Impact of Events on Our Lives Free Essays

Event generally refers to any happening or occurrence it meaner any thing significant happened. Event Is a phenomenon, any observable or an extraordinary occurrence. Event Is great way to let member know about upcoming conferences, Events are of many kinds such as a birthday, a wedding, concerts, parties etc. We will write a custom essay sample on Impact of Events on Our Lives or any similar topic only for you Order Now Death of some one, or any other incident that has occurred. Events are not necessarily good and happening but they are bad too. Depending on their nature events effect our lives in many ways such as if something good had happened it will effect us in a positive way similarly if something bad or wrong and depressing had happened then it will have a negative effect on us. Thus events play a vital role in our lives depending upon their nature and occurrence. : â€Å"Event is something that happens or something that takes place; an occurrence, a social gathering or activity may also be termed as an event†. LIFE: As long as I remember the first event that comes to my mind is entering school and the start tot my school elite. At the age of 4 my preschool started, thus my world enlarged from my home to my school. Meeting new people and developing new relations I. E. Relearn of teacher and student, and friendship the most Important aspects of this event. Before joining school the only people knew were my family members and some other relatives but my school broadened my social circle which then included my teachers, my friends and many other people who accompanied me from my way to school and home, which predominantly include my bus fellows. Thus this event gave me knowledge, developed thinking abilities in me. And gave me a vision to enlighten my life with the power of knowledge. It gave me an understanding o meet new people. Know them and most important of all it blessed me with gift of friends who are an Important part of my life, with whom I played, shared my feelings, sometime had fights but at the end everything was perfectly fine. After 5th standard I had to move over to another school which again was another event regarding my educational life. Initially there was a fear of the new environment, new people and obviously the new class, but there was no way out rather than to prepare my self for the new school. So there came a day when I said bye to my old school and entered ewe one, here there was more strictness regarding deadlines and the load of study also Increased. But It took no time to me to adjust In the environment the major reason was again finding new friends who help me, took care of me and were always there for me when I needed them. This event my learning abilities and also developed in me sportsman sprit as during this time actively participated in sports. Then this chapter life had to close with the open of new event that was to enter collage this event again added to my experience, knowledge and skills, with the placement of colonization abilities and confidence to meet new people and face new challenges. The breathtaking event that happened during this time was the earthquake and disasters of 8th October. It shocked me from inside as I saw the demolished houses, schools and other buildings, crying mothers, yelling children and needy people, to be kind to all human beings and to have faith in ALLAH and also it strengthened my believe as a Muslim that everything in this world is temporary. There were many other events that remained a part of my academic years which are top positions in class and getting trophies as a reward. This gave me and my family a lot of happiness as well it gave me motivation to work harder and to become regular and responsible. There were many sports events which gave me pride whenever I succeed and in case of failure I learned to never be in despair but to try and try Picnics, welcome and farewell parties were also a part of this. They were again. Always a source of Joy, and they made me fresh. I am the oldest among my siblings thus the births of all my siblings were most Joyous events of my life. These events brought a sense of responsibility in me as being elder it was my duty to take care of y younger brothers and sisters. These events also taught me to be kind and gentle towards younger, and they also made me very playful, as playing with my younger siblings was and still is an important activity in my life. The yearly event of everyone’s life is the arrival of his or her birthday. So in my life too each birthday brings loads of love, blessings and happiness in my life. The wishes of my parent’s, siblings, friends and all other people make me feel their love, affection and care towards me and I feel blessed the whole year long as I have the feeling that their love ND prayers are always with me. My excitement increases many folds if someone celebrates my birthday. Other than excitement birthday brings some maturity in me as I think about the year I have passed and critically analyzed whatever I have done. I cheer upon my successes and learn from the mistakes. Marriages of my close relatives are also very exciting events. Such event give source of Joys and celebrations, moreover, there is a chance of meeting those relatives with whom I haven’t met for a long time. Thus these events remind me of our traditions and leave me fresh and happy. The arrival of Ramadan and the celebrations of two aids are also very important events in my life. In the month of Ramadan Allah showers His blessings upon us. Thus in Ramadan I have the feeling of being blessed, I abstain myself from those things that are disliked by Allah and I find spiritual peace. Aids are wonderful and exciting events, getting new clothes, meeting people after a long time, get-together and rejoicing the old memories are all part of my did. Thus my energy is boost up, I remain active and happy. One sad event that I recall is when my aunt had brain hemorrhage and is now paralyzed. I was very depressed those days and felt very bad for her. With the passage of time everything came back to normal and was l. UT the impact of this event stayed, as I learned to take care of patients, to serve and to entertain them, to make them simile so that they forget their worries and pain and get a feeling that they are not alone, people love them and care for them. There is another sad event that I remember is my aunt’s death. Her death was a shock for all of us as Just a day before her death she came to our house and spent the wh ole day with us, we had the lunch together and she talked to us for a ere long time and then after having tea with us in the evening she left. We had a great time with her and the very next day when we were talking about her suddenly we came to know about her death, this news was a great shock for all of us and none of us was ready to admit the fact that she is no more with us. Her sudden death a life that is afterwards. This event also helped me to become a good Muslim and a good human being. These were some of the vital events, I have come across and they have indeed left a mark on my feelings, behavior and response towards certain scenarios. How to cite Impact of Events on Our Lives, Papers

Business Administration Purpose of the Meeting

