Health Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Health Psychology - Essay Example I held on to the biomedical perspective. Now, I realize there is more to it than just physical health. This, I realized as I mature, because I encounter several stressful moments that affect my well-being not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. Such stress makes me unable to think well. I also realize that when I harbor negative emotions, it somehow translates to physical symptoms. Now, I adhere to the biopsychosocial philosophy of health. The discussions with my peers facilitated this belief because we all had our own notions and definitions of health, but the common ground is well-being. Many factors affect the health of a person and that includes social and environmental factors. The individual is also responsible for caring for himself, and his own illness prevention. This matter falls under the area of Health Psychology. This course has defined Health Psychology as â€Å"a branch of psychology that deals with how people cope and manage illness and health behaviour† (Course Notes, Psy 4101).. The person responsible for this is called a health psychologist. He is not a medical doctor but his field of expertise lies more on psychology and how to help people manage a healthier life. I also realized that health psychologists belong to a bigger group of psychologists that do research and development in this specialized field. This, I learned when I went to the site of the British Psychological Society (2010) and they included several areas where psychological research and methods apply: I know that in each area enumerated above, there fall numerous sub-areas that contribute to the wide scope of Health Psychology, and it is amazing how it still grows upon discovery of more information. The first area, the promotion and maintenance of health involves dissemination of health education. In line with the World Health

The Bells by Allen Poe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Bells by Allen Poe - Essay Example The clanging and clamor of the brazen bells showed how the tales of terror have engulfed the world (Poe 23). The groaning and moaning of the iron bells shows how the melancholy menace of the tone has given rise to the world of solemn. In all the stanzas in the poem, the auditory and visual imagery, as well as sound and musical devices, got well incorporated. In the first section, the silver bells get considered as happy bells. The bells give cheerful and vivid sound, and visualization of the night. The rhythm of the silver bells gives rhyming sound and feelings to the poem. This stanza ends with a calm note, which makes a person listen to the cheerful tinkling and jingling of the silver bells. The theme of happiness gets well elaborated in this stanza. Fun and excitement gets well distinction by the bells. The poem also tells us that happiness could not be made by the feelings of joy alone, but it must be combined with peace and harmony (Poe 14). The second section of the poem introd uces another bell, which goes by the name golden bell. The sound of the bells still gives a happy feeling, but without hype in it. Golden bells are usually gold in color, which symbolizes beauty, calmness, and harmony. Here, the symbol faithfulness and love gets well illustrated by the turtle dove. The bells give out harmonious and pleasant sound, which flow voluminously. The theme of happiness gets well recognition in this section as the stanza ends with a cheerful mood (Poe 20). In the third section, the poem takes a turn from cheerful mood to fearful mood. Here, the bells beg for mercy, but the fire gets crazy and out of control. Repetition gets widely used in this stanza. The raging fire symbolizes the scary, crazy, and dark side of life. The bells give out a loud, repeated noise and wild uproar full of terror (Poe 18). The theme of fear gets detailed in this section. The sound of bells brings out the feeling of fear and panic. In this section, the emotions of joy and terror get well intertwined. The nightmare of fear and insanity gets well elaborated in the theme. Iron bells get introduced in the fourth section. Iron is not the most precious metal when compared to brass, gold, and silver. Hence, it symbolizes the degrading curve of happiness. Here, the bells drain terror and fills the air with solemn thought using a single melody. The bells get personified by ringing sound out of their throats. The sound of bells makes everything seem lifeless, passionless and empty (Poe 15). Rolling sound of the bells on the human heart brings out a miserable and unpleasant picture. This section ends with a sad note. The theme of death gets well explained in this stanza. Death is the most vital theme in this poem as it ends in chaos and fears. Symbols got used in the entire poem. Each bell got made from different types of metals. The value of each bell got depreciated as well the mood of the poem changed from happy to sad. Silver is a shiny and precious metal, which gets associated with joyful mood. In the second section, golden bells got used. Gold gets associated with permanence, love and wealth. Hence, the golden bells symbolize happiness, calmness and harmony. The brazen bells created scary atmosphere in the third stanza of the poem. Brass is a tough, hard and less precious metal, when compared to both the silver and gold. Brazen bells symbolize noise, fear and danger. The night also had much influence in the shifts of the moods. The

