Light Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Light - Lab Report Example I used five different colors in the experiment. According to Timmermans, (2010) different colors of light have a significant effect on growth of plants, where the amount of energy obtained is different. However, it depends on other conditions, such as temperature, light intensity among others. In this experiment, the researcher has four variables in place. They include independent variables (photosynthesis rate), dependent (effect of wavelength) and factors that are in control and those that were not in control. Control favors included number of leaflets, volume of NaHCO3, concentration of NaHCO3, size of disc used and power of the light that was used. On the other hand, uncontrolled factors were the room temperature that the experiment was carried in. The Hedera Helix discs (leaflets) in our experiment responded differently to different colors of light. The hypothesis of the study is that the rate of photosynthesis varies in different colors of light. The blue color was expected to show the highest rate and yellow color the least effect to the rate of photosynthesis. The requirements for carrying out this experiment successfully include a syringe and beaker/containers. Others incldued leaves (the Hedera Helix discs (leaflets)), holes cutter, NaHCO3 and source of light (colored light bulb). I set up the five sources of colored light in an enclosed system and allowed it to warm up so as to attain equilibrium. I left the Hedera Helix Plant exposed to different light colors for 1.5 hours (90 minutes) using an analog-digital clocks to record the time elapses. This ensured that all the leaves were exposed to light equally. Using the prepared leaves, I prepared the NaHCO3 solution from 0.60g of sodium bicarbonate by diluting it with 300ml of distilled water in a 500ml beaker and added I added one drop of soap. I stirred the mixture gently ensuring that it does not form froth. First I cut small holes into the leaves to obtain numerous

Listening Essay Example for Free

Listening Essay The skill of listening is a talent that many people disregard or take for granted. Not many people realize that the way to find the window into the soul of another is not through any of the other senses except the sense of hearing. By listening to another person and allowing that person to bare his or her soul, one can learn so much more about another and arrive at a better, deeper and more complete understanding of who the person really is. The intricacies of the soul are revealed when one actually listens to another. While all of the other senses have their own advantages, it is only the sense of hearing that allows a person to know how another person is feeling. It is the only sense that allows a person to find out what is happening in another part of the world. It can actually see farther than our eyes and allow us to know accurately what goes on in other places. All the senses of the human body are designed to do one thing, receive input that the brain will eventually process. The listening, as a manner of exercising the sense of hearing, is a manner by which a person is able to gain input with regard to his surroundings and more importantly other people. People communicate mainly through speech. While there are some traits, feelings, emotions and thoughts that can be conveyed through other means, the primary mode of communicating still remains to be through speech and the only way of understanding speech is by listening. Communication is the method by which people interact with others. It involves not only an exchange of ideas but also involves a certain degree of trust or confidence. That is the reason why listening is so relevant because it allows people to communicate with each other. Speaking is but one part of the communication process. The other part is listening. There is certainly no doubt that listening is a skill that many people are capable of doing but is sadly something that not everyone does. While most humans are equipped with the sense of hearing, there are still those who can hear but cannot listen. They may be able to hear every single word that has been said to them but they cannot always be considered as listening. The next question that must be asked is how one can actually listen or become a better listener. Listening is not simply nodding one’s head and hearing what another person is saying but requires that a person actually pay careful attention to the words of another. It requires that the listener to do more than just absorb whatever the speaker has to say but in certain instances requires that the listener react in such a way as to encourage the speaker to bring out more. Listening is a way of reassuring the speaker that there is somebody for him to talk to who listens to him. It is a way of communicating various feelings to another person without the use of words. In order to become a good listener or to develop one’s listening skills, it is not important that the person is genuinely interested in the other or what the other has to say since the purpose of communication and listening is indeed to come to a better understanding of another person. The thing that is required in order to develop good listening skills is in being able to know when to simply just â€Å"shut up and listen. There is a certain timing that is needed in listening because listening may often be confused with boredom or disinterest by certain people. One has to know when to simply just nod one’s head or smile instead of opening one’s mouth to say something. This is the most important step at becoming a good listener. It is hard to imagine a world where nobody actually listened or paid any attention to other people. It would probably be a sad world filled with the endless monologue from the unending conversations of people who have nobody to listen to them. The people of the world would arguably be much sadder too since there would be nobody to listen to their problems or help them vent their frustrations. It is not hard to see just how important the skill of listening is. It is also thankfully not hard to become a better listener. The next time somebody says something, try not to respond right away. Think, learn and feel first and by doing do listening to what the other has to say. If man had learned this skill earlier, think of all the wars and bloodshed that mankind could have avoided by simply listening to what the other had to say.

