Literary Analysis on Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Literary Analysis: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis By Agatha Xaris Villa A. Introduction & Rationale It is said that among the major literary genres recognized today, the ‘novel’ is the most accessible to the majority of the readership. However, in terms of stylistic analysis, novels are the most difficult subjects to analyze. However, a trend that has been observed for the bulk of the twentieth-century is that literary criticism conducted on the genre of narrative texts (i. e. novels) have primarily focused on narrative point of view (Short, 1996, pg. 56) and this is not without cause. Among the literary genres, the novel, prototypically, has the most complex narrative discourse structure. In contrast to the prototypical poem and play, the novel has at least three levels of discourse –the author-reader, character-character level, and the narrator-narratee level (Short, 1996, pg. 256-257). The complexity of the novel’s discourse structure is why it has the most number of viewpoints and why it is believed to be the most ideal literary form in which to study viewpoint (Short, 1996, pg. 257)In light of this premise, I shall be attempting to objectively conduct a literary analysis on an extract taken from The Screwtape Letters (1942), the popular satire written by C. S. Lewis with a focus on point of view. When I first read The Screwtape Letters, one of the aspects which I found most refreshingly original and creative about the text was the way in which this age-old story of â€Å"good VS evil† was presented by the author. While there are certainly other creative aspect in the text, C. S. Lewis’ creative manipulation of viewpoint is what I believe provides readers with that distinct sense of creativity and originality.To support this thesis, I will be exploring viewpoint from both macro-level (describing the general discourse relations in the novel) and micro-level (giving an account of the linguistic indicators of view point that show how the author manipulates viewpoint through smaller-scale linguistic choices). B. Basic Information about the Story The Screwtape Letters is what is known as an epistolary novel –a narrative that is told through a series of documents (usually journal entries or letters) from the pen of one or more characters from the story.A characteristic of such types of novels is its ability to provide a very intimate and in-depth view of the writers giving the story a good dose of realness. In all, The Screwtape Letters is comprised of a series of 31 letters written by one of hell’s own ‘undersecretaries’ – a high-standing demon by the name of Screwtape, who is writing to his nephew, Wormwood, who has only just received his first ‘patient’. Throughout the letters, Screwtape passes to Wormwood techniques on temptation and basic devilry – all to secure the eternal damnation of this one soul in the courts of their â€Å"Father Below†.From his own morally-reversed ‘demonic’ perspective, Screwtape explains (to Wormwood) and unveils (to the reader) a new perspective on the spirituality of ‘everyday life’ – something that ordinary men and women are unaware of. He also shows a very vivid contrast between the ways of ‘The Father Below’ and ‘The Enemy’ (God). Of course, as a demon, he speaks of ‘The Enemy’ and his ways with disdain and disgust but to the Christian reader, these are mere affirmations of faith. The story ends as the worst of Screwtape’s own ‘bad scenarios’ is indeed realized – in the death of ‘the patient’ in an air-raid.As mentioned, there are often several levels of discourse to be considered to understand what is going on. In the case of The Screwtape Letters, I believe there are three: a novelist-reader level, narrator-narratee level and the character-character level (as illust rated below). Level 1 Addresser 1 (C. S. Lewis) –> MESSAGE –> Addressee 1 (Reader) Level 2 Addresser 2 (Screwtape: narrator) –> MESSAGE –> Addressee 2 (Narratee) Level 3 Addresser 3 (Screwtape: character) –> MESSAGE –> Addressee 3 (Wormwood: character)There are several interesting things to note in this story’s discourse structure. First of all, it can be argued that all 3 levels on the ‘Addresser’ side may collapse together whenever Screwtape speaks. As a demon, he obviously has a different purpose and aim with regards to the human race and his letters reflect that view. He even describes certain perceptions held by humans which are the direct result of demonic manipulation and propaganda. While he is not, in fact, addressing us humans, as narrator, it feels like he is talking directly to us – effectively fulfilling the role of narrator.Furthermore, even though he is a demon, he is able to give vivid and even impa ssioned descriptions of some of the Enemy’s (God) plans and intentions – to the point that it sounds like treachery on his part. This, I believe is a way in which the author’s own point of view may be heard through Screwtape himself. On the other hand, levels 1 and 2 of the ‘Addressee’ side collapse together. The role of narratee (the person who is addressed by the narrator) in this narrative is more an abstract rather than a solidified concept simply because of the very nature of the letters themselves – ‘private letters’ between uncle and nephew.As the reader reads, he or she takes up both book and role of narratee. In this way, the author is able to reel us into the diabolical mind. As the narrative continues, the more we know of how demons operate the more we ‘understand’ their side but it also further heightens our awareness of their perverseness and evil. For the most part, the book follows the discourse struct ure outlined above (first-person narration) but this is not always the case. However, the fact that a large part of the discourse structure is ‘collapsible’ further strengthens the argument that novels (and this particular story) are ideal for analyzing viewpoint.C. Analysis of the Extract Based on Short’s work (1996), there are several different linguistic means available to the author to indicate and manipulate point of view. In this portion of the paper, I will evaluate and account for significant instances of these indicators or lack thereof to substantiate the claim that viewpoint is a stand-out characteristic of this particular piece of text. 1 Schema-oriented language The study of cognitive science asserts that for comprehension to be achieved; relevant background knowledge must be available and activated. This ‘background knowledge’ is known as schema (i. e. generic information about objects, people, situations and events)(Semino, 2006, pg. 3 8). The author has the ability to manipulate viewpoint by choosing to describe things from one particular point of view – that is, schema-oriented language. The title of the book (The Screwtape Letters) as well as the continued use of the ‘letter’ format in each chapter would have clued the readers to the main viewpoint featured in the text – that of Screwtape. In our extract (the 28th letter), Screwtape himself reveals the disparity between our perception about how demons see things and how they really perceive things.The opening of the extract would have had readers activating and using their schema related to ‘demons’, ‘demonic activity’, ‘war’ and ‘death’. However as they continue reading, it becomes clear that the textual input actually deviates from their pre-existing expectations and causes schemas to be modified (Semino, 2006, pg. 40). This experience is what is referred to as ‘schema refres hment’ (Cook, 1994). The text begins to deviate from the norm when we read of Screwtape chastising his nephew for his naive way of perceiving ‘death’.In a strange move, he advises his nephew (lines 22-24) to pay close attention to the physical safety of his ‘patient’– because ‘if he dies, you lose him’ (line 25). Overall, this seems contradictory to our own conventional thinking about what demons think about ‘death’ and Screwtape is fully aware that it is. In lines 20-21, he explains to Wormwood that humans ‘tend to regard death as the prime evil and survival as the greatest good,’ and continues by citing that this is little more than the fruit of the devil’s own propaganda.Yet another part of the extract which seems to depart from our general assumptions regarding demonic activity is when Screwtape explains the opportunities that adversity, prosperity and long life bring to demons. Naturally, peop le are especially averse towards suffering of any kind – however, to think that prosperity lends an even better opportunity for the demon’s cause may come as a shock for readers – especially those that are not particularly verse in biblical teaching. Indeed, it is important to note that whether or not the reader experiences ‘schema refreshment’ is entirely dependent on his or her personal schemata.Perhaps one of the reasons why this book has been well-received by those in the Christian community is because they have the necessary schemata regarding demons and biblical teaching to help them grasp and appreciate the subtleties of C. S. Lewis’ satirical writing. One interesting thing to note is that Screwtape’s worst-case scenario does come to pass in the end—the patient does die and is thus forever loosed from the demon’s clutches in the same way that Screwtape had described – an air raid. Of course, Screwtape (the c haracter) was not actually intending to predict the future. Value-laden expressions Viewpoint may also be controlled and manipulated by the author through small-scale linguistic choices regarding how to describe particular elements of the story. A character’s viewpoint may be identified by highlighting their feelings or attitudes regarding something. For example, at the beginning of the chapter, Screwtape describes his nephew’s excitement of the oncoming air raids as being ‘infantile’ and that he is ‘singularly obtuse’ in not providing him with the data he really wants.He repeats, ‘do you not know’ (line 8-9) as if to further criticize his nephew for not referring to what should be common knowledge. Later, Screwtape says that he is ‘ashamed’ to even have to explain it (lines 7-8). In all, all these value-laden expressions indicate that Screwtape is upset over his nephew’s incompetence and lack of common sense. 3 Given VS new information In writing a story, the author must make certain assumptions regarding the type of schema or ‘common knowledge’ available to readers and use them to improve the communicative ability of his writing.Traditionally, whenever characters/1st person narrator/author want to introduce new information, they will need to use an indefinite article such as ‘a’. For example, in the extract, Screwtape mentions (for the first time) ‘a great human philosopher’ (line 53) into the letter-exchange. As the story continues, characters may make references to things and events that have already been mentioned in the past and thus refer to them using the definite article ‘the’ which is an indicator of given information.The extract, which is taken from the 28th chapter of the series, is actually a few chapters close to the end of the story and features a small summary of some of the things that Wormwood has tried. In lines 9-17, he refers to ‘the worldly friends’ that Wormwood has tried to introduce to his patients, ‘the girl’ (line 14) whom the patient has fallen in love with and ‘the various methods’ Wormwood has used to corrupt the patient’s spiritual life.All these refer to events and entities in earlier chapters of the book. It is possible that even events and entities that have not been mentioned earlier receive definite reference because the author believes it to be ‘general knowledge’ for readers or he is deliberately positioning readers in a position called ‘in medias res’ (or already ‘in the know’ (Short, 1996) – a technique which is used to further intensify the readers closeness to the events of the story.Take for instance, the references made by Screwtape regarding the characteristics that are being referred to as known characteristics of human mid-life crisis: ‘the long, dull, monotonous years of middle aged prosperity or†¦adversity’ (line 27), ‘the routine of adversity, the gradual decay of youthful loves and youthful hopes, the quiet despair of ever overcoming chronic temptations†¦, the drabness which we create in their lives and the inarticulate resentment†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (lines 27-32). 4 Indicators of character’s thoughts or perceptions The very nature of the extract’s format is indicative of whose thoughts and perceptions we are reading.However, this also means that everything that is told in the narrative is limited to the perceptions of one character. To this end, the author does give some clues as to the level of factivity of Screwtape’s views. In line 5, Screwtape writes that Wormwood ‘seems singularly obtuse’. While ‘seem’ is not a popularly recognized ‘factive’ verb, its inclusion in this sentences tell us that there is a level of uncertainty. In line 17, Screwtape says with some lev el of certainty that if the patient died on that night, ‘he will almost certainly be lost’ to them. And ironically, in the end, that is exactly what happened. Deixis One way in which the author may indicate particular or changing viewpoints is by using deictic expressions (i. e. , expressions which are indicative of the positioning of certain objects in relation to a deictic focal point – the speaker) which may come in the form of demonstrative determiners or pronouns (e. g. this and that), deictic adverbs (e. g. here and there), deictic verbs (e. g. come, go, etc. ) and even tense (e. g. now and then)(Short, 1996, pg. 269). There is relatively little use of deictic expressions to indicate changing viewpoints however, there are instances wherein deictic expressions indicate istance of certain objects from the position of the speaker. Consider lines 20-21 wherein Screwtape writes, â€Å"They, of course, do tend to regard death as the prime evil and survival as th e greatest good. † The use of the pronoun ‘they’ indicates Screwtape’s attitude and perception towards humans – that they are deictically remote from his ‘physical position’ and ‘psychological position’ (because they are not part of the conversation and do not share the same perception regarding death). However, this sentence may make readers feel a distinct sense that they are ‘eaves-dropping’.Furthermore, the author is talking about the readers (us), through the character/narrator in the third person – a round-about strategy that C. S. Lewis employs extensively for the purpose of teaching readers. Another type of deixis which may be found in the extract is the use of ‘social’ deixis which refers to the use of different naming terms that indicate differences or similarities in social status and standing. Just as in every chapter of the book, Screwtape insists in using the greeting ‘My Dear Wormwood’ and the closing remark ‘Your affectionate uncle’ which tells of the close relationship between the two demons.While he is superior in rank and does reserve the right to strongly criticize Wormwood, he seems to be doing so as a mentor to a beloved student – an uncle to a nephew. That is, if familial love is even possible between demons. 6 The sequencing and organization of actions and events In novels, the way in which events are sequenced and portrayed is a means through which we can see the impressions and viewpoint of a particular character. In fact, this way of psychologically sequencing events is often used to present the perceptions of the I-narrator/character during the time of the events.The extract does not attempt to recreate any moments but seems to either be recalling past events or giving the viewpoint of someone who sees the human life from a higher vantage point – allowing him to see a bigger picture. He cannot see the e ntire picture since he has neither hold nor distinct knowledge of the future. In conclusion to this segment, let us move from analyzing viewpoint simply from the point of view of spatial-temporal viewpoint onto examining viewpoint in terms of ‘ideology’ or ‘world-view’ – the generalized mind-set our outlook that a person, often a group representative, on the world. Ideological viewpoint In a way, there is no better, simpler or more logical way to be able to see simple complexity of C. S. Lewis’ use and manipulation of viewpoint in The Screwtape Letters than to analyze it from an ideological standpoint. It is interesting all in itself to find a human attempting to realistically enlighten readers about the truth behind human life from the point of view of a demon especially when that human is an unabashed and staunch follower of the Christian faith and makes no concessions regarding his own ‘ideological point of view’.Screwtape, in being a demon, obviously sees the world differently than humans or the good/God side. Human life is important to him only so far as it gives ‘his side’ the opportunity to secure yet another soul for the fires of hell. Also, being a higher-ranked demon with more experience on the field, Screwtape’s ideological point of view is different from that of Wormwood in that he has the benefit of resources and information that his inexperienced, first-time tempter nephew would not have access to. Thus, as was noted in the extract, he is not excited about the same things Wormwood is excited about – e. . the war, death, etc. and he is rather forthright with the evaluations, judgments and advice he passes onto his nephew. However, Screwtape does have the propensity towards describing the Enemy’s position in quasi-fashion. As a demon, he is supposed to be in opposition to the Enemy however whenever he describes the Enemy, he becomes a puppet for the author to spe ak of the truth thus sounding like a completely different person at times. It is ironic because Screwtape himself does not agree with all the things that he says. For example in the last two chapters of the etter (lines 40 – 65), he describes how the Enemy protects humans from the full brunt of demonic temptation by exercising His sovereign power over time and even them and his plan for humans in heaven. In his own demonic way, he sings praises to the work of the Enemy. D. Evaluations regarding literary analysis On the whole, it would seem that I have been able to support my initial interpretation regarding this piece of text. I have been able to describe the viewpoint of my extract from a macro and micro view as well as have found instances of most, if not all, of the linguistic indicators of viewpoint.However, there are limitations that I foresee both in my attempt and the practice and process of literary and stylistic analysis in general. First of all, for the purpose of m anageability, I could not carry out an extensive analysis on my chosen piece of text. I was restricted to the analysis of an extract. In addition, I had to choose to concentrate on only one aspect of the text which means that I could not take into account other aspects of the text that may have given me a more rounded interpretation of the text.There is a great possibility that my objectivity in analyzing the text has been compromised from the very beginning since I began with an initial interpretation regarding the text. Furthermore, my personal schemata regarding the subject matter affects the way that I interpret texts and therefore the output of my literary criticism and analysis; making it almost impossible to arrive at a completely unbiased and objective analysis. Being a Christian myself, I share the same ‘ideological viewpoint’ as C. S. Lewis and interpreted the text with the same assumption.This is not to say that my beliefs are actually on the same page as the author’s and truthfully, there is no way of knowing. This means that certain aspects of the text that appears outstanding to me may only be significant for me personally. Finally, an important thing to note is that stylistic analysis is in not a ‘static’ output but may be subject to change in relation to the availability and status of resources available to analysts at any given time. As Short admits, ‘no analysis is entirely objective it he sense that it is true for all time. ’ With new forms of analysis come new findings and new or modified interpretations (1996, pg. 58). E. Conclusions on literary analysis While some may argue that the systematic way in which literary analysis studies literary texts may hinder analysts from simply partaking of the joy of reading, this has certainly not been the case for me. The Screwtape Letters has always been one of my favourite books of all times. After having analyzed one chapter, specifically with point of v iew as a theme of analysis, I now have a renewed sense of respect and admiration for the narrative skill of its creator and with the complexity of the creation itself.Overall, I believe that I have done my best to attempt to systematically and objectively analyze the text and have managed to come to some conclusions that are both expected and unexpected. And while I am sure that there are certainly some aspects I have missed out on or even overworked, I am quite satisfied with my attempt and hope to continue putting the practices of literary analysis to practice to enhance and deepen my understanding of other literary works of interest. References Cook, G. (1994).Discourse and Literature: The Interplay of Form and Mind, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Lewis, C. S. (1942). Chapter 28 The Screwtape Letters. C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Semino, E. (2006). Reading C: Cognitive poetics. Chapter 1 Literature and creativity in English in Goodman, S. and O’Halloran, K. (eds) The art of Eng lish: literary creativity. Palgrave Macmillan/The Open University, pg. 37 – 40 Short,M. (1996). Chapter 9 Fictional prose and point of view. Exploring the Language of Poems, Prose and Plays, London: Longman. pg. 255 – 279 Short,M. (1996).Chapter 12 Fictional prose and point of view. Exploring the Language of Poems, Prose and Plays, London: Longman. pg. 354 – 358 Short, M. (2005). Topic 8 – Discourse structure and point of view. Ling 131 Language & Style is a Stylistics course. Retrieved on December 2008. Retrieved from: http://www. lancs. ac. uk/fass/projects/stylistics/topic8/begin8. htm ———————– Addresser 1 (C. S. Lewis) MESSAGE Addressee 1 (Reader) Addresser 2 (Screwtape: narrator) MESSAGE Addressee 2 (Narratee) Addresser 3 (Screwtape: character) MESSAGE Addressee 3 (Wormwood: character)

