Critical Lens Paper Essay

Joanna Kathleen Rowling once said, â€Å"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.† Rowling’s words suggest it is our decisions that show who we really are more than our capabilities. It’s not about what we can do or how fast we can get it done, but it’s ultimately about the decisions we make to do something or not. Rowling’s words are in fact valid. The choices you make in a difficult situation can fundamentally show the people around you what you’re made of and what you’re about. Evidence of Rowling’s words exist in Ashley Antoinette’s novel Moth to a Flame through the use of characterization and Sidi’s novel Fatou: An African Girl In Harlem also through the use of characterization. Both Antoinette and Sidi’s work show that the decisions we make ultimately show who we truly are. Sidi uses the characterization of the Fatou in his novel Fatou: An African Girl In Harlem to sh ow that the choices we make basically show who we really are. Fatou is the protagonist in the novel. She was brought from African to America at twelve years old to marry a forty year old man named Lama. Fatou was sold to this man so her family could live wealthy in Africa. She always thought America was the land of greatness and freedom until she got there. Her forty year old husband did nothing but abuse her. Fatou wanted nothing more than to get away from Lama and make a better living for herself. She decided to go to school and get her get her diploma. Moreover, she decided to no longer be someone else’s property. The characterization of Fatou in the novel clearly shows that your decisions show who we truly are. Instead of being someone’s slave, Fatou chose to run away and make a better life for herself. Furthermore, she showed everyone around her that she’s not property and she’s no longer going to be oppressed by her forty year old husband. All things considered, by using Fatou Sidi shows or choices are what sho w what we truly are, not our capabilities. Ashley Antoinette uses the characterization of Raven in her novel Moth to a Flame to show the decisions we make fundamentally show who we are as a person. Raven is the protagonist in the novel. She is the daughter of Benny Atkins. At seventeen, Raven began dating a known stick-up kid named Mizan. Unknown to her, Mizan had different intentions. He wanted to take Raven’s father off his throne. Raven’s Father, Benny Atkins, was the king of the whole drug scene in Flint, MI and Mizan envied him. Her Father sensed there wasn’t something right about Mizan and forbid Raven to see him again. Unfortunately, this only pushed Raven closer to Mizan. From then on, Raven’s life began to spiral downward. Her father died, her mother was sent to jail, and she was left to take care of her six year old sister. Raven and her little sister moved in with Mizan. Shortly after, Mizan started abusing Raven. After losing her child because of the constant beating, Raven finally foun d the courage to leave Mizan. She reached out to Ethic, a man that worked with her father, and he helped her and her little sister get on their feet. Raven and Ethic ended up falling in love and starting their own family. Raven also applied for college classes and eventually got her degree. Antoinette’s portrayal of Raven shows that your choices are what make you who you are. Raven chose to leave Mizan and make a better life for her little sister, instead of being someone’s punching bag. Furthermore, Raven chose her life. She showed many individuals around her that she can stand on her own two feet and even with her struggles, she was going to make it. Thus, by using Raven Antoinette showed that your capabilities are nothing compared to the decisions you make. Joanna Kathleen Rowling’s quote, â€Å" It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities† , illustrates that our abilities are nothing compared to the decisions we make, our decisions are what show those around us who we ultimately are. Rowling’s words were validated by Ashley Antoinette in her novel Moth to a Flame using the characterization of Raven. She showed her readers that abilities mean nothing because the protagonist wasn’t capable of overcoming her boyfriend. Instead, the protagonist chose to leave him and she saved her life doing so. The lens is also proven true by Sidi in his novel Fatou: An African Girl in Harlem in which he uses the characterization of the protagonist Fatou to show that some things you’re not capable of controlling but you can make a choice to remove yourself from the situation. Writers like Antoinette and Sidi show readers that our choices are what show the individuals around us what we’re made of not our capabilities.

How Apple Managed to Reinvent Itself over the Years

Apple Computers: Research on how Apple Managed to Reinvent Itself over the Years Apple computer Inc. currently known with the brand name Apple Inc. is a global corporation that makes end-users electrical products, computer programs, and marketable servers. The company’s main merchandise lines are iPod tune entertainers, iphone, and Macintosh. Apple Inc founders were Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs who integrated the company on January 3,1977 in California (Young & Simon, 2005). Apple has been predominantly a manufacturer of laptops for example Macintosh, Power Mac, and Apple 1. In the 1990’s, the company faced unsteady vending and stumpy market. During that time Steve Jobs had been expelled but later in 1986, he returned to the company and became the CEO. Apple Corporation purchased another company called neXT and Jobs instilled fresh company policy of identifiable goods and simple devices. In 2001, the iPod melody player became successful making the company the leader in the customers’ electronic business (Sutherland, Ed, 2010). Apple Inc. has had its successes and failures. In 1980, the introduction of Apple 11 was the beginning and the representation of the computer uprising during that period. Although the company had many competitors like the Commodore PET, this product defeated all other products and rapidly personified the other computers in the public awareness. It was highly advertised and its sales increased for three years consecutively. The Apple 11 had an attractive design, incorporated keyboard; ability to plug into any electronic devices like TVs making it successful. Its success was highly motivated by a program called VisiCalc, an initial spreadsheet to surface in the market (Young & Simon, 2005). The company was developing at an unbelievable quick rate. In spite of the achievements, Macintosh auctions started to fall following a hopeful beginning, and internal troubles affected the company. Power struggle among partitions persisted, and deprived account trailing brought about overproduction. Steve jobs introduced a new product in the market called Lisa named after his daughter. After his appointment in Xerox PARC, the venture Lisa became a distress too. The major challenge was to plan a real product. The company had also suffered a big blow due to the CEO’s bad publicity. The company was later re-organized. In 1980, Apple 111 became a catastrophe in the market because of many flaws. Lisa too was a disappointment to the company. Accepting to go public, Apple Inc. became successful again. Some of the successes related directly to the company’s culture are its ability to stand out even over other competitors like IBM because of its initiators. The company has a status of nurturing individualism and distinction that dependably draws skilled people to its employment especially after Steve Job’s return to the company. The company’s slogans and logos too have influenced its success. Apple Inc. merchandise commercial increased its reputation for initiating musicians into prominence (Sutherland, Ed, 2010). The company has also experienced product loyalty from its users. In conclusion, Apple Inc formerly known as Apple computer Inc. s an international company, which formulates consumers’ electrical products, computer programs, and viable servers with some of its products including iPod tune entertainers, iphone, and Macintosh. The Apple Inc. has gone through some of its successes and failures. Introduction of Apple 11 in 1980 was the commencement and the image of the computer unrest throughout that era. The company has also enjoyed its success because of various attributes such as its motto, symbol, the compa ny’s ability to raise celebrities to recognition, and the loyalty portrayed by some of the company’s consumers. Some of the failures experienced by the company were the introduction of Apple 111, Lisa project, and the continuous change of management. References Sutherland, Ed (October 29, 2010). Apple Tops Microsoft Revenue in Third Quarter. Retrieved from http://www. cultofmac. com/apple-tops-microsoft-revenue-in-third-quarter/66698. Young, Jeffrey; William L. Simon (2005). ICon Steve Jobs: The greatest second act in the history of business. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Professional Practice in Critical Care - Critical Incident Analysis Essay

Professional Practice in Critical Care - Critical Incident Analysis - Essay Example The process of withdrawal of ventilatory support was also explained to the parents. However they did not want the ventilatory support to be withdrawn till the patient’s sister had arrived from Canada in 48 hrs. Despite further explanations regarding the concept of brain stem death, the family threatened legal action for withdrawal of ventilatory support . The following day a senior consultant and senior nurse in the ICU came into the unit and were informed of the situation and intervened. After lengthy discussions with the parents, ventilatory support was withdrawn. The heart stopped beating shortly after. The reason for examining these features in the case study is to gain an insight into the errors in the system and clarify human error in the cause of such incidents. This is a key characteristic of critical incident reporting (Buckley, Short, Rowbottom & Oh, 1997). A review of these features helps in highlighting the problems and paves the way for quality assurance through implementation of preventative measures to control such incidents. By analysing these key features, the critical incident analysis assists in identifying areas of improvement within the ICU. Brain stem death has been accepted as death of the individual in the United Kingdom since 1976, when the royal colleges published criteria for making a diagnosis of what was then called brain death (Royal Colleges, 1976). With advances in life support, the line between who is alive and who is dead has become blurred (Capron ,1995).Life support technologies introduced in the 20th century have produced a new kind of patient - one whose brain does not function, but whose heart and lungs continue to work (Center for Bio Ethics, 2005). Trachtman (2003) states that â€Å"technological advances in sustaining life might increase the difficulty in making the diagnosis of death†. And, while medicine diagnoses brain stem death as death, it may still be difficult for family to accept the death while the

The Division of Healthy Start Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Division of Healthy Start - Essay Example lthy Start is a UK-wide government public health scheme that provides services such as nutritional safety for new mums, pregnant women and young children of low-income families. At the most important times in their lives, it helps them to eat healthily and also supports them to develop good habit for the future. It also provides tax credits to the low income families. Families with children under four years of age and women who are at least ten weeks pregnant qualify for healthy start, if the family is getting income-based jobseeker allowance, income support, income-related employment and support allowance and child tax credit having an annual income of 16,190 pound or less than that. It reduces infant mortality, increase the number of immunizes children, helps to prevent disease and improve handicapping condition among children. It provides diagnosis and treatment services to the low income group children and also provides access to the women health by giving prenatal, delivery and postpartum care, and to the children health by providing preventive care services (Cruz, 2012, pp.3-4). 2) Divisions of Healthy Start Healthy Start has four autonomous divisions and these are as follows: 2.a) Health System Division Health system division takes care of the health of women and children. It is like a medical home for the health of women that offers quality prenatal and intrapartum care, interconception care, cost-control platform, and integration and system navigation. 2.b) Educational System Division It is a way to success that starts early with baby college, then valued childhood education, followed by promise academy and youth development programs. 2.c) Economic System Division It is an opportunity incubator which combines the macroeconomic policies such as enterprise zones or empowerment with capital development such as microfinance, job training and business incubation, asset development for families and financial literacy, and net programs of high safety. 2.d) Co mmunity System Division It provides healthy community that promotes healthy food and physical activities, environmental justice, strong families and national equity (Cruz, 2012, pp.3-4). 3) Products and Services of Healthy Start The products of Healthy Start include milk, fruits and vegetable, vitamins, and medicines and drugs. The service which it offers includes cash management, outreach, screening for depression, health education and continuity of care. Apart from this certain health tips is also provided by them which includes healthy eating in pregnancy, safe bottle feeding, how and when to give solid foods to children, and how to manage the weight and stay active. 4) Critical Analysis 4.a) Setting the Strategy As mentioned, the product is in the mature stage which means that the product is a standard product but the growth scenario is low. The company is having strong buyer and high entry barrier because of the cost and value benefit provided by it and also because of the cust omer loyalty. It is the reason that they are expected to generate good cash flows for the next few years. In order to use these net cash flows to stimulate new products and to move into new markets, the managers have to follow the diversification strategy. So, the senior managers have to set the strategies in such a way that they could generate maximum ROI in order to get good

