Surviving in the Wilderness Essay Example for Free

Surviving in the Wilderness Essay The risk taken when adventuring in the wilderness can be a fatal one if one is unprepared and lacking some basic tools and knowledge. There are three basic points when dealing with wilderness survival. The first being food then shelter then warmth. This paper is going to give details and insight into each of the three points. Food, as anyone would know, is vital to survival. Whenever planning to take an adventure, always pack enough food and water to avoid the stress and inconvenience of looking for sustenance. If one is caught in a situation where food is not readily available here are plenty of sources in the wilderness. Fish is a great food for a balanced diet and is available anywhere in the world, and a good thing to know is that all birds are able to be eaten. Sap from a poplar is sweet and can be eaten raw. If one is at an oceanic wilderness, all seaweed is edible. If one is stranded in the arctic, all vegetation is edible with the exception of mushrooms. Deer is probably the best meat to have in the, wilder- ness though it may be hard to hunt without the proper equipment. When hunting and eating remember fat is a very important part of survival. Blood gives one the nutrition ne need and it can be added into sups and other foods, and is easy to find on most evergreens. A good source of heat and energy is Spruce tea. Spruce tea is easy to make, all one need is spruce needles and hot water. When eating plants, it is 1 2 important to know what plants one are eating to avoid further discomfort. There are certain plants that can kill you within hours. Water is very important especially when in tropical or dry places. Be sure to bring plenty of containers to gather water in. A normal human can only go a few days without water in a dry or tropical place where sweating can lead to dehydration. When looking for drinking water, look for signs of animals (McNab 58). The tracks of animals means the water is relatively safe to drink. A good way to gather water during rain without the proper supplies is to tie a rag or shirt around a branch and let it absorb the water then drink from the shirt (McNab 62). If at sea it is important to remember that salt water does more bad than good so do not drink it. If in an arctic environment, do not eat snow it lowers ones body temperature and costs ones in the long run. Our intake of water should much exceed our output of water. This is important to remember to avoid ehydration. To keep healthy and avoid parasites, always boil water first, if possible. There are a few easy ways to catch animals to eat. A death pit is a large hole in the ground with large or small spears at the bottom. Covered with sticks and brush, it is a hard fall for any animal who crosses over. A great way to catch fish is to find a stream with fish and put rocks or a net in the stream so when the fish swim with the current they are trapped on one side by the rocks or net and the other side by the current. Fish hooks and spears are also easy to make and make fishing a lot easier. Theses are a few hints and pointers so finding and hunting food and water will not be as hard as one would think thought. Warmth is more vital in some places than others. Even though in tropical climates the nights can be very cold and any little thing can help survive. There are a few little 3 things that people can know and use when supplies are running low. Making fire is easy if you have the right supplies if not there are ways to do it. This is the most common way of making a fire with nothing but a knife and what one can find in the woods. First find a stick about a foot high and another stick a little longer. Use a shoe-lace or any thin vine to attach to the longer stick to make it look like a bow. Then try to find a small rock with a notch in the middle. Next find a flat piece of dry wood for the board. Carve a hole in the middle of the board using the knife, but not all the way through. Make the hole big enough to fit the end of the shorter stick into. Have a tray and a bundle of tinder ready to light and a pile of wood for the fire. First loop the string around the center of the first bow and place the shorter bow in the socket of the board. Put the rock on top of the stick and begin to turn the stick with the bow. Add pressure to the socket and speed ones bowing until one has begin to see smoke and ash. Stop and knock the embers into the tray. Then transfer ember into ones nest of kindling and hold the nest tightly and begin to blow until fire. Then place into pile of bigger tinder and continue adding fuel. There is a lot of fuel for fire in the woods. Obviously dry wood is plentiful in the woods most of the time. If in the arctic moss, roots and lichen are also sources of fuel. A general rule of thumb is when gathering wood for a fire gather what one think is enough then triple that. If in an oceanic environment, driftwood makes great fuel. When carrying frail tinder, use a bottle or wallet to keep it dry and safe. Unless one is building a fire to be seen don’t build it too big and waste fuel. Remember to build a fire on a log or rock and not just on plain earth. Patience is important when lighting a fire one may not get it on the first try. Do not waste energy and body heat making a fire in cold weather unless it is absolutely necessary. There are ways to keep warm using things other than fire. Feathers can be used to 4 insulate. Fur and skin can also act as isolation. Oil can be gathered from animal fat to be used as water repellant. When in a cold environment watch for frostnip it is the first sign of frostbite. Be sure to control you sweating because it leads to hypothermia. If these steps are taken you just may survive. The last thing to consider is a shelter. Many think a shelter is hard to make because of the lake of supplies one would have available if stranded in the wilderness. The truth is there are some very easy and effective ones that can be made with little or no supplies at all. When one stranded, first make a shelter because when it is dark it is too late. The easiest is a lean-to. It consists of one diagonal stick five to six feet ong resting on two smaller sticks maybe two and a half forming an A-frame. On this can be laid on palm branches or any kind of covering that can be found n that specific environment. Remember when choosing a spot for a shelter choose one clear of debris and as conspicuous as possible. Also be sure to not choose a place that in the event of a flood will fill with water. A tree shelter is ideal incase of swamp or wetlands. Avoid place where there could be falling rocks or snow. Evergreen boughs can be fashioned to make a mattress. Caves are ideal when trying to escape rain and wind (Angier 128). Make sure ou make a shelter close to where you can get food and water. The mail objective when finding a place to sleep is not comfort but survival. (Angier 135). When choosing a site try to stay away form bushes that will contain troublesome insects. Take advantage of natural made shelter to save precious time and energy. After a long hike or in the morning are not ideal time to make a shelter because fatigue clouds ones judgment. In a emergency keep in a car or boat to avoid the elements. Smaller shelters keep you warmer and take less time to build. If in a arctic environment don’t build snow houses or igloos 5 hey are too complicated architecturally . If in a area with sufficiently deep snow dig a hole to use as a shelter. Be sure to build the snow shelter at the right angle to avoid snow being blown in by the wind. These are some easy ways to build and get the best out of your shelter. If you remember some of the tips and instructions you will do a better job of not just surviving, but thriving in the wilderness. This is to prove that surviving in the wilderness is a lot easier than one might think. It is easier than you think. if you have some simple knowledge and most importantly the will to survive you just might survive the wilderness.

Effects of Tourism on the Economy of the Mauritius

Effects of Tourism on the Economy of the Mauritius Abstract: This dissertation is based on tourism in Mauritius concentrating on how the country became one of the worlds best tourist destination and a detailed report on how tourism influencing the economic growth of Mauritius. The overall development of the country can be assumed through the GDP and per capita income, luxury tourism sector is the main economic growth of the Mauritius which is playing a key role for the social and economic aspects. The technique which used in Mauritius has progressed them from a low-income economy based on agriculture to a middle-income diversified economy Keywords: Tourism, GDP, per capita, low-income, diversified economy 1. Introduction In the sub-Saharan region and in Africa Mauritius is one of the most performing and fastest growing countries. The country has moved from a mono-crop sugar-dominated economy to being services oriented. The main economic pillars of the island are textile, sugar, tourism, and services. People from different parts of the world are attracted towards the real beauty of Mauritius which is in its wild interior, waterfalls, lush forests and endemic wildlife, striking mountains, mild weather. Mauritius offers inspiring beaches and indigo waters, fascinating accommodation, world-class golf courses, spas, waterskiing, windsurfing, fishing, parasailing, and warm hospitality from the locals. [Mauritius-simply divine n.d.] Mauritius has progressed from a low-income economy based on agriculture to a middle-income diversified economy .The main economic growth has been the result of the increase of the luxury tourism sector. When world sugar prices have turn down and the manufacture of textiles has become economically impracticable, the country concentrated on tourist industry. Because of the limited space available for tourism and the need to maximize income while minimizing environmental impact, tourist policies in Mauritius endorse influential and specialist tourism Low budget tourism is not promoted. The Mauritian government encourages boutique luxury hotels, 4 and 5 stars beach resorts, golf courses, and spas and beauty centers for high-end tourism. Accordingly, thus rising from 103,000 in 1977 to 656,450 in 2000, a more than six-fold increase in tourist arrivals. Total number of nights spent by tourist was estimated to about 6.5 million, representing an increase of 13% over 1999. The usual duration of stay works out to around 10 nights and average expenditure per tourist reached about Rs.22, 000. In 2000, gross tourism receipts were 14.2 billion rupees (508.3 million US $) and contributed to about 11% of our GDP. In 2010, tourist arrivals were estimated at about 934, 000 compared to 871, 000 the previous year and 2010 tourism earnings were estimated at about MUR 39.5 billion, up from MUR 35.7 billion in 2009. Gross foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at MUR 10.6 billion at the end of September 2010 against MUR 8.8 billion for the same period in 2009, a 20% gain. The investment went mainly to health and social work activities, real estate, finance and insurance. Tourists are mainly European, French and British. In 1970 Mauriti us had about 18,000 visitors in and between 1985 and 2000 the size of its tourism sector, calculated by the raise in tourist arrivals, grew by approximately 