Hotels and the Environment

HOTEL INDUSTRY AND THE ENVIRONMENT By VASUNDHARA TANWAR LITERATURE REVIEW When we talk of hotels we never think that something like that could have an impact on the environment and people would spend millions of rupees and infinite number of hours to deal with this so called impact. However this is absolutely the case. The seemingly small problem is literally taking the world by storm. So much so that national governments, hotels and even the UN are taking steps in order to find solutions to this problem.Extensive research has been done in the recent years by economists and scientists etc to come up with the most sustainable ways to run hotels since the degradation of the environment is a major concern worldwide. Papers like â€Å"An analysis of environmental management, organizational context and performance of Spanish hotels† by M. J. Alvarez which addresses the factors that determine the deployment of environmental management practices and its effects on firms’ finan cial performance have been published.Results find support for the notion that age of facilities, size, chain affiliation, stakeholder environmental pressures, and their use of operations management techniques exert a lasting influence on the degree of implementation of environmental management practices by hotel firms. Moreover, findings show a positive relationship between environmental management practices and firms’ financial performance. Various other economists in different countries have drawn similar conclusions. The United Nations environment programme also published a guide â€Å"how the hotel and tourism industry can protect the ozone layer†.Environmental Good Practice in Hotels, published by UNEP IE and the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), presents 15 case studies selected from the IH&RA annual Environmental Award. The case studies document environmental programmes initiated by independent hotels and international chains across the globe – in Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. Action areas include environmental policy, design and construction, water, energy, waste, emissions, purchasing, staff training, and guest communication. The range of environmental initiatives featured is extensive, from simple recycling easures to water conservation using the latest technology, and from resorts built to strict environmental guidelines, to small hotels where the personal commitment of the general manager drives environmental activities. All case studies highlight the environmental and economic benefits gained by the actions taken. Also included are examples of environmental initiatives taken by national hotel associations, and a list of sources on environmental management publications and programmes in the hotel industry. These are just some examples of what is being said and done by organizations that observe what is going on.The actual participants, the hotels, are also not far behind. Many hotels hav e come up with various innovative ways to contribute to the betterment of the environment. Some of them have won various awards for this very purpose. Hotels now days strive to achieve the ECOTEL ® certification which is primarily the hallmark for environmentally sensitive hotels. One of the pioneers in such activities would be the orchid group of hotels. However, there are others that strive to achieve excellence in this cause and some have been quite successful too. INTRODUCTION Most countries rely heavily on the services sector for its growth.A major part of this sector is tourism. Tourism is one of the leading growth sectors of the economy and brings in billions of dollars for developing countries. When we talk about tourism we can hardly isolate it from talk of hotels. Hotels in a sense are synonymous with tourism and one cannot be talked about without reference to the other. The growth of the tourism industry has greatly increased the amount of stress on the environment. Now each individual has varying degrees of impact on the environment which largely depends on the personal choices made by individuals and is scattered world over. The same is true for hotels.They have an effect on the biodiversity right from its conception. This makes it imperative for us to study exactly how and where do hotels affect our environment, what can be done to reduce this impact and how aware is the current generation of hotels regarding this issue. Taking the example of India we see that as a result of increasing tourism in Goa, developers built several hotels. The hotels soon drew up to 66,000 gallons of water per day from wells and other local sources. Many of the wells and rivers the community had relied on went dry. This is a common problem in many areas where tourism runs into the limits of natural resources.With various such instances in several parts of the world today, ECOTOURISM—tourism that is nature-oriented and environmentally focused—is growing rapidly. This represents a growing market for environmentally friendly options in the tourism industry. Ecotourism aside, many in the hotel industry have recognized the negative impact their business activities have on the environment and have taken action to alleviate those impacts. Environmentally responsible business practices dovetail well with the newfound popularity of ecotourism. They harmonize tourism and environmental sustainability.This awareness has given rise to what can be called the â€Å"GREEN HOTELS†. The term â€Å"green hotels† describes hotels that strive to be more environment friendly through the efficient use of energy, water, and materials while providing quality services. Green hotels conserve and preserve by saving water, reducing energy use, and reducing solid waste. They have seen benefits such as reduced costs and liabilities, high return and low-risk investments, increased profits, and positive cash flows. Identifying these benefits and inc entives has allowed the popularity of green hotels to grow. Hotels are consistently becoming greener.The most costly and wasteful use of resources in hotels are usually in the consumption of nonrenewable energy, excessive water use, and the generation of waste. Through this paper we would try to point out the complex nature of the impact that hotels have on our environment and the steps that can be taken in order to minimize this impact as much as possible. We would also like to shed light on the work that has already been done in this field by various hotels and organizations. Many organizations have done commendable work in trying to reduce their ecological footprint and have, in some sense, become pioneers and inspiration for others.For instance, the orchid group of hotels is pretty known for the kind of work it does. IMPACTS Tourism has a fairly large environmental footprint. Hotels, being at the heart of it, shoulder the responsibility for this. The following table shows that h otels are responsible for 21% of total emissions generated by tourism industry. These just constitute one part of their impact which in reality has many layers and levels to it. The hotels have an impact on the biodiversity at each stage of its life cycle, right from planning to its closure.These impacts could be summarized as follows: At the planning stage, the most important issue in determining the level of impact that a hotel will have relates to choices about its location and design. Even the most sustainably operated hotel will have major impacts if it is built in a biodiversity-sensitive area. Choices about the materials that will be used to construct the hotel, where those materials will come from and the total physical footprint of the hotel will also influence how significant its impacts will be in the operational stage.At the construction stage, impact is determined by the size and location of the area cleared for development and where construction activities are taking p lace, the choice of construction methods, the sources and amount and type of materials, water and energy used to build the hotel, the location of temporary camps for construction workers, inadequate storage facilities for construction materials, the amount of construction waste that has to be disposed of, and other types of damage such as surface soil erosion or compaction caused by construction activities or disruption of natural water flows and drainage patterns.In the operational stage, a hotel's impact comes mainly from the energy, water, food and other resources that are consumed in running the hotel, by the solid and liquid wastes it produces, by the way its grounds are managed, and by the direct impacts of its guests. In addition, regular renovation and replacement of furniture, appliances and facilities can cause impacts through purchasing choices and increased waste generation.Using energy and water more efficiently, using organic and sustainably produced food, reducing, tr eating and disposing of waste appropriately, making sustainable purchasing decisions and managing gardens with natural-style plantings can all help a hotel to reduce its adverse impacts on biodiversity. Similarly, a hotel's relationship with host communities not only affects the sustainable operations of the hotel but also the use of environmental resources by communities themselves. At the closure stage, a hotel's impacts come from the disposal of materials removed from the hotel to refurbish it, convert it for other uses, or demolish it, nd from the work involved in these activities. It may be possible to reuse and recycle some materials, but there may also be some toxic materials, particularly from older buildings, which will require careful handling and management. A responsible hotel operator should also foresee supporting activities of ecological restoration as required. Responsible siting and design, the effective management of energy and water consumption, and the proper dis posal of wastewater and solid waste are important challenges for any hotel hoping to improve the sustainability of its operations.Now even though a hotel has environmental impact through different stages of its lifecycle the most easily cited and the longest running impact that they have is at their operational stage since once a hotel has been built, it stays in the business for very many years under normal circumstances. The day to day running has impacts which are a lot times ignored in the overall picture. This mostly becomes the case because individually, hotels do not have a significant impact on the environment. Collectively however, they can be very wasteful and use huge amount of resources.It has been estimated that seventy-five percent of hotels’ environmental impacts can be directly related to excessive consumption. This is wasteful in terms of resources and creates unnecessary operational costs. The three key areas of environmental impact are energy, water, and wa ste. Energy – Excessive energy use is extremely costly and with minor adjustments, it can lead to massive cost savings. According to Gossling et. al. (2005), â€Å"the average energy consumption per bed per night in hotels might be in the order of 130 Mega joules.Hotels generally use more energy per visitor that local residents, as they have energy intense facilities, such as bars, restaurants, and pools, and have more spacious rooms. Studies have determined that a hotel emits an average 20. 