Human Rights and Development Essay Example for Free

Human Rights and Development Essay Introduction The endless efforts by human beings in formulating perception to respect human dignity resulted the human rights discourse and so was case of development. The inherent intensity of searching ‘better’ for human being to respect the human dignity paves the way for new development concept by integrating human rights norms into development, and thereby making a paradigm shift from other development models. The transition from focusing on material to focusing on human in development reflects the deepening of people understanding about the relations between human rights and development. However, armed conflicts within and beyond the national boundaries have been seriously violating human rights and hampering development process. War around the globe had and still has the same result. People around the globe are reshuffling their thinking on development models to ensure human rights thereby getting a peaceful environment free from war and conflicts. The aim of this paper is to explore the negative relation, if any, between armed conflicts, war and human rights and development assuming as a development model. Linking human rights with development as a development model Human rights are those rights without which a human being cannot live as human being. These rights are indispensable and inviolable, no one is supposed to take away these rights from any individual or groups. These rights are so basic and fundamental that any man or woman gets that from his or her birth and which are founded on human dignity. On the other hand, Development has now become an inter-disciplinary subject or it can be attributed to different political or ideological viewpoints. Development is as much a prerogative of nations as of individuals within nations. Development as comprehensively would be meant†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"is a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process, which aims at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free, and meaningful participation in development and in fair distribution of benefits resulting therefrom.† Human rights and development an integrated approach of development as comparatively a new development model generally known as ‘Rights based approach’. â€Å"A rights-based approach is a conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. The right-based approach integrates the norms, standards and principles of international human rights system into the plans, policies and processes of development.† Linking human rights with peace as antithesis of conflicts and war Journey towards protecting rights of the people and ensuring peace in this globe had an immemorial history. It was so strongly perceived and advocated from the World War I and during and after World War II, which resulted the concept of human rights as it understood today. Perhaps, it was President Wilson of U.S.A. who advocated for rights of the minority as global protection at Peace Conference in Versailles (1919). During World War II world had witnessed the massive violation of human rights and denial of peace. Consequently, international legal and political leaders committed to show respect human rights and to stop wars and conflicts which paved the way for establishing UN as global organization. â€Å"We the peoples of the United Nations determined†¦to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our life time has brought untold sorrow to mankind.† Human beings are in position from where they want to respect the dignity and to avoid the barbarous acts of conflicts and wars by proper understanding and realizing these rights. â€Å"whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind.† But after acknowledging the human rights and making commitments through UN, does the world avoid conflicts and war that violate human rights. The answer would certainly be negative though there was no world war since 1946 to onwards. But the world is witnessed of massive human rights violation in Sudan, Congo, Ruanda, Iraq, Afghanistan and different parts of the world. These in the long run violate the human rights. War, conflicts external or internal and unrest are threat to peace and security everywhere which are the conditions precedent for realizing human rights. Thus, war is the antithesis of human rights and vice- versa. â€Å"It is widely believed that the denial of human rights is not only an individual and personal tragedy as it also creates conditions of social and political unrest, sowing the seeds of violence and conflict within and between the societies and nations.† Thus, there is a close relation in observance of human rights and maintenance of peace or vice versa. The Declaration of Principle of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among the states in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, which was adopted by the UNGA in resolution 2625(XXV) of 24 October 1970, that postulates â€Å"maintaining and strengthening international peace founded upon freedom, justice and respect for human rights.† Respect, promotion and protection of human rights helps to reduce the conflicts, internal or external and thereby avoiding the war, because by respecting fundamental human rights no civilized nations can support and go for war. Linking development with peace as antithesis of conflicts and war In the context of 21st century, the concept of development has been drastically changed. Now development is perceived in much broader sense than that of previous. Notion of development equating with commodity or economic growth has been changed and now development is perceived as human development, meaning â€Å"the process of enlarging people’s choices.