Business Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Writing - Essay Example I have been able to first address the problem of a complaining customer by stating the commitment of the company to satisfy his needs and preventing such incidents from happening in the near future. The memo has also developed to include messages aimed at repairing the confidence of the customer. This has been achieved by assurance the customer that the company was making commitments to fix the problem in the shortest time possible. I have also been able to reduce the number of words by focusing on making the memo precise and straight to the point.I gained a number of insights with regards to business writing. For instance, I was able to address a complaint letter by addressing the claim of the customer and later on repairing his confidence. I promised the customer that our organization was going to provide assistance and that we valued his concerns. The assignment also helped me identify and appreciate the need to have my peers and tutor go through my writing so as to ensure that er rors are identified and corrected at an early stage. My peers and tutor read over my work and made comments on the mistakes they had identified in my writings. The teacher played a very significant role in improving my writing skills by identifying mistakes and suggesting ways of correcting them. I will be considering what the reader wants to hear before writing any business letter or proposal. This will involve a complete focus on the relevant information that will satisfy the needs of the reader rather than addressing my personal needs. (Kuiper 140). 2. Samples of your work (â€Å"before and after†) with reflections: Persuasive Message Memo To: Roger Lee roger.lee@rotstein.com From: Mike Jones mike.jones@educatesolution.ca Subject: Re: Training Session Appointment—YourUni We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the training session appointment with our trainer Angela Flight on August 20th. We received your email and immediately contacted Ms. Flight regarding the issue. However, we discovered that there was a mismatch with the dates of appointment with our trainer. Company records indicated that your appointment was scheduled for 27th instead of 21st of August. However, we sincerely apologize for all the inconvenience we have caused your institution. We have made arrangements with our trainer that we

I am going to send the paper topics by attachment Essay

I am going to send the paper topics by attachment - Essay Example From the beginning of the story, she describes the pathetic condition of her physical body with a sense of detachment, in a tone of irony, wit and humor. The sentences are intelligently crafted. Elucidating her accidental fall, she writes, â€Å"So many movements unbalanced me, and as I pulled the door open, I fell over backward, landing fully clothed on the toilet seat with my legs splayed in front of me:†¦..the building deserted, I was free to laugh aloud as I wriggled back to my feet, my voice bouncing of the yellowish tiles from all directions† (Para 1). Even in such a grim situation, she exhibits her capacity to remain in good humor and thus generates confidence. That is no ordinary sense of humor; it is the challenge to her destiny that brings her physical body to such a sorry state, but it fails to beat her mental toughness. She neither pities her condition nor condemns herself. She accepts her state of being â€Å"crippled† as part of her inner experience. She shows how reading about disability is much different from experiencing the disability. One’s strength is tested when one undergoes the ordeal. Her inner strength is admirable and the tone is straightforward. She admits, everyone is entitled to one’s opinion about her plight, and she is entitled to hers. I am devastated by her honesty. She is no more an active partner in the domestic environment and is unable to share the responsibilities, and watches with resigned pleasure how her children and other family members have readjusted to her changed physical condition. But she admits candidly, â€Å"But I couldn’t bear the corroboration that around me were doing in fact what I’d always suspected them of doing, professing fondness while silently putting up with me because the way I am. A cripple† (Para 17). But this is a situation in her life over which she has no control. She is aware, people who interact with her and family members with direct resp onsibility towards her, show special concern, consideration and kindness to her. But the structured of her deformed and fragile body has nothing to with her steely mental frame and her tough resolutions in life. She makes a matter of fact observation, â€Å"People - crippled or not - wince at the word "cripple," as they do not at "handicapped" or "disabled." Perhaps I want them to wince. I want them to see me as a tough customer, one to whom the fates /gods /viruses have not been kind, but who can face the brutal truth of her existence squarely. As a cripple, I swagger.†(Para 2) She believes that the medical practitioners are in the learning stage about her complicated condition and does not blame them for their initial confusion about the diagnosis. They are doing their best to monitor the developments happening to her body. She has her challenge, and they have their challenges. She describes her relationship with the doctors taking care of her: â€Å"I may be frustrated, m addened, depressed by the incurability of my disease, but I am not diminished by it, and they are" (Para 30). She has converted her physical disadvantage to strengthen her spirit and sharpen the writing skills. Her words have more punch and imagination is more fertile, as would be seen from the words go in the essay. About the vital role her sense of humor plays in her life, she expresses her predicament and fear that the gravity of her disease may do irreversible damage to her existence and writes, â€Å"

The Difference between Joy and Happiness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Difference between Joy and Happiness - Essay Example According to Houston (p.46), both joy and happiness are more sustained and enduring when they are related to God; and rooted deeply in spirituality. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the difference between joy and happiness as spiritual concepts and God’s gifts to human beings. The Difference Between Joy and Happiness in the Spiritual Context The New Testament emphasizes that the Christian life is essentially a joyful life, when Jesus Christ is made central in all aspects. Like the inestimable energy of the sun’s radiation God’s love that translates into joy is able to sustain human happiness beyond our wildest desires. To enjoy divine joy, and consequently to experience spiritual happiness, it is necessary to follow the righteous path. Christians have a supernatural gift of joy in Christ, which cannot be comprehended by those outside Christianity. The nature of Christian joy is evident even in utmost conditions of suffering by reconci ling the â€Å"negative with the transcendent love of Christ† (Houston 259). Through receiving the gift of faith in Christ who stood for the poor, the destitute and the deprived, the true character of Christian joy is experienced. ... Instead of seeking happiness from the absence of undesirable pain or suffering, Christian joy responds to the desirable presence of God. Happiness is experienced through gratitude and thanksgiving to God. Any conceptualization of happiness as a state of mild emotional euphoria is a shallow one. â€Å"A more substantial approach is to think of happiness as deep-seated satisfaction and enjoyment of life that is safe from its inevitable chances and changes† (Charry 21). Hence, an emotional view of the concept of happiness should be replaced by a theological perspective for achieving a more rewarding outcome. The popular notion of happiness is not only morally impoverished, but is also psychologically lacking and counterproductive. The false and trivial notions of happiness in contemporary times paradoxically creates unhappy people. Such wrong conceptualizations of happiness are both psychologically and socially damaging. On the other hand, it is essential to note that neither anc ient philosophy which provided guidelines on spiritual pathways to the good life, nor the Christian theology it inspired â€Å"ever separated enjoyment from goodness† (Charry 22). However, devoid of goodness, happiness is reduced to mere fun, which can be socially and psychologically harmful. Happiness in God also needs material satisfaction in order to be physically and psychologically sustaining. Hence, a healthy theological teaching on happiness must avoid both extremes, by reclaiming the association between the spiritual and the material, â€Å"as captured in the Christian teaching on the Incarnation and the classical teaching on the sacraments† (Charry 25). Happiness rooted in Christian theology materially and spiritually nurtures the body

Labor Law DB 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Labor Law DB 4 - Essay Example If the employer does not comply with this law and goes ahead to employ an alien, the employer may face both civil and criminal liability. This comes with the imposition of huge fines ranging from $100 to $1000 for each hire. They could as well face imprisonment for a pattern or practice of non-compliance (Aguilera & Michael p 240-1). I highly agree with these consequences. This is because the IRCA is enacted to help solve the problem of the massive illegal immigration into the country. This is together with all the policies behind this law, which are imposed by the federal government for the sake of greater control and stronger enforcement mechanisms. Therefore to support the federal government create conducive environment for the citizen, the employers must adhere to these laws (Pan, Ying p 18-23). Patricia can employ a variety of policies and procedures to ensure that they comply with this law. Their recruitment procedures must therefore be open, transparent and in line with the laws. This means they simply need to align their company policies to the laws of the land for smooth

The Emperor Justinian's Code influenced government organization, views Research Paper

The Emperor Justinian's Code influenced government organization, views on leadership and church-and-state relationships throughout many future governments - Research Paper Example The laws became the legal binding laws of the state. The Emperor Justinian’s Code influenced government organization, views on leadership and church-and-state relationships throughout many future governments. Justinian was born 482 in the area that in modern times is called the Balkans, north of Greece. He was the nephew of the then emperor and thus had had a great deal of power even before he became the emperor. On his accession to the throne, he united the neighboring areas to become the sole emperor of the east region for thirty-seven years from 527. The then state was closely connected with the church. All emperors preceding Justinian, since the dominance of Constantine, had always incorporated religious extremism of intolerance into the legal framework and thus Justinian followed the same tradition. The past regimes had been very ruthless persecuting those who did not tow to the Christian teachings, Justinian’s reign became a very crucial era that affected future governments especially in antiquity and early epoch of the middle ages. In the Nicene religious wars, the emperor became an icon and a hero as he led successive campaigns against the classical thought, and all other people opposed to Christianity (Sarris 65). He achieved these victories against non-believers by imposing oppressive binding imperial decrees that were not to be opposed, the government of Justinian was unanimously supporting forced conversions, and the existing temples of other religions were destroyed with the government troops actively involved in the religious campaigns. Though the use of troops in the enactment of the religious agendas had been inexistence since the time of Constantine, it reached its climax during the time of Justinian. The emperor’s campaigns of using state machinery to force other people to do the bidding of the church became very formidable such that it lasted for generations until the