6 kg of carbon dioxide per night. Waste – A study conducted by Bohdanowicz(2005) also indentified that hotels are not only resource intensive and that waste generation is on e of the most visible effects on the environment. One estimate identified that â€Å"an average hotel produces in excess of one kilogram of waste per guest per day†.Approximately thirty percent of waste in hotels can be diverted through reuse and recycling. Water  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Tourists and residents alike require a clean and dependable supply of water for survival including drinking, cooking and cleansing. However, water is integral to the amenities usually expected by tourists, such as swimming pools, landscaped gardens, and golf courses. Water also supports industries such as agriculture that support the tourism industry (Pigram, 1995). Thus, tourists demand more water than local resident s on a per capita basis (Essex, Kent ; Newnham, 2004).It has been estimated by Salen (1995) that 15,000 cubic meters of water would typically supply 100 rural farmers for three years and 100 urban families for two years, yet only supply 100 luxury hotel guests for less than two months (Holden, 2000). In dryer regions, tourists' water consumption can amount to 440 liters a day per tourist, which is almost double the average amount of water used by residents in Spain (UNEP, 2008). In destinations that do not have the required infrastructure and systems to manage these impacts, severe degradation of the environment can occur.The following table summarizes the environmental impact of the day to day workings of any hotel Service/Activity| Description| Main Environmental Impacts| Administration| Hotel management Reception of clients| Energy, water and materials (mainly paper) Generation of waste and hazardous waste (toner cartridges)| Technical Services| Equipment for producing hot water and heating Air conditioning Lighting Swimming pools Green areas Mice and insect extermination Repairs and maintenance| Energy and water consumption Consumption and generation of a wide range of hazardous products Air and soil emissionsGeneration of waste water Pesticides use| Restaurant/bar| Breakfast, lunch, dinner Beverages and snacks| Energy, water and raw materials consumption Packaging waste Organic waste| Kitchen| Food conservation Food preparation Dish washing| Consumption of energy and water Packaging waste Oil waste Organic waste Generation of odours| Room Use| Use by guests Products fo r guests' use Housekeeping| Energy, water and raw materials consumption Use of hazardous products Generation of waste packaging Generation of waste water| Laundry| Washing and ironing of guest clothesWashing and ironing of hotel linens| Consumption of energy and water Use of hazardous cleaning products Generation of waste water  | (Graci, 2009) This gives us a clear enough picture of the ecological impacts of hotels. Thus it becomes imperative that each hotel recognizes them and takes initiative to curb these impacts. With the growth of the tourism sector all over the world and with more and more hotels coming up each day these small things become issues of epic proportions when looked at collectively. In a time when our environment is in a very fragile condition one can’t ignore such a situation.The sooner hotels realize this the better it would be. However, these issues were not even brought to light till very recently. The annual hospitality consultants’ conferenc e in 2007 did not even mention any of the environmental issues that plagued hotels in their top 10 problems of the industry. BEST PRACTICES There are many green practices that hotels can implement and they also help save unnecessary costs. There can be many ways in which a hotel can reduce its footprint. Some of them can be: * Not discharging waste in water bodies – prevents pollution. * Recycling Use of compact fluorescent lights – saves energy. * Reuse of linens – saves water, detergent, energy and greenhouse gases. * Low-flow shower systems – saves water and energy. * Local products – save transportation costs. * Installation of green roofs – saves energy. * Installation of solar heaters or other renewable energy source – saves energy. These points are just a brief outline to what can really be done in order to go green. The possibilities as such are endless. There are some more sophisticated and cost heavy methods that can also be undertaken. BENEFITS OF GOING GREENCost benefits Financial savings are one of the most significant factors that influence the implementation of environmental initiatives in a hotel. This is especially evident for hotel businesses that operate in a highly competitive market and where the cost of energy, water and waste disposal are high. Hotel operators that can maximize their efficiency and reduce waste will be more cost-effective than their competitors. Hotels also use large amounts of energy to keep guests cool in hot temperatures, and equally large amounts of energy to keep them warm during the winter.In some destinations, hotels place an additional, sometimes unsustainable demand on local water resources and generate large quantities of food and packaging waste. Despite the setup costs and the possible lengthy return on investment associated with environmental initiatives, the economic benefits usually outweigh the cost of implementation. Starting with projects that are less ca pital intensive – such as retrofitting light bulbs, energy metering, and training staff to be conscious of energy use – can lead to substantial cost savings. Competitive advantageGreen programs can provide a competitive advantage to leaders as long as green activities continue to be voluntary. Over time, however, green practices in the hospitality industry will become a baseline requirement, particularly as the cost of non-renewable energy continues to rise, regulatory pressure increases, and consumers become more demanding. Therefore, hotels with business models that revolve around green practices will have the strongest opportunity to achieve a competitive advantage by being ahead of the emerging sustainability curve. Employee retentionEmployees are identified as one of the greatest benefits of going green. Employees, like hotel guests, are increasingly sophisticated and â€Å"tuned† into current thinking in society and are far more likely to identify with an employer whose principles and practices are aligned with their values. Environmental programs have proved to be an effective means of generating enthusiasm and motivating staff to work as a team to achieve a common purpose. Many hotel companies use environmental programs as a staff incentive – the financial savings earned are translated into cash or other rewards such as in-house events or trips.Employee turnover rate in the hotel sector is relatively high therefore increasing the retention rate will also save the business money in training of new staff. Customer loyalty There has been a shift in the expectations and demands of consumers. The typical hotel guest of today is more sophisticated and to varying degrees is likely to be concerned about environmental issues such as recycling bottles, cans and paper at home as well as making greener lifestyle choices, such as organic food or fuel-efficient vehicles.Many guests however, make their decision to stay at a hotel facility based on location, amenities, and service. The implementation of environmental initiatives may play a smaller role in a guest's choice of a property. The influence from customers however occurs when their level of awareness increases and they come to expect environmental practices such as recycling. Despite first-time guests basing their decisions on location, amenities and service, customer loyalty may increase once they have experienced a hotel which has demonstrated a level of environmental commitment.Regulatory compliance Hotels must anticipate future regulatory changes and implement initiatives to mitigate the possible costly effects of emerging regulation. Savvy businesses are aware that regulations do not have to be a negative restraint on their daily operations – in fact, they can offer opportunities to gain an advantage over competitors. Some environmental regulations are good for economic competition as they stimulate innovation that can offset the cost of complianc e. By implementing measures in the face of societal and egulatory pressures, unexpected, but substantial cost savings as well as potential new areas of profit may be found. The hotel industry worldwide is increasingly being regulated for waste, water, energy use and greenhouse gas emission. Being aware of pending rule changes will allow you to adopt measures in advance, and avoid potentially higher future costs which may be associated with compliance. Risk management Risk minimization is now viewed as increasingly intertwined with good corporate social responsibility and governance.Managing risk is as much about minimizing the potential damage from decisions and actions taken from within a company as it is about managing external exposure. Traditionally, a hotel's risk management strategy has been focused on health and safety concerns around food and water, pest infestation, fire or water damage, outbreaks of disease, and guest security and safety. In recent years however, environme ntal and social issues are emerging as a key risk issue for the lodging sector. Environmental risks include: * Water and land contamination. * Air and noise pollution. Supply chain environmental practices. * Waste management. Environmental risks also have an impact on the cost of capital for businesses of various types and sizes, and may affect the value of a company over the long term. In addition, the investment community is increasingly regarding excellence in environmental management and performance as an indication of the quality and aptitude of management in general. Some insurance companies and lenders are beginning to selectively adjust their rates based on environmental criteria stipulated by ethical funds.Companies that integrate the environment into their business decisions and reduce their environmental risk and potential liabilities are in a better position to secure investment and reduce their financial and reputational market exposure (Graci and Dodds, 2009). Cause it 's the right thing to do! Beyond regulation and compliance, many environmental and social initiatives are voluntary. Whether driven by cost savings or a principled strategy, the hotel industry is recognizing the environment, the community and their human capital as a valuable resource to be protected.Long-term business sustainability will depend on this. Many hotels have implemented social initiatives and corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their regular day-to-day practices. Corporate social responsibility in the hotel industry ideally exists in human resources management, the local community, and through promoting and practicing environmental initiatives and is heavily influenced by internal and external forces. CSR has been widely expanding throughout the hotel industry, mainly to prove that corporate unethical behavior is no longer a problem.Thus, hotels are embarking on being ethical through social initiatives by protecting and supporting communities, their human resourc es, and by implementing environmental initiatives. Many international and local hotels are becoming involved in corporate social responsibility in order to extend their brand knowledge to different types of audiences, to gain employee retention and improved competitive advantage, and lastly because it is â€Å"the right thing to do†. Sixty-five percent of the top 100 companies in the world employ some sort of corporate social responsibility statement featured on their websites.Several multinational companies have gained a very negative brand reputation based on their past unethical practices. Larger companies have been criticized as being the main culprit in releasing excess greenhouse emissions, climate change, environmental devastation, and unfair treatment of employees. Due to such criticisms and negative publicity, many businesses have increased the focus on corporate social responsibility. HIGH ACHIEVERS When it comes to hotels that are environmentally sustainable the fi rst name that comes to mind is the Orchid group of hotels.The Orchid  became Asia's first Five Star hotel to win the ECOTEL ® certification shortly after opening in May of 1997 and today (January 2011) is the only Hotel in the World to win over  80  international / national awards in 13 years from inception. Under the management of  The Orchid  Owner Vithal Kamat, the hotel has earned more environmental accolades than any other hotel in the world. With this latest achievement,  The Orchid  becomes one of only six hotels in the world to maintain top-level, â€Å"five-globe,† ECOTEL ®-Certification. Though orchid group is a pioneer in environmentally friendly hotels, others ave also done substantial work. The fern group of hotels in India being one of them. The Uppal in New Delhi, Seasons in Pune etc are other ecotel hotels. Various international hotels are also actively involved in such projects that put environmental sustainability at its fore. In conclusion it can be said that though environmental sustainability is big problem that is plaguing the hospitality industry, it’s still not too late to correct the situation. References * www. uneptie. org * http://www. concepthospitality. com * Accor 2010, ‘Child Protection'.Retrieved February 04, 2010 from  http://www. accor. com/en/sustainable-development/ego-priorities/child-protection. html * Alexander, S 2002, Green Hotels: Opportunities and Resources for Success. Portland: Zero Waste Alliance. * Bohdanowicz, P 2005, ‘European Hoteliers' Environmental Attitudes: Greening the Business, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 188-204. * Bohdanowicz, P 2006, ‘Environmental Awareness and Initiatives in the Swedish and Polish Hotel Industries – Survey Results' International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 662-668. * Bohdanowicz, P. and Zientara, P. 2008, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Hospit ality: Issues and Implications. A Case Study of Scandic' Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 271-293. * Brebbia, C. A. and Pineda, F. D. 2004, Sustainable Tourism. WIT Press, Boston. * Claver- Cortes, E. , Molina-Azorin, J. F. Pereira-Moliner, J. , Lopez-Gamero, M. D. 2007, ‘Environmental Strategies and Their Impact on Hotel Performance' Journal of Sustainable Tourism. , vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 663-679. * Dodds, R. 005, Barriers to the Implementation of Sustainable Tourism Policy in Destinations. University of Surrey School of Management, Surrey. * Essex, S. , Kent, M. , ; Newnham, R. 2004, ‘Tourism development in Mallorca: Is water supply a constraint? ‘ Journal of Sustainable Tourism, vol 12, no. 1, pp. 4-28. * Fairmont Hotel and Resorts 2001, The Green Partnership Guide. A Practical Guide to Greening your Hotel, 2nd edition, Toronto * Fairmont Hotels and Resorts 2008, Corporate Responsibility. Retrieved February 04, 2010, fromhttp://w ww. fairmont. com/EN_FA/AboutFairmont/enviroment/Awards/CorporateEn

