Wastes in the hospitality industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wastes in the hospitality industry - Essay Example Research studies of the WRAP showed that the hospitality industry alone disposed of about 1.5 million tonnes of wastes (See Annex 1) that could have been reduced if these wastes were segregated. The hospitality industry is composed of pubs, restaurants, hotels, and quick service restaurants. WRAP study further showed that 78% of this tonnage of wastes is potential recyclable materials. These are composed of food, (41% or 600,000 tonnes) glass (14% or 213,000 tonnes), paper (13% or 196,000 tonnes ), and card (9% or134,000 tonnes ). Although efforts are made by the hospitality industry to reduce these wastes, there is still a lot of wastes that goes to landfills that otherwise could be recycled. There is money in wastes because there is opportunity in waste prevention. The hospitality industry has a lot of opportunities to reduce the amount of food wasted if the food was better proportioned, properly stored, and or prepared. WRAP estimated that the hospitality industry threw away 400.0 00 tonnes of recyclable amount of food in 2009; and the costs associated to this are estimated to be ?200 million. This goes to food costs, haulage, and landfill. These costs may not only be significant to the hotel industry because of profit concerns but also to consumers who should also get the best value from the hotel’s service. ... Water supply is one of the problems in tourism as it comes across the limitation of natural resources. Related to this, the† Resource Guide In Energy, Water And Waste Management For The Hospitality Industry† points out global concerns about waste disposals, particularly, â€Å"the climate change and global warming, ozone depletion, pollution, landfill impacts, acid rains and demand for resources outstripping supply† Steps taken by hotels to solve this problem As this problem compounds, one of the solutions found by the tourism industry is establishing green hotel. A green hotel, as described by Canadian hotel website are† hotels that are environmentally friendly properties that take the initiative and implement very important practices and programs to reduce energy, water, and waste.  Green Hotels are participating in recycling programs, linen changing programs, installing energy efficient lighting, and getting their message out to their guests and how they are doing their part in protecting the planet.† In reducing energy, several hotels have turned to trimming down energy consumption. For example, as cited in WRAP, Hyatt Regency International Hotel in New Zealand developed a project that linked energy use with room occupancy. It goes this way: â€Å"when the guests leave the room, all energy appliances shut down, with exception of refrigerators and alarm clocks. This project cost $16,000,a payback period of 14 months and a large savings of $14,000 annually.† Lighting is another cost saving device implemented in Tacoma Hotel. The hotel replaced their incandescent lamp fixtures to compact fluorescent light fixtures. The cost saving for the hotel is reported at $15,000. Other energy saving ideas was implemented in hotels. One of these is the solar power

Math exploration of Pascals Triangle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Math exploration of Pascals Triangle - Essay Example As a mathematics student and an astronomer, he made immense contributions to the revision of the Chongtian calendar in 1023 while he also served in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau in the middle of the 11th century. However, he is mostly remembered because he devised a method of extracting the solutions of solutions of degrees higher than three extracts. The method is as to the Chia-Hsien triangle which contains binomial coefficients of binomial expressions up to the sixth degree. This triangle is similar to the Pascal’s triangle that was later discovered in Europe. In India, the expansion of binomial expressions was not well researched and studied. However, Brahmagupta in 628 A.D correctly expanded (a + b )3. It was one level higher that what Eucid, a Greek mathematician, did. Although his work may not be the greatest, it found its way to Baghdad after several decades and elicited some curiosity about binomial coefficients amongst mathematicians in the Middle East (Bassarear, pp178-212) Amongst those who used the work of Brahmagupta as a basis of more research in the Middle East is Al-Din Al-Tusi. Al-Din Al-Tusi works were published in 1265 and Al-Kashi whose work titled â€Å"Key of Arithmetic† contained the triangle up to the ninth degree. In Europe, several authors discussed ideas with respect to expansion of binomials and combinatorial problems (Cullinane, pp.145-178). A Spanish mathematician, Rabbi Ben Ezra in 1140 discovered the seventh row of the Pascal’s triangle. Moreover, this was in relation to the question of taking into consideration the sun and the corresponding six planets, which were known at that time in combinations of a single element each period, which is repeated each time. Fibonacci in 122 independently wrote down the solutions of the binomial equation of the third degree although it was known in India and Middle East (Birken & Anne, pp.124-167). Fibonacci was also the first European

