Philosophy of Educational Specification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophy of Educational Specification - Essay Example Personally, I want to see my students develop and work together for their own betterment. By doing this, I will introduce group works and group discussions in the junior high school students. I will also introduce project development in class to enable my students be familiar with the various complex fields required by them. The projects aim at providing the presentation of facilities, which would be utilized by both the students and the teachers in conducting practical tests, which are within the STEM field. I will also ensure that all the students have enough freedom, which will allow them to improve in their creativity and thus better effectively express their ideas. There is the need of improving my teaching skills within the class, which would necessitate transformation of different methods that are utilized in teaching. Alternatively, increasing the need for academic relevance especially in theoretical materials within the practical setting would be important for my class. This would most definitely encourage the students on the materials viability and also enhance theoretical concepts and understanding within the classroom. I also hope to help the students in conducting laboratory studies, which are within STEM field since my philosophy is based on ensuring practicality teaching in the STEM field. I will also provide my students with enough space which will support academic development and learning among the students using this particular program. By doing this, I will be in a better position to develop an effective approach in managing any conflicts arising from some of the students educational requirements and budgetary issues. This particular field will enable the students link the educational program and their own development hence betterment of their results. To enable the students participate in the field without any

On Passion and Self-Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

On Passion and Self-Growth - Essay Example The American novelist, literary-critic, and story-teller Elizabeth Hardwick highlights that "The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination." I strongly believe in her statement as my journey in life has been filled with notable experiences derived from reading various books. Before my passion for reading is developed, I must admit that I was first obsessed in the stories my mom untiringly tells me before retiring to bed. Then, the exciting part of deciphering the meaning of the simple words on my earliest books came. Before I know it, I have become a voracious reader whose interests range from culture, sociology, and literature. Reading has sparked my curiosity and invites me to seek the mysteries of life. My passion for reading has hugely enhanced my intellect. Whenever I open a book, I often see myself unlocking a treasure box which will brings me into other places, provides me a glimpse of other culture, and conveys me a wealth of knowledge. It is amazing to know that every book shares its unique story. No matter how simple, each book offers and adds new ideas. Reading has enriched my intellect by bringing me to the world of Shakespeare, Milton, Julius Cesar and even as far as Aristotle's and Homer's. Reading introduced me to the radical ideas of Karl Marx, the different worlds explored by Gulliver, and the persistence of Helen Keller. Books broaden my horizons by adding new words to my vocabulary, polishing my grammar, and enabling me to find ways to communicate my ideas. My passion for reading enlightens me with knowledge and ushers me from the darkness of ignorance. Reading a book the second or third time does not diminish the knowledge that it offers. Being a passionate reader, I have discovered that it is not the writer which conveys and creates meaning in his or her compositions but in fact, the reader constructs his own comprehension on the material being strongly influenced by his background and experiences. Thus, I never really get tired of reading a single book over and over again as the knowledge it imparts vary each time. Aside from shaping me intellectually, reading also further my emotional development. As a thinking and feeling being, a story moves me and fills me with different kinds of emotion. I believe that the most important thing that my passion for reading brought me is the capability to understand the emotions of other people. Reading often requires empathy and putting one's self in the character's shoes. With this, I have developed the ability to accept, understand, and share the joys and sorrows of the people around me. I credit to my passion to reading the rapport I maintain with my social circles. I can say that my passion for reading is the largest contributor to my personal development. Books enrich and stimulate my mind while keeping me in touch with my emotional side. Reading has taught me the greatest lessons in life. I must stress that Denis Diderot identifies only great passions which can elevate the soul to great things. Considering all the things that my passion for reading accomplished in me, then, I can say that it must be the greatest passion a human can be blessed

World Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

World Economy - Essay Example Certain pressures are being exerted on nation- specific factors by this global phenomenon, and left in its trail are transformations in the economy. Any organization that wishes to compete globally and maintain its relevance in the international scene must necessarily be involved in strategic planning. It is also a truism that there has been a rise in the importance of worldwide relations both in quantitative and qualitative terms. These global factors have led to an increase in the flow of information, knowledge, commodities and capital among nations. Liberalisation is another way of defining these shifts in the global economy, many economies of the world today have opened up their economic space rather than being conservative, as was the practice in the pre-globalization years. Governments are reviewing their economic system in line with today's global realities. In a bid to be relevant in today's world, alignments and re-alignments have taken place and continue to take place globally. The evolution of the European Union is one major reference point in this regard. It is important to note that in a capitalist economy, also known as a free-market economy; where the means of production belongs to private individuals or firms; there has been a dramatic change in the mode of operation of these firms. Ordinarily within a domestic economy, organ... Within a domestic economy, the kind of questions business organizations face are usually of the kinds listed below: 1.What products or services does the organization intend to sell 2.Where and how will the organization manufacture these products or services 3. Where and how will the organization sell these products and services 4. Where and how will the organization acquire the resources 5. How does the organization expect to outperform its competitors These fundamental questions have usually helped organizations in the management of a business. The process of answering these questions however becomes more complex when considered in the light of the realities of globalization. Many other factors must of necessity be put into consideration, factors such as varying languages, cultural diversities, differences in economic systems, financial market situations, fluctuations in foreign exchange, legal restrictions, low literacy levels etc. Despite these odds, more and more firms have adopted international management principles to properly position them in the global market place engendered by the ever-increasing trade liberalisation sweeping across the globe. Consequently, businesses are being developed to meet specific needs. Businesses today tend to centralize the authority and responsibility under one key individual thus providing a central point of control for the total flow. Under this arrangement, it is easier to look up to one central point for answers and action. This eliminates buck-passing. Furthermore, organizations today have imbibed personnel development. This is because it helps the personnel involved to gain familiarity of the global market place thereby increasing their opportunity for