Public Transport Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public Transport - Assignment Example Increase of commuting is a desirable goal and has policy support (Bailey, 2007). Apart from this reasons like congestion on the roads, savings in commuting time would be seen as the chief reasons for a commuter to prefer public transport over using own cars. Typically a product or a service that gives enhanced value for a customer would what make a customer to switch to a service or a product. There is a big opportunity here for bus operators to create this critical additional value through use of ICT to induce commuters to switch over in a big way to using public transport like buses. This proposal is about creating a viable and profitable business model built through 2 products, the "Bus Catcher" and the "Bus bug" and software, all of which will provide an enhanced service offering to commuters. Bailey (2004) estimates that for an US population of 7.2 million non-drivers, 50% 0f which is people above the age of 654, public transportation is the only alternative, when they are going somewhere outside their immediate neighborhood. She also observes most U.S. residents still do not have the option of using public transportation to get places. Basing her observation on the American Housing survey of 2001, she says that just half - 49 percent - of all Americans reported that they have no public transportation service. ... Till very recently she says that a quarter of rural counties had below average public transportation service, and 41 percent had none at all. The gap between the need and what is available is high. The demand for public transport is however growing at a tremendous pace since the mid-nineties. Reasons like surging oil price, congestion, commuting time are the reasons. Pucher (2002 says that ridership is up 25.1percent since 1995, because of the awareness among the users that use of public transport saves money. Reducing commuting is seen to be the chief consideration for people to switching over to public transport. Another study indicates that demand will come further as people move away further and further away from their work place. (Howlett, 2008). This report says that people are willing to commute for over 90 minutes each way and an estimated 3.4 million Americans already are doing this and their numbers will be growing. Americans took 10.3 billion trips on public transportation in 2007, the highest level in 50 years, representing a 2.1% increase over the previous year, according to data released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). It is estimated to have grown by 32% since 1995. (Green Car Congress, 2008). Though bus service, at 1% was lower than the overall increase, it had a much bigger growth in places with population less than 100,000 and more than 5% in select urban areas. Even though the budget estimated to improve public transport is 50% of what would be needed, Federal funding has been increasing annually at the rate of 2.1 % since 2001(Bailey 2007) Increasing access to employment for the urban poor would mean their need to commute to suburbs and this will have to be an important policy decision of

