The Potential of London for the EURO 2012 Tournament

Introduction This report covers a mega international sporting event, which is the EURO 2012 tournament. The purpose of this report is to convince the European football Association; UEFA that London is the best host destination for the EURO 2012 tournament. The report will examine the potential that London has in hosting the event.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Potential of London for the EURO 2012 Tournament specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It examines why London is the most suitable city to host the 2012 tournament. The report focuses on the major aspects that are included in the Association’s requirements which include the infrastructure, transport, local broadcasting, marketing and hospitality. London seems to be in a position to handle this event than other countries. Ever since its inception, the EURO tournament has been an event that attracts funs across the globe traveling to the host nation and cities so as to witness the thrilling event in person. The intension of the event is to bring together European soccer teams for competition so as to determine the best teams in the region (Allen 2005:45). England has been a country that identifies with football and it has produces numerous stars in the sport. The country has hosted other major international events like the Olympics before. It therefore has the experience in handling such a huge event. The 2012 tournament is bound to attract more funs than before owing to the fact that the popularity of the sport has been growing steadily in the recent past. The report looks at the aspects of the hospitality industry in London that make it qualify as the best host city for the event. The city has well equipped ultra modern hotels that can cater for people from all walks of life and social backgrounds. The report has also covered the security measures that have been put in place so as to make such an event to be successful. The c hallenges that the country faces in its bid to host the tournament have also been high lighted. The report uses the PESTEL model to analyze the intern and external factors that are likely to affect decision making during the preparation of this Mega event. The city faces a lot of competition from cities in other countries like New Kiev and Kharkiv in Ukraine and Warsaw in Poland in the bidding process. The report however highlights the major strengths of London that makes it the most suitable host city for the tournament (Bowdin 2006:32). Methodology Various methods have been used so as to get the relevant information concerning the state of London and its level of preparedness in hosting the event. The method used in collecting the information includes the use of secondary data. Various books, journals articles and online sources on the state of London City and its capability to host the event were consulted. PESTEL analysis has been used in the analysis of the findings (Campbell 2 004:47).Advertising Looking for report on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Secondary Data Secondary data was reviewed in the collection of the relevant data. Books, journals, newsletters, reports and internet documents were reviewed so as to find the capability and the level of preparedness that the city has reached in its quest to host the event. From these sources it was quite evident that the country had the capability to host the event considering the fact that it has hosted other mega world events before like the world Olympics. Online Sources Online research was carried out. This was made possible by browsing a number of websites that are associated with the event and the state of London in comparison to other cities. The UEFA official website was particularly very significant in this research as it provided most of the information on the UEFA requirements for the host cities. A number of online books, per iodicals and magazines from management officials of the various facilities were consulted to determine their level of readiness in hosting the event. Official websites for various hotels were also visited to determine their level of preparedness in handling the influx in the number of clients that would be experienced during the event. Some of the questions to be answered during the research required the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers while others required a little explanation. Some of the questions included; Is London prepared to host the 2012 EURO cup event? What are some of the measures that they have put in place to tackle an influx in the number of funs that would come to watch the sport? Is there any work in progress in an attempt to refurbish the stadiums that would be used during the event? The website for the Hilton hotels in London was also visited so as to determine the level of preparedness in the hospitality industry particularly the hotels. Some of the questions to be answered included; What preparations have hotels made in anticipation for the event? Is proximity to the stadiums hosting the event of any effect to the number of clients that would visit them? Do they have ultra modern facilities that would ensure customer satisfaction? Books In an effort to determine the level of preparedness of the city to host the event, books concerning the event were also consulted. Various questions about the cities security and infrastructure were to be answered during the study. Some of the questions asked include the following; What security measures have been put in place to ensure security during the event? Would the help from other quarters be needed so as to beef up the security? Is the infrastructure around the country especially in London well developed to handle an influx in the number of road users? Journals and Reports The other sources of information included reports and journal articles. Various journals and reports were consulted in the effort to get the information on the preparation of the city concerning the matters of the EURO 2012 tournament. Information from the marketing was sought concerning the strategies that had been put in place so as to ensure that the event is well advertised. Some of the questions to be answered included; What strategies have been put in place so as to ensure that the event is well advertised? What are some of the internal and external challenges that the event is likely to encounter? What other countries and cities are likely to give competition to London when it comes to the issue of hosting this great event? Information from these methods was used in the evaluation of the strategic management theory. The findings have been used to evaluate the countries readiness to host the event (Coulter 2008:78).