Small Group Reading and Math Intervention Essay

Small Group Reading and Math Intervention - Essay Example Since each learner or group of learners is unique, it is important that intervention solutions that specifically meet the objectives and needs of each group of learners or each student are designed. It is only through meticulous program designing, planning, implementation, and teacher placement and training that a learning intervention may prove effective on at-risk learners, especially for technical subjects such as math (Angelillo, 2003). Additionally, sound intervention management, student assessments, and reporting are equally important in improving learners’ performances in math. This paper explores small-group reading as a method of assisting â€Å"at-risk† math learners in the 3-8 grades. Small Group Reading Intervention for Math Among the interventions for math preferred by quite a number of instructors are reading interventions, mathematics interventions, and Algebra readiness. In reading interventions, small groups are often formed to help learners who are str uggling to improve in their math to muster the necessary skills required for the subject. Consequently, math labs and/or the small groups are formed and used to build weak learners’ confidence in the fundamental concepts of math. ... The achievement gap between the weak learners and the general class is thus bridged as the additional instruction given to this special group above the core math teaching helps them obtain the lacking skills and confidence. Small group reading for math has been found to be particularly effective and beneficial for grades 3–8. Among the core elements of small group reading for math are flexible grouping, small-group reading sequence, appropriate texts, and teaching for understanding (Metsisto, 2001). Elements of Small Group Reading for Math To improve the performance and confidence of the â€Å"at-risk† group in a math class, small-group reading, which refers to an intervention in which instructors support, teach, and guide students on their math instructional level before, during, and after reading is always recommended. The first step in small-group reading for math is the assessment of learners’ instructional levels by instructors. There are several methods of carrying out such an assessment including teacher observation and constant evaluations such as unofficial reading records. By forming small flexible groups, instructors are better placed to match learners’ math needs and abilities with the most appropriate reading resources/materials and partners (Metsisto, 2001). Further, small reading groups assist teachers to observe each learner’s reading behaviors, model-specific reading behaviors and reading strategies. It is then recommended that each group should consist of between two and six learners with the same level of reading abilities, instructional level, and math abilities. The teacher’s role then becomes assisting math

The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers Essay Example for Free