† Thus, there is a close relation between development and peace. An underdeveloped environment is not generally accepted that peace shall be prevailing. For this, to establish such environment, commitments are reflected in UN charter establishing conditions under which justice, respect to international law, to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, ensuring economic and social development for all would be prevailed. Peaceful environment is very much conducive for development and vice versa, Almost 20 years after the cold war our world is becoming less safe, industrialized countries are facing human insecurity by terrorism. Conflicts by internal groups are also visible in different developing and least developing countries. The world both developed and under-developed is suffering the common problem of insecurity which exposed by among the reasons †¦deprivation, violation of human rights and less development approach by the rulers. Insecurity linked to armed conflict remains one of the greatest obstacles to realize human rights and development. â€Å"Every civilian death linked to conflict is a violation of human rights.† The human security which is the essence of human rights and development has got larger attention across the globe in this era of globalization. The state centric security now turns into the human centric security. Promotion of security helps to ensure the development as well as human rights, and insecurity expose to unrest and under-development and massive violation of human rights. â€Å"Humanity cannot enjoy security without development or development without security, and neither without respect for human rights.† Human being can achieve complete fulfillment of its aspirations only within the just social order. For the stable, peaceful, non-violent environment are preconditions which are more often disturbed by the war and conflicts. â€Å"†¦international peace and security on the one hand, and social progress and economic development on the other, are closely interdependent and influence each other.† Furthermore, there is very close relationship between disarmament which exposes peace as well as development and also prevents armed conflicts and war. â€Å"†¦ [T]here is a close relationship between disarmament and development and that progress in the field of disarmament would considerably promote progress in the field of development.† The costs of wars and conflicts often are not clear to the world community, it just not the violating human rights at once but making many human persons disables for the long time which is contrary to the concept of development. â€Å"Violent conflicts claims lives not just through bullets but through the erosion of human security more broadly.† Armed conflicts and wars all over the world displaced many people which is ultimately a violation of human rights and also a serious impediment of development. â€Å"About 25 million people are internally displaced because of conflicts or human rights violations.† However, some developed nations go for war for resources but ultimately their development doesn’t become as sustainable one. Their internal development get interrupted by drugs, alcoholism, joblessness, economic unrest thereby produce instability, recent USA’s movement of ‘we are 99%’ the occupier of world street and UK’s unrest are glaring examples of non-sustainability of their development. Conclusion Human rights and development share some commonalities, for that reason they have justification to be applied in practical field which can be a very pragmatic way to solve problems that we are facing today. Thus, in the light of above discussion, it shall not be less than just to claim that, human rights and development both are the antithesis of armed conflicts and war, and vice-versa. The promotion and protection of formers discourages the latter, and happening of the latter severely violates and hampers the former. Thus, human rights and development are the contradictory to war and the war, armed conflicts are also opposite to the promotion and protection of human rights, and realization sustainable development. In this same point, the both human rights and development could used as to prevent armed conflicts and war. â€Å"In turn without development, long term enjoyment of human rights and development will prove illusory and war, of course is the antithesis of both.† [ 2 ]. The author completed LL.B. LL.M. from University of Dhaka. And currently serving as Lecturer, Department of Law. Green University of Bangladesh. [ 3 ]. Preamble, Para-2, Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986, adopted by UNGA. [ 4 ]. Robinson, Mary, A voice for human rights, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006, p.303. [ 5 ]. Preamble, The UN charter.1945. [ 6 ]. Ibid. [ 7 ]. Bari, Dr.M.Ershadul, Human rights and World peace, The Dhaka University Studies Part-F, Vol.III(1):1-11June 1992,p.2 [ 8 ]. The third preambular paragraph. [ 9 ]. HDR, 1990, UNDP, New York, p. 10. [ 10 ]. Ibid. [ 11 ]. Ibid. [ 12 ]. See for more, Sen, Amartya, Human security now, Commission on human security, New York, 2003, pp. 2- 9. [ 13 ]. Anaan, kofi, Report of the secretary general, UN ,New York,2005,p.6. [ 14 ]. Preamble, Para-6, Declaration on Social Progress and Development,1969,adopted by UNGA. [ 15 ]. Preamble, Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986, adopted by UNGA. [ 16 ]. HDR, 2005, UNDP, New York, p.155. [ 17 ]. Ibid., p.151. [ 18 ]. Annan, Kofi, Official records of the UNGA, forty-seventh session, supplement no-1(A/47/1) para-109.