340%. In 2000 Tourism created 30,000 full time job equivalents in Mauritius thus the country tends to be a high cost tourist destination and in 2004 Tourist arrivals were almost 720,000 and in 2008, 970 482 tourists came to Mauritius. Air travel and accommodation are reasonably expensive. Most tourists are on package holidays there is very little independent travel or backpacking. Charter flights have been banned, the resort hotels have been built to high standards and there are high standards of cuisine and service to encourage up-market tourism there are direct flights from Britain and South Africa. [Tourism in Mauritius n.d] Despite concerns about pollution and damage to coral reefs, the amount of resorts come together in parts of the coastline is growing and policy in the country has generally been to regulate contact between Mauritian society and tourists because of concerns about cultural and social problems. The main tourist attractions in the country are its environment, with white beaches, sea, and warm climate and the friendliness of the people and its political and social stability. By attracting Foreign Direct Investment the country is equipped with a highly skilled labor force and a very good infrastructure. Over the last 3 years the average economic growth was 5.6%. As a result the standard of living has gone up the income per Capita has reached 4000 US Dollars. The Government has taken several steps to face globalization and a new economic environment. On the priority list there are high value-added, capital intensive and knowledge-based activities. The Information Technology sector is underg oing rapid changes so as to be fit for the next millennium. The aim is to make Mauritius a centre for high-tech and software services, which can be exported.ÂÂ  [African Economic Outlook n.d] The government of Mauritius has adopted new strategy for developing the local tourism industry which is referred as the opening of the sky action plan. The main idea is to develop new markets, which include penetrating to new countries and new client profiles. Tourism to Mauritius has accomplished consistent growth in recent years and following the government efforts for developing the local tourism sector, it is most likely therefore that the tourism sector will continue growing in coming years. The developed infrastructure, access to cost effective and educated labor, attractive investment incentives and existing linkages with industry representatives in European Union and Eastern and Southern Africa put Mauritius in an excellent position to take advantage of growth opportunities. Following these efforts, the Mauritius government expects an increase in the number of tourist arrivals to as much as 2 millions tourist per annum by 2015. To have a optimistic and flourishing tourism sec tor Mauritius is well known in the African region. With a value added of 9.2% of GDP and has been a key factor in the overall development of Mauritius tourism has emerged as one of the main pillars of the economy and contributes significantly to economic growth. About 65.7% of the tourist arrivals are of European origin, with France supplying nearly half. The Government has been very helpful to investors local and foreign by setting clear policies, get rid of bureaucratic procedures, contributing incentives and creating an environment favorable to investment. There are many factors which attract investors offer- primarily beach tourism and the sun, our strategic location, the image that Mauritius has, hospitality of Mauritian, infrastructure, availability of skilled workers, political stability, business incentives, facilities and environment that make possible investment among many others. The Government of Mauritius conducts its marketing activities through the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority. Hotels, though, carry their own marketing and deal mainly with foreign tour operators. The tourism sector has paying attention to considerable FDI. Recognizing the significance of Foreign Direct Investment in terms of capital for further investment and overflow of technological know-how and skills, the government has put forward openhanded incentives to attract foreign direct investment to advance increase the sector. FDI policies towards tourism were once quite preventive as there were fears at that time of creating over-capacity of hotel rooms. However, foreign investment is now permitted in restaurants, yacht, travel agencies among others. It is expected to contribute towards showing the livelihood impact of the tourism sector in terms direct and indirect employment creation, infrastructure and amenities improvement, preservation of the environment and job opportunities for women among others. It will also be a stepping stone in identifying the main challenges facing this sector from the view point of all stakeholders involved. [Economy of Mauritius n.d] 2. Motivation Tourism creates jobs and wealth for the countries, increase GDP/ national income, economic and educational growth of people, and broadens peoples understanding of different cultures. There is a continuous flow of money between countries/states/towns. Depend heavily upon travel expenditures by foreigners as a source of taxation and as a source of income for the enterprises. Therefore, the development of tourism is often a strategy to promote a particular region for the purpose of increasing commerce through exporting goods and services. It provides direct employment for the people associated with occupations in bars and hotels. The standard of living of people increases well and at the same time unemployment is on the decrease. Tourism is an extremely profitable process in loads of countries, especially those in which the process of development continue to depend on this industry because this industry does not require a lot of literacy and also it yields maximum profits with less inve stment. Concerning public there has been much development made for the infrastructures, many buildings has been built inÂÂ  coastal regionsÂÂ  for the comfortable of tourists, road also have been built to ease the travel in those regions. It can say that much has been done to make tourist feel safe in the coastal regions and there are many police stations and police patrols (policemen patrolling on bicycles also). Much work and employment has been created in hotels, that indirectly create jobs for tour operators, tourist guide, taxi drivers. Many places have been protected and the government is doing much to preserve places, fauna and flora in the island. Thus theÂÂ  Tourism industryÂÂ  has had a much more positive impact on the industry on Mauritius and it has been a boon to the economy of the country as many foreigners come to the country and spend much money during their stay 3. Findings and Results Using a number of statistics compiled by the Central statistical Office an analysis of tourism has done by the government authority. A number of ratios are devised and plotted as time series from 1979 onwards. The Ratios calculated are as follows: Number of Nights spent per Tourist, Discounted Earnings per Tourist, Discounted Earnings per Night, Contribution to GDP per Tourism Earnings, Discounted Contribution to GDP per Tourist, Percentage of Nights spent in Hotels, Nights spent per Tourist in hotels and nights spent per tourist in informal accommodation, average expenditure per tourist residing in hotels and average expenditure per tourist residing in informal accommodation. It was bring into being that there has been a plummet in the number of nights spent per tourist for the past years and low-cost earnings per tourist has stayed flat from 1988 to 1998. It was also found that although only 25% of tourists reside outside the hotel sector, those tourists make up 40% of nights spent on the island and represent 14.5% of the earnings accrue from tourism. It was found that from 1990 to 1997, GDP (in 1997 Us $) for European countries has increased by 10% on average, and arrivals from Europe has gone from 43% of the total to 58%, discounted spending per tourist from a number of European countries has remained flat. The main result are that the constant achievement of tourism in Mauritius respites significantly on tourists exist in outside the hotel sector and that in real terms Mauritius has grow to be a cheaper destination for Europeans. Tourists in hotels spend less time in Mauritius than tourists in informal accommodation and this is due to the relative expense of staying hotels compared to staying in informal types of accommodation. Over a lapse of six years the number of nights spent per tourists in both type of accommodation has fallen significantly and it is not a good trend [A paper on tourism in Mauritius n.d.] Table 1: Nights per Tourist in hotelsVsNights per Tourist in informal accommodation Year Nights per tourist (in hotels) Nights per Tourist (informal accommodation) 1990 9.40 18.57 1992 7.86 23 1994 9 16.36 1996 8.33 15.65 1998 7.92 17.18 Figure 1: Nights per tourist (in hotels) Vs Nights per tourist (informal accommodation) Tourism industry adds considerably to economic growth and has been a key factor for the whole progress of Mauritius. In the past two decades tourist arrivals increased at an average annual rate of 9% and in 2000, gross tourism receipts contributed about 11% of the GDP of Mauritius. Table 2: Number of tourist arrivals in Mauritius from 1974 to 2010 Year Number of tourist arrivals(in 1000) 1974 100 1978 200 1982 300 1986 400 1990 500 1994 600 1998 700 2002 800 2006 900 2010 1000 Figure 2: Number of tourist arrivals in Mauritius In particular, financial globalization undeniably presents new challenges and benefits to developing economies, to a small island economy (SIDS) like Mauritius. Given the special features of SIDS in terms of their economic vulnerability, their participation in the global financial markets raises a number of policy issues such as market access, level of financial development, international support and financial stability. Since the late 1980s, with the onset of the financial liberalization programme the integration of the domestic financial system in the global financial markets has been high on the agenda of policy makers. The internationalization of the financial system shaped part of the overall strategy of reaping the full benefits of economic liberalization. Policy makers have been aggravated by encouraging the financial services sector as another major pillar of the economy and creating Mauritius as a regional financial center. In order to integrate the global financial markets the purpose of this work is to emphasize the institutional and policy changes, which took place in the Mauritian financial system. In terms of capacity building; capital flows and improved competence an introduction assessment of the impact of the liberalization of trade in financial services on the financial system will be attempted. In the trade liberalization of financial services, there has been a significant increase in the volatility in net capital flows, namely foreign direct investment and portfolio investment inflows. It is hard to state that financial services liberalization has led to financial stability. In some sections of the financial sector there has been a move towards higher financial efficiency. Domestic financial integration has greater than before but the diversification process is going at a slow pace. The banking