Foam Assisted Lift Technology to Improve Recovery Factor

Foam Assisted Lift Technology to Improve Recovery Factor PROCEEDINGS, INDONESIAN PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION Forty first Annual Convention Exhibition, May 2017 Foam Assisted Lift Technology to Improve Recovery Factor from Sensitive Wells, lesson learned from Total EP Indonesie Ramot Sianturi* Jodi Astorifa Anggoro* Muhammad Nadrul Jamal* Chiko Eko Jatmiko* ABSTRACT Total EP Indonesie (TEPI) currently produce ÂÂ ±1600 MMSCFD of gas from 5 major gas fields, which are Tunu, Sisi-Nubi, South Mahakam, Peciko and Tambora. Except South Mahakam and Sisi-Nubi, all other fields are mature and already in declining production. On some very sensitive gas wells, there have been liquid loading problem observed, a phenomena of inability to continuously lift liquid from borehole. The accumulated liquid increases hydrostatic pressure and eventually stop the well production. As a solution, TEPI introduced a Foam Assisted Lift (FAL) technology in 2011 as a pilot phase, and continued in 2012-2013 on more wells part of FAL trials. The principle of FAL is to generate bubbles to reduce hydrostatic pressure, through surfactant injection from surface to down-hole using capillary string (CS) set under specific well intervention arrangement. Starting from the pilot phase, TEPI have performed several improvements and development of robust down-hole equipments, operation, and also the selection criteria of candidate wells. During several phases of FAL pilots, TEPI had defined the selection method and criteria of good FAL candidates; good productivity (defined as Porosity x Net pay thickness), good offload response, condensate and liquid ratio less than 60%, and bottom hole shut in pressure higher than 1000 psi. The new selection criteria was fully implemented in 2015 campaign, and resulted in improved production in 10 wells. FAL is considered as proven technology to maintain production stability of very sensitive gas wells. Keywords: Capillary string, liquid loading, foam assisted lift, selection criteria INTRODUCTION Total EP Indonesia (TEPI) produces ÂÂ ±1600 MMscfd in 2016, it was decreasing sharply from 2010 which could produced ÂÂ ±2000 MMscfd. One of the main challenges to maintain the plateau production of TEPI is the liquid loading issue which means the inability to lift liquid out from gas wells. This liquid loading issue triggers to self killing process as shown in Figure 1. In the beginning of wells life, well produced in high gas rate and relatively dry. Through the time gas production decreases, water starts to be produced and less energy to lift the liquid. As the consequence, liquid will start to be accumulated in the borehole then eventually stop the well production. Liquid loading issue would always happened in gas wells, it just only the matter of time. To minimize and longer wells life, until recently TEPI performs regular offload by decreasing Well Head Flowing Pressure (WHFP) close to atmospheric pressure and flaring, involving substantial means such as testing barge and personnel. These offloading activities present specific risks, not only for safety, personnel, and assets, but also impact in environment from the flaring activity which results in Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, this offloading is only temporary solution to boost the production. Therefore, a continuous offloading system is required to maintain the sustainability of production. Several technologies for continuous offloading are shown in Table 1. Based on Table 1, the most possible technology to be applied is Foam Assisted Lift (FAL) through CS considering no energy required, comply with company rules, and less cost compare to others. Principal of FAL is by creating foam at down-hole to reduce the hydrostatic pressure at wellbore in order to help the lifting of liquid to surface. The process sequence of FAL is shown in Figure 2; Addition of surfactant inside the well will reduce gas-liquid surface tension The reduction of surface tension will impact to the reduction of liquid density Hydrostatic pressure will be reduce as the impact of lighter liquids density Reduction of hydrostatic pressure will give more drawdown, delta pressure between reservoir pressure and bottom hole flowing pressure (BHFP) Additional drawdown will give more gas rate production Technology FAL has been developed in TEPI in 2011 as a pilot phase and continued in 2012-2013 on more wells as part of FAL trials. Starting from the pilot phase, TEPI have performed several improvements and development of robust down-hole equipments, operations, and also the criteria of candidate selection. CAPILLARY STRING INJECTION SYSTEM Down-hole Equipment CS down-hole system is an additional tubing (injection system) that inserted inside production tubing. Even though additional CS inserted inside, TEPI still complies and respects to safety by keeping down-hole safety valve (DHSV) installed. It is mandatory to equip subsurface safety valve in onshore and offshore wells in TEPI for safety purpose as second barrier if any damage or malfunction of surface system happened. Initially the DHSV opening and closing is controlled by hydraulic pressure from control panel but after equipped with CS down-hole system, the opening and closing is controlled by surfactant pressure from surface surfactant facilities. DHSV in CS well is inserted or incorporated in a Weatherford Injection and Safety Hanger (WISH). The WISH hanger also locks the CS tubing, top and injection valve, and dual check valves as shown in the Figure 3. Dual check valves are used at top and bottom injection valve to prevent well pressure from production tubing entering the system in CS tubing and DHSV control line. Besides that, the purpose of dual check valves also to prevent reverse flow of surfactant or fluid s from wells which is potentially could cause plugging. Top injection valve installed immediately after WISH with purpose to pressurize and open DHSV at certain cracking pressure (ÂÂ ±2000 psi) then it will allow surfactant to flow to bottom part of CS tubing. Bottom injection valve is installed at the bottom part of the tubing with purpose to inject surfactant inside production tubing. Surface Facilities Surface facilities were designed to allow the surfactant injection from surface to wellbore with consideration to safety aspect, production reliability, and production availability. Whole surface facilities in CS well are shown in the Figure 4. CS surface facilities consist of several equipments as follow: Surfactant tank; Tank that used shall be made from metallic tank since based on MSDS, surfactant is consider as flammable fluid. Pump; Surfactant injection pumps type is positive displacement driven by instrument gas. In the earlier phase, installed pump is only one but due to the frequency of pumps failure, it is decided to install dual pump with philosophy one in operation and one as back-up. Pressure Switch High-High (PSHH); PSHH is installed to protect the equipment from overpressure due to blocked outlet discharge of surfactant injection line or reverse flow from reservoir. Pressure Switch Low-Low (PSLL); PSLL is installed to identify any leak/ rupture in the injection line or to identify if the pump stop working that could lead to pump cavitations. Pressure Safety Valve (PSV); PSV is installed at discharge line of pump to protect the surface facilities Surfactant Criteria that shall be considered during surfactant selection process are the foam efficiency and stability. Several laboratory tests have been performed to check and validate these two criteria. Qualifications of surfactant that been used in TEPI are as follow: The product could be used high temperature environmental ( ÂÂ ±1760C) since it would be injected up to wellbore No plugging issue cause by surfactant if injection stopped Compatible with other chemicals that injected in the flow-line, i.e corrosion inhibitor CANDIDATE SELECTION In the early phase on 2011, candidate of CS wells were selected based on the wells behavior (stable or intermittent flow), offload frequency, turner rate, and response to shut in for pressure build up (SIBU). The preliminary step for candidate selection is the wells behavior review before going in to deeper to the other criteria. A well that suffered with liquid loading could be identified by increasing of water production rate, and then followed by sudden decrease of gas production rate and decreasing of liquid lifted to surface that corresponding to the critical/ turner rate reached. The trend of WHFT also gives a good sign to do preliminary selection. Case 1 Well with Low Productivity and Low Gas Rate during offload Figure 5 is one of CS wells production evolution profile that selected based on the selection criteria above. As shown in the graph, the well still gave response to the offload that performed on October 2012 with high water production, ÂÂ ±700 bwpd but in limited gas rate, ÂÂ ±0.5 MMSCFD. This well clearly shown outflow problem as describes on liquid level column inside well based on pressure and temperature survey that given on Figure 6. CS was installed on May 2013, but there was no significant improvement in gas production even it was clearly confirmed that the well has issue in liquid lifting. Existence of water and response to offload could not ensure the successful of FAL, cut off of gas rate required to ensure the agitation and mixing between liquid and gas needs to be defined as well. Besides that, the productivity of the well needs to be checked as well. As shown in the IPR and VLP curve, well with higher productivity will give higher gain in any changes on VLP shape. Case 2 Well with Higher Condensate Liquid Ratio Figure 7 is sample of CS well that have high condensate ratio in liquid, ÂÂ ±80% of condensate in liquid. Based on the graph, gas rate production since October 2012 shown decreasing trend but still responsive to SIBU and offload (Qgas rate offload on August 2013 gave value ÂÂ ±1.5 MMSCFD). Considering the initial selection criteria, this well was a good candidate for CS, but after installed with CS, there was no significant improvement. Unsuccessful result potentially caused by the existence of high condensate rate. Since surfactant that used as FAL is water base, it would create foam if only water exist in the certain composition. If liquid consist more condensate, foam will not be created and the impact potentially will give additional back pressure to the well itself. Case 3 Well with Low Bottom Hole Shut In Pressure (BHSIP) Well in Figure 8 was installed with CS since August 2013. As shown in the graph, even though the well shown positive response in offload (Qgas rate at ÂÂ ±3 MMSCFD) and mainly produced water instead of condensate, the result after CS installation did not show positive improvement. Reviewing further from reservoir point of view, this well indicated a good productivity but the pressure (BHSIP) has been at low value. Based on the result on CS wells that selected based on criteria above (conventional approach), found that criteria above were still not capable enough to give higher success ratio. As in cases above, several parameters should be included in the selection process, such as productivity, response to offload, condensate liquid ratio, and BHSIP. Statistical approach has been performed to define the new selection that could give higher success ratio. Based on the review, parameters or criteria that could improve the success ratio are as follow: Productivity As shown in the Figure 5, more gain could be reached in the high productivity wells. The unloading of well with FAL through CS would give additional drawdown in front of the reservoirs. In the same drawdown, the higher gain would be given by the well with higher productivity. In TEPI, the productivity is represented by the height multiply with the porosity. The higher the height and porosity, the higher would be the productivity. In order to improve the success ratio of CS wells, TEPI implemented the cut-off productivity at value 250. Response to Offload FAL by surfactant does not bring any additional energy to the system. The well itself should be able to revive by itself in order to activate the foaming effect efficiently and effectively. Therefore, response to the offload is important to confirm CS candidate prior the installation. Good candidate for CS shall have an improvement in gas rate and liquid production at atmospheric pressure compared to LP. Based on review in existing CS wells, cut-off value to confirm candidate CS that implemented in TEPI is 1.3 MMSCFD in offload condition. Condensate liquid ratio Condensate is natural killer of foam. It would collapse the existence of foam. Based on laboratory test, minimum of 40% water in the liquid is still sufficient to create effective and stable foam. Therefore, the ratio of condensate and water needs to be considered as well during the selection candidate process. BHSIP BHSIP value could be used to represent reservoir pressure. Therefore, candidate for CS wells shall still have high BHSIP, it would not be too depleted reservoirs. Even though BHISP is used as one of the criteria, needs to be careful in the selection process since higher BHSIP could be also due to higher liquid column. Case 4 Well that Selected Based on New Selection Criteria New selection criteria that are included the cut-off productivity, gas rate during offload, condensate liquid ratio, and BHSIP have been fully implemented in 2015. TN-H13 is one of CS well that already selected based on this selection criteria. Productivity that represents by the value of height multiply with porosity is ÂÂ ±460 meanwhile the cut-off is at 250 Last offload that performed on August 2013 still gave value at 2.6 MMSCFD meanwhile the cut-off is at 1.3 MMSCFD Condensate ratio was at ÂÂ ±34% before CS installed meanwhile the cut-off is at 60% BHSIP based on pressure and temperature monitoring is at 1600 psi meanwhile the cut-off is at 1000 psi As shown in Figure 9, Production trend from point A (February 2014) to point B (May 2014) shown decreasing trend and limited water lifted to surface. In the end of May 2014, after reviewed based on new selection criteria, well gave significant improvement in gas rate after installed with CS. Gas production from point B (ÂÂ ±0.7 MMSCFD) increase to point C (ÂÂ ±2.5 MMSCFD) and then gave stable production. Good response to the FAL technology also given by the increasing of water rate that could lifted to surface. These new selection criteria have been fully implemented in 15 wells along 2015 and gave production improvement in 10 wells. DOWNHOLE MEMORY GAUGE As part of learning process, beside define the new selection criteria, the impact of surfactant injection rate on reduction of BHFP needs to be evaluated as well. The method to evaluate this BHFP reduction is by installing memory gauge at the edge of CS tubing. Total memory gauges installed are 5. TN-H13 is selected based on the new selection criteria and it gave positive result in gas production after installed with CS. Positive impact on the gas production could be explained in Figure 10. Performed test was by varying the injection rate through several periods. It was started with low injection rate to maximum injection rate. Stabilization period was given each time injection rate changed. The purpose of stabilization period is to have same baseline in each step of injection rate. Increasing of injection rate gave inline result with increasing pressure reduction of BHFP. At the end of the trial, surfactant injection was stopped in order to see the impact in pressure reduction of BHFP. From Figure 10, it is clearly shown that by stopping surfactant injection, BHFP would be back to initial value. Therefore, it could be concluded that the addition of surfactant obviously gives positive response to production improvement. The addition of CS gave reduction of BHFP by 160 275 psi, which means additional drawdown is given to the well that will impact to additional gas rate. CONCLUSIONS Fully implementation of new selection criteria (productivity, response to offload, condensate liquid ratio, and BHSIP) are applied in 2015 campaign. It is confirmed that the implementation could improved production in more than 10 wells. Surfactant injection inside the well that suffered with liquid is confirmed could give additional drawdown that impact to the addition of gas rate production as confirmed from memory gauge installation result. FAL is considered as proven technology to maintain production stability of very sensitive gas wells. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge permission from SKK MIGAS, INPEX, and TOTAL to publish this paper. Our biggest gratitude is also gives to all parties who provided valuable comments and inputs during the preparation of this paper. REFERENCE Lea, James, Henry Nickens, and Mike Wells. (2008). Gas Well Deliquification. 2nd Edition. Gulf Professional Publishing. Table 1. Dewatering Technologies Figure 1. Liquid Loading Phenomena in Gas Wells Figure 2. Process Sequence of FAL Figure 3. CS down-hole configuration Figure 4. Process Flow Diagram and Emergency Shut Down (ESD) system Figure 5. Production Evolution of TN-B1 Figure 6. Gradient Pressure in Shut in and Flowing Phase of TN-B1 Figure 7. Production Evolution of TN-N25 Figure 8. Production Evolution of TN-P13 Figure 9. Production Evolution of TN-H13 Figure 10. Memory Gauge Result of TN-H13

War on Terror Essay -- American History, Patriot Act

On september 11, 2001 there was an attack on America. Four airplanes were hijacked, two were crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the third crashed into the Pentagon in D.C. and the fourth got stopped by a passenger. It was the first terrorist attack on the U.S. soil. Thousands of lives were lost that day. This attach was the most devastating act of belligerence on U.S territory since the Civil War (Terrorism, 2011). This even had an enormous influence on America and its history. It led to numerous short and long term effects. On September 20, 2001, former president George W. Bush announced publicly that he declares â€Å"War on Terror†. After this announcement, our country has altered. To determine if an effect was positive or negative, determines on the view point of the person. Some of those effects include; USA Patriot Act, creation of TSA, the War, and issues soldiers have after combat and health problems of Ground Zero. However, if the effects w ere positive or negative, it still made a massive mark in our country. One major organization that was created from the attacks on September 11th that lead to the declaring â€Å"War on Terror† was the creation of TSA, Transportation Security Administration. TSA was created to develop policies to protect airport transportation and prevent aircraft hijacking. It oversees security for highways, railroads, buses, mass transit systems, pipelines and ports. Though they are mostly responsible for screening passengers and checked and carry-on luggage at about 450 airports. Different types of TSA employees are; Transportation Security Officer, Federal Air Marshal, Transportation Security Inspector and National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program. (Security, 2010) T... ...a federal office of homeland security to prevent the nation of future terrorist attacks (September 11, 2006). After September 11th and the declare War on Terror every person of power tried doing whatever they could to help protect our nation. There is no doubt that after this powerful event, important things started to dwindle (September 11, 2006). Some major issues were our economy weakened, unemployment increased, and our recession worsened (September 11, 2006). Airports had it the worse, they had to face bankruptcy, there insurance increased and they had to undertake costly overhauls of their security systems September 11, 2006). War on Terror affected our nation greatly, in different way someone was hurt by it. People tried fixing it and picking up the pieces, but some things just can’t be fixed. Time is the only way our nation will recover.