Indian Business Environment Essay Example for Free

Indian Business Environment Essay Abstract One of the major objectives of Indian banking sector reforms was to encourage operational self-sufficiency, flexibility and competition in the system and to increase the banking standards in India to the international best practices. The second phase of reforms began in 1997 with aim to reorganization measures, human capital development, technological up-gradation, structural development which helped them for achieving universal benchmarks in terms of prudential norms and pre-eminent practices. This paper seeks to determine the impact of various market and regulatory initiatives on efficiency improvements of Indian banks. Efficiency of firm is measured in terms of its relative performance that is, efficiency of a firm relative to the efficiencies of firms in a sample. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has used to identify banks that are on the output frontier given the various inputs at their disposal. The present study is confined only to the Constant-Return-to-Scale (CRS) assumption of decision making units (DMUs). Variable returns to scale (VRS) assumption for estimating the efficiency was not attempted. It was found from the results that national banks, new private banks and foreign banks have showed high efficiency over a period time than remaining banks. II. Reforms and Banking system In the post liberalization-era, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated quite a few measures to ensure safety and consistency of the banking system in the country and at the same point in time to support banks to play an effective role in accelerating the economic growth process. One of the major objectives of Indian banking sector reforms was to encourage operational self-sufficiency, flexibility and competition in the system and to increase the banking standards in India to the international best practices 4. Although the Indian banks have contributed much in the Indian economy, certain weaknesses, i.e. turn down in efficiency and erosion in profitability had developed in the system, observance in view these conditions, the Committee on Financial System(CFS) was lay down. Reserve Bank of India has implemented banking sector reforms in two phases. The first reform focused on introduction of several prudential norms, major changes in the policy framework, and formation of competiti ve atmosphere. The second phase of reforms began in 1997 with aim to reorganization measures, human capital development, technological up-gradation, structural development which helped them for achieving universal benchmarks in terms of prudential norms and pre-eminent practices. The Financial sector reforms were undertaken in 1992 based on the recommendations of the CFS. Later, The Narsimham Committee has provided the proposal for reforming the financial sector. The committee also argued that ‘economic reforms in the real sector of economy will, however, fail to realize their full potential without a parallel reform of the financial sector. It focused on several issues like, releasing of more funds to banks, deregulation in interest rates, capital adequacy, income recognition, disclosures and transparency norms etc. However, financial sector reforms focused on improving the competitive efficiency of the banking system. The financial reform process has commenced since 1991 which was made the banking sector healthy, sound, well- capitalized and become competitive. The competitive pressures to improve efficiency in the banking sector has resulted in a switch from traditional paper based banking to electronic banking, use information technology and shift of emphasis from brick and mortar banking to use of ATMs. INDIAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN BANKING INDUSTRY Indian banking industry, the backbone of the country’s economy, has always played a key role in prevention the economic catastrophe from reaching terrible volume in the country. It has achieved enormous appreciation for its strength, particularly in the wake of the worldwide economic disasters, which pressed its worldwide counterparts to the edge of fall down. If we compare the business of top three banks in total assets and in terms of return on assets, the Indian banking system is among the healthier performers in the world. This sector is tremendously competitive and recorded as growing in the right trend (Ram Mohan, 2008). Indian banking industry has increased its total assets more than five times between March 2000 aThe overall development has been lucrative with enhancement in banking industry efficiency and productivity. It should be underlined here is financial turmoil which hit the western economies in 2008 and the distress effect widened to the majority of the other countries but Indian banking system survived with the distress and showed the stable performance. Indian banks have remained flexible even throughout the height of the sub-prime catastrophe and the subsequent financial turmoil. The Indian banking industry is measured as a flourishing and the secure in the banking world. The country’s economy growth rate by over 9 percent since last several years and that has made it regarded as the next economic power in the worldnd March 2010, The Indian banking industry is measured as a flourishing and the secure in the banking world. The country’s economy growth rate by over 9 percent since last several years and that has made it regarded as the next economic power in the world. Our banking industry is a mixture of public, private and foreign ownerships. The major dominance of commercial banks can be easily found in Indian banking, although the co-operative and regional rural banks have little business segmentIn the post liberalization-era, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated quite a few measures to ensure safety and consis tency of the banking system in the country and at the same point in time to support banks to play an effective role in accelerating the economic growth process. One of the major objectives of Indian banking sector reforms was to encourage operational self-sufficiency, flexibility and competition in the system and to increase the banking standards in India to the international best practices. Although the Indian banks have contributed much in the Indian economy, certain weaknesses, i.e. turn down in efficiency and erosion in profitability had developed in the system, observance in view these conditions, the Committee on Financial System. Reserve Bank of India has implemented banking sector reforms in two phases. The first reform focused on introduction of several prudential norms, major changes in the policy framework, and formation of competitive atmosphere. The second phase of reforms began in 1997 with aim to reorganization measures, human capital development, technological up-gradation, structural development which helped them for achieving universal benchmarks in terms of prudential norms and pre-eminent practices. The