The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers Essay Working conditions in hotels and restaurants †¢ Cash-in-hand, undeclared or under-declared, and illegal working was found among the ethnic minority and migrant restaurant workers interviewed, and affected both employment conditions and rates of pay. This was prevalent in small, ethnic minority-owned restaurants, usually employing members of the same ethnic group. The National Minimum Wage (NMW) was the rate commonly paid to basic grade staff, including bar and restaurant staff, hotel porters and housekeeping staff, particularly outside of London. The research also found a high incidence of flat rate payments per shift or per week, regardless of hours worked, below the NMW, often paid cash-in-hand. Long hours working was a further feature. Full-time workers did a minimum 40-hour week, with 50 to 60 hours a week being common, particularly in restaurants. Late night working, or until the last customer left, was often expected without extra pay. Some felt that they had no life outside work due to the long hours demanded by the job. In some instances, individuals had several jobs to earn money to support family or send back home. There was low awareness of holiday and leave entitlements. Very few workers received more than the statutory entitlement to four weeks’ holiday. Some reported getting no paid holidays or receiving less than the legal minimum, and there was generally low awareness of holiday entitlement. In small restaurants there was sometimes an informal policy of two weeks’ leave. It was common for workers to have received no written statements of particulars or contracts. This was found among both informally and legitimately employed workers, and was a source of anxiety for several. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 1 †¢ There were poor perceptions of job security in the sector. Few workers felt secure in their employment, often feeling they could be sacked on the spot, particularly those working informally. Some longer-term workers in regular employment were aware that increasing use of casual and agency staff meant that their jobs were not secure. Training available to migrant workers, particularly in restaurants, was minimal, usually only in basic health and safety, hygiene or fire procedures. In some hotels, however, managers had recognised the neglect of training in the past and were offering staff the chance to pursue National Vocational Qualifications. †¢ Problems at work †¢ There was a high degree of acceptance of the poor working conditions in the sector among interviewees, with issues such as low pay, long hours, unpaid overtime and poor health and safety standards often not perceived as particular â€Å"problems† but rather viewed as the nature of work in the sector. Where problems were identified these related to: pay; long working hours; workload; getting time off; bullying and verbal abuse, including racial harassment; problems getting on with colleagues; English language skills; and theft of property from work. Bullying and verbal abuse was common, particularly in kitchens where chefs were often known as bullies, but this was accepted by some as â€Å"just the mentality of the kitchen†. Sometimes the abuse had a racial element, with â€Å"bloody foreigner† used as a term of abuse. Racist abuse from restaurant customers was also regularly suffered by some waiters. In one hotel, several staff had experienced bullying from a manager, resulting in time off sick with stress. Staff believed there was an ulterior motive of trying to get rid of long-serving employees and replacing them with cheaper casual staff. Opportunities for promotion were felt by several interviewees to be inhibited by discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality or age, as well as the limitations imposed by work permit or visa rules. Some long-term workers felt they had been overlooked for promotion, with their age then compounding the problem as employers looked for younger staff to promote and develop. Where employees saw that they had opportunities to progress, this was due to the support of a manager. Opportunities were further limited by employer presumptions about the suitability of staff for â€Å"front-of-house† jobs, such as reception or waiter positions, based on ethnicity, gender and age. Some employers expressed preferences for white staff, or a â€Å"balance† of white and non-white front-of ­ house staff, on the grounds that it was what their customers wanted. The research found that such racial stereotyping was expressed openly in this sector in a way that may not be acceptable in other sectors. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 2  . In the main, interviewees did not raise health and safety concerns when discussing problems at work, reflecting an acceptance of the hazards of this type of work. However many issues did arise during the course of interviews, which included: burns and working in hot kitchens; working in a confined space; back and shoulder pains; and tiredness from long working hours and heavy workload. Often, responsibility for health and safety, such as avoiding burns, was seen as primarily belonging to the employee and not the employer. Most workers believed that little could be done to tackle the problems that they were having at work, or felt that the only solution was to leave the job. A handful of workers had taken action to resolve their problems at work, either by raising concerns with their manager, or seeking outside support or advice. †¢ Support, advice and awareness of rights †¢ Workers felt poorly informed about employment rights in the UK, and had little idea of where to get information if they needed it. Many also were unsure about aspects of their own particular terms and conditions of employment, which was related to a lack of written information. As might be expected, those who had been in the UK for a longer time, and the small number who were members of a trade union, felt better informed about their rights at work. Trade unions had been a valuable source of support for a small number of interviewees, but for most workers, unions simply did not feature in their experience of work. But despite the difficulties of organising in the sector, including high staff turnover, no culture of trade unionism and employers that are hostile to trade unions, union membership was growing in one London hotel and catering branch. This was the result of recruitment campaigns that included information in several languages. Some interviewees either had, or would, seek support from community organisations about problems at work. However, there was a variation in the level of community support available in the three regions, with London and the West Midlands having established organisations representing a variety of ethnic groups, but such structures were much less well developed in the South West. Seeking support and advice through community organisations can also be a double-edged sword for those who work for employers within the same ethnic community, with some fearing that if they sought advice, word would get around and they would have problems getting work in future. Of the small number of workers who had sought support for problems at work, Citizen’s Advice, Acas and a specific project for service workers (no longer in existence) had been used. While a small number were aware of Citizen’s Advice, a couple thought that the service excluded them because of its name, which implied to them that it was for British citizens only. †¢ †¢ †¢ 3 Conclusions and recommendations †¢ While many of the working conditions and problems highlighted in this report are common to workers in the sector, the research found several features that serve to differentiate the experience of ethnic minority and migrant workers: immigration status; working in the informal sector; discrimination in the labour market and employment; and low expectations which increase tolerance of poor working conditions. For ethnic minority and migrant workers the difficulties in raising and resolving problems relate both to their own individual vulnerability and characteristics of work in the sector. Recent migrant workers may have limited English language skills and little or no knowledge of UK employment rights and support structures, factors that compound the difficulties of addressing problems in the sector. These include: the perception that there is a ready supply of labour to replace workers who complain; a lack of union organisation; a culture of poor personnel practice, such as minimal training and provision of information; and the informal nature of much employment obtained by ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector. There appeared also to be a lack of monitoring or enforcement of employers’ compliance with employment legislation in this sector. To understand the different experiences and motivations for ethnic minority and migrant workers working in hotels and restaurants, the research developed a typology of strategies that highlights at one end how some individuals feel they are acting strategically in relation to their work choices, whereas at the other, economic factors and limitations play a greater role in determining their choices. The strategies move from Career progression through Broadening opportunities and Stepping stone to Pragmatic acceptance and No alternative. The research makes a number of recommendations about how the position of this vulnerable group of workers can be improved through better access to employment rights and information, improvements in working conditions and career opportunities, and improved provision of support and advice. †¢ †¢ †¢ 4 1. INTRODUCTION This project, The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers in the Hotel and Catering Industry: Routes to Support and Advice on Workplace Problems, was funded by the European Social Fund and Acas and carried out by the Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University between May 2004 and July 2006. The project used qualitative research methods to explore the experiences and problems at work of ethnic minority and migrant workers in hotels and restaurants, with the aim of both identifying the range of experiences and problems encountered, and gaining a greater understanding of access to and use of support and advice to resolve these problems. The research therefore provides evidence of the conditions faced by ethnic minority and migrant workers, which is an area relatively neglected by research so far. Its objective is to inform policy in order to improve good practice in relation to the employment of ethnic minority and migrant workers, to prevent problems from arising, and to improve the support and advice mechanisms available. The key target groups for these research findings and policy objectives are thus employers, statutory bodies, the voluntary sector, trade unions and community groups. 1. 1 Background to the project At the start of the project a working paper (Wright and Pollert, 2005) was prepared to establish the extent of ethnic minority and migrant working in the hotel and restaurant sector, as well as pinpointing the main issues for workers in the sector identified by the existing literature. The working paper is available on the project website1. The paper showed that ethnic minority and migrant workers make up a significant part of the hotel and restaurant workforce – almost threefifths (59%) of workers in the sector in London described themselves as other than. White British in the 2001 census (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27). Outside of London the picture reflects the differences in the concentration of the ethnic minority population across the UK. In the West Midlands, where 84% of the hotel and restaurant workforce were White British in 2001, the largest other groups were White other (2. 9%), Bangladeshi (2. 3%) and Indian (2. 2%). The sector is a particularly important source of employment for some groups, with 52% of male Bangladeshi workers employed in restaurants, compared to only 1% of white males (Holgate, 2004: 21). In London, migrant workers (those born outside the UK) account for 60% of those employed in the hotel and restaurant sector (GLA, 2005: 68), compared to 31% of all London workers who were born outside the UK. However there have been important changes in the composition of the hotel and restaurant workforce since the 2001 census, with employers filling vacancies in the sector by employing significant numbers of workers from the East European countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 (known as the A8 countries). The government requires nationals of the A8 countries who wish to work in the UK to register with the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS), and Home Office figures show that of the 375,000 workers registered between May 2004 and March 2006, 22% were working in hospitality and catering (80,570 workers) (Home Office, 1 http://www. workinglives. org/HotelCatering. html 5 2006a). There has, however, been a decline in the proportion of WRS applicants in Hospitality and Catering from 31% in the second quarter of 2004, to 18% in the first quarter of 2006, with Administration, Business and Management now employing greater numbers. The highest proportion of all applicants under the scheme were Polish (61%), followed by Lithuanian (12%) and Slovak (10%). The figures also show a movement of registered workers to other parts of the UK than London, with the percentage applying to London falling from 25% in the second quarter of 2004, to 11% in the first quarter of 2006 (Home Office, 2006a). While working conditions in the industry have been well documented as consisting of low pay, low status, exploitation of employees and lack of unionisation (e.g. Gabriel, 1988; Price, 1994; Head and Lucas, 2004; LPC 2005), little has been written in the UK about the actual experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers, with much of the existing literature focusing on management behaviour and strategy (Wright and Pollert, 2005). Some recent exceptions include a study of low pay in London (Evans et al, 2005), which included the hotel and catering industry. This study of 341 randomly selected low paid workers contained 90% who were migrants. Of their sample of hotel and hospitality workers, the largest group (two-fifths) were non-British whites, mainly from Eastern Europe, followed by Africans (24%). It found the lowest rates of pay to be in the hotel and catering sector, below contract cleaning, home care and the food industry. Other recent research has considered the experience of Central and East European migrants in low paid employment in the UK in the context of the A8 countries joining the EU, and covers hospitality, along with construction, agriculture and au pairs (Anderson et al, 2006). It is some 15 years since the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) undertook a formal investigation into recruitment and selection in hotels (CRE, 1991) in response to concern that the sector was failing to consider equal opportunities in employment practices. It found that ethnic minority staff were disproportionately concentrated in unskilled jobs, and found only one ethnic minority manager out of 117 hotels investigated. It made a number of recommendations about how hotels should improve their practices in relation to recruitment, monitoring, positive action and training taking account of equal opportunities issues. However, we have been unable to find evidence of any monitoring or evaluation of whether these recommendations have been heeded or implemented by hotel employers. While knowledge of employment rights among all workers in the UK is poor, it has been shown that vulnerable groups know even less (Pollert, 2005). A random survey of people’s awareness of employment rights in the West Midlands found that women, ethnic minorities, young people and the low paid were least likely to be aware of their rights (WMLPU, 2001). The research was undertaken in the context of considerable public debate on migration policy, and at a time when the government was intending to phase out low skilled migration schemes, such as the Sectors Based Scheme, which granted work permits to certain numbers of workers in skills shortage sectors such as hospitality, in the light of new labour available from the European Union (Home Office,2005). At the same time there is increasing concern for â€Å"vulnerable† workers, and the government has recently published a policy statement on protecting vulnerable workers, defined as â€Å"someone working in an environment where the risk of being denied employment rights is high and who does not have the capacity or means to protect themselves from that abuse† (DTI, 2006: 25). 