Positioning and Communication

A large proportion of overweight people have been trying to lose their weight in every possible way. However, not every attempt was successful. Due to that, the pharmaceutical industry has been developing and testing a large variety of medicines that are specifically made to help people with weight issues. One of the newest drugs on the market is Metabical, a prescription drug developed by Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP). Based on the results from clinical trials, Metabical has been proven effective for weight loss of overweight people.The question is how willMetabicalbe introduced to the market? PULL MARKETING The main idea was to advertise Metabical directly to consumers in order to increase the awareness of the product. This strategy was based on pull marketing where the purpose was to attract the customers and make them approach the supplier or seller tlrst It is not an assertive way ot marketing in comparison to push marketing where a seller calls potential customers on the telephone asking whether they would like to purchase a product they might not actually need.In 1997, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has reduced restrictions on direct-to-consumer-advertising concerning drugs. Therefore, the effect of the pull marketing was tremendously positive for the pharmaceutical industry. (Buckley 2003). It is also visible in a study made by Prevention magazine, where doctors whose patients came and asked for a medicine that they had previously seen being advertised, had the tendency to prescribe that same brand of medicine (even though they had different alternatives in mind). Following pull marketing, the strategy included: advertisements on the internet, television and radio.Moreover, print media was being distributed at the same time as the drug was being launched. This distributionwas continued in the same manner throughoutthe first year of the campaign in order to maintain the brand awareness on a high level. After the initial advertisement strategy, additional 100 000 health care pamphlets were distributed. These pamphletscontained a reply card which, if sent, would provide the sender with a sample of the product. The goal behind this campaign was to show the potential customers that Metabical is suitable for people belonging to the BMI range of 25-30.Body Mass index (BMI) is the most common index used for comparing weight and height. The calculations resents whether the weight is appropriate for the person's height. If the weight is not appropriate,the person can fall in the group of overweight or underfed (Tim J Cole 2000). As mentioned in the article, an abundanceof weight loss pills were made for obese or severely obese people. However, the group of people with the BMI ranging from 25-30 were not suitable for these pillswhich, consequently, did not have any effect on their weight loss.Additionally, CPS has developed a support programme which will not only help in weight reduction but also help maintaining the heal thy lifestyle. One of their key concepts in the campaign was: â€Å"Losing weight is tough. You don't have to do it alone. Let Metabical and your health care provider start you on the road to a healthy weight and better life. † Regarding the support programme, Printup has developed an online contest to attract more customers to buy theproduct and participate in the contest to win a prize. In this contest each user can Join in and compete with other users in reducing BMIs by the highest percentage.Not only Printup was making advertisements for consumers, she also developed a strategy to target medical community where advertisements were placed on online edical websites and also printed out in well-known medical Journals. Several events were organized especially for medical experts prior to the product launch, one of which was a roundtable discussion. In order to spread the word of the discussion, coverage of this event was done by leading news organizations.

Comparison of Matilda Cook in Fever 1793 Essay

Mattie’s Life and Changes In Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson, sixteen year old Matilda (or Mattie) Cook changes dramatically over the course of the book. In the beginning, she is portrayed to be a young selfish girl who was always too lazy to work. By the end of the book, she is shown to be a strong young woman. Her family of three consisting of her grandfather, mother, and herself runs a small coffee shop. Her family usually works relentlessly before, during, and after the shop’s hours. Their kind slave, Eliza, works just as relentlessly around the kitchens. Mattie herself has the easy job as a waitress and usually works much less than her family and slave. Even so, she never puts her heart into her work. This demonstrates how foolish and selfish she is; but just in a few weeks her world will change epically for herself and everyone around her. The yellow fever hits Philadelphia with venom and mercilessly takes away numerous lives. Unfortunately, the disease finds its way to Lucille Cook, Mattie’s mother. Mattie is forced to run away with her grandfather in order to prevent herself and her grandfather from catching it. They try to find their way to a friend’s farm, but her grandfather catches the fever along the way. In desperation, Mattie picks berries and fetches water so that she and her weak grandfather can survive until help comes. In this chapter of her life, Mattie is slowly improving on her attitude and personality. She soon gets help for her grandfather from a hospital nearby. He starts feeling better, but then she herself catches the fever. Mattie is fed and cared for the same way as her grandfather. He soon recovers and takes care of Mattie. She in time gets better and decides with her grandfather that it is time to head home. When the travelling pair reaches Philadelphia, they find objects carelessly strewn across the paths. Houses are desolate and empty; bodies pile up in the graveyard. Their own coffee house is in ruins and Mattie’s mother is not to be found. Mattie and her grandfather try to strive as long as they can. During that time, Mattie hauls in water from the well, picks and chooses in their rotten garden, and uses what is not stolen in the kitchen  for the rest of their meals. They are doing alright for the first few nights, but a few nights later, a robbery occurs that takes Mattie’s grandfather’s life away. In grief, she allows the cart for the dead to take him to the graveyard and follows it to the graveyard. There she mourns for the dead who were taken by the fever, or less commonly from robberies that took Mattie’s grandfather away. In desperation, Mattie proceeds to find Eliza. Along the way, she comes across a young orphan named Nell and brings her along. Mattie soon finds herself living with Eliza, a pair of twins, Nell, and Joseph. She works in the day and late into the night feeding the needy; until the fever takes a toll on Nell and the twins. The house is too crowded for sick individuals, so Eliza and Mattie move the children along with themselves to the coffee shop for recovery. They care for the children as best to their abilities and hope that that the ill children will last until winter when the frost could chase the fever away. Fever 1793 is a wonderful book about a young foolish girl turning into a mature and hardworking young lady. Through the course of this book, Mattie demonstrates how she can change from a selfish immature girl into a selfless, hardworking, and mature lady.

Personal wealth

Pg. 22 (1) Personal wealth relates to ethics in that wealthier people have more clout and have a much greater voice in things than someone who is just an average blue-collar person. People with wealth have the funds and resources that poor people do not. A prime example is reflected on how we live. Poor societies have poorer living conditions and live in run down polluted areas. Have you ever seen a wealthy family living in the projects? Pg 24-25 (2) Industries pollute the environment by cutting corners in production quality or waste disposal to minimize profit loss. The cheaper it is to produce an item, the greater the possible profit. It is cheaper to dump wastes in the river than to install a water treatment facility. The industry doesnt view this as unethical or immoral, they just see it as another factor that determines profitability. Pg 25-26 (3) Normal economic forces would work against pollution control because corporate decisions were based on short-term profitability rather than long-term benefit to society. This is starting to change thanks to such organizations such as CERES and other environmental groups. Pg 26-27 (4) Yes, it is unreasonable to expect a completely unpolluted environment. There is no sense to preserve the environment if the objective produces a national economic collapse. There needs to be a balance between industry and environment. Pg 27 (5) The dominant societal attitude towards resource use has been use resources more sparingly. Americans would not mind paying higher taxes for programs used to control acid rain and toxic waste dumping. Pg 22 (6) Development is the gradual unfolding, fuller working out; growth; evolution (of animal and plant races); well-grown state; stage of advancement. Preservation means to preserve from injury or destruction; a state of being or ill preserved, protected from harm. The conservation ethic recognizes the desirability of dece

Fraudulent Chats With Unlike A essays

Fraudulent Chats With Unlike A essays Your standing in the lunch line and who happens to be in front of you, but Natalie Smith, that girl you just can't stand, everything she does just irks you. Even the thought of her brings these disturbing thoughts, that can't be that healthy, like wanting to take her by her little, blonde pig tails and swing her off from the highest building, making those little rosy cheeks stained with blood, this bringing the biggest grin to your face. Being her bubbly, cheerful self, she turns around, gives you the brightest smile, and acts as if its a surprise to see you. This all follows with one of those fake conversations. Everyone has had to have one, so I am sure you all know what I am talking about. You both know you don't care for one another, but you carry on with a friendly, "How have you been? What have you been up to?" bogus conversation. I particularly hate when I bump into these people. What I rather do, is turn to them and say, "I really don't like you and I know you don't really like me, I could care less, my life will go on, I really have no reason at all to talk to you, so please... step aside!" This of course is the nice way of putting it. And its really a simple solution to get out of those miserable conversations, with the phonies that like to put on fronts. Those people that like to be nice to everyone. Saying something along these lines, would surely set these people in their places and they will come to see that maybe not everyone is a Mary Poppins sunshine 24/7. You can just be upfront, you wont have to struggle to smile to the person you most despise, you wont have to act like you care about what they did during their vacation. If they went para sailing off in Hawaii, unless the little ropes on their parachute snapped and there little, fragile body went crashing down on the cold, brisk water, instantly braking every bone in their body. Then you would not only not have to talk to them, but wouldn't even have to see their ...