Action research

Action research ACTION RESEARCH, ITS BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION Action research in English Language Teaching is relatively a recent development which has been predominant in the literature in late 1980s and early 1990s. This essay explores the definitions, literature, benefits and challenges of action research as a method of teacher research in teacher education and development. It concludes by a critical assessment of the application of this research methodology and its sustainability in ELT. 1. INTRODUCTION There is a plethora of definitions of action research just as there is myriad literature on the subject by many scholars in many fields of human endeavour. Burns (2005) in her seminal paper on action research has explored definitions of action research by extensively highlighting the views of educators such as Denzin Lincoln (1998), Rogers (1961), Grotjahn (1987), Freire (1970), Schutz (1967) among others. She sums up that action research is a part of a quiet methodological revolution towards qualitative research approaches which impacted on the social sciences and emerged in reaction to scientific, experimental and quantitative paradigms. It encourages participative, naturalistic enquiry with its exploratory-interpretive underpinnings (Burns, 2005:57). Action research, since 1940s, and its related branches such as action science, action learning, practitioner research, participatory research, and collaborative/cooperative enquiry have been part of the new revolution towards change in human social and economic situations. Burns further explains that action research is a general movement that attempts to create meaning and understanding in a problematic social situations and improving the quality of human interactions and practices within those situations. The relevance of action research to English Language Teaching and teacher education, as we can deduce from the foregoing, is that it cuts across many disciplinary fields which include the field of applied linguistics. It is seen as a flexible research methodology suitable for research that supports change. According to Hopkins (1985: 32) and Ebbut (1985:156) the combination of action and research presupposes action as a form of disciplined inquiry in which personal attempt is made to understand, improve and reform practice. Cohen Marion (1994:186) see action research as small-scale intervention in the functioning of real world thus a closer examination of the effects of change of such intervention integrates social research with exploratory action to promote development. Lisa (2008:4) states action research involves fluid and overlapping cycles of investigation, action planning, piloting of new practices and evaluation of outcomes incorporating at all stages the collection and analysis of data and generation of knowledge. She maintains that the outcomes of action research are both practical and theoretical. The knowledge it generates has a direct and ongoing impact on changing practice for participants and on a wider audience through its publications, and application. This essay, however, focuses on educational action research (teacher action; as in Borgs paper on Conditions for Teacher Research; Condition 9: Community) with inclination to English language teaching. Thus the essay explores educational action research, its processes, purposes and characteristics in line with the views expressed by Burns (2009). The essay draws its conclusion from the challenges, status and how action research can be encouraged, maintained and promoted in English language teaching. 2. THE ORIGIN OF ACTION RESEARCH The popular belief is that Kurt Lewin is the originator of action research in the 1940s. His work was intended to change the life chances of disadvantaged groups in terms of housing, employment, prejudice, socialization and training. The combination of action and research has contributed to the attraction of this method of research to researchers, teachers, academic and educational community. Kurt was a psychologist, influenced by the work of the social philosopher, J. L. Moreno, in group dynamics and social movements in early 20th century Germany. Kurt conceived of research as leading to social action, and saw action research as a spiral of steps each of which is composed of circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action (Lewin, 1948:206, cited in Burns, 2009:58). Zuber-Skerritt (1996a) suggests emancipatory action researchis collaborative, critical and self-critical inquiry by practitioners into a major problem or issue or concern in their own practice. They own the problem and feel responsible and accountable for solving it through teamwork and through following a cyclical process of: strategic planning; actions, i.e. implementing the plan; observation, evaluation and self-evaluation; critical and self-critical reflections on the results On the basis of points 1-3 decisions could be made for the next cycle of action research. Earlier, Zuber-Skerritt (1996a:3-5) argues action research is emancipatory when it aims not only at technical and practical improvement and the participants better understanding, along with transformation and change within the existing boundaries and conditions, but also at changing the system itself or those conditions which impede desired improvement in the system/organization There is no hierarchy, but open and symmetrical communication. The emancipatory interest is based on the notion of action researchers as participants in a community of equals and as improvement to professional practice at the local, perhaps classroom level, within the capacities of individuals and the situations in which they are working. Action research is part of a broader agenda of changing education, changing schooling and changing society. A review of action research frameworks reveals several common features. An action research project seeks to create knowledge, propose and implement change, and improve practice and performance (Stringer, 1996). Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) suggest that the fundamental components of action research include the following: (1) developing a plan for improvement, (2) implementing the plan, (3) observing and documenting the effects of the plan, and (4) reflecting on the effects of the plan for further planning and informed action. New knowledge gained results in changes in practice (see also, Fullan, 2000a). Action research is often conducted to discover a plan for innovation or intervention and is collaborative. Based on Kemmis and McTaggarts (1998) original formulation of action research and subsequent modifications, Mills (2003) developed the following framework for action research: Describe the problem and area of focus. Define the factors involved in your area of focus (e.g., the curriculum, school setting, student outcomes, and instructional strategies). Develop research questions. Describe the intervention or innovation to be implemented. Develop a timeline for implementation. Describe the membership of the action research group. Develop a list of resources to implement the plan. Describe the data to be collected. Develop a data collection and analysis plan. Select appropriate tools of inquiry. Carry out the plan (implementation, data collection, data analysis). Report the results. This deductive approach implements a planned intervention, monitors its implementation, and evaluates the results. A more inductive approach, formulated by Burns (1999), is to carry out action research to explore what changes need to be made or what actions need to be taken in a specific instructional setting. Burns suggests the following interrelated activities: Explore an issue in teaching or learning. Identify areas of concern. Observe how those areas play out in the setting of the study. Discuss how the issue might be addressed. Collect data to determine the action to be taken (e.g., student questionnaires, observation reports, journal entries). Plan strategic actions based on the data to address the issue. Kemmis and McTaggerts approach focuses on implementing an action plan, whereas Burns focuses on planning for action. Commonly used data collection tools in action research projects include existing archival sources in schools (e.g., attendance reports, standardized test scores, lesson plans, curriculum documents,), questionnaires, interviews, observation notes and protocols, videotapes, photographs, journals and diaries, and narratives (e.g., stories told by teachers, see Hartman, 1998). ACTION RESEARCH IN EDUCATION Burns (2009) points out that the modern seeds of AR in educational contexts can be found in the work of John Dewey (and can be traced to Aristotle). Dewey had argued against the separation of theory from practice, and this had profoundly influenced educational enquiry in the first part of the 20th century to the present time. This has been the basis for future research by educators, academics and social scientists into their various fields with the aims of improving the human conditions. Nevertheless, in recent years a great body of literature in language teacher education has focus on teacher beliefs and reflection. Movement such as the teacher as researcher and teacher as reflective practitioner have been trying to promote the benefits of empowering teachers to take control of their professional development and curriculum development through reflection on practice. The new trend encourages teachers to carry out systematic rigorous enquiry into problematic areas of teaching, learning and curriculum in their classrooms, devise plans of action, carry out these plans of action and collect data to evaluate the revised plan in a cyclic pattern(Denny,2005:59-60). It is however noteworthy to understand that the movements teacher as researcher and teacher as reflective practitioner developed in different forms by different proponents of AR in UK, the USA and Australia, though they have much in common and strongly influenced by teacher education(Zeichner,2001 in Denny, 2005) . After all the polemics, it is obvious and important that teachers need support in order to carry on AR, streamline the research process, understand and imbibe group research ethics, ability to learn fast and become familiar with the literature on the theme of the research. Teachers on training like us, and practicing ELT/ESL with less experience or even completely unfamiliar with AR should be enlightened, given guidance on background reading in research methodology before any assignment or to initiate AR project. Where resources are available, there would be the need to organise a workshop at the beginning for a group with a varied and differing experiences to teach the principle of action research, methods of finding a focus which is realistic, selecting and designing the data gathering tools and planning the research timeline(Denny,2005). Also in line with Dennys (2005) suggestion, I feel that teacher researchers involved in group project should be also be involved in organising initial workshops and dissemination of the results of the workshop through publication. The group should include a researcher experienced in AR and with experience in applying for grants, presenting and publishing research reports. 3. MERITS AND BENEFITS OF ACTION RESEARCH Action research has made some significant positive impacts in language teaching field, especially ELT/ESL and on teachers involved in it, individually and collectively, however, the precise nature of these impacts on language teaching and learning may be difficult to ascertain in tangible concrete terms. This may not be unconnected to the argument that AR is not a research method can be sustained and replicated, because of lack of formal unified theory and training its conduct. Nonetheless, scholars such as Kemmis and McTaggart (1982:2-5, in Burns, 2005:68) claim that AR has enable teachers to develop skills in:  ¨ thinking systematically about what happens in the classroom  ¨ implementing action where improvements are thought to be possible  ¨ monitoring and evaluating the effects of the with a view to continuing the improvement  ¨ monitoring complex situations critically and practically  ¨ implementing a flexible approach to school or classroom  ¨ making improvements through action and reflection  ¨ researching the real, complex and often confusing circumstances and constraints of the modern school  ¨ recognizing and translating evolving ideas into action. Many more claims concerning the benefits of AR are made, Burns (1999: 14 15) states that the Australian teachers collaborated with her had experienced:  ¨ deeper engagements with their own classroom practices  ¨ a better understanding of research and methods for carrying out research  ¨ less sense of isolation from other teachers  ¨ a personal challenge, satisfaction and professional growth  ¨ heightened awareness of external factors impinging on their classrooms. 