Financial sector reforms were undertaken in 1992 based on the recommendations of the CFS. Later, The Narsimham Committee has provided the proposal for reforming the financial sector. The committee also argued that ‘economic reforms in the real sector of economy will, however, fail to realize their full potential without a parallel reform of the financial sector. It focused on several issues like, releasing of more funds to banks, deregulation in interest rates, capital adequacy, income recognition, disclosures and transparency norms etc. However, financial sector reforms focused on improving the competitive efficiency of the banking system. The financial reform process has commenced since 1991 which was made the banking sector healthy, sound, well- capitalized and become competitive. (CFS) was lay down. Liberalisation of India’s banking sector †¢ Liberalisation of India’s banking sector begun since 1992, following the Narasimhan Committee’s Report (December 1991) †¢ Important recommendations of the Committee were – [i] reduction of statutory pre-emptions (SLR and CRR) [ii] deregulation of the interest rates [iii] opening up the sector to foreign and domestic private banks [iv] adoption of prudential regulations relating to capital adequacy, asset classiï ¬ cation and provisioning standards Service firms such as ITC Hotels and ANZ Grindlays Bank found direct marketing very effective in retailing customers and weathering competition. †¢ The Indian banking system is growing in a robust manner. †¢ The Indian banking system complies with international standards of prudential regulation. †¢ The Indian banking system is opening up for entry of foreign banks. †¢ Despite the growth, Indian banking system is not entirely inclusive. †¢ There is good opportunities for the banking industry – domestic and foreign – for expansion to ï ¬ ll the gap. A decade after the Narasimham report was published and in the light of new challenges from the norms laid down by the WTO and Basel II, it is imperative to have a close look at the performance of banks in the last decade or so to assess the success of the reform process. INDIA inherited a very weak banking system following Independence. However, the nationalisation programme (1969) helped this sector achieve remarkable success in many respects. The stability among depositors, penetration into rural India and the consequent reduction in poverty and diversification out of agriculture were some of its laudable achievements. Given the predominantly bank based nature of financial system, the banking industry gained the reputation of one of the most protected in the country. However, in the 1990s a chain of events such as introduction of modern technologies, competition from new players in the liberalised market place, and enhanced emphasis on governance to protect shareholder interest changed the way banks conducted business. The Indian banking sector with its diversity of ownerships — State Bank of India and its associates, nationalised banks, private domestic banks and foreign banks also faced a similar set of challenges. Although the public sector banks acquired a dominant presence thanks to the regulatory environment, several of them performed poorly in the late 1980s. To preserve the soundness of the financial system, especially the banking segment, the Government set up the Narasimham Committee. The Committee (in 1991) made far-reaching recommendations that formed the basis of banking reforms. Some of the comprehensive reform measures suggested included: Stricter income recognition and asset classification, higher capital adequacy ratio, phased deregulation of interest rate, lowering statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and cash reserve ratio (CRR), entry deregulation, and branch-de-licensing. These measures mainly aim to improve the efficiency/profitability of banking industry. A decade and half after the Narasimham report was published and in the light of the World Trade Organisation and Basel II norms, it is imperative to have a close look at the performance of banks in the last decade or so to assess the success of the reform process. Performance indicators Commonly-used measures to assess the performance of the banking industry are: Return on Asset (ROA), Operating Profit Ratio (OPR), Net Interest Margin (NIM), Operating Cost Ratio (OCR) and Staff Expenditure Ratio (SER). The first two are generally considered profitability measures, while the others, the efficiency indices. These five measures have been considered in this analysis for two sub-periods: Pre-liberalisation (1992-1995) and post-liberalisation (2000-2003). The total number of banks considered for two sub-periods were 64 (eight State Banks, 19 nationalised banks, 19 private banks and 18 foreign banks) and 87 (8, 19, 28 and 32 respectively). Overall performance improvement A comparison of performance indices during the study period reveals that the reform measures helped to improve the overall performance of industry. This is reflected in the improvement of all performance indicators barring the net interest margin (see Table). Interestingly, the ROA, treated as a proxy for risk-adjusted return, increased from (-) 0.28 per cent in the pre-liberalisation period to 0.79 per cent (against more than 1 per cent in other merging markets such as Singapore, Malaysia and Korea) post-liberalisation, indicating a significant rise in the ability of banks to convert their assets into net earnings. Another interesting aspect is that despite a marginal fall in the net interest margin from 2.84 to 2.73 (which might be due to policy change), the banking industry has managed to improve its OPR by increasing its non-interest fee-based income and reducing its operating costs/staff expenses. The evidence indicates that after the reform initiation period, the banks have increasingly been providing off balance sheet items such as derivatives, which generate major part of non-interest income. The proportion of operating costs/staff expenses has declined mainly due to computerisation and the voluntary retirement scheme. The property rights theorists believe that the private banks are more efficient than their counterparts in the public sector. This view is corroborated by the public choice theorists who argue that the specific X inefficiency factors are more prevalent in the public sector, irrespective of market conditions. Further, many cross-country findings report an increased government ownership as a deterrent to the development of the banking system. The Indian banking scenario seems to be consistent with the above, as the privately owned (foreign as well as domestic) banks seem to be superior to their public counter parts with respect to all performance indicators except the NIM. Despite a fall in their OPR and NIM between 1992-95 and 2000-03, the private banks successfully managed to reduce their operating expenditures, particularly the staff expenditures, thereby successfully maintaining their status. Among private banks, the foreign banks seem to be superior in terms of three out of five the criteria used. Within the public domain, the State Banks tend to be superior with respect to ROA, OCR and SER, while the nationalised banks seem to show better performance in terms of OPR and NIM. Thus, although there is a significant improvement in the overall performance of banks as one moves from the post-reform period to the late-reform period, one finds certain anomalies such as a fall in the NIM (except in the case of the nationalised banks), a fall in the ROA of private domestic banks, a reduction in the OPR of private domestic and foreign banks and a rise in the OCR/SER of foreign banks. Convergence or divergence Apart from the