Monday, September 30, 2019

Meaning of Apathy

Apathy involves people either being content with their current status and the world around them, or being ignorant to those same surroundings. Apathetic citizens of any nation can cause the foundations of society to crumble because these people think everything is well on the surface, when in actuality, it is not. A society can go from having economic success one day, to being in a depression or even revolution as a result of apathy. The way to combat apathy in society is for the authorities to educate people on what their political system and its policies are. If people knew more about their politicians and their specific policies, they would want to get involved in changing society in order to benefit themselves. They would realize that whoever is elected to office, whichever it might be, affects their lives both indirectly and directly. As a result of the entire population getting involved in the political system of his or her nation, society would be able to continually change so that it could maintain economic success, low unemployment rates, and equality. Change is necessary for a society to stay healthy, and as Goldstone said in his essay â€Å"Revolution†, â€Å"Social and political change is not a problem. Social change is an ongoing in most societies†¦ A society that is stagnant often suffers from a social order that is ‘too stable†. Without change, a change society cannot make progress or solve social problems such as poverty and extreme inequality† (Primis 181). If society does remain stagnant, then economic success can lead to an apathetic population, and this can lead to repression, and eventually to revolution. The best way to study and analyze the apathy in society is to look at the voting rates from year to year. By investigating voting, one can see through percentages and numbers precisely how involved people are in politics. When the economy is doing well, as it is today in the United States, voting numbers usually decrease because people become apathetic, and they are less concerned about changes that might affect them. Due to the fact that some people are much better off financially than they ever have, they become less interested in politics and more interested in spending their well-earned money. It is when people begin to suffer economically that they become more involved with politics because they feel that a change in the status quo is necessary for them to escape whatever economic recession they are in. Sometimes people get sick with all the lies and promises that come out of politician†s mouths that they become apathetic towards voting. Rather than give one of these politicians who are only seen as â€Å"the better of two evils† a vote, they choose not to vote at all. Their frustration with their choices results in them becoming apathetic and in his essay â€Å"Toward A Theory of Revolution†, Davies says that revolutions â€Å"need both a period of rising expectations and a succeeding period in which there are frustrated qualities (Primis 205). Thus, a period of economic success, followed by the population being frustrated with its† political figures, can ultimately lead to a collapse in society. This apathy then results in people becoming too content with their current status and they then ask fewer questions, and this can cause foundations to crumble. The cycle then continues, with apathy leading to ignorance, and this can result in people blindly following the status quo, rather than examining the issues. Then, before these non-voting citizens know it, there will be revolutionary ideals floating about society. As long as the country continues to be economically successful, and the people view one candidate as too similar to the opposition, then people will continue to be apathetic because they feel the choices are not really choices at all. Apathy not only results from contentment and frustration, but also from ignorance. Democracy is something everyone learns as early as kindergarten. When the teacher asks if it will be kickball or dodge ball at recess, the majority usually wins. It is an easy lesson for a 5-year-old to learn, as is raising your hand for what you want. However, one of the most simple and necessary elements of a democracy is the reliance on active participation in the government by a majority of the population. If the participants are not influenced to be active, the system fails. By educating students and the public about the value of the system, the education system could help combat apathy. The tradition that college graduates are looked upon with more respect than the less educated has ended. How can the so-called higher educated members of society gain any respect when most graduates are unable or unwilling to participate in a ritual of our nation? The problem is that traditional education, that included more intensive study of government, has been replaced by a system that increasingly focuses on technology and skills training but may be failing in educating good citizens. A higher education should be more than job preparation; it should be a continuing desire to improve and guarantee the quality of life for generations to come. With a lack of knowledge in politics and democracy comes the myth that one vote does not make a difference. Many young adults have no faith in the system, therefore they do not vote due to the feeling of disappointment that their vote does not matter. How often do you hear young adults say, â€Å"I did not vote because I don't feel as if my vote would count. † Others are disenchanted with the political system because voting in the past never produced results. However, young people today