activity remains highly concentrated and there are signs of rigidity in banks interest rates. Especially in terms of capacity building and governance the developments in the financial markets have been significant and number of legislations has been passed to modernize the Mauritian financial system and amalgamate the world financial markets. Following an econometric investigation of the impact of financial globalization on consumption volatility, find an evidence of a positive and significant relationship. This is an indication that the level of financial sector development has not reached the threshold level so as to reap the benefits from financial globalization. A higher level of financial sector development will be helpful to harness the benefits from financial globalization. The main policy implications is the further development of the financial sector is crucial for participating in the globalization process of financial markets and reap the benefits in terms of higher economic growth and welfare. Trade liberalization in financial services has guide to higher volatility in capital flows; policy makers should continue to implement institutional changes to integrate world financial markets. International support should be sought for financial sector development and harmonization of regulatory framework. In 2008 real gross domestic productÂÂ  (GDP) grew by 4.1%ÂÂ  in 2010,ÂÂ  up fromÂÂ  3.1% in 2009 but lower than the 5.5%. The government has maintained a growth path, in spite of challenges at home and abroad. ÂÂ  In 2011,ÂÂ  GDP growth is estimated to remain aroundÂÂ  4%. Nevertheless,ÂÂ  thisÂÂ  will depend on the improvement in theÂÂ  main European trading partners, but could be faster if MauritiusÂÂ  reduces its dependence on sending exports toÂÂ  slow-growing traditional marketsÂÂ  and charting a new economic modelÂÂ  more flexible to future shocks. Projections for 2012 put economic growth at 4.1%. To taken as a whole 2010 budgetÂÂ  deficitÂÂ  was estimated at 4.7% of GDP against 6.6% in 2009. It is projected to fall back to 4.4%ÂÂ  in 2011 andÂÂ  4.3%ÂÂ  in 2012. In 2010,ÂÂ  the key Repurchase Agreement (Repo) rate was reduced from 5.75% to 4.75% and theÂÂ  headline inflation rateÂÂ  stood at 2.9% compared to 2.5% in 2009. In 2011 Inflation is expected to increase to 3.0% and 3.9% in 2012. The current account deficitÂÂ  stood at 7.9%ÂÂ  of GDP and isÂÂ  projected to rise to 9.2% in 2011 and 9% in 2012. AmidÂÂ  volatility in the foreign exchange market, the Mauritius rupee (MUR) ended 2010 appreciating against majorÂÂ  currencies. Against the US dollar (USD),ÂÂ  it gained from an average of MUR 31.94 in 2009 to MUR 30.89. [Financial globalization n.d] The government has already committed to a target of one million tourist arrivals on the short term and two million before 2020 in the up-market segment, regarding the volume of tourism. The TDP bring to a close that tourist development in Mauritius will not be controlled. Given these targeted growth Figures the tourist burden on the country in terms of environmental and social impact remains limited. with an accelerating growth especially in the last few years in correspondence with the targets for the first five-year period room capacity is increasing from 9,024 rooms in 2001 to 12,830 rooms in 2006. For example the French coming through Reunion despite the low volume and high quality hotel sector there are regional and domestic markets that seek inexpensive accommodation. Through the informal sector this accommodation has developed. According to a survey executed for the TDP this accommodation has substantial capacity an estimate of 7,000 rooms resulted from this survey. In comparison with the hotel room capacity in the formal sector the occupancy rates are much lower in the informal sector Bed nights sold in the formal hotel sector are about 3.5 times higher than in the informal sector according to the TDP. It should be emphasized that there is a complementary value of the informal sector product in the tourism product portfolio. In the 2000 survey repeat tourists accounting for 33% of the tourists interviewed and probably there are more or less captive customers of the informal sector. If this is the case a value added strategy for this sector will contribute to the economic d evelopment without undermining the high quality profile of the formal hotel sector. [Master plan for air transportation in Mauritius, n.d.] The United States has become Mauritius second largest market. The Americans and Mauritian are expecting that the new American trading relationship will not drop out or it did in the early 1800s. Due to that today, architect of the Mauritian economy as well as Americans who are being actively trade with Mauritius. This invigorated trade with the United States comes at an important time for Mauritius. To weaken the profitability of sugar and clothing exports the country faces many confronts into the future, as a removal of preferential treatment and increased competition in world trade. The government has taken some measures to point out these issues such as investing in training and education, technology sector, introducing more competition in key services, creating an information and communication end also privatizing the communications industry. Mauritius has great hopes for future growth in the U.S. market. The Africa growth and opportunity Act, which offers preferential access for apparel exports to the U.S. market. The country today is planning for the future with an eye in international trade just as Mauritius did in the 1790s to open the island for foreign trade. [Economic growth in Mauritius, n.d.] 4. Comparisons From 1990 to 1997, the GDP per capita for ten European countries sources of tourists to Mauritius has increased. The average increase is of the order of 10% for the 10 countries listed below. Table 3: GDP per capita for ten European countries sources of tourists to Mauritius Country Percentage increase in real GDP per capita from 1990 to 1997 GDP per capita in $ US (1997) Austria 14.7% 25550 Belgium 10.9% 23792 France 9.8% 23786 Germany 14.9% 25592 Italy 8% 19912 Netherlands 18.6% 21370 Spain 13% 13511 Sweden 5.5% 25735 Switzerland 0.7% 35978 United Kingdom 12.5% 21823 Average Increase 10.86% The spending per tourist expressed in 1997 has diminished by 5.6% when the GDP per capita for the above-mentioned European countries has improved by 10%. The proportion of arrivals from the above-mentioned European countries has gone from 43.5% in 1990 to 58.7% in 1997 of the total arrivals respective years. Those simple figures do show evidently that for Europeans, Mauritius has become a cheaper destination. [A paper on tourism in Mauritius, n.d.] Mauritius has received a substantial proportion of its visitors from Europe since the 1980. Today in Mauritius more than 20,000 jobs are produced by tourism sector. Mauritius is having predominantly European Tourists. It is calculated that expense on tourism in Europe is going to increase stronger than its GNP. Even though the GNP-growth per capita in Europe is relatively low compared to the USA and Japan, long-term growth prospects in the European market are positive. As a matter of fact like other sectors, tourism is also a competitive market. Tourist operators are now having more number of tourist destinations in their brochure. In competing markets, like the tourist market, price sensitivity is very high. Given the quality, relative small price changes can lead to large market share changes. Globally, there are many reasons for the increasing value for money. The cost of a typical long distance holidays have dropped substantially. The air fare component is the main contributor to this decline. Mauritius may loose important market shares in the distinct originating markets. Therefore one must conclude that the current tourist strategy has some risks in it, whereas until today the image could justify the high price of the Mauritius tourist product, this may not be the case in the future especially if promotion efforts diminish. But even if Mauritius would be able to pertain its value perception by promotion, this would bring in some views too few tourists with insufficient economic multiplier effects into Mauritius. The current state of the economy may require a significant increase in tourist demand volume. Recent volume developments in the up-market segment make it impossible to compensate the current lay-offs in the textile sector. Among other things the current pricing strategy in the tourism sector is not expected to provide the new employment perspectives. It can even be questioned whether Mauritius is able to retain its current market share in the up market segment as such. Enlargements of the tourist market may imply major changes in the environmental and social structure. Careful environmental planning and design is essential to prevent the island from an urban sprawl of hotel developments. A good water management is necessary to take care of the increase of both the demand for drinking water and the volume of wastewater. Next to that, the residents of Mauritius will be increasingly confronted with tourists, whether in competition for the beach or in associate with the informal sector. Therefore the developments have to go with a balanced social program [Master plan for air transportation in Mauritius]. Rodriguez and Mauritius also have similar comparisons of tourism industry [Tourism and development n.d]. Antigua and Mauritius are the islands which have developed tourism as the major industry and along similar lines with big resorts. [Business Mega n.d.] Figure 3: Distribution of respondents by purpose of visit, 2000 The proportion of tourists coming on holiday went up from 72% in 1998 to 74% in 2000, while honeymooners fell from 15% to 11%. In 2000, tourists coming on business or to attend seminar accounted for 9% of the sample, a figure which is more or less the same as that recorded in 1998. [Tourism Strategy n.d] Table 4: Percentage distribution of respondents by purpose of visit, 1998 2000 Purpose of Visit 1998 2000 Holiday 71.6 73.7 Honeymoon 15.1 11.3 Business/Seminar 8.7 9.2 VFR 2.3 3.6 other 2.3 2.2 5. Conclusion and Future recommendation This dissertation has shown how tourism industry has developed into a major pillar of economic development in a small island economy like Mauritius and comparisons with other countries dealing with the achievement of tourism industry and how tourism helping Mauritius both in economic and social aspects. And also about the drawback of stay in hotels and informal accommodation due to the relative expense in hotels which is not considered as a welcome trend. In future if the government will study more about this and try to solve it according to the welfare for the countrys economic aspects then Mauritius will become a cheaper destination in all aspects. At present the marketing strategy of tourism in Mauritius is mainly based on European countries which can be considered as a negative aspect because if the country concentrate on the advertisements based on a global technique then it will help the economy to a better extent. Government can take necessary actions, if need be, to improve t he impact of tourism on businesses, community, environment, training and infrastructure. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Ms.Georgia Balta for the direction, assistance, and guidance and I also wish to thank my friends and colleagues.