4. ARGUMENTS AGAINST ACTION RESEARCH Action research as a form of research is not without problems; articulation, conception and application. It has attracted a lot of criticisms; one major criticism is that research is an activity best left to academic specialists who have the training and capacity. Thus AR has no academic prestige and finesse. Jarvis (1981) is one of the proponents of this line of thinking in the language teaching field and similar views were expressed in TESOL Newsletter (2001), (see Burns, 2009:66-67). However, scholars like Borg (2002) feel differently, and reject the traditional boundaries between teachers and researchers. In fact Borg is championing the cause for teacher-researcher, has written extensively on this topic; Borg (2006) Conditions for Teacher Researcher. There is therefore need to address views such as Jarvis, if AR is to be considered as a research methodology. Many more criticisms against AR that deserve our attention are that it:  ¨ has not developed sound research procedures, techniques and methodology  ¨ is small-scale and therefore not generalizable(has low external validity)  ¨ shows low control of the research environment and therefore cannot contribute to causal theories of teaching and learning  ¨ exhibits strong personal involvement on the part of the participant and therefore is overly subjective and anecdotal  ¨ is not reported in a form that conforms to a recognisable scientific genre (Burns,2009:67). In addition to above criticisms AR has been criticised as messy, informal, and structurally unformed involving imprecise cycles of research and action. 5. CURRENT TRENDS IN ACTION RESEARCH Despite the arguments and counter arguments for and against AR as a methodology in language teaching fields, its range of activities has impacted on the participating teachers who have been engaged in it. It is now being accepted as a movement in the language teaching field, though it is not internationally widespread. This is because some essential conditions that promote AR, such as motivation, support, research knowledge, skills, and the potential for dissemination of findings are not readily available. This is in contrast to where AR has taken room, teachers are well supported, teaching in instructional contexts, such as in Australia and North America (Borg, unpublished, cited in Burns, 2009). Most ELT/ESL professional are still uninvolved in AR and despite the enthusiasm in favour of AR interest and involvement in it is on the decline. Most ELT and especially ESL teachers are not exposed to AR, and may not even have an idea of how it works. Some extensive workshops and conferences where teachers are involved in practical demonstration of teaching planning and presentation may result into AR. A case in point is my personal experience in Alfaisal International Academy, Riyadh. The Academy in collaboration with British Council organised a Training Workshop on the Teaching of Composition between the months of September and October, 2007. All participating teachers were given papers with spaces, and were asked to freely express the problems they encounter in the teaching of composition. The teachers were asked to present their views in groups and discuss the problems which include the choice of topic, sentence and paragraph development, logical arrangement of ideas, styles and soon. At the end of the month-long training most of the participating teachers were able to improve upon their composition class. The composition training was highly contextualized and localized in its attempt to investigate a situation in a specific school. We were able to convert tacit knowledge of student progress in composition writing to explicit knowledge that could be communicated clearly to other constituents, such as board members and parents. The training confirmed our individual opinions, observations, and intuitions based on investigation of our inputs in the training. If our observations were taken into considerations, it would provide impetus for changes in practice and curriculum, based on information that was systematically collected and synthesized. This information would lead to the expansion of the language capacity of the Arab ESL students through a revised curriculum that involved storytelling, sentence-level production of the language, and the use of content-based discourse-level speaking tasks. The research was participatory and collaborative, involving all of the international community English as second language teachers in Alfaisal International Academy, Riyadh Saudi Arabia. The problem is that such workshops are once-in-a-blue-moon events, wide apart and hardly sustainable. Moreover, we did not call it AR. However, it has all the features of action research. 