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Potential of London for the EURO 2012 Tournament specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Findings According to the findings, it is quite clear that the country had put measures in place that would enable London as a city to host the event without any difficulty. Before making any approval of a country’s bid to host such a mega event, UEFA has set some benchmarks to be used. For instance, a country is supposed to have at least 12 well developed high capacity stadiums, high-tech transport infrastructure, a well developed security system, ultra-modern accommodation facilities, effective drainage systems and the ability to effectively promote and market the event. Another requirement is for the country to have a well established national football team (David 2003:67). Stadium and Transport Infrastructure Information from online sources proved that the country has been doing its best in making sure that it is ready to host such a mega event. All the football stadiums are being refurbished and the repairs made. Expansions are being made so as to enable some stadiums to accommodate more people than usual. Roads that lead to the various stadiums are being repaired so as to enable easy movement to and from the venues. It is quite evident that preparations of these stadiums are being speeded up so as to ensure that they are ready by the time the tournament begins. The government has allocated money from its budget towards the preparation of this mega event. Most qualified construction experts have been hired so as to make the expansions and preparations a success. The country is doing all it can to reach its full potential in terms of preparedness and success. London has been found to be one of the best host cities for this event as it can host the event successfully. Construction, repair and preparation are being carried out effectively across all the host cities (Evans 2002:33). Hosting the tournament will not just be beneficial to the football fraternity in the country but will be beneficial to the whole country at large. The country is meant to benefit from the infrastructure especially in the host cities like London. The country has been developing the transport infrastructure so as to accommodate an influx in the number of road users during the event. Currently, city planners have been hired so as to redesign and recommend the best transport models in London so as to ensure that the city hosts the event without experiencing transport problems (Fitzroy 2005:22).Advertising Looking for report on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A lot of infrastructure projects have been put on the drawing board. Some have already been implemented and completed; others are still under implementation while others are awaiting implementation. 50 transport projects have been suggested, some of which have already been completed. 5 airports are supposed to undergo renovation and three of them have already started the work. In London, most of the preparation work has already been finished and some projects are still underway. It is one of the cities that have witnessed most of the implementation work. Plans are underway to construct another passenger terminus in the city’s international airport so as to accommodate the many passengers that will be flying in (Goldblatt 2002:38). In an effort to improve the transport sector, plans are underway to build a high-speed railway system across the city. This would ensure faster movement of people from one point of the city to the other. The road system connecting different parts of the city is being renovated so as to enable easier transportation from one point to the other. The construction and renovation is being done with the first priority being given to the most important projects. The government has channeled more than $11 billion in all these projects. In the long run, the benefits of hosting the event would be much more. The country is for instance expected to add more than $100 billion to its gross domestic income as a result of the event. More than 70000 jobs will be created. The tourism sector is expects to increase its total earnings due to the increase in the number of people visiting the country and from local tourist. Strategic management techniques are therefore being used to ensure that the event is a success (Grant 2002:25). The Hospitality Industry The hospitality industry has put the necessary measures in place so as to effectively handle the influx in the number of clients from all walks of life. According to the information from the Hilt on hotels website, it is quite evident that the hospitality industry is doing its best in making the event a success. Most hotels have acquired ultra-modern facilities so as to carter for the needs of the various customers. Most of them have embraced modern technology so as to ensure effective service delivery. Some of the hotels like the Hilton have developed their websites so as to allow for online booking and reservation. This has made it easier for the clients who do not have to travel to the place so as to make reservations. Most of them have installed touch screen tables to enhance service delivery. A customer does not have to speak to the waiter to make an order as he/she is able to click on the appropriate icon to make an order. This has made work easier and convenient. The hotels have high speed internet connections which are meant to serve internet users who are accommodated in these facilities. Satellite dishes have been installed so as to