The Tourism Sector In Albania

The Tourism Sector In Albania Albania is a parliamentary republic, where the legislative power belongs to the Albanias Assembly and the head of the state is the President who is elected by the Assembly for a five year mandate with the right to be re-elected. The Council of Ministers is the highest executive and commanding organ which is directed by Prime Minister. According to Census 2011 preliminary results Albania has a population of 2,831,741 inhabitants in a surface of 28,748 sq km. Albania is located in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. The country has a 750 km borderline with Montenegro to the North, Kosovo to the Northeast, Macedonia to the East, Greece to the South and Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea (Italy) to the West. Albania has Mediterranean climate, which is characterized by hot summers and mild winters with abundant rainfalls. The period from June to September is hot, while from October to May is cool and wet. The average annual temperature varies from + 15oC in the north to + 16.5oC in the south. The hottest month is July with an average temperature of + 25oC and the coldest month is January with an average of +6oC, although the record temperature has been -34oC. For almost 45 years the communist regime, which was installed in Albania after the Second World War, left the country aside the rest of the world being part of the communist bloc of the Eastern Europe. The communist regime of Tirana even went further by isolating Albanian people totally and brought the country to collapse. With the fall of communist regimes of the Eastern Europe, Albania was the last one to join the free world. A democratic system was setup in power in 1992. Due to governments commitment to a free market economy, the country undertook a programme of reforms and made great efforts to recover from the fall of communist regime. However, the collapse of the fraudulent pyramid schemes in 1997 and the instability that followed were a tremendous setback for Albania. But the country did pursuit its way toward its dream, to be part of the European community. Till there country has made a great progress. Two big achievements are accomplished, in June 2006, the Albanian Governm ent signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union (EU), the first step in the EU accession process and three years later, in April 2009, Albania became a NATO member country. Now country is looking to accessing negotiations to be an EU member country. A range of reforms are progressing markedly over the last decade to Albanias economy and administration such as reforms in infrastructure development, tax collection, property law, business administration, judiciary system. The country was largely spared from the severe fallout of the 2008-2009 financial crisis since its economy is not heavily integrated into the Euro-Atlantic system. Economic progress of the country has slowed but remained positive, in each year from 2009 to 2011. The governments main task is to maintain positive economic growth while preserving macroeconomic stability. Major challenges are the difficult fiscal and budgetary environment and the crises in the Eurozone, especially in neighboring Greece and Italy (major trading partners of Albania with a large presence in the banking sector and also host to roughly one million Albanian emigrants). In 2011, GDP was estimated to have reached close to $13 billion. Major contributors to GDP according to 2010 preliminary data were: service sector with 57.6% including trade, hotels, and restaurants (20.9%), transport (6.3%), communication (3.4%), and other services 27%; agriculture 20.3%; industry 11.3%; and construction 10.7%. In 2011 unemployment officially stood at 13.3%. Half of the workforce is considered self-employed in the agriculture sector. GDP per capita in 2011 is estimated to have reached $4,560. Although GDP per capita has steadily increased over the years, the country still ranks as one of the poorest countries in Europe according to major income indicators. Albania has put in place a liberal foreign investment regime, and the government is working to improve the business climate through fiscal and legislative reforms and infrastructure improvements. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased significantly over the last few years and in 2010 reached $1.1 billion, up from $262 million in 2005. Since 2005, the Government of Albania has invested more than $2 billion in the countrys main road corridors, and it has pledged to continue investing heavily in improving transportation infrastructure. Electricity supply has also improved due to investments in new transmission lines and new generation sources as well as the privatization of the distribution system, which is gradually increasing efficiency. The EU remains Albanias main trading partner, providing 64.1% of Albanias imports and receiving 72.5% of exports as of December 2011. Trade with Italy and Greece continues to represent the largest share of EU trade, with a combined 41.1% of imports and 58.3% of exports in 2011. Other major trading partners include Turkey, China, and Germany. The impact of CEFTA in Albanias trade with member countries has been small. 