Worldview God Ultimate Reality Knowledge Religion Essay

Worldview God Ultimate Reality Knowledge Religion Essay Believers coming from their respective faiths are so diverse whether some share the same religion or if they are in completely different religions. For this reason, there is a great importance for believers to understand that everyone has a worldview. A worldview is considered to be a set of assumptions about reality, generally unconsciously held, that can affect how we think and how we live (Cosgrove, 2006, p. 24-25). The set of assumptions are important beliefs that depend highly on the person who perceives a worldview. With this in mind, theology, ultimate reality, and knowledge are important beliefs that are most critical to the formation of my worldview. As a Catholic, theology takes a similar importance and influence of my beliefs with Christianity. In fact, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is what as a Catholic I strongly rely on. As the father, He is the creator of everything. The second branch of the Trinity characterizes Him as the son. God lived as Jesus. His mother was destined to be Mary. Jesus was then created through the Holy Spirit, which is the final part of the Trinity. When Jesus faced Resurrection, he remained on earth for a few days and later went up to heaven (BBC, 2009). He promised all of his followers that his Spirit would guide them forever. The presence of Jesus provides me enough physical evidence to assume that he was God at the same time. Furthermore, Gods character can be best viewed according to His personality traits. First of all, He is knowable (Who is God, n.d.). God opens His heart and doors to us. We can know Him in a confidential way. He is approachable (Who is God, n.d.). God invites us to communicate with Him. He is the best listener whenever we feel anything that is troubling us. God is creative (Who is God, n.d.). We are able to use the previous materials that He has left for us to resolve our own problems. God is forgiving (Who is God, n.d.). He punishes those who sin; however, He is willing to forgive us if we go back and form a relationship with Him. God is honest (Who is God, n.d.). Anything God says will be efficient and said with honesty. The difference between humanity and God is that He is always honest. We can take His word to all the promises He makes to us. Also, God is capable (Who is God, n.d.). He is capable to understand us under any condition. Ultimate reality is another belief that strongly ties with God and my worldview. God is the ultimate creator of reality.   Humanity understands and recognizes the existence of reality.   The existence of the past is a guide for humanitys present life.   There exists a beginning and an end to humanity when interpreting time.   The bad or sinful actions committed by humanity are considered evil.   Humanity does not possess evil but may decide depending on the actions performed.   There exists good in reality. The supernatural realm equals Gods nature, which is his love (The Supernatural, 2009). According to Gods realm, He is interacting and preparing us until the day arrives where we will confront and recognize Him without any barriers. Theology and ultimate reality are two types of beliefs that I strongly depend on, but epistemology is the final belief identifying what I know about God. Through revelation, we are able to recognize God. There are two types of knowledge. They are empirical and absolute knowledge (Valea, 2009). God created everything without evil. Particularly, humanity was created in Gods personal image (Genesis 1:27-28). He created our senses under empirical knowledge to use actual facts from nature. The mind was created to make judgments (Valea, 2009). He gave us the senses to trust in them and the mind to understand the world revolving around us. God made a realistic approach of connecting nature with humans. Absolute knowledge, which is defined as knowing God, is not intended to counteract empirical knowledge, but the intention is to complete it (Valea, 2009). This means a connection with God goes beyond the mind. Without becoming disrupted, the mind functions according with Faith. After all, to be able to have a worldview one must have beliefs according to the persons faith. We are all unique with our own perspective about what major beliefs formulate each of our own worldview. In my case, God, human nature, and epistemology are the three major beliefs that compose my worldview.