need to realize that one voice does make a difference. In addition, if more young adults took an interest, politicians would be forced to listen. For example, financial aid is one of many issues at hand in recent political campaigns. If politicians continue to cut student aid, some young people may not have a chance for a college education. Thus, young adults must have faith in the system and increase the number of young voters. Otherwise, politicians will continue to cater only to the needs of the older generation that is voting them into office. The two largest voting publics in the United States are senior citizens and the college aged groups (Gherry 328). Ironically, it is the senior citizens who are the more politically informed, and who vote in the greatest numbers. These statistics support the contention that the youth of America are becoming less informed about the process and necessity of voting, and are also more apathetic about the true significance of voting. As Americans, we must do something about voter apathy because not only does voting allow us to be active in the political process, it enables us to fulfill our civic duty and exert our political influence. Contrary to public opinion, every vote makes a difference in this process and it may not seem like it, but if more people began to vote, they would definitely get noticed. Ironically, the last presidential election should have supported the idea of voter significance, yet served to create more apathy because of the post-election mess that occurred. Many people now feel the popular vote did not reign supreme, and that the voting system itself was shown to have more problems than was previously thought. To let our representatives know what we want, we must also exert our political influence by being politically active. How can we do this? We can vote in state, local, and national elections, lobby to persuade our representatives to vote a certain way, and write letters to our representatives about policy issues. Of course, there are other ways of being politically active; to me, these are the most effective. One thing needs to take place, and that is educational awareness of the political system and its impact, pure and simple. A good way to start getting votes out would be to have the majority rules method of voting. If you could just see that your vote made a difference in the election of the president of your nation, it would make you want to vote again. If the nation would listen to the educated people of the country instead of listening to the media, then the nation would be a whole lot better in terms of economics, welfare, war, and our society in general. In my opinion, we the people of this nation do not care about these campaigns that are putting the other candidates down, we just want to hear the good things about what they can do to better our nation. There is not anything that Americans hate more than liars and back stabbers. By â€Å"getting the vote out,† we voice our opinions on important issues. By participating in the political process, we fulfill our civic duty. By exerting our political power, we shape our government policies. The best way to get involved in our political process is to vote, so people have to get out there, get registered, and go vote in the next election. Voter apathy has lead to a dangerous situation in American politics. People have not listened to the issues and have therefore been left with candidates who seem to be all the same, only with different rhetoric and different levels of charisma. Most people when questioned about their vote related that they were more against Gore and the Clinton administration than they were for Bush, and the reasons were more over moral behavior than policy making. The simple fact that during the past four years the country has experienced unprecedented economic growth, yet the incumbent administration was narrowly voted out, signals a public more concerned with the behavior of its leaders in the bedroom than their political policies. Bush represents the status-quo as much as Gore does, and the recent election really only revealed a public split between two candidates whose only difference seemed to be that one was aligned with his predecessor who had fallen from public moral grace. In order to have more clear-cut choices in candidates and over issues, there must be a movement in the United States to bring political education back into the classroom. An uninformed, politically uneducated public is a dangerous one because that public easily becomes apathetic. Yet, it is the public that has allowed candidates steeped in rhetoric rather than issues to continue to hold office. This cycle is one that needs to be broken, and it is not going to be broken by those currently in office because they naturally want to keep the status quo going. It is the future voters, and voters from ages 18 to 30 who must start taking an active interest in our political system, become aware of the issues and the process, and care enough to see that voting intelligently can and will make a difference in our country†s future.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Cyber education Essay

