Introduction To The Accident Essays - , Term Papers

Introduction to the Accident It was a clear sunny day at Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a temperature of 36 degrees which was 15 degrees cooler than NASA has ever sent a shuttle to space. Aboard the space shuttle was a civilian school teacher which made the Challenger such a publicized event. After being delayed five times from bad weather the Challenger was schueled to be launched at 11:38 AM Eastern Standard time on January 28, 1986. Seventy-three seconds after leaving the launch pad 39B the Challenger would explode. The Challenger Tragedy The problems started .6 seconds after ignition. With the temperature at 15 degrees below the NASA experience mark, a black smoke started to come out of the bottom field joint of the right SRB. The black smoke was the O-Rings and the joint insulation being burned. The smoke averaged at about three puffs per second. Then the last puff of smoke was seen was at 2.7 seconds which was an indication that the field joint was not sealed correctly. The arrow points to the black smoke. The second problem was at forty-five seconds when three bright flashes were seen on the Challenger's wings. Each flash lasted approximately one thirteenth of a second. When the film was enhanced it is clearly visible that the flashes were coming from the right SRB. The three hundred and five degree flame was coming from the aft center of the aft joint of the SRB. The flame was the gas burning that was coming out of the SRB. At fifty nine point three seconds the flame was clearly visible with the naked eye. As the flame increased in size, the flame had begun to push against the external tank by the rushing air around the orbiter. This made the struts that held on the SRB very weak because of the heat. Sixty four point seven seconds was the first sight that the flame was hitting the external tank. The color of the flame changed. The flame color change indicated that the flame was mixing with the hydrogen substance that the external contained. The top tanks we re oxygen and the bottom was hydrogen. The flame also indicated that there was a leak in the hydrogen portion of the external tank. A small glowing light appeared between the external tank and the Challenger's black tiles forty-five milliseconds after the color change. The small orange glowing light is visible. When the clock was at 72 seconds there was a sudden chain of events that destroyed Challenger and the seven crew members on board. All of these events happened in less than two seconds. By now the lower strut, that connected the right SRB to the External Tank was very hot and very weak. With the amount of force given by the SRB, the lower strut broke off and away from both the right SRB and the External Tank. Which allowed the right SRB to rotate freely around the top struts. The SRB was out of control, the bottom of the SRB swung around hitting, burning and denting Challenger's wing. At 73.12 seconds into flight a white vapor was seen from the bottom corner of the right SRB. The External Tank was weak because of the intense heat which the flame had produced. The dome structure under the External Tank failed and fell. The hydrogen inside the external tank acquired a hole and started to release liquid hydrogen contents. Since the hydrogen was out of it's tank the tank shot forward hitting the oxygen tank which also burst. The white vapor seen was the hydrogen and the oxygen mixing. Milliseconds after the white vapor was seen there was an explosion. The challenger was traveling at the speed of Mach 1.92 and at 46,000 when the hydrogen and oxygen exploded. Before the challenger exploded there was a cloud of gray smoke that engulfed the challenger which grew larger but under the gray cloud there was a red smoke which was the control system burning from the wreckage of the challenger . All sorts of debris was falling off of the challenger towards the ocean. Both of the SRB's flew off of the challenger in opposite directions. The SRB's were

Wife of His Youth essays

Wife of His Youth essays People often make the categories of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, physical condition, etc., contend for the title of most oppressed. Within race, various populations groups then compete for that top spot. Through the book, The Wife of His Youth, by Charles Wadell Chesnutt one can learn that racism existed within the race, colored mattered, and that racism evolves throughout the racial history. Racism existed within the race. People within the groups competed to be at the top. In The Wife of His Youth, the main character Mr. Ryder is a highly respected man in his society called the Blue Veins. The Blue Veins is a society for the colored people who have white skin that their veins show. Mr. Ryder is faced with a situation where he has to choose to stay at the top by hiding the truth and marrying a highly respected woman in the Blue Veins, Mrs. Molly Dixon or reveal his secret and be married to a woman who is considered low among the races. However Mr. Ryder chooses to reveal that a former slave is his wife, but in order for him to come to the conclusion he struggles much about how the others would feel about this situation because mostly likely people of his society would look down upon him. Color matters within the race. In The Wife of His Youth, the Blue Veins is a society that does not emphasize culture of the race, but how light the color of their skins are. The people of the society must have really light skin to be even considered to be a member of the Blue Veins. The wife of his youth, a former slave, Liza Jane would never be considered to be a member of the Blue Veins because she was very black and her social status in society was of a former plantation worker. One could also see that Mr. Ryder struggles whether or not to reveal his secret to the Blue Veins because colored mattered and he did not know if they would be able to accept the fact that he was marr ...

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali Essay

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali - Essay Example The clock literally is a very clear illustration of time which tells us of things that we cannot get back anymore or perhaps the notion of fleeting objects and at the same time, the use of a clock metaphorically can be attributed to our memories. As a whole, the artwork tells a story where the fading clock is a strong symbolism for human’s memory which is something that we want to hold on to for as long as we can and yet is able to slip away. This is also the irony that it communicates especially creating the mood through the strong contrast between the light and dark colors. At first glance, you would be able to see the opposing reflection of softness and hardness theory. This is seen through the variety of use of shape and form where the art uses free form or natural shapes to demonstrate the softness of the art that would give you an illusion of softness and rigidity while using a mixture of the three-dimensional shapes and lines such as of the trunk that helped the art achieve the clarity of hardness, achieving the comparison with what stays and what are fleeting. Also, the contrast of dark and light colors here, repeatedly used creates that balance between the irony of our memories fleeting and at the same time the reality that time is something that is supposed to slip away. When it comes to the principles of design, movement is one of the greatly used principle in the artwork by using of the soft elements of the artwork such as the melting clock and letting it fills up negative space which is space around the hard objects and makes it lean towards it, copying the shape of the latter. Indeed, the art leaned on the use of movement to express a fading and melting state of the clock, directing it to the copy the shape or direction of the hard objects.  

The Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia - Essay Example Besides, several hypothesis are also proposed to explain the etiology of schizophrenia. Freud and Bleuler believed that schizophrenia was caused by a biologic abnormality. In the mid twenties it was believed that schizophrenia was caused by disturbances of child-rearing. A few of the researchers believed the cause of schizophrenia to be a communication deviance between the parents and the schizophrenic child. Twin studies points at the genetic links of schizophrenia. Studies have found a concordance rate of 40% in monozygotic twins and a 15% concordance in dizygotic twins. Another breakthrough that reinforced the biologic bases of schizophrenia is the discovery of the first antipsychotic medication - Chlorpromazine in the 1950's. This has enabled many people with schizophrenia to live a better life. Psychosocial stressors influence relapse and possibly determine the timing of the first episode and may even determine whether the disorder will occur or not. It seems more and more likely that a specific set of biological predispositions is necessary (even if not sufficien t) for the disease to occur. Although the exact cause of schizophrenia is still unknown the disease seems to be partly related to increased dopamine activity in certain neuronal tracts. The dopamine hypothesis is the most widely accepted hypothesis in the development of schizophrenia. The original dopamine hypothesis proposed a hyperactivity of dopamine transmission in the limbic brain areas, especially the nucleus accumbens, but also in the stria terminalis, lateral septum, and olfactory tubercle that is responsible for the symptoms of schizophrenia. There is some consensus among researchers that over activity of dopamine systems in the mesolimbic pathway may contribute to the 'positive symptoms' of schizophrenia, whereas problems with dopamine function in the mesocortical pathway may be responsible for the 'negative symptoms'. Evidence to support this hypothesis comes from the fact that most antipsychotics that are successful in treating schizophrenia are dopamine receptor antagonists. In addition, researchers also found that drugs that increase dopamine activity such as cocaine and amphetamines can lead to schizophrenic-like symptoms. This paper mainly focuses on the relevance or irrelevance of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. Evidence in favor of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia There are two main points in favor of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. The first one comes from evidence that most antipsychotics that are successful in treating schizophrenia are dopamine receptor antagonists. The second evidence comes from the fact that, dugs that increase dopamine activity like cocaine and amphetamines can lead to schizophrenic-like symptoms. Evidence for the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia is partly based on the observed effects of drugs such as amphetamine and cocaine. Both of these drugs increase levels of dopamine in the brain and can cause psychosis, especially after large doses or prolonged use. Amphetamine psychosis and cocaine psychosis may produce symptoms that are indistinguishable from the positive symptoms associated with schizophrenia. A review by Lieberman and colleagues demonstrated that up to 75% of patients with schizophrenia have exacerbated the signs and symptoms of their psychosis when given moderate doses of methylphenidate, amphetamine or other dopamine-like

April Reading and Questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

April Reading and Questions - Coursework Example Re-centering whiteness is a theme that is seen as normal way of doing things while on surface all people are regarded as equal. The third theme, masking whiteness protects their superiority. From these themes, it can be seen that there is need to interrogate whiteness in order to realise the problematic assumptions that help to re center or mask the aspect of whiteness. It can also be seen that the issue of whiteness is hidden and it portrays itself in a subtle way in different organizations. The invisibility of whiteness has to be investigated in order to enhance organizational effectiveness when managing diversity. This helps all the people to freely give their ideas without any prejudice. i. What has made me uncomfortable through reading this article is that we are made to believe that we are all equal on surface while in actual fact there is a certain race that is seen as superior. In many multinational organizations, senior management posts are held by whites but there are also other people from other races who are capable of performing the same task. ii. What I had not realised is that the issue of whiteness is significantly gaining prominence in the world of management. Measures are being taken in order to try to address this problematic issue which gives other people more privilege than others on the basis of race. iii. My question is related to the measures that can be taken in order to change the status quo. While the aspect of whiteness is acknowledged in different sectors of the society, it can be seen that the whites have a hidden unfavourable privilege over other races which may be difficult to challenge since it is entrenched in people’s lives such that they see it as normal. This article is closely related to different incidences that I encounter in my life in many occasions. There is so much talk about the issue of equality among different people but it can be seen that there is a hidden