2.1.2 Tourism in Albania The Potentials for Tourism Development in Albania Albania is a small country but a beautiful and fascinating country with substantial tourism development potential. Albania has an attractive coastline and a rich cultural and natural heritage. As Tourism Strategy on Culture and Environment  [1]  has highlighted, country has a wide range of historic, cultural and natural attractions that are of great interest to international tourists. The same assessment is made to the countrys very rich culture and heritage by Culture Marketing Strategy  [2]  document, too, stressing that Albania has a very rich, distractive, and authentic culture and heritage from the Greco-Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other historic periods up to the modern day. This assessment is mentioned also to verbatim comments from interviews with western tour operators and travel writers  [3]  , where one of them have citied that Albania is an archaeological site from tip to toe, going back to Illyrian settlements, Greek colonies, Roman occupation, not to ment ion the invasions from Goths, Bulgars, Byzantines, Crusaders of the Holy Roman Empire and Ottomans who all but stopped time in tracks. Evidence of these civilizations are everywhere in Albania, and its time to let the world see the great and wondrous sitesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦... Albania has 3 World Heritage Sites Butrint, Gjirokaster and Berat. Beaches are long and sandy with hot sunny summers with about 250 sunny days. The mountain areas offer opportunities for niche tourism activities like hiking, biking, canoeing etc. Plenty of National Parks and other natural reserves offer ecological experiences. Country offers beautiful and diverse landscapes and abundant and varied flora and fauna. Current tourism markets Since the late 1990s, after the 97 instability in the country and 99 war in Kosovo, tourism activities are increasing. As figures  [4]  show there is a considerable increasing number of international visitors after the year 2000, due to the improvement of regional and inner country political climate and enhance of the security in the country. A big impact to the increase of the flux of tourists from Kosovo has show the new highway linking Albania with Kosovo. Even this increasing numbers are impressive, the tourism sector in Albania cannot be regarded as being well developed. Infrastructure has been till late a major limitation. The government in power has evaluated the development of infrastructure as very important and is investing heavily in improvements  [5]  . Data from the table below shows that: Total foreign visitor traffic increased by 18.4% in 2010 compared to 2009 to 3,612,000 visits. Taking into consideration the crisis time this is an excellent performance for Albanian tourism. 33% were non-resident Albanians and 66.1% were foreign staying visitors in 2010. Much of the increase came from Kosovo. This is evident to see the impact that the new highway with brought to Albanian tourism, a clear indicator of strong growth created by improvements in infrastructure. According to MoTCYS data, for the year 2011 a total of some four million visitors entered in Albania. They included 2,734,000 foreign tourists and 1,267,000 non-resident Albanian nationality visitors. The figures demonstrate that the biggest increase of foreign tourists in 2010 was coming from Kosovo with 48.79% followed by Macedonia with 11.43% compared to 2009. The foreign tourists from western countries havent made such a big progress. Also, as can be seen, the number of non-resident Albanians has been increasing in 2008 and 2009, while in 2010 the figure has faced a decrease. From the table below can be seen the increasing number of visitors in July and August. Such a phenomenon is shaping drastically the seasonality of tourism in Albania. In 2010 the number of tourist that visited Albania in these two months was 55.44% compared to the number of all visitors. Also, another problem related to these figures is the high dependency in Balkan region tourist flow. This demonstrates that the tourists in July-August are coming only for sea and sand and populating only the coastal areas. Strategic directions for tourism at national level According to National Strategy for Tourism Development in Albania 2002 2012, developed with the assistance of GTZ, the main tourism products for Albanian tourism are defined sun and sea, business and special interest tourism  [6]  . While the Strategy and Action Plan for the Development of the Albanian Tourism Sector Based on Cultural and Environmental Tourism was developed within the directions and structure established by the 2002 Tourism Development Strategy 2002-2012 for Albania. This document provides a new orientation for the government to position Albania as an attractive destination for tourists seeking a unique experience which encourage them to discover Albanias culture and nature. Discovery of Albania is a presentation of a broad cross-section of Albanias history, nature, archaeology, living culture, cuisine and hospitality. The graphic below presents a simple schematic. Core and Specialised Tourism Products Source: Strategy for the Development of the Albanian Tourism Sector Based on Cultural and Environmental Tourism. Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, UNDP December 2005 According to strategy document, Albanias core (primary) tourism product must be a general one that encourages visitors to discover the many facets of Albanias culture and nature. Albanias central product will be the discovery of Albania. The product is a presentation of a broad cross-section of Albanias history, nature, archaeology living culture, cuisine and hospitality. Visitors participating in this discovery will leave with a lasting impression of the diversity, complexity and beauty of culture and the land. This segment does not make a strong distinction between cultural, natural and other tourism products. Visitors in this segment tend to combine many different activities during their visits, and usually see the various natural and cultural activities as part of the process of discovering the destination. Referring to the major market segments mentioned above, the tourism resources in Albania are in favor and support the types of community-based tourism, i.e. nature-based tourism, adventure tourism and cultural tourism. Considering these tourism resources, the following types of activities can be developed: Nature: Visiting national parks and protected areas Viewing wildlife Seeing rare species Trekking, hiking Bicycle trips Education and learning Participation in local events; and River and lake exploring. Culture: Visiting cultural and heritage-related attractions Visiting museums and art centres Meeting with artists Meeting people from various ethnic nationalities Seeing local handicrafts and the process of making them Visiting scenic landmarks and religious sites Trying local food Participating in local traditional ceremonies and festivals Buying traditional crafts and