6. CHALLENCES FACING ACTION RESEARCH AS A PRACTICE One of the major challenges of action research is to create awareness about its nature, scope, benefits in language teaching fields. Besides its inclusion as a certificatory requirement course, it should be encouraged through conferences and worldwide professional body where contacts can be maintained. Dissemination of individual and cooperative research findings would ensure the growth expansion of AR. Despite AR impacts in the language teaching learning field, more interesting challenges and tensions are still prevalent. I share Burns (2009) concerns that there are differing understandings, of ARs purpose, scope, and practices in various contexts. We should really consider finding answers to questions concerning the future directions of AR in a number of broad areas, such as: How should we envisage the primary purposes and outcomes of AR? Is it mainly a vehicle for practitioners personal and professional development, or can it also have a role in the production of knowledge for the field? Is AR simply an accessible version of research for teachers, or does it also denote an emerging paradigm with its own epistemology, methodologies and investigative practices? If so, how should standards of quality be addressed? In what ways can AR open up opportunities for collective forms of knowledge about teaching and learning that are inclusive of academic and teaching communities? What kinds of relationships between teachers, teacher educators and researchers will need to emerge to facilitate collective knowledge production? (How) can AR activity in language teaching also address broader issues of curriculum development, social justice and educational political action, thus contributing to the greater sustainability of effective educational practices? 7. CONCLUSION This research methodology, despite many contentions, criticism, arguments and counter arguments on the nature, scope and processes, is used in many fields of human endeavour such as social and health services, community development and education, to address a long history of difficulties in successfully transferring research knowledge into changes in practice. It is a means of combining the generation of knowledge with professional development of practitioners through their participation as co-researchers. It also serves as a barrier breaker between policymakers and practitioners, giving them richer insights into practice and an active role in policy development as well as its implementation respectively. This is clear in a research where teachers are involved in the identification of problem, plan on how to solve the problem in a participatory, collaborative, cooperative way. The various inputs of individual teacher researcher and all participating teacher researchers are the data t hat would inform the policy of change. Thus when teachers are part of the planning of policy and designing curriculum, its implementation and improvement would better and easier. The essay has been able to critically explore action research, teacher research, meaning, arguments and processes as a research methodology. Some suggestions have been proffered to more rigorous method of research in teacher action research in language teaching field. Altrichter, H., Feldman, A., Posch, P., Somekh, B. (2008). Teachers investigate their work: An introduction to action research across the professions (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. Burns, A. (1999). Collaborative action research for English language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Burns, A. (2005). Action research: An evolving paradigm? Language Teaching, 38(2), 57-74. Kemmis, S., McTaggart, R. (Eds.). (1988). The action research planner (Third ed.). Victoria, Australia: Deakin University Press. Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Burns, A. (2009). Action research in second language teacher education. In A. Burns J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education (pp. 289-297). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Burns, A. (2010). Doing action research in English language teaching. A guide for practitioners. New York: Routledge. Elliott, J. (1991). Action research for educational change. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. McNiff, J., Whitehead, J. (2002). Action research: Principles and practice (2nd ed.). London: RoutledgeFalmer. Rainey, I. (2000). Action research and the English as a foreign language practitioner: Time to take stock. Educational Action Research, 8(1), 65-91. American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (1998). ACTFL performance guidelines for K-12 learners. Yonkers, NY: Author. Burns, A. (1999). Collaborative action research for English language teachers. New York: Cambridge University Press. Fullan, M. (2000a). Change forces. The sequel. Philadelphia: Falmer Press. Fullan, M. (2000b). Leadership for the twenty-first century: Breaking the bonds of dependency. In The Jossey-Bass reader on educational leadership (pp. 156-63). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hartman, D. K. (1998). Stories teachers tell. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook. Kemmis, S., McTaggert, R. (1998). The action research planner. Geelong, Victoria, Australia: Deakin University Press. Mills, G. E. (2003). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. Stringer, E. (1996). Action research: A handbook for practitioners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Wallace, M. J. (2000). Action research for language teachers. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Much Ado About Nothing - A Feminist Perspective Essay -- Feminism Fem

A Feminist Perspective of Much Ado About Nothing  Ã‚      Much Ado About Nothing, though a critically acclaimed play, seems to be truly a fuss of trivial details and sexist thinking. The title fits the play itself, in the sense that it is a case of a great amount of nothing, which perhaps can be assumed to be a mistake on William Shakespeare's part. The characters in the comedy are not realistic, and those that could have been were transformed throughout the course of events depicted. The most trouble with the play, however, seems to come from the representation of the female characters, particularly in comparison with the males. It seems almost that the female characters are written off, rather than merely written out. The male characters of the play are given higher roles, and their characters are followed more faithfully, further proving its chauvinistic composition. The title of the play even suggests a sexist nature in its possible Elizabethan reference to the female genitalia. The play seems to reflect the common thought of its era concerning the social stat...