Question: Describe about the Business Administration for Purpose of the Meeting. Answer: Detailed Plan for the Meeting Identification of the Purpose of the Meeting The meeting is convened for encouraging franchisees to present and discuss their concerns regarding products, terms, conditions and regulations relating to marketing activities and also the availability of administrative support for conducting of sales and business operations in the franchisee units. Development of an Agenda Discussion segments of 3 hours each for issues like emergence of faulty products, lack of information regarding warranties and guarantees, planning of marketing initiatives, campaigns and programs and also the development of local regulatory bodies for administration support to the franchisees would be carried out in the meeting. Selection of Participants Sales managers and representatives from different franchisees based in different states like Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Southern and Western Australia and also Tasmania are required to be selected for conducting the meeting. A total of 50 different participants are selected for carrying out the meeting(Bible Bivins, 2011). Sending of Invitation to Franchisees The representatives relating to the different franchisees are required to be informed through the generation of online and physical mailers and also based on telephonic contacts. Booking Travel and Accommodation Railway tickets and accommodation facilities based in three star hotels are made for helping the participants travel and stay during the meeting period. Booking Venue and Catering The Conference Centre located in Main Street, Hometown is booked for conducting the meeting. Further, Australian Catering Services is booked for providing lunch and dinner to the attendees in the meeting. Coordination of Meeting Documents Effective coordination is required to be generated between the different departments like production, marketing and administrative departments for generating responses to the questions posed by the different attendees(Ahmia, 2015). Notification for the Meeting Notification To, Contact Persons Name Franchisee Name Address Pin Code, Dear Mr. /Mrs. Re: Meeting for Franchisees This is to inform you that a meeting for all franchisees is convened on August 9th and 10th 2010 at the Conference Centre, Main Street located at Hometown. The session for the meetings would commence at 9AM and end at 4PM. The meeting is conducted to generate a forum to the franchisees for helping them discuss their concerns regarding product, marketing and administration issues with the head office. Effective feedback and responses would be gained from the participants in the meeting regarding the generation of effective solutions and potential recommendations to the issues or problems faced relating to product, marketing and administration issues. Further, your valuable recommendations and insights are required for future planning and also in understanding of different initiatives that can be undertaken in future for meeting of business objectives. Your valuable presence is earnestly awaited in the meeting. Yours Sincerely, Marc Sending of the Notification The notification would be sent to the owners and sales managers of different franchisees through the use of both physical and online mailing systems. The use of online or electronic mailing systems would help in reaching the notices in a faster manner to the concerned parties. Sending of notification through use of electronic communication serves the purpose of intimating the participants beforehand about the meeting in a successful manner. Process of Collection and Distribution of Responses Allegra and Marc needs to focus on incorporating different tools and resources for collection of questions and distribution of responses to the concerned parties. The participants to the meeting can focus on registering questions on the web page of Spark Electrics while also using other mediums like electronic mails and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Applications like Survey Monkey can also be used by Allegra and Marc of Spark Electrics for collection of questions from the franchisees. Social media pages and accounts can be created by Allegra and Marc along with the development of applications for mobile phones for effective and faster collection of questions from the expected participants. Further, Allegra and Marc also needs to focus on the development of a physical mail box for helping participants to physically mail their questions through the use of traditional or conservative mailing systems(Moss Brookhart, 2012). Marc based on the gaining of questions from the different franchisees along the different modes can incorporate the assistance of Marc to generate effective responses to the participants based on the use of electronic mailing systems and also through the use of physical mailers. Similarly, questions posted on the web page and social media account of Spark Electrics can be responded straightaway by Marc and Allegra for helping the participants in gaining ready responses to the questions placed(Altmann et al., 2012). The above processes thus can be effectively used by Allegra and Marc for collection and distribution of responses to the participants. Advantages of Circulating Responses before Meeting The convenors of the meeting like Marc and Allegra are required to generate effective responses to the questions put up by the stakeholders and participants to the meeting. The generation of prior responses to the questions before the holding of the meeting contributes in generation of adequate information about the issues that would be discussed in the meeting. The generation of needed responses to the questions would also help the participants in familiarising themselves with the topics, concerns and issues needed to be discussed in the course of the meeting. The same would encourage and help the participants in gaining further resources and information to carry out the discussions in the meeting in a focused fashion. Moreover, the generation of information in a succinct and summarised fashion for the different questions posed by the participants would help the latter in understanding the objectives and considerations for carrying out the meeting. The same would thus help in genera ting meaningful discussions(Worpole, 2013). The generation of responses to the queries before the happening of a meeting also contributes in understanding the perceptions of the participants and also the chair of the meeting in a mutual fashion. The same helps in reducing the level of disagreement and thereby helps in conducting the discussions in an effective fashion. It thereby contributes in enhancing the quality of the discussions carried out in the meeting to achieve at acceptable solutions(Cloke Goldsmith, 2011). Responsibilities of a Minute Taker Allegra as a minute taker is required to carry out the responsibility for effectively recording the different discussions and decisions generated thereof in the course of the meeting. Allegra is required to reflect needed ownership and responsibility in terms of noting the minutes of the meeting. She is required to take the notes in an easily discernible fashion and also in simple