local specialties. Potential to development Albania offers infinite potential to investors to take advantage of unexplored opportunities in tourism, and helping to develop this industry into a key strategic sector in the countrys economy. Albania has a young population, with a high level of instruction and able to communicate with foregners in defferent languagies. Albanian is located at short distances from the main European capital cities and albanians are friendly and very hospitable people. The improved Rinas international airport, and different ports from the north to the south easy the access to the country. The continuing improvement and development of the infrastructure in the country, is facilitating moving inside the country. Continuing improvements are being made to encourage investors to develop the infrastructure for tourism in Albania. Just like other countries in the Western Balkans, Albania has put into place legislation and investment initiatives designed to support the economic growth of the country compatible with European policies and working principles. The Albanian Government has made support of the current and future expansion of tourism a priority, with the goal of transforming the country into a Mediterranean tourist destination and placing it on the world map of tourism. In an effort to support the continuing development of the tourism industry in Albania and to make this country a tourist destination, the importance of the active engagement of the local and international Business Community and strong Partnerships between community based organizations, government and regional development agencies is a must. Internal transport is likely to remain a major limitation for tourism in the foreseeable future except perhaps for road transport along key highways where upgrading / reconstruction is already planned or committed. In the WEF Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, Albanias tourism infrastructure is rated in the bottom two in the region (See Table 2.2). In recent years there has been an increasing interest from incoming foreign tourists, especially with significant increasing numbers of international tourist groups generated from Croatia and Montenegro, organised in one or two days tours to Albania. Also Business and Trade tourism accounts a considerable number of foreign visitors. Neighbour countries, such as Italy, Greece especially are related to trade and business purpose of visit of their nationals. From the western tourists visiting Albania in 2006, are identified those arriving from Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Greece, USA, Canada, France, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Switzerland, the neighbouring countries and regions (Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonian, Bulgaria), East Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia). Diaspora is another source for the inbound tourism, where the ethnic Albanians from Kosovo do count considerable numbers. The new road under construction from Milot (the crossroad to the highway Tirane-Shkoder) to Morini (the boarder-crossing point with Kosovo) will influence to increase the numbers of Kosovos citizens to access the Albanian coastal area. The market profile of visitors who enter to Albania by road from Muriqani and Hani i Hotit (the boarder-crossing points with Montenegro) with interest for Shkodra region for the year 2006 is as below: Foreigners who are living and working in Albania have also recently started to create an internal tourism demand. While there is no official record on domestic tourism in Albania, domestic tourism is the dominating form of tourism. This is mainly focussed on beach centred holidays. 1.3.2 National context for Tourism Development Albania has a great potential for tourism development based on its natural, cultural and human resources. The country has an attractive coastline, rich biodiversity with lagoons, lakes and the mountain areas each with unique flora and fauna, unspoiled nature and attractive scenery, cultural and historical sites and interesting traditional life-styles. The country therefore has the potential to develop the types of tourism products that are in demand from the international market in the Mediterranean region. Beside to the long and sandy beaches along the Adriatic coast and these rocky ones with crystal and clean sea waters of the Ionian coast, its natural and protected areas are basic for developing niche tourism activities such as eco-tourism and nature based activities. Such an activities can be hiking, trekking, walking, horseback-riding, river rafting, paragliding, mountain biking, climbing, canoeing, sightseeing, bird watching, fishing. Rural green and agri-tourism offers new opportunities for communities to benefit from tourism by offering visitor experiences based on traditional lifestyles. Albania also can offer cultural tourism through its archaeological sites and historic cities and villages. Albania is a short distance destination for Europe; it is within 3 hours of flying time of most major European cities and therefore is a short haul destination for the potentially huge European market, the World tourism Organisation predict that by 2020 the Mediterranean Region which includes Albania will be a hotspot for tourism, thus there is a great potential for Albania to develop and expand its tourism industry. On the other side, uncontrolled development in tourism areas has harmed the potential of these areas for tourism development. Even the measures taken by the government to legalise the illegal buildings are not considering for the moment those constructed in tourism areas, it is not clear what will be the measures taken in these areas to improve the environment by the harm of illegal buildings. Some significant measures are taken recently by the government. These measures, at the national level, encompass strategy and policy documents such as, the development of the Strategy for Cultural and Environmental Tourism in 2005 and the development of a new tourism website in 2006. A new Tourism Law (Nr.9734, dated 14.5.2007) was adopted by the parliament and a number