Organization value's Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organization value's - Research Paper Example Perhaps, the conflict weakened the foundation of the university’s mission and vision. A large number of people in the university, such as senior administrators, discovered that severe problems continue unresolved. Demands to the administration led to the formation of a committee tasked to identify the issues that the university’s important constituents had. What followed is a comprehensive assessment of senior administrators. The general findings showed that most British and Irish students and employees had little or even no knowledge of the decisions and actions of the administrators due to poor information sharing. In contrast, the American employees stated they were aware of what should be performed and how it should be realized. In order to concretely ascertain the dissatisfaction with the process of information sharing in the university, I conducted small interviews with some of the administrators, faculty staff, and students. Some of the students and employees bel ieved that the administration could work by itself and should be doubted to work for their best interests. Only the administrative personnel expressed high satisfaction with the process and outcome of information sharing in the university. The responses of the students express a considerable degree of ‘uninformed’ stances. ... and I know that these are not reliable sources of information.† The opinion of the faculty staff on the poor system of information sharing is expressed in the statement, â€Å"Honestly, I am not informed of the steps that are being taken to build the assets of the university. Our administrators do not show genuine commitment to the people at the university, especially with regard to sharing of information and values. Apparently, the dissatisfaction among the employees and students at the university is rooted in the lack of information, but with the Irish people this lack of information is a defense mechanism against accountability. The Americans and British demand information for the purpose of learning. The Irish are more contented with the lack of information for the purpose of blaming. This is a major issue for the university. The responses of the faculty staff, mainly British and American, express discontentment with the administration of Americans and British, whereas the most positive opinions of top administrators originate from the Irish employees. This phenomenon is conceivably brought about by differences in cultures and values within the organization. The Effect of Cultural Diversity and Poor Information Sharing Practices on the University’s Organizational Values The Irish groups demonstrate greater power distance over the British and American personnel. The latter groups demand that they have the right to question or challenge those in authority. My interview reveals that a number of American and British faculty members believe that it is their duty to oppose those in the top echelons. This opposition occurs in person, in the form of debate. On the other hand, Irish personnel dislike opposing those in power. The more relevant the concern is to them, the

Web 2.0 Technology and Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Web 2.0 Technology and Education - Essay Example Indeed, while the use of technology in classroom has addressed the individual needs and requirements of students, its application in myriad formats has opened huge possibilities for students and teachers alike to exploit their potential for higher learning. The advancing technology and Web 2 tools have increasingly emerged as key elements to impact students’ learning outcome and made acquisition of knowledge highly interesting. They have therefore, widened their horizon of educational scope and outcome. Statement of problem In the current times, not using Web 2 tools could pose serious problems for students. Technology is intrinsically linked to development processes and its huge impact on education system has necessitated its inclusion within the curricula to enhance learning outcome. Valdez has emphasized that educators must be ready for technology rich future and promote dynamic strategies and tools within the curricula so that the students are prepared to meet the challeng es of the 21st century (1). The current generation of tech savvy students is no more satisfied with classroom teaching and is constantly seeking real time learning through new tools which can challenge their abilities to explore new avenues of knowledge acquisition (Akyeampong 3860). Web 2 provides the students with interactive media to share their knowledge and at the same time, facilitate their learning processes by sharing experience, opinions and views on different areas and issues (Greenhow et al., 247). Thus, Web 2 has wide ramifications on individual learning and its inclusion within curricula becomes key element of motivation. They help individuals with varying needs to optimize their learning outcome and ensure higher achievement. Thus, not using Web 2 tools could seriously hinder students’ personal and academic achievements. Purpose of the study The major purpose of the study is to explore how the use of Web 2 tools influence learning process and enhance education o utcome. Today, technology has become part and parcel of education system and the use of internet and online learning tools have increasingly become popular within and outside classroom. But the efficacy of the Web 2 tools like social networking, blogging and use of video sharing websites etc. needs to be explored within the academia to study their impact on students’ learning outcome. Most importantly, how it can be exploited for enhancing students’ learning is vital issue that must be explored and evaluated to ensure students’ continued interest in the core academic areas. The huge possibilities of internet based learning offers tremendous scope of growth that needs to be used by educators for enhancing students’ education outcome. Hypothesis 1. What are the main elements of Web 2 that make it attractive for students? 2. Do the Web 2 tools offer different challenges for students with varying skills? 3. How does Web 2 help to influence the learning proces ses of students with varying needs? 4. How does the interactive platform of Web 2 help to widen the understanding of different issues? 5. Do the web 2 platforms promote global values and improve and improvise learning outcome across the geographical boundaries of class, color, race and culture? 6. How do Web 2 tools encourage greater interaction amongst students and teachers? 7. How does it impact reading, writing and comprehension skills of students? 8. How does it keep the students motivated in the academic learning? 9. How can teachers exploit the vast potential of Web 2 tools for enhancing students’ education outcome? What is Web 2.0? According to O’Reilly the Web 2 tools are internet based technologies and platforms of communication like social netwo

Madness through king lear Essay Example for Free

Madness through king lear Essay In the 17th Century, madness was still a relatively new concept. Many people believed it was due to a person being possessed, which resulted in madness often being linked back to black magic and witchcraft. In context, the public would frequently visit Bedlam Hospital to enjoy the spectacle of a madmans behaviour thus, Renaissance dramatists typically used mad scenes for a comical effect. In spite of this, Shakespeare seems intent on a serious, if not slightly disturbing, portrayal of madness in King Lear. Throughout the play King Lear, we bear witness to Lears gradual and possibly inevitable descent into madness. As early as Act I Scene 1 we, as the audience, observe early signs of the kings insanity, albeit political at this point, we are alarmed at Lears decision to break up his state. Especially through the means he wishes to do so, his love-test is foolish and egotistical, as is his desire to be treated as an important, royal personage after he has given away his kingdom. It is fair to say that all through Act I Scene 1 Lear shows many times that he most concerned with appearances. Seemingly his love-test is going to plan, as Goneril and Regan extravagantly pledge their love and allegiance to their father, this is until Cordelia refuses to comply with Lears love-test, answering I love your Majesty according to my bond, no more, no less. simply meaning that Cordelia loves her father as a daughter should. Lear, in his blissful ignorance, cannot see past Goneril and Regans elaborate speeches and instead feels humiliated by his youngest daughters unadorned answer. As a result, he disowns her and banishes her, Cordelia then departs to France. We can see Lear is already losing control as he goes to strike his faithful advisor Kent and banishes him also, all because Kent questioned the Lears actions. As a consequence of Lears vituperative temper and his irrational, insane, actions he leaves himself powerless and at the mercy of his two eldest daughters, with neither his loyal advisor nor his devoted youngest daughter to protect him from what is to proceed. As the play progresses, we can see that the kings identity is gradually becoming unbeknown to him when he asks the question Who is there that can tell me who I am? 1, we can see that Lear is slowly losing his wits. Lears speeches become increasingly disjointed as he becomes more distressed, hinting at the madness that will overtake him later in the play. He is becoming progressively isolated due to his fragile mental state, thus, through Lear the idea of madness could be seen as being presented as vulnerability. In Act II, Lears changes of moods and tones indicate his escalating mental instability. His foolishness persists as he insists he will stay with the daughter that allows him to keep the most knights; there is desperation in his confrontation with his dog-hearted daughters. Eventually, the beleaguered kings rages become signs of impotence, not authority, emphasising the fact that the patriarchs insanity has left him powerless and increasingly vulnerable. When the storm starts we recognise that Lears fear that he would go mad, first voiced in Act I Scene 4, has been realised. The storm serves as a metaphor for Lears and Englands plight, his speeches establish and reflect properties of the storm. Through the storm, Lears madness is presented as destructive as his speeches are full of anger and distress, as the mad king moves swiftly from one topic to another. The violence of the imagery that the king employs reflects his state of mind. It is easy to see how Lears insanity could be viewed as destructive; he has caused his kingdoms predicament through his rash actions at the beginning of the play, he has divided his family through his egotism and in his mad rages he often behaves like a scorned child using invective language. However, all this considered, Shakespeare also presents Lears madness as pitiful. Due to his madness Lear confronts his failings: as a father and a ruler. He shows compassion to the characters that have helped him i. e. the Fool, Kent/Caious and Poor Tom. Even when Lear starts to regain his wits, we sympathise with the king as with his new clarity of vision brings with it distress and much regret. These are not the facts that make us truly pity Lear; it is the reality that wisdom came too late. Jesters were often kept by the monarch to provide witty analysis of contemporary behaviour and to remind the sovereign of his humanity; Lears Fool certainly fulfils these functions for his master. At first glance, the Fools professional madness is rendered as comical, his seemingly asinine jests often lighten the tone and provide some much needed moments of relief, the Fools flippant remark about Poor Toms clothing is a good example of him lightening the tone of a distressing scene. However, through