Factors Promoting and Impeding Economic Globalisation

Factors Promoting and Impeding Economic Globalisation 1.1 INTRODUCTION Globalisation has become a profound concept in social sciences; it is hard to discuss the current developmental issues without making any comment on globalization. Globalisation has accelerated rapid changes and the progression towards the development. Furthermore, globalisation connected people to one another. For example, in the previous era the world is connecting to each other through traditional method which is via mail, now, people can connect to each other via internet. Indeed, understanding of globalisation need to be viewed from the four analytical dimensions. Namely, economic, political, cultural and technological globalization (Kiefee and Steve, 2005). This essay is more concern with the economic globalization. Economic globalization is been expressed in what is known as neo-liberal policy supported by Washington Consensus. In fact, neo-liberal policy advocates liberalization of economic, privatization, trade liberalization and deregulation of national economy, which are all part of the factors that promote economic globalisation. Economic globalisation has been a major drive of current era of globalisation. Michael (2000) has claimed that trade and financial institution has been the major drive of economic globalisation (Michael, 2000). However, economic globalisation has been experience critiques which have been led to impediment in its growth in some quarters of the world. The development of economic globalisation cannot be doubted anymore. This development has increasingly growing throughout the years and increases the levels of economic interdependence, besides sharpens struggle between countries. Various actors play an important role in economic globalisation growth, namely; International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and World Trade Organisation. These organisations perform certain functions to keep economic globalisation works, for example they provides long term loans to developing countries. The WTO act as the body that manage to reduce tax in trade relations that exist among country in the global economy relations. This essay will give answers to the following identified questions below; What factors promote economic growth? What has been the challenge to the growth of economic globalisation? What factors impede it? How can we make economic globalisation workable for all nations? To discuss this, the next section of the essay would be devoted to literature review and theoretical framework. 1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Research has been made previously that has discussed the reasons that led to economic globalisation and the reasons impede it as well. Toffler (1980), avert that globalisation is principal an outcome of innovation in technology and that this emergence of technology have bring changes in ones lives, it has led to the more investment in capital and capital mobility .for example the multinational moves their capital to where they hope to reap more profits. Stiglitz (2002) was of the opinion that to understand globalisation, one has to study the three main institutions that govern it. He gave the name of these institutions as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Trade Organizations (WTO). Thus, Stieglitz emphasized being playing by International Financial Institutions in the running of present economic globalisation process. Institutions, such as World Bank is acting as the independent body that provides loans to the developing countries for development process which in turn promote economic globalisation. Stiglitz (2002) said globalization is nor good neither bad thing either. He strongly considered it to be more of division of gains between North and South where global North gain, while South loses. However, the recent development of some newly industrialising countries, such as Taiwan and China is a critique to the above view. One of the renounced pro –globalisation, and the professor of economics, in the person of Martin Wolf (2005) in his book; why globalisations works opined that globalisation is benefit for all. He cited the positive outcome of China, Brazil, India, and Singapore and now South Africa, in their openness to the world market (Wolf, 2005). He said those countries in global south that yet to reap the benefit of globalisation need to open their markets to the outside world and that they should invest in human capital skills. Neo-liberalism theory This theory emphasized the privatisation and liberalisation of the economy with reduction of trade barrier for the economy development which would benefit to all human kind. The states should only provide enabling environment for the business to thrive. That is the multinational enterprise should be given free access to the investment and production without any government policies restriction. Harvey(2005) provides full illustration and explanation of neo liberalism theory of economic globalisation, according to Harvey(2005): Neoliberalism is in the first instance a theory of political economic practices that proposes that human well-being can be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an institutional framework characterises by strong private property rights, free markets and free trade. The role of the state is to create and preserve an institutional framework appropriate to such practices †¦The state has to guarantee, for example the quality and integrity of money†¦The state interventions in markets once created must keep to a bare minimum†¦ Applying this theory to the economic globalisation means that, the unrestricted free movement of goods and services, and most importantly in the present era of globalisation, is the movement of capital, will lead to economic growth and development which is benefit to the whole world. However, this theory have been criticised by Marxist school of thought that those who own the means of production all control the state, according to Marx and Engel (1848) every society is divided into two antagonistic class; the bourgeoisies and the working class, the haves and the haves-not, where the bourgeoisie control the means of production, they also control the state policies to continues exploit and subjugate proletariat who have no access to the means of production. The lesson that we can learn from this school of thought (Marxist) is that the position of neoliberal that state have no business in business is a pure political fallacy. But we have witness those who are well known business men and women who do not have interest politics in this present world. For example, Bill Gate, Carlos Slim, and many others. This is not to say that they do not indirect participate in politics. Despite the criticism of neoliberal theory, it’s still stand as major theory to explain economic globalisation growth and development. 1.3 FACTORS THAT PROMOTE ECONOMIC GLOBALISATION There are certain factors that promote economic globalisation growth. Such as regional integration, trade liberalisation, privatisation and deregulation and foreign direct investment, etc. Francis Fukuyama (1992) argues that the breakdown of national barriers through the creation of a single, integrated world market have facilitated mobility of capital, growth in foreign direct investment, and increases important of transnational business corporation (TNCs) (Fukuyama, 1992). Thus the central role of multinational enterprises in the economic globalisation process cannot be rejected. These factors shall be discussed below. A. Regional Integration Regional integration could promote economic globalisation. Given the fact that states within the specific geographical region come together to trade between themselves and establish free trade zone such as North-America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). John McCormick (1999) supported this view when he said that, regional integration is the practice that two or more countries sit together and had a meeting to discuss about the problem. They trying to overcome the economic crisis and promote the development of it. In most cases, this coming together of region may led to establishment of free trade zone between the states and promote economic of particular region the regional integration in Europe immediately after the second world war have a profound influence on trade liberalisation and economic globalisation . This implies that imply that there is link between regional integration and economic globalization. B.Trade liberalisation Trade liberalization is the free flow of trade between countries around the world. It emphasized the removal of the trade barriers such as tariffs and taxes on goods and services. Held and Mcgrew (2007) observed that the level of international trade have since increase significantly in relation to the national income. However they contend that this is more pronounced among the advanced industrialized country. Indeed the fallen of the trade barrier has led to the global nature of economics transaction (Held and Mcgrew 2007). The activities of the transnational corporation owing to the trade liberalization has become more pronounced in the recent era of globalisation ,thus the power of the global finance has become central to economics globalisation(Held and Mcgrew 2007). This means that trade liberalization has been a positive development to the economic globalization. For example it is possible for multinationals to invest more in a country that have liberalised its economy. And thereby promote economic globalisation. Foreign Direct Investment Foreign direct investment has become one of the factors that promote economic globalisation. Multinational Corporation has taken economic globalization to a new level. According to UNCTAD (2001,as quoted in Held and Mcgrew 2007): ‘Multinational corporation account for about 25 percent of the world production and about 70 per cent of the world trade ,while their sales are equivalent to almost half of the world GDP’ The result of this is that investment by the multinational corporations in the form of FDI has increase over the years and this must have led to a more interconnectedness of the world economy, which invariably promote economic globalisation. D.  Privatization and Deregulation These are the products of the Washington consensus, the capitalism ideology have led to the ideas of private ownership of means of production with the sole aims of profit maximization and capital accumulation, it was the belief of the capitalist economist that the private ownership of the means of production will lead to unlimited happiness in the society. The collapse of the Soviet Union in Eastern part of the Europe saw to the more achievement of the capitalism, thereby led to the adoption of the privatization and deregulation of most of the world leading economies. These ideas of privatization and government deregulation of the economy do have positive impact on economic globalization. These four factors and many other one that were not discuss fully here, such as ,resources and market ,research and development, technologies and the state political wills promotes the growth of economic globalization, however because of the growing number of sceptic of the globalization ,for example Joseph Stieglitz (2002) in his popular books ‘Globalization and its discontents ‘have exposed some of the injustices and ugly face of the globalisation, he was particularly of the opinion that the economic globalization was never aims to help the people of the developing world, that the three institutions that runs it (IMF,WORLD BANK and WTO) were all instrument of the exploitation in the hands of the elite states of the advanced developed countries. The result of this is the growing number of the impediments to the growth of the economic globalization. I shall discuss this in the next section of this essay. 1.4 FACTORS THAT IMPEDE ECONOMIC GLOBALISATION. There are uncountable factors that may impede the growth of economic globalizations; the most critical aspect of it is the putting in place of the protectionism policies by state to protect her infant industries. Others include; tax, extremely regionalization, lack of technology, lack of political wills, lack of human and capital resources and many more. This essay shall discuses four of the above factors High tax The imposition of high tax by national governments has been described as one of the factors that can impede the growth and process of economic globalization. When a particular national government put in place a high corporate tax on investment ,in this present era of capital mobility ,the investors would in turn move their capital to where they considerate comparative advantage, so wise government should not put high tax on investment . Discussing on the hyper-globalisation thesis, Hay (2013) seems to agree that government should cut tax in order to attract foreign investor, according to Hay (2013): ‘’ Any failure on the part of a state to render its corporate taxation levels competitive in comparative terms through tax cuts will result in a punitive depreciation in net revenue as a capital exercises its mobility to exit.’’ What this means is that high tax is an anti-economic globalisation, it is against trade liberalisation policy. Extreme Regionalisation Regionalisation and globalisation are two sides of the same coin, while regional integration could promote economic globalisation, it can as well impede it. Hirst and Thompson (1996, as quoted in Hay 2013) observed that there is tendency toward regionalisation in the present era than globalisation. They submitted that the process of tridization is currently going on between the North America, East Asia and Europe owing to the series of inter-regional integration that is going on between these three regions. The outcome of which have being excluding most part of the world from economic globalisation process. The lesson that we are learning from this is to check on the regional integration objectives so as not to hinder economic globalisation, indeed regionalisation could be formed as a defence to unequal and imbalance nature of economic globalisation. C.  Protectionism Some states might device a means of protecting their local infants industries from been expose to the unfavourable competitions with foreign firms’ such states may consider certain goods and products that might want to come into her country as contra ban, or give a quota to such goods and products from the foreign firms. Although states might have their own reason for protecting their own national and local firms but it is generally belief that any strategy of protectionism employed by any states is anti-economic globalisation. D. Lack of technological Sophistication The importance of technological innovation is crucial to the development of economic globalisation , the internet make it easier to transact business on a global level within a second, so therefore lack of technology or lack improvement in technology would have severe impact on the economic globalisation. It is difficult to talk about economic globalisation without looking at the technology that have made global financial system more conveniently and reliable. All these abovementioned key points may impede the growth and process of economic globalisation. 1.5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Haven explained what the globalisation is all about and especially haven been discussed those factors that may promote and impede economic globalisation. It is my opinion that those states whose action is being have been describe as a threat to economic globalisation have their own reasons for doing so. For instant, Stieglitz (2002) rightly observed that globalisation especially economic globalisation is characterised by unequal exchange in which the rich countries of global north gains at the expense of the global south. This could be reason why they are protecting their economy as a solution to the inhuman and exploitative nature of economic globalisation. However I will go with the position of Martin Wolf (2005) that if the developing world could invest in human capital, technology and open up their economy to outside world, they stand a chance of reaping the benefit of globalisation. Therefore, they should invest in human capital and technology, while open their economy to the outside world. Also the developed countries should carry them (global south) along in the process of economic globalisation. Otherwise, they continue to exact influence on those factors that impede it, became they think they have nothing to gain from it; consequently therefore, stopping it would not have any real impact on them since they are not benefiting from it. References Fukuyama, F. (1992), The End of History and The Last Man. New York: Free Press Harvey, D. (2014). Neoliberalism, politics and society. Retrieved Nov 13, 2014, from: http://www.slideshare.net/suehair/neoliberalism-politics-and-society Harvey,D.(2005) A Brief History Of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hay, C. (2005) ‘Globalisation Impact on State’, in R, John.(ed) Global Political Economy, Oxford: University Press. Held,D and Mcgrew,A. (2007) (eds) Globalization Theory: Approaches and Controversies . Cambridge: Polity Press Kiefer,L.,and Steve, C.(2005) Global Marketing Management :Challenges and New Strategies.London:Oxford University Press Marx, K. and Engel.(1848)The Communist Manifesto. London: Communist League McCormick, J. (1999) The European Union: Politics and Policies. New York: Westview Press Stiglitz, J. (2002) Globalisation and Its Discontents. New York: ww Norton and Company. Toffler A. (1980) Future Shock. London: Pan Book Ltd. Wolf, M. (2005) Why Globalisation works? Yale: Yale University Press.