language that can be understood by each and all present in the meeting. Further, the minutes of the meeting recorded by Allegra are required to be generated both in a soft and hard copy format such that the same can be stored and read by the participants attending the meeting. Further, Allegra is also required for generating copies of the minutes of the meetings generated thereof and thereby in distributing the same to the concerned parties for taking of needed decisions in a subsequent fashion. Finally, Allegra is also responsible for filing the minutes in an appropriate fashion such that the same can be u sed by the needed stakeholders at a future period(Tucker, 2013). The minute taker is required to arrange for needed resources like pen, paper, projector, computer and recording gadget prior to the meeting. Allegra is also required to generate a list of attendees that would be present in the meeting. Before the commencing of the meeting Allegra is required to circulate the copy of attendance among the members and also note the time for commencing of the meeting(Tucker, 2013). Style and Review and Approval of Minutes Style of Minute Action Points is identified to be the appropriate style of minute that need to be used by Allegra in noting down the minutes of the meeting convened by Marc for the different franchisees. Action Points as minutes refer to the noting of short notes and discussions carried out in the meeting. The discussions are noted in terms of bullet points by the minute taker in Action Points. The above style of minute essentially focus on the future outcomes or actions that need to be undertaken relating to the discussions made in the meeting. The Action Point minutes are taken in a simpler and faster manner and are accurately generated by the minute taker. Action Point minutes contribute in reflecting on the different actions that need be undertaken for aptly meeting business objectives(Tucker, 2015). Review and Approval Process The effective distribution of the minutes through the use of electronic and internet based communication systems to the potential parties encourages them to conduct needed review of the contents and thereby generate needed recommendations and changes thereof for helping in the generation of final documentation of the minutes. The minute taker is required to note down the recommendations and corrections rendered by the participants to produce the master copy that is subsequently filed for future communication. The approval of the minutes is required to be made based on the designing of an approval committee. The designing of the approval committee contributes in legalising the generation and recording of minutes(Chow, 2016). Resolving Conflicts during Meeting Marc needs to take resort of different strategies for helping in resolving the conflict or dispute that has emerged between a representative and the Administration Manager. The first strategy that can be undertaken by Marc is Depersonalisation wherein Marc tends to generate relative importance to the statements and discussions generated by both the representative and the Administration Manager thereby helping in reducing the level of conflicts. Further, Marc chairing the meeting can also encourage the representatives and the Administration Manager to further elucidate on their points through the generation of effective examples. The same would require the parties for further researching on the statements and discussions furnished to generate needed evidences for proving their point. The same would thereby help in minimising the level of conflicts(Cloke Goldsmith, 2011). Further, Marc also needs to effectively identify the underlying reason for the conflict between the Administrative Manager and the representative where the Administration Manager tends to enter into a conflict owing to having a feeling of being surpassed by a mere representative and that in turn may tend to affect his position in the organisation. Marc thus needs to focus on locating the benefits generating from the points reflected by both the representative and the Administration Manager and thereby reflecting on implementation guidelines(Prince-Embury Saklofske, 2014). The above strategies would help in generating needed importance in a mutual fashion thereby helping in resolving conflicts that tend to emerge during the process of a meeting. Report of the Meeting Outcomes The report of the meeting outcomes are required to be generated to different stakeholders like the representatives of the different franchisees and also the authorities like sales, production and administration managers of Spark Electrics. The generation of reports to the concerned parties would help them in taking decisions and planning for future actions in a concerted fashion(Cloke Goldsmith, 2011). The reports are required to be generated with a focus on updating the members or participants regarding the final outcomes and discussions generated in the meeting. The reports are also required to reflect in a unanimous fashion regarding the future actions that need to be undertaken for meeting of business and organisational objectives. The report of the franchisee meet would effectively help in generating needed information associated with understanding the process of dealing with, returning and reporting of faulty products, of developing effective marketing and sales programs for g enerating potential market presence and also the manner the franchisees would be able to gain needed administrative support for conducting of franchising activities in an effective fashion(Ahmia, 2015). The report of the meeting would also focus on understanding of different legislative and regulatory standards that need to be put into place for helping in the monitoring of the conducts of the different franchisees in meeting of business and institutional objectives in an integrated fashion. The reports are needed to be effectively circulated to the members through the use of effective communication and mailing systems both in hard and soft copy for helping in the conducting of future actions(Prince-Embury Saklofske, 2014). References Ahmia, M., 2015. The Collected Documents of the Group of 77, Volume 6. Australia: Oxford University Press, Incorporated. Altmann, J., Bauml, U. Krmer, B., 2012. Advances in Collective Intelligence 2011. Australia: Springer Science Business Media. Bible, M.J. Bivins, S.V., 2011. Mastering Project Portfolio Management: A Systems Approach to Achieving Strategic Objectives. Sydney: J. Ross Publishing. Chow, S.-C., 2016. Controversial Statistical Issues in Clinical Trials. Australia : CRC Press. Cloke, K. Goldsmith, J., 2011. Resolving Conflicts at Work: Eight Strategies for Everyone on the Job. Australia: John Wiley and Sons. Moss, C.M. Brookhart, S.M., 2012. Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for Understanding in Today's Lesson. Australia: ASCD. Prince-Embury, S. Saklofske, D.H., 2014. Resilience Interventions for Youth in Diverse Populations. Australia : Springer. Tucker, E.J., 2013. A Simple Guide to Meetings and Minute Taking. United States : Dynamic Customer Solutions. Tucker, E.J., 2015. Success Starts Here. Australia : Lulu.com. Worpole, K., 2013. Contemporary Library Architecture: A Planning and Design Guide. Australia: Routledge.