overall improvement across the board, another important criterion to evaluate the success story is to check whether the competitive force has led to any convergence in the performance of different ownership groups in the post-liberalisation period. Exposure to the competitive forces is often argued as a panacea to shake poorly performing banks out of their slumber. Although the public banks compared poorly with private banks during the initial period, they made a significant improvement in the later period by responding well to the new challenges of competition and consolidation, mostly following a gradual and cautious approach. The pay off is well reflected in the increase in their ROA, OPR and NIM. Some possible reasons for the better performance of public banks could be they still undertake most of the government borrowing programmes, thereby generating significant fee based income; the market discipline imposed by the listing of most public sector banks has also probably contributed to this improved performance; and ï‚ · the reform measures have changed their business strategies particularly greater diversification of non-fund based business and emergence of treasury and foreign exchange business. The study reveals that the OPR across four ownership groups tend to converge. The NIM tend to converge across private and public sectors while the OCR continues to remain significantly different across ownership groups. The above analyses indicate that the banking sector performs reasonably well with respect to the goals set by the Narasimham Committee, particularly in the context of the poorly performing banks and showing some encouraging signs to meet the Basel II norms by 2006. However, one should not go over board in reading these numbers to evaluate the success of the Indian banking sector, particularly from the perspective of a developing economy such as ours. Policy-makers should be extra cautious in giving free a reign to the banking sector in pursuing profit and risk based strategies. Recent trends in non-synergy based consolidation, growing disinclination to lend money towards productive purposes and to the unprofitable sectors such as agriculture, self-help groups, infrastructure and to small and medium sized enterprises, its growing engagement in non-productive treasury operations and conspicuous consumer lending will seriously impair the role of banks as public instruments of development. Therefore, maintaining a balance between these two objectives will remain a challenge to the banking sector for some time to come. Bibliography- * www.thehindubusinessline.com * iimahd.ernet.in/assets/snippets/ *

The Current Approaches To Ecotourism

The Current Approaches To Ecotourism Ecotourism has been the fastest growing segment of the global tourism industry and has developed on the tourism market within the core of environmental movement as well as becoming continuously important in the tourism industry (Matei, 2011). However, before ecotourism is emerged, tourism has been rapidly become one of the most important part of economic growth in the world. While tourism has been contributed to the source of economic development, conventional mass tourism growth has resulted in the numerous negative impacts on tourism destination, such as the destruction of ecological systems, loss of cultural heritage, cultural commodification and inter-cultural conflict (Weaver, 2008; Lansing Vries, 2007). In late 1980s, the realization of these problems has led to the development of sustainable tourism (Hugo, 2010). Sustainable tourism has been on the basis of responsible travel to natural areas that preserve the destinations environment and has reminded as a type of tourism, wh ich positively contributes to visitor satisfaction, incorporates an element of environmental education, delivers benefit to poor local communities and also assists the local communities to maintain their cultural features (Matei, 2011). Additionally, sustainable tourism is regarded as the role of marketing tool to promote and advertise any form of tourism associated with nature based and also the money from sustainable tourism is reinvested in order to environmentally protect and preserve tourism destination as well as significantly develop the access of the local people to jobs creation and civilization (Matei, 2011). In addition, these new forms of tourism are proposed to simultaneously fulfill the needs of different parties involved, such as delivering revenues and profits to the tourism industry, responsible travel experiences to the increasingly wealthy tourist and economic growth combined with environmental and socio-cultural protection to host countries and communities (Lansi ng Vries, 2007). As a result of this reason, many countries have considered of sustainable tourism, which is meant by a travel to natural destinations (remote areas) under environmental protection at the international, national, regional or private level (Honey, 2008). Current Approaches to Ecotourism The core current approaches to ecotourism development are suggested two ideal types of the approaches in relation to the level of sustainability outcomes. Those approaches are comprehensive approach and minimalist approach. The first ideal type of the approaches to ecotourism is minimalist approach. The minimalists approach emphasizes a basic or shallow understanding and learning opportunities based on elemental perspective. An elemental approach is evident at the other end of the continuum when a product focuses on specific non-captive animals or plants that are deemed to be particularly attractive or interesting, such as charismatic megafauna or megaflaora a (Weaver, 2005). In contrast, the other ideal type of the approaches to ecotourism is comprehensive approach which adopts a holistic perspective on the product that incorporates the ecosystem into associated human influences so that the implication of cultural component is more likely to be integrated into the interpretive exper iences than recognized as attraction (Schianetz, Kavanagh Lockington, 2007). The minimalist approach does not intentionally have desire for transforming values or behavior and its approach to sustainability is associated with site-specific, status quo oriented as well merely as natural environment (Weaver, 2005) whereas the comprehensive approach is purposed to enhance deep understanding and deliberately transform participant attitudes and behavior (Schianetz, Kavanagh Lockington, 2007). Furthermore, according to Weaver (2005), it is believed that the implementation of the comprehensive approach utilized by the managers in destinations is more likely to provide the objectives of environmental and sociocultural sustainability to tourism destinations. By fostering a more environmentally aware and activist market, comprehensive approach is conducive to the development of the product that benefits from donations and eagerness to engage in volunteer activity such as research assistance, and informal policing. When the comprehensive approach combines with the emphasis on enhancement based global and environmental and sociocultural enhancement, the volunteer activity for the rehabilitation and reclamation of habitat, which has been considerably transformed by human activity is channeled though the opportunity emerged. By contrast, according to Weaver (2005), the minimalist approach may hinder the attainment of the sustainability objectives. Therefore, the problems of the mi nimalist approach is mainly likely to be occurred from the element approach to construct species hierarchies, and thereby charismatic megafauna is more likely to be highly assessed by the managers but is not less ecologically valuable species. However, its attention