the Fools professional insanity Shakespeare presents a hidden wisdom. Lears Fool is all-licensed which essentially means that the Fool is licensed to say things to his superior that anybody else would be punished for. Taking this, and the fact that Lear and his Fool seem to have a very close relationship (the Fool calling Lear nuncle and Lear calling the Fool boy), throughout the time the Fool exists in the play he is able to counsel Lear. The Fools sarcastic jesting is blunt and hard hitting. Almost as soon as the Fool enters in the play he harps on Lears folly, this is apparent when the king asks Dost thou call me fool, boy? to which the Fool replies All thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast born with2. Through the Fools madness he serves to push Lear towards the truth about his daughters this is evident when he warns Lear that Regan will side with Goneril, Shalt see thy other daughter will use kindly; for though shes as like this crabs like an apple, yet I can tell what I can tell3. And again when he hints at the dangerous situation Lear has put himself in by reversing the natural order, making his daughters his mother, The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long that it had it head bit off by it young4 this is clearly warning the king that his daughters will turn against him. Furthermore, the Fool also tries to open the kings eyes so that he can see these truths on his own, Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise5, as well as have some insight as to why these events are occurring. The third character in question is that of Edgar / Poor Tom. Edgar, Gloucesters legitimate son, is introduced as being a passive, credulous dupe upon whom Edmunds6 devious practices ride easy. We are only given a succinct introduction of Edgar before Shakespeare haves him disguise himself as Poor Tom. In the days of Shakespeare, Bedlam hospital housed the mentally ill. When they were released Bedlam inmates were allowed to go begging for survival; this is what Edgar has been reduced to by his gullible father and his brothers trickery. My face Ill grime with filth, blanket my loins. Elf all my hairs in knots, and with presented nakedness outface the winds and persecutions of the sky7 the fact that Edgar has to disguise himself as a Bedlam beggar, wandering the countryside in nothing but a loin cloth in order to preserve his life, presents to us his vulnerability and the sheer desperation of his feigned madness. Initially, Edgar is presented as a seemingly lucid character yet, as the plot unfolds we see he has many purposes within the play. Shakespeare uses Edgars alias Poor Tom to provide some comical relief as the plot thickens as some of his antics and ramblings can prove to be amusing gibberish. However, in contrast, Poor Toms erratic breathless craziness in Act III Scene iv increases the pathos infinitely. A prime example of this would be when he (Edgar / Poor Tom) says that a foul fiend laid knives under his pillow and halters in this pew, set ratsbane by his porridge, indicating towards suicide, this speech reflects Edgars fragile state of mind and, although fake, his madness is distressing to the audience. We are reminded of Edgars humanity in Act III Scene vi (the mock trail scene) as he listens to Lears lunatic agony, his act as Poor Tom momentarily breaks down at Bless thy five wits this in turn is another moment in which Edgars caricature increases the pathos of a scene. Furthermore, I feel that Shakespeare is using Edgar / Poor Toms situation to mirror Lears. Similarly to the besieged king, Edgar is now reliant on charity and he has also had his world and expectations turned upside down. Edgars assumed madness indicates towards Lears eventual submission to complete insanity in Act III, through Poor Tom we glimpse what Lear will be reduced to. Madness is portrayed in different ways through these characters: professional, feigned and genuine insanity. Nonetheless, the idea of madness is presented as purposeful, almost like a journey, for all three of the characters in question. Edgars pilgrimage through his contrived madness serves the obvious purpose of preserving his life. The preservation of Edgars life enables him to guide his father but ultimately through his madness his valour is awakened allowing him to play the role of avenger at the end of the play. However, Edgars madness also serves a purpose to the principle protagonist, Lear, as it is noticeable that on the heath Edgars presence as his caricature Poor Tom aids Lear, as through interactions with Poor Tom the kings humanity and understanding increase. The Fools professional jesting provides some much needed moments of relief. In spite of his comic role, the Fools main purpose within King Lear is to, in essence, be Lears conscience. In other words, he bestows the king with truth and reason throughout the turbulent situations that occur during his, the Fools, time in the play. Due to the fact that he is all-licensed, and also has a close relationship with the king, he can inform and criticise Lear for his mistakes without being punished for it, this permits him to counsel Lear. Lear eventually gains the insight he needs to perceive his daughters and society for what it really is, insincere and immoral. The Fools abrupt disappearance signifies that Lear has gained all the understanding he needs to distinguish between and reality. Therefore, the Fool is no longer needed: his purpose has been fulfilled. Unlike Edgar or the Fool, Lears madness is not an imminent occurrence, it develops throughout the play. The insanity of the king is unequivocally ironic, in his apparent sanity he was introduced to be conceited and imprudent, yet when he is mad he becomes a more humble, compassionate and attractive character. At the beginning of the play Lear acts exceptionally irrational and cannot see the verity of his superficial values but as a result of his madness he demonstrates an increasingly sincere, tolerant side to his nature. Attributable to his intensifying humility he is able to recognise his wrong doings as a leader and a father thus, the kings madness redeems him as he learns the value of true emotion and is able to consider the sufferings of those close to him. Consequently, this enables Lear to reconcile with his beloved daughter Cordelia. In conclusion, the madness of King Lear is deeply distressing, it develops from and points back to the kings instability.

Learning Health Systems in Australia Analysis

Learning Health Systems in Australia Analysis Submitted by : Jaison Prabhath Jaiprakash INTRODUCTION A Learning Health System (LHS) aims to deliver the best possible care to patients, each time, and to learn and improve itself with each care experience. Its vision guarantees to change healthcare services, by empowering the health professionals to change the entire health care system into a highly reliable industry. A learning health system combines quality patient care with the routine collection of data. This is aimed at improving patient outcome. A fully functional system like this would advance the overall quality of healthcare and improve patient and provider safety. The data collected through electronic health records are vast and expanding, which helps in creating new knowledge about the effectiveness of the given treatment and helps in predicting outcomes. An LSH emphasises on an approach that shares data and insights across boundaries to drive better, more efficient medical practice and patient care. The key to achieve their objectives are linked to the collection of data th at is commonly called Big Data from various types of clinical practices. The big data movement in computer science has brought dramatic changes in what counts as data, how that data is analysed, and what can be done with that data. Big data has only recently begun to influence clinical practice. (Iwashyna and Liu, 2014). Enormous amounts of health care data are collected from patients and populations and the interpretation of that data is very important in meeting the needs of the patients. Combining big data and next-generation analytics into population health research and clinical practice requires new data sources, new thinking, training, and tools. If properly used, these pools of data can be an infinite source of knowledge to power a learning health care system. Clinical trials help to manage and improve the health care system. It is all about conducting studies and investigations into various diseases and conditions and eventually hope to eradicate the illnesses. It helps to harness the information for improved clinical trial design, patient recruitment, site selection, monitoring insight and decision making. Data produced through clinical trials like randomized control trials (RCT) often include many treatments and patients from different groups, to improve the reliability of participants and to access the data, these records are digitized, this is where big data helps to store large amount of data sets. By mining the area of clinical practice, we can learn a lot about the patient care. METHODS Search Strategy The SCOPUS and PubMed databases were searched for articles related to the role of learning health systems and clinical practice. Most articles were taken from the year 2014. The search was limited to articles published in journals. Search terms A Boolean search was performed using the following terms: learning health system AND clinical practice, learning healthcare system AND clinical practice, learning health system AND clinic and learning healthcare system AND clinic. Selection / inclusion Criteria The literature review was conducted and articles chosen were from the existing learning health systems such as PEDSnet which are already being used for various clinical practices.   The search was later filtered into aspects that are essential to clinical practice as well as learning health systems, namely, big data. RESULT The role of the health care system is important to deliver the quality care and treatment to the patients. Learning health systems have shown remarkable developments in clinical practices, for example formation of Clinical Data Research Networks (CDRN) consist of many health care systems which conducts research as a network on topics like health care delivery, population health, assessing health disparities and so on. A few of these healthcare systems are listed below. PEDSnet: A National Pediatric Learning Health System   Ã‚   PEDSnet is a clinical data research network (CDRN) that provides the infrastructure to support a national paediatric learning health system. The PEDSnet clinical data research network is an association of eight childrens hospitals, two existing patient-centred disease-specific paediatric networks addressing inflammatory bowel disease and complex congenital heart disease, a newly formed paediatric obesity network, and two national data partners. Together they form the essential components of the National Paediatric Learning Health System (NPLHS). The NPLHS will establish the data sharing environment to enable a community of patients and clinicians, interacting at the point of care, to generate data that can be reused for research and quality improvement and to support continuous monitoring of outcomes that identify specific management practices as targets for comparative effectiveness research (CER). (Forrest et al., 2014) All the information about the patients are recorded using Patient Reported Data (PRD) for quality improvement, clinical practice, or research applications. Table 1: PEDSnet overview (Forrest et al., 2014) Point of Care Research (POC-R) Point of Care Research (POC-R) is a clinical study design that is used to compare two or more treatments that are considered equal. It takes advantage of Electronic health records to enable participant recruitment and data collection of the patients. The goal of POC-R is to embed research into