Business writing free essay sample

Similarly, your statement should be organized into sections, with each section numbered. Such presentation makes It easier for the reviewers to read and assess your statement. Tips Be specific. Dont spend your time telling us such things as Ive always wanted to attend the Foster School because I want a business degree. It is a legitimate comment but does not tell us anything distinctive about you. You define what experience means to you: something insignificant to others may have had particular significance for you. Be aware that many applicants write about similar topics so consider how yours is unique. Long does not mean better and there is no need to embellish. We do not expect to read something earth shattering in every personal statement. When you address the cultural awareness question, we want to know what has affected your perspective and what awareness you would bring to the Foster School community. We will write a custom essay sample on Business writing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We are interested in the depth of your perceptions and experiences. Proofread, proofread, and proofread. Extra spacing counts towards your allotted word count.Describe any personal or economic hardships or barriers you have had to overcome and explain how they affected your education. Be specific about when you encountered these hardships and how long they lasted. 1000 rods left of 1 000 for entire personal statement. You must enter a personal statement and it cant be more than 1000 words total. In the context of your life experience, describe your understanding of cultural differences, how this awareness was acquired, and how it affected you. 1000 words left Of 1 000 for entire personal statement. You must enter a personal statement and It cant be more than 1000 words Write about any experience you have had that demonstrates your leadership skills. Examples could be taken from: employment, community service, student organizations, or similar situations. Be specific about when you had hose experience(s) and how long they lasted. 1000 words left of 1000 for entire personal statement. How has the educational background Of your parents/legal guardians influenced your own education, especially your decision to go to college?What kind of support did you receive in making and pursuing the decision to go to college? Please tell us if you are among the first generation in your family to go to college. 1000 words left of 1000 for entire personal statement. Petition Fill out an explanation (430 words Max. ) as to why a degree in Business is necessary to your educational/career pursuits. 430 words left of 430 for agree plan petition. You must enter a petition with your degree plan and it cant be more than 430 words total. My life at Harvard summer school was quite different from that in China.Pressure from the schoolwork and cultural difference make me feel overwhelmed during the first week. In my literature lecture, strongly realize the distinctive writing styles based on the cultural difference. Before did not follow the American linear pattern of placing a thesis statement and expressed my main idea at the end of my essay. Sometimes would get lost and fail to establish the whole structure for my essay. After realizing this blind point, I went to the Widener library every night for materials on how to develop essay-writing skills.In order to adjust myself to high ?college writing quality, I visited the Harvard college writing center every week and worked with my tutor Jennifer to revise my paper repeatedly. Her constructive feedback for correction inspires me to work harder for my Literature class. Every time she let me read the whole essay out loud, then pointed mistakes I made in order to help me with the most effective way of revising. Moreover, the small size of my lecture means everyone has the opportunity to get involved in class discussion and group work.

Media Students and Vietnam essays

Media Students and Vietnam essays To many, the Vietnam War symbolizes controversy, myth and question in America. There are many events that made Americans wonder what reasons we had for putting our troops and families in Vietnam. Up till that point, many other Americans had never questioned the acts of the American government and armed forces. Issues dealt with in the Vietnam War showed great impact on the American people, particularly the students. American involvement started off very low key. Two marine battalions landed in Da Nang on March 8, 1965 (Doyle, Lipsman). They were not fighting a war yet, though a war was going on in the very country that they were in. Their job was to merely protect an air field in Da Nang, not look for trouble or initiate any kind of war tactics. But soon, holding off the enemy was not so easy for the American soldiers, and more troops were sent in. This continued on, and when May rolled around there were 46,000 American Troops in Vietnam (Doyle, Lipsman). It was at this time when American troops were then given the "permit to use more active defense," and soon after, the number soared to 82,000 American troops in Vietnam (Doyle, Lipsman). From there, the American defense quickly turned into an offense, and transportation flights turned in to rescue missions. This was about the time that Americans at home began to become worried that the war in Vietnam was getting out of hand. Small protests broke out amongst college students across America, but these began to become very serious. On April 17, 1965 The Students for a Democratic Society organized a national protest on the steps of the capitol in Washington D.C. (Doyle, Lipsman). Television coverage enraged people by misleading facts and disturbing war images of troops killing women and children. Frustration in America grew and riots and protests got out of hand as no questions seemed to be answered. Students protested and gathered, building rage against the war sp...

Article Review Cell Transfer During Pregnancy Essay

Article Review Cell Transfer During Pregnancy - Essay Example The main point in the article was that cells’ crossing the placenta is an established fact (microchimerism) but that new research is suggesting that these same cells can result in health or illnesses in both the mother and the child for a considerable time after the sharing occurred. Also that these cells can persist for an indefinite period of time and can become part of the body’s organs. There are instances when microchimerism can cause an immune attack in some individuals, but in some cases the body can actually be helped to heal through the same interplay of cells. Two examples in the paper showed an example of this. Firstly mothers who have rheumatoid arthritis can often have an improvement in their symptoms when they are pregnant, but that the condition returns after birth. This was initially considered to be because of higher levels of Cortisol in the blood of the mother, but because this phenomenon is not consistent in all cases (it doesn’t work for some women) this idea as discounted. Studies are now considering the disparity in Class II HLA’s as a possible reason for the decrease in symptoms during pregnancy. The second example was juvenile dermatomyositis. In this case transferred immune cells (mother to foetus) can result in an attack on the child’s body tissues. Another case in children is scleroderma and neonatal lupus. In both of these cases the adopted cells can cause the host body to attack the affected body tissues. The final point in the article was that this transfer could be harmful for some, and a helping aid in others. The reasons why this is the case seems to differ from case to case and more research is needed to determine how and why this happens. The transfer of cells between foetus and mother has been well documented especially in studies relating to negative impacts the mother can have the on the babies health through the ingestion of alcohol and other harmful substances. The foetus is basically plugged

The Waldens Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Waldens Freedom - Essay Example Thoreau believes that without the demands of modern life, people can be free to develop themselves as individuals. Buckner believes that the most important message of Walden is â€Å"to call people to freedom as individuals.† She stresses: â€Å"One looks at nature in order to learn about oneself; one simplifies one’s life in order to have time to develop the self fully; one must honor one’s uniqueness if one is to know full self-realization† (Buckner 4). Thoreau recommends to others that they should live simpler lives for them to be happier. A simpler life away from material needs exemplifies the idea of peace. Nature itself is filled with peace, which is the symbol of inner peace of mind. Thoreau cries out for a simplified life: â€Å"Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail† (Thoreau 395). He a rgues that a simpler life has fewer goals and priorities. People living in the woods can definitely trim their accounts to the bare minimum essentials of life. In modern life, this can refer to living simply, such using cash instead of several credit cards, so that one’s lifestyle becomes equal to one’s income. Living simply also entails eating the natural way, such as through cooked â€Å"real† food and not processed food and avoiding eating out, because dining out can be expensive when done on a daily basis. These practices will lead to a simple life with no more financial troubles.