Examinations are a means of measuring the students’ learning in school and their capacity for further education. In this regard, the manner of teaching and the students’ learning methods are important. A student, while in primary and secondary schools, greatly relies on the teachers for knowledge, except for a few who do personal researches to further their understanding. More often than not, a student accepts what the teachers offer in school. With this set up, a student has to be abreast and attentive with classroom discussion. He should take down notes and submit in a timely manner the projects and assignments given in school. Participation in classroom discussion and school activities must be encouraged. Interest in school must be inculcated in the mind of every student to support the knowledge and understanding obtained from the classroom. This is to enable the student to have a more enjoyable stay in school. The more enjoyable the learning process is, the more retention of knowledge there. Cyber education is not at all detestable. Students’ learning is more enhanced if the mode of teaching is something which interests him. Cyber education is one that interests me and I think, is equally true with others. Where there is not much interaction with the teachers, the concept that it is more enjoyable makes the information stick into our minds. However, the concern of many that this might lead to no interaction at all with teachers, thus prevents the control of teachers on the students disregarding their personal differences and characteristics, should not be disregarded. Their concern is equally important. Thus, it is humbly proposed that learning be not limited to the traditional type of teaching, but must be combined with cyber school on some selected subjects suitable to it. A student must be exposed to both the traditional type of teaching and cyber school. It is of utmost importance that he is able to retain the information and apply what have been learned in school.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Poetry and the Marriage of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes Essay

In the introduction of her book Her Husband: Hughes and Plath – a Marriage (2003), Diane Wood Middlebrook wrote that â€Å"poetry had brought Hughes and Plath together, and poetry had kept them together† (Middlebrook, n. pag.). Indeed, the marriage of poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes is best described as a union of two talented but volatile personalities who both competed with and complemented one another through poetry. But this observation was often ignored due to the overly simplistic accounts of their marriage, especially those that focused on the period shortly before and after Plath’s death. Hughes is almost always depicted in these explanations as a philandering womanizer, while Plath is shown as a clingy and overly paranoid wife (St. Clair, n. pag.). The life of Sylvia Plath has often been presented as the struggle of a brilliant mind against madness. Plath was an excellent student, graduating summa cum laude from Smith College in 1955 and obtaining a Fulbright scholarship to Cambridge University shortly afterwards. A gifted writer, she published her poems in magazines and won literary awards since her teenage years. However, these accomplishments were overshadowed by her battle with mental illness (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). Plath began to experience episodes of depression, insomnia and suicidal thoughts during her youth, all of which were possibly triggered by her father’s demise when she was only eight years old. In her junior year in college in 1953, Plath tried to kill herself by hiding under her house and overdosing on sleeping pills. She was afterwards confined in a mental institution for six months, where she was subjected to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Plath’s later writings made a constant reference to her experiences with this treatment (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). Plath made a temporary recovery in January 1954, allowing her to graduate from college and pursue further studies in England. While in Cambridge, she met Ted Hughes. Despite warnings from friends about his fickleness in relationships, Hughes and Plath fell in love with each other and got married in 1956 (Neurotic Poets, n. pag.). Their first child, Frieda, was born in 1960, followed by Nicholas in 1962 (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). At first, Plath and Hughes enjoyed a happy marriage. Theirs was a relationship that was â€Å"fueled by their joint passion for poetry† (John-Steiner, 136). For Plath, Hughes was not just a husband – he was a father figure who can fill the void caused by the premature death of her real father. She revealed this sentiment in an undated letter to her mother, Aurelia: We read, we discuss poems we discover, talk, analyze – we continually fascinate each other. It is heaven to have someone like Ted who is so kind and honest and brilliant always stimulating me to think, draw and write. He is better than any teacher, he even fills somehow that huge, sad hole I felt in having no father. (137) As a result, Plath idolized her husband completely. She had so much faith in his ability as a poet that she worked very hard to have his poetry published in English and American magazines. But according to Vera John-Steiner’s book Creative Collaboration (2000), Hughes’ feelings towards his wife’s efforts was not established (John-Steiner, 137). Unfortunately, later accounts of their marriage implied that Hughes was suffocated with Plath’s excessive clinginess. His sister Olwyn recalled that â€Å"he could not go on the simplest of errands without her grabbing a coat and running after him† (John-Steiner, 137). Consequently, Plath and Hughes fought often and the latter had an extramarital affair with a married woman named Assia Wevill (Neurotic Poets, n. pag.). He eventually left her for Wevill in 1962 (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). Plath described the stormy condition of their marriage before their separation in her poems Words heard, by Accident over