will be able to ironically become damaging consequences to the charismatic megafauna by encouraging prolonged intrusive contact with humans. Generally, the process of observing wildlife is more likely to result in subtle negative effects by carrying out an inadvertently inappropriate manner. From a sustainability perspective that is global enhancement within a combined environmental, sociocultural and economic that includes local community, both minimalist and comprehensive approach appear to fulfill the imperatives of financial sustainability and high levels of satisfaction (Schianetz, Kavanagh Lockington, 2007). Examples of Ecotourism Two-ecotourism case study have been identified and analyzed. The first ecotourism case is Sumba Island in Indonesia. The remote island of Sumba is one of the poorest islands in Indonesia although Sumba Island is culturally one of the richest islands with very strong ancient tradition and strong heritage (The Sumba Foundation, 2012). In Sumba Island, most of the residents live without access to clean water, basic health care and education and also malnutrition is among the highest in the world (The Sumba Foundation, 2012). Nihiwatu has become a major employer of villagers in Sumba Island and the purpose of Nihiwatu is to develop the quality of life for it Sumbanese neighbor throughout responsible tourism (Nihiwatu, 2012). The main stakeholders are eco resort villages that obtain a large amount of funding from guest vacationing in order to support the local community projects by donating (Nihiwatu, 2012). Nihiwatu as an eco resort has commenced local community development projects and has closely cooperated with The Sumba Foundation to take the projects to a higher level (Nihiwatu, 2012). The projects are in relation to creating sustainable livelihood and jobs, achieving energy efficiency and adequate supply, food and water supply. The project makes peoples lives clearly visible so health and local welfare has been changed much better and the hygiene conditions of clinics and villages are significantly improved (The Sumba Foundation, 2012). From the projects perspective, Nihiwatu eco resort has importantly taken the concepts of sustainable development. The resort has considered of local residents neighbors by having responsibility so after purchasing land, the landowner has taken not only the land, but also the responsibility of taking care of the land and its society (Nihiwatu, 2012). Moreover, Nihiwatu eco resort has become one of the merely hotels in the world which utilize 100% powered by bio-fuel and renewable energy source as well as recycling everything so that carbon emission which results in climate change has been decreased (Sumba, 2012). Eco resort village in Sumba Island culturally and socially influences on young generation. The value of frequent informal interaction with tourists is likely to afford the opportunities to practice English skills and also to experience adverse social cultural impacts associated with ecotourism, which is concerned with the impact on young generation conduct between unappreciated sexual conduct and consumption alcohol that is vastly different from their culture (Clifton Benson, 2006). Furthermore, the economic benefit associated with eco resort village tourism provides the optimism in regard to income generating opportunities, which derive from direct employment, rental of accommodation for tourists or the sale of handicrafts and food (Clifton Benson, 2006). It is seen that the rental of accommodation has economically generated the benefits for the wide local communities because the accommodations has been owned and operated by the local residents as well as having been built specifi cally for the purpose. In addition, the sale of handicrafts and food has provided the opportunity to participation in to a greater variety of individuals and groups, such as women, the young and old members of the local communities (Clifton Benson, 2006). Consequently, this eco resort village is fundamentally important for residents life so if the village culture is damaged, the residents will be ruined. This benefits related with village ecotourism is likely to be regard as both reflecting and reinforcing social capital in the local communities (Clifton Benson, 2006). The second ecotourism case is Song Saa Private Island in Combodia. Song Saa Private Island is officially known as Koh Bong and Koh Quen and has renown for the rich and diverse marine life in their surrounding waters (Song Saa, 2012). Song Saa Private Island integrates commercial development with the triple bottom lines of ecological (biophysical), social and economic sustainability by emphasizing on sustainability and high exemplary environmental standards (Song Saa, 2012). The relevance of the triple bottom-line concept and sustainability approach are the central to the purpose and mission statement of Song Saa private Island so as to improve the environment, the condition of local communities and the economy (Song Saa, 2012). Song Saa Private Island positively or negatively influences on environment in terms of water, energy, solid waste, biodiversity, pollution and contamination. According to the report (Sustainable Management Plan, 2012), Water discharged from Song Saa Private Is land, such as grey-water, sewage and storm-water sources results in damage to local wildlife and ecosystems and alteration of water has negative impact on human communities and local ecosystems. The inefficient use of energy has increased carbon in the atmosphere and contributed to global warming (climate change). Solid waste inflows have negative impact on local flora and fauna and associated habitats. Construction and operation of the resort and guest and staff activities have an adverse impact on local biodiversity by destroying, displacing or stressing animals, vegetation or their associated ecosystems. Physical, visual and ambient pollution detracts from amenity, intrinsic and cultural values of the landscape and the environment. Chemicals (cleaning products, insecticides, chlorine herbicides), guest and staff sunscreens, insect repellants result in damage to reef systems. In addition, Song Saa Private Island also has negative or positive effects on social cultural and economic based on the local communities. Song Saa Private Island provides the opportunities throughout the local community program and conservation program to weave together the needs of local peoples (Sustainable Management Plan, 2012). These programs focuses on the support communities throughout activities that promote sustainable livelihoods and the process which create enabling conditions that generate local welfare. This development of the projects is fundamentally based on working with government and community institutions, networks and norms to achieve tangible and positive outcomes (Sustainable Management Plan, 2012). Song Saa community and conservation program provides the development of educational opportunities for the local villagers so that local people increase their awareness and understanding of environmental issue and opportunities; increasing the knowledge and understan ding of marine conservation among the inhabitants of local fishing village (Song Saa Conservation and Community Program, 2012). Furthermore, the conservation and community projects efficiently manage the flow of solid waste from the villages. This management provides an income stream through the provision of incentive payments to the village waste collectors and an additional income stream though the sale of recyclable materials for the local community when the solid waste and recycle management contributes to the health of the village (Song Saa Conservation and Community Program, 2012). Song Saa Private Island has participated in the water system, which is established for local community health as a core component of sustainable livelihood maintenance throughout the provision of safe domestic water supply and the protection of water supply from contamination. The water system works with the local community and local providers to improve environmentally sensitive water treatment and waste reticulation system so as a result of the water systems, local community is given an effective water management and unique livelihood activities such as snail and frog rearing (Song Saa Conservation and Community Program, 2012). Ecotourism the Ideal versus the Real In order to establish sustainable tourism development, the strong interaction between environment and human must need. However, it is not easy to fulfill and assess the sustainability of tourism destination because of the complex conduct and the use of the variety approaches, which are in possession of different strengths and weaknesses depending on the characteristics of the tourism destinations. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the available approaches and use its correct usage in order to develop sustainable tourism. The possible approach to develop sustainable tourism development needs to be carefully considered of the positive impact on the relationship between economic, social cultural and environment component within the triple bottom line approach. The triple bottom line approach requires the balance of three components (ecological, economic and social) in order to generate sustainability to the tourism development. As described two ecotourism cases, the triple bottom line is basically associated with sustainability so if the ecotourism development and products do not carefully consider of three components, one of components will gain damage by unbalancing three components. For example, if tourism development is more likely to provide the benefit to the tourists without any concern about environment in the destinations, the environment in the destinations will suffer from tourists activity. In addition, local community and culture will be also damaged by visiting tourists if not considered of local environment and culture when the tourism develops. The local culture may be probably changed by direct or indirect impact from tourist behavior and attitude toward local community. Although by contacting with tourists, the positive or negative different culture is likely to come into local community, the problem is that the local community will not be able to conserve. Therefore, in order to protect and prevent these potential problems in the tourism destinations, comprehensive approach is more likely to be appropriate for the current sustainable tourism development than minimalist approach because comprehensive ecotourism considers nature-based and cultural as the attractions as well as global, environmental and sociocultural enhancement for sustainability. For example, minimalist ecotourism focuses on particular species so this approach is easy to provide the greater tourist satisfaction but the approach is less likely to contribute to the development of local community and culture without changes. However, comprehensive approach tends to have the more positive impacts on both environmental and local community in terms of economic, social culture and ecological because of the broader attractions (including nature-based and culture), deep understanding and learning of the tourism destinations. So, this approach will be reasonably utilized as an ap preciate approach according to the characteristic of the tourism destinations and the needs of environment and local community in regard of ecological, social cultural and economic. Conclusion Ecotourism is the biggest movement among tourism industry and also has been rapidly growing up in global tourism industry. Sustainable tourism development associated with ecotourism is regarded as the important tourism approach to tourism destinations in the world. With sustainability approach, the tourism destinations have been significantly considering of environmental and socio cultural protection. This big movement directly or indirectly influences on environment and local community and culture in the tourism destination. Consequently, the accurate approaches toward the tourism development and products are considerately required according to the characteristic of the tourism destinations in order to sustain the tourism development. Reference lists Clifton, J., Benson, A. (2006). Planning for sustainable ecotourism: the case for research ecotourism in developing country destinations. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 14(3), 238-254. Honey, M. (2008). Ecotourism and Sustainable Development, Who Owns Paradise? (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: America, Island Press. Hugo, M. L. (1999). A comprehensive approach towards the planning, grading and auditing of hiking trails as ecotourism products, Current Issues in Tourism, 2(2/3), 138-173. Matei, E. (2011). The ecotourisms development in the Romanian Carpathians protected areas: facts, figures and needs. Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography, 5(2), 31-39. Schianetz, K., Kavanagh, L., Lockington, D. (2007). Concepts and tools for comprehensive sustainability assessments for tourism destination: a comparative review. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 15(4), 369-389. Sumba: an iconic island to demonstrate the potential of renewable energy. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.hivos.nl Song Saa. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.songsaa.com Sustainable Management Plan. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.songsaa.com Song Saa Conservation and Community Program. (2012). Retrieved from: http//www.songsaa.com The Sumba Foundation. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.sumbafoundation.org Weaver, D. B. (2005). Comprehensive and minimalist dimensions of ecotourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 32(2), 439-455. Weaver, D. (2008). Ecotourism (2nd ed.). Milton: Australia, John Wiley Sons Australia.

Odyssey Hospitality Essay -- Essays Papers

Odyssey Hospitality Hospitality In The Odyssey by Homer, hospitality plays a very important role. There are certain rules of hospitality needed, such as inviting a stranger into your home, not asking them their name before they have dined at your table, and sometimes even gift offerings. If these rules of hospitality are not carried out, the consequences are very severe. Hospitality is to be given to all by all. Being a good host is very important in The Odyssey, even to the gods. It is a sign of respect for all no matter where they are from or how poor they appear to be. This means that as soon as you see a stranger, you invite them into your home to sit at your table just as king Nestor did. "As soon as they saw the strangers, all came crowding down, waving them on in welcome, urging them to sit." (III, 38) After you have invited them into your home, you must invite them to dine at your table. Only after they have dined, you have the permission to ask for their names, like King Menelaus did, "'Help yourselves to food, and welcome! Once you've dined we'll ask you who you are.'" (IV, 68-69) Many times before dining "...women had washed them, rubbed them down with oil and drawn warm fleece and shirts around their shoulders..." (IV, 56-57) If the host enjoyed the company of the guests, many times they will honor them with gifts. The kind of gifts given varied depending on the wealth and generosity of the host. For example, Aeolus, the king of the winds, gave Odysseus a...

