the local people if they could make money from the settlement and occupation of their hometown, they will not immigrate to another one. Also tourism gives the career opportunities in retail shop with local people. This may be an independent career such as local restaurant, souvenir shop and household industry. Moreover, the plentiful resources within community can bring to apply convert into souvenirs and also support folk wisdom. Include making another new career in local community. There are many tourist attractions that gain economical benefits from tourism. As a local resident of Plai-Pong-Pang Thai house tourism village, Samutsongkram province has been increased their revenue and job opportunities from tourism industry after applying cultural and eco tourism to promote their village (Wattanasukchai, 2002 and Sungwarn, 2003). The disadvantage impact by tourism Environmental disadvantages The number visitors have grown to more than 10,000 a week and the local environment is suffering as a result. Most of wastewater problem caused by effluent from hotel or home stays accommodation, followed by wastewater from restaurants and places of tourist attractions. Some places discharge wastewater directly to local river or cannel without any treatment before. This is causing water pollution. Moreover, the problems of rotting garbage, annoying noise levels and an increase in the cost of living in Amphawa (The Nation travel, 2008). All attractions have waste problems as garbage in different levels. That depends on cooperation between a host community and tourists who travel in reasonable way. Furthermore, Thai farming and fishing families who rely on earth, forest and water to survive often have to compete with the tourism industry for access to land, sea and other essential resources. This makes life even more challenging (Richards, 2009). Traveling receive a large number of tourists, mostly Westerners whove taken a motor-boat ride from the Chao Phraya River to see the exotic lifestyle of those living along Amphawa canal, which has served as a scene for the famous classic. This is bringing a great economic opportunity for the local community. However, this is the biggest problem right now for local people by deafening motor-boat noise that continues all day long from morning till evening for sightseeing firefly, in addition to the deprivation of privacy. A few years ago some angry villagers chose to chop down some nearby trees to dispel the fireflies (Bangkok Post, 2010). Economic disadvantages The career opportunity has changing from farmers to work in hotels, merchants or tour operators. That generate agriculture production will decrease dramatically while a demand increased. Due to the agriculture less profitable than business travels or hotels consistent with more number of tourists come to Amphawa. That makes people turn more interest to businesses hotels or home stay. This is a cause produces cost of living increase. Social disadvantages Many host communities, especially indigenous communities, trade cultural expressions for benefits that tourism can provide. As such, cultural expressions are a direct and observable link between a host culture and the tourist. Tourism may act on cultural character to effect change the community. Cultural attractions have a role in a community and provide benefits such as healing economy, spiritual enrichment and maintenance of social order (Carter and Beeton, 2004). However, there are people feel tourists have privileged that cause produce decrease friendly attitude to tourists and also increasing social conflict within community. Such as some people are against for sightseeing firefly tourism between boat operators that cause by tourism that could make money from tourists. This result show local people lack the voice and influence needed to negotiate a fair deal from tourism development (Richards, 2009). Also there is decrease local awareness of the need for sustainable development because even more visitors that means more income too. In addition, the success in home stay business has the impact for the community management. Increasing number of tourists caused the demand for the construction of home stay. Land-use pattern changed to serve for tourism, and caused increase in real property price in Amphawa. Without the awareness from stakeholder, purity of Amphawa will be destroyed. No control and standard makes community lost direction to use tourism as a tool to improve the quality of life. Environment and natural resources will be destroyed for commercial exploitation without concerning and restoration as well. Living Style Change Amphawa is crowded with people and cars on Friday-Sunday. Amphawa community is going to change and its integrity is threatened by tourism. However, this community still has living, prosperous entity to interpret for, and present to, visitors. It is in effect on outdoor living museum and cultural landscape. It represents living history with all its attractions for visitors which is full of cultural collective things related to Amphawa people and the prosperous time in the past. The issue facing the community is that of encouraging tourism and change without destroying or overwhelming the heritage value of what is there. The inclusive and cooperation of the local community is vital in future planning (Amphawa District, 2006). Some residents are eager to be part of tourism development and gain some of the benefits they are entitled to. Some owners modified their homes to serve as souvenir shops. There is an art gallery and cafe, such as Baan Silapin, which is affiliated to the Association of Siamese Architects and other conservation agencies (Bangkok Post, 2010). However, improvement of sustainable tourism wont happen if the dwellers refuse to abandon Thai-style submission and have no faith in their basic rights. Somehow, they also need help from the law leaders by leading the way as local community development plan. Solving way for problems and conflicts Before its too late, local community and local entrepreneurs should get together to come up with a common plan and agreement on what they wish to see their communities grow into. They must draw up a list of problems that need to be mentioning both long-short term challenges. Some order is needed to save these sites from becoming too freely developed, which would set a threat to the very structure of the uniqueness and charm of these places. On the other hand, tourists must be sensitive while visiting such sites and try, as much as possible, to support genuine local products and services (Bangkok Post, 2010) It would be encouraging if these tourists learn more about the unique history of the place they visit and bring back whatever aspects they see as positive to apply to their own city environment. Eventually, all places develop and its a challenge to ensure these unique markets or community evolves in a way that is sympathetic to way of ancestor living. Local community will benefit from encourage tourists more sensitive cultural tourism. Conclusions Cultural tourism as nostalgia for the past grows, many tourists lead to places like Suphan Buris Samchuk market, or the Amphawa floating market as the houses have architectural value for studying and travelling for the next generation. They are traditional wooden Thai style houses. An architecture style reflects way of life of people in Amphawa as river and canal since long time up to present based community. It is a uniqueness of riverside settlement of people in the past. Therefore, it is understandable why the yearning for something less efficient and retrospective is growing. Tourism provides a benefic to local community as high standard of local people living and also all of developing, managing encourage local people to develop new skills and knowledge which can assist them to support effectively in support of their traditional cultures and ways of life. The growth in the community also helps reduce the population in the capital due to they can own living by themselves. However, mostly of Thai framing communities who rely on earth and water to survive often have to compete with the tourism industry progressively for preserving to land and other essential resources. This makes life even more challenging if no control and standard makes community lost direction to use tourism as a tool to improve the quality of life. Environment and natural resources will be destroyed for trade exploitation without concerning and restoration as well. Therefore, this paper may make foreign and Thai visitors come to know and value cultural significance of historic setting in Amphawa community and protect traditional way of life as well as cultural structure from the past to present of riverside people.