clinical practice, contributing to a Learning Healthcare System (Weir et al., 2014). pSCANNER (part of the PCORnet) The patient-centred Scalable National Network for Effectiveness Research (pSCANNER), is a part of the recently formed PCORnet (Patient Centred Outcomes Research net), which is a national network composed of learning healthcare systems and patient-powered research networks funded by the Patient Centred Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Its mission is to provide health related data available to clinicians, researchers and other stakeholders to improve the health-related policies, decision-making and governance. It uses a distributed architecture to integrate data from three existing networks VA Informatics and Computing Infrastructure (VINCI), University of California Research exchange (UC-ReX) and SCANNER, a consortium of UCSD covering over 21 million patients in all 50 states of the USA providing ambulatory care and community-based outpatient clinics with claims and health information exchange data. (Ohno-Machado et al., 2014). pSCANNER shares the data but also protects the privacy of patients at the same time. Only summary statistics are shared between the researcher and clinician. Initial use cases will focus on three conditions: congestive heart failure, Kawasaki disease and obesity. Stakeholders, such as patients, clinicians, and health service researchers, will be engaged to prioritize research questions to be answered through the network. The distributed system will be based on a common data model that allows the construction and evaluation of distributed multivariate models for a variety of statistical analyses. (Ohno-Machado et al., 2014) Learn From Every Patient (LFEP) The merging of three major trends in medicine, namely conversion to electronic health records (EHRs), prioritization of translational research, and the need to control healthcare expenditures, has created unique interests and chances to develop systems that advance healthcare while reducing the overall cost. But making a learning health system operational requires regular changes that have not yet been widely demonstrated in clinical practice. The authors developed, implemented, and evaluated a model of EHR-supported care in a cohort of 131 children with cerebral palsy that integrated clinical care, quality improvement, and research, entitled Learn from Every Patient (LFEP). Children treated in the LFEP Program for a 12-month period experienced a 43% reduction in total inpatient days, a 27% reduction in inpatient admissions, a 30% reduction in emergency department visits, and a 29% reduction in urgent care visits. LFEP Program implementation also resulted in reductions in healthcare costs of 210% (US$7014/child) versus a Time control group, and reductions of 176% ($6596/child) versus a Program Activities control group. Importantly, clinical implementation of the LFEP Program has also driven the continuous accumulation of robust research-quality data for both publication and implementation of evidence-based improvements in clinical care. These results demonstrate that a learning health system can be developed and implemented in a cost-effective manner, and can integrate clinical care and research to systematically drive simultaneous clinical quality improvement and reduced healthcare costs. (Lowes et al., 2017) Figure 1: The Learn From Every Patient (LFEP) model PaTH PaTH provides an informatics supported infrastructure for cohort identification and data sharing within the network of three targeted conditions: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), atrial fibrillation (AF), and obesity. It helps in linking the electronic patients records and understand the survey methods used in research. It uses an open source tools (i2b2 and SHRINE) to aggregate, analyze the distributed data, and facilitate patient centered, comparative effective research. It also helps in improving the decision making capability of both patients and physicians through collaborative process that brings each partner closer to the ideals of a learning health system. (Waqas Amin, 2014). DISCUSSION Big Data is an important but diverse intellectual movement seeking to bring new technologies of data acquisition, data integration, and data analysis into clinical research, hospital operations, and clinical practice. These trends will only accelerate for the foreseeable future, as they build on decades of others doing exactly those same things. Big Data will not solve fundamental challenges of either logical inference or of human behaviour. (Weir et al., 2014). Big Data will continue to provide new knowledge and decision-making support for an array of real and pressing clinical problems (Iwashyna and Liu, 2014). PEDSnet will transform paediatric healthcare and childrens health by developing an extensive and efficient digital infrastructure that enables all participants to work together in the work of producing new knowledge and improving health and care delivery. PEDSnet benefits from robust pre-existing resources and a unique history of collaboration by childrens hospitals that has fundamentally reshaped outcomes for previously fatal diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and many childhood cancers. As the basic digital structure to a learning health system, PEDSnet enables the quick application of new evidence into clinical practice and will address fundamental questions of clinical effectiveness for children and their families, particularly for individuals affected by serious, and generally rare, illness that persists into adulthood. (Forrest et al., 2014) The Point of Care Research (POC-R) highlights several possible factors important to a nationwide implementation of a pragmatic trial program. Participants were significantly concerned with added burden, changes in the provider-patient relationship, ethical implications, validity of results, and integration with workflow. To encourage and support provider buy-in, programs might consider provider training, marketing, and electronic support for decision-making. Providing evidence of equipoise and the validity of data capture might be essential for buy-in. Work process analysis should be part of the proposal. (Weir et al., 2014) pSCANNER will encode a significant portion of policies in software, use a flexible strategy to harmonize data, and use privacy-preserving technology that enables highly diverse institutions to join the network and allow stakeholders to participate. Significant challenges in terms of providing sufficient incentives for patients, clinicians, and health systems to participate and ensuring the sustainability of the network, which were not the focus of this article, will also need to be addressed. The pSCANNER project offers a unique opportunity to make progress toward these objectives, and share results with a community of researchers and representatives from a broader group of stakeholders. (Ohno-Machado et al., 2014) The introduction of EHR-supported care that integrated clinical care, quality improvement, and research resulted in large reductions in healthcare utilization, with associated reductions in charges. Direct comparisons with two distinct comparison groups, to account for the effects of time and LFEP Program activities, confirmed that patients in the LFEP Program had greater reductions both in healthcare utilization and healthcare charges than either control group. Together, these early results confirm that it is both feasible and cost-effective to operationalize key components of an LHS in a large academic medical center. Furthermore, such a system is able to simultaneously improve clinical care and efficiency, and reduce healthcare expenditures, while creating a robust research-quality data set enabling healthcare systems to systematically Learn from Every Patient. (Lowes et al., 2017) The PaTH network will adhere to best practices by using as its backbone open source tools (i2b2 and SHRINE) to aggregate data using standard vocabularies and provide distributed, de-identified cohort queries. PaTH will test these systems in three targeted disease conditions. PaTH will provide a robust informatics supported platform to facilitate comparative effectiveness research, support the conduct of clinical trials, and improve the decision-making capability of both patients and physicians through a collaborative process that brings each partner closer to the ideals of a learning health system. (Waqas Amin, 2014) CONCLUSION The ongoing feedback of insights from data to patients, clinicians, managers and policymakers can be a powerful motivator for change as well as provide an evidence base for action. Many studies and systems have demonstrated that routine data can be a powerful tool when used appropriately to improve the quality of care. A learning healthcare system may address the challenges faced by our health systems, but for routinely collected data to be used optimally within such a system, simultaneous development is needed in several areas, including analytical methods, data linkage, information infrastructures and ways to understand how the data were generated. (Deeny and Steventon, 2015) These results demonstrate that a learning health system can be developed and implemented in a cost-effective manner, and can integrate clinical care and research to steadily drive simultaneous clinical quality improvement and reduce the overall cost of healthcare. (Lowes et al., 2017) REFERENCES BRODY, H. MILLER, F. G. 2013. The Research-Clinical Practice Distinction, Learning Health Systems, and Relationships. Hastings Center Report, 43, 41-47. DEENY, S. R. STEVENTON, A. 2015. Making sense of the shadows: Priorities for creating a learning healthcare system based on routinely collected data. BMJ Quality and Safety, 24, 505-515. FORREST, C. B., MARGOLIS, P. A., CHARLES BAILEY, L., MARSOLO, K., DEL BECCARO, M. A., FINKELSTEIN, J. A., MILOV, D. E., VIELAND, V. J., WOLF, B. A., YU, F. B. KAHN, M. G. 2014. PEDSnet: A national pediatric learning health system. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 21, 602-606. GRANT, R. W., URATSU, C. S., ESTACIO, K. R., ALTSCHULER, A., KIM, E., FIREMAN, B., ADAMS, A. S., SCHMITTDIEL, J. A. HEISLER, M. 2016. Pre-Visit Prioritization for complex patients with diabetes: Randomized trial design and implementation within an integrated health care system. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 47, 196-201. IWASHYNA, T. J. LIU, V. 2014. Whats so different about big data?: A primer for clinicians trained to think epidemiologically. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 11, 1130-1135. LOWES, L. P., NORITZ, G. H., NEWMEYER, A., EMBI, P. J., YIN, H., SMOYER, W. E., LEARN FROM EVERY PATIENT STUDY, G., TIDBALL, A., LOVE, L., SCHMIDT, J., GOLIAS, J. MILLER, M. 2017. Learn From Every Patient: implementation and early results of a learning health system. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 59, 183-191. OHNO-MACHADO, L., AGHA, Z., BELL, D. S., DAHM, L., DAY, M. E., DOCTOR, J. N., GABRIEL, D., KAHLON, M. K., KIM, K. K., HOGARTH, M., MATHENY, M. E., MEEKER, D. NEBEKER, J. R. 2014. pSCANNER: Patient-centered scalable national network for effectiveness research. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 21, 621-626. STEINER, J. F., SHAINLINE, M. R., BISHOP, M. C. XU, S. 2016. Reducing missed primary care appointments in a learning health system. Medical Care, 54, 689-696. WAQAS AMIN, F. R. T., CHARLES BORROMEO, CYNTHIA H CHUANG, 2014. PaTH: towards a learning health system in the Mid-Atlantic region. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 21, 633-636. WEIR, C. R., BUTLER, J., THRAEN, I., WOODS, P. A., HERMOS, J., FERGUSON, R., GLEASON, T., BARRUS, R. FIORE, L. 2014. Veterans Healthcare Administration providers attitudes and perceptions regarding pragmatic trials embedded at the point of care. Clinical Trials, 11, 292-299.