6 1. 2 Research aims The research set out to address the following key questions: 1. What are the working conditions of ethnic minority and migrant workers in hotels and restaurants? 2. How are working conditions seen and what are perceived as ‘problems’, and how does this impact on acceptance of poor working conditions? 3. What type of problems do ethnic minority and migrant workers have working in hotels and restaurants? 4. How do these compare to the problems generally affecting workers in the sector and to what extent are they associated with particular labourmarket niches within the sector to which these workers are confined? If this is so, to what extent is the insecurity of migrant status relevant, or is racial discrimination relevant? 5. How much do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector know about their rights at work, and to what extent do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector attempt to enforce their legal rights at work, or instead try to find ways to achieve a sufficient income and manageable working conditions, even if this means colluding with illegal employment practices? 6. How much do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector know about where to get advice and support for problems at work? And who do they turn to for advice and support? To what extent do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector use statutory (i.e. Acas, CRE), voluntary (CABx, local advice agencies), trade union, community (groups or informal contacts through ethnic networks) or informal (friends, family) sources of support and advice? 7. What are the experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector of using all these sources of support and advice and what barriers do they face in accessing support and advice for workplace problems? 1. 3 Structure of the report The report describes the research methodology and access routes, together with the characteristics of the interviewees in section 2. The working conditions experienced by interviewees are described in section 3, confirming evidence from much of the existing literature on the sector, but also highlighting where the experience of ethnic minority and migrant workers may be particular. Section 4 describes the problems encountered by interviewees in their jobs in hotels and restaurants, but also considers the attitude of these workers to defining â€Å"problems† at work, as well as their approaches to resolving problems and barriers to resolution. The information, support and advice available to and used by the ethnic minority and migrant workers interviewed is explored in section 5, together with their awareness of employment rights in the UK. 7 In section 6 conclusions are drawn about the specific experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector, the problems that they face and their need for support and advice, suggesting that changes need to be made to practice within the sector, as well as in improved provision of support to ethnic minority and migrant workers. 8 2. METHODOLOGY The project employed qualitative research methods to gather in-depth accounts of the experiences of 50 ethnic minority and migrant workers. Interviews were carried out between May 2005 and May 2006. In addition, interviews and face-to ­ face and telephone conversations were held with key informants to provide contextual information on features and trends within the sector affecting ethnic minority and migrant workers. The strengths of using qualitative methods are that they can not only identify tangible issues (the problems themselves, for example), but also more elusive, subjective issues, such as motivation, perceptions of opportunities and of rights, sense of inclusion, integration and fairness – or their opposites – sense of frustration, alienation and barriers to obtaining support and fairness at work. 2. 1 Regional scope The research project was confined to England within the terms of reference set by the European Social Fund. Three English regions were selected in order to provide a comparison of experiences of migrant and ethnic minority workers: London, the West Midlands and the South West. London and the West Midlands have considerably larger non-white and migrant populations than other parts of the country, with significant numbers of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis working in the hotel and restaurant sector in the West Midlands (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27 ­ 28). In contrast, the South West is the English region with the smallest non-white population, but is experiencing a growth in migrant workers. The problems facing ethnic minority and migrant populations here have been less well documented, but where studies have been done, isolation from ethnic minority communities and support structures emerges as an issue (BMG Research, 2003; Gaine and Lamley, 2003; SWTUC, 2004). Tourism also accounts for 10% of total employment in the South West, with the greatest proportion of these (70%) employed in the hospitality sector – accommodation, restaurants, pubs etc. (Tourism Skills Network South West, 2002). In the South West it was decided to focus the research on two towns with a large tourist population and therefore a high demand for a hotel and restaurant workforce: Bournemouth and Plymouth. The Human Resources manager of a Bournemouth hotel group, interviewed for this research, said that only 32% of their workforce was British, indicating a high reliance on foreign-born workers. 2. 2 Definitions of ethnic minority and migrant workers The research includes both â€Å"ethnic minority† and â€Å"migrant† workers, categories which, in real life, are complex, changing and overlapping. Some ethnic minorities (using the Labour Force Survey definitions) will also be migrants. Migrants (defined here as all those who were born outside the UK, Home Office, 2002) may or may not be defined as ethnic minorities, and may or may not be discriminated against. White Australian or Canadian migrant workers, for example, would not be. But Kosovan people may be regarded as ethnic minorities, and suffer racism and discrimination, and Czech or Polish people may or may not be discriminated against, and while they may not be â€Å"visible† in terms of skin colour, in the way black and Asian people are, they are â€Å"visible† in terms of language, cultural characteristics, and discrimination. As many â€Å"white† Eastern Europeans are now 9 working in the hotel and restaurant sector, particularly since the EU enlargement in May 2004, it was felt to be important to include their experiences in the study. 2. 3 Access to research participants In order to include the experience of a broad range of interviewees from different ethnic groups and backgrounds, including both recent and more settled ethnic minorities, it was decided to use multiple routes to access interviewees. Therefore a range of bodies were contacted, many with a twofold purpose of: a) providing contextual information about the sector and/or the experiences of particular ethnic groups; and b) helping gain access to research participants. Organisations contacted included trade unions, community and worker organisations, sector bodies, employers and statutory and advice agencies (see Appendix 2). In the South West, where there are fewer organised community groups than in the two other regions, we spoke to officers at Bournemouth Borough Council, who gave us informal contacts within the main local ethnic minority communities, as well as putting us in contact with several community interpreters who spoke the main languages of the local ethnic minority groups: Portuguese, Korean, Turkish, Bengali and Spanish. These routes proved very useful in helping to access research participants and in providing interpretation for interviews. However, in the end, Turkish and Bangladeshi workers were reluctant to come forward to be interviewed, which the interpreters said was because they were fearful of speaking out about their employers, despite reassurances of confidentiality. In all three areas we used fieldworkers who were able to use their language skills to carry out interviews in workers’ native languages, namely Bengali, Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian and Mandarin. The fieldworkers were also able to provide access to workers who may not have come forward otherwise, being people who were known and trusted among their own ethnic communities, or who were able to provide sufficient reassurance of confidentiality. Training was provided in using the interview guide to all fieldworkers to ensure a common approach was used in interviews and that fieldworkers understood the aims and objectives of the research. While the approach used provided access to workers in a wide range of establishments, from large hotel groups to small independent restaurants, including several working ‘illegally’ or ‘informally’, we acknowledge that using such routes could not access the most hard-to-reach illegal migrant and ethnic minority workers, who may constitute a considerable proportion of workers in the sector. The research may not fully represent the worst conditions found in the ‘underbelly’ of the sector as suffered by many ‘illegal’ or ‘undocumented’ migrants, as portrayed, for example, in Steven Frear’s 2002 film about a London hotel, Dirty Pretty Things. It was decided not only to seek out interviewees who perceived themselves as having had a â€Å"problem† at work, but a range of people in different jobs in the sector, in order to explore their typical work experiences and their attitudes towards â€Å"problems† and conditions in the sector. 10 2. 4 Key informants In addition to the worker interviews, at least 20 key informants (see Appendix 2) provided further context on the hotel and restaurant sector, including regional knowledge. These included employers and employer representative bodies, trade union officials and branch members, community organisations, representatives of sector bodies and statutory and voluntary organisations. In some cases in-depth interviews were carried out, and in others more informal conversations were held either face-to-face or on the telephone. 2. 5 Worker interviews A total of 50 in-depth qualitative interviews were carried out in the three regions, with a greater number in London due to the huge range of ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector in the capital. The breakdown was as follows: Table 1: Worker interviews by region Region London South West West Midlands Total % 46% 24% 30% 100% No. of worker interviews 23 12 15 50 during the interviews, which and a half. Participants were of both themselves and their participation with a ? 10 shop A semi-structured interview schedule was used generally lasted between 45 minutes to an hour assured of confidentiality, and of the anonymity employer. They were thanked for their time and voucher. At the start of the interview, participants were asked to complete a two-page questionnaire giving basic demographic and employment details, data from which is provided in the following section. 2. 5. 1 Ethnicity Respondents were asked to describe their ethnicity, according to the classification used in the 2001 Census. The results are grouped together in table 2. Table 2: Ethnicity of the sample Ethnicity White Bangladeshi and Pakistani Chinese and Other Asian Black Mixed % 36% 26% 20% 16% 2% No. of interviewees 18 13 10 8 1 11 2. 5. 2 Country of birth Table 3 shows the range of countries from which interviewees came. It was notable that only one participant was born in the UK, despite attempts to find British-born ethnic minority workers in the sector. Both fieldworkers and interviewees themselves commented that many British-born people do not wish to work in a sector that is known for low pay and long hours, including the children of migrants interviewed, as they seek better alternative employment opportunities (some young British-born workers do work in the sector while they are students, but tend to do so for only a short time). Table 3: Country of birth Country of birth Bangladesh China Colombia France Ghana Holland Indonesia Ivory coast Korea Lithuania Philippines Poland Portugal Slovakia Somalia Spain Sudan Turkey UK Ukraine 2. 5. 3 Gender Women are under-represented in the sample (38% of interviewees) compared to their presence in the sector as a whole, but this reflects the fact that the sample includes a substantial number of Bangladeshi workers, who represent a significant group in the sector in the West Midlands, and most of these workers are male (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27-28). 2. 5. 4 Age Only one interviewee was under 21 years old. Almost two-fifths (38%) were aged 21 to 30 years old, and the same proportion were between 31 and 40 years old. Six interviewees (12%) were aged 41 to 50, and five (10%) were between 51 to 60. None of the interviewees were aged over 60. 2. 5. 5 Education Overall the sample was fairly highly educated, with 36% having a first stage or higher degree. Another 10% had post-secondary non-tertiary level education, and 36% had received education up to secondary level, while 12% had received. % 24% 10% 6% 2% 4% 2% 2% 2% 6% 8% 2% 4% 4% 6% 6% 2% 2% 4% 2% 2% No. of interviewees 12 5 3 1 2 1 1 1 3 4 1 2 2 3 3 1 1 2 1 1 12 primary level education or less. A further 6% had other qualifications or the details of their education were not known. 2. 5. 6 Employment The majority (62%) of the interviewees worked in restaurants, while 30% worked in hotels. The remaining 8% either worked in both hotels and restaurants, as agency workers, or in catering services. More than half of respondents (54%) said there were 10 or fewer employees where they worked. A further 22% said there were between 11 and 25 people where they worked. Only 6% worked for employers with between 26 to 49 people and 10% said there were 50 or more employees where they worked. However these figures should be treated with caution, and may underestimate the number working for larger employers, as respondents may have interpreted the questions as referring to the workplace or department of the hotel where they worked, rather than the employer as a whole. Almost half the interviewees (48%) worked as waiters or waitresses, either in hotels or restaurants. Another 20% were chefs or cooks, and a further 4% worked in kitchens as general assistants. 12% said they were supervisors or managers and 4% described themselves as cashiers. Another 10% worked in other jobs in hotels as receptionist, general assistant or porter/bar worker. The majority of workers were full-time (70%), while 14% said they worked parttime, and 14% were casual workers. Working hours were long. The largest proportion (40%) worked over 40 hours per week – 10% worked between 41 and 48 hours, while almost a third (30%) said they worked over 48 hours a week. Just over a third (36%) worked between 21 and 40 hours a week. Only 6% did less than 20 hours a week. The majority (82%) had only one job at the time of the interview, with 18% having two or more jobs. However, some of those currently working in only one job talked of previous times in the sector when they had more than one job. 2. 5. 7 Union membership Only five were members of a trade union (either the GMB or the TG), or 10% of the interviewees, although this is still a higher proportion than in the sector as a whole, where only 5% of workers are unionised (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 25). 2. 6 Data analysis All worker interviews were tape recorded and transcribed (or detailed notes were made where the quality of the recording did not allow for full transcription) with the participants’ consent, and field-notes were made shortly after the interviews. This data was analysed with the help of QSR N6 data analysis software in order to assist a consistent and rigorous approach to the data being analysed. A thematic index was developed to categorise the transcripts according to major themes and transcripts were coded accordingly using the N6 software.