Place Branding And Sustainable Development Marketing Essay

Place Branding And Sustainable Development Marketing Essay According to Tasci and Kozak, as an interdisciplinary area, tourism borrows and applies many aspects from other areas of inquiry; branding is one of them from the field of marketing (p.300). This chapter is to examine the discipline that encompasses literature on the place branding. It is comprised of two parts. The first part concerns with place branding and its branding initiatives, and the second part is regarding the brand image formation process of tourism destination that leads to sustainable growth of the tourism industry. This literature review is divided into several sections. It begins with a general discussion of place marketing, following on with a clear distinction regarding the term place brand and the term place branding from a marketing perspective. Moreover, place branding will be examined to illustrate the relationship of branding and in tourism literature, with various place branding context such as brand identity, brand image and brand equity. Marketing of a Place Marketing of a place is defined as a strategic planning procedures attempted by places brand developers with the objectives of satisfying the variety needs of target markets (Kotler et al, 1999). Market-a-place is able to give positive contribution to the economy of a country. However, there is a shifting from rather narrow view of economic development to broader set of strategies and plans since the past few decades (Govers Go, 2009). These strategies are aimed at attracting new businesses, strengthen traditional culture of a country, developed global trade, build tourism industry and target local and foreign investors from outside the country (Kotler et al, 2008). Furthermore, some places have transformed their informal economic campaigns into highly targeted, stylish marketing strategies aimed at building competitive markets within diverse consumer segments, targeting specific buyers, and positioning the communitys resources in order to respond to the specific buyers needs and wa nts (Maheshwari et al, 2011). Hence, many countries aim to promote economic growth by improving their physical infrastructure with high technology facilities, thereby upgrade the place image which in turn brings in more business opportunities and growth. Moreover, marketing a place is not considered to be more than just carrying out few promotional activities, but it involves specific planning initiatives that is designed to encourage the processes that would further increase a place identity and profile, therefore attractive more new inward investments, improving the infrastructure and strengthening the public and private sector services. As a result, developing an effective place marketing strategies is now considered to be the important focal point to local economic development plans (Walker, 2000). Place Brand Place brand is the peoples perception about a place, region or a country; and also the reputation of a place among those people that the place embraces (Anholt, 2005). Place brand is considered complex and multi-dimensional construct with constantly changing reputation as people will have different perceptions of a place; no matter from residents, investors or visitors. According to Anholt (2005), place brand is various individual perceptions and beliefs which coincide at some point but may have different point of view from others. Gold (2006) explain that place brand is residual perception left in the mind of recipient regarding a place after encountering its various facets either through their own experience, expose towards the media, through word-of-mouth or from purchasing of goods and services. Likewise, the worlds marketplace is currently going through the phase of globalisation. According to Kotler and Gerner (2004), place brand is considered an important requirement because of the advancement of technology, and increase mobility of people and resource in this 21st century. Moreover, the advance brand theories of city marketing, nation branding and destination marketing (Anholt, 2004) such as those applied specifically to countries, destinations, regions and cities have been developed to increase their respective images. Largely, this has been achieved by nurturing the tangible and intangible assets of a place, such as culture and heritage, aborigine architecture, local skills, prosperous communities and investments for good future growth. Place brand is thus a process that will facilitate the creation of the most realistic and most compelling strategic vision for a city, region or country (Placebrands, 2006). This is to ensure that a place can get appreciation that it deserves for its existent strengths and positive attributes and behaviours, and that the place brand gains appropriate brand equity from the recognition which those behaviours bring (Keller, 2008). Also, place brand provides a far broader spectrum of research areas if compared to those associated purely with conventional brand management, and brand strategy. It has attracted interest from the areas of sociology, history, national identity, geography and politics. Nevertheless, place brand still remains as an area that is still predominantly practitioner-led and where academic research-led knowledge has been slow to accumulate, although greater interest from academics is now beginning to develop. Place Branding The concept of place branding is consisting of many parts and elements, which requires an in-depth analysis of the literature. As such, to define the term place is essential for this research. According to Buhalis (2000), place is considered as an amalgams of tourism products, which can offer an integrated experience to the people (p.97). As a result, a place is something of like products and experiences that are available rather than geographical scale and cultural diversity. So a place can be comprised of a wide variety of diverse attributes which it can be called as a city, a country or a continent. Hu and Ritchie (1993) explained that a tourism place is a package of tourism facilities and services in which like any other consumers product or service, is composed of a number of multidimensional attributes that together determine its attractiveness to a particular individual in a given choice of situation (p.26). Indeed, a tourism place is much subjected to different individual per ceptions and thus there is a need for differentiation and competitiveness transpires. As a result, the ability to attract the tourists attention to a particular place and to spark their curiosity can be achieved by the means of place branding. Meanwhile, Hankinson (2004) defined branding in the context of a place brand as the built environment in which the various services forming part of the core brand take place (p.117). Another author Fan (2006) argued that nation branding is concern with applying branding and marketing communications techniques in order to promote a nations image (p.6). Further explanation from this author is that place branding is to promote the country or city as a destination for tourism (Fan, 2006, p.7). As a matter of fact, wide definitions have been suggested for place branding due to lack of agreement among academics (Pike, 2008). Regardless of the wide array of place branding definitions within the academic literature, place branding can best describe in this research as : (a) the set of marketing activities that support the creation of name, logo or other graphic that can identify and differentiate a place; (b) a brand that can give a memorable travelling experience that is associated with that place; (c) activities that can serve to create a branding image that positively influences consumer choice of destination (Blain et al, 2005). To differentiate a place from the rest of the competitors