the Phone, Poppies in July and Burning the Letters (Neurotic Poets, n. pag.). Plath and her children moved to London in December 1962. She wrote poetry at a feverish pace during this period, with an output of more than 25 poems. What made these poems – which included A Secret, The Applicant and Daddy – noteworthy was that they contained Plath’s brutally honest opinions about her marriage and her father’s passing. In January 1963, her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar was published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas (Neurotic Poets, n. pag.). Despite these literary accomplishments, Plath’s depression worsened. She killed herself in the early morning of February 11, 1963 by putting her head inside a gas oven (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). It would be fair to say that Plath and Hughes used poetry to asses the effects of their tempestuous marriage on themselves. The Applicant, for instance, revealed Plath’s anger over what marriage does to a woman: But in twenty-five years she’ll be silver, In fifty, gold. A living doll, everywhere you look. It can sew, it can cook, It can talk, talk, talk. (n. pag.) For Plath, marriage and or domestic relationships condemned a woman to a â€Å"living death† (Dobbs, 11). When a woman marries, her â€Å"worth† will be based on how well she takes care of her family. In effect, she is almost similar to a dead person because her identity as an individual is replaced with that of a wife and a mother. The Applicant was probably based on Plath’s dilemma as to whether she should still pursue careers in the academe and in writing even if she was already married or just resign herself to being a full-time housewife. Letters to and the remembrances of friends and family members revealed this conflict. Although Plath was able to maintain a balance between work and family life, she resented her family for making demands that drained her creativity. But at the same time, she felt guilty for harboring such bitterness – her husband left her for another woman probably because she didn’t spend enough time on him. It must be noted that one constant source of their disagreements was that Hughes wanted Plath to stop working and take care of their children instead (Dobbs, 13). Words heard, by Accident over the Phone, meanwhile, is an account of Hughes’ affair with Wevill: Speak, speak! Who is it? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ O god, how shall I ever clean the phone table? They are pressing out of the many-holed earpiece, they are looking for a listener. Is he there? (n. pag.) According to some accounts, there was an instance when Plath heard the phone in their house ringing as she returned from a morning outing with her mother. When she answered it, it was Wevill, trying to disguise her voice. After Hughes finished talking to Wevill, Plath was so upset that she unplugged the phone wire from its socket. It was only during that incident that Plath realized that her husband was having an affair (NeuroticPoets, n. pag.). Burning the Letters showed Plath’s rage over the said discovery: I made a fire; being tired Of the white fists of old Letters and their death rattle When I came too close to the wastebasket What did they know that I didn’t? Love, love, and well, I was tired (n. pag.) Plath was said to be so upset over Hughes’ affair with Wevill that she tore up and threw into the fire the manuscript of the novel that she had been working on (the sequel to The Bell Jar). She also burned all the letters that received from her mother, as well as Hughes’ letters and drafts of poems (NeuroticPoets, n. pag.). Hughes has often been blamed for Plath’s death. This was fueled largely by the women’s movement of the 1970s, which strongly identified itself with her life and poetry. For decades, Hughes kept silent regarding his former wife’s passing. But in 1998, he published Birthday Letters, a collection of his poems that focused on his relationship with Plath and her sad fate. Hughes implied in most of his poems that one of the reasons for the failure of his marriage to Plath was their incompatibilities in terms of personal success. Being the daughter of educators, Plath grew up adhering to conventional standards of achievement. Accounts of her life gave the impression that she wanted nothing more but to establish herself both in writing and in teaching. Hughes, on the other hand, felt suffocated at the idea of a tenured academic job (Rees, n. pag.). Hughes echoed this sentiment in The Blue Flannel Suit. This poem mockingly described Plath’s nervousness during her first day as an English lecturer in her alma mater. In order to project the respectable image of an academic, she wore a badly-tailored suit that she made by herself. Looking back at this incident, he wrote: That blue suit, A mad, execution uniform, Survived your sentence. (n. pag.) But in A Picture of Otto, Hughes lamented that he and Plath separated primarily because he was not able to take the place of her father, Otto, in her life. For him, Otto was inseparable from my shadow As long as your daughter’s words can stir a candle. She could hardly tell us apart in the end. (458) In the end, Hughes finally accepted that Plath will always be her father’s daughter: you never could have released her. I was a whole myth too late to replace you. This underworld, my friend, is her heart’s home. Inseparable, here we must remain. (459) Human relationships are too complex for their failure to be attributed to just one person. While Hughes may have his faults, Plath was already a disturbed character even before their marriage. Their poetry was just a reflection of a couple, who, despite their fame, underwent the travails of any other failed marriage. Hence, the works of Hughes and Plath should not be used as additional fodder to continue a battle of the sexes that was blown out of proportion.