of regulations approved by the government is thought to regulate the tourism sector development. Tourism development is the responsibility of the MoTCYS (Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports). NTA (National Tourism Agency) is an autonomous body outside the MoTCYS, being responsible for promotion activities through the production of promotional materials and participation in the international tourism fairs. The most attended fairs, regularly from years in Berlin (ITB) and London (WTM), and to RDA (Keln) from 2007. At the regional level, six tourist information offices are approved to be established in Tirana, Shkodra, Vlora, Saranda, Korà §a and Durres. At the national level there are operating two business Associations for Tourism Travel Agencies and one Association of Hotels. A GTZs project on Institutional building of tourism private sector in Albania is in the process for the time being with the aim to establish a strong representation for all the sectors involved in tourism, with the common interest providing services to the members as well as building relationship and cooperation with the public sector. Albanian Rourism Even the figures on tourist arrivals are growing considerably year after year in Albania, the country has remained highly dependant on summer holidays. Looking on the statistical data published recently in the websites of Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports (http://www.mtkrs.gov.al/) and of National Tourism Agency (http://www.akt.gov.al/akt/text.php?id=1lang=1), is easily evident that the number of visitors visiting Albania succeeded 2.5 million in 2008 and only for the period January August 2009 this figure was over passing 2.1 million. As reported by MTCYS, the number of visitors in 2008 (2.578.627 visitors) is compound as international visitors 1.330.138, from which 1.247.125 were overnight visitors and 83.013 same day visitors, and 1.248.489 visitors were Albanian nationals residing abroad. While the number of visitors for the period January August 2009 (2.111.981 visitors) is compound as 1.402.558 international visitors and 709.423 Albanian nationals residing abroad . But does this picture speak for real success in the development of Albanias tourism as a tourist destination visited by the western tourists? We have to bear in mind that the main reason for the development of tourism is attracting foreign visitors from countries with strong currencies. Tourism is considered a hidden export that brings money (hard currency) to the country. Referring to the Strategy and Action Plan for the Development of the Albanian Tourism Sector Based on Cultural and Environmental Tourism produced by Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports with the support of UNDP in 2005, Albania will specialize in attracting educated, independent travelers and specialized group travelers. The principal target markets will be upper-middle income individuals from Europe (primarily northern Europe and the United Kingdom) and North America. This segment represents the demographic segment with the highest willingness to pay for Albanias unique products, and whose spending patterns will most contribute to advancing development goals. Also, in this strategic document is specified that Albanias central product will be the discovery of Albania. The product is a presentation of a broad cross-section of Albanias history, nature, archaeology, living culture, cuisine and hospitality. Visitors participating in this discovery will leave with a lasting impr ession of the diversity, complexity and beauty of the culture and the land. The question is this: Are these kind of tourists visiting Albania contributing to this strategic direction? The answer is, NO.

Homers Bio :: Essays Papers

Homers Bio Biography of Homer (?-? BC) Beyond a few fragments of information, historians and classicists can only speculate about the life of the man who composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. The details are few. We do not even know the century in which he lived, and it is difficult to say with absolute certainty that the same poet composed both works. The Greeks attributed both of the epics to the same man, and we have little hard evidence that would make us doubt the ancient authorities, but uncertainty is a constant feature of scholarly work dealing with Homer's era of Greek history. The Greeks hailed him as their greatest poet, as well as their first. Although the Greeks recognized other poets who composed in Greek before Homer, no texts from these earlier poets survived. Perhaps they were lost, or perhaps they were never written down†¹Homer himself was probably on the cusp between the tradition of oral poetry and the new invention of written language. Texts of the Iliad and the Odyssey existed from at least the sixth century BC, and probably for a considerable span of time before that. These two great epic poems also had a life in performance: through the centuries, professional artists made their living by reciting Homer, performing the great epics for audiences that often know great parts of the poem by heart. It is impossible to pin down with any certainty when Homer lived. Eratosthenes gives the traditional date of 1184 BC for the end of the Trojan War, the semi-mythical event which forms the basis for the Iliad. The great Greek historian Herodotus put the date at 1250 BC. These dates were arrived at in a very approximate manner; Greek historians usually used genealogy and estimation when trying to find the dates for events in the distant past. But Greek historians were far less certain about the dates for Homer's life. Some said he was a contemporary of the events of the Iliad, while others placed him sixty or a hundred or several hundred years afterward. Herodotus estimated that Homer lived and wrote in the ninth century BC. He almost certainly lived in one of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor. All of the traditional sources say that he was blind. Over the course of millennia of scholarly speculation, prevailing theories about Homer and his relationship to his work have had time to change and change again.