Ecotourism Trend Environmental Management Tourism Essay

Ecotourism Trend Environmental Management Tourism Essay Environmental management and sustainable development is one of the most recent ecotourism trends. The term environmental management first surfaced in the 1980s describing the importance of organizations, populations, and communities to practice and handle their environmental impacts. Conservation of resources and sustainable developments are the key components to protecting and managing the environment, as well as addressing the effects of the tourism industry and other various sectors. Tourist areas such as Costa Rica, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and other various destinations are in desperate need of implementation of the ecotourism trend environmental management. All tourist destinations suffer from the lasting impacts of their visitors, continuous construction of infrastructures, deforestation and finally pollution affects. Government laws and regulations alongside with community, professional and personal concerns, when combined, may lead to significant improvements in enviro nmental management. The article, A methodology for creating greenways through multidisciplinary sustainable landscape planning, by Selma Beatriz Pena and other colleagues (2010), discusses a precise method in particular to greenways by sustaining tourism areas. Greenways are networks of linear elements that are planned, designed and managed for multiple purposes, including ecological, recreational, cultural, aesthetic or other purposes compatible with the concept of sustainable land use (p.971). By using landscapes in a cultural and natural process that does not have detrimental environmental effects, interpretation, knowledge and understanding is required for the sustainment of tourism areas. Landscape is a complex concept and system that is the result of the combination of natural and human force factors. The cultural and natural elements were incorporated through an ecological structure that is the product of natural and fundamental systems. The comprehension of environmental sensitivity can give way to sustainable development by supporting decisions regarding interventions from ecological, economic and social perspectives. (p. 971) By the positive and helpful use of landscape alongside with steady use, the management of the environment will continue to become known and more effective. The discussed methodology envelops three phases of criteria including eco-cultural analysis, synthesis and diagnosis, and the proposal. The approach consists of landscape structures and dynamics consisting of biophysical, dynamic, vegetation and other various cultural characteristics. The eco-cultural analysis was used by searching and gathering valid information collected solely from field data and cartography. The study of habitats is critical to acquire knowledge of the territory and sustain the foreseeable correct management measures. (p. 978) Many other analyses such as the biophysical component, geomorphologic dynamics, the vegetation analysis, cultural landscape, and the cultural and natural analysis, compiled together the information needed to make a successful proposal in identifying the necessary steps towards environmental management and the sustainment of landscapes. Preserving natural areas such as fields, meadows and forests leads to the sustainable maintenance of ecosy stems and is the principle of managing the environment. Once the priority actions and the management measures for habitats that ensure ecological equilibrium of landscape have been implemented, it is then possible to propose sustainable greenways. (p. 980) Article 2 The use of choice experiments in the analysis of tourist preferences for ecotourism development in Costa Rica, Robert R. Hearne (2002) explains, During the past decade Costa Rica has successfully promoted its tourist industryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (p. 154). Hearne also addresses the dynamic aspects and advances of sustainable infrastructures and their extreme efforts towards protecting their natural areas via nature-based tourism. Nature-based tourism is used to promote the dual goals of nature conservation and income generation. (p.153) To further make an environmental management impact, Costa Rica must combine within the tourists an appreciation for the nature, sustainable infrastructures, specified and defined restrictions, as well as the acknowledgement of national parks and protected areas. An increase of tourists in any area immediately generates revenue, a positive effect. While tourist dollars can generate income for local populations and contribute to the financial self-sufficiency of protected areas (p. 153), they also propose harmful possibilities on the environment including leaving their imprints on the land, loss of resources and creating a large volume of pollution. Chosen experiments appear as means to evaluate the impacts on the Braulio Carrilo National Park due to a major increase of tourist visitations in the area. The experiments and tests are a comprehensive and accumulative evaluation that analyzes direct links with economic theory of derived utility that consumers utilities are defined over a bundle of attributes or characteristics of a purchased good or service. (p. 156) A large majority of the park aims its focus on the protection and conservation of wildlife habitats including pumas, jaguars, tapirs, quetzals, and eagles. Along with the variety of species, the park is located among five different climate zones. Therefore, an environmental management plan and experimental assessment is key to the preservation of the National Park and to inform the park rangers the essential needs of the area. This study demonstrates that choice experiments are a feasible mechanism to analyze user preferences for the management of protected areas in dev eloping countries. (p. 161) Article 3 The third article, Sustainable Strategies for the Brazilian Amazon Region: An Ecotourism Perspective, Raul Gouvea (2008) discusses the importance of implementing an ecotourism industry along the Amazon region due to the influx of tourists and the lack of sustainable development accommodations. The Brazilian government has become aware of the environmental dangers that may occur because of the growth in the tourism industry. Each year Brazil becomes a more known tourism destination with the continued expansion of hotels, theme parks and convention centers. With the developments of new infrastructures, the environment will suffer from deforestation and major disturbances among the wildlife animals and surrounding habitats. Taking action now and considering the needs of an ecotourism trend such as environmental management will ensure the sustainment of the country. Ecotourism offers an avenue for translating sustainable development strategies into profits and a feasible alternative to f inance the conservation of ecosystems. (p. 89) The Brazilian government has tried various perspectives of environmental management regulations since 1987. With the establishment of their ecotourism industry, the protection and conservation of the visited areas, and efforts to generate benefits to the local communities as a way to promote the conservation of local habitats (p.91), are their two main focuses on tackling this problem. Collectively, with their focuses, The Brazilian Tourism agency and the Ecotourism Poles Project and the Brazilian Ecotourism Institute, works towards a successful program of devising, identifying and promoting poles for ecotourism development. However, a major problem that Brazil faces is the lack of educated professionals appointing the ecotourism advances. The three corporations that are working so hard to develop and implement the ecotourism trend of environmental management are having a serious problem with acknowledging where to begin, finding the manpower needed for the necessary changes of infra structures and difficulties with their communication and transportation efforts. The only answer towards lasting environmental management in Brazil is that several steps need to be taken to establish a persuasive eco-mindset in the Amazon region. The creation of an ecological triple-helix, bringing together the local private sector, local educational institutions and local and federal governmental agencies is of paramount importance to move the ecological agenda forward in the region. (p. 93) Article 4 Leida Mercado and James P. Lassoie, wrote the article, Assessing Tourists Preferences for Recreational and Environmental Management Programs Central to the Sustainable Development of a Tourism Area in the Dominican Republic (2002). Sustainable development, conservation of natural resources and preservation of the environment from the affects of the tourism industry was an important emphasis in the paper. The link between market competitiveness and sustainable tourism is very reasonable, especially when the tourism industry depends on the uniqueness of environmental resources, as in the Dominican Republic. (p.255) The tourism industry is known to be a major affliction in the goal towards and eco-friendly environment. The appropriate way to assess that problem is to first incorporate the specifications such as regulations and policies of a tourism area to sustainable developments. Also, to further help the ecotourism trend of environmental management, recognizing the interests in susta inable developments of tourists and other communities will help aid in creating awareness and add extra support to environmental management. This article first handedly reports how important it is to elicit tourists preferences of programs central to the sustainable development of tourism areas since these preferences can drive managers development decisions in more sustainable directions. (p. 253) To further pinpoint the interests of tourists regarding where they like to vacation, a considerable amount of nearly two hundred people were interviewed. The importance of containing this information is because then the resort of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, as well as surrounding areas, will be aware which areas will need extra help in environmental management and sustainable developments. The main factors that they considered when deciding where to go on a beach vacation were evaluated, as well as their preferences regarding four programs designed to improve recreational and environmental management of the area. (p. 253) The tourists expressed their opinions in financial terms. Of the results that they gathered, certain preferences expected of the tourists where cleanliness of the ocean and beach areas, prestige of services, and the overall price when going on a vacation. Also, they responded particularly to two of the four sustainable development programs. The outdoor aqu arium and the Water Management Program were the main interests of the interviewed tourists as they showed a substantial willingness to pay. From the study of tourist preferences, it is possible to draw conclusions with implications for both sustainable tourism development and environmental policy. (p. 265) Article 5 The final article that showed the growing ecotourism trend of environmental management, A Conceptual Framework to Develop Long-Term Ecological Research and Management Objectives in the Wider Caribbean Region, (2004) was written by Victor H. Rivera-Monroy. Tourism is the main source of income for the Caribbean region. With the constant flows of tourists entering the region, it puts a lot of stress on the fragile ecosystems. The environment experiences signs of deprivation in most common areas such as the surrounding sea and watersheds. Tourists are also responsible for the damages they leave behind, the extra amounts of pollution in the area, the disruptiveness of wildlife habitats and the need of lodging accommodations. Because the Caribbean cannot do without tourists generating revenue, ecotourism is becoming a very well known trend because of the need for environmental management strategies and support for sustainable developments. A problem when assessing the development of the ec otourism trend is that there are few, explicit, long-term, comprehensive studies describing the structure and function of Caribbean ecosystems. (p. 843) To address the problem of the fragile ecosystems, a conceptual framework using environmental signature hypothesis of tropical coastal settings to develop a series of research questions for the reef-sea-grass-wetland seascape (p.843) was created. A total of thirteen locations of different atmospheres and tolerance levels of environmental impacts from both natural situations and external ones were documented with the conceptual framework approach. This approach follows the strategy developed by the Long Term Ecological Research program of the National Science Foundation to establish ecological research questions best studied over decades and large spatial areas. (p. 843) The thirteen selections showcased different stages of tolerance from possible human impact of the ecosystems. The destruction of coral reefs were the main concern found in the research approaches. Effects of damages made to the coral reefs may be from sedimentation, destructive fishing, poorly regulated mining and cons truction and anthropogenic nutrient inputs. (p. 850) The causes that lead to the destruction of the coral reefs solely comes from the tourism industry. The Caribbean region constantly maintains accommodations for their visitors by participating in deforestation, infrastructures of hotels and other facilities, mining and the construction of the coast and beach areas. All in all, the Caribbean has successfully centered some main environmental damages made by tourists. The next step is to further implement the ecotourism trend of environmental management full force in the region to protect the natural areas. Conclusion The main reasons how tourism negatively affects the environmental management approaches is through the adjustments that ecosystems and wildlife areas have to modify because of the human ecological footprints of tourists, secondly, deforestation by construction of both general infrastructure and tourism related facilities, and finally pollution of noise, water, and air However, because of all the harmful contacts that tourism has with the environment, it does raise a lot of probable concerns to create awareness to the environmental management protection and conservation organizations. Physical impacts on the environment primarily come from the construction of tourism and leisure related facilities such as roads, railroads, paths, airports, marinas, hotels and resorts, and stadiums for sporting events such as the Olympics, National Football League, and NASCAR. With the constant increase in demand for tourism and recreational service areas, deforestation is the main cause to the negative impacts in the environment. Land resources such as forests, fields, and the countryside are being used for building materials, accommodation of the land, and minerals and soils. With the decrease of natural regions, wetlands and wildlife is also experiencing the detrimental shocks. In closing, all of the above articles discuss the important ecotourism trend of acquiring environmental management procedures and tactics. The common theme among the articles is acknowledging the positive and negative effects of tourism. A positive effect for the Costa Rica National Park was increased revenue that was essentially used to help protect their natural areas. Other positives include new methodologies and advanced approaches for protection and sustainable developments. However, despite the many positives, tourism also has negative impacts on specific areas resulting in the desperate need for new ecotourism trends which includes environmental management and sustainable developments.

