Discuss the relative importance of physical and human factors in accounting for changes to vegetation over time within ecosystems in the British Isles

Discuss the relative importance of physical and human factors in accounting for changes to vegetation over time within ecosystems in the British Isles The British Isles is an example of a Lithosere succession, in that it began as bare rock from glacial retreat. The plant succession started with the pioneer species which were algae and bacteria. Both began to broke down rock surface through weathering. Then lichens and mosses began growing in the area which helps with water retention and provides a base for soil. The next stage of primary succession is herbs/grasses/flowering plants/ferns. These add nutrients and organic matter to the ground which provided soil. Next, shrubs invaded and colonised the area. Shrubs dominate and shade out the sere below them. Small trees such as birch and willow were the following sere which invaded and colonised the area. They produced humus from leaf fall which provided nutrients for the soil through nutrient recycling and encouraged new growth of the sere. The last sere is the larger trees which are oak and ash which dominate the area and shade out smaller trees. This sere is the climax community in that it is stable and no further succession happens after. The climax community is the deciduous woodland biome we know today. The main characteristics include the location in which they are found, which is in temperate maritime climate such as

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Investigating Travel & Tourism

Unit 1 - Investigating Travel & Tourism Table of Contents UNIT 1 - INVESTIGATING TRAVEL & TOURISM 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 E1 KEY POST-WAR DEVELOPMENTS 5 . The changing social economic circumstances 7 2. Technological developments 7 3. Product development and innovation 7 4. Changing consumer needs and expectations and fashions 7 E1 CHANGING SOCIAL ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES 8 . Increase in Leisure Time 8 2. Disposable Income 9 3. Car Ownership 10 E1 TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS 11 2. Communication and information systems 12 3. Product Development 12 E1 FEATURES OF THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY 14 E1 FEATURES OF THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY 14 The National Tourist Boards (NTB's) 15 The Voluntary Sector 16 New Technologies 16 External Pressures 16 Currency Fluctuation 16 Legislation 17 Climate Change 17 Natural Disasters 17 War, Acts of Terrorism 17 Impact on Host Communities 17 Economic 18 Social 18 Environmental 18 E2 - SCALE OF THE UK INDUSTRY AND ITS ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE 20 Business Tourism 22 E2 - SCALE OF THE UK TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY 23 Travel and Tourism Revenue 23 Contribution to the Balance of Payments 23 E2 - SCALE OF THE UK INDUSTRY AND ITS ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE 25 E3 A FULL EXPLANATION OF THE PRESENT STRUCTURE OF THE INDUSTRY 26 . Accommodation and Catering 27 Serviced Accommodation 27 Self Serviced Accommodation

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Outline and Evaluate Hardin's 'Lifeboat Ethics'.

Outline and Evaluate Hardin's 'Lifeboat Ethics'. In 'Lifeboat Ethics', Hardin puts forward an argument against helping the poor. He claims that the nations of the earth may be seen as a series of lifeboats with limited resources. The richer nations are well-managed and self-sufficient, whilst the lifeboats of the poorer countries are overburdened and overcrowded, so many of their people have fallen out and are in the sea around the richer lifeboats begging to be let in or given handouts. However, the lifeboats of the richer nations are limited in resources and do not have space to allow anyone else in. Whilst it may appear just to rescue the poorer people from the water or share wealth with them, this would result in disaster. The 'boat' would sink or the resources would run out, meaning that everyone would drown. Hardin thus argues that his metaphor demonstrates that, overall, it would be disastrous to help the poor; the world's resources would be exhausted and no-one would survive. However, it can be demonstrated that Hardin's argument fails on several grounds. Not only are many of the assumptions made by Hardin questionably accurate, the lifeboat metaphor itself is too. Hardin fails to represent the situation and the effects of his proposals as they truly are and his argument remains unconvincing. Indeed, by demonstrating his metaphor to be mistaken, it is possible to

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The Scott Report and the Making of the Modern Countryside - 'How penetrating was the Scott report's analysis of rural problems and what were the consequences of its recommendations?'