Animal Farm Diary Entries :: Animal Farm Essays

Animal Farm Diary Entries Old major I am getting closer and closer to death. These last few years of my life have been haunted by terrible thoughts of REVOLUTION!!!! I need to tell the other animals about these thoughts. I don’t know what they will think. They may object to them greatly or they may see it as a way to be set free, but other animals will have different opinions. The cat is a household pet his life is good. He never has to do any work. He will not be keen. However there are animals like pigs that live for one purpose, to be killed. They will be keen. I will confront the animals soon. Snowball Old major rounded all the animals in the barn today. What he said shocked us all. He obviously had been thinking about it for a long time. He told each what our fate was; usually it was to be slaughtered. Instantly most of the animals realised that they should provoke this revolution or be killed. I am happy to help because it is inevitable Mr. Jones’ cold hands will slaughter me if I don’t help. Its just my mind is flooded with thoughts of what could go wrong. How would we get food? How would we run the farm? Won’t other people just come to claim the farm? So many things could go wrong but if we succeeded it would have a huge effect on not just this farm but on surrounding farms too. We could provoke these farms to follow our example. Soon animals would be seen as equals next to men. There’s even a possibility that we could be seen as superior. I say the revolution should happen and it will happen. Revolution is coming to Manor farm! Napoleon Today something happened, it was inevitable, it had to happen sometime. I knew it. Old Major gathered all the animals in the barn. He began to lay the foundations for a revolution. I admire him very much to have the courage to oppose Mr. Jones. I now am sure Mr. Jones’ rule will be other within the year. The animals want a revolution and they will get one. Revolution, I see it as a time when one person loses something and another gains something. I wish to be the one to gain. I have always been the runt in the litter, now I will become superior to everyone else. I know I can. Mr. Jones will die and I will live and my life will be great. It’s all because of revolution. People will die and I will benefit.

Claudius as Evil in Hamlet by William Shakespeare Essay -- William Sha

Claudius as Evil in Hamlet by William Shakespeare The abstract concept of evil has vastly transformed throughout human history, ranging for the supernatural and mystical to the very humans amongst whom we live. In modern times, evil has become an entirely ambiguous term. Who is evil? What is evil? Men like Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein have been garnered with the term ‘evil’ for their atrocities against fellow humans. Now it seems evil has a solely human significance; when a person violates the individual rights of others on a massive scale, he/she is evil. In Shakespeare’s time – the Elizabethan era – evil had a similar, but somewhat altered connotation in the human mind. Evil was an entity that violated the English Christian monarchial tradition. Therefore, a man such as Claudius, from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, a cold-blooded murderer and a ruthless manipulator, who uses â€Å"rank† deeds to usurp the thrown is in direct violation with the Elizabethan societal norms, and hence h e is an evil character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Elizabethan era, the royal crown was viewed as divinely touched and hence any action against the crown was an action against God. Claudius dismisses God’s right to control the crown by committing a â€Å"murder most foul† (I.v.27), yet he concedes that â€Å"there’s such divinity doth hedge a king† (IV.v.121). Claudius admits that God influences the monarchy and yet he chooses to violate the divine monarchial progression. Hamlet recognizes Claudius’ evil nature beyond simply the murder of his father; Hamlet sees that Claudius is corrupting all of Denmark. Claudius’ reign is compared to â€Å"an unweeded garden/That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature/Possess it merely† (I.ii.135-7), his influence causing the destruction of a previously beautiful environment. Claudius’ infectious evil must be eliminated, and Hamlet feels he is the only man who can do anything; he pulls out all the stops and i n the end accomplishes his goal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  King Hamlet’s â€Å"foul and most unnatural murder† (I.v.25) tops Claudius’ list of egregious sins, but most of his offenses are psychological rather than physical. Using his mastery of manipulation, Claudius, the â€Å"incestuous† and â€Å"adulterate beast† managed to win â€Å"to his shameful lust the will† of the virtuous queen, Gertrude (I.v.42-6). Gertrude could not be persuaded to switch husbands without a little verbal tricker... ...er it be through direct divine action or controlled action of another; hence, Hamlet crusades against Claudius and eventually triumphs. A trail of bodies lines Hamlet’s path towards vengeance, but Claudius is revealed, the â€Å"yet unknowing world† is told:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How these things came about†¦   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of carnal, bloody and unnatural acts;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And, in this upshot, purposes mistook   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fall’n on th’ inventors’ heads.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (V.ii.359-64)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Claudius’ true nature is exposed; his treachery and heresy is fully recounted, and presumably he is sentenced to eternal damnation for his moral infractions. God’s will prevails in a fundamentally Christian tale of murder in the name of self-interest and revenge in the name of justice and morality. Works Cited: Joseph, Bertram. â€Å"The Theme.† Conscience and the King. London: Chatto & Windus, Ltd., 1953. 130-51. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. New York: W. W. Norton, 1992. Spencer, Theodore. â€Å"Hamlet and the Nature of Reality.† Journal of English Literary History (December, 1938): 253-77.

Military Downsizing

Running Head: WHAT OPTIONS MIGHT THE PENTAGON CONSIDER What Options Might the Pentagon Consider When Discussing the Downsizing of the Services as Well as Change Overseas Basing Richard Giadone Columbia Southern University MBA 5652 Research Methods Running Head: WHAT OPTIONS MIGHT THE PENTAGON CONSIDER Permanently stationing forces overseas gives the U. S. military a strategic advantage–but at a price. That price is paid not only in terms of budgetary cost but in terms of the personnel, units, and equipment needed to support forces stationed outside the United States. We will compare the U. S. forces stationed in Europe and East Asia against the monetary and personnel cost of keeping them there. Forward Based Versus Forward Deployed Forces The U. S. forces can be maintained overseas on either temporary or a permanent basis. Units or personnel that are in a foreign country on a permanent basis are said to be forward based or forward stationed. In contrast, units and their associated personnel that are in a foreign country for a limited time, typically six months or a year, while taking part in exercises or operations are said to be forward deployed. An example of such forces is those now deployed in Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. ) Although the distinction may appear to be minimal, it has important consequences for military forces and personnel. Forward Based Units Units that are permanently based outside the United States remain in place while individuals assigned to the units come and go. For example, the 2nd Infantry Division (2nd I D) has been stationed in South Korea since the 1950s, as a result of the Korean War armistice. While the division, with its headquarters and subordinate units, remain in place, some 13,000 Army soldiers rotate through it on one-year unaccompanied tours. The services are now allowing families to accompany service members to Korea for two Running Head: WHAT OPTIONS MIGHT THE PENTAGON CONSIDER year tours. Korea has an 8% personnel turnover each month. And, 20% of all Soldiers on assignment to Korea never show. In other locations, such as Germany, U. S. military personnel serve three year tours with units stationed there and can bring their families with them. With the help of allies, the United States has built up large infrastructures overseas to support forward stationed units, assigned personnel, and their families. Almost all overseas bases that permanently house large numbers of U. S. service members include all of the amenities of bases in the United States, such as commissaries, chapels, exercise facilities, and post offices. In addition, in places where families may accompany service members, the Department of Defense (DoD) has established schools for military dependents. In Germany alone, DoD runs 70 schools for more than 30,000 children who are dependents of U. S. military personnel and DoD civilians. Another aspect of forward based units is that personnel serving with them are considered on permanent assignment instead of temporary duty and thus undergo a â€Å"permanent change of station† (PCS) when they move from an assignment in the United States to an assignment overseas. In a PCS move, service members can take along their household goods (including automobiles) at the government's (taxpayer’s) expense, regardless of whether they are accompanied by family members. The fact that personnel are assigned to, and move in and out of forward based units on an individual basis creates continual turnover in those units. With the three-year tours common in Germany, one-third of the individuals in a particular unit will turn over every Running Head: WHAT OPTIONS MIGHT THE PENTAGON CONSIDER year and the entire population will turn over in three years. Moreover, when individuals complete a tour with a forward-based unit, they are generally assigned to a different unit in the United States than the one they served in before going overseas. Forward Deployed Units Forward deployed forces, such as those now in Afghanistan or Kosovo, are overseas on a temporary basis only. The United States does not anticipate having forces stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan for the next 50 years, as it has done in Germany. Rather, it anticipates that once Afghanistan is secure, U. S. troops will be withdrawn and not replaced. As a consequence, the United States has no plans to build elaborate bases to house U. S. forces in Afghanistan. Likewise, for the most part, military personnel are not assigned to duty in Afghanistan the same way they are to duty in South Korea or Germany. If a unit based in the United States, such as the 25th Infantry Division, is assigned to duty in Afghanistan for nine months to a year, all of the personnel associated with the division who are eligible will deploy to Afghanistan for the length of the tour. Neither soldiers' personal belongings (excluding some individual items) nor their families will accompany them. Furthermore, as much as possible, all of the individuals assigned to the unit will deploy and stay with it for the entire period and return to the home base together. Those deployed forces are often included in tallies of U. S. forces overseas, but in fact they are officially considered to be overseas on a temporary basis, even though some operations supported by rotational deployments have continued for years    Running Head: WHAT OPTIONS MIGHT THE PENTAGON CONSIDER U. S. Forces Based in Europe The United States has about 100,000 military personnel forward based in Europe. The bulk of them are stationed in Germany, where the United States has maintained forces since the end of World War II, originally as an occupation force and later as part of NATO's defense during the Cold War. Although the size of U. S. forces in Europe declined by two thirds after the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the need to maintain the current levels is being questioned by some defense analysts and Administration officials. Army Forces The Army accounts for about 60 percent of active duty U. S. personnel stationed in Europe. Despite significant cuts in those personnel after the unification of Germany and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the Army continues to base two of its 10 divisions and one of its four corps in