Something for Everybody: Brooks’ Reasoning for Monsterism in Frankenste

Like all works that have been taught in English classes, Frankenstein has been explicated and analyzed by students and teachers alike for much of the twentieth and all of the twenty-first century. Academia is correct for doing so because Frankenstein can appeal to the interests of students. Students, teachers and experts in the areas of medicine, psychology, and sociology can relevantly analyze Frankenstein in their respective fields. However, Peter Brooks explains in â€Å"Godlike Science/Unhallowed Arts: Language and Monstrosity in Frankenstein† that Shelly had presented the problem of â€Å"Monsterism† through her language. According to Brooks, Monsterism is explicitly and implicitly addressed in Shelly’s language. While this may be correct, Brooks does it in such a way that requires vast knowledge of subjects that many readers may not be knowledgeable in. After summarizing and analyzing the positive and negative qualities of Brooks’ work, I will explai n how the connection of many different fields of study in literature creates a better work. Brooks attempts to prove his thesis by first explaining how the language in parts of the book relates to how the Creature is monstrous. He alludes to how the descriptions of nature in Frankenstein are more fearful when the Creature is around. For instance, a terrible storm occurs during the Creature’s creation and the â€Å"cold gales† in the icy glaciers of Mont Blanc surround Frankenstein when he meets the Creature for the first time after its creation (Shelly 80). Also commenting on the Creature’s story, Brooks finds that his lack of spoken language and attempt to understand these languages allude to the Enlightenment’s noble savage (594). Brooks then associates the Creature with Satan and many top... ...ttempts to relate many fields to his paper so that even if the reader didn’t know some of the scholars that were cited, the reader could glean the basic idea and then truly understand a section that interested you if you knew about the sources he was using. Works Cited Brooks, Peter. "Godlike Science/Unhallowed Arts: Language and Monstrosity in Frankenstein." New Literary History 9.3 (1978): 591-605. JSTOR. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. . Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Walter James Miller, and Harold Bloom. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. New York: New American Library, 2000. Print. Yale Office of Public Affairs. Humanities and Social Sciences. Yale Professor Peter Brooks Wins Prestigious Mellon Award. Yale University News. Yale University, 16 Jan. 2008. Web. 21 Oct. 2010. .

The Crimes of Crime and Punishment :: Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment

The Crimes of Crime and Punishment Our topic for this paper is Crime and Punishmet, by Fyodor Dostoevsky   . There are several different issues on this subject.   We chose three main points to talk about: The Crimes, the People who solved them, and the different types of punishments.   These are the topics we chose for our report.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Crime in the nineteeth century was rapid though out London.   But because of all of the poverty and sickness in the streets, crime was the only way to survive.   Most of the crimes that took place in London were crimes that involved stealing.   Pickpocket gangs and street gamblers were a regular sight when walking down a major London street.   Prostitution was also a big money maker on the streets, done by both girls and boys.   But crimes though out the middle class and rich were mostly property crimes and disputes which made up 90% of all crimes committed by the upper-class.   In Victorian England and like   today there a two categories which crimes fall under.   "Indictable" which is the same as our felony crimes that make up all of the major crimes.   These crimes consist of: Murder,   armed robbery, burglary, larceny, rape, and assaults on the police.   The next called category is called " Summery " crimes which is equal to our misdemeanor crimes. Summery crimes were all minor crimes such as: Property crimes, Vagrancy, Drunkenness, Prostitution, Minor Larceny , and all other minor offenses.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Probably the most famous criminal in the Victorian period was " Jack the Ripper ". Jack the Ripper was " the first modern sexual serial killer" ( Sugden, pg.2) Jack's trademark was the killing of female prostitutes.   But not only did he kill them, he would surgically remove organs and intrails and place them near the dead body. "Jack the Ripper" wasn't his only nickname, he was also called " the Whitechaple murder " because   the body's were found near the Whitechapel Road, and " The Leather Apron" because of a man that would come by and beat up the prostitutes for no reason.   Jack the Ripper is credited for 9 killings, but police think that he might be responsible for more.   All of the killing accrued with in one square mile.   Jack is described as carrying a long knife in which he would cut open his victims, and a black Gladstone bag, the contents of   which is unknown.