A Study On Corruption In Bangladesh Politics Essay

A Study On Corruption In Bangladesh Politics Essay Bangladesh, undoubtedly, is one of the worlds most populated countries, with minimal progress because of its relatively late independence in 1971, as well as its limited resources. Bangladesh’s struggle to become an independent and developed country has been difficult, thus making it one of the poorest countries in the world. It ranks 36th in the world for having the largest portion of the population below the poverty line. Since people do not have a sufficient amount of money, they start to look for options in which they can seek personal gain, while disregarding ethical questions. Corruption is a fester epidemic in Bangladeshi society, penetrating the very fabric of the people’s lives. This prevents rich countries from effectively administrating crucial aid to poverty-stricken Bangladesh because of concerns regarding the rampant poverty. Corruption not only cripples the economic development of a country, but it also damages capital accumulation, increases income ineq uality, poverty and reduces the effectiveness of development aid.[1] Due to its geographic location, Bangladesh is subjected to many natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and tsunamis. Bangladesh’s vulnerability to natural disasters unquestionably leaves more than half the nation dependent on water, which is now their means of living. People in Bangladesh are unable to meet the basic necessities of life and consequently, this triggers poverty. More than 45% of Bangladesh’s population is below the poverty line as of 2004. Therefore, the process of poverty leads to many people going into depression. Like many other developing nations, Bangladesh faces immense challenges. It will never have a viable future because factors like corruption, vulnerability to natural disasters and poverty hinder the nation’s progress. Bangladesh is a country, where more than 40 percent of the population lives less than a dollar a day, and a factor like corruption is just keepin g its economy from improving. Global watchdog Transparency International rated Bangladesh the world’s most corrupt nation for five consecutive years since 2001.[2] It has been estimated that nearly 75% more than $35 billion dollars received since independence has been lost for corruption.[3] Many politicians in Bangladesh attain private gain secretly and are never held accountable or accused for it because of their high ranks. Even the highest officers of politics and judiciary have been tainted by the evil of corruption. Money is always used to fill up the pockets of corrupted representatives. The educated are elected through rigging, and once they have a huge say in the government, they misuse their power of authority. The increase in corruption is due to inappropriate and inadequate applications of law. There have been no effective steps or activities taken to protest crime. Evidently, it is not easy to take action against corrupt government officials hence this all encour ages them towards greater corruption.[4] Corruption is also evident because of Bangladesh’s failure to practice proper democracy. When money is infested into Bangladesh’s economy, it is never used to abolish its weaknesses and rather used unethically. Since independence, most of those who ruled the country were corrupt. In all, the absence of trustworthy and honest leadership to guide a nation is the major cause of the increase in corruption.[5]

Construction suveyour to have done layout Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Construction suveyour to have done layout - Essay Example This kind of surveying is known as an â€Å"as-built† survey and is one of the five major elements of construction surveying (Irvine & Maclennan 145). The other major elements include checking conditions prior to commencing a construction job for example, topography and existing infrastructure. The other aspect is to mark and create reference points followed by verification of the location of structures during construction. When the construction surveyor was designing the layout for a municipal street intersection in Murfreesboro area, he must have put all the factors into consideration. There was a wide range of factors that were taken into consideration, some were basic whereas others were quite complex in regards to the design and construction. First and foremost, he had to consider the type of road to be constructed. In addition, the roadway allowances. These factors determine the amount of space to be allocated for the project and the general parameters in road construction. The surveyor had to consider the safety aspect of constructing the road where it is located rather than somewhere else. This is because in road construction, the topography is a factor of the essence to determine the design of the road as well as, the flow of runoff (Irvine & Maclennan145). Another factor that may seem obvious is the availability of other infrastructure that is. the pre-existing infrastructure and the proximity to the road. Some things like electricity lines, water, and sewer lines may have affected substantially the surveyor’s decision to position the road as it is now in Murfreesboro. Simple as it may seem, things like the power lines affect profoundly the lighting of the road in that the proximity of the power lines do not determine the availability of the street lights. There are the less obvious considered factors and that still count in choosing the methodology of choosing the design. These include the likes of expected traffic on the road. The amount of

What are the advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual Essay

What are the advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual reproduction in animals - Essay Example Division of the zygote takes place repeatedly resulting to the growth of an embryo. This embryo grows inside the female or outside in other animals into multi cellular organism. As a result of the shared genetic information in sexual reproduction by the gametes, the off spring produced contains variety. This constitutes part of the advantages of sexual reproduction since the genetic variation gives the species an advantageous element of survival. Furthermore, genetic variation results to evolution of species which form better organisms (Kent, 2000). This species have better surviving traits in the unstable environments. Species which reproduce sexually have low extinction rates. This is beneficial as it ensures continuity of population. Sexual reproduction has several disadvantages. To this end, the need to have both male and female mate for reproduction is some time inconveniencing since both may not be willing (Rinkevich & Matranga, 2009). It also consumes excessive time and energy to look for a suitable partner. Moreover, there is no assurance after fertilization that the nucleus cell of male will fuse with the female cell. .Furthermore, counter-productive genetic combination conditions should be stable. Asexual reproduction involves one organism producing an offspring identical to it genetically. It requires one parent to reproduce. In single celled organisms the parent cells are split into two cells’ with equal content by binary fission. Multi-cellular organisms use a process known as mitosis to split cells into cells with equal number of chromosomes. Asexual reproduction has several advantages. One, it is very beneficial to the types of animals that stay in one area or not able to look for mates to reproduce. The fact that asexual reproduction does not need mating of female and male gives is advantageous to these animals as they are able to reproduce as they are. Another advantage, since no need to find a mate many off springs are produces

Anita Whitney Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Anita Whitney - Essay Example On her defence, Whitney distanced herself from the claims that the group or herself never intended to an instrument of violence fashioned to overthrow the government as alleged by the state (Whitney 46). Issues During the reign of governor of California, William Stephens, syndicalism was criminalized and those found guilty of it were to be charged by the state for a criminal offence. In this regard, syndicalism was defined as an attempt to replace capitalism with other economic systems through confederation of collectivized unions. Rule In the adjudication of this case, the question that was before the judges was to judicially determines if the 1919 act that enshrined syndicalism as a criminal offence in California violated the provision of the fourteenth Amendments that highlighted equal protection and due process clauses. In the ruling of the court, the judges in a vote that resulted into 9-0 arrived into a determination that it did not violate the provision necessitating Whitneyâ €™s conviction (Whitney 49).... ation of Whitney’s case was to be used as a list of authorities in this case, it culminated into the overruling of the Whitney v California case (Whitney 57). In the ruling from the United States Supreme Court, the court determined that the government could not reprimand inflammatory speeches unless it can be proved that the intent was to incite and the speech itself also has the potential to incite as alleged. Conclusion From the ruling of Whitney V California case, it will be found that the provision of the law do overlap and without critical legal evaluation of the provision of the law, determination of the cases can be very detrimental to the accused, it therefore requires full understanding of a statute and its intention before the judiciary enforces it. Illinois v Gates, 462 U.S.213 Facts In this case that took place in May 1978, the police in Bloomingdale, Illinois, did receive an anonymous letter that gave detailed information on the conduct of Sue and Lance Gates as d rug dealers. It accounted for their itinerary and how they transit drugs from one point to the next, the police then took initiative to make a follow up of the reported case with approval of the warrant to make a search on Sue and Lance from the court. When the police tracked the two, they indeed found marijuana in their car and additional drugs in the house together with other weapons. The case was taken to the Supreme Court after it was ruled that the search was against the law and that the decision of the judge to issue a warrant on anonymous tip was unlawful (Carmen and Walker 51a). Issues The issues surrounding the case were whether it was in order for the police to use a warrant based on anonymous source to conduct a search. Earlier in the Illinois circuit courts, the case had been

Fiscal Policy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fiscal Policy - Assignment Example This system allows for control of discount rates in the various district banks thereby protecting consumers. In addition, the system can be able to control money supply through easing the monetary policy through sale of financial assets to increase money supply. It can also tighten monetary policy through selling financial assets hence reducing money supply. Control via the Federal Reserve System is hence greater in terms of money supply to the economy. The Federal Reserve System monetary policy often influences the levels of spending, prices and employments through a number of means. The Reserve System main goal entails regulating money supply in the economy in order to keep unemployment and inflation low plus to promote steady economic growth. In case of inflation, purchasing power of people reduces and leads to more unemployment in a given economy. The Federal Reserve System in such instances often increases discount rates accorded to banks in an attempt to reduce the money supply in a given economy. It can also reduce money supply through buying of government bonds. In an attempt to increase spending and employment in a given economy, the Federal Reserve System often lowers the interest rates it gives to various banks. This hence results in people remaining with more money hence increasing spending. When more people spend money in buying goods and services, indicates that producers will concentrate in producing goods and services thereby creating more employment

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Strategic Management - Essay Example A bird’s eye view on the Australian wine industry, at this juncture, would be appreciable. Wines in Australia though are 200 years old, the industry was sluggish in its initial years. They have now caught pace in New-world countries that they are considered the ‘Hot Trends’ in the market. Thomas Hardy & Sons wine company, known for its quality wines, was established in Australia in 1853 and was most respected for its culture and polite values. Berri Renmano Ltd. (BRL), a co-operative and merged entity was known for aggressiveness and commercial success. Hardy group had to incur huge losses after acquiring some French, Tuscan and Italian old wineries. At the same time, BRL was also facing financial hardship, but nevertheless proposed and merged with Hardy which according to the industry analysts was not a great arrangement. Owing to the financial strength of the BRL team, BRL Hardy had more of BRL’s executives at the top notch in the merged entity while the Hardy’s executives were a bit suppressed. Irrespective of all these happenings, the group was an initial success. After the initial success, there were differences regarding the marketing and distribution of some key brands of the company between Stephen Davies, the Group Marketing and Export Manager based at the head office at Reynella, Australia and the Managing Director of U.K. management team – Christopher Carson. For instance, while Davies was planning to launch a global brand, Carson tried to develop a low price wine brand D’instinto. This attemp t was criticised by Davies citing examples of Carson’s failure in renewal of distribution agreement of Caliterra (wine brand) and disappointing launch of brand Mapocho with a Chilean sourcing. Nevertheless, Steve Millar, the Managing Director of the BRL Hardy Company as a whole understood these delicate issues and tactically dealt with both of them. Similarly, the head office was planning to launch Banrock station, a product which was a