The Scott Report and the Making of the Modern Countryside 'How penetrating was the Scott report's analysis of rural problems and what were the consequences of its recommendations?' Nineteenth century Britain violently swung from being a predominantly agricultural society to being the "workshop of the world". Such a dramatic shift led to ramifications in all British factions especially the countryside. The Scott Report otherwise known as the Majority Report was published in 1942. It summed up the complex changes that had been taking place in rural England during the preceding half-century, and set out a series of plans and recommendations for the government to subsequently follow. The Report has been sited as the most influential document concerning the English countryside of the twentieth century. It has, however, not been without criticism. Many have been damning in their condemnation of the catastrophic impact it has had on the countryside in the following half century. Why is this so? The Scott Report was primarily the product of four men; Scott, Stamp, Hudson and Reath. The integrity of each has been called into question as much as the Report itself. Questions have even arisen whether the alleged author Scott actually wrote the report. Each contributor's bias, some would claim, is clearly visible in the message the report conveys. Hudson, for example, the Minister of

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With reference to examples, evaluate the success of the schemes that have been implemented in an attempt to solve the problems of housing in cities in LEDC's

With reference to examples, evaluate the success of the schemes that have been implemented in an attempt to solve the problems of housing in cities in LEDC's Housing for the poor in the LEDC's are a great problem for the local authorities and this stands for most great LEDC cities such as, Chennai in India, Cairo, and Rio de Janeiro. The problems have arose from urbanization where the rural population has internally migrated to the cities in order for work in which they are not skilled enough to get. Therefore they have had to live in Shantytowns/Favelas/Slums. Chennai (formerly Madras) as a result of urban migration and high birth rates have caused a rapid increase in the population of Chennai although the rate has decreased in recent years the rapid growth has been mirrored by a rapid growth of slums in Chennai. Now about one third of the population lives in slums with the housing been made out of mud and coconut thatch. The Housing Board and the Slum Clearance Board initial schemes involved the building of four to six storey tenements however these largely failed due to poor maintenance and the lack of uptake as the disadvantaged could not afford high rents. Also if lower rents were implied the schemes would have been too costly. After the failure of these schemes the organizations implied new schemes and that was the upgrading of the slums by providing one bath and

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Discuss the degree to which the theory of plate tectonics is supported by seismic and volcanic activity

Discuss the degree to which the theory of plate tectonics is supported by seismic and volcanic activity. The theory of plate tectonics suggests that the earth's lithosphere is split into plates (as shown in map 1). At their boundaries the plates submerge, diverge and slide past one another, this movement is caused by convection currents in the asthenosphere. The idea that the plates are moving is not new, as early as 1620 the English philosopher Francis Bacon was aware that the continents seemed to fit together. In 1912 Wegener suggested that the continents were once joined as the super continent Pangaea (as seen in image 4) and that they had drifted apart, he gathered a large amount of evidence to support this theory. Continents appear to fit together, more significantly so if continental shelves are taken to be the true edges of the land mass. There is a vast array of geological evidence that includes similar glacial deposits being found in Antarctica, S. America and India. Antarctica, Svalbard, N. America and the UK all contain coal deposits of a similar age that were formed in tropical conditions, they are no longer in tropical climate zones. Biological evidence is also available, Marsupials are only found in Australia because the predator that wiped them out elsewhere had not migrated there before it drifted away from the main super continent. Despite this evidence,

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Factors affecting rates of population change across the world.