An Explication of Emily Dickinsons Loaded Gun Essay -- Dickinson Load

An Explication of Emily Dickinson's "Loaded Gun" Emily Dickinson's poem "My Life had stood-a Loaded Gun-" is a powerful statement of the speaker's choice to forego the accepted roles of her time and embrace a taboo existence, a life open only to men. The speaker does so wholeheartedly and without reservation, with any and all necessary force, exulting in her decision. She speaks with great power and passion, tolerating no interference, and wills herself to maintain this choice for her entire life. The structure of the poem is a common one for Dickinson, alternating iambic tetrameter and trimeter. These six quatrains are evocative of the verses from the Protestant religious services that Dickinson attended as a child but from which she chose to abstain as an adult. This meter gives the poem power and dignity, evoking the solemnity and unquestioned truth of a religious hymn. The mix of masculine and feminine images, their juxtaposition, and their occasional transformation across the gender line mirrors and mimics the message of the poem. The opening stanza begins with a series of masculine images: "a Loaded gun" (1), "The Owner" (3-later identified as "He"-17, 21). The fourth line gives an image of the speaker being carried away, something usually perpetrated on a female by (usually) a male. This too is an ambiguous image: is she carried away by her own love- enraptured-or is she carried away against her will, to be defiled, and used against her will? The second stanza resolves this question. Suddenly the speaker is "We," "roam[ing] in Sovreign [our] woods" (5), indicating an acceptance of the relationship. As an admirer of George Eliot, a woman who adopted a masculine identity in order to faci... ...ability to destroy, she is "Without-the power to die-" (24). Again we see the passivity of the "Loaded gun-" (1), unable to act without some animating masculine force. Does she mean she has the power to destroy the poet within, but cannot then escape from the role of reclusive outsider she has sacrificed so much to attain? Or does she mean she can destroy anyone who wishes to take this "Master" from her, but cannot kill him herself, or end her own life-options she may have wished existed for her, considering the difficulties produced by her inability to fit in to society? Although there is an irreconcilable ambiguity to this last stanza, the uncertainty somehow does not detract from the power of the work, but rather adds to it. With "Loaded Gun" Dickinson proclaims herself a warrior, ready to kill or die in defense of her self-definition, that of Poet.

The Wealth Effect Essay -- Wealth Effect Stock Market Economy Essays

The Wealth Effect The "Wealth Effect" refers to the propensity of people to spend more if they have more assets. The premise is that when the value of equities rises so does our wealth and disposable income, thus we feel more comfortable about spending. The wealth effect has helped power the US economy over 1999 and part of 2000, but what happens to the economy if the market tanks? The Federal Reserve has reported that for every $1 billion in increase in the value of equities, Americans will spend an additional $40 million a year. The wealth effect has become a growing concern because more and more people are investing; furthermore the Federal Reserve has very little direct control over stock prices. The numbers are staggering. Since the end of 1995, household stock holdings have doubled to more than $12 trillion dollars. And, for the first time, equities are the most valuable asset of the typical American household, not the home. When it comes to spending money, consumers take all their financial resources into consideration, from their income to their home. When an asset surges in value for a sustained period of time, such as the stock market in the 1990s, people feel flush and are willing to spend some additional money, perhaps b y buying a fancy car or by taking a more expensive vacation. A good number of Wall Street analysts blame the wealth effect for today's negative savings rate. Declining stock prices affect firms in several ways. First, lower stock prices, especially induced by profit warnings, increase shareholder pressure on managers to cut costs by laying off workers and scaling back investment. Second, the recent correction has put many stock options underwater, and it is unclear to what extent workers will bargain for more cash in place of options and how this might affect payroll costs and inflation. Third, the factors dragging down stock prices typically spur investors to demand higher risk premiums, which boosts the cost of financing business investment. This takes the form of increased spreads of corporate bond and commercial paper interest rates relative to Treasury yields and lower prices for any new stock that any firm dares to offer. Aside from raising the going price of new finance, the increased uncertainty associated with lower stock prices can spook investors so much, that the availability of finance is reduced. Since the... ...bear market if we remain at war for a long time in the future. We have seen in the past month, steady gains in the major stock indices. Some are stating that the bull market may be back with the war on terrorism going well, and others are insisting that the gains are only short term and that the market will retest the lows hit in mid-September. Only time will tell on how long it will take for our market to completely rebound into a bull market like we saw in the 90’s. Sources 1.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Balke, Nathan. â€Å"The Economy in Action†. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. 2.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Angeletos, George , David Laibson, Andrea Repetto, Jeremy Tobacman, and Stephen Weinberg. The Hyperbolic Buffer Stock Model. 3 March 2001. 3.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Clarke, Grahm and Steven Caldwell. â€Å"Wealth in America†. Ohio State 1998. 4.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fidelity Investments. 2001 Estimated Stock Wealth Effects on Consumption. 5.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American Express Company. 2001 American Express â€Å"ever day spending† survey. 6.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Khoury. Yahoo Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com. 7.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  U.S. Census Bureau. www.census.gov/. 2001. 8.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swanson, KC. Is the â€Å"negative wealth† effect all its cracked up to be. The Street.com 29 March 2001.

Propoor Tourism in Iran

1. Background of Study Tourism is clearly of large importance for developing countries. Islamic Republic of Iran, by having great natural resources and historical back ground and heritages should be able to make a great use of these potentials to create a healthy and on growing economy. Recently, government of Iran has started to invest more on tourism sector of the country, but it is not easy for government to implement all the strategies they need for growth in the industry.There are many issues which should be taken into consideration before applying those strategies. One of these issues is the population of poor people in the country, which is a great quantity from the overall population, doesn’t have any important role in this implementation and strategies or benefits. Poor in Iran can’t afford to travel and also can’t afford to invest and be dynamic part of industry. Travelling is considered as a luxury facts which not everyone can afford to do it and more over invest on it.There is a need for setting up a new type of tourism in country which everyone can travel and invest and get the benefits of it and more people can participate. However, according to Dilys R (2001), analysis of tourism data in developing a country shows that in most countries with high levels of poverty, tourism is significant and increasing. The poor can participate in the tourism industry in many ways – as workers, entrepreneurs, and neighbors. They gain new opportunities but also face limitation. They earn incomes, but also suffer costs of tourism.These impacts vary enormously from destination to destination. Enhancing the opportunities and impacts for the poor is the concern of this research. Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) is about how the business of tourism is done. The impacts of tourism on the poor depend very much on the behavior of private companies and individual tourists. At the same time, these are strongly influenced by Government, through its policies , regulations, public investment, expectations, and actions, not only in tourism but in other sectors too (Caroline A, 2006).As mentioned by Dilys R (2001) â€Å"Achieving poverty reduction requires actions on a variety of balancing fronts and scales, but for such to happen it is required a significant progress is pro-poor growth – (growth which benefits the poor)†. Together with that Dilys R (2001) also questioned, â€Å"As an industry that is clearly important in many poor countries, can tourism be one source of such growth? † 1. Country profile: Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, a country slightly larger than Alaska, is located in the Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf in the south and the Caspian Sea in the north.It covers an area of 1. 648 million square kilometers (636,296 square miles) and is edged between Iraq, with which it shares a border of 1,458 kilometers (906 miles), and Pakistan and Afghanistan in the east, with which Iran h as 909 kilometers (565 miles) and 936 kilometers (582 miles), respectively, of common borderline. Iran also shares 499 kilometers (310 miles) of borderline with Turkey, 992 kilometers (616 miles) with Turkmenistan, 432 kilometers (268 miles) with Azerbaijan, and some 35 kilometers (22 miles) with Armenia, the latter 3 states formerly being part of the USSR (Encyclopedia of the Nations, Iran, 2009).Most of the 2,440 kilometers (1516 miles) of coastline are on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The two gulfs are connected by the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iran has dozens of islands in the Persian Gulf, many of which are uninhabited but used as bases for oil exploration. Those that are inhabited—notably Qeshm and Kish—are being developed, attracting investors and tourists. The Iranian coast of the Caspian Sea is some 740 kilometers (460 miles) long.Apart from being home to the sturgeon that provides for the world's best caviar, the Caspian Sea is the world's largest lake, with an area of some 370,000 square kilometers, and is co-owned by Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan (Encyclopedia of the Nations, Iran, 2009). In general, Iran consists of an interior plateau, 1,000 meters to 1,500 meters (3,000 feet to 3,500 feet) above sea level, ringed on almost all sides by mountain zones. The Elburz range with the Iranian capital, Tehran, at its feet, features the country's highest peak, the snowcapped volcanic cone of Mt. Damavand, at 5,604 meters (18,386 feet).To the north of the range there is a sudden drop to a flat plain occupied by the Caspian Sea, which lies about 27 meters (89 feet) below sea-level and is shrinking alarmingly in size. The larger Zagros mountain range runs from north-west Iran down to the eastern shores of the Persian Gulf, and then eastward, fronting the Arabian Sea, and continuing into Pakistan (Encyclopedia of the Nations, Iran, 2009). Iran has a relatively young population, with 34 percent of the population unde r the age of 14 and 61 percent between 15 and 64 years of age. Thanks to a family planning program, population growth decreased from 3. percent in 1984 to 1. 7 percent in 1998 and further to 0. 83 percent in 2000. Of the population, an estimated 38 million Iranians (or 60 percent) live in urban areas, while approximately 27 million live in rural areas (Encyclopedia of the Nations, Iran, 2009). The population density was 37. 6 inhabitants per square kilometer (97 per square mile) in 1998, though many people are concentrated in the Tehran region, and other parts of the country (especially deserts) are basically uninhabited. Basic literacy rates are above the regional average, although uncertain reporting standards give a wide margin for error.In 1997-98 the central bank estimated literacy at 80. 