Effect of Height on Velocity | Experiment

Effect of Height on Velocity | Experiment Extended Experimental Investigation MOTION ON AN INCLINE DUONG, Phong (Nathan) Contents 1.0 Introduction: 1.1 Research Question and Aim 1.2 Theory Review 1.2.1 Gravity 1.2.2 Forces 1.2.3 Ramp physics 1.2.4 Newtons law 1.3 Hypothesis 2.0 Methods 2.1 Safety 2.2 Equipment 2.3 Procedures 3.0 Results and Analysis 3.1 Results 3.1.1 The inclined angle of the ramp 3.1.2 3.2 Analysis 3.3 Error Analysis 4.0 Discussion 5.0 Conclusion 6.0 Appendices Appendix 1: Appendix 2: Appendix 3: Appendix 4: Appendix 5: 7.0 References 1.0 Introduction: 1.1 Research Question and Aim The aim of this extended experimental investigation is to find how gravitational energy and kinetic energy apply on the toy car rolling down the steep ramp. How does the ramp height affect the velocity of the car? 1.2 Theory Review Basically, when a ramp has a small angle of incline, the force of friction between the car and the ramp has greater potential to prevent the car from moving. When an object rests on a surface like the ramp, the ramp exerts a force called normal force on the object, and this force is greater when the angle of incline is smaller. The reason for this is that the force of gravity on the car has to be split between horizontal and vertical components. If the ramp is steep, the force of gravity can more easily overcome the force of friction. Obviously gravity will cause an object on an incline to move down the slope faster than a flat slope. 1.2.1 Gravity Gravity acts vertically downwards, and the body during its free fall is accelerated due to the force of gravity. A body moving upward is undergoing negative acceleration, or deceleration, as its speed decreases and it momentarily comes to rest at the highest point of its ascent where its velocity becomes zero due to retardation obtained by the opposing force of gravity. As the gravity increases the motion of an object during its free fall and decreases the motion of an object as it travels in an upward direction. 1.2.2 Forces All moving objects have a type of energy called kinetic energy (Ek) as well as the potential energy (PE) which stored in an object. These two forces have the potential to do work and gravity gives potential energy to object whereas kinetic energy of an object depends only upon its mass and its speed. The formula for potential energy due to gravity isPE=mgh. As the object gets closer to the ground, its potential energy decreases while its kinetic energy increases. The difference in potential energy is equal to the difference in kinetic energy. 1.2.3 Ramp physics A ramp works like this inclined plane, the steeper the ramp the larger the amount of the sliding force. , when the ramp is (vertically) only the sliding component is left and equals the weight force. On the other extreme (the ramp is horizontal) the sliding force vanishes and only the component of the normal force is left. 1.3 Hypothesis It is hypothesised that as the angle of the ramp increases the speed of the car travels will also increase which results in shorter time for the car to travel down the ramp. This is predicted according to the theory of gravitational potential energy converting to kinetic energy. 2.0 Methods 2.1 Safety Must handle the retort stand with care as it could cause injuries if it drops on the lower bodies (legs, knees, footsetc.) as well as the ramp because they are quite heavy. 2.2 Equipment Retort stand For the ramp to rest on, to increase the height of theramp summit to any height Ramp- for the toy car to roll down Stop watch- to time the toy car (starts and finishes) Note book- to record the results on Measurements tape-to measure out 1 metre on the ramp Chalk- To mark the starting points and finish lines 2.3 Procedures 1. Set out equipment as shown in the diagram. 2. Ensure the height at the start line (the summit of the ramp) is 30 cm using the metre stick. 3. Ensure there are no extra weights attached to thetoy car. 4. Hold the toy car with its front touching the start line. 5. Simultaneously start the stop clock and release the toy car (becareful not to push it or exert any extra force on it). 6. Stop the clock when the front of the toy car reaches the finish line. 7. Record the time taken for the toy car to reach the finish, next to the relevant height, in a table. 8. Repeat from step 4 four times so you end up with five results for the same height then continue onto step 9. 9. Add all these results together and divide the answer by five to obtain the average time. 10. Record this average in the table. 11. By placing more books underneath the raised end of the ramp, increase the height at the summit by 10cm. Use the metre stick to check 12. Repeat from step 4 until you have obtained results for height from 30cm through to 50cm 3.0 Results and Analysis 3.1 Results The average time for different heights and distance Ramp Length (cm) Heights of the ramp (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average time (seconds) Speed (m/s) Acceleration (m/s) Velocity(m/s) 100 30 0.79 0.87 0.81 0.85 0.84 0.832 1.2 3 2.5 40 0.68 0.84 0.66 0.67 0.68 0.706 1.42 3.97 50 0.65 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.62 0.636 1.57 4.87 95 30 0.79 0.78 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.776 1.21 3.22 2.8 40 0.67 0.66 0.72 0.65 0.65 0.67 1.41 4.18 50 0.6 0.65 0.58 0.64 0.61 0.616 1.54 5.03 90 30 0.72 0.75 0.71 0.74 0.72 0.728 1.23 3.43 3.1 40 0.71 0.67 0.72 0.73 0.68 0.702 1.28 3.99 50 0.64 0.59 0.59 0.61 0.58 0.602 1.5 5.15 3.1.1 The inclined angle of the ramp Heights of the ramp (cm) Angle of inclination (degrees) 30 16.7 40 21.8 50 26.6 3.1.2 Figure 1 3.2 Analysis The results show that when the ramp is higher (50cm) the car went fasterdown the slope at (3.1m/s). This is because gravity is pulling the car straight down andfriction is pulling the car back up the ramp, opposite to direction ofmotion. The ramp is pushing the car straight up in the oppositedirection of gravity. The ramp is also pushing it horizontally awayfrom the ramp. The net force (the sum of the weight and normal force)acting on the car is large enough to make the car to accelerate downthe ramp. If the ramp were horizontal the net force would be zerotherefore the car would not move. So the higher an object goes the more gravitational potential energyit gains. When it falls, its potential energy is converted intokinetic energy and; since energy can neither be created or destroyed,only converted then it will move at a faster speed. 3.3 Error Analysis There are many gaps of errors when conducted this experiment such as careless error, random error, human error (reaction time) and systematic errors. These are due to mistakes in reading scales or careless setting markers; they can be eliminated by repetition of readings by one or two observers. Whereas the random error could be the observer’s position when recording the data and it could spread the results further away to the true value which will increase in anomalies. The results weren’t really accurate because air resistance and friction energy wasn’t taken in to the account, with these taken in to the calculation then it would be more accurate for the speed of the car. 4.0 Discussion The experiment worked well after the preliminary experiment, the experiment indicates that if the height of the ramp is too high it would not produce very goodresults. Assume the results were accurate and the methodworked. Due to human error and reaction time, these results could notbe relied on completely, but did give a rough idea of how the experiment would have worked. If the conduction of the experiment was to be done again, it would be more accurate by producingresults using the computer system with light gate. The air resistance was neglected because if the resistance to be present, the results would be decrease but not very much throughout the experiment. The car was suffering from the friction of a ramp, something that would seriously affect the car due to it having a small mass. There were certainly some places where the experiment was lacking in some accuracy and it could have improved. The first area to highlight is the car, where most of the accuracies were caused. The car certainly had friction occurring in the wheels of the car, and with the surface it was going down. This is one of the major problem to solve because a frictionless car is impossible, to encounter this problem is to find a better car with better bearings is the wheels and more therefore less friction, causing less wasted energy through sound and heat. There was also some accuracy lacking areas which couldn’t improve either without better equipment. If the conduction of the experiment were to happen again, experimenting withdifferent surfaces of ramp would be a changed. The main problem established in the experiment wasthat the toy car kept swaying to the side, creating a longer journeyand hitting the edge majority of the time. This also could have been caused dueto uneven flooring of the ramp. If the right equipment could be accessed to calculatingthe speed using light gates and determining if it produces theoreticallyperfect results, also eliminating any other opposingforces, such as friction, polishing surfaces etc. (no air resistance) and noticing ifthis changes the results.To take the potential/kinetic energy element even further,looking into elastic potential energy and identify if it works on the sameprinciple as gravitational potential energy. 5.0 Conclusion In conclusion, the experiment demonstrated that the ramp set on (50cm) height at the distance of (90cm) had a greater velocity (speed) and acceleration than other heights. This suggests that the car had a greater velocity and lowest time was because of the steepness of the ramp that was set on. The longer of the ramp, along with gravity had a huge impact on the car movement from the top of the ramp to the bottom. The hypothesis is supported by scientific theory of motion on an incline. 6.0 Appendices Appendix 1: 1 metre (100cm) long ramp Heights of the ramp (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 30cm 0.79 0.87 0.81 0.85 0.84 40cm 0.68 0.84 0.66 0.67 0.68 50cm 0.65 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.62 95 cm long ramp Heights of the ramp (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 30cm 0.79 0.78 0.76 0.77 0.78 40cm 0.67 0.66 0.72 0.65 0.65 50cm 0.6 0.65 0.58 0.64 0.61 90 cm long ramp Heights of the ramp (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 30cm 0.72 0.75 0.71 0.74 0.72 40cm 0.71 0.67 0.72 0.73 0.68 50cm 0.64 0.59 0.59 0.61 0.58 Appendix 2: Example 1: Given height = 30 cm and the length or the ramp = 100 cm Example 2: Given height = 40 cm and the length or the ramp = 100 cm Example 3: Given height = 50 cm and the length or the ramp = 100 cm Appendix 3: Velocity of (30 cm=0.3m) height ramp, g=9.8 m/s (constant) Velocity of (40 cm=0.4m) height ramp, g=9.8 m/s (constant) Velocity of (50 cm=0.5m) height ramp, g=9.8 m/s (constant) Appendix 4: Appendix 5: When the height at 30 (cm), velocity=2.5m/s 7.0 References Silverman, Buffy (2009).Simple Machines: Forces in Action, 4th Ed.. USA: Heinemann-Raintree Classroom. p.7.ISBN978-1-4329-2317-4 Reilly, Travis (November 24, 2011).Lesson 04:Slide Right on By Using an Inclined Plane.Teach Engineering. College of Engineering, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder. Retrieved September 8, 2012 Smith, Crosbie (1998).The Science of Energy a Cultural History of Energy Physics in Victorian Britain. The University of Chicago Press.ISBN0-226-76420-6. Feynman, Richard P. (2011).Work and potential energy.The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. I. Basic Books. p.13.ISBN978-0-465-02493-3. Is Elasticity Coefficient Elastic Or Inelastic? Is Elasticity Coefficient Elastic Or Inelastic? Inelastic The price elasticity of demand for a downward sloping straight line demand curve varies as we move along the curve. If we look at the demand curve for Zesty Health Clubs, as we move down the upper segment of the demand curve, price elasticity