Cezar Scarlat

Key-drivers in hotel and environmental management: a comparative analysis in Malaysia

In tourism., the environment is a core business product. Since hotels occupy a central place in the tourism industry and its development does impact upon the environment considerably, it is believed that hotels should be more proactive in their managerial response concerning environmental performance. Using interview data, this study compares the environmental management practices among hotels operating in Penang and Langkawi, Malaysia. The results have shown that although hotel companies in both destinations are concerned with environmental management issues, many are not proactive enough in their responses and prefer to only take management initiatives that have considerable financial benefits for their business. Focus has been mainly on cost-cutting management measures such as minimising energy use and water conservation as this contributes directly toward a hotels profitability. In both cases, business refuses to take sole ownership on environmental management. Instead, the government and society are expected to play a leading role before business can be expected to emulate.

Human Digital Immortality: Where Human Old Dreams and New Technologies Meet

More or less primitive homo sapiens have always secretly dreamt about, or plainly believed in immortality. All cultures had and still have beliefs, traditions, rituals, legends, old stories, and fairy tales about immortality. Unfortunately, as science and technology progressed, human immortality is a remote ideal yet. In addition, as technology development speeds up, it challenges the social nature of humankind; a possible result is people alienation. It is the purpose of this paper to propose a new prospective: opposed to the common feeling that technology alienates people – in their most intimate nature – the authors believe that modern technologies and human nature (defined by its innermost dream of immortality) converge. The ancient human dream of eternal life can be achieved through technology: i.e. human digital immortality. A day will come when the entire technical capabilities will allow personalities to be copied into a computer. Thus immortality could be provided in a virtualized form, heaven being replaced with a super computer.