Europe. Thus, a significant portion of the Army's combat power is stationed on that continent, primarily in Germany. Nevertheless, the Army's combat units (divisions and brigades) account for less than half of the service's active duty personnel in Europe. The 1st Armored Division and the 1st Infantry Division (mechanized) has only two of its three combat brigades and about 12,500 of its total 16,000 personnel based in Germany. The Army's other combat unit in Europe–the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy–has about 1,000 personnel assigned to it. Thus, the Army's permanent active-duty combat forces in Europe total about 26,000 people. Running Head: WHAT OPTIONS MIGHT THE PENTAGON CONSIDER Another 27,000 or so active-duty personnel are assigned to what the Army calls combat-support (CS) units, such as artillery, and combat-service-support (CSS) units, such as transportation. CS and CSS units provide various kinds of support to combat brigades and divisions. The other 7,000 or so active-duty Army personnel based in Europe are assigned to what could be termed administrative units, such as medical facilities, NATO headquarters in Brussels, and contracting agencies. In all, about 43 percent of Army forces in Europe are assigned to combat units, 45 percent to support units, and 12 percent to administrative duties. (The breakdown for Army forces in Germany is similar: 45 percent combat, 45 percent support, and 10 percent administrative. ) Army Bases The Army maintains an extensive network of bases in Europe, encompassing almost 300 installations. Like its personnel, the vast majority of the Army's overseas infrastructure (255 installations) is in Germany. The largest and some of the most expensive Army bases in Europe are at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels, Germany. Those two training facilities–which provide ranges and space where Army units can practice tactics and maneuvers–cover 52,000 acres and 40,000 acres, respectively, and have a combined replacement value of more than $1. 5 billion. (6) The Army also maintains 33 barracks for unaccompanied soldiers and 36 â€Å"villages† for family housing in Germany, which have a replacement value of roughly $14 billion. Other Army installations in Germany include five hospitals, five hotels, 15 smaller training areas, nine airfields, four Running Head: WHAT OPTIONS MIGHT THE PENTAGON CONSIDER depots, three golf courses, a Boy Scout camp, and a Girl Scout camp. That infrastructure is designed to enhance soldiers' morale and, to some extent, replicate the facilities and conveniences that would be found around many Army bases in the United States. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps Forces and Bases The other three services have fewer forces stationed in Europe than the Army does. In addition, they have not concentrated their forces and bases on that continent in Germany to the extent that the Army has. The Air Force maintains the second largest presence in Europe after the Army, with 34,000 active-duty personnel and 201 installations in 12 countries. The largest contingent (15,000 active-duty personnel) is based in Germany, but the Air Force also has relatively large numbers of people in the United Kingdom (10,000) and Italy (4,000). The service's major combat units are distributed similarly, with Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy each hosting one fighter wing. The greatest numbers of Air Force installations in Europe are located in Germany. The base at Ramstein, Germany, is the main air hub for U. S. forces from all services flying to or from other parts of the world, including the United States and the Middle East. The Air Force also has strategically important installations in the United Kingdom and Greenland. The air bases at Mildenhall and Lakenheath in the United Kingdom were used extensively to support U. S. operations against Libya and during Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. The Air Force's facility in Thule, Greenland, includes radar Running Head: WHAT OPTIONS MIGHT THE PENTAGON CONSIDER that is designed to provide early warning of an intercontinental ballistic missile attack and is expected to be part of the Bush Administration's network of missile defenses. Thus, although the Air Force does not have as many installations in Europe as the Army does, several of its bases have played–and continue to play–major roles in supporting U. S. military operations. The Navy and Marine Corps, because of the nature of their activities, have a far smaller onshore presence. Neither service bases any combat forces on shore in Europe, although the Navy has 10,000 support and administrative personnel there, nor the Marine Corps has 1,000. (7) In addition, the Navy maintains 15 installations in Europe, including two air stations (in Iceland and Italy). U. S. Forces Based in East Asia and the Pacific After Europe, the region with the largest permanent U. S. military presence overseas is East Asia and the Pacific, where approximately 80,000 personnel are stationed (see Table 2-1). Virtually all of them are based in two countries: Japan, where all four services have a significant presence, and South Korea, where the Army and the Air Force have stationed combat forces. In addition, the Navy and Air Force maintain a small number of installations (and fewer than 1,000 permanent personnel) in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Singapore. Army Forces Since the Korean War, the Army has maintained a major presence in South Korea, where 28,000 Army personnel are now based. Their mission is to enforce the 1953 Running Head: WHAT OPTIONS MIGHT THE PENTAGON CONSIDER cease-fire that ended hostilities under the auspices of the United Nations as well as to deter an attack by North Korea–or, should deterrence fail, help to repel an invasion or mount a counterattack to expel the invading force. Today, the 2nd ID is stationed in northern South Korea with two of its combat brigades, accounting for about 13,000 troops. The division's third brigade is based at Fort Lewis, Washington. ) Of the other 15,000 Army personnel in South Korea, about 13,000 are assigned to combat-support and combat-service-support units that are part of the Eighth Army, which serves as the high-level command organization for the Army in South Korea. The remaining 2,000 Army personnel in that country are assigned to units that perform administrative ta sks. The Army's representation elsewhere in the region is limited to Japan, where about 2,000 personnel are stationed. Those forces provide forward presence and support for regional contingencies and are also charged with helping to defend Japan if necessary. They include one special-forces battalion, some CS and CSS units, and several hundred soldiers assigned to administrative units. Army Bases The Army has a total of 95 installations in East Asia–80 in South Korea and the rest in Japan. The most expensive Army installation in the region is Yongsan Garrison, located in the center of Seoul. It is home to 7,000 military personnel assigned to the headquarters of U. S. Forces Korea and other command organizations and has a replacement value of $1. 3 billion. The Army's 15 installations in Japan, which support a Running Head: WHAT OPTIONS MIGHT THE PENTAGON CONSIDER much smaller force, include a housing area, three ammunition depots, and other logistics facilities, such as a port, a pier, and a fuel-handling facility. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps Forces and Bases Although both the Navy and the Air Force have installations in several East Asian countries, their bases and forces are concentrated in Japan (see Appendix A for more details). On the basis of replacement value, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force installations in Japan represent 88 percent of the three services' investment in the region. Air Force. The Air Force has 23,000 airmen stationed in East Asia and the Pacific, with more than half of them based in Japan. Half of the personnel in Japan are assigned to support and administrative units, although 7,000 are associated with the tactical fighter units stationed there. In contrast, the majority of the 10,000 Air Force personnel stationed in South Korea are combat forces, associated with the two fighter wings based in that country. The Air Force maintains a total of 67 installations in Asia to support and house its forces. Japan hosts the majority of them (44) as well as several large or valuable installations, such as Kadena Air Base, the nearby Kadena Ammunition Storage Annex, and Misawa Air Base. Together, those three installations have a replacement value of $9 billion. Air Force installations in South Korea are not as extensive as those in Japan, but they include two large air bases: one at Kunsan on the western coast and one at Osan, less than 50 miles south of the North Korean border. Those two bases have a combined replacement value of about $3 billion. Navy. Since World War II, the Navy has had a significant presence and interest in East Asia. The base at Yokosuka, Japan–home to the Seventh Fleet and the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk–is considered the Navy's largest and most strategically important overseas installation in the world. Furthermore, the Kitty Hawk's air wing, which is based in Japan when the carrier is in port, is the Navy's only forward-stationed air wing. All told, the Navy has about 6,000 personnel based on shore in Japan. To support its presence in Japan, the Navy maintains 12 installations, six of which are estimated to have a replacement value of more than $1 billion each. Its facilities at Yokosuka alone have a combined value of $5. 7 billion. The Navy also operates a base at Sasebo, which hosts an amphibious squadron, and a naval air facility at Atsugi. In all, the Navy's installations in Japan have an estimated replacement value of approximately $9 billion. Naval forces and installations in South Korea are much less extensive. Because the primary mission of U. S. Naval Forces Korea is to provide leadership and expertise in naval matters to area military commanders, there are no naval seagoing units permanently assigned to South Korea. Most of the Navy's facilities in South Korea are colocated with those of the Army at the Yongsan Garrison. Marine Corps. The Marine Corps's only division-sized unit stationed overseas–the III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF)–has been based on the Japanese island of Okinawa since 1971. To support the 20,000 marines stationed in Japan, including the MEF's 17,000 personnel, the Marine Corps maintains two large installations: Camp Butler, which covers 78,500 acres (or about one-quarter) of Okinawa, and Iwakuni Air Station on the island of Honshu. Those two installations represent a total U. S. investment of $6. 