Teens And Smoking Essay -- essays research papers

Teens and Smoking Abstract Cigarette smoking is of interest to the National Institute on Drug Abuse both because of the public health problems associated with this form of substance abuse and because this behavior represents a prototypic dependence process. In the past few years the government has made every effort to reach the masses, in an attempt to curb the exploitation of tobbacco use, and its acceptance among Americas Youngsters. However, cigarette smoking among adolescents is on the rise. The premise that the behavior of adolescents is influenced by the behavior of their parents is central to many considerations of health and social behavior (Ausubel, Montemayor, & Svajiian, 1977; Bandura & Walters, 1963). Many young people between 10-18 years of age experiment with smoking, smoking is a personal choice, and usually exploratory in nature. Typically, it takes place in rather young people and is largely dependent on: first, the availability of opportunity to engage in the behavior, second, having a fairly high degree of curiosity about the effects of the behavior; third, in finding it a way of expressing either conformity to the behavior or others (such as parents, older siblings or peers), forth, as in "Miller and Dollar's" explanation of Observational Learning, The Copying behavior effect. This research is to examine the effects of parental smoking (behavior), has, on the decision of teens to smoke cigarettes. Due to prior studies using global measures that may or may not include South Eastern North Carolina. The Fayetteville/Fort Bragg area was chosen for this study to pinpoint the effects in this particular locale. Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base have a very diverse socieo-economic and culturally diverse population, which will have a positive effect on randomness of sample selection. With this association in mind, this researcher is interested in knowing if there is a relationship of Parental influence on Teen Smoking within this Military Community. Introduction The prevalence of cigarette smoking among young teenagers is a growing problem in the United States, many young people between the ages of 10-18 are experimenting with tobacco. During the 1040's and 50's smoking was popular and socially acceptable. Movie stars, sports heroes, and celebrities appeared in cigarette advertisements that ... ...ribution statistics will be used to identify significant differences between sub samples. References Bauman, K. E., Foshee, V. A., Linzer, M. A., Koch, G. G. (1990). Effect of parental smoking classification on the association between parental and adolescent smoking. Addictive-behaviors, 15,(5), 413-422. Horevitz, M. J., (1985). Disasters and psychological responses to stress. Psychiatric Annals, 15, 161-167. Hu, F. B. Flak, B. R., Hedeker, D. (1995). The inlfuence of friends and parental smoking on adolescent smoking behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, v4 (3), 215-225. Jessor, R. (1993). Successful adolescent development among high-risk settings, American Psychologist, 48, 117-126. Johnston, L., O'Malley, P., Bachman, J. (1988). Drug use among American high school students, College students and other young adults. National trends through 1991. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Research Monograph Series, (1979). Cigarette Smoking as a dependence Process. National Institute on Drug Abuse. 23

British Architecture

Finally, the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, currently known as RCHME was added to this body on April 1st, 1999. English Heritage's principal role is as the steward of over 400 significant diversified, historical and archaeological sites. Concerning the ownership of these sites, they are principally owned by the body of government or by private that are managed under guardianship contracts. Its major missions are to watch the conservation of the buildings, to give advice, to register and to protect the historic environment.Finally, English Heritage owns a public archive: the National Monuments Records better- known as the English Heritage Archive. English Heritage improves its performances year atter year by asking any various groups and members ot the public to take part in consultations and web-based surveys in order to give views on specific issues. 1 1] English Heritage is governed by the Commission which is chaired by Baroness Andrews since 2009. The Com mission provides the strategic direction of the organization within the policy and resources framework agreed with Government.The Commission is composed by 17 people who are called commissioners and are appointed by the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. [1 1] http://www. english-heritage. org. uk/ The Commission's role is also to delegate operational management to the Chief Executive, Dr Simon Thurley who is supported by an Executive Board of four directors. Moreover, numerous advisory committees and panels advise the commission and administer specialist areas such as The London Advisory Committee or Battlefields Panel.English Heritage has the status of I-JK Government's adviser and a statutory consultant on all aspects concerning the environment and historic sites. Archeology on land and under water is topics considered by this organization such as historic buildings sites and numerous designated landscapes and their historic elements. English Heri tage also has the mission to gather official statistics for the Government by publishing the annual Heritage at Risk survey. Its main goal is to insure the conservation of heritage of England in order to offer future generations the benefit of enjoying this fantastic heritage.English Heritage main precise missions are: Managing the national collection of sites, monuments, archive records and photographs Giving grants national and local organizations for the conservation of historic buildings, monuments and landscapes. Advising central UK government on which English heritage assets are nationally important and should be protected by designation Administering and maintaining the register of England's listed buildings, cheduled monuments, registered battlefields, conservation areas and protected parks and gardens known as â€Å"The National Heritage List for England†.