of demand falls and total revenue rises. For example, measured over the price range of $1030 to $960, if price falls from $1030 to $960 the price elasticity of demand is 1.92 and therefore this segment of demand is elastic (Ed >1). Between these two price changes, total revenue increases from $9,936,000 to $11,088,000. This shows that a small reduction in price in the top part of the demand curve will bring about a larger proportionate increase in the quantity demanded for Zesty Health Clubs thereby increasing its revenue. Between the price range of $720 to $840, price elasticity is unitary elastic. (Ed = 1) and thereby total revenue is maximized. In the above relevant price level the elasticity coefficient is UNIT ELASTIC is exactly the same as the percentage in price everywhere along the demand curve. As we move down the lower segment of the demand curve price elasticity of demand falls below a value of 1.0 and total revenue declines. Over the price range of $480 to $600, for example, the price elasticity of demand is 0.47 respectively and therefore this segment of demand is inelastic (Ed < 1). Between these prices, total revenue declines from $10,800,000 to $9,600,000. This shows that a reduction in price in the bottom part of the demand curve will bring about a small proportionate change in quantity demanded for Zesty Health Clubs, thereby decreasing its revenue. In conclusion on a straight line demand curve the price elasticity of demand is different at every point along the curve (c) Four factors affecting the price elasticity of demand for gym memberships at Zesty Health Clubs; Availability of substitutes The most important determinant of price elasticity of demand is the availability of substitutes. Demand is more elastic for a good or service with close substitutes. If we look at Zesty Health Clubs, the alternatives or substitutes that consumers can switch to is relatively low. Of course there are few alternatives they could consider such as considering buying used gym equipment, renting exercise tapes, or even outdoor exercising such as swimming, cycling, running etc. Many consumers would prefer getting a membership simply just to avoid the trouble of physical stress in order to buy this stuff and also would prefer a better reliable health club when coming to health issues. Therefore the demand for Zesty health clubs is more inelastic in which the percentage change in quantity demanded is smaller than the percentage change in price, leading to an increase in total revenue. It is also experienced that a high price charged has made the demand to be ore elastic for Zesty health clubs. A price of $1,080 has made a condition in which the percentage change in quantity demanded is greater than the percentage change is price. This may be due to the fact that considering the current recession, peoples disposable income is relatively low as a result consumers have no other choice than switching to the close substitutes such as personal health training, outdoor physical activities etc. Short run and long run effect Most goods or services tend to be inelastic in the short run and elastic in the long run. If we take the case of Zesty health clubs we can assume that even if they uplift there price by small margin customers will still want to continue or even obtain memberships since nowadays people are more health conscious. They may be loyal to the service provided by Zesty Health clubs and may not consider shifting to the alternatives available. But in the long run consumers may be more price conscious and tend to shift to its substitutes not necessary been price as the main factor but also due to new competitors entering the market, state of the art gym products available that could be used at home at ease, or even health tip news available daily that is sent to a customers mobile phone provided by the network provider for a small charge. These different ranges of choices available make consumers demand shift from inelastic in the short run to elastic in the long run. Share of budget spent on the product Customers may devote only a certain amount rather a less proportion of income spent on membership fees. For e.g. if we consider a price change in sugar which is an convenience product consumers may pay little attention, likewise since people are more health conscious these days a change in price of membership fees may not be felt largely by consumers. However, high membership prices such as $1080 may force price conscious customers to switch to the alternate substitutes. Even circumstances apply where price is not the main factor, customer may prefer home training, or other physical activities which reduce the quantity demanded for Zesty Health Clubs. Necessity or Luxury These days consumers are more concerned about their health, therefore the demand for Zesty health clubs remain inelastic. Consumers understand that they need to be fit in order to maintain good health. As a result if Zesty health clubs peruse to increase prices the burden may not be felt heavily on consumers, as a result the elasticity coefficient remains inelastic in which the percentage change in quantity demanded is smaller than the percentage change in price. (Ed < 1). However if Zesty health clubs have really high membership fees this may force the members to switch to alternatives as I discussed above such as personal health training, outdoor physical activities etc. Consumers may not have any other choice but to switch to other alternatives to suit their needs. Assuming that the price per gym membership is $840, Zesty Health Club will be able to generate total profit of $9,323,200. If Zesty health club decides to reduce its membership price from $840 to $720, they would be able to obtain a profit of $8,622,300. If, in case they pursue to go ahead with their business decision they would experience a 7.5% loss on the total profit. Another aspect that should be considered is that fact that at the price of $840 Zesty health clubs are facing with a total cost of $2,168,000, whereas if Zesty health clubs per sue to lower their price from $840 $720, total cost increases to $2,876,100 which is an increase of approximately 33%, which is quite a huge sum. Looking at this business decision in a financial perspective it seems to that the decision is not profitable. This business decision should not be solely made on financial aspects other relating aspects should be considered as well. If we examine the table, we could identify that elasticity changes from been unit elastic to inelastic. Zesty health clubs may wish to remain been unit elastic because price elasticity is unitary elastic. (Ed = 1) and thereby total revenue is maximized. This is a situation where Percentage change in quantity demanded is equal to the percentage change in price. Therefore, it will be advantages for Zesty health clubs to remain at price $840 since elasticity is unit elastic. However if Zesty health clubs go ahead with their business decision that is reduce the price from $840 to $720 they will be to attract 2290 more customers that is an increase of 16.7%, which makes then obtain a higher market share, however even if Zesty health clubs loses 2290 customers, they still have been able to maximize profits by large charging $840. Therefore the burden is well set off by the maximizing profits. Looking at the above evaluation of Zesty health clubs business decision, I would recommend them NOT to go ahead with the business decision as it is financially non-profitable and since they would want to remain being unit elastic rather than inelastic as total revenue is maximized been unit elastic. Looking at the above graph, we could see that at price $860 Zesty health clubs gets revenue of $11,491,200 which contributes to the highest profit of $9,323,200. At this price level profits are maximized bringing the highest profit level to them, therefore according to these statistics Zesty health clubs should charge its customers at this price since it is getting the highest benefit. Income elasticity of demand is the ratio of the percentage change in the quantity demanded of a good or service to the percentage change in income that has bought about this change in quantity demanded, (Economics for today, Allan Layton et al, 2nd edition, 2005). In this context it is the change in quantity demanded in memberships for Zesty health clubs to the change in income due to economic downturn which reduced average income. Percentage change in income EY is income elasticity of demand, Q1 and Q2 represent quantities demanded before and after the income change, and Y1 and Y2 represent income before and after the income change. (Economics for today, Allan Layton et al, 2nd edition, 2005). NORMAL SERVICE From the arrived answer we can assume that Zesty health club memberships is a normal service because the income elasticity of demand is positive Ey>0, the demand and income move in the same direction. Thus, the variables change in the numerator and denominator move in the same direction. Income elasticity of demand is necessary to calculate because during a downturn when the consumers income falls, if the membership is a normal good then the no. of memberships falls. As a result income elasticity of demand helps us to identify whether the impact brings a favorable change of a negative change and also help us identify whether Zesty health clubs membership is a normal service or an inferior service. If we look at the relationship between average income of Australians and gym memberships we could see that there is a direct relationship. If assuming the current economic downturn is not experienced, the average income of Australians would have been stable and also disposable income may be high. This gives the chance for Zesty health clubs to increase memberships or even quantity demanded because since consumers are nowadays more concerned with their health and with high disposable income they may decide to obtain a membership. Now assuming that the Australians are facing with a current economic downturn, which leaves peoples disposable income low, we could see that due to a reduction in average income from $65000 to $55000 p.a. is has resulted in a reduction in memberships form 11,500 to 10, 600. As a result it is clearly identifiable that there is a direct relationship between income and memberships. SECTION B Article 1: Chile strike sends copper prices soaring SUMMARY The price of copper rose to 7500 US dollars per ton, the highest since August 2008, on trading on the London Metal Exchange. The major cause was attributed to industrial action in the form of strikes in Chiles two largest copper mines. The miners wanted higher pay and better benefits. Many of them failed to show up and prices rose further after the likelihood of a strike increased fears that market supply will become tighter. The miners wage registrations came as prices of copper rose after increases in demand from China-the worlds largest consumer of copper. Prices rose over 140% aided by mounting signs of economic recovery, after the recession which reduced the demand of copper. Chile produces one third of all copper, therefore these factors, mentioned above, played a major part in the rise of copper prices (a) Three factors that are expected to contribute to a rise in the market equilibrium price of copper Industrial Action About a third of the unionized miners failed to show up when their shifts began at 2 a.m. on Monday. As a result, Chiles Codelco Company, the largest copper mining company, chuquicata mine faced with a problem of less supply of copper, as not enough workers were at work mining for copper. According to the case study Weinberg added This increases fears that market supply will become tighter. As a result of limited supply, there will be a leftward shift in the supply curve causing copper prices to rise. Therefore a new equilibrium price is formed and Chiles Codelco Company will charge a higher price at the new equilibrium. Demand from China The case study explains there is increased demand from china, which is the worlds largest copper consumer. As a result of increased demand this makes the demand curve shift to the right, as China is willing to buy more copper (thus increased demand), which increases the price level, which forms a new equilibrium price. Signs of economic recovery The state of the economy can have a significant effect on the demand for copper. This is particularly true for industrial and to a lesser extent, commercial customers. When economic growth is strong, output from the industrial sectors generally increases. Conversely, when economic growth slows down, output from industrial sectors drops. The case study explains prices of copper were propelled by mounting signs of economic recovery. As there are signs of economic