Research paper 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

1 - Research Paper Example In this experiment we would like to understand 2 primary things. Firstly, the physiological change induced by caffeine keeping in mind that the chemical is capable of altering heart rate and secondly, observes any behavioral changes in the organism if any. This research serves more than one purpose. Firstly, we will understand the toxicity of the chemical in shrimp and observe the affect on its life cycle. Shrimp is an important part of the marine ecosystem and food chain and if caffeine has any harmful effects on the organism there maybe consequent affects in the marine food web as well. Secondly, since research is mostly aimed at human welfare and we are aware that caffeine is non-toxic only up to a certain level this research would help determine the changes induced if human happened to consume shrimp that were loaded with caffeine. However, the most important thing is that we will understand clearly the consequence and possible consequence of polluting marine water system with effluents loaded with toxic chemicals. Caffeine is a stimulant and primarily affects the central nervous system and the heart. It causes an increase in the heart rate since the stimulant has an effect on the neurotransmitter and thereby alters the rate of the heart. Alongside this behavioral changes may also be induced in the organism which may be understood by keeping the organism under observation and noticing deviation from normal behavior. Reduction in normal activity is common response to an induced stress (Weiss,2013) and activity may be studies at larval or adult stage. Humans, are already exposed to caffeine but there is a concentration up to which the human body can tolerate the stimulant and metabolize it effectively. In case caffeine enters the body along with food there may be an increase in the intake of stimulant thereby causing effects on the health as well. Among

Trusted computing and TPM-enhanced software Essay

Trusted computing and TPM-enhanced software - Essay Example Trusted Platform Module is not entirely competent in safeguarding computer systems from the associated threats in the modern world. Trusted Platform Module enhanced software entails securing the software part of a computer device, such as the generation of cryptographic keys. It ensures that the systems software is safe and convenient for use. Another software aspect is the random number generator, which eases the use of computer programs. The software of any computerized device is readily usable, easing the operation of the systems. TPM-enhanced software enables binding, which is the encryption of data using a bind key. It is from the storage key that the bind key arises. The TPM-enhanced software also allows sealing, which is the encryption of data, similar to binding. Operating on such a scale creates room for significant limitations and backlashes. The associated limitations result in major failures in the software of the computer system, which to my opinion is the cause of system failure. Numerous accusations exist, resulting in lack of trust in the system. Some of the associated failures include the accusation by Cambridge’s Ross Anderson that Trusted Computing is anticompetitive in its quest of locking users in the enforcement of DRM (Kim, 2009, p. 6). In my opinion, the invasion of privacy is among the failures of the system, for this reason limiting the success of Trusted Platform Module enhanced software as a system security platform for computer software. I believe that the scheme has not been able to safeguard computer software safely, without having to affect the user’s usage of the machine. Privacy invasion affects the user’s trust in the system since he or she has to remain watchful as they use their computerized systems. The TPM- enhanced software entails integrity measurement, reporting, and storage. The company, therefore, has access to the user’s whereabouts

South Korea's Environmental Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

South Korea's Environmental Analysis - Essay Example There exist tight knitted system between the government and businesses in the labor market with the government ensuring that the laws and regulations on getting business startup licenses and procedures take the shortest time possible. This is carried out in order to continue increasing the labor market and completely eliminate the low unemployment rate still remaining in the nation. The only problem that the free market system has is that with the lack of strict market control by the government, corruption has been on the increase as people try to control the markets and monopolize it and especially the local market where the government does not bother much with. The corruption has rendered small and medium sized business had to flourish and succeed as the larger established businesses take up the larger share in the foreign investment and use their market stability to expand their wealth and sophistication making it hard to compete successfully (Mo & Brady, 2010). South Korea due to its establishment in the global market and economic success has it small and medium sized companies facing several entry and exit barriers. Some of these barriers include reputation, price discrimination, capital costs and organizational advantage among others (Mo & Brady, 2010). With some of these companies having established themselves in the industry, the startup companies face a very high capital cost just so that they can be able to establish themselves even if not match to the same level in assets and competition. The high capital costs requires heavy borrowing from banks and this leads to the company starting on a high debt percentage and this affects its sustainability in the industry. Even if it wants to exit the market, the debts and other overhead charges will be too much for it leading it bankrupt. With the large established organizations in South Korea such as Samsung and LG, they have cemented their organizational cultures and

Operationalising the Management of Visitor Attractions PowerPoint Presentation

Operationalising the Management of Visitor Attractions - PowerPoint Presentation Example The primary part of the research focused on evaluating all the pre historical evidences that are found to be associated with the â€Å"State Tretyakov Galley†, which in turn turned out to be quite interesting. In addition, the past records of the people visiting this art gallery have been tallied with the latest records, which deciphered that the number of viewers visiting this art gallery has increased extensively. In order to determine the association prevailing between the varied techniques, tools and competencies that are needed for successful attraction management and operations, multiple marketing aspects have been evaluated and implemented. This is mainly because to find out the probable effective ways through which the â€Å"State Tretyakov Galley† can attain higher level of market exposure and raise market reputation by a considerable degree. Based on the above discussion, it can be affirmed that the operators or the developers belonging to the respective field must adopt appropriate school exhibition events and practice effective advertisement techniques for attracting the viewers throughout the globe at large. Guardian News and Media Limited. (2014). Use your imagineering: Ryan Ganders art world of pranks and puzzles. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jul/07/ryan-gander-make-every-show-like-its-your-last-manchester-review Guardian News and Media Limited. (2014). How to put together a marketing plan. Retrieved from

Tracking, is it viable Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Tracking, is it viable - Research Paper Example On the other hand, the students in the lesser tracks get equipped with skills on welding, bookkeeping, and beauty therapy. Essentially, this paper will illustrate whether the tracking system of learning is viable or not by giving substantial reasons (Powell, 2000). In addition, it will argue out whether this system should apply in the elementary stages of one’s carrier path by including heterogeneous and homogeneous cooperative learning styles. As a necessity, it will seek to bring out the summative and formative classroom assessment by using flip classrooms or homeschooling as examples. Finally, the paper will advise on what the best alternative forms of instructions and guidelines would work well at the elementary level when applying tracking system. Tracking system has proved to be the acceptable and most viable learning system over the years. Various attributes contribute towards making it reliable. For one, this system has been effective in meeting the needs of gifted pup ils within a regular classroom. The main advantage is that it provides the opportunity for the students to associate with their intellectual peers. According to Powell, (2000), this interaction mainly influenced their emotional, social, and intellectual well-being. On the other hand, tracking allowed students to feel lesser isolation and reduced stress levels because of their grouping with students with the same level of abilities. In addition, Epple et al (2000) found that working in a cluster was better than working alone as the group challenged individuals to give quality outputs. On the other hand, the average students have also been beneficiaries of this system through one way or another. For instance, clustering of these students is effective in identifying new leaders when the high performing students move to the high ability classrooms (Gentry 1996). However, high performing students shared a classroom with the middle cluster to widen their educational opportunities in their strong areas.