enable the customers to watch so me of the matches at the comforts of their rooms (Haberberg 2001:34). Some of the investors have taken it upon themselves to construct ultra-modern hotel facilities in the city so as to accommodate the many clients that would visit the country during the tournament. Some of the hotels have subsidized group bookings. Those customers who make bulk reservation are likely to get them at a lower price than those who were making the bookings individually. Some of the hotels are offering more than one service of simply offering the accommodation. Some of the extra services included; deep-sea tours, fishing for fun, surfing, and travelling services to various tourism sites. The transport system to these hotels has been upgraded so as to enable easy transportation (Johnson 2008:56). Security According to the findings, it is quite evident that the government is doing its best in enhancing security during the tournament. The government has put in place an effective security plan for the event. The countries Justice Minister has given assurance that his ministry is doing all it can to ensure that the event becomes a success. The police department intents to use the facial recognition software in effort to note and root out trouble makers before they can cause any security problem. The software is linked to the Robocop-style glasses that are able to identify individuals that are likely to be a danger to the security of the funs. The glasses are fitted with small cameras that are able to record people’s faces which are then sent to a central database for analysis (Mintzberg 1998:77). There is a public safety plan underway which would boost security of the funs. The number of security personnel to be deployed to the host cities will be increased for security purposes. CCTV cameras have already been fitted in the stadiums and other public places so as to help in detecting any security concerns especially during the event. The government has emphasized that the security personnel within the country is well equipped to handle any security threats although the minister said that his ministry was willing to collaborate with any other security force that would offer new ideas on enhancing the security of the people (Tarlow 2002:57). The government has promised to acquire more sophisticated devices that would be issued to the traffic police so as to enable them detect any explosive devises at a distance. The funs would be thoroughly inspected before getting into the respective stadiums so as to eliminate any security threats. All these measures would go a long way in making the event secure for the funs as well as the players. Promotion and Advertisement of the Event The country has put in place measures to enhance the advertisement and promotion of this great event. The country has linked up with associate companies like the Coca-Cola Company, Adidas, Sony, Ford, and Master Card among others. These are partners that have been very instrumental in spon soring the event in the past years. Measures have been put in place so as to carry out international marketing and promotions for the event. The ‘EURO 2012 London’ project has been started with the intention of showcasing London as the best host for the 2012 Euro cup tournament. The project is aimed at portraying the scenic beauty of the city and tourist destinations of the country and particularly in London. The security aspects and comforts of the various hotels and motels within the country have been highlighted. The art and culture of the English has been portrayed as superior and attractive. The country is has officially launched the ‘EURO 2012 London’ project so as to promote the event (Shone 2004:39). Efforts are being made both within and outside the country so as to enhance the promotional activities. The government has already negotiated with the local television and radio networks so as to give more time towards promoting the mega event. Online p romotions are also be used so as to market the event globally. The government is ready to establish a taskforce that would ensure that England teams up with other countries in promoting the event across the globe. London has ultra-modern facilities that would be vital for the funs who would visit during the event. The government has also shown commitment in renovating those facilities that are already won out and even acquire or construct new ones.(Menon 2010:47). Challenges Some of the greatest competitors in the EURO 2012 tournament bid are Ukraine and Poland. This are countries together with their capital cities have well developed football infrastructure like football stadiums, high class transport systems, well developed surveillance techniques and security systems. The countries have good hotel and accommodation facilities. The Poland for instance has numerous ultra modern accommodation facilities. The hotels are well furnished and have embraced the current technology in servi ce delivery. These countries have well established football clubs that have made them shine in the sport. They therefore pose a very big challenge to Londonin its bid to host the event. In the recent past, the world has been experiencing high inflation rates which have resulted in a slowdown in the economic growth in the nations across the globe. England has not been spared. The preparation and renovation activities are likely to over burden the tax payers. With the world economy still experiencing some fluctuations, it is likely that the quoted figures for the preparation might increase hence destabilizing the whole budget for the event. PESTEL Analysis There are various factors that would affect the decision making processes. The PESTEL analysis technique has been used in an effort to analyze some of these factors. The PESTEL model usually covers the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that are likely to influence the decision making process es while planning for an event some of these factors might result in various changes being made in the planning process (Wheelen 2004:85). Political Factors The government has put much effort in making sure that the country and London