5 percent in those over 6 years old, with 75. 6 percent of women and 85. 3 percent of men judged to be functionally literate, i. e. they were taught to read and write at some point (Encycloped ia of the Nations, Iran, 2009). Iran's infrastructure is relatively poor and inadequate. Part of this stems from the fact that the vast country was never fully developed, but it also experienced considerable setbacks during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, and restoration since then has been slow (Encyclopedia of the Nations, Iran, 2009)Iran has a network of 140,200 kilometers (87,120 miles) of roads, of which 49,440 kilometers (30,722 miles) are paved. The 2,500-kilometer (1,553-mile) A1 highway runs from Bazargan on the Turkish border across Iran to the Afghan border in the east. The A2 runs from the Iraqi border to Mirjaveh on the Pakistani frontier. Tehran is linked to major cities in the vicinity by 470 kilometers (292 miles) of express-ways. A heavy expansion of car use has led to increased demand for fuel, severe overcrowding of roads in metropolitan areas, and mounting pollution problems.Government estimates put the average annual increase in domestic fuel consumption at 5. 5 percent, well above the real economic growth rate. The government has sought to limit motor use by raising domestic fuel prices, but petroleum products in Iran remain heavily subsidized and among the cheapest in the world (Encyclopedia of the Nations, Iran, 2009) Before the revolution Iran had begun to build a reputation as an exotic holiday destination; its ski resorts at Shemshak and Dizin, north of Tehran, attracted international celebrities.After 1979, the Islamic government discouraged tourism, leaving many renowned archaeological and historical sites, including Persepolis, Pasargard, and Esfahan, barely visited by foreigners (Encyclopedia of the Nations, Iran, 2009). Although hardly a booming sector, visitor rates are beginning to rise. The government has begun to issue visas more freely to non-Muslim individuals and groups, and the country is appearing with greater frequency in tourism brochures, but still only around 320,000 foreign tourists actually visit, bringing in reve nue of US$170 million.The bulk of tourism remains to be founded on Shia pilgrimage centers such as Mashhad and Qom. The Bonyad-e Mostazafan (Foundation of the Oppressed), which owns most of Iran's large hotels, plans to increase the number of hotel beds from the current 34,500 to 59,500 by 2002 (Encyclopedia of the Nations, Iran, 2009). 2. Tourism in Iran Currently, Iran is a country covered in political, religious, cultural, social and economic controversy.It is a country that magistrate’s extreme emotional and ideological debate and faces challenges as a tourism destination both because of this controversial context and as a result of its association with conflicts in neighboring countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. Distinction of tourism in Iran is complicated by its position at a cultural crossroads, the time-span over which invasions and migrations have taken place and the present day situation where a large population of recent refugees exists from wars and political un rest in neighboring countries.Iran has enormous cultural diversity on the one hand and a homogeneous religious authority on the other but it is the latter that currently dominates. Furthermore, government which protects and promotes its own brand of Islamic indigenous culture and heritage with a fierce pride and an international image epitomized by US President Bush’s reference to the ‘axis-of-evil’ and you have a situation where indigenous tourism in the normal sense of the phrase is suppressed. Even when used in a conventional sense, the term indigenous tourism is much contested but certain key concerns and debates emerge from the literature.These include: multifaceted host, guest and intermediary relationships; lack of industry knowledge and incorporation of local cultures; lack of local awareness of tourism and ownership of tourism related businesses; and a need for carefully considered policies to avoid degradation of culture and ensure development is sustai nable (Kevin O. G, McLellan L. R & Tom B, 2007). Many of these concerns are relevant in Iran to some extent although it is argued in this chapter that indigenous tourism has been suppressed in Iran. Nevertheless, there are indications that a unique form of local tourism infused with indigenous character has begun to emerge.This local variation of indigenous tourism is taking shape despite the striking homogeneous national image portrayed in the international mass media. The early stage in the tourism development life cycle means that tourism is generally considered as a national phenomenon, at a national scale rather than local. Growing links between tourism and the protection of Iran’s national cultural heritage were reinforced in 2005 with the merger of Iran Touring and Tourism Organization (ITTO) and Iran Cultural Heritage Organization (ICHO) to form the Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) (Kevin O. G, McLellan L. R & Tom B, 2007).Although the strong in fluence of the central government is clear with direct authority for the new organization resting with the Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran (WTO, 2006), the link between culture heritage and tourism allows vestiges of indigenous tourism to survive but not flourish. 2. Problem Statement How much pro-poor tourism is known by tourism policy makers of Iran? Since, there is no record or papers found about pro-poor tourism in internet or media, According to the research in the internet , there is no evidence to prove Iran’s government are aware of the opportunities and benefits of pro-poor tourism in general.Moreover base on the research, there isn’t any specific actions or strategies done by government to implement pro-poor tourism in Iran. There is a big gap between opportunities and potentials of tourism in Iran and plans and strategies done by the government to make use of these opportunities. As a result there is not much attention to pro-poor tourism in I ran as well as other types of tourism like eco-tourism and medical tourism and etc. But what are the issues of implementing pro-poor tourism strategies in Iran’s society?First problem is lake of knowledge and awareness on this type of tourism. There is no evidence shown that, there are groups or people in government or private sector who think or plan for Po-poor tourism in Iran and it as a big squander for tourism sectors of Iran. Following by first issue, the second will be the lake of planning and strategizing the steps and creating visions and working on that plans. Third is to implement the plans and start educating the poor to use the benefits of it. 3. Research questionsBased on the statement and significance of study presented, the research question will be: 1: Is pro-poor tourism adoptable in Iran’s society? 2: How political and religious issues can effect pro-poor strategies? 3: What are the ways to plan effectively for pro-poor tourism in Iran? 4: What are t he stages of implementing pro-poor tourism in Iran? 5: What will be the issues and problems of implementing the pro-poor tourism strategies? 6: How to monitor and review for performance of pro-poor tourism strategies? 4. Research objectives : To find the best understanding of pro-poor tourism The research first objective is to introduce the pro-poor tourism to Iranians Government as well as private tourism organizations, and create an excellent understanding of this type of tourism in Iran. 2: To create a goal and mission One of the requirement for this progress will be creating goals and missions to understand better how to reach our goals and whether we reach the goal of the strategies or not and also to evaluate the progress better. 3: To structure and plan for putting our strategies into actionOnly understanding of Po-poor tourism in not enough to benefit the society, there should be a plan to implement and follow to gain our goals and missions. 4: To implement the strategies co rrect and accurate and controlling the action constantly There should be a way to controlling the progress even during implementing it to find whether strategies are correct or to make sure that there are putting in to action correctly. 5. Theoretical Frame Work In this research, the researcher wishes to find how pro-poor tourism can help Iran’s tourism for further developments and improvements.To gain this goal first need to find out opportunities, challenges and issues related to the research and analyze it. Second step is to create the right strategies and to find how these strategies can help development of tourism in Iran. 6. Conceptual Framework 7. Significances of research 1: How pro-poor tourism can helps in rising economy. 2: How pro-poor tourism’s income can be distributed to the poverty in the society. 3: How pro-poor tourism can help society in other aspect, such as creating more jobs, motivates poor, educate people and etc.This paper will also discuss abou t the economical potentials of pro-poor tourism in Iran. This study believes that Iran have many potentials in tourism industry which never used or discovered by the government and people who works in tourism industry. One of the potentials are implementing pro-poor tourism and developing the tourism in poor or not very developed areas. By developing tourism specifically pro-poor tourism industry, government can decrease unemployment and help poor, by teaching them fishing rather than giving them fish.Poor which most of them don’t have chance to study or build a new business for themselves can be educate by government or by NGOs and social committees and be able to become a part of tourism sector and help themselves and family and also subsequently help the society and government as well. 1. Importance of Tourism Industry Tourism is a leading industry in the service sector at the global level as well as a major provider of jobs and a significant generator of foreign exchange at the national level.Tourism has become one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the global economy. During the period between 1996 and 2006, international tourist arrivals worldwide grew at an average annual rate of about 4. 