Case Study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Case Study analysis - Essay Example An organization without a vision, mission, purpose and values is doomed to fail. It is hard for such an organization to be able to set their goals and objectives. The organization has no defined future and does not know what it exists to do. Vision, mission and values help an organization to have common goals and objectives in an organization. The management expects to maximize the level of their profits. They also expect to lower their operating costs. Considering the level of competition in the industry, the management expects to have a viable benefit over their competitors. The management also expects to have the right people for the job. They expect to be treated with respect and dignity. They also expect the company will produce products of high quality that will meet their needs. The customers expect the company will have the recent technology to improve their efficiency. There is a rapid change of technology, and the company does not want to adopt the new changes. The companies’ workforce has also changed with time as well as their needs. The company has to adapt to the changes and learn the needs of its workforce in order to keep them satisfied in the job. The company also needs to learn the changing needs of the customer in order to remain competitive in the market. The manager (Meyerson) moral development is within the stage of the social contract. Meyerson values different opinions and the rights of employees. The manager believes that the organization should adopt policies that lead to the satisfaction of the majority of workers. The manager has come up with new management styles that lead to the satisfaction of the majority of the employees. Meyerson has opened the communication channel in the organization for employees to access him directly. He has also embraced the problems of the workforce as problems of the whole organization. (Robbins, 2005) The model is ideal in evaluation of key

Managing gender equality in the workplace Assignment

Managing gender equality in the workplace - Assignment Example Organizations prefer to have individuals from diverse backgrounds as their team members because this choice can bring in more talent, innovative ideas, knowledge and learning opportunities. On the negative side, this measure can create a lot of anger, frustration, unhealthy competition, employees’ politics and complexes among the employees because of low tolerance and sexual superiority. In most organizations, we see that majority of the working force is of men and they are the ones serving at the superior positions. Women are not much appreciated in the business world because it is a common misconception in our society that women are just meant for taking care of the entire family, raising the children and doing the household work. In reality, the potential possessed by females is commendable. Some organizations encourage women to become a part of the business arena and they design special policies and rewards so that women feel secure and proud of their status. They treat wo men as equally to men and condemn gender discrimination in the workplace. Also those belonging to diverse backgrounds have to face real problems when mixing up with team who have entirely different cultural backgrounds. Due to such issues, the ultimate productivity of an organization suffers. Among many such organizations, Unilever is one organization which is a supporter of diversity and gender equality. In this paper, we will be focusing on the practices of Unilever that are aimed at managing equality and diversity within the organization, relate these practices with the theories based on equality and diversity and recommend possible diversity management strategies for Unilever. Theoretical Review Globalization has brought in challenges for almost all organizations. Of them, the biggest one is to survive and compete with other organizations in the industry. Multinational companies are realizing that inviting people from across the borders to become a part of them is an intelligent move which can certainly benefit the company. When a team is diverse, every member will be having his own ideas and opinions about things and when these ideas combine, the result is nothing but success. But this is possible only when diverse teams are managed in a way that their productivity is enhanced. Similarly, women in the business world are as capable as men. Today, companies are realizing that the talent and ability women possess cannot in any case be ignored and they deserve to be given opportunities. There are a number of key factors that an organization like our chosen one, Unilever is taking into account while designing and implementing its gender equality practices. At Unilever, they have a global diversity program, the purpose of which is to ensure that they have the right talent and creative people in the company. They also ensure that the workforce is gender balanced so that the maximum output can be achieved. Unilever is making it certain that the graduate recruits make fifty percent of the workforce. However, the annual reports reveal that although women are working in senior and middle level positions at the company but there is only one woman who is serving Unilever at the leadership level. We can relate this to the concept of glass ceiling effect.

A Discussion of the Final Chapter of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay Example for Free

A Discussion of the Final Chapter of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay In the final stages of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, there are many ways in which the author, Robert Louis Stevenson, both explores human nature, and also creates a sense of sympathy on the part of the reader for Dr Henry Jekyll, which could be said to extend to Mr Edward Hyde as well. In reference to the authors exploration of the nature of humanity, the settings of the story itself are very important. Previous to the writing of this story, there had been a firm tradition of horror stories being set exclusively in rural areas, perhaps due to the fact that only a minority of people lived in these areas, and so to those elsewhere it would have seemed far more remote and exotic. Stevensons thriller was ground-breaking in that it focussed its plot in an urban setting, by name London, but also with extraordinary resemblance to Stevensons home city of Edinburgh. This setting reflects the idea of urban expansion into the countryside, but more importantly the more modern appearance of this particular horror story. Because a large majority of the readers of this book would have been living in the city, it brings the story closer to them, and allows them to become more involved in the events of the plot. Stevensons use of the city as the setting for his story also is also representative of early manifestations of writers of this era moving towards using the city as a representation of fear and darkness, rather than its previous role as a deeply romanticized place. In terms of Stevensons investigation of human nature, the proximity of Jekylls laboratory and his fine house is very significant. The laboratory represents, in my opinion, the hidden, secretive side of his life, involving his work, as well his life as Mr Edward Hyde. The fact that this laboratory is so close to Jekylls expensive and upper-class house, representing his professional and social life as a doctor and a well-respected member of society, signifies the proximity of the two parts of his character, in fact their intricate relationship, intertwined and connected in so many different aspects. This idea is also mentioned by Jekyll himself in the final chapter, in his account of events, emphatically saying; It was the curse of mankind that these two incongruous faggots were thus bound together-that in the agonized womb of consciousness, these polar twins should be continuously struggling. I have decided to quote this sentence because I believe it is very revealing about the thorough and primitive duality of man explored in the text. Jekyll talks of incongruous faggots being bound together, meaning that the two elements do not combine, but that they are still as one. The phrase polar twins, is almost a contradiction in terms, and shows that the two elements of Dr Jekylls psyche are both united in their existence, but also that they are totally opposite. The phrase duality of man, used earlier in this chapter, also expresses the idea of two parts to every mind or conscience, an ego and a superego. Mr Edward Hyde is the ego, an utterly self-absorbed being, merely concerned with and conscious of themselves. Dr Jekyll, however, is the superego, the element of the character which socialises the entirety, enabling it to interact with others. No man is complete without both of these parts, and neither can truly exist without the other. However, Jekylls apparent desire to appear arid and utterly professional externally, and his recognition of his chief fault as a certain impatient gaiety of disposition seems to have forced him into a desire to separate the two parts of his character, the superego and the ego. This, in his mind, would allow him to live as two men, but his failure to predict the nature of these two individual characters leads to his suffering and isolation. In the final chapter, his retrospective account, he concedes, all human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil. Stevenson himself shares some parallels with the character of Jekyll. Born into a strictly religious, part of the Calvinist movement, Stevenson grew up with the belief, although possibly inescapable, that there was an underlying and constant presence of sin in everything; every action and every person. This is shown in the character of Henry Jekyll, and the underlying evil that is personified by Edward Hyde. In Jekylls earlier life, he was forced to conceal his pleasures from his family, becoming rebellious against his father, just as Jekyll himself feels urged to do in the story, and from which the beginnings of his familiarity with a double-life or, as he says a profound duplicity of life, can be traced. The context of the story is also important in terms of the sympathy created by the author for Hyde. The period in which the book is set was one of enormous scientific progress and discovery, and in my opinion, this adds a further element to the reasons for a feeling of sympathy for Henry Jekyll. Jekyll himself cites a burning ambition inside himself as being a key reason for his unquenchable thirst to discover the true nature of humanity, and thus his desire to become Hyde. The intensity of the scientific world of the period, and the temptation which face Jekyll after his first experience of the transformation both appear to contribute towards his inability to stop himself becoming Hyde. Jekyll himself seems to realise the responsibility of these factors towards the end of the book, in his account of events. One particular example of this is; Strange as my circumstances were, the terms of this debate are as old and commonplace as man: much the same inducements and alarms cast the die for any tempted and trembling sinner; and it fell out with me, as it falls with so vast a majority of my fellows, that I chose the better part and was found wanting the strength to keep it This clearly shows Jekylls impotence to stop himself from leaning towards the temptation of his new life, and also that this was not a vice exclusive to him as an individual, but that it was something unavoidably and unquestionably natural for mankind. This creates a sense of sympathy on behalf of the reader, because it emphasises Jekylls lack of power and control over his actions, as well as explaining to the reader that the evil which is brought out of Henry Jekyll is not something that he is to blame for, instead that he is a victim of his own ambition and daring, as well as the ambition and aspirations of the society in which he lived. Another remark which shows this idea is, It was thus the exacting nature of my aspirations, than any particular degradation in my faults, that made me what I was, expressing the feeling of blamelessness in Jekyll, and thus the sympathy in the reader for him. Another way in which the reader is led to sympathise with Jekyll is the way in which Jekyll is tempted to become Hyde by his feelings of restriction and his desire to find pleasure, whilst keeping his life as Dr Henry Jekyll separate from this. In his account, Jekyll explains that, in becoming Hyde, he is free from the bonds of obligation and is able to, like a schoolboy, strip off these lendings and spring headlong into the sea of liberty. These quotations clearly show the immense need for freedom that Dr Jekyll faces, and the extent to which he is prepared to act in order to obtain this freedom. There seems, to me, to be a certain resemblance to the idea of sin and temptation in this element of the story. Jekyll clearly feels restricted by, and in, the world in which he lives, and the fact that he is aware of a way out of this world causes his inability to resist the temptation of taking the path to freedom. When he has experienced the freedom for the first time, he is unable to st op himself from using the potion in order to free himself from the burdens of society. The sympathy induced by Stevenson is not, however, limited to the character of Dr Jekyll. To a certain extent, Mr Hyde is worthy of some pity himself. The main way in which this applies is in relation to Hydes death and disappearance. Hyde commits suicide because he is afraid of being caught, and subsequently punished for his violent actions. If we are to believe that Hyde is evil incarnate, and that he possesses no element of good in his character, then the fact that he is unable to forgive himself his wrongdoings, and that he makes excuses for his actions, would seem to suggest that he cannot be seen as utterly ruthless, and thus in a sense he is weak. This inability to ignore his conscience, means, in my opinion, that he is not in fact entirely evil, and that the relationship between good and evil, and between Dr Henry Jekyll and Mr Edward Hyde, is not as defined as one might think, that there are shades of grey to be considered. I believe that this creates sympathy for Hyde, making him appear wretched and pitiful. Indeed, Dr Jekyll himself creates and expresses a certain degree of pity for Hyde, admitting that he cannot wholly condemn his actions, because he himself envies the way in which Hyde embraces his freedom. He says, But his love of life is wonderfulI find it in my heart to pity him The fact that even Jekyll feels pity for his wretched inner self merely serves to encourage similar feelings in the reader. In conclusion, I believe that Dr Henry Jekyll bravely sacrifices his own life in order to prevent the evil Edward Hyde from being free. In this sense, I feel that he shows another side of human nature which is almost entirely exclusive to Jekylls superego, the conscience. Jekyll shows an ability to consider the situation of others above himself, and importantly, an ability to recognise between good and evil.