5 billion. Concerns About the Current Basing of U. S. Forces Overseas Asserting that the current basing structure is incapable of meeting future U. S. needs, the Administration accelerated an ongoing strategic review of that structure. The goal of the review is to develop a plan for forward basing that will make U. S. forces more agile and better able to respond to an unpredictable and ever changing global geopolitical situation. Defense analysts outside the Administration have voiced similar criticisms of the military's current basing structure. Below are some of the concerns that have been raised from both inside and outside the Administration about the forward basing of U. S. forces. Issues Common to Various Services Some concerns apply, to varying degrees, to all four services and their bases outside the United States. Those concerns include frictions with host nations, the cost of maintaining forward bases, the ability of forces stationed overseas to respond to likely conflicts, and the enduring utility of U. S. installations overseas. Host Nation Conflicts. All of the services are subject to disputes with the governments of host nations and their citizens over land use and the proximity of U. S. forces to civilian population centers and activities. Conflicts about land use have arisen because U. S. bases that were originally in remote locations have become increasingly surrounded by suburban or urban development. An example is the land occupied by the U. S. Yongsan Garrison in what is now downtown Seoul, land that local South Koreans envision using for other purposes. I was stationed in Tongduchon Korea in 1998 and again in 2008. Within that 10 year timeframe remote U. S. training areas were turned into greenhouses and cities. In various places around the world, U. S. training exercises conducted near sizable local populations have disrupted the lives of residents because of noise, destroyed private property, and resulted in the loss of life through accidents. As U. S. military personnel come into closer proximity with spreading urban or suburban populations, such incidents could become more common and affect support for the continued presence of large U. S. forces on foreign soil. The Cost of Basing Forces Overseas Maintaining forward based forces entails a marginal cost, in part because installations overseas, particularly in Europe, are more expensive to operate and support than those in the United States. Additional marginal costs include the family separation pay given to military personnel on unaccompanied tours and the cost of moving active duty service members, their goods, and sometimes their dependents to and from assignments overseas. The Congressional Research Service estimated that the total annual cost of basing 100,000 U. S. forces from all services in Europe rather than the United States was on the order of $1 billion to $2 billion in 1996. The Ability of Forces Based Overseas to Respond to Likely Conflicts Administration officials have questioned whether U. S. orces that are stationed primarily in Germany and South Korea are positioned appropriately to respond to probable future conflicts. They argue that conflicts are much more likely to occur in Africa, Western Asia, or the Middle East than anywhere in Western Europe. Similarly, conflicts may occur in Asia at locations other than on the Korean Peninsula like the civil unrest that has occurred recently in Indonesia and t he Philippines. Although all of the services have personnel stationed in Germany and all but the Navy in South Korea, that concern is most relevant for the Army because of its oncentration of forces in those countries. Most of the Administration's public statements about altering the current basing of U. S. forces abroad appear to focus on Army units. The Utility of the Current Overseas Basing Structure Although Administration officials have questioned the usefulness of some of the military's existing overseas infrastructure, they have said that some bases have obvious enduring utility. For example, the Air Force's Ramstein and Osan air bases serve as major hubs in Germany and South Korea, respectively. Army and other personnel and some equipment pass through those facilities when they arrive from the United States or depart for other parts of the globe, such as the Middle East. Those large installations, in which the United States has invested heavily to expedite the movement of forces and equipment into and out of Europe and Asia, are of high strategic value, and the Administration has explicitly stated that it will retain them. The training areas at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels, which provide facilities unavailable anywhere else in Europe, will also be retained. Issues Specific to the Army As noted above, various characteristics set the Army apart in terms of forward basing: it has far more personnel stationed overseas than any other service, those forces are located in places that appear to be legacies of the Cold War, and Army units require the most time and expense to be transported to conflicts away from where they are based. For those reasons, many concerns about the present U. S. basing structure focus on that service. Army Forces in Europe The main concern expressed by Administration officials about the Army forces now based in Europe seems to be the amount of time they would need to respond to a conflict in the region. Although the two Army divisions stationed in Germany were well placed to defend NATO from Soviet attack, they cannot deploy quickly to conflicts outside Germany. For example, three months elapsed between the decision to move the 1st Armored Division from Germany to Iraq in March 2003 and its arrival in that theater. Military and Administration officials have indicated that the need for U. S. intervention s much more likely in Africa, Eastern Europe, or Western Asia than in Western Europe. Statements by U. S. commanders in Europe suggest that the Administration may be assessing how to speed the deployment of U. S. forces to places such as Nigeria, Uganda, Azerbaijan, and Djibouti. (Nigeria and Baku, Azerbaijan, are sources of oil; Uganda and Djibouti are potential staging bases for conducting operations in Africa to counter instability and terrorism. ) As was the case with Iraq, moving a division, or even part of one, from Germany to any of those locations would take a considerable amount of time. The units in Germany are heavy divisions equipped with tanks and armored vehicles, so the most efficient way to transport their equipment is by sea. Moving one heavy brigade combat team from Germany to locations in Africa or the Caspian region would take between 20 days and a month, and transporting an entire division's equipment would take another four days in all cases, only about five days faster than moving the same types of units from the United States. Those lengthy deployment times have raised questions about the utility of the Army forces now based in Germany. Another issue concerning those forces is the cost of keeping them in Europe rather than at bases in the continental United States. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that it costs about $1 billion more per year to maintain about 56,000 Army forces in Germany than if those troops were stationed in the United States–both because running bases and providing family housing and schools is more expensive in Germany than in the United States and because the Army must pay for overseas allowances and moves to and from assignments in Europe. If those forces are not needed to respond to any likely future conflict in the immediate region, observers might ask, why should the United States spend $1 billion each year to keep them there? Army Forces in South Korea Concerns about the 28,000 Army forces stationed in South Korea differ from those associated with Army forces based in Europe. Very few defense analysts question the need to keep substantial U. S. forces based in South Korea to deter North Korea from invading or attacking its southern neighbor. Instead, their concerns relate to four main issues: the condition and location of U. S. bases in South Korea, the instability in Army units that results partly from supporting large numbers of one year tours in South Korea, the quality of life of soldiers assigned to those tours, and whether Army units based in South Korea should be made more available to respond to conflicts elsewhere in the region. Problems with Bases in South Korea The condition and location of the Army's installations in South Korea are less than desirable. According to U. S. ilitary officials in that country, many of the Army's bases are obsolete, poorly maintained, and in disrepair, including some Quonset huts from the Korean War era that still house soldiers. Most lack the amenities found at other U. S. bases overseas, and soldiers assigned to them are authorized to receive hardship duty pay of $150 per month. In addition, Army bases in South Korea are relatively small, spread out, and vulnerable. Units of the 2nd ID are scattered among 17 installations located north of the capital, Seoul, and within 30 miles of the North Korean border. That area is well within range of North Korean artillery placed along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that runs between the two countries. Should North Korea attack South Korea, U. S. forces at those bases would be vulnerable to barrages from large numbers of artillery tubes. Secretary of Defense Donald Gates has argued that removing U. S. soldiers from such an immediate threat would give them an advantage in surviving and responding to an attack. Another issue about U. S. bases in South Korea that has been raised recently concerns the large U. S. resence in the center of Seoul known as the Yongsan Garrison. That 640 acre installation was on the outskirts of the city when it was built, but it is now in downtown Seoul, occupying valuable real estate and causing tensions with the local populace. Instability in Army Units The need to support forces stationed in South Korea causes turbulence in Army units based in the continental United States (CONUS). Because duty in South Korea is conside red hazardous and bases there are poorly equipped, family members do not accompany 80 percent of the soldiers serving tours in South Korea. Unaccompanied tours are limited to one year to minimize family separation, which means that almost the entire population of Army personnel in South Korea turns over every year. That turnover has a ripple effect on Army units based in CONUS, which must provide soldiers to replace those leaving South Korea and integrate new personnel. CBO estimates that, on average, war fighting units in CONUS experience turnover of 37 percent of their enlisted personnel every year, as soldiers leave for tours outside the continental United States, take administrative assignments in places such as the Pentagon, or leave the Army altogether. Some Army officials have asserted that high turnover in Army units reduces their cohesion and war fighting capability. The need to replace virtually all of the enlisted personnel in South Korea each year contributes about 6 percentage points of the total 37 percent turnover in CONUS war fighting units, CBO estimates. Quality of Life in South Korea Maintaining Army forces in South Korea on unaccompanied tours adversely affects the quality of soldiers' lives by contributing to family separation. An enlisted soldier spending 10 years in the Army could, on average, expect to spend a total of . years on unaccompanied tours, according to CBO's calculations. Although that is a small percentage overall, some specialties and junior enlisted personnel are more heavily represented in South Korea than in the Army as a whole, so their numbers could be much higher. Serving on unaccompanied tours has been shown to decrease the likelihood that a soldier will reenlist, which means that maintaining fo rces in South Korea under current basing arrangements may have an adverse effect on retention. Availability of Army Units in South Korea Because the Army forces based in South Korea are generally viewed as a deterrent to hostile behavior by North Korea, the 2nd ID and its two brigades have been considered unavailable to participate in any operations outside the Korean Peninsula. (By contrast, Army units based in Germany have been used in operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq. ) The unavailability of the 2nd ID results partly because the division is based far from transportation hubs and partly because its units, which include many bulky and heavy vehicles, are not easy to deploy elsewhere. Secretary Gates recently raised the possibility of realigning the Army's forces in South Korea to make them more suitable for use in regional contingencies throughout Asia. He proposed making those forces more mobile by replacing their heavy armored vehicles with lighter and more modern vehicles and by moving them closer to transportation hubs south of Seoul. As we consider the world’s current economic state, what are we to do with such a large institution? 