0 per cent (United Nations Report, 2007, p. 10). According to the report by United Nations in (2007, page 12) about Role of Tourism in Socio-Economic Development, â€Å"The strong growth in tourism arrivals in Asia, particularly the sub regions of North-East Asia, South Asia and South-East Asia is one indicator of the increased significance of tourism for developing countries.Visitors worldwide have clearly recognized the attractiveness of tourism experiences in Asian and Pacific developing countries in terms of the rich cultural heritage and natural environment. Many officials in these countries have seen that tourism can be part of their development strategies, especially in economic terms. † Tourism is considered based on its contribution in the form of receipts; share of gross domestic product (GDP) and exports; and growth rate patterns for the tourism industry, tourism economy, government expenditures and capital investment.The economic impact of the tourism industry is usually assessed at the macroeconomic level and can be measured in several different ways. The most general measurement focuses on tourism receipts and the contribution of tourism to a country’s GDP (United Nations Report, 2007, p. 26). The United Nations Statistics Division and the World Tourism Organization (now UNWTO) developed the tourism satellite account in 2001 as one of the most systematic measurement of the economic impact and contribution of tourism at the national level (United Nations Report, 2007).According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the TSA is â€Å"based on a demand-side concept of economic activity, because the tourism industry does not produce or supply a homogeneous product or service like many tradition al industries. Instead, the travel and tourism industry is defined by a diverse collection of products (durables and non-durables) and services (transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, entertainment, government services, etc) that are delivered to visitors†. It is important for policy-makers at national and local levels to see that this diversity has many complex links to all parts of the economy.This is what makes the economic impact of tourism so significant for development. There are various definitions of social development, and most of them converge around the concepts of improving the well-being of a country’s citizens, promoting higher standards of living, increasing employment and creating conditions of economic and social progress. Employment is one of the most readily available indicators to begin measuring the social impact of tourism, since job creation generally helps create the opportunities for better standards of living and related conditions o f socio-economic progress (United Nations Report, 2007, p. 8). In socioeconomic terms, linkages refer to the connections between the tourism industry and local suppliers of goods and services through both the formal and informal economy. Leakages refer to payments or financial flows made outside the economy of the destination country. For companies in various sectors of the tourism industry, linkages are seen in business terms as the supply chain. Linkages can stimulate increased economic activity and have a positive effect on balance of payments as local products replace imported ones.The positive impact of linkages also relates to the capabilities and competitiveness of domestic firms. Among the direct benefits from effective linkages are increased output of the linked enterprises, increased employment, improved market access, increased knowledge and a broader skill base. In addition this could improve efficiencies in productivity, managerial capabilities and market penetration (U nited Nations Report, 2007, p. 54). 2. Historical evidence of tourism in Iran Iran is a country that is rich in diversity in cultural and historic terms, representing a recorded human history that stretches back some 10,000 years.The people who inhabit this country have a long history of involvement in tourism. There is considerable evidence for hostels that dates back to at least 2000 BC. These hostels supplied drinks, sex and accommodation for travelers. Drinks included date palm wine and barley beer, and there were strict regulations against diluting them (Gorman O. K & McLellan L. R, 2007, p. 303). â€Å"The application of strict Islamic law and a consequent political ambivalence to international tourism is not universal in predominantly Muslim countries† (Gorman O. K & McLellan L. R, 2007, p. 03). Today, Iran’s heritage draws both on native histories and cultures as well as the impact of waves of raider, notably the Greeks of Alexander the Great, the Arabs who int roduced Islam to the country, the Mongols from the east and in the twentieth century, the influence of the oil hungry west (Britain, France and the US). Iran’s solid cultural assets include seven ancient locations recognized by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as World Heritage Sites as well as a range of renowned Islamic shrines and cultural sites.Iran’s natural heritage is also diverse, including desert, mountains and coasts across climatic zones from temperate to sub-tropical (Gorman O. K & McLellan L. R, 2007, p. 303). In actual fact, what have generated particular interest in Iran as a host country for domestic and international tourism are the â€Å"effect of religious interpretation by the country’s brand of contemporary Islam on the political, religious, cultural, social and economic environment and the everyday lives of citizens and visitors alike†.Iran adheres to strict standards of observance and the app lication of stringent penalties for non-compliance with respect to social and cultural behavior impacting upon personal association, dress and the consumption of alcohol and other recreational drugs. Certainly, these rules impact upon Iran’s image, market potential as a destination for international tourism and the role of indigenous people in tourism. 3. Definition of Pro-poor tourism What is Pro-poor Tourism (PPT)? Pro-poor tourism is about increasing the positive impacts of tourism on poor people. PPT is not a specific product but an approach to the industry.It is an approach that seeks to increase participation of poor people at many points in the sector, and that aims to increase their economic and social benefits from tourism while reducing the negative impacts on the poor. (www. propoortourism. org. uk) PPT is the kind of tourism that contributes to the reduction of poverty. It is neither a specific product nor a niche market. It is multi-level, multi-dimensional and a ny tourism can be made pro-poor. There are many NGOs and government organizations involved in PPT but the driving force for change will be the private sector.There is an increasing realization that to be sustainable, PPT initiatives must involve the private sector in reducing poverty through business activity, rather than alleviating it through philanthropy. PPT initiatives work well when access to natural resources is maintained and exposure to risk is minimized. PPT can also bring important benefits such as more jobs, business opportunities, and improved access to infrastructure and services (Pro poor Brochure FINAL, 2006). 2. 3. 1 Why Pro-Poor Tourism? Tourism is a major economic sector worldwide and especially in developing countries.According to the World Bank’s World Development Indicators Report (2002), more than 70% of the world’s poorest countries rely on tourism as a key engine of economic growth. Poorer countries have the most to gain from PPT initiatives. B ut they are also the most vulnerable to the negative effects of mass tourism, in terms of social, environmental and cultural degradation. Furthermore, the distribution of benefits and income from tourism is often not equal. Financial benefits usually end up at the big hotels, tour companies and airlines.Poorer people too often suffer the negative costs of tourism. PPT engages poorer people and seeks to empower them so that they too share in the benefits from tourism (Pro poor Brochure FINAL, 2006). 4. Challenges of Pro-poor tourism in the World According to the World Trade Organization, international tourist arrivals in 2005 reached an all-time high of over 800 million. By 2020, arrivals are expected to reach 1. 6 billion, generating US$2 trillion. While global tourism numbers increase, this does not necessarily translate into increased revenue for citizens of many developing countries.A few factors typically prevent the disadvantaged from sharing in the tourism dollar. (Pro poor Br ochure FINAL, 2006). Most tourism dollars end up off-shore. Typically, only US$10-20 of every US$100 spent by the tourist remains in the developing country. According to United Nations Environment Program, of each US$100 spent on a package tour, only around US$5 actually stays in a developing country’s economy (Pro-poor Brochure FINAL, 2006). The Pro-Poor Tourism Partnership says, â€Å"One of the critical issues for poor producers is often access to the market – access to the established industry and to tourists. Smaller hotels and guest houses and local NGOs have little or no opportunity to market to tourists via the Internet, thus they gain little share of the dollars tourists spend. Some would question the very starting point – engagement with companies to promote pro-poor change. Tourism companies, after all, are profit-seekers, whose business is commercial tourism, not development. But the assumption reinforced to the work presented here is that ‘we ’ (as society) should seek to reduce the impact of tourism business (Caroline A and Gareth H 2004). . 4. 1 The argument goes as follows: †¢ Poverty is widespread and direct approaches to poverty reduction are making insufficient progress – thus ‘pro-poor growth’ is also needed, i. e. growth which is inclusive of the poor. †¢ Tourism is a major economic sector worldwide, with particularly rapid relative growth in poor countries, thus is potentially very important for pro-poor growth. †¢ (Limited) evidence shows tourism can be developed in ways that increase net benefits for the poor.Furthermore, one approach to this is for companies to do business differently, and evidence indicates that doing business in pro-poor ways can make commercial sense. This should, therefore be promoted (Caroline A and Gareth H 2004). 5. Pro-poor tourism practice’s in the world Nowadays, as world is emerging into globalization, Tourism Industry has become one of the main income resources of many developed and some developing countries. As Tourism booming, they are several practices done to gain exposure, especially in the context of this research.One example is in Nepal where the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation initiated the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Program (TRPAP) from 2001 to 2005. The immediate objectives were to demonstrate sustainable tourism development models, review and improve policy formulation and strategic planning, adapt institutional mechanisms, including decentralization, in order to achieve sustainable tourism development that would be pro-poor, pro-environment, pro-rural communities and pro-women (New York: United Nations, 2005).Another example is; The Mekong Tourism Development Project of the Lao National Tourism Authority and Asian Development Bank focuses on improving tourism related infrastructure, promoting pro-poor, community-based sustainable tourism in rural areas, and strengthening sub-regional cooperation. The project provides training to local people on guiding, hospitality, cooking, tourism management, and marketing. Technical and financial assistance is also provided to help communities build tourism infrastructure such as guest houses, toilets, rest areas and nature trails Steven S, 2007). To monitor socio-economic impacts, a community-based tourism monitoring protocol has been established and implemented over the past 3 years. Project outputs include several community-based tourism related training manuals in the Lao and English languages, dozens of marketing and promotion publications, seminars, workshops and training course materials for tourism service providers and regulatory agencies, and some 40 small-scale infrastructure projects ranging from handicraft markets to information centers and village tourism lodges (Steven S, 2007).The project is producing direct financial benefits for over 600 families in 16 villages and indirect benefits for a much w ider population. To date, sales of community-based tours developed by the project and sold by local inbound tour operators have generated over US$175,000 in foreign exchange. Tour companies that partner with the project and tourist attractions where the project is active report that revenues of two million dollars have been generated over the past three years (Steven S, 2007).Also in Bhutan; The Nabji-Korphu Trail in Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park in central Bhutan, the first pro-poor tourism pilot project of the national tourism strategy, was officially opened in November 2006 (Pelden D, 2007). The development of the trail, a 6-day, low altitude winter trek, enabled each village along the route to participate in revenue raising activities, such as provision of community camping sites, cultural programs, village guiding and provision of meals. Tour operators were compelled to use these local providers (Pelden D, 2007).One year on, socio-economic tourism impact analysis has sho wn that 84% of households received additional cash income from the 62 trekkers in the first season, contributing over US$38, 000 directly to the communities. Ninety eight percent of local respondents felt that tourism had brought tangible economic benefits and a range of other indirect benefits were also identified by respondents (Pelden D, 2007). The project involved the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Nature Conservation Division (NCD) and the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators nd links with Bhutan’s national tourism strategy and 9th Five Year Plan. SNV delivered technical assistance in support to development and implementation of the project (Pelden D, 2007). 