Anita Whitney Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Anita Whitney - Essay Example On her defence, Whitney distanced herself from the claims that the group or herself never intended to an instrument of violence fashioned to overthrow the government as alleged by the state (Whitney 46). Issues During the reign of governor of California, William Stephens, syndicalism was criminalized and those found guilty of it were to be charged by the state for a criminal offence. In this regard, syndicalism was defined as an attempt to replace capitalism with other economic systems through confederation of collectivized unions. Rule In the adjudication of this case, the question that was before the judges was to judicially determines if the 1919 act that enshrined syndicalism as a criminal offence in California violated the provision of the fourteenth Amendments that highlighted equal protection and due process clauses. In the ruling of the court, the judges in a vote that resulted into 9-0 arrived into a determination that it did not violate the provision necessitating Whitneyâ €™s conviction (Whitney 49).... ation of Whitney’s case was to be used as a list of authorities in this case, it culminated into the overruling of the Whitney v California case (Whitney 57). In the ruling from the United States Supreme Court, the court determined that the government could not reprimand inflammatory speeches unless it can be proved that the intent was to incite and the speech itself also has the potential to incite as alleged. Conclusion From the ruling of Whitney V California case, it will be found that the provision of the law do overlap and without critical legal evaluation of the provision of the law, determination of the cases can be very detrimental to the accused, it therefore requires full understanding of a statute and its intention before the judiciary enforces it. Illinois v Gates, 462 U.S.213 Facts In this case that took place in May 1978, the police in Bloomingdale, Illinois, did receive an anonymous letter that gave detailed information on the conduct of Sue and Lance Gates as d rug dealers. It accounted for their itinerary and how they transit drugs from one point to the next, the police then took initiative to make a follow up of the reported case with approval of the warrant to make a search on Sue and Lance from the court. When the police tracked the two, they indeed found marijuana in their car and additional drugs in the house together with other weapons. The case was taken to the Supreme Court after it was ruled that the search was against the law and that the decision of the judge to issue a warrant on anonymous tip was unlawful (Carmen and Walker 51a). Issues The issues surrounding the case were whether it was in order for the police to use a warrant based on anonymous source to conduct a search. Earlier in the Illinois circuit courts, the case had been

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Strategic Management - Essay Example A bird’s eye view on the Australian wine industry, at this juncture, would be appreciable. Wines in Australia though are 200 years old, the industry was sluggish in its initial years. They have now caught pace in New-world countries that they are considered the ‘Hot Trends’ in the market. Thomas Hardy & Sons wine company, known for its quality wines, was established in Australia in 1853 and was most respected for its culture and polite values. Berri Renmano Ltd. (BRL), a co-operative and merged entity was known for aggressiveness and commercial success. Hardy group had to incur huge losses after acquiring some French, Tuscan and Italian old wineries. At the same time, BRL was also facing financial hardship, but nevertheless proposed and merged with Hardy which according to the industry analysts was not a great arrangement. Owing to the financial strength of the BRL team, BRL Hardy had more of BRL’s executives at the top notch in the merged entity while the Hardy’s executives were a bit suppressed. Irrespective of all these happenings, the group was an initial success. After the initial success, there were differences regarding the marketing and distribution of some key brands of the company between Stephen Davies, the Group Marketing and Export Manager based at the head office at Reynella, Australia and the Managing Director of U.K. management team – Christopher Carson. For instance, while Davies was planning to launch a global brand, Carson tried to develop a low price wine brand D’instinto. This attemp t was criticised by Davies citing examples of Carson’s failure in renewal of distribution agreement of Caliterra (wine brand) and disappointing launch of brand Mapocho with a Chilean sourcing. Nevertheless, Steve Millar, the Managing Director of the BRL Hardy Company as a whole understood these delicate issues and tactically dealt with both of them. Similarly, the head office was planning to launch Banrock station, a product which was a

Understanding the Motives and Benefits of Volunteer Vacationers Essay Example for Free