is a key function of a place branding. The ability to capture the attention of potential tourist to a place and to foster an emotional connection between the individual and destination is essential element of brand effectiveness (Morgan Pritchard, 2004). According to Nickerson and Moisey (1999), showing the feelings and emotions in place marketing campaigns will capture the attention of consumers, but not all will have the same feeling and perceptions. Rather than capture the feeling of consumer through photo, it would be more effective to provide visual image with feature such as mountain or sea that will allow the consumer to have the sense of relaxation, physical challenge or spirituality. To enhance successful connection between customer emotion and that particular place, a place brand must be deliverable, differentiating, conveying powerful ideas and must be enthusing for stakeholders, especially the consumer. As a resul t, if a place has the capable to market itself through positive image building, it will help to differentiate itself among other places that offering the same characteristics (Cai, 2002). Further explanation from Moilanen and Rainisto (2009) is that strong national brand must not only attract business and investments, it must also help to promote the goals of the tourism industry that will strengthen the national identity. Moilanen and Rainisto (2009) identified that brand development process takes a long period of time with time span of five to ten years, due to the numerous steps involved in the process; this include: (a) start-up and organise, (b) research stage, (c) forming brand identity, (d) making execution and enforcement plan, and (e) implementation and follow up. One of the critical elements of place brand is positioning. Positioning is establishing an image for a product or service in relation to others in the marketplace (Hudson, 2005, p.54). To attain competitive advantage in the marketplace, three steps under positioning are needed to be followed: product differentiation, prioritising and selecting the competitive advantage, and communication and delivering the position. Moreover, Pike (2008) noted the three core positioning elements for a place, including the place name, the symbol and the positioning slogan (p.299). These are important as they represent something good about a place and that help to differentiate the product from the competitors. Yet, brand logo is important as it is the visual representation of a product, service, company or a place that is being advertised. Logo should be able to achieve product identification and differentiation, as well as to raise consumer awareness and enhance recognition (Blain et al, 2005; Hender son et al, 2003). In relation to introducing a place to consumers, the logo should attract and stimulate the interest of consumer and influence destination of choice (Blain et al, 2005). Place Brand Identity According to Cai (2002), brand identity is often regarded as a missing link between branding and image building, meaning that image building does not consider the identity. In fact, Olins (2002) argued that despite of changing country names and political contexts, for example, nations have always been engaged in building their identities. Morgan et al (2002) claimed that brand thus represents the identity of a place and is likely to be relevant across markets being the core of the proposition of a country. Hankinson (2004) explained that the destination brand core, which represents an identity of a place, include a statement of brand personality, positioning and brand reality. According to Morgan et al (2002), sometimes brand identity and brand personality is termed as the same. However, Ekinci and Hosany (2006) claimed that brand personality is dealing with human traits and thus is different from identity. Research on tourism has traditionally drawn from economic and cultural geography. Approaches inspired by cultural geography view identity as an essence of nationhood or community (Palmer, 1999; Ballesteros Ramirez, 2007). Sometimes, marketing and culturally inspired approaches to identity may seem contradictory, because some perspectives see branding as a sense of place, detracting from a countrys essence and superficially commodifying nationhood. However, both of these approaches seem to view identity as a reality of a destination or restricted as an expression of a brand personality (Cornelissen Harris, 2001). Drawing from identity discussions in marketing and organisational literature, the attempts to a more holistic aspect towards destination identity have occurred. According to Berry (2000), brand identity is not only customers dominant perceptions of the brand, but also constructed in an ongoing relationship with the brand, and adding meaning or value to the consumer. Tourists and also residents defined meanings of places by being at places, by consuming and by interacting with others at the place and thereby forming a social communication system (Snepenger et al, 2004). Williams et al (2006) explained that brand identity is determined by the visitors values and how well they align with the experiences that they have encountered. This view emphasises visitors perspective as the source of place brand identity. To conclude, these approaches seem to view a place identity being not something that a destination has but something that will engage in social interaction. In the corporate identity studies, the focus has expanded to employees and other stakeholders besides the customers (He Balmer, 2007). Leitch and Richardson (2003) claimed that the understanding of stakeholders towards the organisation identity is continuously evolving in an unpredictable process and thus corporate brand is considered to be the outcome of an interactive process with stakeholders. Stakeholders may not only involving customers or visitors but also local people, associations, politicians etc. Hence, place identity is identified as originating in the interaction by all components, characteristics and stakeholders of a place. Moreover, in the branding context, place identity and brand identity are in identical context, as customer-centric view sees the place brand identity as a perceptual entity in the customers mind, and the destination-centric view defines brand identity in terms of how the brand owners want the brand to be seen (Kavaratzis Ashworth, 2006). Place Brand Image How people perceive a country or a specific region is developed based on individual basis. As such, how perceived images can be created will solely depends on personal beliefs and demographic factors. According to Pike (2008), the research area related to place image has been studied in the literature of tourism in more than 30 years. Richardson and Crompton (1988) claimed that place image is dictated through income and is reflected towards the attributes of vacation. Kozak (2002) noted a variety of factors that may have influence on choice of destination in terms of place image income, age, personality, distance, risk and motivation. Further research is that people perception towards place image will be influence by information source from various media outlets. From the advertising perspective, the challenge would be to capture images that most likely enhancing an image of that particular destination, motivation towards purchase decision and induce visitation (Butler Bennett, 200 8). Anholt (2004) explained that in order to develop an individuals perception of a place will be depending upon six areas, based on National Brand Hexagon: tourism, exports, governance, investment and immigration, culture heritage, and people. Therefore, how a tourist perceives a place is not only influenced by information sources, but will also influenced by the policies and national identity of that country. There are broad ranges of meanings for the