Moral Panic Is Often Citated Criminology Essay

Moral Panic Is Often Citated Criminology Essay Moral panics are essentially but not necessarily media-nduced. the media is always a major contributing factor in exaggerating and distorting actual realities  [4]  . media often fail to portray the real cause of the problem. they fabricate- or contribute to the fabrication- of a scapegoat reason thus diverting the publics attention from the real cause of a problem  [5]  . the rock n roll scene was taking place alongside the drug culture which took place during the 1950s and the 1960s. the latter raised fears that that rock and roll pushes individuals towards promiscuity and anti-social behaviour while the latter promoted the anxiety that an entire generation would become drug crazed addicts  [6]  . Cocaine first appeared in the British dance scene in the late 1915s following the imposition of restrictions on legitimate entertainment to enhance the war effort. prostitutes at the West End were indeed a thriving hub of cocaine dealing with roots from North America as evidenced by the type of slang they used  [7]   In interviews with a prostitute in 1916  [8]  the use of slang to describe cocaine shows that this was an emerging subculture with American roots. With references such as London in the grip of cocaine craze and cocaine deadlier than bullets  [9]  , cocaine was well subjected into a moral panic with Canadian soldiers were in the epicentre. The government seemed to have jumped on the cocaine moral panic wagon, motivated by cocaines adverse effects it had on soldiers and the war effort. It transformed cocaine from a useful element of pharmacopoeia to a drug that dominated the British underground drug scene. The spasmodic reaction of Britons to cocaine, and future new drugs, such as the vicious cycle of banning and emergence of new legal highs, is associated to its inability to adapt to modernity  [10]  , the fear of letting go of the status-quo which provided for their current lifestyle, the human natures apprehension of the new along with its immediate correlation with devi ance, hostily, unfamiliarity. cocaines moral panic was strongly associated not with the pharmaceutical properties of the drug itself per se but with its delinquent use, users, the lifestyle it was associated with. moral panics are often not a response to the drug itself but its by-products. They rarely take place solely because of the pharmaceutical properties of a drug and its dangerousness With cocaine possession becoming a criminal offence , the drug itself transformed within 6 months  [11]  from a miracle into a menace. cocaine moral panic was revolved mostly around women. Britain was going through major transformations at the time, one of which was female emancipation. When the status quo is shaken in a nation, its sense of established morality is shaken. That is when a nation has to take either one of two steps. Engulf itself in a moral panic or transform. The former takes place when that country is unable to transform either because it is still not ready or because it is unwilling  [12]  . are moral panics a vehicle for transformation? Definitely. Are they a convenient, constructive vehicle or a damaging and and negative one? It depends on the proportionality between the real and the perceived threat. It depends on whether there is a genuine benefit for the wider public in tackling moral panics and restoring the status quo ante? It depends whether the new status quo is unalterable and the actual process itself of suppressing and harnessing an otherwise harmless moral panic would be akin to th rowing oil into a fire thus creating a vicious cycle. It is the trigger that rouses the government into action. The West End district of London was the heart of a polymorphic hedonistic scene. It was the progressive part of London. The multitude and diversity of hedonistic services meant that people from all walks of life would meet in a place much unlike its surroundings that were characterised for their conservatism. This is Britains first ever full blown drug panic  [13]  because of fears that cocaine was threating soldiery  [14]  . Cocaine was used as a suicide method by two actress sisters in 1901 who failed to reach success in the entertainment industry. The reason being that cocaine reached common people last. Those who were firstly accustomed to cocaine were the cleverest people.. Cocaine itself was not a threat to society. Its ideological by-products were the ones that fuelled the movement behind the drug; that soldiers using it were made incapable of fighting, prostitution was threatening white womens virtue, promoting foreign threat, hedonism and moral peril  [15]  . Establishing a link between use of cocaine or in fact any drug itself, its users and the public , is the lethal combination in not only forming the cocaine moral panic but also igniting it.. Mephedrone, a legal stimulant not as dangerous as other drugs, is a prime example of this; having created a sensational media panic in the last years. Government inaction will be applauded by the libertarians across the nation.. Letting go og prohibi tion would be aligned with libertarian beliefs. Nonetheless, use will increase and the fallout costs will be vast. It will affect communities, individuals, government debt will rise. Does the public have to pay additional taxes for medical care to users? Where will the governmntThe governments main purpose is to protect the public, even if it means that a minoritys rights will have to be restricted. Rastafarianss right to use cocaine for religious purposes  [16]  since freedom of religion is a qualified right but So is the right to property  [17]  (including capital which would undoubtedly be affected by high taxes in order to accommodate drug related fallbacks by the NHS). Freedoms are two sided. acid house inadvertedly affected people who were not part of the scene. Acid house was a test to Thathcers conservative government boundaries and authority. moral panics are not self contained scenes affecting a limited number of people, a single type of subculture or an ephemeral ideology.they are constant reminders and causes of change. A test of the boundaries of each government. an intersection of between politics, popular culture and the social order  [18]  . A moral panic is an ideal way for the government to present the need for security and policing as necessary and proportionate to the alleged threat  [19]  . this simulated threat allowed the police to introduced further video surveillance, compulsory identity cards- thus allowing a policeman to instantly retrieve information about an individual by a single scan of the card-, and electronic tagging -thus enabling selective curfew  [20]  . Acid House moral panics were dealt with, as many moral panics, disproportionately by the police. the bad publicity of the press demonises them. Are they dealt with that way because their harm is disproportionately inflated? If yes then the excessive force used by the police could be justified  [21]  . If anything else, the Acid House scene, is credited with a reduction of football hooliganism; the Summer of Love  [22]  which took off in 1988  [23]  , and at Manchester; the second summer of Love with its own dance scene; Madchester .. Acid House was perceived, unnecessarily and disproportionately, as a threat to the order and governance of Thatchers government  [24]  ,  [25]  . Disproportionality seems as a prevailing commonality element among moral panics  [26]  Perhaps the acid house itself had a self-destructive effect on the youth subculture and government stepped in to protect the subculture from dancing while taking ecstacy, an activity seen deviant enough to provoke a moral panic  [27]  . Acid House can be seen as the culmination of postwar moral panics  [28]  . Each one treated with the same apprehension by the press and the law. The clash of Acid House and Thatcherism might be due to the actual dangers posed by acid house subculture. Chaos, fear, robberies and disorder , escorted every acid house event that took place in the countryside  [29]  . parties often lacked the correct licences and falied to meet the safety regulations  [30]  . Labour government sought to better re gulate the parties rather than the full-on attack by the conservatives  [31]  to prevent acid houses from evoking the notion of the rampaging mob  [32]  . Perhaps if Labours approach has been adopted for the preceding moral panics, then the dance subculture would have followed a more regulated evolutionary process, from the west end area in London, to the now, national, dispersed dance scences. Moral panics test the liberal boundaries of each government. They are most often, if not always, a step ahead. They are a constant reminder for reform. Acid House was the cause for special laws directed towards the movement itself. It was a test for the liberalism of Thatcherism. Was acid house too deviant for Thatcherism or a result of too much liberal element in the political system and government of that period  [33]  ? the Sun and the Daily Mail were biased at best while more right wing papers  [34]  not only debated the subculture movment but at times celebrated it  [35]  . Throughout the twentieth century there has been a continuity of a common distinguishing feature among the various dance scenes that emerged  [36]  . From the jazz clubs in West End through Acid House, Rave and the Dance subcultures. It was the consumption of alcohol and/or illicit drugs  [37]  . While the Acid House scene did not pose any legitimate threat  [38]  , it nevertheless induced the formation of the Pay Party Unit in 1989 and the passing of the Entertainment (Increased Penalties) Act in 1990. This attitude not only led the movement underground but put it in the hands of criminals thus opening the gates the criminal elements  [39]  . Government response failed in its objective to suppress it. it paved the way for the modern, commercialised dance scene  [40]  . Ecstasy, the then drug of choice, fell in popularity only to give way to the rise of the use of Ketamine and GHB  [41]  . Total prohibition is uncreative. It is the equivalent of the governments legislation in respone to acid house. There are much more creative ways which include a combination of the right amount of criminalisatin and legalisationin order to achieve the right balance of regulation, which unavoidably would lead to an increase in use, but reducing the development of a black market. Heroin proved that moral panics can be contagious  [42]  . Heroin, a drug more powerful than morphine, had a low profile in the UK, unlike the US which saw it as a social evil. Criminalisation thus can occur without any internal moral panic taking place. Instead, it is enough that the moral panic takes place on a governmental, international, academic, political, level. the US was a staunch defender of prohibition on a global scale in an effort to establish itself as an influential global game changer. Turkey and Egypt defended prohibition due to Islamic law. Moral panics can be global. the US started going after cannabis with a great zeal which made other countries, including the UK falsely think they have a cannabis problem  [43]  . it is the same with anti-depressants.? Reducing supply and demand for illegal drugs has been a failed enevour by every government of the day. Scientific and sociological research are put into second place. Perhaps cutting the direct link between MPs and their constituencies would allow Parliament to be unaffected by any moral panics and enforce the right