Spatial Filtering Fundamentals

4/28/2008 Spatial filtering fundamentals by  Gleb  V. Tcheslavski:  [email  protected] lamar. edu http://ee. lamar. edu/gleb/dip/index. htm Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 1 Mechanics of spatial filtering Considering frequency domain filtering, the effect of LPF applied to an image is to blur (smooth) it. Similar smoothing effect can be achieved by using spatial filters (spatial masks, kernels, templates, or windows). We discussed that a spatial filter consists of a neighborhood and a pre-defined operation performed on the image pixels defining the neighborhood.The result of filtering – a new pixel with coordinated of the neighborhood’s center and the value defined by the operation. g y p If the operation is linear, the filter is said to be a linear spatial filter. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 2 1 4/28/2008 Mechanics of spatial filtering Assuming a 3 x 3 neighborhood, at any point (x,y) in the image, the response of the spatial filter is g ( x, y ) = w(? 1, ? 1 ) f ( x ? 1, y ? 1) + w(? 1, 0) f ( x ? 1, y ) + †¦ + w(0, 0) f ( x, y ) + †¦ + w(1,1) f ( x + 1, y + 1) Filter coefficient Pixel intensity In general: g ( x, y ) = s =? a t =? b ? ? w(s, t ) f ( x + s, y + t ) a bSpring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 3 Mechanics of spatial filtering Here a mask size is m x n. m = 2a + 1 n = 2b + 1 Where a and b are some integers. For a 3 x 3 mask Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 4 2 4/28/2008 Spatial correlation and convolution Correlation is a process of moving the filter mask over the image and computing the sum of products at each location as previously described. Convolution is the same except that the filter is first rotated by 1800. For a 1D case, we first zeropad f by m-1 zeros on each size. We compute a sum of products in both cases†¦ Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 5 Spatial correlation and convolutionCorrelation is a function of displacement of the filter. A function containing a single 1 with the rest being zeros is g g g called a d iscrete unit impulse. Correlation of a function with a discrete unit impulse yields a rotated version of a function at the location of the impulse. To perform a convolution, we need to pre-rotate the filter by 1800 and perform the same operation as in correlation. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 6 3 4/28/2008 Spatial correlation and convolution In a 2D case, for a filter of size m x n, we pad the image with m-1 rows of zeros at the top and bottom and n-1 columns of zeros on the left and right.For convolution, we pre-rotate the mask and perform the sliding sum of products. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 7 Spatial correlation and convolution Correlation of a filter w(x,y) of size m x n with an image f(x,y) is w( x, y ) f ( x, y ) = s =? a t =? b ? ? w(s, t ) f ( x + s, y + t ) ? ? w(s, t ) f ( x ? s, y ? t ) a b a b Convolution of a filter w(x,y) of size m x n with an image f(x,y) is w( x, y ) ? f ( x, y) = s =? a t =? b Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 8 4 4/28/2008 Vector representatio n of linear filtering It is convenient sometimes to represent a sum of products asR = ? wk zk = w T z k =1 Filter coeffs Image intensities mn For example, for a 3 x 3 filter: p , R = ? wk zk = w T z k =1 Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 9 9 Generating spatial filter masks Generating an m x n linear spatial filter requires specification of mn mask coefficients. These coefficients are selected based on what the filter is supposed to do keeping in mind that all we can do with linear filtering is to implement a sum of products. Assuming that we need to replace the pixels in an image with the average pixel intensities of a 3Ãâ€"3 neighborhood centered on those pixels.If zi are the intensities, the average is R= 9 1 9 ? zi 9 i =1 Which is: R = ? wi zi = w T z; i =1 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP wi = 1 9 10 Spring 2008 5 4/28/2008 Smoothing spatial filters Smoothing filters are used for blurring and noise reduction. Blurring may be implemented in preprocessing tasks to remove small details from an ima ge prior to large object extraction. The output of a smoothing (averaging or lowpass) linear spatial filter is the average of the pixels contained in the neighborhood of the filter mask.By replacing the value of every pixel in an image by the average of the intensity levels in the neighborhood defined by a filter mask, the resulting image will have reduced â€Å"sharp† transitions in intensities. Since random noise typically corresponds to such transitions, we can achieve denoising. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 11 Smoothing spatial filters However, edges (characterized by sharp intensity transitions) will be blurred. Examples of such masks: 1) A box filter – spatial averaging filter 3Ãâ€"3; 2) Weighted average filter – attempt to reduce blurring: g a g ( x, y ) = s =? a t =? b ? ? (s, t ) f ( x + s, y + t ) s =? a t =? b b ? ? w(s, t ) 12 a b Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 6 4/28/2008 Smoothing spatial filters The effect of filter size. The original 500Ãâ€"5 00 image And the results of smoothing with a square averaging filter of sizes m = 3, 5, 9, 15, 25, and 35 pixels. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 13 Smoothing spatial filters Frequently, blurring is desired for ease of object detection: an original Hubble image, the result of applying a 15Ãâ€"15 averaging mask to it and the result of thresholding with a threshold of 25% of the highest intensity. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 14 7 4/28/2008Order-statistic (nonlinear) filters Order-statistic filter are nonlinear spatial filters whose response is based on ordering (Ranking) the pixels in the neighborhood and then replacing the value of the center pixel by the value determined by the ranking result. The median filters are quite effective against the impulse noise (salt-and-pepper noise). The median of a set of values is such that half the values in the set are greater than the median and half is lesser than it: Ex: the 3Ãâ€"3 neighborhood has values (10, 20, 20, 20,15, 20, 100, 25, 20 ). These values are ranked as (10, 15, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 25, 100).The median will be 20. There are also max and min filters. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 15 Order-statistic (nonlinear) filters Original image with salt-andpepper noise Spring 2008 Noise reduction with a 3Ãâ€"3 averaging mask ELEN 4304/5365 DIP Noise reduction with a 3Ãâ€"3 median mask 16 8 4/28/2008 Sharpening spatial filters: foundations The main objective of sharpening is to highlight transitions in intensity. Since averaging is analogous to spatial integration, we y g g g p g can assume that sharpening is analogous to differentiation in space. The derivatives of a digital function are defined in differences.The first derivative must be: 1) Zero in areas of constant intensity; 2) Non-zero at the onset and end of an intensity step or ramp; 3) Non-zero along ramps of constant slope. The second derivative must be: 1) Zero in areas of constant intensity; 2) Non-zero at the onset and end of an intensity step or ram p; 3) Zero along ramps of constant slope. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 17 Sharpening spatial filters: foundations The first-order derivative: ?f = f ( x + 1) ? f ( x) ? x The second-order derivative: ?2 f = f ( x + 1) + f ( x ? 1) ? 2 f ( x) ? x 2 It can be verified that these definitions satisfy the conditions for derivatives.Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 18 9 4/28/2008 Sharpening spatial filters: foundations The circles indicate the onset or end of intensity transitions. The sign of the second derivative changes at the onset and end of a step of ramp. The second derivative enhances fine details much better than the first derivative. This is suitable for sharpening. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 19 Using the second derivative for image sharpening – the Laplacian We consider isotropic filters – the response is independent of the direction of the discontinuity in the image Such filters are image. rotation invariant.The simplest isotropic derivative operator is the L aplacian: ?2 f ? 2 f ? f = 2 + 2 ? x ? y 2 Therefore: ? 2 f = f ( x + 1, y ) + f ( x ? 1, y ) + f ( x, y + 1) + f ( x, y ? 1) ? 4 f ( x, y ) The Laplacian is a linear operator since derivatives are linear operators. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 20 10 4/28/2008 Using the second derivative for image sharpening – the Laplacian The Laplacian can be implemented by these filter masks Since the Laplacian is a derivative operator, its use highlights intensity discontinuities in the image and deemphasize regions with slow varying intensity levels levels.It tends to produce images having grayish edge lines and other discontinuities, and a dark, feature-less background. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 21 Using the second derivative for image sharpening – the Laplacian Background features can be preserved together with the sharpening effect of the Laplacian by adding the Laplacian image to the original. If the definition of the Laplacian has a negative central coefficient, the La placian image must be subtracted rather than added to obtain a sharpening result. In general: g ( x, y ) = f ( x, y ) + c 2 f ( x, y ) ? ? ?Output intensity Input intensity -1 – if the center is negative; +1 otherwise Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 22 11 4/28/2008 Using the second derivative for image sharpening – the Laplacian The Laplacian Laplacian with scaling The original (blurred) image The image sharpened with mask 2 The image sharpened with mask 1 Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 23 Unsharp masking and highboost filtering An approach used for many years to sharpen images is: 1. Blur the original image; 2. Subtract the blurred image from the original (the result is called the mask): g mask ( x, y ) = f ( x, y ) ? f ( x, y ) Original Blurred image 3.Add the mask to the original: g ( x, y ) = f ( x, y ) + k ? g mask ( x, y ) Here k is a weight. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 24 12 4/28/2008 Unsharp masking and highboost filtering When k = 1 – unsharp masking ; k > 1 – highboost filtering; k < 1 – de-emphasize the contribution of a mask. The shown intensity profile can be viewed as a horizontal scan through a vertical edge transition from a dark to li ht t a light region. i This approach is similar to Laplacian method. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 25 Unsharp masking and highboost filtering Original ( slightly blurred) image Smoothed with a Gaussian smoothing filter 5Ãâ€"5 Unsharp maskResult of using unshapr mask (k = 1) Result of using highboost filtering with k = 4. 5 Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 26 13 4/28/2008 Gradient method First derivatives can be implemented for nonlinear image sharpening using the magnitude of the gradient: ? ? f ? g x ? ? ? x ? ? ? f ? grad ( f ) ? ? ? = ? ? ? g y ? ? ? f ? ? ? y ? ? ? The gradient vector points in the direction of the greatest rate of g (x,y). g (length) gradient change of f at location ( y) The magnitude ( g ) of g 2 2 M ( x, y ) = ? f = g x + g y Is the value of rate of cha nge at (x,y) in the direction of gradient. Spring 2008ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 27 Gradient method M(x,y) is an image of the same size as the original and is called the gradient image. Magnitude makes M(x,y) non-linear. It is more s itable in some applications to use: suitable se M ( x, y ) ? g x + g y For an image where z5 represent the pixel f(x,y) and z1 represent the pixel f(x-1,y-1), the simplest (Roberts) definitions for gradients are: M ( x, y ) = ( z9 ? z5 ) + ( z8 ? z6 ) 2 2 M ( x, y ) ? z9 ? z5 + z8 ? z6 However, Roberts cross-gradient operators lead to masks of even sizes, which is inconvenient. ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 28 Spring 2008 14 4/28/2008 Gradient methodThe smallest masks with central symmetry (ones we are interested in) are 3Ãâ€"3. The gradient can be approximated for such masks as following: ?f = ( z7 + 2 z8 + z9 ) ? ( z1 + 2 z2 + z3 ) ? x ? f gy = = ( z3 + 2 z6 + z9 ) ? ( z1 + 2 z4 + z7 ) ? y Therefore, the mask could be: gx = M ( x, y ) ? ( z7 + 2 z8 + z9 ) ? ( z1 + 2 z2 + z3 ) + ( z3 + 2 z6 + z9 ) ? ( z1 + 2 z4 + z7 ) Roberts operators They are Sobel operators. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 29 Gradient method The coefficients in all masks shown sum to zero. This indicates that mask will give a zero response in an area of constant intensity as expected of a derivative operator operator.Original image of contact lens Sobel gradient Defect Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 30 15 4/28/2008 Combining spatial enhancement techniques Frequently, Frequently a combination of several methods is used to enhance an image†¦ 1) Original image – 2) Laplacian – 3) image sharpened by Laplacian – 4) Sobel gradient of the original image – 5) Sobel image smoothed with a 5Ãâ€"5 averaging filter – 6) product of Sobel image with its smoothed version – 7) sharpened image (a sum of the original and 6) – 8) power-law transformation. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 31 Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 32 16