So Far From God Essays -- essays research papers

Eisenhower, John S. D. So Far From God: The U. S. War with Mexico 1846 – 1848. New York: Random House, 1989, xxvi, 436. Mr. John Eisenhower is a retired Army General from Westchester, Pennsylvania. He is also the son of retired General and later President, Dwight D. Eisehower. He is an author as well as a military historian. Mr. Eisenhower’s other works include, The Bitter Woods, published in 1987 and critically acclaimed by Life magazine author, S. L. A. Marshall as being â€Å"written with power by a true military historian.† Reviews of his work from The New Yorker and New York Times Book Review describe his accounts as â€Å"Exceptionally interesting† and â€Å"Written with enthusiasm that is hard to resist.† Using his military background, Mr. Eisenhower was able to bring an unbiased opinion to the U. S. war with Mexico by pointing out strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the conflict. The author’s purpose is to provide a more accurate account of the war with Mexico from 1846 – 1848. Mr. Eisenhower also attempts to give the reader a better understanding of the conflict between these two countries, which has been overshadowed by the Civil War, thirteen years later. John Eisenhower’s portrayal of the officers and politicians in this conflict is detailed and it highlights the early careers of many of our Civil War legends. The technology of warfare at this time is well depicted. The advances in American artillery such as the use of the grape shot over canister rounds, the superior d...