Alex Calloway Factors affecting rates of population change across the world Throughout the world today, ones can see huge differences in rates of population change, from massive population growth rates to a gradual decline in population. There are some countries in the world today, where the rate of population change is extremely low and such a situation can occur for a number of reasons. When one reads of population growth or decline, it is impossible to avoid discussion of China's one child policy. However, this policy is an extreme violation of human rights and is limited to just one country and so should not form the basis of a discussion of population growth rates or as an example of a country with low growth rates. Instead, it seems apt to concentrate on those countries where government influence is not so draconian or tyrannical. Italy is one country with a negative rate of population change and does provide an example of many reasons why this situation can occur. Following the Second World War, Italy experienced a rapid process of industrialisation, geographically concentrated in the North, given Italy's current level of development and its late beginnings, it is simple to imagine how quickly the process occurred, as this graph, taken from www.thetimes.co.uk, shows. This development gave the citizens of Italy much improved health care provision, which in turn

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Referring to both pharmaceutical and tobacco companies, explain how transnational corporations can influence the health of people in countries at different stages of development.

Referring to both pharmaceutical and tobacco companies, explain how transnational corporations can influence the health of people in countries at different stages of development (15) Both pharmaceutical and tobacco companies can be transnational corporations and some wield enormous international power and influence covering over one hundred countries with billions of pounds worth of profit; in 2009, GlaxoSmithKline had a net income of approximately £6 billion! Some corporations have, for example, used their profits to help fight widespread diseases in less economically developed countries (LEDCs), such as GlaxoSmithKline's help in the fight against Lymphatic Filariasis in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Some have set up health programmes in more economically developed countries (MEDCs) to reduce common health problems in these areas, such as different types of cancer. However, some corporations only supply people with the means to deteriorate their health, such as some tobacco companies like British American Tobacco, especially in LEDCs, but both pharmaceutical & tobacco companies play an important role in the health of the world's people. A pharmaceutical company is a company, which develops, produces and markets drugs licenced for use as medications, so obviously these companies play a huge role in the health of people worldwide as they provide medication against diseases

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Assess the impact of out-of-town centre retailing areas on the regions in which they occur

Assess the impact of out-of-town centre retailing areas on the regions in which they occur. (40 marks) Out-of-town retailing is a key development in the retail sector which can have both positive and negative impacts. Although it alters other retail areas within the same region irrevocably, out-of-town retailing also has many positive impacts, especially in terms of allowing more people access to a wider range of services. All major impacts must be examined in order to assess whether out-of-town centre retailing is beneficial to local regions or detrimental. Out-of-town centre retailing areas developed mainly in the 1990s on the periphery of large urban areas, often near major motorways. These centres followed on from the non-food retail parks which were built out-of-town during the 1980s due to spatial needs (for warehouses etc) and the desire for easy access. The change from town centre retailing to out-of-town centre retailing was driven by a number of factors. Increased mobility due to increases in ownership and use of the private car enabled people to reach out-of-town areas easily but also placed pressure on limited city centre parking. This need for affordable, spacious parking meant that out-of-town retail centres were the ideal solution: land was easily available and parking could therefore be much cheaper or even free (Meadowhall near Sheffield provides 12,000

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"Exeter is dealing well with its traffic needs" Discuss.

The hypothesis for this piece of coursework is "Exeter is dealing well with its traffic needs" As shown in the maps on the previous page Exeter is a city in the south-west of England, with areas like Dartmoor which is a national park nearby, Exeter is also surrounded by towns and villages like Topsham, Exmouth, Starcross and Lympstone. At the moment Exeter's population is around 111,000 but is always growing. Exeter has many transport links, including two main train stations and a few more local ones, a successful bus service, many roads in and surrounding Exeter and an international airport. Exeter's main train stations are Central station which is a few minute walk to the city centre and St David's station which is a 15-20 minutes walk or a few minute bus journey. Exeter has more local train station such as St Thomas train station, but these unlike the two main train stations which have trains which travel all around the country only have trains which travel to closer towns or cities. Exeter's main bus service which is Stagecoach, has many routes which enables you to travel around and just past the outskirts of Exeter, Stagecoach also have a Main bus station in Exeter which also has less frequent buses which travel further to place all around England. The last transport link which Exeter has is Exeter's international airport which as well as flying chartered flights also

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