term image and the concepts of place image have been introduced within the academic literature (Cai, 2002; Gali Donaire, 2005; Goodall, 1992). The American Marketing Association (2009) defined brand image as how a brand is perceived in the mind of a consumer, and it is what consumers think, feel and expect about a product. Consequentially, emotional connection in between people and the projected product image is interrelated that will influence their buying behaviour. With regards to image of a place rather than a tangible product, the term place image is defined by Buhalis (2000) as what a traveller expect and perceive towards a destination or a place. Cai (2002) noted that place image are subjective introspections that are held in the mind of the visitor and that illustrate the complexity of a place brand which requires the need to market specific attributes in order to reduce further ambiguity by tourists. To go to a larger extent, the i mage formation process can be further influence by a promoted place personality. According to Ekinci and Hosany (2006), a place personality is the set of human characteristics in accordance to a place as perceived by tourist rather than from a local resident viewpoint. It is important to identify the personality traits of visitor as there are possible emotional connection between tourist and a particular place. It can be argued that there is a possibility that the place image can be perceived differently based on the type of traveller involved in. For example, a perception of a place by business tourists may have different perceptions by adventure tourists towards a particular place. Added by Bigne et al (2001) is that image will influence a tourist in the process of choosing a stay, the subsequent evaluation of that stay and his or her future intentions of whether he or she will come back to the place again. As a result, place image has a significant function as a place can influen ce the tourist prior to travel, throughout travel by means of their behaviour, and upon return after their travel experience. Regardless of the place brand being marketed, a place image is often changed by personal stereotypes, past experiences or word-of-mouth. Therefore, even though different types of tourist might view a place differently, it is still an integral part for a place to have the initiative to market the place effectively; as this will minimise unsecure feeling among the potential tourists and enhance the identity of that place. Place Brand Equity In the economic context, brand equity is a term defined as the brand value as determined by the consumers, usually in a measurement of performance (Aaker Biel, 1993; Pike, 2008). Brand equity is usually comprised of five assets name awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, brand loyalty and other proprietary brand assets (Asker Biel, 1993). How successful a product or service will be looking at brand equity, as it is considered the last stage in branding process; whereby consumers will be loyal to that particular product or service in long-term period of time. However, for place branding, especially in the tourism context, the measurement of product brand equity as mentioned earlier is ineffective due to the intangibility of the brand itself; as a result, consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) was introduced. CBBE is termed as the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand, and is made up of two underlying attributes brand aware ness and brand image (Keller, 1993, p.8). However, Pike (2008) suggested another four attributes for CBBE: brand awareness, brand associations, brand resonance and brand loyalty. It can be explained that brand equity is depending on how consumers are aware of the brand itself (brand awareness), as what the previous researchers have agreed upon. Essentially, increased brand awareness and having positive image will lead to increase consumers choice and lastly to increase tourist arrivals due to effective marketing of the brand (Keller, 1993). More likely, tourist will revisit the place again in the future and spread good things about the place. Added by this researcher is that there are two different approaches to measuring CBBE, namely the indirect and direct approach. The indirect approach attempts to assess potential source of CBBE through brand knowledge measurement, while the direct approach attempts to measure CBBE more directly by assessing the brand knowledge of consumer throu gh responses of different elements of marketing program. Hence, consumers ability to be able to recognise with a place brand and make associations is a determinant of how effective is the marketing campaign. Aaker (1991) explained that there are 11 types of brand associations: product attributes, intangibles, customer benefits, price, application, customer, celebrity, lifestyle/personality, product class, competitors and country/geographical area (p.114). These associations can help the consumer to relate the brand to specific attributes, therefore increasing brand awareness and to recall the brand information. As a result, the greater the ability consumer can make these associations, the greater likelihood that success can be placed on the marketing initiatives. Place Branding and Sustainable Development Campbell (1996) claimed that sustainable development is comprises of elusive elements that represent three areas: development, property and resource conflicts of conventional planning strategy, around which are the key planning goals such as economic growth, social harmony, employment and financial relief and environmental protection. As such, sustainable development involves reformation and restricting of local economic and political policies to regeneration and planning activities all with the aim to have success growth in the future. Meanwhile, to achieve ongoing local development from a places perspective is to consider hosting large events (Andranovich et al, 2001) such as Olympic through the mega-event strategy, like South Korea (1988), Australia (2000) or China (2008). Studies on places that had hosted or were about to host these games had provide to provide some direct benefits such as infrastructure development, improved economical and political support. This can show that such mega-events can have positive impacts on brand image and the ability to increase future economic growth of a place that leads to sustainable development of the place. Nevertheless, there are few uncertainties associated with place branding campaigns (might be due to limited funding and tangible resources) which seek to have low raising awareness and limits the differentiation of place branding process to the mere propagation of logos and symbols (Hankinson, 2001). Added by him is that places that have successful attracting appropriate resources have however, successful in developing positive brand images; for instance, resources such as heritage and history and attractive place-specific facets. Generally, the development of positive brand images such as these has led to the successful transformation of several post-industrial cities, such as Seoul, Beijing, Bangkok into vibrant leisure and business tourism destinations which reflect sustainable development and continuous growth aspects (Ward, 1998). As such, there is very little evidence that place branding are essential drivers of sustainable development of a place. However, according to Pedersen (2004), there were few publications suggested there is a link between successful place branding and sustainability. For example, in a survey in 2002 commissioned by the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board, Singapore was seen, by a broad selection of selection of travellers and tourist agents from USA, Japan, India, Germany, Australia, UK and Sweden as clean, modern and safe. Chinas dominant