6. Traveling Potentials of Iran In 2006 the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization entered into a memorandum of understanding with the raveling’s Issues Organization to establish the traveling Cooperative Association, which was entrusted with the task of attracting foreign tourists to nomadic regions of the country. Persian society was formerly a traveling one. United Nations Report, 2007, p. 100). Thus, travelers are considered to be a cultural treasure which needs to be preserved. The Department of Tourism Development in traveling Regions was thus established to provide economic development for the nomads by carrying out technical and infrastructural studies. Along with the Department, the traveling Tourism Institute undertakes measures in marketing, advertising and attracting foreign tourists by organizing tours in traveling areas, providing posters, catalogues, pictures and other advertising instruments.In addition, a special centre will be established in Tehran to provide an outlet for the sale of traveling products (United Nations Report, 2007, p. 100). The authorities hope that devising appropriate tourism programs for traveling regions will lead to an increase in the incomes of the traveling tribes, which would, in turn, raise their standard of living without har ming their social systems and traditional lifestyles (United Nations Report, 2007, p. 100). 7. Poverty in Iran Before analyzing about poverty line in Iran, this research provides some useful information about labor force, unemployment rate and inflation rates.Then only can start analyzing the figures and how pro-poor tourism as a new type of tourism can helps to reduce economic problems. [pic] Figure 2. 1: Sources: CIA World Fact book – September 17, 2009 Figure 2. 2: Sources: CIA World Fact book -September 17, 2009 Figure 2. 3: Sources: CIA World Fact book -September 17, 2009 In this season of presidential elections in Iran, a scenario much in demand is that poverty has increased under Ahmadinejad government. There are newspaper reports of research that offer evidence for just such a scenario, that seem influential but have not gone through the usual academic scrutiny (Javad D, 2009).A few months ago Salehi D, commented  on another high profile poverty report that appeared last year in a journal  published by  the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, using faulty methodology to show that poverty has increased. A study by researcher,  Professor Davoud S, of Sharif University of Technology in Iran states, the prominent Persian website  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Rastak†Ã‚  which is dedicated to â€Å"free market economics†, is  a mark above the rest in academic rigor and therefore worth a closer look (Javad D, 2009).He  estimates that more than  one-third  of urban Iranians were in poverty in 2007 and, more shockingly, that this rate has increased  during 2004-2007, the first three years of Ahmadinjad’s administration. Salehi D, shockingly not because Mr. Ahmadinejad had promised to eradicate poverty–that was hardly in the cards–but because in these four years Iran received about $200 billion from the rest of the world, some of them poor countries, from oil generated revenues. To learn that this inflow of money (nature’s gift) not only did not lift anyone out of poverty, it actually made the poor poorer is indeed shocking (Javad D, 2009).Professor Souri, who is a knowledgeable econometrician and knows his data well, but there are reasons why his study of poverty in Iran, like many others, should not be taken at face value. Let us look  a closer look at how he arrives at his conclusions (Javad D, 2009). According to Professor Souri, first conclusion that he drafted explains about high incidence of poverty is really not much of a finding because of his assumption defines, everyone under $10 per day ($4. 40 in rural areas) as poor. This is a superior standard to which no developing country has been held as far as I know.It  is 2/3 the poverty line in the United States and more than three times the threshold international agencies use to compare countries  (the so-called $2 per day) (Javad D, 2009). Another widely reported study uses a poverty line of nearly 8 million â€Å"rials † (Iraninan Currency) for a family of five, which translates into $16 per person per day, which is higher than the US poverty line! â€Å"The problem with these studies is not their very high poverty thresholds, it is that they fail to warn their readers about how their poverty lines compares with those used in other countries.Publishing poverty results that use poverty thresholds that are not comparable across countries can confuse international readers and convince unsuspecting journalists in the west, as well as some with an ax to grind, that Iran’s economy is a basket case (Javad D, 2009). A recent case  in point  of the latter group appears in the â€Å"Nowruz† newspaper (Iran’s daily newspaper), address by Israeli president Shimon Perez to Iranian people, in which he said:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I see the suffering of the children [in Iran] and I ask myself, why? This is a country that is so rich† You can’t invest the money in enriched uranium w hile telling the kids to stay a little hungry and a little ignorant†. Where he sees the suffering of Iran’s children he does not explain; perhaps he is deducing it from studies that show poverty in Iran on a grand scale. The stronger point in Souri’s study is that poverty has increased during 2004-07. This finding should disappoint anyone who voted for Ahmadijead as a leader who would do something for the poor.It should anger people in oil importing nations who paid through the nose for Iran’s oil in recent years, that the country took $200 billion from other (sometimes poorer) countries only to impoverish its own poor. Is the economic system in Iran so broken that its richer citizens are not satisfied with the $200 billion they generate from oil revenues and have to rob their own poor? 8. Challenges and issues of Tourism in Iran Economically and politically, tourism is always likely to be a minor industry relative to the oil and other sectors with the res ult that politicians have little interest in it.This lack of interest is even greater in relation to niches such as indigenous tourism. A counter argument to this reality, which does not receive widespread attention in Iran, is the employment creation potential of tourism (Kevin O. G, Mc Lellan L. R & Tom B, 2007, pg 312). Oil and gas, notwithstanding their value to the country, generate relatively few benefits in employment terms. At the same time, the country’s major social and economic challenge is unemployment and under-employment among the youth.The under 25s constitute 75% of the total population and in some urban areas up to 50% of these young people do not have gainful employment. Tourism, despite its labor intense characteristics and geographical dispersion, is overlooked as a sector that can provide opportunity to this group. (Kevin O. G, Mc Lellan L. R & Tom B, 2007, p312). Tourism in Iran is characterized by huge opportunity in terms of natural and cultural assets . At the same time, such opportunity is countered by what can be described as political ambivalence at best and antipathy at worst. Encouraging tourism in Iran is a highly contested issue between two main section in the government, one that views tourism as means to achieve economic benefits and modernize, the other that sees tourism as leading to globalization and thus threatening Islamic values and norms† (Kevin O. G, Mc Lellan L. R & Tom B, 2007, pg313). The current political belief is highly apprehensive of foreign, non-faith influences and this situation acts contrary to interests seeking to develop tourism as a respectable and respected sector of the economy, particularly in rural and remote areas where indigenous tourism is likely to emerge.Rather than protect and support locally based tourism, the prevailing national ideology stifles local businesses from benefiting from cultural assets. The current environment is not, however, as overtly hostile to tourism as that whi ch existed in the immediate post-revolutionary era (Kevin O. G, Mc Lellan L. R & Tom B, 2007). During the period of the Khomeini led government, the state destroyed some historical monuments in the manner of the Taliban in Afghanistan but, more recently, a degree of restraint has prevailed.However, the image of Iran in the international tourist market is almost unique in terms of negative media attention over a sustained period. Only Libya and perhaps Cuba have suffered similar long periods of extremely negative western media coverage. As an outcome, the core perception of Iran in the eyes of the world and in particular, in the eyes of potential tourists from North America and Europe has been of a troubled, strife torn country that should be avoided (Kevin O. G, Mc Lellan L. R & Tom B, 2007).The Government in Iran does not help counter this image as tourism still tends to be subjugated to the ‘big project’ of promoting a religious – political agenda. For example, the August 2004 public execution of a 16-year old girl in the main street of a Caspian seaside resort, during the height of the tourist season received widespread national and international press coverage and blighted local tourism. Throughout the 1990s negative international media exposure was tempered by the hope that tourism development would be encouraged as part of an attempt to create an image of greater openness under President Khatami.But a constant barrage of damaging news items in the western media reinforced the old negative image (Kevin O. G, Mc Lellan L. R & Tom B, 2007). After encouraging foreign tourists to watch the solar eclipse in Iran in 1999, a relatively isolated incident led to the usual western headlines: ‘Tourists kidnapped in Iran’. ‘Three Spaniards and one Italian were abducted by an armed gang’ (BBC, 1999a) and ‘Official inquiry into Iran eclipse harassment’ as a result of foreign tourists visiting to view the eclips e, particularly women, being subjected to hostile slogans and harassment by Islamic hardliners (BBC, 1999b) (Kevin O.G, Mc Lellan L. R & Tom B, 2007). While this seemed to be the case in five of the countries (Iraq, North Korea, Cuba, Syria and Libya), in Iran the journalist was ‘detained and intimidated’ as the cameras, tapes and tourist visa were viewed as the instruments of spies. The lack of foreign investment in tourism can also be seen as a major mainstream tourism challenge, especially in the hotel sector, in that both product and service are woefully inadequate for the contemporary international leisure and business market (Kevin O. G, Mc Lellan L. R & Tom B, 2007, pg 314). Service standards in the major state hospitality businesses are among the poorest in the world, contrasting with the warmth and natural hospitality of service in small, private, indigenous businesses throughout the country† (Kevin O. G, Mc Lellan L. R & Tom B, 2007, p. 314). In marketin g perspective, international tourism to Iran is severely challenged by problems with respect to national image, relating to regional political concerns and also national social and cultural matters, notably the hijab requirement for women and the ban on alcohol.For example, there is evidence that some Chinese tour operators are unwilling to promote Iran because of the hijab requirement. Wider concerns about human rights issues are also a barrier to visitation and are further complicated by the challenges facing minority indigenous groups in Iran (Kevin O. G, Mc Lellan L. R & Tom B, 2007). 