city in particular wins the bid for the EURO 2012 Cup tournament. The treasury has for instance set aside around $11 billion so as to cater for the preparation and renovation cost. The justice minister had made it clear that the government is also willing to step up the security measures so as to ensure that the event is carried out in a safe and secure environment. More security personnel will be deployed to the host city and more security equipment are being acquired for the purpose of the event. The renovation activities within the stadiums in London have already started and they will to be ready by the time of the event. The government has also made it clear that it would pay for extra promotion and advertisement activities in the local media. Econ omic Factors The world economy has been witnessing instability in the recent past. The inflation rates have been constantly rising across many nations. This has posed a challenge to the country in its quest to host the event. The quoted figure of $11 billion is likely to go up owing to such inflation. The construction material has become expensive and the workers are likely to demand for an increase in their pay. Even with such inflation, the country has been experiencing some small margin growth and it is bound to succeed in making the event a great success (Wiiliamson 2004). Social Factors The popularity of football has been growing at a very high rate across the globe especially among the young and middle aged population. Given that the world has very many young and middle age people, the event is likely to become a great success as more people would be willing to go and watch the game in person ( Menon 2010: 47). Technological Factors London as a city has generally embraced tech nological advancements in almost every sectors. This has been advantageous as technology has made it to be among the best hosts of such an event. In the hospitality industry for instance, hotel bookings have been made easier and less expensive as they can be done online. Most of them have ultra-modern facilities like touch screen tables, high speed internet connections and satellite dishes. All these have made service delivery effective, convenient and even entertaining. The security department has also employed the use of current technology in beefing up security in the country for the event. CCTV cameras, weapon detectors and the Robocop style glasses would all be used to screen people during security check ups. it is quite clear a high speed railway is to be constructed across London and this will make the movement of funs from one point of the city to he other easier and faster. Environmental Factors London is in the country that experience the four different seasons that is; sp ring, autumn, winter and summer. It is therefore upon the management to make sure that the event lies on a season that won’t be difficult for the players and funs to cope with. It might for instance be unwise if the event shall be scheduled for winter when it is too cold and the snow is falling. This would inconvenience the funs and players and it might not witness a higher turn out as expected. Legal Factors On the legal front, laws have been enacted to enhance environmental conservation and minimize pollution activities. Transport firms are for instance being encouraged to use electric vehicles and avoid vehicles that use fuel in an effort to conserve the environment and minimize global warming. This implies that more electric buses and cars have to be purchased for the purpose of transporting people within and across the towns and cities of England during the event. (Yeoman 2003:32). Conclusion The EURO 2012 tournament is a mega event that has to be hosted in a country th at has such capability. There have been many countries that have come forth to present their bid for hosting the EURO 2012 Cup tournament. It is however quite evident that London is well placed to host this event considering the fact that it has hosted major world events like the Olympic Games. The city has supportive infrastructure that would ensure that the event becomes a great success. The city has a well developed transport systems, modern telecommunication facilities as well as security infrastructure. The stadiums can hold high capacities and some of them are already undergoing renovation. The Hospitality industry has ultra modern facilities that put it at a better position to cater for the numerous clients from different parts of the globe. The government had set aside around $11 billion to facilitate in the renovation and preparation activities across the country especially in the host city. It is quite obvious that London is well placed to host the event (Gimpel 2008:33). Various challenges have however emerged and they might be hindering factors. For instance, the city faces much competition from other countries and cities like Kharkiv in Ukrraine and, Warsaw in Poland. These countries have the relevant infrastructure with strong national football teams. They have therefore posed a challenge to London’s bid. The other challenge has been the world economic crunch which has let to high inflation rates. This implies that most projects would turn out to be more expensive than the earlier predictions. All in all, the country is well placed to host the event as it has met all the UEFA requirements ( Wyludda 2009:22). List of References Allen, J. (2005) Festival and Special Event Management. Brisbane: Wiley Bowdin, G (2006) Events Management. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Campbell, D. (2004) Business strategy: An Introduction. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinmann Coulter, M. (2008) Strategic Management in action. New Jersey: PearsonPrenticeHall. David, F.R. (2003) Strategic Management and Concepts. New Jersey: PearsonPrenticeHall Evans, N. et al (2002) Strategic Management for Travel and Tourism. New York: Butterworth-Heinemann Fitzroy, P. and Hulbert, J. (2005) Strategic Management. Creating Value in Turbulent Times. New York: Wiley. Goldblatt, J. (2002) Special Events – Global Event management in the 21st Century.  