Energy Needs Essay

Fracking or hydraulic fracturing is a method used to extract valuable gasses from rock formations in the earth. Some of these gasses include shale gas, tight gas and petroleum. In South Africa fracking is used to extract shale gas in the Karoo. Shale gas is a natural gas that forms when air is captured in rock formations under the ground. It is one of the main reasons why hydraulic fracturing is used. Shale gas is used especially in America. In 2000 shale gas made out one percent of America’s energy producers but in 2010 it replaced over 20% of America’s natural gas resources. There was claimed by experts that South Africa has the fifth biggest shale gas resources in the world while China has the biggest. There is hoped that this gas could be an alternative resource of energy for South Africa’s growing need. That is why the eighteen-month moratorium for the use of fracking, to extract shale gas, was lifted. Even though this could be a great opportunity for our country the damage caused to our environment would be far greater than the little energy it would produce. When fracking is used to extract this gas, water, harmful chemicals and sand is pumped into the fractures of the rock formation. Manmade machines mostly make these fractures that drill holes into the rocks over three thousand meters deep. When this mixture of the water, sand and chemicals reach the shale rock formations hidroxide gasses are released inside the rock. These gases are than captured and used for the generation of electricity. No one can say that fracking does not have a huge impact on the natural environment. Unluckily I am not too sure that it is a positive impact. The chemicals and toxins used in fracking are released into the scarce  underground water of the Karoo, making the water polluted and unusable. Harmful emissions are also released into the air when extracted causing a greenhouse effect on the environment. A study shows that 3,6 to 7,9% methane is released into the atmosphere after fracking has taken place. Even the use of shale gas causes air pollution. The fact that fracking causes allot of pollution cannot be missed. It was even banned in France because of all the pollution it would have made. Because of the negative effect of pollution on the environment, in this case air and water pollution, I can’t understand why such a thing was allowed. For me as part of a new generation it is more important to use clean alternative energy rather than to use short-term solutions with financial benefit just to cause the earth to decline faster.

Freedom of Expression in India

Freedom of expression in India Our motherland is everything for us and no matter how far we are from our motherland, we feel connected to our country emotionally as well as spiritually. We enjoy and celebrate the achievements and developments of our country with pride. Whenever we notice any positive development or urbanization, we feel proud to be the part of our country. When we have the right to celebrate the achievements of our country, we also have the right to criticize the negative development and unethical activities.As the citizen of our country we have the right to vote and elect the person who we trust for the welfare of common public and the country. Any country is represented by its people and every citizen is crucial and important as we all unite together and establish a wonderful nation. When we notice that our politicians are doing something really great for our country , we reward them by reelecting them in coming elections , we make them our favorite leader and we o ften spread there songs of victory to our friends and society . The political leaders are answerable to us, there accountability and there behavior depends on there actions.We people are also bound by rules and regulations, law and order should be applicable for everyone. Law and order is impartial and genuine, the culprit gets punishment and the innocent gets rewards. Well things should be under control of law and we all have to work positively for the progress of our nation. But things become artificial when the law and order favors the influential and powerful people, besides committing thousands of mistakes the powerful culprits are not punished and on the other hand the common man is punished every single second for his one mistake.Thousands of cases of powerful businessmen and politicians are pending and files are closed with the token of money but still the common man has no right to raise his voice against corruption. The media groups and big media houses are also powerful a nd influential and they have the power to expose and disclose the corruption and the corrupt people but are they really doing justice to the common people? Well common man can be easily punished for a single remark or comment as the common man is powerless and the right of freedom of speech is snatched from his hands by the corrupt leaders who want to hear what there ears like.On the other hand the media cannot be punished easily as the politicians and the powerful business man are also dependent on media for fame and popularity. Most of the secret affairs and corruption scams are hidden from public, they should be disclosed but again it all depends on media and its working as media is greatly dominated and influenced by the powerful corrupt entities. The common man will remain a common man, he might get thousands of rights in the books but in reality he is born to suffer.