1. | Most of the roughly 15,000 soldiers assigned to units in South Korea other than the 2nd ID also rotate through their units on one-year unaccompanied tours. However, approximately 10 percent of them are on accompanied tours, in which the Army pays to move soldiers' families to South Korea and provides facilities for dependents while the soldiers are on assignment there. Those tours typically last for two or three years. | 2. | Not all of the soldiers assigned to a division would deploy with it. On average, 4 percent of Army personnel are ineligible to deploy overseas at any given time for various reasons, such as pregnancy, other health concerns, and family emergencies. Additional soldiers–as many as 35 percent in peacetime–may be ineligible because of Army personnel policies designed to ensure soldiers' quality of life. For a discussion of Army deployment rates in peacetime, see Bruce R. Orvis, Deployability in Peacetime, DB-351-A (Santa Monica, Calif. : RAND, 2002). | 3. | Some attrition, necessitating individual replacements, will inevitably occur over a deployment of six to 12 months. | 4. | For example, the United States has provided a small force to support the peacekeeping efforts of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in the Sinai Peninsula since 1982. Battalion-sized units of about 1,000 soldiers deploy for six-month assignments with the MFO. Similarly, units have been supporting operations in Bosnia and Kosovo on six-month deployments since 1996 and 1999, respectively. All told, the Army maintained an average of about 15,000 soldiers on operational deployments from 1997 through early 2001. | 5. | The third brigade of each of those divisions is based at Fort Riley, Kansas. Although the 1st Armored and 1st Infantry Divisions each have about 16,000 personnel assigned to them, when taking part in an operation they would typically be accompanied by several support units, which might include total of about 24,000 personnel. As a consequence, a division and its accompanying support units–known as a division slice–would include a total of about 40,000 personnel. | 6. | That and other replacement values cited in this study are based on data from Department of Defense, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Insta llations and Environment, Department of Defense Base Structure Report: Fiscal Year 2003 Baseline (June 2003), available at www. defenselink. mil/news/Jun2003/basestructure2003. pdf. That publication lists the replacement values of current U. S. defense facilities, including excess facilities that the United States still owns. | 7. | The Navy and Marine Corps have additional personnel based on board ships that may be anchored in European waters. | 8. | For example, two South Korean girls were killed in 2003 when they were struck by an Army armored vehicle during training exercises. | 9. | Stephen Daggett, Defense Budget: Alternative Measures of Costs of Military Commitments Abroad, CRS Report for Congress 95-726F (Congressional Research Service, June 16, 1995). | 10. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps units can take a considerable amount of time to establish efficient operations in remote locations. Nevertheless, in some cases, they can provide a more rapid initial response than can Army forces that do not have staging bases near a conflict. | 11. | John T. Correll, â€Å"European Command Looks South and East,† Air Force Magazine, December 2003. | 12. | Ibid. | 13. | Vince Crawley, â€Å"Oil May Drive Troop Staging ,† Army Times, September 22, 2003, p. 30. | 14. | The reason is that U. S. transport aircraft (C-17s) can carry only one M1 tank at a time. Moving an entire heavy division would require about 1,500 C-17 flights, and moving one brigade combat team from the division would take up to 500 flights. Since the U. S. military is projected to have only about 140 C-17s by 2005, transporting heavy divisions and brigades by air is not practical. | 15. | Those numbers are explained in detail in Chapter 3. | 16. | General Accounting Office, Defense Infrastructure: Basing Uncertainties Necessitate Reevaluation of U. S. Construction Plans in South Korea, GAO-03-643 (July 2003), p. 5. | 17. | See David J. Lynch, â€Å"DMZ Is a Reminder of Status in Korean Crisis,† USA Today, December 23, 2003, p. 11; and Thom Shanker, â€Å"Gates Reassures Seoul on Regrouping G. I. s,† New York Times, November 18, 2003, p. A10. | 18. | Although most personnel sent to South Korea each year come from CONUS-based units (because the Army generally tries not to assign soldiers to back-to-back tours outside the continental United States), some are drawn from the pool of new recruits completing their training. | 19. | Personnel assignments and career tracks vary greatly between enlisted personnel and officers in the Army. This analysis focuses on the enlisted force because it represents the vast majority of Army personnel–approximately 400,000 out of the Army's total strength of about 480,000. | 20. | CBO used a model of personnel turnover in its analysis that is based on a model developed by RAND. In its analysis, RAND estimated similar rates for both total annual enlisted turnover and the contribution from the need to support tours in South Korea. See W. Michael Hix and others, Personnel Turbulence: The Policy Determinants of Permanent Change of Station Moves, MR-938-A (Santa Monica, Calif. RAND, 1998). | 21. | See General Accounting Office, Military Personnel: Longer Time Between Moves Related to Higher Satisfaction and Retention, GAO-01-841 (August 2001). | 22. | Robert Marquand, â€Å"U. S. Redeployments Afoot in Asia,† Christian Science Monitor, November 18, 2003. | http://www. eagleworldnews. com/2011/01/07/pentagon-plans-to-downsize-army-in-coming-years/ http://www. pacom. mil/we b/site_pages/uspacom/facts. shtml http://www. globalsecurity. org/military/ops/korea-orbat. htm http://www. stripes. om/news/pacific/korea/u-s-army-in-south-korea-begins-transformation-of-forces-1. 115890 Table 2-1. U. S. Bases and Forces Stationed in Europe and Asia | Forward-Based Personnel (Thousands) | Installations | | Combat| Support and Administration| Total| Total Number| Number with Replacement Value of More Than $1 Billion| Total Replacement Value (Billions of dollars)a| | Europe| Army|   | | Belgium| 0|   | 1|   | 1|   | 10|   | 0|   | 1|   |   | Germany| 25|   | 31|   | 56|   | 255|   | 3|   | 30|   |   | Italy| 1|   | 1|   | 2|   | 16|   | 0|   | 1|   |   | Other| 0|   | 1| 1|   | 13|   | 0|   | 1|   |   |   | Subtotal| 26|   | 34|   | 60|   | 294|   | 3|   | 33|   |   | Air Force| 14|   | 20|   | 34|   | 201|   | 5|   | 22|   | Navyb| 0|   | 10|   | 10|   | 15|   | 2|   | 7| à ‚  | Marine Corpsb| 0|   | 1|   | 1|   | 0|   | 0|   | 0|   |   | |   |   | Total | 40|   | 65|   | 105|   | 510|   | 10|   | 62|   |   | East Asia and the Pacificc| | Army|   | | Japan| 0|   | 2|   | 2|   | 15|   | 0|   | 3|   |   | South Korea| 13|   | 15|   | 28|   | 80|   | 2|   | 8|   |   |   | Subtotal| 13|   | 17|   | 30|   | 95|   | 2|   | 11|   |   | Air Force| 14|   | 10|   | 23|   | 67|   | 5|   | 18|   | Navyb| 0|   | 6|   | 6|   | 16|   | 6|   | 9|   | Marine Corpsb| 10|   | 10|   | 20|   | 2|   | 2|   | 6|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | Total| 37|   | 43|   | 79|   | 180|   | 15|   | 44|   | Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data from Department of Defense, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, Department of Defense Base Structure Report: Fiscal Year 2003 Baseline (June 2003), available at www. efenselink. mil/news/Jun2003/basestructure2003. pdf; Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate of Information Operations and Reports, Department of Defense Active-Duty Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and by Country (309A) (September 30, 2002); and other Defense Department data. Note: More-detailed breakdowns for the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps appear in Tables A-1 and A-2 in Appendix A. a. Includes the replacement value of excess facilities that the United States still owns.

Compare And Contrast Sociology Essay Essay

Sociology is based on two frameworks, namely structure-agency and conflict-consensus. These frameworks center around three founders of sociology, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx and Max Weber. This essay will attempt to demonstrate which author explains sociology within which framework. The structure used for this essay will be a point-by-point structure. This essay will start off with structure, move on to agency and then to conflict and lastly conclude with consensus. Structure is the social patterns, which influence and may restrict the choices and opportunities of the individual. Durkheim is a structuralist and explains structure through social facts. Social facts are the structures, values and norms, which surpass the individual and may lead to social constraint. Durkheim believes that structure together with hierarchy is the most important aspect of maintaining a civilized society. Similarly, Marx is also a structuralist. However, he explains structure through dialectical materialism. Through this, he believes that history is not driven by ideas but rather by economic and class interests. Thus, structure is based on what the interests of the most influential class (in an economic context) are. In contrast, Weber is not a structuralist and focuses on agency more than structure (this will be explained further later on). However he does explain structure through bureaucracy and a rational-legal model. He defines bureaucracy as routine tasks that become jurisdictional areas and are ordered by rules and regulations. Thus, structure can only optimally function if bureaucracy follows the strict rules and regulations put in place without any corruption. On the other hand, agency is the ability of individuals to make their own decisions and act independently through free will. Durkheim does not believe that society is based on the individual but more on the social structures around the individual. He maintains that individuals will come and go from social institutions, but institutions have a life over and above the individual and therefore structure plays a more influential role than agency. Likewise, Marx also believes that structure is more important than agency but also emphasizes the fact that structure leads to the detriment of the majority of individuals. This means that the majority of individuals’ interests are not taken into consideration and are over powered by the role of structure. On the contrary, Weber starts his argument with agency and explains agency through â€Å"verstehen† and the theory of social action. Weber maintains that it is important to understand why the individual does a certain action (â€Å"verstehen†) and that there are three different types of social action that make up a civilized society: Traditional action (actions carried out due to tradition and because that’s they way things have always been done), affective action (actions carried out due to emotion to express personal feelings) and rational action (actions carried out using reason to achieve a certain goal). Weber also believes that legitimate authority is based on agency and the free choice of individuals. The conflict theory maintains that social, material and economic inequality are the forces of social change within a society. Durkheim is of the belief that conflict will not achieve social change, but rather consensus (will be explained further later on). He stresses the fact that conflict will only cause disorder and chaos within a society and a society will not be able to move forward if there is too much conflict. However, Marx emphasizes conflict over consensus and that inequality and class conflict furthers one side of society (the bourgeoisie) and not the other (the proletariat) due to the economic interest of the upper class. Weber is in the middle of Durkheim and Marx on both conflict and consensus. Weber is of the opinion that conflict is due to inequality within a society and the fact that there are certain people in power by force (are not chosen to be in power), which contributes even more to conflict. In contrast to conflict, consensus maintains that social and economic systems are fair and sustain social order in society. Durkheim believes that for there to be a normative basis for order within a society, there has to be moral and normative consensus. This means that everyone within a society needs to have the same values, and when everyone has the same values they become norms for a society to live and act by. Marx on the other hand, does not believe in consensus but rather in conflict. He focuses on the fact that a society can only progress if there is conflict, not shared values and norms. If there is no economic interest within a society or class, a society will remain stagnant and not move forward. As stated before, Weber stands in the middle of Durkheim and Marx on consensus and states that for there to be consensus within a society, legitimate authority needs to be achieved through the consent of the people in a society. This means that all people should decide together on who should be given authority to do what. However he also believes that for a society to progress forward, conflict and consensus need to occur simultaneously. In conclusion, the three different authors all have very different but equally important viewpoints on society. Durkheim emphasizes structure over agency and consensus over conflict. Marx also focuses on structure over agency but rather conflict over consensus. And Weber stresses agency over structure and that conflict and consensus are equally important. Therefore Durkheim, Marx and Weber have many differences and similarities within the structure-agency and conflict-consensus frameworks.