New York: Wiley Gimpel H. (2008) Negotiation, auctions, and market engineering: international seminar  New York: Springer Grant, R. (2002) Contemporary Strategic Analysis. New York: Blackwell. Haberberg, A. (2001) The Strategic Management of Organisations. Harlow: FTPrentice- Hall Johnson, G. (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Menon, B. (2010) Fifa World Cup Marine Sports. Publishing Division 3, (4) 34-45 Mintzberg, H. et al (1998) The Strategy Process. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Shone, A. (2004) Successful Event Management. London: Continuum Tarlow, P. (2002) Event Risk Management an d Safety. New York: Wiley Wyludda, A. (2009) The Impact of a Mega Sports Event for a Nation. Berlin: GRIN Verlag Wheelen, T. (2004) Strategic Management and Business Policy. Harvard: Addison – Wesley. Wiiliamson, D. (2004) Strategic Management and Business  Analysis. Oxford:Butterworth-Heinemann Yeoman, I. (2003) Festival and Events Management: An international arts and culture  perspective. Amsterdam: Elsevier This report on The Potential of London for the EURO 2012 Tournament was written and submitted by user Em1ly to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Ancient Toltec Trade and Economy

The Ancient Toltec Trade and Economy The Toltec Civilization dominated central Mexico from about 900 - 1150 A.D. from their home city of Tollan (Tula). The Toltecs were mighty warriors who spread the cult of their greatest god, Quetzalcoatl, to the far corners of Mesoamerica. Evidence at Tula suggests that the Toltecs had a trade network and received goods from as far away as the Pacific coast and Central America, either through trade or tribute. The Toltecs and the Postclassic Period The Toltecs were not the first Mesoamerican civilization to have a trade network. The Maya were dedicated merchants whose trade routes reached far from their Yucatan homeland, and even the ancient Olmec - the mother culture of all of Mesoamerica - traded with their neighbors. The mighty Teotihuacan culture, which was pre-eminent in central Mexico from about 200-750 A.D., had an extensive trade network. By the time the Toltec culture reached prominence, military conquest and subjugation of vassal states were on the rise at the expense of trade, but even wars and conquest stimulated cultural exchanges. Tula as a Center of Trade It is difficult to make observations about the ancient Toltec city of Tollan (Tula) because the city was extensively looted, first by the Mexica (Aztecs) before the arrival of the Europeans, and then by the Spanish. Proof of extensive trade networks may have therefore been carried off long ago. For example, although ​jade was one of the most important trade materials in ancient Mesoamerica, only one jade piece has been found at Tula. Nevertheless, archaeologist Richard Diehl has identified pottery from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Campeche and Guatemala at Tula, and found potsherds traced to the Veracruz region. Shells from the Atlantic and Pacific have also been excavated at Tula. Surprisingly, the Fine Orange pottery associated with the contemporary Totonac culture has not been found at Tula. Quetzalcoatl, God of Merchants As the major deity of the Toltecs, Quetzalcoatl wore many hats. In his aspect of Quetzalcoatl - Ehà ©catl, he was the god of wind, and as Quetzalcoatl - Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli he was the bellicose God of the Morning Star. The Aztecs venerated Quetzalcoatl as (among other things) the god of merchants: the post-conquest Ramirez Codex mentions a feast dedicated to the god by traders. The principal Aztec god of trade, Yacatechutli, has been traced to earlier roots as a manifestation of either Tezcatlipoca or Quetzalcoatl, both of whom were worshiped at Tula. Given the Toltecs fanatical devotion to Quetzalcoatl and that gods later association with the merchant class by the Aztecs (who themselves regarded the Toltecs as the apogee of civilization), it is not unreasonable to surmise that trade played an important role in Toltec society. Trade and Tribute The historical record seems to suggest that Tula did not produce much in the way of trade goods. A great deal of utilitarian Mazapan-style pottery has been found there, suggesting that Tula was, or was not far from, a place that produced it. They also produced stoneware bowls, cotton textiles, and items fashioned from obsidian, such as blades. Bernardino de Sahagà ºn, a colonial era chronicler, claimed that the people of Tollan were skilled metalworkers, but no metal not of later Aztec origin has been found at Tula. It is possible that the Toltecs dealt in more perishable items like food, cloth or woven reeds which would have deteriorated with time. The Toltec did have significant agriculture and possibly exported part of their crops. In addition, they had access to a rare green obsidian found near present-day Pachuca. There is the possibility that the warlike Toltecs produced relatively little themselves, instead relying on conquered vassal states to send them goods as tribute. Tula and the Gulf Coast Traders Toltec scholar Nigel Davies believed that during the Postclassic era trade was dominated by the different cultures of Mexicos Gulf Coast, where mighty civilizations had risen and fallen since the days of the ancient Olmec. During Teotihuacns age of dominance, shortly before the rise of the Toltecs, the gulf coast cultures had been an important force in Mesoamerican commerce, and Davies believes that the combination of Tulas location in the center of Mexico, their low production of trade goods, and their reliance on tribute over commerce placed the Toltecs at the fringes of Mesoamerican trade at the time (Davies, 284). Sources: Charles River Editors. The History and Culture of the Toltec. Lexington: Charles River Editors, 2014. Cobean, Robert H., Elizabeth Jimà ©nez Garcà ­a and Alba Guadalupe Mastache. Tula. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 2012. Coe, Michael D and Rex Koontz. 6th Edition. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2008 Davies, Nigel. The Toltecs: Until the Fall of Tula. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.