recovery the demand for copper is likely to increase as a result Chiles Codelco company demand curve is likely to shift to the right. This increase in demand will result in a new equilibrium price, which is higher than before. Considering the above demand and supply diagram (Figure 1) we could see that as a result of unionized workers failing to show up when their shifts begin, has limited the supply of copper. As a result there is a leftward movement of the supply curve from S1 to S2, and due to reduced supply of copper, copper prices is lifted causing the price to rise from P1 to P2. This reduction in supply and increase in price has forced the equilibrium price to change. Equilibrium price refers to the point where at any price for which the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied is equal. This new equilibrium point is E2 which was formerly E1. If we consider the above diagram figure 2, since there is increase in demand for copper from China, the demand curve in the demand and supply diagram shifts outward(rightward) to form a new demand curve from D1 to D2. This increase is demand has prompted Chiles Codelco Company to increase prices from Q1 to Q2 in order to balance demand and supply, which leads to increase in quantity demanded from Q1 to Q2. As a result of an increase in price and increase in quantity there is a new equilibrium point formed (E2) which was formerly E1. If we look at the above diagram Figure 3, we could see that as mounting signs of economic recovery, the demand for copper are likely to increase. As a result the Demand curve (D1) shifts rightward to form a new demand curve D2. This will cause the price to increase as well from P1 to P2, since there will be a high demand for copper, this increase in price will cause the quantity demanded to increase from Q1 to Q2. The increase in price which caused an increase in quantity demanded leads to a new Equilibrium price, this is where at any price for which the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied are equal. The new equilibrium point is E2, which was formerly E1, resulted as there was increase in demand and an increase in price. (c) Four factors which could affect world demand for copper; Price of Copper The law of demand, states that there is an inverse relationship between the price of a good or service and the quantity buyers are willing to purchase in a defined time period, ceteris paribus. If we look at this case, if copper prices increase, the demand for copper would fall and vice versa. Therefore the price determinant may affect demand for copper If we look at the above 2 diagrams above, (A) shows if there is an increase in the price of copper from P1 to P2, there will be an decrease in quantity demanded from Q1 to Q2. However since copper has closer substitutes and is sort of a necessity, the impact may not be large. If we look at (B), it shows that a reduction in price from P1 to P2 has increased quantity demanded from Q1 to Q2. However thinking even though the price if copper is reduced the consumption of copper by consumers may be the same, therefore, they will not demand more than what they consume at one point. Number of Buyers If there are many buyers of copper, copper demand may increase, which will also cause prices to increase. In this case, Codelco produces almost 1.6 million tons of copper per year to meet its demand. If in near future companies that use copper as their raw material comes up, the demand for copper will increase. Also, if the number of buyers drops the vice versa can happen which is the demand for copper may drop causing prices to subsequently dropping as well. If we look at the above two demand and supply diagrams, we could see that in (A) there is increased demand for copper from D1 to D2 this may be due to increased number of companies which use copper as their raw material, for e.g. the automobile industry which produces at large quantities may prefer to buy copper at large. This causes the price level to drop, which leads to higher quantity supplied. If we look at diagram (B), we could see that demand for copper has reduced, for e.g. if we consider the current economic recession, one of the major affected industries where supposed to be the automobile industry, as a result the production of vehicles were reduced to a certain extent, this causes the demand for copper to drop as well from D1 to D2. Prices increase and quantity supplied drops from Q1 to Q2. Expectations of Buyers What is the effect in the demand when consumers anticipate future changes in prices, incomes or other factors? If e.g. if we assume the government is going to impose a tax on copper which would raise prices to a higher level, it could lead to an increase in copper demand since they may want to get the benefit of buying it at a cheaper price before the tax was imposed. NOTE: This scenario affects demand if only the consumers are aware of FUTURE price increase in copper. If we consider the above diagram we could see that if in future consumers anticipate a price increase in copper as a result of a tax which is going to be imposed, this will tempt them to purchase copper at large quantity now, rather than later when copper prices are high. This results in increased demand which causes the demand curve to shift to the right and price increase from P1 to P2; this leads to an increased quantity demanded from Q1 to Q2. Prices of related goods If we look at the substitutes for copper, which is a good that competes with another good for consumer purchase, therefore there is a direct relationship between a price change for one good and the demand for its competitor good. Substitutes for copper include, aluminum, zinc etc. If incase the price of the substitutes shot up, the demand for copper may increase since consumers/companies may shift to purchasing copper, also there are circumstances where if prices of copper is too high they may lose it customers, causing demand for copper to drop. (A) (B) Four other factors which could affect the world market supply for copper are as follows; Weather Weather plays a huge part in market supply of copper. Bad weather that includes, heavy rain, hurricanes etc may make mining of copper not possible, as a result the supply of copper is reduced. During periods of heavy rain the supply of copper is often limited, whereas periods of great sunshine enables them to increase quantity of supply. If we look at the above diagram (A), the exact result of a bad weather is illustrated. As a result of bad weather, the supply of copper is reduced from S1 to S2, as a result the price increases from P1 to P2, which causes the quantity supplied to reduce from Q1 to Q2 If we move our attention to diagram B we could see that as a result of good weather the quantity of copper extracted is more which means that price drops from P1 to P2 and supply increases from S1 to S2 plus the quantity supplied also increases from Q1 to Q2. Technology Many state of the art technology has made mining of copper much more easier, comparing to paying wages for 5600 workers, purchasing machinery to get the work done is not only cheap but also the quantity of copper extracted could be more, which means there is increased supply If we look at the above diagram we could see that as a result of improved technology the extracted of copper could be increased, as a result the price of copper will be dropped from P1 to P2 thus increasing supply from S1 to S2 causing quantity supplied increase from Q1 to Q2 Price Exceptions If Codelco anticipates a substantial rise in future copper prices, this would cause them to decrease their current supply of copper, because they may want to gain the most of this benefit, where as if they anticipate future copper price to decrease they would want to produce more copper and sell it at a much higher price than the anticipated low price. If we look at the above diagram, if we consider (A) we could see that if Codelco anticipates the price of copper to increase in near future, supply is restricted or reduced from S1 to S2 causing the price level to increase from P1 to P2, as a result the quantity supplied drops from Q1 to Q2. If we look at diagram (B) if Codelco anticipates a price reduction in near future, they make want to accelerate the production copper, causing price to increase from P1 to P2 which makes the supply curve shift rightward from S1 to S2, this makes quantity supplied increase from Q1 to Q2 a swell. Economies of scale/Input Costs This is a situation in which average cost curve declines as the firm increases output. If so happens the demand curve will shift rightwards. There are circumstances where changes of diseconomies of scale could causing the completely opposite effect .According to the case Codelco company produces around 1.6 million tons of copper per year. Another factor that we could consider is the input prices, if input prices are low Codelco can experience economies of scale. The case study shows shoes evidence that workers at two mines, Chuicata and Mina Sur, demanded a 7.5% pay hike. This shows that the cost of production of copper is high. If incase cheap labour is found and cheap machinery, cost of input is less which makes Codelco supply more copper at cheap prices. Looking at the above two demand and supply diagram, considering (A), we could see that, if codelco experiences economies of scale which means their average cost declines as output increases, they will be able to produce more copper as lesser costs, also aspect which could add to lower costs is due to the fact of less input costs as a result this benefit can be passed onto the consumers as well through low prices which is from P1 to P2. Supply is increased from S1 to S2, causing quantity supplied to increase from Q1 to Q2. Moving our attention to diagram (B) we could see that if Codelco has high input costs, this may make extraction of copper expensive, since they cant bare all the entire costs, they may wish to pass on some of it to the consumers through high costs, as a result supply is reduced from S1 to S2, causing quantity supplied to reduce from Q1 to Q2

Dual Structure in Japan :: essays papers

Dual Structure in Japan What do you understand by the term â€Å"dual structure of an economy†? How do you explain the dual structure of manufacturing industry in Japan? The word â€Å"dual† has the meaning of double, twofold or in two parts according to The Australian Oxford Dictionary (1996). Applying the word to an economic context, I would describe the term â€Å"dual structure of an economy† to indicate the co-existence of two different sectors alongside each other with disparities in technology and productivity between them. Take for instance, the existence of a traditional primary sector along with a modern non-primary sector constitutes to a â€Å"dual structure†. Duality can exist within a particular sector of the economy. The existence of traditional subsistence agriculture alongside export agriculture among the Southeast Asian countries during colonial period is an example of duality within a sector. Minami (1994, p.239) defined â€Å"dual structure† to mean the existence of two distinct sectors; one that has modern technology, a high capital-labour ratio, high labour productivity and wages, against another one, which has all the opposite characteristics. Therefore, one can infer that if large-scale industries with high capital intensity (K) were promoted at the stage in which labour supply (L) is relatively abundant then differentials in labour productivity (Y/L) and the wage rate would arise and lead to a dual structure. For Japan, three characteristics of the economy indicated the existence of a â€Å"dual structure†. First, the coexistence of a very low unemployment rates and continued low incomes in agricultural and small business. Second, the existence of large (â€Å"industrial giants†) and small scale firms within the manufacturing sector. Third, the existence of peculiar characteristics of the labour market such as enterprise unions, wages differentials according to the size of the firm and long term employment (Odaka, 1967 p.50). Furthermore, duality existed in the manufacturing sector too. In general, â€Å"dual structure† of the Japanese economy began before the Second World War as seen in a widening of income differential between agricultural and non-agricultural. The widening income differential was due to two main reasons. Firstly, productivity differential widen as productivity in the industrial sector increases faster due to relative ease in technology borrowing than productivity in agriculture. Secondly, the existence of surplus labour in traditional industries has tended to hinder increases in productivity due to limited arable land for agriculture so the farmland area per worker increased very slightly.