Environmental Impact Assessment Programs and Regulations

Environmental Impact Assessment Programs and Regulations Introduction This chapter will provide a review of the development process of Environmental Impact Assessment Programs (EIAP) for buildings for different countries and different regions of the world as a reflection on the continuing evolution of building environmental assessment tools. This chapter includes two sections: the first section will present the initial structure and types for EIAP and will also compare some programs on their categories and weighting systems to anticipate the directions of future developments for building environmental assessment programs. Understanding how EIAP for buildings developed over the past 20 years is the main outcome of this chapter as it will provide evidence for the research hypothesis and justifications for the methodologies undertaken in this research. Objectives The main aim of this chapter is to review the development process of EIAP for buildings; its categories, weighting systems and methodologies used in developing these programs. It will serve as a starting point in developing an evaluation tool especially designed for the Egyptian environment. To achieve this aim some objectives have been adopted: Review and compare different types of EIAP for buildings from variety of regions, emphasizing on their categories of assessment, weighting systems and their latest developments. Investigate the future development direction for EIAP for buildings. The development of EIAP for buildings Building sector contribute significantly to energy consumption all over the world. It is responsible for 38% of the world primary energy consumption and the CO2 emission resulting from these huge levels of consumption, as shown in Figure 2-1 (BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2008, International Energy Agency (IEA) Statistics Division, 2008). A lot of experts believe that the building sector in the world could help reducing 1.8 billion tones of CO2 before Kyoto target in 2012 (World Business Council for Sustainable Development 2009 report). According to the UNEP 2007: significant gains can be made in efforts to combat global warming by reducing energy use and improving energy efficiency in buildings. There are number of ways that a building could affect its surrounding environment on its life time. During different stages; row materials, construction, operation and demolition, also, through different components, buildings could have a huge impact on the environment (UNEP 2007). For example: soil pollution, emissions into the air, water spills, waste generation, resource consumption, local impacts, impacts associated with transportation and effects on biodiversity (Gangolells M, et al., 2009). In addition to the previous environmental impacts, buildings affect peoples health directly. As (Theodore 1996 ) reported, there are a lot of health problems that could be linked to buildings directly especially to poor indoor quality i.e. the sick building syndrome. According to (UNEP 2007) it has long been established that to achieve an energy-efficient world, governments, businesses and individuals must transform the building sector. One of the approaches that have been adopted to address the building sector effects on the environment were developing programs to assess buildings performance. Environmental impact assessment programs (EIAP) for buildings were originally conceived as guidance to recognize best practice, promote green buildings and to provide a unified and coherent base for buildings to be compared on. Recent studies showed that EIAP have been a key factor in improving buildings design as well (pennenvironment pdf). This movement towards sustainable and green buildings has been growing rabidly since the second half of the 80s leading to the development of various methods for evaluating the environmental performance of buildings (Cole, Yudelson and Fedrizzi, 2008). The number of EIAP for buildings has increased significantly in the past two decades, as shown in Figure 2-2. From 4 programs in the 80s to more than 25 program now actively used worldwide. This increase in the number of EIAP for buildings or the revolution as Yudelson describe it, will likely continue over the next few years (Cole, , Yudelson). In countries all over the world -especially the developed countries- there is a growing interest in understanding how to reduce the building sector impacts on the environment. This is partially manifested in continues development of EIAP for buildings, either by introducing new assessment tools, or by developing and refining the existing ones. In recent years, the market for evaluating building performance was increasing, with clients demanding buildings that meet the highest efficiency standards and have minimum effects on the environment (U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), 2005). The time line progress for the environmental programs Environmental buildings or green buildings from the market point of view could potentially save money on energy bills, cut global warming pollution and help to secure future energy. Therefore there are growing demands for building classified as green or environmentally friendly. Another aspect that confirm the current success of EIAP for building is that a lot of conferences have been and still are held for the environmental impacts of buildings and the best way to develop and assess it (Cole, -, Yudelson). EIAP are now considered a driving force to develop buildings industry. EIAP were first conceived as a mean to quantify the success of a building in achieving reduced impacts on the environment during its life time. They were also developed to comply with standards from organizations like ANSI, ISO, ASHARE, ASTM and CEN. The structure and components of EIAP are always changing to cope with the latest editions in building standards. These changes include; categories of assessment, credits weighting, impacts calculation, cost efficiency and simulation techniques. EIAP assess buildings either on performance bases on prescriptive bases. They were initially developed as voluntary (cole,) but with the higher demands from the market some programs are mandatory in some parts of the world now for example-. Some organizations and local authorities now demand a certain qualification to be attained by the building in order to be authorized. For example EIAP were first designed to assess certain aspects of buildings mostly energy, water and material use. They were also firstly designed for certain types of buildings. New developments to EIAP for buildings included expanding the assessment categories to include every stage and component of a building during its life time. The new generations of programs are moving towards a more comprehensive view of assessment rather than it being for only one type of buildings or one aspect of building elements. New additions to BREAM 2008 and LEED 2009 included the introduction of new versions to assess new types of building (ref for Leed and bream websites). EIAP also assess buildings in different stages; designing, construction, operation and demolish. With number of these programs being in use for several years spotting the developments directions for EIAP for buildings could be recognized and analyzed. In the first generation of EIAP like and , assessments were usually made by a qualified third party. In recent years web based assessment have been introduced, for example in - and LEED V3 2009 (ref for Leed and bream websites). This came as a reaction to the market demand for an easy to use initial assessment. EIAP outcomes are a certificate grade (,), a report () or a to acknowledge the grade of a building in achieving its environmental targets. Recent additions to EIAP for building included the introduction of an outstanding rate for outstanding innovations in green building as in in LEED and -in BREAM (ref for Leed and bream websites). This comes as a result of the current need on the market for green buildings to achieve the highest the huge competition. The success of EIAP in reshaping the building industry is undeniable. In recent years, EIAP have been playing a big role in moving the building industry into a more environment conscious directions, as presented in (Cole, 2003): ..There is little doubt that building environmental assessment methods have contributed enormously to furthering the promotion of higher environmental expectations, and are directly and indirectly influencing the performance of buildings. This current success of EIAP for buildings is considered one of the -in the world (usgreen building council). This success derives from the ability of these programs to offers a common ground for designers, governments and buildings owners, to assess building performance and be recognized for good practice. This chapter will focus on certification programs that deal with evaluation and assessment of buildings to serve as a starting point in developing a specific program aimed at the Egyptian environment needs. From the author view Types of Building Assessment Methods EIAP for buildings could be divided to two types according to what they assess in a building. The first type assesses one or more of the building aspects to find out how it will affect the environment and how well the buildings elements will score against environmental standards, for example on energy efficiency or materials choice. Programs like R-2000 and ENERGY STAR assess mainly building energy efficiency (R-2000, 2007, ENERGY STAR, 2009). These types of assessment methods sometimes are specifically designed for a certain type of buildings like P-mark for prefabricated houses and GreenCalc for Dutch office buildings (Technical Research Institute of Sweden, 2009, GreenCalc, 2009). Also for some programs the assessment is done to only one stage of a building, for example ATHENA for design stage only and NovoClimat for after operation stage only (ATHENA, 2009, Natural Resources Canada, 2009). The assessed buildings either pass the assessment and given a certificate or a qualificatio n grade, or fail to qualify and be given guidance on how to improve the assessed element of their building. The second type of EIAP assesses building as a whole against a set of categories to find out the building total impacts on the environment. These types of programs always include a wide range of categories of assessment ranging from site design and energy efficiency to water usage and recycling management. They also cover different building types with specific consideration for each type, for example in BREEAM, LEEDS and HK-BEAM there are specific versions to assess homes, schools, retail and healthcare. These programs assess a building on different stages; design, construction, operation, maintenance and demolition stage in some programs. Usually a certificate or a qualification grade is awarded to the assessed building to define its standard. Table 2-1 presents EIAP that will be reviewed in this study. Developed in Canada in 1982 the R-2000 is a voluntary program encouraging builders to build energy-efficient houses that are environmentally friendly and healthy. It includes an energy efficiency standard for new houses that is continuously updated. It also includes comprehensive training and education courses for builders. The R-2000 standard assesses energy consumption performance for a house through a series of technical requirements: (minimum envelope requirements, ventilation system requirements, combustion system requirements, energy performance target, lights and appliances, indoor air quality and environmental features/eco-management) (Natural resources Canada, 2009, R-2000, 2007). During the first few years of application the R-2000 program didnt attract the anticipated Canadian building practice (Horvat et al., 2005, Adair, 1996), this was due to: Copying R-2000 homes by uncertified builders that lead to a failure of real application of the program standards. Being more expensive (6-10%) to build R-2000 home in comparison to regular building. Being flexible is what helped the R-2000 (2005 edition) program stay in the current market and being able to be applied to any type of homes. Another advantage is producing homes with 30%-40% energy savings (R-2000, 2007, Horvat et al., 2005). P-mark system (Sweden, 1989) P-mark came as a reaction to the manufacturers of prefabricated houses in Sweden need for an assessment program that assures the market of the quality of their houses. P-mark is a voluntary program. It was developed for design and after construction stages. P-mark authorities use the method of unannounced inspections to assure quality control procedures after operation. 5% of the finished houses is inspected and measured annually. The inspections are on performance bases for the finished homes on air-tightness of the building envelope, air exchange rates, air-tightness of ducts, sound pressure levels and heat requirement, to verify compliance with P-mark requirements P-mark certificate is considered a form of quality assurance in Sweden (Technical Research Institute of Sweden, 2009, Horvat et al., 2005, Swedish Institute for Technical Approval in Construction SITAC, 2007, website) One advantage to the application P-mark was that it has helped the Sweden market in reducing complaints from people about the failure of prefabricated homes (Anneling, 1998). The upgrades that have been made to the P-mark in recent years involved improving the assessment categories to include: 1) Testing for ventilation, air-tightness of houses and ventilation ducts, 2) Inspection for HVAC performance, water-tightness of the kitchen or toilet (Technical Research Institute of Sweden, 2009). The Building Environmental Performance Assessment Criteria (BEPAC) is a voluntary EIAP specifically for commercial buildings. It assesses the building on five categories: energy use, indoor environment, ozone protection, resource conservation, and transportation. BEPAC was Canadas first non-residential environmental assessment tool and has influenced a lot of the programs that followed for example: BREEAM Canada, GBTool, C-2000 and GreenGlobes. On its first version it used an experienced third party to undertake the assessment. As a reaction to concerns regarding the costs of using an expensive third party to carry out the assessment in BEPAC; the self-assessment version of BEPAC was developed. It allows facility staff to evaluate their own buildings. It contains a program for user training. This new addition has been criticized as the facility staff might be not experienced enough to carry out an assessment. BEBAC label consistency has been questioned and this led to the assessment not being used much in the Canadian market (SDIC, 2009, Marshall, 2008, DEH, 2000, Bond, 1999). Eco-profile (Norway, 1995) Eco-Profile is a simple environmental assessment method which was developed to be easy to use to encourage the uptake of the scheme. It assesses life cycle effects of a building on external environment, resources and indoor climate (Boonstra and Pettersen, 2003, Strand and Fossdal, 2003). The program uses 82 parameters to assess the building performance and then given a grade. The grading scale is: 1 for Low environmental impact, 2 for Medium impacts and 3 for Greater impact (Strand and Fossdal, 2003). Eco-Profile is not currently used in the Norwegian market. It has not been marketed since 2002 due to funding limitations with the Norwegian Building Research Institute. Even though more than 60 commercial buildings have been assessed by this program in 2000-2001 it is not considered a successful one as it didnt continue, as presented in (Boonstra and Pettersen, 2003): so far Eco-profile cannot be said to have been a success Some of the suggested improvement for the program included simplifying the program by presenting one index instead of three and reducing the number of the assessed parameters. Another direction for improvement will have to include updating the weighting of parameters. (Boonstra and Pettersen, 2003, Strand and Fossdal, 2003) (Andresen, 2005, Krishnan Gowri, 2004., Hasegawa, 2003, G. Assefa et al., 2007). GreenCalc (The Netherlands, 1997) GreenCalc is an assessment program for Dutch buildings especially commercial and industrial. It uses computer tool to calculate the buildings environmental load in terms of cost. It is divided into four modules: 1) material module: choice of materials, quantities and insulating values. 