Storm Drainage Design Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Storm Drainage Design Project - Essay Example The hydrograph is shown next page as Figure 2. To facilitate plotting, instead of using the river discharge figures in the vertical axis, the height of the river in meters from the given data was used. For a well-defined hydrograph of the river discharge, river height data were multiplied by 5 during plotting, although actual river height values were used in the computations. In the same vertical axis, the rainfall data in mm. were also plotted. Values were plotted for the hourly data for a four-day period. The time scale is plotted on the horizontal axis. Microsoft Excel (2003) was used to generate a computerised rendition of the hydrograph. The bar graph of the rainfall data showed twin-peaks of 1.2 mm occurring 10 hours apart. The rising limb of the river flood started to accumulate 11:00:00 of October 13 as the first peak of rainfall registered. After 22 hours, the peak of the river flow was reached at 9:00:00 of October 14 when the river height is 0.658 m. It will be observed that the rising limb of the hydrograph is quite steep. Meanwhile, it took 46 hours for the river flood at its peak to return back to base flow. This is defined in the hydrograph by the recession limb. However, the four-day data for the River Cynon did not necessarily return back to base flow. River height before the rising limb was 0.253 m, while the least reading given during the recession limb was 0.306 m. Figure 3 shows the rising limb, peak flow, recession limb and other elements of a typical hydrograph. A significant portion of the Cynon River catchment area is of moderate permeability (65%), which indicates slow infiltration rate and the steep rising limb (British Geological Society, 2005; Gordon, Finlayson, McMahon and Gippel, 2004). The average discharge for the rising limb (Qa) of the river flood is computed as the product of the given river velocity (v), the average river height from the first rainfall peak at 1.2 mm

Discrimination and the Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Discrimination and the Law - Essay Example The Race Relations Act 1968 extended the scope of the 1965 law by making it applicable to housing, employment and other matters. An improved Race Relations Act was framed in 1976 mostly in accordance with the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975. The three main types of racial discrimination which were to be made unlawful under this act were direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and victimisation. The primary objective of theRace Relations Act of 1976 was to form the legal foundation for protection from racial discrimination in the fields of employment, education, training, housing and the provision of goods, facilities and services. Under this law, 'racial discrimination' means treating a person less favourably than others on racial grounds - meaning race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins. Although this law protects one against people's actions, it cannot change their opinions or beliefs. (Home Office, n.d.) This Act resulted in the setting up of a Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) as a statutory enforcement and implementation body to eliminate racial discrimination and to promote equal opportunities and harmonious race relations between people of difference races. The CRE has the power to undertake formal investigations into discrimination charges and to represent victims of discrimination. The Crime and Disorder Act of 199... The Public Order Act,1986 On 9 June 2005, the Government published the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill which makes incitement to religious and racial hatred an offense under the The Public Order Act of 1986. Thereby, this Act makes it illegal to incite racial hatred, whether through words or action, such as distributing racist leaflets. Penalties are severe for anyone convicted of a racially motivated crime. (BBC, 2003) The race relation and racial hatred legislations have always protected Sikhs and Jews as the Courts have identified them as 'ethnic groups' according to their interpretation of the Act. Muslims, however, are not protected as they are not considered to be an ethnic group under the law. Since hate crimes against Muslims have increased during the post 9/11 period and as Muslims are not considered to be an ethnic group, it poses a serious problem. The Racial and Religious Hatred Bill tries to amend this situation The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations, 2003 The Employment Equality regulations makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate, harrass or victimise an employee on the basis of any religion, religious belief, or similar philosophical belief. Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 The Race Relations (Amendment) Act provides new powers to tackle racism in public authorities by eliminating unlawful discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity. This Act makes it statutory for public authorities like all government and local government services including the Police to promote race equality. Public authorities should ensure that racial equality considerations are part of everything they do. This Act gives the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE)

Strategic Planning Today for the Delivery of Quality Health Care Research Paper

Strategic Planning Today for the Delivery of Quality Health Care - Research Paper Example As the paper declares in the case of the service industry, it is hard for customers to know the quality of service they will get, and, therefore, depend on history of a business before choosing it as a source of service. Consequently, it is crucial for an institution to have a history of offering outstanding services to increase its customer base. In addition, in the health services industry, quality goes together with safety and customers seek services from highly acclaimed institutions, especially those with high recovery rates and low mortality rates. An institution must create a culture of quality service by one of the two main approaches, quality assurance, and quality control; the former is more suitable since it signifies a commitment to improvement and not just adherence to laid-down standards. If the health care system is not visionary enough to anticipate later changes and modify their approach on patient care, then technological advancement will result in use of equipment that increases productivity without having improvements in the quality and safety of service. In this research paper, strategic planning will be linked to improvements in service delivery. The paper will achieve this by reviewing the literature on research done to improve service delivery, and the consequences of doing so. Finally, the report will summarize the strategy, and make recommendations for improvement if available. Research Sources There have been many research attempts; all aimed at identifying reasons, consequences, factors, and methodologies of implementing research findings to improve the quality of medical care to patients. The findings of these studies, if implemented, stand a high chance of improving the quality of healthcare. However, this implementation depends on various factors incl uding the

Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness in Hong Kong

Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness in Hong Kong Introduce ICCMW Services in Hong Kong Integrated Services in Hong Kong Start from 1991, the establishment of first integrated youth services centre, there are more and more integrated services has been developed in Hong Kong. It is believed that integrated services generated a lot of advantages, such as avoiding wastage of resources and duplication of services. For different target group of people, different kind of integrated services has been developed afterwards. Nowadays, there are integrated youth services (ICYSC), integrated family services (IFSC), integrated elderly services (DECC), integrated disable services (DSC), and integrated mental wellness services (ICCMW) in Hong Kong. In this paper, the integrated services of mental wellness in Hong Kong will be focused and discussed. The strengths and limitations of this integrated social service would be analysed, as well as the improvement of implementation. Background of Integrated Mental Wellness Services In March 2009, Social Welfare Department set up the first Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness (ICCMW) in Tin Shui Wai. The major aims of setting up ICCMW are enhancing the social support and re-integrating the ex-mentally ill persons into the community (Social Welfare Department, 2014). The goals of ICCMW are providing one stop services and accessible community supports for the needy. The targeted service users are discharged mental patients, persons with suspected mental health problems, their families or carers of above persons, and people who are interested in understanding and improving their mental health. ICCMW has been established in all the 18 districts in October 2010. Upon now, there are 24 ICCMW provided by 11 non-governmental organization (Social Welfare Department, 2014). Integration of Services Generally, there are three integration levels that integrated services have to address the different needs of clients, includes ICCMW, which are linkage, coordination, and full integration. For the first level, linkage, ICCMW would like to link up the service users and the particular services. For example, it provides information for people who concern about their stress level. For the second level, coordination, ICCMW would serve the function of coordinator between systems and agencies, process to address problem of service users. For example, follow up the case which just has been discharged from hospital by providing day training programs or counseling services in the centre or in other organizations, is a kind of cross-sectional operation between medical and mental wellness sectors. For the third level of integration, full integration, multidisciplinary team cooperation, and community integration would be the targets of ICCMW. There are nurses, occupational therapists, doctors, c linical psychiatrists, social workers as a team to provide mental rehabilitation services for clients, in order to let clients re-integrated to the community. Using the agency of The Wellness Centre in Tin Shui Wai of New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (New Life) as an example, it provides prevention services and intervention by using recovery-oriented approach. For the prevention, New Life offers a lot of mental health promotions and public education, letting general people have more understanding about mental health and mental illness. For the group work intervention, New Life provides support groups, carer volunteer training, and psycho-education programs for clients. For the individual level intervention, New Life provides counselling, peer support worker training, vocational planning and development services, wellness programs, and so on (New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, 2013). These kinds of intervention and therapy are for the goal of making people with mental health problem to reintegrate to community. Strengths of ICCMW There are a lot of advantages of setting up integrated services in Hong Kong, so do ICCMW. The first advantage of ICCMW is, convenient to services users. For the service users, ICCMW is multi-functional which provides occupational training, vocational training, care and support, and leisure opportunities. For the public who concern about their mental wellness, they can self approach ICCMW and ask for information and related services. Services are easier accessed nowadays. The second advantage of ICCMW is better coordination among workers and services. After integration, there are multidisciplinary within a team in ICCMW, such as occupational therapist, nurses, doctors, and social workers. They have regular case meetings for discussing how to manage the case, and it is believed that coordination would be better between each division due to more communication. The third advantage of ICCMW is reducing stigmatisation. ICCMW provides different kind of services, not only giving therapy and counselling for people with mental illness but also providing public education and volunteer trainings for mentally ill person or the caregivers. Public education serves the function of letting general public know more about mental health, and letting them to understand that it is not only refer to mental illness but also mental wellness related to everyone. Also, the chance of letting mentally ill person doing voluntary work to community helps them integrating back to community. Therefore, multidimensional services provided by ICCMW would let the concept of mental health and also the mentally ill person integrated into community. Limitations of ICCMW A coin has two sides, although ICCMW provides lot of advantages to service users and community, it is not faces no limitations. Firstly, ICCMW is hard to select centre location. Usually, ICCMW have to select a location for services centre which is close to community for residents convenience, however, there are lots of limitation of setting up centre in estates. Many of the ICCMW reflects that they are hard to find a permanent premises which are large enough for group services and training. And the reason may attribute to the approval time of Welfare Department are too long (Cheung, 2011). In addition, there are objective sounds reject if ICCMW is too close to community or located in estate. For example, in 2010, the residents and the district councilor of Tuen Mun Wu King Estate objected one ICCMW established in their estate, and requested the moving out of ICCMW (MingPao Health, 2011). The major reason is due to stigmatization of mentally ill people who are dangerous and would attack public suddenly. Therefore, residents object if ICCMW too close to the residents. Secondly, there is shortage of man-power. As integrated, ICCMW needs professional staff from different discipline such as nurses, clinical