image and attraction was culture. Whereas Thailand had a brand image of exotic, fun and friendly people. Tourism as an Economic Development Tourism has contributed to the economic growth of a country, and is considered the most profit-making industry. Yet, the tourism market has the ability to transform an emerging place both positively and negatively. Tourism industry itself has variety of sub-sectors that can cater to different tourists demands. According to Hudson (2005), tourism is a powerful economic force that is able to provide employment, foreign exchange, income and tax revenue (p.4). This identifies that tourism development is a powerful tool for change and cause for rapid global transformation. The interest gained within the academia concerning tourism marketing and place branding is a preview of the importance of place differentiation. Clancy (1999) explained that when developing countries tend to promote tourism, they put into account by greater integration into worlds economy, leading to direct economic and political effects on the region. With that, the contribution of tourism to the worlds economy will en courage place marketing organisations to become more innovation in their advertisement in order to attract more tourist arrivals. As a result, the importance of place branding and marketing campaigns are vital in this growing global competition. Moreover, the needs of a community are reflected in marketing policies which contributes to the economic development. To achieve this, creative strategies need to be memorable in the market the area and to encourage travel so as to gain economic benefits of tourism, for example, a study of competitive advantage of Oresund region using place branding as tool (Pederson, 2004), and the case of New Zealands tourism development (Ryan Zahra, 2004). As a result, sustainable development is still considered vital in increasing the number of tourists into a country, modernising the infrastructure and encourage more inward investments. Sarawak Tourism Industry Sarawak is situated in the Borneo Island and is part of the state of Malaysia. It is considered the largest state in Malaysia, and is considered an adventure land covered with a dense rainforest, and jungle-clad hills. Sarawak is a destination that usually provides unique products and experiences to visitors who come to Sarawak. According to Sarawak Tourism Board (2011), Sarawak is the place for history, mystery, romance and exotic adventures. Sarawak tourism started from the cultural tradition and heritage from different ethnic groups in Sarawak which successfully attract visitors to come. This ancient rainforest land is a home to 27 ethnic groups, whereby these people have their own language, lifestyle and culture. Apart from that, Sarawaks treasure of natural wonders is best appreciated in its many protected national parks and ancient rainforests like alluring caves and exotic wildlife. Its protected national parks are sanctuary to rare flora and fauna, such as Orang-utans, probos cis monkey, mouse deer, and a variety of birds, with the famous protected wildlife like the hornbills (SEDC, 2010). One of the states most alluring attractions is the Mulu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring razor-sharp limestone pinnacles (UNESCO, 2012). According to the deputy minister of tourism, Datuk Dr. James Dawos Mamit, he said that there is still a need to come up with effective strategies to promote Sarawak. He encouraged those tourism players to be more active and work together so that Sarawak tourism can be successful in the South East Asia region. Besides that, due to lack of promotion in Sarawak tourism industry, the ministry has set up facilities like websites and fairs in order to promote tourism related products and packages. He also mentioned that industry players should make more effort on their part, citing the embarrassing brochures provide by some tour agencies because he observed that they are not giving good information towards specific destination (Bernama, 2011). In 2009, Minister of Urban Development and Tourism, Datuk Michael Manyi set the Sarawak tourism industry a target of 5 million visitors by 2011 (Press Collections, 2009). In association with the announcement of this target, the Sarawak Tourism Board initiated a Discover Sarawak campaign, with the aim to promote Sarawak to the rest of the world. Only 3.8 million outbound and inbound visitors came to Sarawak in 2011. Nevertheless, 3.3 million visitors had visited Sarawak in 2010 (Ministry of Tourism and Heritage Sarawak, 2011). This can be shown that the number of visitors has maintained at about 3 million visitors. Despite the increased marketing effort to attract a greater number of visitors and higher levels of visitor spend, a recent report (Borneo Talk, 2011) has found out that there is still a dominance of day visitors from the immediate surrounding area with low levels of associated visitor spend. Moreover, there is a perceived belief by local tourism industry that Sarawak suffe rs from lack of identity and low awareness by potential visitors, especially when compared with other similar but seemingly higher profile destinations, such as Sabah state. As such, Sarawak is frequently omitted from Malaysia travel features in the national press, despite the fact that Sarawak tourism players having embarked on a proactive public relations programme which included hosting a number of visits for travel writers. Although these visits have directly resulted in some positive press coverage in the media, Sarawak still appears to maintain a low profile. Added on is the statement made by the Malaysian Tourism Ministry where efforts had been made over the years to get more flights from international routes to Sarawak but with little progress (Borneo Post, 2012). This has shown that Sarawak has least number of international flights if compared to other states of Malaysia. This can be problematic in such a highly competitive market, as well as economic uncertainty. The question for Sarawak tourism government is why some countries which has the same characteristics as Sarawak are able to attract more visitors than others? There must be few lessons that Sarawak can opt to gain from these countries. It can be said that Sarawak has not focused on active marketing of its tourism industry. Despite the governments interest in making Sarawak as a famous travel and tourism industry among the foreigners, marketing of the industry has not gone beyond the concept of branding. Conclusion Throughout the academic literature within both tourism and marketing disciplines, insight into the different aspects of place branding has confirmed its complexity. While place branding has been researched for decades, place branding initiatives towards sustainable tourism development have not been extensively researched. Nickerson and Mosey (1999) claimed that there is a lack of practical application and field research concerning place branding and the travel decision process of tourists. Also, Boo et al (2009) identified there is also the lack of research of place brand measurement as evaluated by tourists which confirms the complexity of this issue of place branding. Generally, there is a call for further research combining place branding and sustainable development of tourism destination for travel and choices of place. An enhanced understanding of the correlation of these issues will aid in recommending effective place branding strategies in order to ensure tourists satisfaction . The places ability to effectively market itself will require in-depth analysis of image perception and therefore further research will help to conceptualise this multidimensional issue. This paper has combined both tourism and marketing disciplines and had set out to further enhance comprehension of what tourists seek in a place brand.