Tourism and Social Exclusion in the Dominican Republic

Latin American Perspectives http://lap. sagepub. com/ Tropical Blues : Tourism and Social Exclusion in the Dominican Republic Amalia L. Cabezas Latin American Perspectives 2008 35: 21 DOI: 10. 1177/0094582X08315765 The online version of this article can be found at: http://lap. sagepub. com/content/35/3/21 Published by: http://www. sagepublications. com On behalf of: Latin American Perspectives, Inc. Additional services and information for Latin American Perspectives can be found at: Email Alerts: http://lap. sagepub. com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://lap. sagepub. om/subscriptions Reprints: http://www. sagepub. com/journalsReprints. nav Permissions: http://www. sagepub. com/journalsPermissions. nav Citations: http://lap. sagepub. com/content/35/3/21. refs. html Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 Tropical Blues Tourism and Social Exclusion in the Dominican Republic by Amalia L. Cabezas Tourism development is the backbone of many Carib bean economies, and its advocates argue that it contributes to sustainable development, the alleviation of poverty, and integration into the globalized economy.Scholars and activists, in contrast, point to tourism-related ecological deterioration, profit leakage, distorted cultural patterns, rising land values, and prostitution. They suggest that tourism perpetuates existing disparities, fiscal problems, and social tensions. Examination of tourism development in the Dominican Republic indicates that it deskills and devalues Dominican workers, marginalizing them from tourist development and sexualizing their labor.The majority of people are relegated, at best, to positions of servitude in low-paid jobs in the formal sector, unemployment, or unstable activities in the informal sector that include the commoditization of sexuality and affective relations. Keywords: Tourism, Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Capitalism, Social exclusion In A Small Place, the Caribbean writer Jamaica Kincaid elaborates on the inequities of tourism (1988: 18–19): â€Å"Every native of every place is a potential tourist, and every tourist is a native of somewhere. But some natives—most natives in the world—cannot go anywhere. They are too poor. They are too poor to go anywhere. In international tourism, only some people are able to travel and experience a respite from the crushing banality of their lives; others, too poor to go anywhere, are relegated to servicing the needs of foreign travelers. Travel and tourism are among the most important economic activities of the global economy not just for the transnational monopolies that control them but also for those who dream of traveling and perhaps being able to turn someone else’s commonplace reality into the source of their own pleasure. This is the reality of the tropical blues. Tourism development is the backbone of many Caribbean economies.For the small island nations, tourism today represents what sugar wa s a century ago: a monocrop controlled by foreigners and a few elites that services the structures of accumulation for global capitalism. 1 Can tourism change the economic context of small nation-states in the Caribbean by creating possibilities for the population to improve its standard of living? Tourism promoters, policy makers, experts, and development officials certainly think so. They Amalia L. Cabezas teaches at the University of California, Riverside, and is a coordinating editor of Latin American Perspectives.She thanks the Centro de Promocion y Solidaridad Humana (a nongovernmental organization working in Sosua, Puerto Plata, and the surrounding communities) and the Movimiento de Mujeres Unidas for research assistance. LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 160, Vol. 35 No. 3, May 2008 21-36 DOI: 10. 1177/0094582X08315765  © 2008 Latin American Perspectives 21 Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 22 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES hav e historically made enthusiastic claims about the positive impact of tourism on host societies.From fostering world peace to preserving biodiversity and indigenous cultures, tourism has been considered a panacea for societies’ ills (Castellanos de Selig, 1981). More recently, tourism has been seen not only as generating foreign exchange and employment but also as contributing to sustainable development, the alleviation of poverty, and integration into the globalized economy. Governments and multilateral organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and United Nations development agencies promote tourism as a viable mechanism for economic and social development.It is easy to understand why so much hope is riding on tourism. Tourism is a vital component of the spread of global capitalism. It accounts for one-third of the global trade in services and is expanding at twice the growth rate of world output (El Beltagui, 2001). Tourist arrivals, which stood at 25 million in 1950, are projected to reach 1. 6 billion by 2020 (WTO, 1999). According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC, 2005), the travel and tourism industry accounts for US$4. 4 trillion of economic activity worldwide. In the Caribbean region, tourism development is of paramount importance as an indispensable source of foreign exchange (ILO, 2001). Judged by the International Labor Organization as the most tourism-oriented region in the world, the Caribbean is a region where a fifth of the gross domestic product is produced for tourists, directly or indirectly, by one out of every seven workers (ILO, 2001: 119). Scholars and activists working in the field of tourism are much more critical of tourism than policy makers and politicians.In the past three decades, assessments of tourism’s socioeconomic impact have included discussions of ecological deterioration, profit leakage, social displacement, distorted cultural patter ns, rising land values, drugs, and prostitution (Harrison, 1992; Crick, 1996; Pattullo, 1996). Tourism has also been linked to the creation of demand for foreign-made goods, consumerism, the commodification of culture, trafficking in women and children, internal migration, and the disruption and corruption of traditional values and behaviors (see, e. g. McElroy, 2004; Mowforth and Munt, 1998; Pattullo, 1996). Furthermore, scholars postulate that tourism perpetuates existing disparities, fiscal problems, and social tensions (Britton, 1996; Greenwood, 1989). Given such incongruities in opinions and assessments, I seek to examine the framework within which tourism development takes place and to explore why tourism has failed to raise the standard of living and create better life chances for people in the Caribbean region. The concern here is with the political economy of tourism development in the Dominican Republic.In this article I argue that the history of economic, political, and s ocial subjugation within the global capitalist system determines the institutional framework for the current tourism trade. I offer the interpretation that the international division of labor in tourism deskills and devalues Dominican workers, marginalizing them from the process of tourism development and sexualizing their labor. I am concerned with the impact of these processes on the most vulnerable elements of the population. This case study is based on fieldwork undertaken in the Dominican Republic.Beginning in 1997, participant observation was conducted on the Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 Cabezas / EXCLUSION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 23 northeast coast of the country in Puerto Plata and the neighboring beach resort developments of Playa Dorada and Sosua. Puerto Plata, a historic city with a population of over 60,000, was targeted for development during the boom in tourism growth in the 1970s. It is the oldest and one of the m ost developed tourism areas of the country, and it continues to grow (ASONAHORES, 2004).Its port attracts cruise lines, and it has an abundance of luxury resorts located east of the city in an area known as Playa Dorada. Sosua, a few kilometers up the coast, is a small beachside community settled by European Jews brought into the country by the former dictator Rafael L. Trujillo to â€Å"whiten the nation† (Symanski and Burley, 1973). It has many businesses owned by expatriates and continues to attract European travelers, many from Germany. The north coast area has a large transient population of internal migrants who come to work in the tourism industry, its informal trade, and the free-trade zone.My research was assisted by two nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Puerto Plata and Sosua that are concerned with community health. Taperecorded interviews were conducted in 1997 at a community clinic with women who identified themselves as sex workers, many of whom were affil iated with the Movimento de Mujeres Unidas (Movement of United Women—MODEMU), an NGO that advocates for the labor and human rights of women in the sex industry. Further research for this project was carried out in 2004, 2005, and 2007, including work in the capital city of Santo Domingo and in the nearby tourist beach resort of Boca Chica.Data collection involved interviews with hotel workers, sex workers, community activists, members of MODEMU, people involved in the informal economy, local businessmen, and tourists. STRUCTURAL INEQUALITIES AND THE CAPITALIST GLOBAL SYSTEM Tourism exists within a political-economic framework characterized by monopoly capital—a system of global capital that has evolved over the past 500 years and is in a new stage of accumulation characterized by the transnationalization of state formation, production, and consumption (Robinson, 2004; 2007).It is important to keep the colonial patterns of capitalist accumulation in mind when examining tourism development, since global inequities lie at the heart of the tourism project. The capitalist world system has continually expanded through access to cheap labor, land, resources, and markets. These processes are clearly evident in the commercial and organizational systems of the hospitality and travel industries. Transnational tourism reflects the asymmetrical distribution of power and economic resources between former colonies and their colonizers (Fanon, 1963).As Britton (1982: 355) declares, â€Å"The more a Third World country has been dominated by foreign capital in the past, the greater likelihood there is of the prerequisites for establishing a local tourist industry being present. It is metropolitan tourism capital that is the single most important element in determining the organization and characteristics of tourism in underdeveloped countries. † Time and resources have been important in the development of tourism, but so has economic power. While tourism is a global industry, the Downloaded from lap. sagepub. om at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 24 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES majority of the receipts accrue to Europe and the United States (ILO, 2001; WTO, 2002). Indeed, the new forms of global capitalist domination, as manifested in the tourism and travel market, demonstrate that Dominicans face an â€Å"empire of global capital† (Robinson, 2007: 19). The Caribbean is thus relegated to a â€Å"pleasure periphery† within the international division of labor, a â€Å"host† region that accommodates leisure travelers and the demands of transnational corporations (Turner and Ash, 1975).The tourism industry in the global North emerged with subsidized state-led development. Growth in infrastructure and technology benefited from statesponsored research and development. In the 1950s the U. S. Senate authorized more than US$12 million to support the development of improved transport aircraft, and U. S. policy e ncouraged the development of civil aeronautics and air commerce both within and outside of the United States (Truong, 1990). The use of U. S. aviation equipment, U. S. eronautical procedures, and the English language as the world standard in aviation guaranteed the United States dominance in civil aeronautics globally. In Western Europe, the concept of â€Å"participatory enterprise,† by which airlines are owned in part or wholly by governments, helped to cover the losses incurred by the operation of unprofitable but strategically important routes (Truong, 1990). Both the United States and Western Europe subsidized and cultivated the global travel infrastructure and established the regulations and norms of the travel industry, facilitating their control and domination.Travel and tourism enterprises experienced rapid growth and expansion as they sought to capture the disposable earnings of wage workers in the booming economies of Western Europe and the United States during the late 1950s and 1960s. Their growth was enhanced by new patterns of production and consumption in the global North and the creation of social legislation ensuring holiday time off. It was advantageous for the United States to further its political and commercial interests in the Caribbean by promoting the growth of tourism as a form of economic development.As Truong (1990: 104) explains, The advocated tactical and strategic flexibility in the execution of civil aviation policy has been translated into the use of multilateral aid channels to cover U. S. interests and overt intervention in international aviation and tourism. The promotion of tourism itself mirrored the awareness of the relation between air transport and economic development. This intervention has two main advantages for the United States. From a commercial perspective, such intervention contributes to the strengthening of the U.S. position as a manufacturer and exporter of aircraft and navigation equipment. From a pol itical perspective, it helps to consolidate the direction of social and economic development in the third world, which benefits U. S. interests under a screen of peaceful understanding. In