Psychology and Stress

One of things that we all experience is stress. Stress does not judge, it affects the rich, the poor, whites, blacks, male or female, children and adults. Some people may have higher stress levels depending on their livestyles. Stress is the â€Å"wear and tear† our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feeling. As a positive influence, stress can help compel us to action that may result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective.As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger and depression, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach rashes, insomnia, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke or depression. â€Å"Depression is among the leading causes of disability worldwide† World Health Organization. Depression is also the leading cause of suicides, â€Å"The second leading cause o f death among college students is suicide† Hardy. Many times, however, stress can become chronic and may last for a week or more.This chronic condition often results from humans’ ability to project their thoughts into the future, such as when a person keeps a recurrent and stressful thought in his or her mind. Stress may be considered as any physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and that may be a factor in disease causation. Physical and chemical factors that can cause stress can include trauma, infections, toxins, illnesses, and injuries of any sort. Emotional causes of stress and tension are numerous and varied.While many people associate the term â€Å"stress† with psychological stress, scientists and physicians use this term to denote any force that impairs the stability and balance of bodily functions. Stress is the combination of psychological and behavioral reactions that people have in response to events that threate n or challenge them. Stress can be good or bad. Sometimes, stress is helpful providing people with the extra energy or alertness’ they need. Stress could give the runner the edge he or she needs to persevere in a marathon, for example.Moreover, stress can increase the risk of developing health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and anxiety disorders. This bad kind of stress is called distress, the kind of stress that people usually are referring to when they use the word stress. A convenient way to think about stress is in the terms of stressors and stress responses. Stressors are events that lead to stress, such as having to make decisions, getting married and natural disasters. Stress responses are psychological, psychological and behavioral reactions to stressors.Anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties and muscle tension are all example of stress responses. The connection between stressors and stress responses however, is not as straight forward as it may see m. Mediating processes, for instance, stand in between stressors and stress responses. Whether stressors lead to stress responses depends on mediating processes like how people appraise potential stressors and how well people are able to cope with the negative impact of stressors. Furthermore, a number of moderation factors, such as personality traits and health habits, influence the links between stressors and stress responses. These mediating processes and moderating factors help determine whether people experience stress-related problems like burnout, mental disorders, and physical illness and are the focus of many stress management techniques that emphasize cognitive-behavioral approaches, relaxation, exercise, diet and nutrition and medication. † (Smither 1994) Sources of stress stressors, the sources of stress, include three types of events, referred to as daily hassles, major life events and catastrophes. Additionally specific types of stressors occurs within certain do mains in life such as family, work and school.Stressors are daily hassels or annoyances that occurs practically every day, such as having to make decisions, arguing with friends and family, trying to meet deadlines at school or work, and stepping on a piece of bubble gum that someone carelessly spitted out. Although a wide variety of daily hassles can be sources of stress, they often involve conflicts between behaviors people may or may not want to do. Kompier (1994) stated if someone is experiencing an approach-approach conflict, that person has to choose between two attractive alternatives, such as going on vacation or buying a new computer.Kompier (1994) stated if someone is experiencing an avoidance-avoidance conflict, that person has to choose between two unattractive alternatives, such as having a pet put to sleep or spending the money on an expensive surgical procedure for it. In general, major life events do not appear to be significant sources of stress. Accordingly, major life events generally do not tend to be related to the health problems that accompany stress. Under some circumstances, however, major life events can be sources of stress. Whether major life events involve positive or negative feelings, for instance is relevant.Major life events that are positive tend to have either trivially stressful or actually beneficial effects, but major life events that are negative can be stressful and are associated with medical problems. Examples of major life events are getting married, getting divorced and being fired from a job. Although they do not happen very often, when catastrophes do occur, they can be tremendous sources of stress. â€Å"Stress Responses although the presence of stressors does not mean that stress responses will necessarily follow, when they do, stress responses are the way in which people react to stressors.They are the experience of being stressed. Stress responses can be divide into three categories: psychological responses, a nd behavioral responses. † (Manson, 2000) Psychological responses are when people react to stressors, a wide variety of cognitive and emotional responses can occur. According to Fleishman (1997), â€Å"Examples of cognitive responses are as follows: Concentration problems Indecision Forgetfulness Sensitivity to criticism Self-critical thoughts Rigid attitudes. Physiological responses follow what is called the general adaption syndrome. Behavioral Responses People act differently when they are reacting to stressors.Sometimes the behaviors are somewhat subtle, such as the following responses: strained facial expressions a shaky voice, tremors, or spasms, jumpiness, accident proneness, difficulty sleeping, over eating or loss of appetite. † The connection between stressors and stress responses stressors prompt stress responses, right? Well it depends. A number of conscious and unconscious things occur in our inner world that determines whether a stressor in the external wo rld will trigger our stress response. Robbins noted that: â€Å"These inner world happenings are referred to as mediating processes and moderating factors.Alternatively, believe that a stressor is controllable, even if it really is not, tends to make it less stressful. When people are exposed to loud noises, for example they tend to see it as less stressful when they are able to stop it, even if they do not bother to stop it. how much more stressful a stressor becomes from feeling a lack of control over it depends, however on the extent to which the cause of the stressor is seen as stable or unstable, global or specific, and internal or external. † â€Å"Stable and unstable causes represent causes that are enduring and temporary, respectively.Global and specific causes represent causes that are the relevant to many events and relevant to a single occasion, respectively. Internal and external causes represent causes that are the result of personal characteristics and behavior s or the result of environmental forces, respectively. † (Manson, 2000) Stress is a part of normal life. It is impossible to completely eliminate stress, and it would not be advisable to do so. Instead, we can learn to manage stress so that we have control over our stress and its effects on our physical and mental health. Stress comes in all forms and affects persons of all ages and all walks of life. No external standards can be applied to predict stress levels in individuals – one need not to have traditionally stressful job to experience work place stress, just as a parent of one child may experience more parental stress than a parent of several children. † (Robbins). The degree of stress in our lives is highly dependent upon individual factors as you’ve read such as our physical health, the quality of our interpersonal relationships, the amount of support we receive from other and the number of changes or traumatic events that we have recently occurred in our lives.Works Cited â€Å"Facts on Stress. † Washington Post. The Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2007. Web. 05 Mar. 2013. . Hardy, Marcelina. â€Å"Statistics on College Student Stress. † LoveToKnow. N. p. , n. d. Web. 05 Mar. 2013. . Kompier, M. (1994). Stress at work: Does it concern you? Shankill, Ireland: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living & Working Conditions. Robbins, S. (1996).Organizational behavior: concepts. Controversies, applications. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc. Smither, R. D. (1994). The psychology of work and human performance. New York: Harper & Row. Fleishman, E. A. (1997). Stress and performance effectiveness. Hillsdale, N. J. :L. Erlbaum Associates. Manson, L. (200). Facts about stress [on-line]. Available: http://stress. about. com/cs/copingskills/a/stress101a. htm http://www. statisticbrain. com/stress-statistics/ http://stress. lovetoknow. com/Statistics_on_College_Student_Stress