9. Strategies relate to pro-poor tourism development According to one report, regular monitoring and evaluation to assess the benefits was difficult at the field level due to lack of communication, limits on transportation and on-going armed conflict in some districts.Similarly, frequent transfer of the government officers from the program districts presented a challenge to monitoring implementatio n of pro-poor tourism policies and strategies of TRPAP. Monitoring activities from the rural community level to the central level in order to sustain the pilot rural tourism models required a different evaluation strategy. (Kayastha Y, 2006) An evaluation tool known as the â€Å"Development Wheel† was designed for communities to self-monitor their progress through discussions about changes in the community structure, development of enterprises and natural and cultural resources.The â€Å"Development Wheel† is one of several evaluation tools that are part of an evaluation methodology known as the Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action (APPA). The APPA methodology focuses on having local people identify plans and activities that are positive, successful and strong so they can serve as a means to empower communities. When people used the â€Å"Development Wheel†, it proved to be the most effective participatory way to evaluate progress of TRPAP at the progr am sites (Kayastha Y, 2006). On the other hand, WHL (World Hotel Links Corporation) make travelling easier for independent travelers.To find small local accommodation providers Independent travel is the fastest growing segment of the travel industry. A 2004 International Finance Corporation study on eco-lodges put the global independent traveler market at 50%. Many travelers use guidebooks and the Internet to select destinations and accommodation and rarely use tour packages. Thus they spend and leave more money locally. By serving smaller accommodation providers, WHL is making it easier for independent travelers to find interesting travel experiences, which in turn translates into more bookings for local SMEs (www. worldhotel-link. com).The researcher believes that such strategy analysis can be an important tool in furthering the research on pro poor tourism sustainability in Iran. 3. 1 Research Philosophy and General Method This chapter explains the methodology of the study which means the ways have been used for gathering the information and data and consequently how this study will analyze the data to find the best answer for the mentioned research questions. There is two methods of analyzing the data which are qualitative data analysis and quantitative data analysis . qualitative data typically involves words and quantitative data involves numbers.In this research, only Qualitative analysis is used by researcher to measure and analyze the data of the study. Specifically researcher attempt to use Discourse Analysis as types of qualitative analysis for this study, and that is why there will be definition of Qualitative Analysis and Discourse Analysis stated in this study. 3. 1. 1 Qualitative analysis Quantitative approaches are those where you make measurements using some relatively well-defined measurement tool. Assuming that the theory behind doing the measurement is valid, and then a well developed quantitative tool should give you information in which y ou can have confidence (www. sse. monash. edu. au). On the other hand, qualitative research methodologies are designed to provide the researcher with the perspective of target audience members through immersion in a culture or situation and direct interaction with the people under study. A qualitative â€Å"approach† is a general way of thinking about conducting qualitative research. It describes, either clearly or totally, the purpose of the qualitative research, the role of the researchers, the stages of research, and the method of data analysis (Trochim, 2006). „Qualitative methods allow us to stay close to the experimental world.They are designed to ensure a close fit between the data and what people actually say and do. By observing people in their everyday lives, listening them talk about what is on their minds, and looking at the documents they produce, the qualitative researcher obtains first-hand knowledge of social life unfiltered through concepts, operational definitions, and rating scales? (Taylor & Bogdan,1984). According Marketing dictionary, â€Å"qualitative research is a research that deals with the quality, type, or components of a group, substance, or mixture, whose methods are applied to advertising audience research in order o determine the quality of audience responses to advertising† (www. answers. com). Along with the above reference, according to the article published by DJS Research Ltd (2009), Qualitative research is used to help us understand how people feel and why they feel as they do. It is concerned with collecting information in detail and asking questions such as why do you say that? Depth interviews or group discussions are two common methods used for collecting qualitative information. http://www. marketresearchworld. net 3. 2 Discourse AnalysisThe focus of discourse analysis is any form of written or spoken language, such as a conversation or a newspaper article. The main topic of interest is the underly ing social structures, which may be assumed or played out within the conversation or text. It concerns the sorts of tools and strategies people use when engaged in communication, such as slowing one's speech for emphasis, use of metaphors, and choice of particular words to display affect, and so on. The investigator attempts to identify categories, themes, ideas, views, roles, and so on, within the text itself.The aim is to identify commonly shared discursive resources (shared patterns of talking). The investigator tries to answer questins such as how the discourse helps us understand the issue under study, how people construct their own version of an event, and how people use discourse to maintain or construct their own identity (Fulcher E, 2005). This research has been done to expose weaknesses and problems of Tourism development and planning specifically focus on pro-poor tourism and discuss about challenges and issues as well as opportunities for this industry.Moreover find out the reasons why tourism industry in Iran is not enough developed as compare to other developing countries with less attractions, facilities and potentials. The studies aim is to help to understanding the meaning and usage of pro-poor tourism and finding the challenges and analyze them and finding the reasons and issues which make this problems and by recommending and suggesting some action plans help to improve tourism policy and establishing new type of tourism industry which is not very new in the world and it is pro-poor tourism in Iran. . Process of Study Since this research is about pro-poor tourism in, Iran the study will focus more on Explanation of benefits of pro-poor tourism in Iran and the ways it will benefit the society and economy of the country. The research will be descriptive and then method of the study will be qualitative . after gathering the data will be analyzed on the content to find and recognize the issues and challenges of implementing the strategies and pl ans to find out the best effective strategies. Diagram 3. : Data Analysis process 3. 3. 1 Data collection (Notice and Bring Together) Study will began with collecting necessary information from reliable resources and identify the related data and bring those data together. Researchers collected some parts of the data which has from internet and from KDU College Library. Since this research have been doing in Malaysia, and there is no other possible ways for collecting the data from Iran, Internet played a very important role for finding the data very and necessary information.Beside internet and journals, interviews with professionals of the industry and also papers of pro-poor tourism researches which have been done by professors and lectures of KDU College and was presented in a pro-poor tourism conference in Malaysia (KDU College, 2009) will be used to help the study to analyze and strategies the plans which will be recommended by this study to improve tourism industry for the be tter future of the country. 3. 3. 2 AnalysisBase on the above studies research start to analyze the data and information which have been founded in the last stage to finding the correct answers for the research questions, and then planning for an action plan which will be use in next stage of study. The method of analyze which is using for analysis the data in this research, is qualitative method of analysis, and it is going to be evaluate by discourse analysis. 3. 3. 3 Action plan (Make Decision)In this part of study, according to the data we analyze and after finding challenges and issues in tourism industry, some recommendation and action plans will suggest to improve the tourism development and establishing pro-poor tourism in Iran. This study believes that the result of this research will be useful and helpful for building sustainable tourism policy in Iran for near future. 4. References Ashley. C and Haysom G, 2004, From Philanthropy to Different way of doing business: â€Å" Strategies and Challenges in Integrating Pro-Poor Approaches into Tourism Business†. Also available http://www. ropoortourism. org. uk/Publications%20by%20 partnership/propoor_business_ATLASpaper. pdf. Viewed 28/11/2009 Answer. com, Marketing Dictionary: Qualitative Research [Online] available http://www. answers. com/topic/qualitative-research-1. Viewed 14/12/2009 Caroline . A, 2006, For SNV East and Southern Africa, â€Å"How Can Governments Boost the Local Economic Impacts of Tourism†. Viewed 29/11/2009 Dilys. R, 2001, Pro-Poor Tourism: â€Å"Harnessing the World’s Largest Industry for the World’s Poor†, UK and Penny Urquhart Khanya, South Africa, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Viewed 1/11/2009 DJS Research Ltd: â€Å"What is Qualitative Research† [Online] available http://www. marketresearchworld. net/index. php? Itemid=64&id=10&option=com_content. Viewed 14/12/2009 Dorji. 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Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, p. 297-317 Viewed 8/11/2009 Iran Labor force (2009) [Online], available http://www. indexmundi. com/iran/labor_force. html Viewed 5/11/2009 Inflation rate in Iran (2009) [Online], available http://www. indexmundi. com/ira n/inflation_rate_(consumer_prices). tml Viewed 5/11/2009 Iran unemployment rate (2009) [Online], available http://www. indexmundi. com/iran/unemployment_rate. html Viewed 5/11/2009 Javad. D & Salehi. I, 2006. Revolution and redistribution in Iran: â€Å"Poverty and inequality, 25 years later, Department of Economics, Virginia Tech† Viewed 4/11/2009 Javad. D, 2009, â€Å"Tyranny of numbers Claims of rising poverty in  Iran† [Online] available http://djavad. wordpress. com/2009/03/30/playing-with-poverty-numbers Kevin O. G, McLellan L. R & Tom B, 2007, Tourism in Iran: â€Å"Central control and indignity† Viewed 3/12/2009Kayastha, Y, 2006 â€Å"Monitoring and Evaluation of a Pro-Poor Tourism Project in a Conflict Situation†, Conference Monitoring and Evaluation of Pro-Poor Tourism Policies for Sustainable Development, Saarbrucken, Germany, Also available: www. wuwien. ac. at/inst/iuw/fsnu/saarbruecken/papers/abstracts/Kayastha. pdf. Viewed 6/11/2009 Monas h University (2007): Qualitative and Quantitative Thinking [Online] available http://www. csse. monash. edu. au/~smarkham/resources/qual. htm Viewed 14/12/2009 Pro-poor tourism, UK, 2009 [Online] available www. propoortourism. org. uk Viewed 8/12/2009Pro-poor Brochure FINAL, 2006 [Online] available http://www. ifc. org/ifcext/mekongpsdf. nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/Propoor_Tourism/$FILE/Propoor_Tourism. pdf Viewed 9/11/2009 Pro-poor tourism; Annual register 2007, [Online] available http://www. propoortourism. org. uk/pptpar2007. pdf Viewed 9/11/2009 Steven S, 2007, The Mekong Tourism Development Project in the Lao PDR [Online] available www. ecotourismlaos. com and http://www. propoortourism. org. uk/pptpar2007. pdf Viewed 10/12/2009 Taylor, S & Bogdan, R 1984, â€Å"Introduction to Qualitative Research Method†s, JohnWiley & sons, New York Viewed 30 April 2009 United Nations Report, 2007, New York, â€Å"Study on the Role of Tourism in Socio-Economic Development† Viewed 3/1 2/2009 United Nations ESCAP, â€Å"The Contribution of Tourism to Poverty Alleviation†, Tourism Review number 25 (New York: United Nations, 2005), p. 68-70. Viewed 5/11/2009 World hotel-link, 2009 [Online] available http://www. ifc. org/ifcext/mekongpsdf. nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/Propoor_Tourism/$FILE/Propoor_Tourism. pdf Viewed 12/12/2009 ———————– Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: Literature Review Chapter three: Methodology