due course, the growth of the tourism industry became a â€Å"peaceful† method of attaining long-lasting political power and financial control in the markets and politics of the South (Lanfant, Allcock, and Bruner, 1995).The framework for the development of the travel and tourist industry impedes poor countries from generating foreign exchange, increasing employment, or promoting the participation of the most marginal segments of the community (Britton, 1996). It enables transnational corporations to use their superior technology, resources, and commercial power to control Third World Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 Cabezas / EXCLUSION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 25 tourist destinations.Tourism’s tendency to perpetuate patterns of econo mic dependency and vulnerability for developing countries is evident in the island nations of the Caribbean, where small local suppliers have limited access to tourist-generating markets monopolized by powerful wholesalers and retailers (Ashley et al. , 2006). Tour operators—a transnational industry based in Western Europe and the United States—can project an image of a country through worldwide marketing campaigns that ensure a steady flow of visitors. Because of economies of scale, they can control tourist packages and demote or promote particular destinations (Britton, 1996).They unite suppliers and consumers in the pursuit of profits and pleasure; with direct contact with travel consumers through vertically integrated travel agencies, they can control particular destinations and dominate the flow of visitors. They can pressure hotels to operate in certain ways and negotiate low prices, especially in beach resorts. They favor a standardized product, such as the all- inclusive deal, a comprehensively controlled tourist experience in which the familiarity of the brand and the security of the travel experience are more important than local differentiation. The all-inclusive tourist package allows tour operators and travel agencies to combine all of the components of a destination’s attractions—recreation, meals, food, lodging, and transportation—into a single product paid for at the point of origin. This limits the participation of local producers and confines the profits to the global North. As the Dominican Republic has adopted the all-inclusive model, the earnings per tourist have decreased: per-room spending has declined from a high of US$318 in 1982 to the current low of US$154 (UNDP, 2005: 73).The all-inclusive package is only one component of the revolution in information technology that has integrated travel and tourism into a circuit that combines air transport, sea cruises, tours, and car rentals into a worldwide mon opoly. Further vertical integration of airlines, car rental, and tour operators has been facilitated by the Internet. 4 Electronic commerce in tourism services, which represents a new possibility for online holiday booking for tourism providers, works to the disadvantage of developing countries, which have only limited access to the Internet.Other practices include the mergers of transnational corporate giants in the areas of technology, travel, hospitality, and media. HOTELS, CRUISE LINES, AND DISASTERS In an increasingly globalized industry, the trend in the hospitality industry is from independently owned and owner-operated hotels to the multinational hotel chains that have become the industry standard. In the Dominican Republic, hotels with more than 400 rooms have the highest and least volatile occupancy rates (UNDP, 2005: 75; Secretaria de Estado de Turismo, 2007).In the accommodations industry, an impressive amount of consolidation took place in the 1980s, resulting in hotel brands under fewer and larger corporate umbrellas. Major multinational hotel chains have been involved in important acquisitions and mergers (ILO, 2001: 38). Cendant, the largest hotel chain in the world, operates 6,000 hotels with 500,000 rooms. Some major hotel Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 26 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES corporations, such as Best Western, operate in almost 100 countries (ILO, 2001: 120). Since the mid-1990s, multinational hotel companies entering foreign markets have used consolidation strategies to strengthen their position vis-a-vis local markets. Furthermore, brand-name hotels promote themselves by advertising their own products—facilities, amenities, services, and prices—more than any particular country. Because so many corporations strive for a standardized and homogeneous product, one facility is the same as any other, regardless of geographic destination. The disdain for difference and diver sity is part of what some scholars have identified as the â€Å"McDisneyization† of post-tourism (Ritzer and Liska, 1997).The promotion of industry control through monopolistic practices is also noticeable in the increasing number of strategic alliances aimed at supplying diversified products and services that strengthen the hotel corporations’ market position. 6 The ILO (2001) indicates that major multinational corporations such as Hyatt and Starwood are partnering with Microsoft’s Expedia in the acquisition of new information and communication technology. In the distribution of products and cross-marketing between food service providers and hotels, Marriott and Hilton are now linked with Pizza Hut.Strategic alliances between multinationals also include distribution and cross-promotion between financial services, credit cards, and hotels. In this area, American Express is now working with Accor Hotels and Visa and American Express are partnered with Bass Hotels and Resorts. The consolidation of hotels and transportation means that some hotels, such as Cendant, have now partnered with more than 20 airlines. Cendant’s holdings also include vehicle rental companies, online ticket sales enterprises such as Orbitz and CheapTickets, and major resort condominiums and real estate holdings.In media and entertainment, the copromotion of hotels and films has combined the resources of industry giants such as Marriott and Bass Hotels and Resorts with ESPN, Discovery, and E-Entertainment (ILO, 2001: 3). The Disney Corporation, with its Caribbean Disney Cruises that target all age-groups, has been able to create all-encompassing corporate control by combining cruises and airfare with its own private depopulated Caribbean islands. 6 Disney cruises feature Disney merchandise, entertainment, and films. Through these methods, cruises operate as the ultimate product-placement scheme.This represents a significant impact on the region on a number of lev els. Not only is the Caribbean the most important geographic market for the cruise industry (ILO, 2001) but that industry is one of the most egregious violators of labor and environmental standards (Wood, 2000). For example, the majority of its workers come from Southeast and South Asia and are paid wages as low as US$1. 55 an hour (Wood, 2000). As a deterritorialized industry, cruise lines are able to evade labor standards such as minimum wage and restrictions on overtime that are established by national laws.The interaction with actually populated islands is limited to a few hours of shopping for souvenirs. Consequently, the overall market for cruise tourism in the Caribbean translates into lower earnings for the region, since its participation in the profits is restricted to, at best, a few hours of shopping in a port community. The increasing horizontal integration of the travel and tourism industry is manifested in the computerized reservation systems, with high access charges, that have rapidly become the industry norm. Tourism services are increasingly Downloaded from lap. sagepub. om at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 Cabezas / EXCLUSION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 27 being purchased on the Internet via three main mechanisms: a computer reservations system known as Global Distribution Systems (GDS), third-party web sites such as Orbitz and Travelocity, and hotel- and airline-owned-and-operated direct booking. GDS is used primarily by tour operators and travel agents in destination countries to book not only travel and accommodations but other tourism products as well. The cost of GDS fees and technology is prohibitive for small and medium-sized enterprises.Orbitz, one of the two biggest online travel agents, is owned by the five biggest U. S. airlines—American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, and United. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings, the world’s largest travel agent reservations system, and GDS (PSTT, 2004). At an impr essive rate, consolidation and strategic alliances by multinational corporations have limited the opportunities for small and medium-sized suppliers in the tourism industry, thereby restricting access to profits to those aligned with transnational capital.With few alternatives, largely because of their lack of technological development and capital, small nation-states cannot eliminate these powerful intermediaries and deal with tourists directly. A number of other structural issues are associated with the vulnerability of Caribbean destinations and the impediments to their benefiting from tourism development. One alarming concern is the â€Å"leakage† of foreign exchange earnings in the amount of imported consumer goods required to sustain the tourism industry.As John Urry (1996: 215) explains, â€Å"Much tourist investment in the developing world has in fact been undertaken by large-scale companies based in North American or Western Europe, and the bulk of such tourist expe nditure is retained by the transnational companies involved; only 22–25 percent of the retail price remains in the host country. † A major problem is the high import content of construction material and equipment and the many consumable goods required to cater to the needs of tourists.It is difficult to bring local suppliers into the supply chain, since the goods required by tourists may not be produced locally, and, when they are, tourists tend to reject them (Ashley et al. , 2006). Another source of leakage is the repatriation of income and profits to metropolitan locations through generous tax incentives created to stimulate investment (Urry, 1996: 215). Finally, excessive reliance on one industry renders tourist destinations extremely vulnerable to external markets. Anything that weakens demand for a destination undermines the national economy.Circumstances such as the September 11 attacks and the weather can generate a considerable downturn in the tourism economy. With the acceleration of global climate change, the Dominican Republic, for example, is increasingly susceptible to more powerful and frequent hurricanes. Stronger tropical storms and the rise in sea levels could cause the disappearance and erosion of beaches? the main engine of the economy and a source of livelihood for the nation. Hurricane Noel in 2007 devastated parts of the islands, killing hundreds and generating an epidemic of leptospirosis. The minister of tourism, Felix Jimenez, reported that news of the epidemic had tainted the national image and that the images of Hurricane Noel’s destruction televised in Europe had led tour operators to cancel charter flights (Hoy, November 25, 2007). However, the majority of areas and people directly suffering from the catastrophic effects of the hurricane were those already living in extreme poverty, certainly not in tourist zones. Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 28 LATIN AMERICA N PERSPECTIVESThe government appears more preoccupied with its image than with creating an infrastructure that reduces damage. One family of five, for example, has been living in a temporary shelter since Hurricane Jeanne destroyed their home in September 2004 (Listin Diario, November 20, 2007). INTERNATIONAL TOURISM IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC While Barbados, Cuba, and Jamaica developed their tourism infrastructure in the early twentieth century to accommodate North American travelers, the Dominican Republic did not become a tourist destination until close to 70 years later.The nation’s negative image during the era of dictator Rafael Trujillo reflected fear of a violent political system. 8 The political instability that followed the U. S. assassination of Trujillo in 1961 and the subsequent invasion and occupation by 23,000 North American troops did not support an alluring image of a tropical paradise. The physical security of guests, an essential component in the packaging o f tourist destinations, could not be ensured.In 1966 Joaquin Balaguer, an old crony of Trujillo and an anticommunist ally of the United States, came to power through corruption and force. Balaguer’s regime, in concert with multilateral agencies, sought to capture the U. S. tourist market that had been temporarily displaced since the Cuban Revolution. Through World Bank loans and development packages, the productive structure of the country was transformed and its economic strategy redirected toward absorbing foreign investment in tourism. Tax concessions that amounted to more than 10 years of tax exemptions for investment in tourism development were established by Law 153-71. 