psychiatrists, and doctors. It is all known that, these kinds of professions are now shortage in Hong Kong. Even an ICCMW start in estate, they may face the problem of down man-power for a period of time. Thirdly, it is time-consuming to have meetings for multidiscipline to discuss and examine the case management. Since services integrated, operation complexity would be increased. Regular meeting is essential to understand the roles and views of other professions, however, caseworks and pressures would relatively increase. That makes the workers may easily burnt out for the increased duties. Lastly, there is lack of centralized data for different agencies. Although the communication and interaction between agencies, departments, or bureaus increased under integrated services, they do not have share information between each other. For example, a mental illness patient who just discharged from hospital with marriage problem, Medical Social Services Department in Hospital, Integrated Family Service Center (IFSC), and ICCMW would be involved in this case. Since there are no platforms for information sharing between agencies, the social workers in ICCMW may need to contact IFSC social workers and medical social workers particularly for further information. Procedures may be duplicated due to lack of data transparency. Suggestions for ICCMW First of all, it is suggested that increase the linkage between agencies and organization by developing a platform to share essential information. For example, the doctors in hospital can provide medical reports, integrated progress notes provided by social workers from related agencies etc. It is believed that can raise the transparency of information and data. In addition, it is suggested that Social Welfare Department can simplify the application system of centre location, to avoid the situation that appropriate venue has been rented by other private parties during the long and complicated approval process. Furthermore, it is important to strengthen the public education for public understanding the nature and image of ICCMW. As residents have misunderstanding about people with mental health problem are all dangerous to society, public education is necessary to eliminate their incorrect perception. It is recommended that government should strengthen the advertisement and civil education in community and education institutions, to let people have correct concept about recovered mental ill person that they are also a part of society, and not only harmful to society. Finally, it is also suggested that more resources should be granted for ICCMW. As ICCMW is the newest service within integrated services since 2009, the resources and experiences are not yet well-developed. Therefore, resources like funding for ICCMW allow them to purchase more useful treatment tools for clients, or hire more professional staff for relieving the pressure of existing staff. Conclusion Integration of services in Hong Kong are designed to fulfill different needs of clients, and avoiding wastage of resources. ICCMW generates the advantages of convenience to service users, better cooperation among services workers, and reduce the stigmatization of mentally ill people in society. However, there are still some limitations that ICCMW facing, such as difficulty of selecting centre location, shortage of man-power, time consuming of multidisciplinary meeting, and lack of centralized data. It is believed that ICCMW is still in the developing process, if government provides certain assistances and recourses for them, the integrated services would benefit more and more people in need in the coming future. References Cheung, K. C. (2011), Hong Kong Social Workers General Union. Service Series- Rehabilitation Services, Retrieved on 29 April 2014 from http://www.hkswgu.org.hk/node/70 MingPao Health (2011), â€Å"Only 6 out of 24 ICCMW location confirmed† retrieved on 5 May 2014, from http://www.mingpaohealth.com/cfm/news3.cfm?File=20110213/news/gok1.txt New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (2013), Annual Report 2012-2013. Retrieved on 2 May 2014, from http://www.nlpra.org.hk/information_n_publications/Annual_report/pdf/049_117_2013.aspx Social Welfare Department (2014), Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness (ICCMW), Services Description, retrieved on 2 May 2014, from http://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_rehab/sub_listofserv/id_iccmw/ 1

Choreographer Busby Berkeley’s Contributions to Film Essays -- Arts Mo

Choreographer Busby Berkeley’s Contributions to Film Berkeley’s creations were not meant to focus on dance. He envisioned an overall moving pattern, which he created by using moving bodies. He made the art of choreography a technique of design and visual mathematics, and combined this with his knowledge of film to bring his vision to life on the big screen. The skill of this multi-talented man brought Hollywood musicals to their full potential, creating a high demand for dance in films. William Berkeley Enos was born November 29, 1895, in Los Angeles. He began his career as a choreographer in 1918 as a lieutenant in the army. Conducting and directing parades. He gained the ability to work with large masses of moving bodies to create a moving picture. He also worked as a choreographer to stage camp shows for the troops. It was not until his collaboration with producer Florence Ziegfeld that Berkeley began choreographing for films. When Ziegfeld decided to turn his production of Whoopee into a film, he asked Berkeley, who had become one of the top Broadway dance directors, to choreograph the dance routines. Berkeley, unhappy with the restrictions of his job, raised the bar for film choreographers by taking on decisions about camera angles and editing. Before Berkeley, these decisions had all been made by the director or the producer. One of Berkeley’s signature choices was to use only one camera. He also chose to use close-ups of the dancers in the chorus. He would say: â€Å"Well, we’ve got all these beautiful girls in the picture, why not let the public see them?† This approach showed that Berkeley understood that innovative filmmakers possess the ability to use the camera to show audiences what their normal sight does ... ... 1976. Although his death was tragic, Busby Berkeley will be remembered for his visionary talent. He has also been considered the creator of the formulaic marketing approaches you see today in music videos. As Larry Billman points out,â€Å"Berkeley’s ever-unfolding kaleidoscopic patterns and complete montage/ scenarios certainly had commercial advantage† (15). Berkeley embraced the possibility that the relationship between a camera and a moving body could bring a song to life. After his extravagant musical numbers, there was no doubt that the entire audience would leave the theater knowing the songs by heart. And so Berkeley was way ahead of his time. He could see within film a very important image, not the individual dancers themselves, but the dancing image. And with that he created sequences that remain some of the most beautiful spectacles on the screen.