Understanding the Motives and Benefits of Volunteer Vacationers Essay With the growing trend of volunteer vacations, research has been warranted in regard to understanding the motivational factors of individuals who participate in such endeavors. With this understanding, the goal is to increase these travel offerings in the industry, which will bring better understanding between cultures. This study examines different travel motivation factors for someone who chooses to use part of their vacation participating in volunteer or humanitarian activities. Considering that ‘mission’ often has connotations of a religious purpose, the phrase ‘travelling with a purpose’ brings on even more significance as this concept expands. To understand travel motivation in general, a variety of scales and theories have been researched. Maslow, Dann, Iso-Ahola, Plog and Pearce are some included in the Literature Review. A qualitative focus group and semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted. The analysis of the data revealed that four main themes for why people traveled with a purpose emerged. Cultural immersion was a strong objective; the desire to give back; the camaraderie that occurs on volunteer vacations; and the fourth theme focused on family. Non-verbal communication and bonding occurs at several levels with the local people and family members. This is a good example of cultivating peace through tourism. Keywords: volunteer tourism, travel motivation factors, benefits, impacts Introduction The concept of ‘volunteer tourism’ is a growing trend in the tourism industry and is starting to draw attention from researchers and marketers alike (Wearing, 2003). In the United States, for instance, a broad variety of organisations offer volunteer vacations. They vary from tour operators to non-profit organisations. One of the longest published guides to these organisations, Volunteer Vacations, by Bill McMillon et al., listed only 75 such organisations in its first edition in 1987 (Campbell, 1999). In its newest edition, published in 2003, the number of organisations increased to 275. These organisations offer a wide spectrum of volunteer vacation experiences. Volunteer vacation destinations range from local to regional to global reach. Volunteer vacation costs range from $100 and under to $3000 and above, with project length from under one week to six months or more. While summer appears to be the most predominant travel season, there are packages and programmes pro vided in all seasons. Analysing how an organisation positions itself within the volunteer tourism sector may reveal factors that influence a potential tourist’s organisational choice. The organisational types of volunteer vacation experience suppliers are comprised of a mix of non-profit organisations and for-profit tour operators. Some examples 1368-3500/05/06 0479-19 $20/0  are ‘Cross-Cultural Solutions’ (www.crossculturalsolutions.org), ‘The American Hiking Society’ (www.americanhiking.org), and ‘Earthwatch’ (www.earthwatch. org). Types of projects offered for volunteers vary widely and include agriculture, archaeology, community development, conservation, construction, education and teaching, environmental protection and research, technical assistance, historic preservation, medical and dental, work camps. The nature of volunteer vacation offerings appear to be closely allied with the organisations’ respective missions and mandates. For instance, Ambassadors for Children (AFC), a not-for-profit charitable organisation based in Indianapolis, Indiana, offers global volunteer opportunities by providing trip opportunities for hands-on interaction with disadvantaged children of the world, balanced by opportunities for sightseeing and experiencing the native culture of the destination (www. ambassadorsforchildren.com). AFC has facilitated volunteer activities for passengers travelling to destinations like Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Haiti, Ecuador, Peru, Alaska, Vietnam, Belize, Guatemala, N ative American Reservations, and other communities in need. Humanity International seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world. Volunteers build houses together in partnership with families in need. Global Volunteers offer opportunities that include teaching conversation English, nurturing at-risk infants and children, renovating and painting community buildings, assisting with healthcare, and natural resource projects. Other organisations are geared more towards ecotourism such as Catalina Island Conservancy and Wilderness Volunteers, both giving back through stewardship of organising and promoting volunteer services. The commonality of the volunteer vacation suppliers appears to be the singularity of volunteering theme-focused experiences that reinforce organisations’ overall mission. Despite the growing popularity of volunteer tourism, systematic academic research in this field, particularly from the perspectives of the volunteer vacationers, is still in its infancy stage. Preliminary research appears to sugge st that volunteer tourism can take two different forms based on participants’ mindsets: the ‘volunteer-minded’ versus the ‘vacation-minded’ (Brown Morrison, 2003). The ‘volunteer-minded’ individuals tend to devote most or all of their vacation time to volunteer activities at the destination. Volunteerism is the central notion for them. This type of volunteer tourism is often called a mission or service trip. The second form of volunteer tourism takes on a lighter undertone where the individual is largely ‘vacation-minded’, but spends a small portion of the vacation on volunteer work at the destination. The term ‘VolunTourism’ refers to this type of tourism experience where a tour operator offers travellers an opportunity to participate in an optional excursion that has a volunteer component, as well as a cultural exchange with local people. These brief encounters have often proved to be the highlight of the individuals’ vacations. This latter form of volunteer tourism has gained popularity among tourists. While this classification scheme takes a simplistic approach, it provides a baseline for typology development of volunteer tourists. While there has been increasing research on volunteerism which sheds insights on motivational and destination choice factors of the ‘volunteerminded’ service trip participants, very little research has been con ducted on the ‘vacation-minded’ volunteer tourists. There is lack of conceptualisation and fundamental understanding of why individuals take part in volunteer work while  on a vacation trip. What motivates them? What benefits do they derive from the volunteer experience? What are the highlights of the volunteering experience? How do the volunteer activities influence their overall vacation experience and satisfaction? As a result, more research is warranted to fully understand this growing form of volunteer tourism. The focus of this research was on the ‘vacation-minded’ volunteer vacationers. The purpose of this study was to examine the motives that drive vacationers to participate in some form of volunteer or humanitarian activities while on a leisure vacation trip and the benefits that the volunteer tourists derive from the experience. This study also sought to broker the link between motivations for the general form of tourism and those for the volunteer vacationing. The outcome of this research was expected to contribute to better understanding of the destination choices and tourism experiences sought, thus bearing important implications for organisations that are targeting this particular market segment. Literature Review The literature review of this study was intended to provide some contextual background for the research. It centred around two key components of volunteer vacation: the tourism component and the volunteer component. More specifically, it dealt with the general leisure travel motivations and how they pertain to and interplay with volunteer tourism. Motivational scales To understand travel motivation, a variety of scales and theories have been proposed and empirically tested in tourism literature. The importance of motivation in tourism is quite obvious. It acts as a trigger that sets off all the events involved in travel (Parrinello, 2002). Many researchers have used motivational theory to try to interpret the motivations of tourists. On the premise that motivations derive from a real or perceived need, it is justifiable to analyse tourist choices of destinations and activities as a consequence of need deficiency (Burns Holden, 1995). Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’ – self-actualisation, esteem needs, love needs, safety needs, and physiological needs forms the basis for further development and applications to understand travel behaviour and demand for tourism (Maslow, 1954, 1970). The decision to visit a destination is a complex amalgam of needs, motivating an individual to set and prioritise goals in a belief that achiev ing these will satisfy the perceived needs. One of the main reasons for the popularity of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is probably its simplicity (Hudson, 1999). This hierarchy could be related to the travel industry in the sense that unless individuals have their physiological and safety needs met, they are less likely to be interested in travelling the world to make a difference. Self-actualisation can, in fact, be considered the end or goal of leisure (Mill Morrison, 2002). Vacations offer an opportunity to re-evaluate and discover more about the self, to act out one’s self-image as a way of modifying or correcting it. Echoing Maslow, Pearce (1982, 1993) suggested that travel behaviour reflected a hierarchy of five levels of travel motives. The five levels of the Travel Career Ladder are: relaxation; stimulation; relationship; self-esteem/development; and fulfillment. As with a career at work, people start at different levels  and are likely to change levels during their lifetime. Pearce explicitly recognised that tourists’ travel motivation can be self-directed or other-directed; they do not always seek the same type of f ulfillment from travel, and that people can descend as well as ascend on the ladder. To what extent tourists do so from one trip to the next, or whether this only occurs over longer time periods, is not quite as clear (Oppermann, 2000). Classifying tourists into different typologies is an approach to link psychological motives to behaviour. The earliest model that forms the basis of tourism typology theory was established by Stanley Plog (1974). He constructed a cognitive-normative model based upon psychographic types. At one end of the continuum are psychocentric tourists and at the other end allocentric tourists. The allocentrics are explorers and adventure seekers, who tend to choose remote and untouched (by tourists) destinations. Middle-centrics are likely to display characteristics of a limited adventurer, but they want home comforts. It is this group that represents the mass tourist market. Psychocentrics dislike destinations that offer unfamiliarity or insecurity. It is suggested that the psychocentric is dominated by safety needs. Dann (1977) made a significant contribution in suggesting a two-tiered scheme of motivational factors: the ‘push’ and the ‘pull’. The push factors social-psychological motives that drive the desire to travel. The pull factors are external factors that affect where a person travels to fulfil the identified needs or desires. Dann suggested that anomie and ego-enhancement were the basic underlining reasons for travel. Crompton (1979) agreed with Dann’s basic idea of push and pull motives but went further to identify nine motives for travel. They were: the escape from a perceived mundane environment; exploration and evaluation of self; relaxation; prestige; regression; enhancement of kinship relationships; facilitation of social interaction; novelty; and education. He classified the first seven motives as push factors, and the last two as pull factors. There was no mention of the need for the authenticity of the destination. Mayo and Jarvis (1981) suggested that travel motivations could be divided into four categories: physical motivations such as rest, cultural motivations such as the desire for knowledge, interpersonal motivations such as the desire to meet people, and status and prestige motivations such as the desire for recognition. In 1983, Beach and Ragheb developed a model called the Leisure Motivational Scale, which sought to summarise motivators into four components, based on the work of Maslow. The four types of components were intellectual, social, competence-mastery, and stimulus-avoidance. The most recent motivational theories are founded on very complex interactive  models, which are based on personal and situational factors (Graumann, 1981; Schmalt, 1996). Behaviours are increasingly associated with life satisfaction, or perceived quality of life (Kernan Unger, 1987). Kernan and Domzal  (2001) believe that people express who/what they are, to themselves and to others, by engaging in action–leisure activities. Swarbrooke and Horner (2003) believe the main factors determining an individual tourist’s motivation are probably: personality, lifestyle, past experience, past life, perceptions and image. Changes which occur in an individual’s life stage may also have an impact on travel motives. Having a child, an increase or reduction in income, worsening health, and changing expectations or experiences as a tourist are circumstances that will affect motivation. Swarbrooke and Horner stated that no tourists are likely to be influenced by just one mo tivator. They are more likely to be affected by a number of them at any one time. Bello and Etzel (1985) investigated the role of novelty in pleasure travel. They argued that people with a low level of arousal in their daily routines seek a higher level of arousal in their vacation (a novel trip), whereas those people who lead a hectic, fast-paced life with frequent problems and challenges seek vacations that provide a minimum of stimulation and/or a familiar environment. Similarly, Wang (2000) emphasised  that holidaymaking is an institution of escape. It is freedom from the modernised mode of existence that is associated with rigid schedules, deadening routines, and stressful deadlines. People on holiday have entry into an alternative track of tempos and rhythms. They have freedom to change. The motivation to travel is to have a specific lifestyle separate from the routines of daily life. Understanding tourism motivation is important. It acts as a trigger that sets off all the events involved in travel (Parrinello, 2002). In other words, it represents the whys and the wherefores of travel in general, or of a specific choice in particu lar. The extensive literature on leisure travel motivation provides a solid theoretical background and some guidelines for studying the volunteer vacation phenomenon in this general tourism motivational context. Volunteering and volunteer vacations Volunteering has been a buzzword for some time for many socially oriented individuals both in the US and throughout the world. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 63.8 million people volunteered from September 2002 to September 2003, an almost 7% increase from the previous year. Women are more likely than men to volunteer, and individuals between the ages of 35 and 44 years old make up the largest group of volunteers (Kellicker, 2004). Stebbins defines volunteering as ‘un-coerced help offered either formally or informally with no or, at most, token pay done for the benefit of both the people and the volunteer’. Similarly, other definitions of volunteering have included the recognition that volunteers are those who provide assistance, or unpaid service, usually for the benefit of the community (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1986). Others emphasise the characteristics of the action perceived as freely chosen, without financial gain and generally aimed at hel ping others (Stebbins, 1982, 1992; Van Til, 1979). In terms of the volunteering process, the ‘American model’, proposed by Leopold (2000) starts with what is needed and then recruits volunteers to do the work. In Europe there is a membership tradition where everything starts with the members. It is up to the members to decide what to do. Regardless, volunteering has been viewed as beneficial to the well-being of the  volunteers (Cnaan et al., 1996; Stebbins, 1982; Thoits Hewitt, 2001). Volunteering gives participants a  sense of purpose, provokes serious contemplation, encourages concern for others, provides the opportunity to further an interest, and generates a sense of deep personal fulfilment (Stebbins Graham, 2004). Stebbins (1992) suggests that volunteering bears durable benefits for the volunteer such as self-actualisation, self-enrichment, recreation or renewal of self, feelings of accomplishment, enhancement of self-image, self-expression, social interaction and belongingness. Thoits and Hewitt (2001) empi rically examine how volunteering affects six different dimensions of well being: levels of happiness; life satisfaction; self-esteem; sense of control over life; physical health; and depression. Their research reveals that people who are in better physical and mental health are more likely to volunteer, and conversely that volunteer work is good for both mental and physical health. People of all ages who volunteer are happier and experience better physical health and less depression. Broad (2003) suggested that volunteers were more open to positive attitude changes when exposed to a different culture, which may explain why volunteers frequently reported becoming more broad-minded, content, and relaxed, and less selfish and psychocentric as outcomes of volunteering, along with a changed way of looking at the world. Stebbins  (1982, 1992, 2004) has conducted some pioneering work in conceptualising volunteerism in the context of leisure. There continues to be much research in regard to serious leisure volunteers and their motivation to volunteer as well as the fulfilment they derive from their diverse pursuits. Stebbins believes that the motivational reasons and socioeconomic conditions vary vastly with different demographic categories of people taking up volunteering. Each category is rather differently motivated, but the twin motives of altruism and self-interest are common to all categories. In his consideration of ‘serious leisure’, Stebbins points out that it is an important part of people’s lives in its relation to personal fulfilment, identity enhancement and self-expression (1982). Since volunteering in many cases involves some form of travel, the phenomenon has been examined closely in the context of tourism. The term ‘volunteer tourism’ refers to tourists who volunteer in an organised way to undertake holidays that involve ‘aiding or alleviating the material poverty of some groups in society, the restoration of certain environments, or research into aspects of society or environment’ (Wearing, 2001). Volunteer tourism has also been viewed as a form of alternative tourism or ecotourism emphasising the sustainable, responsible and educational undertone of the activity (Moskowitz, 1995; Wearing, 2001). Wheelan (1991), for instance, suggested that ‘ecotourists represent a potential army of recruits with free time and money to spend on sustainable development efforts’. Further, volunteer tourism experience has been viewed as a contextual platform for the intertwining interactions among the ecotourism element, the volunteer element, and the serious leisure element (Stebbins, 1982, 1992; Wearing, 2001). Travelling overseas as a volunteer appears to have begun around 1915 (Beigbeder, 1991; Clark, 1978; Darby, 1994; Gillette, 1968). Although most of the literature in this field has focused on profiling the volunteering tourist ( Brown Morrison, 2003; Wearing, 2003), there has been increasing interest in understanding vacation volunteers’ motives and the benefits derived. Exploratory research on volunteer vacationers suggests that their motivations appear to be similar to long-term volunteers, but the relative value of various factors can differ, with  self-actualisation being very important for short-term volunteers (Gazley, 2001). Brown and Morrison (2003) propose that a volunteer vacation helps heal ‘corporate burnout’ by providing the individual with a sense of accomplishment outside the workplace. The role of peace appeared to be another discussed benefit. And, according to Bud Philbrook (pers comm), president and CEO of Global Volunteers, volunteer service engenders hope and friendship, both of which are crucial to waging peace: ‘The more people volunteer all over the world and make friends with local people, the more peaceful the world will be.’ However, alongside ‘service trips’ or ‘mission trips’, where the primary purpose of the trip is volunteering and individuals spend the majority of the trip participating in volunteer work at the destination, there is also a lighter form of volunteer vacation that is gaining popularity. Here, the main purpose of the trip remains largely as a leisurely vacation, but the tourists also spend a small component of their leisure time on volunteer work at the destination. This form of volunteer vacation, although not a new practice, has gained increasing popularity. Rather than taking up a trip just for volunteer work, these groups of individuals join leisure-oriented vacation packages that provide a volunteering component as part of the itinerary. Tourism theories and research have ranged from micro-social-psychological  explanations to macro-social explorations concerning the globalisation of tourist venues. Given the rise of volunteer tourism, tourism practitioners have begun to strategically incorporate volunteering activities into their product planning. Some market-sensitive travel companies are offering leisure tour packages with optional excursions that allow tourists to participate in volunteer work. However, empirical research for this type of volunteer vacation is very limited. Many questions remain to be answered. For instance, what motivates vacationers to spend part of their vacation working at the destination? Are their motivations similar to the service trip or mission trip volunteers? What benefits do vacationers derive from participating in volunteer activities? And what are the highlights of the volunteer experience? Does the volunteer experience enhance the overall vacation experience? This research, there fore, was aimed at further exploration of these important issues. Study Objectives The objectives of this study were threefold. They were to discover: (1) What are the motivational push factors that drive some leisure tourists to seek volunteer experience during their leisure trip? To what extent do these motives differ or coincide with the general tourism motives? (2) What are the perceived benefits that vacation tourists derive from participating in volunteering activities at the destination? To be more specific, what are the immediate impacts participacting has on the overall vacation satisfaction? To what extent does it transcend the temporal boundary and exert long-term influence on the individuals? Methods This research adopted focus group and in-depth personal interview approaches, instead of a more quantitative approach such as structured surveys. The researchers believe this is an area of investigation that is at its exploratory stage. There are no proven measurements or theories for researching this particular phenomenon. In addition, unlike traditional quantitative research, focus group and in-depth personal interviews are centrally concerned with understanding attitudes rather than measuring them. In an academic sense, the goal of a focus group or personal interview is also to gain access to more inclusive sets of feelings and emotions that a structured instrument could not capture. These research methods are more direct, sensitive, and interactive in nature in assessing attitudes, motivations and opinions. Thus, it was believed that qualitative research methods would facilitate better in-depth understanding of motivational factors of volunteer vacationers instead of merely obtai ning the distant panoramic view through quantitative channels. It was hoped that that these approaches would draw out the ‘motivational factors’ behind the ‘top of mind’ opinions – which is critical to understanding what is driving volunteer vacation. A focus group session was conducted in May 2004. The focus group was composed of nine people with ages ranging from 40 to 72: four males and five females. All were married. The focus group attendees  were from a variety of life situations ranging from an engineer, healthcare consultant, and business owner, to a retiree, stay-home mother, and community volunteer. While university education appeared to be the norm for the group, the participants’ educational background varied by level from high school education to PhD. The diversity in backgrounds of the participants was intended to reveal different insights and opinions on the volunteer tourism issue. A few commonalities brought the group together. They all had extensive leisure travel experiences. They had a shared interest and passion for travel. All had participated in volunteer work while on a leisure trip. The volunteer experience ranged from visiting an orphanage and volunteering at local hospitals to participating in Habitat for Humanity projects. The volunteering experiences occurred during leisure vacation trips but the volunteering locations varied from domestic desti nations such as New Mexico and Alaska to international destinations such as Guatemala, Cuba, and Brazil. The focus group participants were asked to share their thoughts. The discussion centred around three issues: (1) Why would an individual become involved with using part of his or her vacation for volunteering activities? What are his or her motivations? (2) What are the highlights of the volunteer experience? (3) What are the benefits and impacts of the vacation volunteering experiences? In order to separate motivational factors from beneficial factors resulting from volunteer vacation experience, we conducted a second focus group session that  was made up of three males and three females who were first-time participants of volunteer vacation. This focus group was conducted in June 2004, before the individuals departed for their first volunteer vacation trip. Both focus group sessions were video and audio-taped. Transcripts were made by a graduate research assistant who was also present at both focus group sessions. Following the focus group sessions, the researchers conducted 10 in-depth personal interviews with individuals who had participated in volunteer work on a vacation trip. The interview sessions lasted approximately 30 minutes each and were audio-taped and subsequently transcribed. The purposes of supplementing the focus group sessions with in-depth interviews were three fold: (1) it was felt that in-depth personal interview allows more time and space for personal reflection on the part of the interviewee; (2) it was logistically flexible to include and capture the viewpoints of the younger individuals that felt underrepresented in the focus group sessions; and (3) employing a multi-method approach (focus group plus in-depth personal interview), researchers could cross-validate the themes and patterns of the findings from the focus group sessions. Based on the review of literature in volunteerism and volunteer tourism, as well as the results of the focus group session, the personal interviews took on a semi-structured format with a list of 15 open and semi-open questions that centred on motivational factors and impacts of volunteer vacation. All 25 study subjects were members of Ambassador Travel Club, the largest travel club in the US, and were recruited to participate in the study on a voluntary basis. The researchers considered different approaches for the text data analysis. Text analysis software tools such as CATPAC were initially considered. However, the researchers felt that the computer-aided, more quantifying approach does not seem to handle well the complexity of language context, the dynamics of the group interaction and the richness of relationships revealed in the text data. As a result, a decision was made to use the more traditional approach of content analysis. Both researchers analysed the transcripts simultaneously but independently. The results were later compared and compiled together. This effort, while more time consuming, resulted in a more consistent interpretation of the text data and increased the reliability of the study. Results The motivator: Why volunteer while on vacation? Using the multi-method approach, four major motivational themes appear to take shape concerning why individuals volunteer while on a leisure trip: cultural immersion, giving back, seeking camaraderie and seeking educational and bonding opportunities. Cultural immersion When asked, ‘Why volunteer while on vacation?’ it was found that being able to physically and emotionally immerse oneself in the local culture and community is a strong motivational factor. It was a common sentiment from the research subjects that participating in volunteer work provided the travellers with invaluable opportunities to immerse themselves in a local culture to a degree that would not be possible without the first-hand interaction with the local people  and community through volunteer work. These volunteering experiences enable travellers to experience and learn beyond the typical tourism platform, where one is surrounded by staged settings typified by beautiful beaches and fancy resorts, to see the people as they really are, their lives and their living environment. It appeared that volunteer travellers tended to attach strong value to seeking and experiencing authenticity of a place. They also demonstrated their insatiable curiosity about other people a nd places and their belief that working and interacting with the local people and communities leads to opportunities to become immersed in local culture and connect with the local people in a more profound way. As a result, long-term relationships and friendships were built between the hosts and the visitors as testified by the participants: I’m a doer, you know. I like to do stuff for people and it gave me a chance to do that. And also, you know, as other people said, to really get immersed into the community and I think when you work with people you really can see the real aspects of the population there much more so than, you know, in a hotel lobby. And so on even if you are friendly and outgoing and so on, you just don’t get to really know what peoples’ lives are like and this gave us such an opportunity to do that and get acquainted and make relationships. Giving back and making a difference The second motivational theme that emerged was the desire to give back and reach out to the less privileged. Many participants felt that they do well in life and wanted to give back. Spending time to help people in need is a good way to just do that. ‘A trip with a purpose’ is appealing to participants because it offers them a chance to help with the less fortunate instead of pure self-enjoyment. It appears individuals who are seeking a ‘purpose-driven life’ as put by one of the focus group participants, are drawn to the notion that volunteer vacation serves as a means to give back to society. So I decided to do it because I do well in life and I like to give back. I enjoy doing that kind of work and so I think my main reason was it’s time to start giving back again.  My daughter and I went. My husband and I have been lucky enough to travel a lot, and I just got to thinking that it’s really nice to go just and lay on the beach and have people wait on you and I really enjoy it, don’t get me wrong. And we also enjoyed immersing yourself in the culture through taking bicycle trips but it just seemed to be kind of selfish, so I thought maybe it would be nice to be a little unselfish. Seeking camaraderie A third motivational theme attests to the camaraderie that is sought on volunteer vacations. For well-travelled individuals, these trips bring together the ‘most enjoyable groups’, according to half of the study subjects. Meeting and interacting with people from the same travel group who share common interests and values appear to be major motives behind volunteer vacation. Many interviewees and focus group members concurred that travelling with people with similar minds and making friends certainly added value and enjoyment to the overall leisure trip experience. ‘Working with fellow group members in the volunteer And you know you are working side by side with a lot of good people. It also shows other cultures that Americans are willing to give in a physical way, in terms of getting down and dirty. Folks from Guatemala were taken back by the fact we were working. I think it is just another way of making ourselves ambassadors for the good people in our society. Seeking camaraderie appeared to be a sentiment voiced by the majority of the first focus group as a stronger motivator for volunteer vacations. However, considering the first focus group participants were composed of individuals who had various levels of prior volunteer vacation experiences, the researchers were concerned that seeking camaraderie could be attributed more to a ‘benefit’ factor than a ‘motivational’ factor. That is, would individuals actually choose volunteer vacation because they anticipate building new friendships or was it a benefit realised in retrospect resulting from the vacation volunteer experience? The researchers conducted a second focus group with six individuals prior to their first volunteer vacation. The second focus group appeared to confirm that meeting with and having a good time with people of similar interests was one of the motivational aspects that they were looking forward to. As one participant put it: ‘It is about blending good hard work and volunteering with some fun activities wrapped around it and know that there will be some pretty neat people doing the same thing.’ Seeking educational and bonding opportunities for children The volunteer vacationers appear to be also motivated by the educational and family-bonding opportunities that volunteer vacation experience presents. In the case where volunteer vacationers travelled with their children, informants agreed that the volunteer experience was an opportunity for them to impart their value system to their children. They believed that the volunteer experience they shared with their children can teach children that there are people in the world who are less fortunate, that there is broad diversity in the world, and that material items should be of minimal importance. Informants also believe that the volunteer experience helps teach children the value of giving, an important component in life. It is  apparent that participating in volunteer work with children while on vacation is perceived as having an educational component for the younger generation as testified by one participant: Well, in conjunction with the father–daughter bonding quality time to spend with my daughter, the thing that appealed about Ambassadors for Children for me was that many of our children live in a privileged world compared to the rest of the world. And I wanted my daughter to understand the environment, the social issues, the lack of any kind of parenting that some of these children are exposed to, just to give her a better understanding of the world outside, of course, the sheltered environment that many of us live in. And Ambassadors for Children sort of fit that bill. It was something that I could actively participate in instead of serving on a committee. That attracted me to Ambassadors for Children initially and  now it is that I can have hands-on experience with the children and share those experiences with my family also. Another related, but distinct, motivational factor is seeking better bonding opportunities with children. Volunteering together with children appears to be a very good interacting context for parents and their children and/or  grandchildren. For many interviewees and focus group members, it is very important to be able to spend quality time with loved ones, especially children or grandchildren, and taking a volunteer vacation together appears to enable them to achieve that goal. A volunteer experience builds a special shared experience with children, as echoed by one father: Initially I became involved with Ambassadors for Children because I’m a father and I have daughters. And there were so many things I could do with my son athletically. I coached sports. I’m involved obviously in games and things with my son all the time. But for a father sometimes there are limits how he can interact with his daughters. So I wanted to look at something my daughter and I could do together other than going to the mall or going shopping or going to the beach. So I looked into Ambassadors for Children and that’s how I initially got involved in it. The benefits and impact of volunteer vacations It appears to be consensual among all participants that the volunteer component of the vacation became, in fact, the highlight of the total vacation experience: This personal interaction with the family, and their obvious appreciation of having a home and having people that they didn’t know willing to help them – that made the whole experience. I think again that the self-fulfillment and the memories you bring back of what happened between you and the people that you met to me are wonderful. And you think of travel and the beautiful sites you’ve seen, but the kids’ faces are the most beautiful. I think the vacation was fun! I just think it (the volunteer experience) was another element to bring to it that was even neater. It just gave you a little more culture and that puts you in direct touch with the people and that helps you talk to them a little more. It was a lot of fun. I think there’s a great number of people who are looking for new experiences. In other words you can only lay on the beach so many times, you can only stay in nice hotel so many times and although that’s good and it’s good to  get away I think people many people are looking for new experiences and here’s an opportunity for you to travel to have a vacation experience and at the same time take a small time out of that vacation experience and do something that is meaningful, and do something that last in your memory and do something that makes a difference. The volunteering component of the leisure vacation seems to have become a vacation experience enhancer in multiple ways. First, meeting and interacting with people with shared interests from the same travel group has added value to  the overall leisure trip experience. It was brought out repeatedly that participants genuinely enjoyed the interaction and group dynamics of their travel companies. This type of travel companionship and interaction appears to enhance the enjoyment of the overall leisure trip. Second, volunteer vacationers discovered that material needs were of minimal importance and the little things that happen such as the exchange of love, care, curiosity, understanding, and appreciation were the highlights of their trips. Third, in a broader sense, the volunteer vacationers became the ambassadors for their own country. The helping and commitment appeared to provide a window for international communities to understand the American people, projecting  the friendly, g enerous and helpful American image as was attested by one informant. . . . But I always want the children to know and understand that we’re from the US, that we represent American people that we’re being American interest there . . . People have done things for them that they didn’t have to do. They’ve taken their time their money and their energy to help these people. And maybe some day that will make a difference. Maybe instead of someone having bad thoughts about the US they can remember there were people that came here for me and helped me from a dental standpoint, from a medical standpoint, from a clothing standpoint, or whatever, and maybe they won’t have such a negative bias towards the US like so many people do these days. When asked whether there were any enduring benefits or impacts from their volunteer vacation experiences, the study participants also agree that the impact permeates beyond the vacation trip itself. A sense of self fulfilment and personal growth are among the most mentioned enduring effects: You go thinking you are going to help people makes their lives better. But you end up getting far more out of it than you put in. It is a real blessing. I don’t know how to put it into words but it went above and beyond my expectations I guess. What I expected to get out of it and how it still affects me today three years later and my friend that went with me how its changed her life dramatically its just one of those things that blows me away when I look back it was just a beginning point for what I can see myself doing in the future and for her as well. Another common sentiment is that the shared volunteering experience appeared to have an enduring effect on enhancing family relationships. Well its helped me to in some ways to communicate with my children that the life that they have is a very privileged life and a lot of people don’t have even the percentage of opportunity or life that they’re able to enjoy. I don’t think children get that by seeing it on television, I think children have to have a personal relationship with particularly young children have to have personal experiences to help you communicate with them. The one thing that I do notice is we have a lot of stuff around the house. We’ve collected bits and pieces. But stuff that we’ve gotten on these trips has fairly prominent locations and all of it tends to say, ah . . . that was a neat  experience. They are reminders. There’s a Guatemalan embroidery here, and a Cuban picture there, and a picture from Brazil. It’s a great shared experiences when you get back to, you know, talk about it. When we talked and shared pictures with friends and so on to remember the, you know even if we didn’t always do the same thing. We were there at the same time and saw a lot of the same things and met a lot of the same people and had very much the same feelings. That’s a neat thing to share and compare. Many informants also emphasised the realisation of the stark differences in material life: ‘how privileged we are versus them’. The transcending effect is especially apparent among the younger informants. In the individual in-depth interview sessions with individuals in their teens and early 20s, informants agreed that the volunteering experience went beyond their expectations for the trip, and impacted their lives in a profound way. For instance, several interviewees said that their future career choices would be influenced as a result of their volunteering experiences. It challenged me. It opened my eyes to other parts of the world. My passion for children and missionary work has grown. My friend who went with me is now in Uganda on a mission! It just brings you back that basic humanity with everything else stripped away, we are just the same and that is exciting and encouraging. I see them in God’s eyes. We’re all the same. We have the same needs, the same wants, the same desires and same fears. They want family just as much as I do. Discussions and Conclusion Using qualitative focus group and personal interview approaches, this study examined the motivational and benefit factors of volunteer tourism from the perspectives of vacationers who spend a small proportion of their trip volunteering at the destination. More specifically, we sought to understand what the underlying psychological factors are and whether they are similar to or different from two phenomena: (1) volunteerism – those of pure missionary or service trips where individuals devote the entire or the majority of their time to volunteer work, and (2) mainstream tourism where individuals travel for pure leisure purposes. The goal of the research was to broker the linkages between volunteer vacation motives, mainstream tourism motives, and volunteerism travel motives. The findings of this research appear to suggest some similarities as well as differences between the ‘volunteer-minded’ travellers and the ‘vacationminded’ travellers. The motivatio ns of the volunteer vacationers appear to be conforming to some degree to volunteering motives in general in such aspects as ‘personal fulfilment’, ‘identity enhancement and self-expression’ (Stebbins, 1982, 1992, 2004), ‘promoting peace’ (Philbrook, pers comm) and ‘cultural exchange’(Broad, 2003). However, this study also revealed factors that appear to be specific to the phenomenon of volunteer vacationing. For instance, volunteer vacationers appear to attach high values to the opportunities for educating children and bonding with family members. Seeking camaraderie also appears to be a strong sentiment that is reflected in both motivational and benefit discussions  among the participants. Further, volunteer vacationers seem to be driven by sense of adventure and desires for exploration and novelty, that are not as prominent with the more serious volunteer travellers. Borrowing Plog’s (1974) theorisation, the volunteer vacationers can also be labelled as allocentrics – explorers and adventure seekers, who tend to choose remote and untouched destinations. While both groups have demonstrated certain altruistic motives, the notion of altruism for the volunteer vacationers is much less apparent. Using an ethnographic case study approach, Broad (2003) examined the relationship between volunteers, their volunteering experiences and the outcomes that eventuated. Broad’s study subjects were serious volunteers in Phuket, Thailand. His study found that just under two-thirds of volunteers were motivated by an ‘altruistic desire to help’, although other motives similar to the volunteer vacationers were also present such as working with like-minded people, or a desire to develop personality as a result of volunteering. Interestingly, serious volunteers also indicated that their volunteering was at least partly motivated by a desire to travel and a chance to experience a new culture. This study also revealed some intriguing patterns of the interplay between the general leisure travel motivation and motivational factors underlining  volunteer vacation. It appears that the motivational factors for volunteer vacation intertwine with multiple layers of general leisure vacation motivation. While volunteer vacationers demonstrate that there is a definite notion of self-actualisation and authenticity, the highest level of needs as per Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, the volunteer vacationers appear to also be strongly motivated by lower-level factors such as love and social needs as well as learning needs. Another interesting observation is that the volunteer vacation motivational factors appear to follow the directional argument about self- and others-directed motivations, as proposed by Pearce (1982) in his ‘travel career ladder’ model. This investigation showed that the motivational factors were largely driven from two different aspects: sel f-directed – acquaint, learn, feel better, self-actualise; other-directed – help, connect, understand. The benefits resulting from the volunteer vacation experience also seem to align with the directional argument. They can be grouped as self-enhancement (such as becoming a better person) and other-enhancement (such as imparting values on children). This study also adds a new dimension to this post-modern tourism phenomenon and is in line with trends that mass tourism is in more of a spiritual search and a desire for travel opportunities that increase the sense of place. While the increasingly popular ecotourism experiences emphasise the notion of learning, environmental obligation and social responsibility, which breaks away from the mass commodified tourism products, volunteer vacations present an altruistic theme in which participants can make a difference and help others. What is the significance of spending only a small proportion of time volunteering during a holiday? The volunteer vacation purports an infusion of an ideological divergence from the market-driven priorities of mass tourism. This divergence, however unintentional, seems to converge well with the societal needs of the fast-paced, stress-driven contemporary world. Individuals are in fact increasingly using tourism, especially experiences with a strong spiritua l notion, as a means of improving their home life, rather than merely escaping from it. This  could explain the rapid growth of volunteer vacation as a travel phenomenon in recent years. The benefits derived from the volunteer vacation appear to be temporary or enduring in nature. Temporary or immediate benefits could be having a higher level of satisfaction with the overall leisure trip as a result of the volunteering experience. The enduring benefit effects centre around the developments of both self and others, as well as social relationship enhancement. The social interactions pertaining to the volunteer vacation domain appear to enhance relationships in a multifaceted manner: (1) Interacting with people from the destination community promotes mutual understanding and appreciation and friendship. (2) Interacting with travel group members with similar interests and values promotes friendship and peer bonding. (3) Interacting with family members, such as spouse and children, promotes healthier family relationships and tighter bonding. This research contributes to the tourism literature by brokering the linkages between the volunteering, volunteer vacationing, mass tourism vacationing and motivation to travel. The volunteer vacation phenomenon appears to bridge the altruistic motives of volunteering with the general commodified tourism experiences. In this regard, the outcome of this research also bears some practical implications for the tourism industry practitioners.  Volunteer vacation seems to provide a new avenue for tourism satisfaction. As demonstrated in this research, this concept brings about a higher level of trip satisfaction for the participants. We are identifying a new and unique market segment that is neither a pure leisure trip nor a pure volunteer experience. Implementing this concept will create authentic cultural experiences unlike any other in the industry. This philosophy and practice of volunteer tourism can be linked to the mainstream tourism with its focus on market priorities. The outco me of this hybridised approach in the global marketplace of tourism can potentially generate new market dynamics and promises while enabling every traveller to be an ambassador for peace. The authors acknowledge that while this research presents an interesting snapshot of the emerging volunteer vacation phenomenon, the generalisability of the research outcome is limited, as it is based on a small sample from one organisation with qualitative methodologies such as focus groups and personal interviews. Substantially more research is needed in this area to better attempt to understand the dimensionalities of the motivational and benefit factors of volunteer tourism and the interplay of mass tourism motives and volunteer motives. To achieve this goal and increase internal and external validities of the research findings, more stringent measurement scales will be developed based on the qualitative analyses and extensive literature review. 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