The impacts of the Balearic Island’s in ‘abolishing’ the eco-tax and recommend alternative strategies to compensate for its effects

The purpose of the essay is to identify the potential impacts of the Balearic Island's in ‘abolishing' the eco-tax and recommend alternative strategies to compensate for its effects. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to shed some light on both positive and negative impacts concerning the tourists, host community, hoteliers and the environment. Reasons for eliminating the eco-tax will be highlighted, whilst also concerning its consequent effects on the Balearic Islands. It is fundamental to understand the term ‘eco' which is basically, concerns of the environment. One way it can be described is through eco-tourism, which according to Honey & Stewart (2002) is: â€Å"†¦responsible travel to natural areas, which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people† This suggests that tourists should be aware of the environment and its residents in order to minimise the negative effects their tourism can have on a community. Honey (2002) believes that tourism can create negative ecological externalities in the form of environmental damage. The tourism industry is suggested to damage the natural resources that form the basis for eco-tourism. Eco-tourism can therefore enhance the opportunities for better management of natural resources whilst providing a satisfying experience for the visitor. It is also vital to understand the term ‘tax', which according to Mak (2004) is â€Å"an involuntary payment to the government that does not entitle the payer to receive a direct benefit of equivalent value in return† In simple the aim of introducing the payment of a tax is to ensure everyone is supported. The Balearic Islands achieved this by introducing an eco-tax on 1st May 2002 in order to help restore the environmental damage caused by tourism. The hoteliers were responsible for collecting the payment of approximately 62p a day for each person at a three star hotel of persons over 12 years old. This meant that almost à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½35 was added to an average family holiday. (www.bbc.co.uk) An article from Tourism Concern (2002) ‘Balearics eco-tax gets the vote' stated that the eco-tax was reinforced to reduce environmental impacts; nevertheless the revenue earned would be used on â€Å"cleaning up the beaches, estates restored, heritage sites maintained, cycle and walking routes developed, rural economies boosted, and hotels encouraged to implement energy and water conservation measures.† The tax was set to bring in 25 million Euros from the 2002 visitors with subsequent years contribution predicted to top 45 million euros. An article by Palmer (2001) ‘Eco tax not enough to save the planet' suggests that â€Å"everyone will be paying ‘eco tax' or ‘environmental tax', happy in the knowledge that they are saving the planet† This article shows slight sarcasm, as although taxes are introduced, it may not be helping the environment. To some extent this can be valued as true, but surely paying a tax will mean maybe less people will travel to destinations hence less damage to the environment. The Balearic Islands have been recognised as a low cost, low quality package holiday destination. Therefore Spain, may have introduced the eco-tax to diminish this image and help re-educate the traveller; at the same time providing funds for conservation, which would directly benefit the economic development and help local communities. The Balearic Islands have a population of approximately 800,000 residents, yet nearly 11 million tourists visited each year. Therefore one can imagine the negative effects caused by the mass tourism. Hunter et al., (1996) believes that the impact of tourism upon the environment can be reported as short term or long term, direct, indirect or induced into two categories of negative and positive changes. An article by Morgan (2000) ‘A Taxing Time' suggested that the eco-tax was part of the electoral programme and most people saw it as a positive measure, recognising the importance of investing in the environment, restoring and conserving certain areas of special importance. Others assumed the tax would reduce the number of tourists wanting a cheap holiday and focus on having less, higher spending tourists. So, what were the reasons for the government of the Balearic Islands to abolish the eco-tax if the revenue received would benefit them? There are many different theories suggested a number of which will be discussed. A news extract from The Times stated that the â€Å"Government has decided to abolish the controversial eco-tax†, taking place on October 2004. The tourism Minister believed that in having the eco tax â€Å"did more harm than good†. An article from The Sun ‘Tax Axed for Holiday Isles', reinforced the † negative effect† on tourism. Suggesting that the eco-tax was not favourable for the Balearic Islands. Again supporting its abolition, .an article in the Express on Sunday Jeferies (2003) suggested about the eco-tax that â€Å"it is a move in the completely opposite direction to the one the government should be working in. They need to change strategy and adopt policies to revive and boost tourism† It is understood that the Balearic Islands need to introduce other ways in which the environmental damage is minimised and ensure that visitor numbers are increasing at the same time. Balearics Tourism office spokesman Jaun Vallespir suggested that the majority of tourists and foreigners were in favour of the tax, the drop in visitor numbers was down to economic problems in Europe and Post September 11th. Suggesting that there were a number of other reasons affecting tourism. Nevertheless a survey carried out by ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) found that 64% of tourists would be willing to pay an extra à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25 to ensure environment standards, associated with their holiday were met. If such a high percentage of tourists were willing to pay why would the government still decide to abolish the tax? The Express on Sunday (2003) suggested that although the revenue obtained from the eco-tax could help protect the environment, it showed that visitor figures in 2002 were down by 900,000, creating a deficit of more than 800 million. Only 28 hotels out of the 100 were now staying open during the winter season. Spain's Balearic Islands have been internationally famous for having experienced rapid tourism development but were now suffering following the introduction of the eco-tax. â€Å"The islands depend on tourism for 84% of the Gross Domestic Product† (http://www.tourismconcern.org.uk. This indicates that the Balearic Islands have been heavily reliant upon tourism. Jaimw Puig suggested having an eco-tax gave an impression that the islands are in undesirable conditions. (http://www.ft.com) â€Å"The regional government gave the impression that the Islands were in a bad state of repair, that it is a terrible image to send abroad† This suggested that by having the eco-tax The Balearic Islands were portraying a bad image for the resorts by suggesting they needed money to improve their environment. However, this may be due to lack of knowledge and accessible information tourists require. Knight (2002) – http://www.observer.co.uk â€Å"†¦they are doing a lot to change their image but they are coming across as greedy.