A Pestle Analysis of Tourism Industry Essay

Using the PESTEL framework, identify and discuss the key factors in the macro environment that influence the tourism industry. Political: A large influence on the tourism industry can be the stability of government. If the government in unstable it can be viewed as dangerous and unpleasant to visit. This can have a huge impact on that countries tourism numbers. Some governments also choose to make shopping tax-free for tourists, as tourists have the right to claim back VAT (Value-Added Tax)/GST (Goods and Services Tax). By making shopping in foreign countries tax free it has attracted tourists to these countries. As stated in case one terrorist attacks in 2001 had a huge impact on the tourism industry. People were worried for their safety so were much more subdued to travel. Therefore it has been important that the government implemented tighter security and immigration laws. Economic: Exchange rates can have an impact on tourism, as when currency strengthens or weakens it can affect spending overseas. For instance when the British pound is strong against the U.  S dollar it influences Britons to travel overseas to the US, as they get more for their dollar. However it has a negative effect on UK tourism as the Americans are put off travelling to the UK and instead look to holiday in locations within the US (The Guardian, 2007). With the British Pound still being strong against other currencies this is relevant to the Tourism Industry today. (Rates List, 2012) Interest rates can too have an effect on the tourism industry. If interest rates increase payments to loans also increase, therefore people who have loans consequently have less disposable income. With less disposable income people are less inclined to spend it on luxury items, like holidaying. However, in the current state interest rates in the UK are expected to stay low (0. 5%), due to the on-going recovery from the Eurozone crisis (BBC, 2012). Furthermore with the current economic recession people are still struggling, some even to hold down jobs. Consequently, people have less money and can’t afford such extravagant holidays, like going overseas for long periods of time. Therefore shorter and cheaper holidays look far more appealing, for instance travelling by car just for a weekend. Social: There is an aging population in many countries. With an aging population the needs of the market will change. People who are in a later time of their life have different needs and wants. There are more and more people who are in their later years who want to travel, to cater for this it may mean advertising focused more on comfort and relaxation rather than thrill ridden activities. There is an ever increasing attitude for positivity towards ‘going green’. People are purposely searching to only buy products from companies with sustainable practises in place. Hence, it is important for the tourism industry to take on these attitudes as well, as it is becoming an important part of our society today to have environmental policies incorporated into everyday business practises The Asian population is increasing at a rapid pace. There are 3. 9billion people in Asia, which is 60% of the world’s population. As stated in the 2010/11 ITB World Travel Trends Report, â€Å"By 2020, the number of Chinese outbound travellers could double and the number of Indians travelling abroad could grow fivefold. This would raise both countries within a decade to the top six outbound markets worldwide. This shows just how quick China and India are becoming powerful players in the tourism industry. Technological: In our world today new technologies are forever being made to be faster and more efficient as people want things to take less and less time. Internet has made a huge influence on the tourism industry. There has been a steady incline of online sales. For example in 2005 online bookings for TUI were 15%, which had doubled in 2008 to 30% (Viardot, 2009). Booking online has made it much easier for individuals to book their own holidays. As well that with online bookings it allows for the customers to do their own research of where the best places for them to go is, rather than using a travel agent. Secondly, technologies are so advanced now that communicating with people around the globe is made much easier. For instance, people on opposite sides of the world can chat easily, possibly even to strangers. This leads to the new trend that people can blog and communicate their thoughts to millions of people with a simple click of a button. This new way of communicating can have a huge impact on the tourism industry. People all over the world are sharing their thoughts and feelings about everything they do, whether that’s a new product or an exciting new experience. Environmental: In this current decade environmental concerns have greatly became a huge influence in all business industries. Aviation is a large part of tourism. Sadly it is also a huge contributor to CO2 emissions. An increase in carbon emissions is a major threat to climate conditions. Consequently there have been more taxes placed on air travel. This increase in taxes will raise the prices of flying therefore could discourage people to go abroad. Natural disasters can also affect a country’s tourism. People are less likely to travel somewhere which is viewed as dangerous and secondly the disaster could ruin tourist attractions. Legal: There are a lot of laws and regulations regarding aviation safety (Department of travel, 2009). Following regulations is important as to ensure everything is done to prevent any problems. As if people lose faith in airlines being safe it could have an impact on tourism. Another legal point is that when companies merge or work with companies in different countries they need to be aware of the laws and regulations overseas.