2) Energy module: energy consumption in operation phase (use of building, air-conditioning, ventilation and lighting. 3) Water usage: water consumption in the operation phase (facilities, sanitary facilities and rainwater). 4) Mobility: accessibility from home to work place; location, public transport and own transport. Assessment is performed in comparison to a benchmark building designed to 1990s standards. The benchmark for environmental index for 1990s building is 100 and current building is 150-300. The program predicts that buildings in 2050 will achieve environmental index of 2000 (Seo et al., 2005, GreenCalc, 2009). The latest version of the program GreenCalc+ has tried to cope with the highly developed market of green buildings. It included expanded simulation modeling with the designer being able to evaluate the effects of better insulation, glazing, efficient lighting systems, and solar energy systems as design options. It updated its energy consumption prediction method to be able to calculate the Energy Performance Norm option (GreenCalc, 2009). ENERGY STAR (US, 2000) ENERGY STAR is a program to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. It is operated by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy. It assesses products as well as buildings, for example; lighting fixtures, home electronics, office equipment, heating and cooling equipment. The building certificate is for residential (single/multi-family and renovated houses) and commercial buildings (ENERGY STAR, 2009, Horvat et al, 2005). Criticisms to ENERGY STAR buildings came from it being more expensive than other conventional buildings especially on design and material aspects. Studies proved that these costs are accepted because the building save on running costs (i.e., the HVAC system) (Tanmay Tathagat 2007, Horvat et al, 2005). In recent development to the program and as a reaction to meet the escalating demands for energy savings, modifications have been applied to its minimum energy saving requirements. Initially in 2000 the ENERGY STAR label required a building to be at least 30% more energy efficient (heating, cooling and water heating) than a comparable one built to the 1993 Model Energy Code. Also the building should be 15% more efficient than the state energy code. New modification in 2007 demanded that a building must be at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code IRC (ENERGY STAR, 2009). (Roosa, 2007, Greg K and Capital E, 2003). (Yudelson and Fedrizzi, 2008b, Greg K and Capital E, 2003, ENERGY STAR, 2009). 2.5.1.7 NovoClimat (Canada, Quà ©bec, 2000) NovoClimat was initially conceived to allow Quebec builders to increase the energy efficiency of their homes. It was developed by the Quebec Agency for Energy Efficiency (Natural Resources Canada, 2009, Horvat et al., 2005). The assessment is done to the building in construction stage and after completion. A typical Novoclimat home will score EnerGuide rating of between 78 and 80 (http://www.ottawasnewesthomes.com/novoclimat-for-gatineau-new-homes.php, http://www.aee.gouv.qc.ca/en/my-home/novoclimat/). It is a voluntary program inspired by Canadas National Model Energy Code. What makes this program different is the fact that it connects energy efficiency and air-tightness to the durability of the building envelope. The new Novoclimat 2007 aimed directly to quantify the effects it makes to a building, by setting a goal to improve a buildings energy performance by a minimum of 25% (Efficient Energy Agency, 2008, Natural Resources Canada, 2009). http://www.ottawasnewesthomes.com/novoclimat-for-gatineau-new-homes.php http://www.aee.gouv.qc.ca/en/my-home/novoclimat/ (Salomon and Nigel, 2006, Robert C, 2003, Natural Resources Canada, 2009, Horvat et al., 2005). 2.5.1.8 ATHENA (Canada, 2000) Athena is North American software for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for buildings. It assesses industrial, institutional, office, multi-unit/single family residential homes and also assesses both new buildings and renovations to existing buildings. It is for design stage only to help in deciding which materials to use as it recognizes more than 90 materials and simulates over 1,200 different assembly combinations (structural and envelope). According to ATHENA institute 2009, this software takes into account the environmental effects of: material manufacturing, (including resource extraction and recycled content), related transportation, on-site construction, regional variation in energy use and other factors, building type and assumed lifespan, maintenance, repair and replacement effects, demolition and disposal, operating energy emissions and pre-combustion effects, embodied primary energy use, global warming potential, solid waste emissions, pollutants to air, pollutants to water and natural resource use. ATHENA (4) Impact Estimator, is the newest version of the program and was released in 2009. As most of the new generation of EIAP, ATHENA (4) newest edition included improving simulation modeling. The software will help designers choose a design from up to five design scenarios. It is also more flexible in handling data flows with more impact measures. Another new feature is the ability to choose new regions to assess (ATHENA, 2009). Eco-Quantum (The Netherlands, 1998) Eco-Quantum is a LCA based computer tool. It starts by entering building data, then the calculation section and finally the output results. It has two versions; one for offices and the other for domestic buildings. It calculates the environmental effects during the entire life span of a building. This includes the impact of energy, the maintenance during the use phase and the differences in the durability of parts of the construction related to the life span of the building. The program has an advantage of being easy to use. As a reaction to the evolving market for environmental assessment, Eco-Quantum V3 latest additives included improving assessment categories. Not only it assess materials and energy flow, it now also takes into account the possibility for selective demolition, recycling, ozone depletion, human toxicity and product reuse ((Kortman, 1999, Breedveld, 2007 Forsberga Malmborgc , 2004, ISPRA, 2009). MAK refernce BEAT (Denmark, 2001) The Building Environmental Assessment Tool (BEAT) is a LCA based tool. BEAT is a relation database designed using Microsoft Access. The user must supply: type of building, estimated lifetime of the building, geometry of the building, number of floors above/below ground, roof pitch, number of windows in the building, % of facade area covered by windows and natural or mechanical ventilation. BEAT assessment is for design stage only. It can be used both for supporting the general design choices early in the design phase, and later for supporting the more detailed design choices. The total environmental effects are the sum of multiplying the environmental effect by a weighting factor. Motivated by both the increased requirements to the energy performance of buildings and the recent developments for simulation tools for building assessment, the Danish Building Research Institute (SBi) is studying a project to develop BEAT. It is studying how to facilitate the use of BEAT by integrating it into new simulation software called BSim. This will allows both energy and environmental assessments to be performed in one operation. The new program is expected to be flexible in respect to the anticipated Canadian Environment Network (CEN) requirements. Early signs of the anticipated merge suggest that it is useful to support decision during design phase (Pedersen, F., Hansen, K., Wittchen, K. B., Grau, K., Johnsen, K. (2008). Combining building thermal simulation methods and LCA methods. In C. Rode, Proceedings of the 8th Symposium on Building Physics in the Nordic Countries: Nordic Symposium on Building Physics 2008, NSB2008, Copenhagen, June 16-18, 2008, Vol. 2 (pp. 605-611 ). Lyngby: DTU.(The Danish Building Research Institute, 2007). LCAid (Australia, 2001) LCAid is the Environmental Life Cycle Assessment Design Aid software package developed by department of public works and services categories. It is to identify the largest impacts over the building life cycle. It is user friendly decision making tool used to evaluate the environmental performance of design options over its life span. The program inputs are: raw materials, building product manufacture, energy, and water. Outputs include: resource extraction, emissions to air, water, land and waste, demolition reuse, recycling and disposal. The software outputs identify the areas that have the greatest impact on the environment so it could be reduced by other solutions. LCAid improvements included to separates the environmental impacts within each indicator into four stages; construction, operation, maintenance and demolition (Eldridge, 2002, Graham, P. 2000). Green Globes (Canada, 2000) Green Globes is a system to manage the assessment of environmental designs. It is an online assessment for green buildings. The system requires the client (i.e. property manager, owners of commercial and multi-residential buildings) to complete an online confidential questionnaire at design stage. Another stage of the assessment is an online report from a third-party at the construction stage. The categories of assessment for green Globes are: site, energy, water, emissions and indoor environment. It was developed based on BREEAM/Green Leaf as their upgrade or as their web-based tool. It was much anticipated and there was an immediate uptake to it with more than 100 users registered for existing building assessments only in 2002. One of the reasons for the huge uptake could have been that the program was filling the gap for an online assessment method that is related to BREEAM. To be certified a building will have to achieve at least 35% of the total number of 1,000 points. New editi on of Green Globes are in the line of developing the program to consider the building surrounding environment and not only the building itself. The new tool for Continual Improvement of Existing Buildings (CIEB) will look at aspects such as resident transportation opportunities (ECD, 2009, Boonstra Pettersen, 2003, Green Globes (2009). BEES (US, 2002) Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) is a program to help making an environmental but cost effective building. BEES measures the life time effects of the building and its components. The categories of assessment are in terms of: Global warming, Acidification, Eutrophication, Resource Depletion, Indoor Air Quality, Solid Waste, First Cost and Future Cost. The software strength comes from the extensive assessment for economic performance of a building using the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard. It produces results for environmental performance and economic performance and an overall performance as shown in Figure 2-9. All stages of buildings construction are analyzed from the row material manufacture and transportation to the waste management. The program is constantly developing by adding assessment categories and new materials to the software database in order to keep up to date with the latest editions in the green designs. BEES 4.0 function to the newest data from U.S. EPA and have more than 200 building products in its database (BEES, 2007, Lippiatt, et.al., 2002). Programs that assess the whole building. BREEAM (UK, 1990) The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), initiated as a tool for assessing the environmental performance of a building. BREEAM assessment is divided into 9 categories: Management, Health Comfort, Energy, Transport, Water, Materials, Land Use, Ecology and Pollution. It was initially started as a questionnaire based tool. These questionnaires were designed for each stage of a building from design to post-operation. The actual credits were given to a building only on two stages: concept design stage and the preparation of construction stage. One criticism for BREEAM was that finished buildings sometimes differ from the design. This has been addressed in the latest version of BREEAM (2008) by introducing a post construction assessment. This assessment will ensure that all the specifications stated in the design are carried out in the actual building (BREEAM, 2009, BERR, 2008, Howe, 2008). Another criticism for BREEAM was that design teams used to cop y whole paragraphs of the checklists provided by BREEAM and put it in the design specification to get the credits from the assessor. Also a lot of credits could have been obtained from number of very small additives to the design (for example parking sheds). These credits will help buildings in getting a high rating without necessarily being green as a whole. In BREEAM 2008 mandatory credits was introduced to address this problem. These credits will ensure a minimum application of a holistic view of green concept in the rated buildings. Also by making the Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM or equivalent mandatory in April 2008, this will secure sustainable measures in larger developments (BREEAM, 2009, BERR, 2008, Howe, 2008, Glasson et al., 2005). BREEAM initially didnt include benchmarks for number of criteria; it used to make reference to them. This was designed to help BREEAM being flexible. In BREEAM 2008 a lot of credits have been expanded especially setting benchmarks for CO2 emissions to align with the new Environmental Performance Certificate (EPC). BREEAM assess new and existing building for deferent types of buildings: Courts, homes, Industrial buildings, Multi-Residential, Prisons, Offices, Retail and Education. Latest developments in BREEAM 2008 included expanding the assessed building types to include BREEAM Healthcare and BREEAM Further Education. As a reaction to the evolving market of green buildings and the urge to use the highest environmental developments in buildings industry; a new rating level (BREEAM outstanding) has been introduced in 2008. This will enable innovative designs to be recognized for being leaders in their domain (BREEAM, 2009). HK-BEAM ( Hong Kong, 1996) The Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method (HK-BEAM) is a voluntary environmental assessment program for buildings. It was originally developed by Real Estate Development Agency but it is owned now by BEAM Society. The program main assessment categories are: site, materials, energy, water, indoor environment and innovative aspects and its award classifications are Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. It was the first program to finalize its assessment only when the building is completed. HK-BEAM is updating periodically to keep up with the industry standards and regulations. New versions were released on 1999, 2003 and 2005. The latest version HK-BEAM 4/04 has a lot of modifications to respond to the developing market of green buildings. BEAM 2004 highlighted the increasing importance of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ); by making it necessary to obtain minimum credit for it in order to be eligible for a grade. The grade awarded is based on percentage of applicable credi ts gained both for IEQ and overall assessment. BEAM is considered a very successful assessment tool. Though being voluntary program, in 2003, over