measures unaffected by public opinion. Governments reactive reaction to a moral panic results often in misguided classifications. A drug going through normalisation often escapes the cyclone of a moral panic and as a result the governments regulatory grip. Tobacco and alcohol are the causes of more deaths than all the other drugs combined  [44]  . prohibition does not work but instead leads the drugs underground whilst increasing their usage and reduces their purity. It is a well-known fact. Mephedrone is a prime example of that. Nonetheless, opponents of prohibition might argue that availability would increase use. Increased use would increase trying and long term use  [45]  . a multi-faceted approach is preferred over a blanket approach. In this light, the Drugs Misues Act was right in distinguisinh between three classes of drugs. Reactively and hastily responding to a moral panic such as mephedrones shows that moral panics justification depends on how the moral panic is handled by the government. The publics di scontent will come and go, but the governemnts actions are long lasting and permanent. It is unfortunate that governments actions are so dependent on disproportionate moral panics which are rarely proportionate to the real degree of harmfulness of a drug.. Ecstacy: a moral panic was created with the death of Leah Betts from ecstasy in November 1995. Ecstasy, a class A drug under the Drug Misuse Act has a death rate of about 27 per year. the famous Sorted: Just one ecstasy tablet took Leah Betts caption that escorted a picture showing Leah Betts in a comatose condition made sensational headlines. Nonetheless, water intoxication was a major contributing factor in her death . had she had taken the drug alone she might have survived  [46]  . This part of the story did not get as much publicity. Going against the current that a moral panic creates is counter intuitive. Relatives and supporters of the victims often acquire a serene, almost angel like authority  [47]  which makes it hard to go against. Heroins moral panic contributed in labeliing of ecstasy as a class A drug while legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol reign free. This raises the question of how much should government interfere. Ecstasy is closely related to the mora l panic of the 90s and its rave scene  [48]  which were tackled by the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. Ecsasy has some of the most loyal followers than most of the other drugs. Teenagers respond Similarly, many Class A drugs such as 4-MTA, LSD, heroin , and cocaine, dont even match the mortaliy rate of legal drugs such as tobacco and alcholol. The media always side with the anti-drug supporters in such a great extent that they distort facts and figures . having a default stance against any type of drug is portrayed as the right thing to do, by the media  [49]  . The involvement of the army gave the law a greater leverage in which respectable people were convicted  [50]  for supplying HM Soldiers with cocaine. Cocaine was more rare than the then veronal barbiturates but more ferocious  [51]  . It became the most common form of drug taking , after alcohol. DORA 40B drove the drug scene underground. It prohibited, for the first time the possession of , inter alias, cocaine, in Britain. War traumas that were responsible for the ignition of dance-dope workers whose lifestyle could only be maintained by them maintaining an energetic and vivacious mood throughout the night. Moral panic was made worse by the death of Billie Carleton. Whether this moral panic that culminated and made worse from this death is justified or not is not clear. Kohn claims that her death was not a direct result of cocaine overconsumption but her overuse of depressants in addition to cocaine  [52]  . It was only made worse by cocaine. this is often attributed to the increased responisbilites of women at that time that included, inter alias; working in factories for the war , driving ambulances and gaining the right to vote., kohn argues that cocaine simply opened the door to the emergence of the female psyche instead of actively adding to the whole menace. Carletons death brought the moral panic surrounding cocaine to its peak. Despite her death being attributed to the overdose of her doctor-prescribed drugs, the media focused on her use of cocaine. She was a poyldrug user.  [53]  Her death, the prohibition in the US, the death of the Yeoland Sisters in 1902, Freda Kempton in 1922, encouraged the British Government to legislate extensively against it  [54]  . there is a thin line separating an emerging moral panic from normalisation of a new drug that might be fueling the moral panic. Not criminalising a new substance in its early stages would significantly contribute to its normalisation. Criminalising legal highs would not reduce their use  [55]  . A new one appears every week  [56]  . placing them under temporary banning orders only encourages the development of new drug compounds  [57]  . The moral panic model described above is applied to many areas, inter alias; drugs, AIDS, street violence and youth crime  [58]  . Goode: The kneejerk reaction of the officials and the media to point the finger to the consumption of alchohol and the use of marijuana is a major contributing factor in associating drug use with crimes while lacking real evidence supporting their connection. Moral panics seem to engage the public in general to a greater extend that they should and an often result at the end is the passing of a law that often seeks to restrict or completely eliminate the devint behaviour. Moral panics are transicent  [59]  . the public convern regarding marijuana subsided in the 1940s the same way public convern about the prohition went away. Goode  [60]  notices that moral panics, albeit about sexual psychopathic laws, faded immediately after the passing of the relevant laws, which were nonetheless rarely applied. Perhaps a moral panic is seen by the public as a threat to the status quo of its way of living and an outcry for reforms that will ensure its survival. Goode distinguisehes the features o f a moral panic with a moral crusade. He describes the latter as promoted by activists who often lack rational and protectionist interests while descrbing the former as a product lacking a per se direct and proportionate association with the real magnitude of the threat. A moral crusade is created by activists, entrepreneurs  [61]  whereas the initiators of a moral panic might be in found in a different context, in terms of location and nature. It could be the unconscious by-product of activists, politicians, the media, and economic elites  [62]  . Cohen  [63]  identifies the main actors in a society whose reaction heavily influences and promotes a moral panic. First is the press with its exaggerate attention, exaggerated events, distortion and stereotyping  [64]  . Then its the reactive capacity and potential of the public to respond to simple raw material which will later escalate to a sensational issue. The zealous impatience of the law enforcement bodies in exercising their broad powers as demanded by the panic-crisis-scare  [65]  . Crack cocaine first emerged in the UK in 1983  [66]  . Methoxetamine Methoxetamine, a legal stimulant, used as an alternative to the banned ketamine- a class B drug- has been found in the bodies of two individuals in Leicersthire. It made the news in February 2012 and made a class B drug the next year. the ACMD pushed for crimilalisation of methexametine while acknolesging that there were no known deaths to date cause solely by its use  [67]  . Neither in the UK, in Europe nor in the rest of the world. Pushing an otherwise legal stimulant into the black market by criminalising it will harm the numbers of users who will have to face an unregulated methoxetamine of questionable purity. Despite being made illegal, it is now even more popular  [68]  . The ban has not only increased its popularity but does not deter club goers  [69]  from using it. In a study conducted by researchers at Lancaster University and Guys and St Thomas NHS foundation trust  [70]  it was found that mephedrone had surpassed all other drugs, with 27% of the gay club goers in the stud reporting that they either took it or intending to take it later that night. After being banned, a second study by the same researchers showed that the purity of the drug (mephedrone) has dropped while its price and popularity have risen despite reports that their popularity has been reduced. The sooner the government bans a drug, the sooner a new drug is invented and emerges  [71]  . This is the case especially with legal highs. the transitionary period until theyre put under the purview of the Drug Misuse Act is detrimental. People often confuse them as actually being legal forever. Often, legal is confused with safe, regulated and controlled. There are an infinite number of creating or better yet; altering the structure of an illegal drug, so as to make it legal. Barkham  [72]  suggests legalising safer drugs in order to prevent the need for alternatives. Moral pnics regarding legal highs can also be counter intuitively misdirecting the public. Calling them legal would help normalise the possibly dangerous drugs by the uninitiated members of the public and even legislators. In 2010, there were six deaths caused by mephedrone unlike cocaine which was the cause of 144 deaths. Following this, there was a media panic which prompted the control of mephedrone and related compounds under the Misuse of Drugs Act in April 2010  [73]  . Proving that mephedrone causes death is a difficult thing to do. Nonetheless, do the six deaths justify the media panic ? probably not. In addition to that, the six deaths related to mephedrone miht actually be more than a single digit figure since not all toxicology laboratories were able to recognise that substance  [74]  . Mephedrone is an amphetamine-type stimulant known for causing around one hundread deaths per year in the UK  [75]  which has been available since 2008. legal highs have been available for decades. Recent developments in social networking which facilitated the transition from closed markets to open markets made them more readily available to the public. Banning mephedrone under the settings of the Drug Misuse Act is controversial. Mephedroneis found to be more popular among clubbers even after its re-classification as a former legal high  [76]  . Even more popular than ectstacy and cocaine  [77]  , it has become, after being made illegal in april 2010, the clubbing scenes drug of choice  [78]  by being the fourth most popular drug in the UK  [79]  . It seems to have a loyal following which surprisingly did not switch to an alternative stimulant which was -still- legal. Users are willing to obtain it on the street if any other legal route was unavailable  [80]  . Mephedrone is now in the eye of the law. The moral panic that surrounded and still surrounds- the drug validly takes credit for bringing mephedrone under the purview of the Drugs Misuse Act. Do moral panics have an ultimate goal? Considering that they are an amalgatmation of the publics concerns which are reinforced and followed and even created by- media panics, successfully identifying a legit goal would be an elusive and difficult task. Whatever the goal is, stricter regulation of mephedrone, and any other drug seems to tone down moral panics. The rise of the use of mephedrone is owed partly to the increasing decrease of MDMA in ecstasy which pushes users to mephedrone which produces similar if not better experience  [8