10 International tourism in the Dominican Republic grew slowly at the end of the 1960s as a way of generating development without making large investments in manufacturing and technology. Since tourism relies on the packaging of natural assets, it was considered to support economic growth by using existi ng resources, such as sandy beaches, a warm and sunny climate, â€Å"friendly people,† and local arts and music (Tavares, 1993).In 1968 the Plan Nacional de Desarrollo established the outline of a strategy for the tourism sector (Castellanos de Selig, 1981). In 1971 the Central Bank established a department for the promotion of tourism development to be financed by the World Bank. Through loans and with the technical expertise of the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, in the 1970s the Dominican Republic began to move away from state-led industrialization and sugar toward tourism and free-trade zones (Atkins and Wilson, 1998).The acceleration of its incorporation into the global economy was facilitated by structural adjustment programs that, for example, devalued the Dominican peso in 1987 to help the country compete for foreign investment. Tourism rapidly displaced sugar as the main source of earnings, and by 1997 it was generating more than half of the countryâ €™s total foreign exchange (Jimenez, 1999). The government created generous tax concessions to stimulate foreign investment with the goals of producing employment, paying off the foreign debt, and generating revenue.In the long run, however, this approach failed to create sustainable development or to enhance the well-being of the Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 Cabezas / EXCLUSION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 29 majority of the population. National elites have benefited, as the increasing polarization of income indicates, but the majority of the population has been relegated to positions of servility in a competitive labor market that provides predominantly low-paid, seasonal, and unstable jobs.EXCLUSION AND MARGINALIZATION OF THE LABOR FORCE The exploitation of labor and natural resources in beachfront resorts is particularly acute on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, where the environment is showing signs of degradation due to the extensive development that has taken place in the area. Over 95 percent of the resorts operate under the all-inclusive enclave model (Departamento de Estadisticas, interview, ASONAHORES, October 2005), and over 60 percent also use time-share allocation (ASONAHORES, 2004). Enclave resorts have a reputation for being â€Å"gilded ghettoes†? egregated spaces that exclude Dominicans while providing luxury accommodations to foreigners. The resorts are small cities and, as such, are developed with all kinds of facilities (UNDP, 2005: 68). They represent foreign, exclusive spaces that keep tourists from seeing the local poverty that might make them uncomfortable and keep them from wanting to stay in the country. The latest development scheme, the 30,000-acre mega-resort Cap Cana, features four luxury hotels including the Ritz Carlton, apartments, villas, five golf courses, condominiums, boutiques, restaurants, a convention center, and a marina.This resort complex will tar get the high-end market instead of the mass tourism market that the country has sought for decades. These tourism compounds provide electricity, sewerage, paved roads, and running water for their pleasure- and leisure-oriented guests, but basic infrastructure development in the country remains chaotic, lacking planning, development, and environmental control. Shantytowns often lack plumbing, electricity, and paved roads. This neglect represents a hidden cost to the host society and a urther appropriation of social and environmental resources by foreign capital. 11 The United Nations Human Development Report for the Dominican Republic (UNDP, 2005) indicates that the tourism labor force is made up primarily of young women, over half of them younger than 39 and with fewer than eight years of schooling (UNDP, 2005: 77). The salary for tourism workers is below the national average (UNDP, 2005: 78), with women earning approximately 68 percent of a man’s salary in the industry.Women are nearly absent from supervisory and management positions. This reflects an industry norm, for, as the ILO (2001: 86) points out, women globally have little access to the higher levels of corporate management in the hotel, catering, and tourism sector. Globally, women also experience income disparities vis-a-vis men at all levels of hotel, catering, and tourism employment. They generally occupy the lower echelons in the tourism labor market, with few career opportunities and low levels of remuneration.While Dominican women experience greater vulnerability and gender discrimination in the workforce, Dominican men are displaced and excluded from employment and meaningful participation. Camilo, an informal tourist guide in his late twenties, has been working for the past 10 years in activities Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 30 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES connected with tourism. He and other guides idle outside of the Playa Dorada re sort complex hoping to befriend the rare tourist or, better, tourist group that ventures outside the all-inclusive beachfront compound on foot.The modus operandi of these well-dressed young men is to approach foreigners with multiple offers—for example, to dine with them at a typical Dominican restaurant, to show them around town, and to teach them how to dance merengue. The day that I met Camilo, he was angry to hear that resort’s management had been making disparaging comments about Dominicans during orientation meetings for their guests. He explained: I want to fight against the lack of information or disinformation about Dominicans and the Dominican Republic.I would like to have a crew secretly filming in the hotel, and I want to send that to the national media. The agents of these corporations are talking bad about us, about assaults, assassinations, and such things. We are walking guides; we provide a service. My friends and I speak different languages. Why is it that all the hotels and the travel agencies and the stores in the resorts have to use foreigners to work there? Why, if I speak German, I can defend myself in Italian, I am excellent in English? I can sell anything in German.It is something that I do not understand. If I go to Germany, they will not let me work. I used to sell horseback riding tours; now all those are owned by Germans. They are displacing us in our own country. Camilo’s statements address the massive displacement of Dominican workers. With the majority of resorts managed by expatriates, many of whom do not appreciate the cultural, social, and economic realities of the countries in which they work, locals are frustrated by the lack of respect accorded them by foreigners and the severe competition for the tourist market.Camilo had started out with a small business that took tourists on horseback riding trips and had been forced out of the market when the resorts begun offering these excursions to their guests. Such displacement has led many citizens to feel like foreigners in their native land. Most resorts keep the local populations out with security personnel and by requiring guests to wear wrist-bands during their stay. Treated like outsiders, Dominicans are turned away at the front gate unless they come as workers.This exclusion positions Dominican labor as a marginalized and deterritorialized workforce, performing roles and functions similar to those they would carry out as foreign, undocumented workers in Europe or North America. The common practice of the resort enclaves in the Caribbean region of recruiting top management and skilled labor from Western Europe and the United States means that Dominicans seldom work in positions of management or as chefs in the resorts, and, as Camilo mentions, they are even excluded from retail operations.These exclusionary practices marginalize the local population—not just the working class but also nationally trained executives and mid-l evel managers. Dominican men are relegated to service labor such as work in accommodations, reception, security, and grounds-keeping or, as Camilo does, scrape out a living in unstable and contingent activities in the informal sector. Gender also creates labor hierarchies within hotels. Dominican men are excluded from management, but gender stereotypes also give them access to positions with more opportunities for gratuities, such as bartender and luggageDownloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 Cabezas / EXCLUSION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 31 handler. Dominican women, in contrast, are employed in gender-designated positions of domesticity such as housekeeping. There are few opportunities for Dominicans to participate directly in the tourism economy. To escape this predicament, many cultivate relationships of companionship, friendship, and romance with tourists and other foreigners as a way to access the global economy, travel to the global No rth, and improve their lives.Many relationships between Dominican women and foreign men mingle intimate, affective relations with economic activity, but others emphasize payment for sexual services. While some studies indicate that Caribbean formal tourism workers have sex with tourists in the resorts (Cabezas, 2004; CEPROSH, 1997; Crick, 2001), many more reports reveal that it is people hustling in the informal economy who provide tourists with sexual and affective exchanges (Herold et al. 2001; Padilla, 2007; Gregory, 2007).In the Dominican Republic the young men are popularly known as sanky panky, heterosexually identified men who provide romance, companionship, and sex to men and women. These new sexual formations have also appeared in other touristdependent islands such as Jamaica (rent-a-dreads), Barbados (beach boys) and Cuba (pingueros and jineteros) (Hodge, 2002). Although many men are able to exploit foreigners’ fantasies of racial eroticism to enhance their life ch ances and masculinity, women who use intimate relationships with foreigners to support their households bear a heavy burden of stigma and riminalization (Cabezas, 2004; 2005). It is primarily working-class women of color who bear the burden of state-inflicted violence, harassment, extortion, and rape (Cabezas, 1999; 2005). Miriam, a 23-year-old mother of two, had one child when she met the father of her youngest, a vacationing African-American police officer from New York in his late thirties. John visits Miriam often and sends approximately US$60 a month to support his eight-month-old daughter. However, Miriam must continue to seek out relationships with foreign and local men to supplement his support.Her oldest daughter has liver disease, and the doctor visits and medication are costly. She tells me fearlessly, â€Å"From luck and death no one can escape. † Johanna, a 20-year-old single mother of two, cannot find any type of work that would allow her to support her mother a nd two children. She was fired from her job as a waitress when she got pregnant and began selling sex to foreign men who live or vacation in Boca Chica. Her aim is to meet a tourist who will provide her with travel to a foreign country. Any place is better than here,† she tells me. When I asked her if she was frightened by reports of sex trafficking or other forms of exploitation that could potentially take place in a country where she knows no one, she looked down and replied intensely, â€Å"I have to assume that risk, because here I am going to either go crazy or die of hunger. † HIV/AIDS Discussions of travel associated with work or leisure have increasingly pointed to the risks involved in mobility and HIV/AIDS. 2 Paul Farmer (1992) has argued that the HIV virus was introduced to Haiti by gay North American men vacationing on the island, and the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre indicates Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 32 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES that this is true for the Caribbean as a whole (Camara, 2001) and that the countries that are the most economically dependent on tourism in the region have the highest prevalence of HIV cases (Camara, 2001; Padilla, 2007: 171).Padilla (2007) maintains that tourism in the Dominican Republic â€Å"continues to function as an important source of new infections, exerting an ongoing influence on the scope and impact of AIDS in specific locales. † This assertion is confirmed by the UNDP report (2005: 85), which indicates that the areas with the highest incidence of HIV in the country are also those with the highest rates of tourism. However, there has been little prevention education targeting tourism-sector workers.Padilla argues that this is because of the fear of fostering a negative image that could potentially â€Å"contradict the escapism, exoticism, and consequence-free environment that compose at least part of the tourism package offered to foreigners† (2007: 172). The women informants for my study, who worked primarily with tourists, were adamant in attesting to their use of condoms and resistance to offers of unsafe sex for higher compensation. Mari explained, â€Å"This is my body; it is the only thing I can count on to support my children.I’m not going to risk everything for a few extra dollars. They can’t pay me enough. † Another woman exclaimed, â€Å"If I get sick, are they going to take care of me? Are they going to take care of my children? † These statements are representative of what many women told me; however, a few caveats are in order. First, the women I interviewed were associated with MODEMU and CEPROSH, two organizations that provide peer-to-peer safer-sex education. Also, Puerto Plata has a governmentmandated policy of condom use in sex establishments (Haddock, 2007).These women were educated and aware of the dangers of unprotected sex. Secondly, most of the women id entified with the term â€Å"sex worker,† meaning that many of their relations with foreigners were direct sex-for-money exchanges. Women who engage in less rigidly structured and more ambiguous relationships, in which the conditions of the exchange deemphasize economic factors, may take more risks to prove that they are not â€Å"from the street. † Research from the Caribbean also confounds easy assumptions about sexual identity, sexual practice, and HIV/AIDS.Padilla’s (2007) research in the Dominican Republic and that of Fosado (2004) and Hodge (2002) from Cuba testify to the difficulty of categorizing the mode of HIV transmission in these countries as â€Å"heterosexual,† given the growth of same-sex male sex work with tourists. The political economy of tourism serves as the context for straightidentified men to engage in same-sex relations with foreign men to support wives, girlfriends, and families. The notion of sex workers as vectors of disease als o needs to be reexamined. My research with 30 women infected with HIV/AIDS, who worked in sex stablishments serving a predominantly Dominican clientele in Santo Domingo, indicates that all were infected by their husbands or regular boyfriends, with whom they did not use safer-sex techniques. Thus far, all the women that I have interviewed claim to use condoms for protection with their clients and to let their guard down with regular partners. Third, many of the young single workers are internal migrants to tourist areas and are more likely to engage in riskier practices and have a less stable lifestyle (UNDP, 2005). There are few educational and prevention programs to target this population.These are two areas in which more research is needed. Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 Cabezas / EXCLUSION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 33 CONCLUSION Few viable alternatives exist to the current structure of travel, leisure, and tourism, which consign s people in the South to poorly remunerated labor. The Dominican Republic, along with other Caribbean nations, attracts foreign investment by offering a low-cost labor force, tax exemptions, and other incentives, but tourism denies the majority of its working people â€Å"decent work. 13 The squeezing of labor power and natural resources has left the country with a massive tourism infrastructure, with more than 60,000 hotel rooms, and over 3 million pleasure visitors a year (Secretaria de Estado de Turismo, 2004–2007) in an ecology of disaster. These figures continue to grow every year without concern for the quality of life of Dominicans. The majority of people are relegated, at best, to positions of servitude in low-paid jobs in the formal sector, underemployment, or unstable activities in the informal sector that include the commoditization of sexuality and affective relations.Dominicans dream of being leisure travelers, holding decent jobs, and securing a better future f or their children, but the transnational tourism industry cannot provide them decent wages and higher standards of living. Various scholars have documented the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Caribbean people in acting on the tourism infrastructure (Cabezas, 2004; Fosado, 2004; Padilla, 2007), but the opportunities and potential for significant democratization are modest or absent.Tourism may provide the opportunity for people from the global North to re-create themselves, but people from the South have access to this opportunity only through sexual exchanges that place their lives at risk. Reciprocal leisure travel is what every native needs to dispel the tropical blues. NOTES 1. Tourism and travel are considered export-oriented services. 2. Increasingly tourism is one of the world’s largest generators of jobs. The WTTC (2005) calculates that the sector accounted for 10 percent of total employment in 1997 worldwide and is expected to generate an estimated 328 million jo bs by 2010. . The UNDP (2005) is rather critical of the all-inclusive model of development in the Dominican Republic. It contends that this model offers a homogeneous product marked by the stereotypical image based on sun, sand, and sea, a tourism product with facilities that face away from local populations and one characterized by constant competition and lack of state regulation. While I support this spatially concentrated form of development and the general segregation of tourists from local populations, my point here is to express concern for the lack of human capital development of the population.Further, tourism development generally promotes a â€Å"slash, burn, and move on† approach to the environment. Leisure travel in the Dominican Republic follows the pattern of exploitation of natural resources and cheap labor prevalent in neocolonial regimes whereby transnational finance capital and local elites benefit from these structures and the local people are left to suff er the consequences. 4. According to one estimate, 33–50 percent of Internet use is based on tourism (ILO, 2001). 5. The trend in consolidation is evident in ILO’s data (2001). It maintains that in 1999 the 10 biggest companies controlled 2. 4 million rooms but by 2000 9 giants controlled 2. 98 million hotel rooms. 6. In the Caribbean, of the eight major cruise lines operating, â€Å"six own their own private islands which they include among their ports of call† (Wood, 2000: 361). 7. Leptospirosis is caused by a bacterium, Leptospira, that can be transmitted through exposure to water, food, or soil containing the urine of infected animals. The epidemic had killed 27 people by November 20, 2007. Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 34 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES 8. Trujillo was dictator from 1930 to 1961.His regime was characterized by extreme violence and repression, the massacre of 12,000 Haitians in 1938, and the ac cumulation of immense personal wealth. He created state structures and placed his cronies in offices within them to perpetuate his power (Betances and Spalding, 1995). 9. Various multilateral agencies created specialized units for the evaluation, approval, and funding of the projects of member countries. In the 1960s the Inter-American Development Bank, the U. S. Agency for International Development, and the World Bank, for example, directed their lending in Latin America toward tourism development (Monge, 1973).The Organization of American States also promoted financial resources for tourism development. All these efforts were enhanced in the Dominican Republic by Law 153, which granted tax concessions to tourism investors and corporations. Thus foreign entities took the lead in creating highly favorable conditions for foreign investment. 10. The legislation that governs these practices established an incentive system to stimulate development in the tourism sector by providing an i nitial 10-year 100 percent tax exemption on earnings, imports, and construction. 11.Environmental costs are borne entirely by the local population, since the enforcement of environmental regulations is nearly nonexistent (see UNDP, 2005: 86–87; Gregory, 2007). 12. The United Nations (2004) epidemiological report indicates that the Dominican Republic had an estimated adult rate of HIV infection of 1. 7 percent and Puerto Plata one of 8 percent. Recent reports suggest that the infection rate has been reduced to 0. 8 percent (Listin Diario, December 1, 2007), but the northeast coast continues to be one of the areas with the highest rates. 3. The term â€Å"decent work† is used by the ILO (1999: 4) to capture the notion of quality employment that can provide basic security to workers. REFERENCES Ashley, Caroline, Harold Goodwin, Douglas McNab, Mareba Scott, and Luis Chaves 2006 â€Å"Making tourism count for the local economy in the Caribbean: guidelines for good practice . † http://www. propoortourism. org. uk/caribbean/caribbean-whole. pdf. ASONAHORES (Asociacion Nacional de Hoteles y Restaurantes, Inc. ) 2004 Estadisticas seleccionadas del sector turismo ano 2004. Santo Domingo. Atkins, G.Pope and Larman Wilson 1998 The Dominican Republic and the United States: From Imperialism to Transnationalism. Athens: University of Georgia Press. Betances, Emelio and Hobart A. Spalding Jr. 1995 â€Å"Introduction: The Dominican Republic: social change and political stagnation. † Latin American Perspectives 22 (3): 3–19. Britton, Stephen 1982 â€Å"The political economy of tourism in the Third World. † Annals of Tourism Research 9: 331–358. 1996 â€Å"Tourism, dependency, and development: a mode of analysis,† in Yorghos Apostolopoulos, Stella Leivadi, and Andrew Yiannakis (eds. , The Sociology of Tourism: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations. New York: Routledge. Cabezas, Amalia Lucia 1999 â€Å"Women’s work is never done: sex tourism in Sosua, the Dominican Republic,† in Kamala Kempadoo (ed. ), Sun, Sex, and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in the Caribbean. Boulder: Rowman and Littlefield. 2004 â€Å"Between love and money: sex, tourism, and citizenship in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. † Signs 29: 987–1015. 2005 â€Å"Accidental crossings: sex, tourism and citizenship,† in Marguerite Waller and Sylvia Marcos (eds. ), Dialogue and Difference: Feminisms Challenge Globalization.New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Camara, Bilali 2001 20 Years of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Caribbean. Port of Spain: CAREC-SPSTI. Castellanos de Selig, Grethel 1981 â€Å"Bases para una politica nacional de desarrollo turistico y estategia para este desarrollo. † Paper prepared for the Second National Tourism Convention, Puerto Plata. Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 Cabezas / EXCLUSION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 35 CEPROSH (Centro de Estudios Sociales y Demograficos) 1997 â€Å"Encuesta sobre conocimientos, creencias, actitudes y practices acerca del SIDA/ETS en rabajadoras sexuales y hombres involucrados en la industria del sexo en las localidades de Puerto Plata, Sosua y Monte Llano. † MS, COVICOSIDA, Puerto Plata. Crick, Anne P. 2000 â€Å"Personalised service in the New Economy: implications for small island tourism. † Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies 26 (1): 1–20. Crick, Malcolm 1996 â€Å"Representations of international tourism in the social sciences: sun, sex, sights, savings, and servility,† in Yiorgos Apostolopoulos, Stella Leivadi, and Andrew Yiannakis (eds. ), The Sociology of Tourism: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations.New York: Routledge. El Beltagui, Mamdouh 2001 The Imposed Globalization of the Tourism Phenomenon in WTO Strategic Group: Tourism in a Globalized Society. Madrid: World Tourism Organization. Fanon, Frantz 1963 The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Press. Farmer, Paul 1992 AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame. Berkeley: University of California Press. Fosado, Gisela 2004 â€Å"The exchange of sex for money in contemporary Cuba: masculinity, ambiguity, and love. † Ph. D. diss. , University of Michigan. Greenwood, Davyd J. 989 â€Å"Culture by the pound: an anthropological perspective on tourism as cultural commodification,† in Valene Smith (ed. ), Host and Guests: The Anthropology of Tourism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Gregory, Steven 2007 The Devil Behind the Mirror: Globalization and Politics in the Dominican Republic. Berkeley: University of California Press. Haddock, Sarah 2007 â€Å"Policy empowers: condom use among sex workers in the Dominican Republic. † Population Action International 2 (1). http://www. populationaction. org/Publications/ Research_Commentaries/Policy_Empowers/Policy_Empowers. df. Harrison, David 1992 Tourism and the Less Developed Countri es. New York: Wiley. Herold, Edward, Rafael Garcia, and Tony DeMoya 2001 â€Å"Female tourists and beach boys: romance or sex tourism? † Annals of Tourism Research 28: 978–997. Hodge, Derrick 2002 â€Å"Colonization of the Cuban body: the growth of male sex work in Havana. † NACLA 34 (5): 23. ILO (International Labour Organisation) 1999 â€Å"Decent Work: Report of the Director-General, International Labour Conference, 87th Session, Geneva. † http://www. ilo. org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc87/rep-i. tm 2001 Human Resources Development, Employment, and Globalization in the Hotel, Catering, and Tourism Sector. Geneva. Jimenez, Felucho 1999 El turismo en la economia dominicana. Santo Domingo: Secretaria de Estado de Turismo. Kincaid, Jamaica 1988 A Small Place. New York: Farrar, Straus Giroux. Lanfant, Marie-Francoise, John B. Allcock, and Edward M. Bruner 1995 International Tourism: Identity and Change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. McElroy, Jerome L. 2004 â€Å"Global perspectives of Caribbean tourism,† in David Timothy Duval (ed. ), Tourism in the Caribbean: Trends, Development, Prospects.London: Routledge. Monge, Aquiles O. Farias 1973 â€Å"Fuente de financiamiento nacionales y extrajeras. † Paper presented at the Convencio ? n Nacional de Turismo Repu blica Dominicana, Puerto Plata, March 31–April 3. ? Downloaded from lap. sagepub. com at University of Sheffield on September 8, 2011 36 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES Mowforth, Martin and Ian Munt 1998 Tourism and Sustainability: New Tourism in the Third World. London: Routledge. Padilla, Mark 2007 Caribbean Pleasure Industry: Tourism, Sexuality, and AIDS in the Dominican Republic.Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pattullo, Polly 1996 Last Resorts: The Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean. London: Cassell. PSTT (Private Sector Trade Team) 2004 â€Å"Anticompetitive practices in the global tourism industry: implications for Barbados. † http://tradeteam. bb/cms/pstt/files/issues/Anticompetitive_Practices_Issue_Paper. pdf. Ritzer, George and Allan Liska 1997 â€Å"‘McDisneyization’ and ‘post-tourism’: complementary perspectives on contemporary tourism,† in Chris Rojeck and John Urry (eds. ), Tourism Cultures: Transformations of Travel and Theory.London: Routledge. Robinson, William I. 2004 A Theory of Global Capitalism. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2007 â€Å"Beyond the theory of imperialism: global capitalism and the transnational state. † Societies Without Borders 2: 5–26. Secretaria de Estado de Turismo 2004–2007 Establecimientos de alojamiento turistico en R. D. Santo Domingo. 2007 Llegada mensual de pasajeros, via aerea, por nacionalidad. Santo Domingo. Symanski, Richard and Nancy Burley 1973 â€Å"The Jewish colony of Sosua. † Annals of the Association of American Geographers 63: 366–378. Tavares, Luis L.