† Maybe the Balearic Islands could implement a tax for those tourists partaking in certain activities that are harmful to the environment. This is identified as a user charge, according to Mak (2004) it is â€Å"a price charged by governments to users to pay for specific government services or privileges† User charges are an appropriate way to finance public services when most or all of the benefits go to identifiable users, and non-payers can be excluded from using the services at a reasonable cost. By doing so, they would still have tourism coming in and revenue earned from taxes would be used to rejuvenate areas of that are environmentally damaged. According to Gilpin (2000) Belgium had imposed eco-taxes on products since 1993, applying them to goods considered to be harmful to the environment (Pittevils 1996- cited in Gilpin, 2000, pg 150) Alternatively the new ‘coach tax' levied in Venice is apparently an attempt by the city to reduce the number of motor coaches coming into the congested city. User charges used for such purpose are most effective when demand is price elastic. Westwood (2002- http://www.travel.telegraph.co.uk) â€Å"the tax could deprive the Islands economy of more than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300 million per year if tourists go elsewhere† Balearic Islands are very dependent on tourism therefore need to implement something that is feasible. The Gambia Tourism Authority has introduced a tourism development levy of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 per tourist from the 1st November 2002. The tax would be used to develop green areas, improve lighting in tourist areas, security and training for employees within the tourism sector. According to Barrett (2002) ‘Unfair yob tax or fair pay?' suggested that people were annoyed with the extra costs. The Sunday Times reported, â€Å"hotels are less than 40% full† there has been a huge fall in visitor numbers that the tourism industry are blaming on the eco-tax. Travel Trade Gazette – cited in Tourism Concern 2002 reported that hotels were handing out food and drink tokens to pacify the guests. The tax was unpopular with holidaymakers as it added an extra cost on holidays. The hoteliers didn't agree with the idea, as they were responsible for collecting the tax and tour operators felt that it had caused a decline in visitor numbers. Therefore maybe abolishing the tax would help resolve some of the problems, but at the expense of the environment. Increased competition from tour operators has led to cheaper flights. There is a direct flight that British Airways have recently started, from UK to Menorca costing approximately 125 euros (www.bbc.co.uk). Having cheaper flights to Balearic Islands will mean an increase in numbers to the destination hence have a knock on effect on the environment. The tax is being abolished yet more and more competition between airlines, means a huge increase in the number of visitors. To exploit this, an alternative solution would be to have customers pay an airline tax instead. According to an article from Friends of the Earth (FOE), they believe that if a charge for the UK flights was left unaltered but the charge of flights to Europe increased by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 and other international flights by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 the longest and damaging journeys would be taxed more heavily. This would raise an extra à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½700 million per year. www.foe.co.uk, by including tax via flights it would seem part of the cost rather than an additional payment. Whilst, also reducing friction between guest and hoteliers. Additional alternative strategies could be to ensure that the carrying capacity is under control. Mathieson and Wall (1982:21 – cited in Holden 2000 pg. 138) â€Å"carrying capacity is the maximum number of people who can use a site without unacceptable alteration in the physical environment and without an unacceptable decline in the quality of the experience gained by the visitors† If the carrying capacity is controlled in the Balearic Islands this could minimise the environmental damage. This could be instead of the eco-tax and may not result in the fall of visitor numbers. However environmental impacts will continue, therefore they could carry out environmental impact assessments (EIA), which would be beneficial to the destination, as they can assess certain areas affected. In conclusion, in order for the Balearic Islands to remain in the competitive market of tourism certain changes need to be addressed. Abolishing the eco-tax means that the alternative strategies put in place need to be carefully planned to ensure they are customer friendly, cost effective and not economically damaging. Clearly the eco-tax was introduced to provide financial support for the damage caused through tourism. Yet it failed to predict the decline of visitors, which in the long term would have a more adverse effect on its economy, yet a promising effect on its environment. Due to the fact the Balearic Islands relied heavily on its tourism income it would be seen as a positive measure to abolish the eco-tax. However this meant other solutions would be required to conserve the environment. As suggested airline taxes, user charge and carrying capacity are just some of the strategies suggested to alleviate the problems. As these have just been newly developed it will still require time and research to see their success in relation to the Balearic Islands. Therefore whilst these measures have been recommended as solutions to the abolishment of the eco-tax one will have to wait and see its success.