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Toni Morrison's Recitatif Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Toni Morrison's Recitatif - Essay Example Still, she has made seminal contributions through her poetry and short stories. Notably, her short story Recitatif is considered a seminal work in racial writing. This essay specifically examines Morrison’s Recitatif, tracing the theme of race throughout the text. Analysis Perhaps the most notable aspect of Morrison’s Recitatif is that while the short story is almost primarily concerned with race, the issue itself is only addressed indirectly. Morrison even subtly toys with this ambiguity writing, â€Å"it didn't matter that we looked like salt and pepper standing there† (Morrison), while never revealing who is salt and who is pepper. Indeed, the text never even fully reveals the racial background of the two primary characters. While there are a variety of reasons for this technique, it’s been argued that, â€Å"Throughout the story Morrison scatters information about Twyla and Roberta that proves inconclusive in terms of firmly determining the women†™s racial identities. The ambiguity of these details suggests that what is essential about the women†¦is the nature of their relationship and their emotional connection with each other† (Gillespie, p. 163). Within this spectrum of investigation the argument is made that Morrison neglects directly revealing these protagonists’ racial backgrounds as a means of demonstrating the true importance in life is their relationship. This is a highly potent statement as it doesn’t merely reflect a theme occurring within the context of the text, or even solely to racial considerations, but rather can be extended to all forms of human interaction; that is, not only is Morrison exploring racial and social divides, but she is pointing the way forward towards a better and more equitable world. Ultimately, it is this mode of writing that places this text in a literary position that extends beyond merely a pleasurable narrative, but also makes the text truly important. In ex amining the theme of race in Morrison’s Recitatif it is necessary to examine it through the prism of Twyla and Roberta’s relationship. While race is a central concern, this issue emerges as an inter-connected aspect of their social interactions. Indeed, from the very beginning of the story Morrison links their development, as they were both required to visit the shelter because of their mothers, â€Å"My mother danced all night and Roberta’s was sick† (Morrison). While the line is simple and direct it underlines the complex interaction these characters will have throughout the text. It also symbolically links their life struggles to similar circumstances, showing that many of universal challenges of the human condition are not at all linked to race. In addition to these connections there are many instances towards the beginning of the text where Morrison implements vivid and descriptive narrative techniques to demonstrate the strong bond Twyla and Roberta share. Morrison writes, â€Å"We got along all right, Roberta and me. Changed beds every night, got F's in civics and communication skills and gym†¦We were the only ones dumped and the only ones with F's in three classes including gym† (Morrison). Although these descriptions have nothing to do with race, they demonstrate the poignant and profound connection the two girls have obtained. This connection is not contingent on race, but instead involves similar backgrounds, perspectives, and situational challenges. The story’

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Sex Education Among Young Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sex Education Among Young - Essay Example With the statistics presented, there is an understandable need for sex education for young adults. It is not only the married couples who need to be informed of the consequences of sexual activities if as young adults they engage in pre-marital and unprotected sex. Though the present world is also being referred to as the modern world, there are still nations and groups who are very conservative with regards to their way of thinking (Klein 40-5). It was during the early part of the 20th century that females started to gain attention to the world and the society. As this happens, males started to appreciate females. Females started to receive the same subjects in school in comparison to their male counterparts. There are certain subject matters that were added to the females’ curriculum to continue inculcating their traditional role in the society (Klein 47; Measor et al 1-2). Even in this conservative period, sex education has been introduced in high school curriculum. When the subject was introduced in school, considerations were made since there were recognized genders present during those times. The reason why the subject was introduced is to restrain the young male’s growing sexuality. At present, sex education is still being considered as one the most politicized and scandalous feature in an academe’s curriculum (Klein 47; Measor et al 1-2). Sex education during the adolescent period however is perceived to increase the curiosity of some young adults as to how the act itself would feel. Instead of controlling the budding sexuality, it even ignited more the curiosity of not just the males but also of the females as well. There has been an increase in sexually transmitted disease that the society would like to eradicate. As the 20th century progresses, the need for sexual education also advanced (Klein 47). During the late part of the 20th century, 19% of the

Assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assignment - Case Study Example Third, the company has not been keen in defending the interests of the female employees who occasionally experience sexual harassments. Such acts are perpetrated by the company’s top officials that the company values due to their performance and hence does little about such cases. The company has received several complaints from female employees regarding sexual harassments but failed to act since such behaviors are â€Å"acceptable† in some of the countries that the company functions. Nelson would have taken strict measures with regard to the unethical happenings. With regard to child labor, the company should have inspected the subsidiary company to make it clear that child labor is not tolerated. Nelson should also have ensured that the company takes care of all employees’ interests regardless of the country. Here, the company would have provided the most appropriate working solvent and take all complaints seriously. Moreover, Nelson would have also made it cl ear to all employees regardless of their positions that sexual harassments are not entertained and would be penalized. With regard to formulation of a code of ethics, Nelson should ensure that all of the reported unethical issues are addressed in the code. Such issues include rules governing child labor, employees’ health, and issues regarding sexual harassments and similar behaviors in the organization’s subsidiary companies. This would ensure that the company has a predefined culture, which takes care of all individuals’ interest. With respect to suggestions, I would suggest a code that caters for the interests of the main stakeholders and improve the reputation of the company in the face of the public and the customers. The code would also deter unethical behaviors in the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Toxicology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Toxicology - Research Paper Example The ALAD gene may pose the danger of developing lead poisoning in humans, those who were exposed to ecological lead. Lead is a metal that takes on toxic properties, when someone inhales it or digests it. There are several lead exposure routes, from which any human can inhale or digest lead. Several health problems are associated with lead poisoning. They include; exposure where one has to work in an environment or facility that manufacture lead-containing products; lead paint which is usually indigested by young children as they tend to try to eat non-edible things; lead content in soil, from lead-containing gasoline; sometimes lead from the soil can end up in the surface water; and those animals, which are hunted with lead-based bullets. Problems associated with lead poisoning include issues relating to; the nervous system; kidney problems; blood; and the reproductive system of humans. References McGuire, M., & Beerman, K. A. (2009). Nutritional sciences: From fundamentals to food. Florence, KY: Brooks Cole.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Comparecontrast synthesis All In a Summers Day(Bradbury) with It's A Essay

Comparecontrast synthesis All In a Summers Day(Bradbury) with It's A Good Life(Bixby) - Essay Example While 'It's a Good Life' is set in a place which might be the earth, the short story by Bradbury is set in the planet Venus. While Bradbury's story is set somewhere in the near future, Bixby's story is set in the last part of the twentieth century.. In 'All Summer in a Day', the story begins with a forecast given by scientists about a rainless hour, indicating the dependence on scientists .In a story set in a distant future, the dependence would be on machines and computers. In the case of 'It's a Good Life', the time of the story is indicated by the music record Are You My Sunshine which was a present for Dan. While the place of the story 'All Summer in a Day', Venus, is a planet humans have at last colonized, the planet is inhospitable, with rain throughout the year. In fact it had been raining for several years, and the sun had come out for an hour seven years ago. On the other hand, the story 'It's a Good Life' takes place on the earth, or on a part of the earth which has been se parated from the rest of the planet by the protagonist. Both the stories have children as the protagonists. While in Bradbury's story, it is nine year old Margot, a budding poet, who is the protagonist, in Bixby's story, it is three year old Anthony who is at the center of the story. While Margot is undoubtedly a girl, sensitive and intelligent, we are not sure about Anthony, who seems to be hardly human. "He blinked his purple gaze" (Bixby), and "He curled into an unlikely shape and went partly to sleep" (Bixby) give a hint of the not so human form of Anthony. While Margot is a static character, getting bullied by the other children, three year old Anthony is a dynamic character who can change things just by thinking about it. Other children jeer at Margot, not believing that she wrote the poem about the sun, while in the case of Anthony, grown -ups including his parents are afraid of him. While her peers make fun of Margot , and imprison her in the closet while the sun was out, thus depriving her of the greatest pleasure on the planet, in the case of Anthony, elders are too scared to sing even 'Happy Birthday' in case it irritated him. Little Margot does nothing to get back to the Earth, from where she had come five years ago, although she wanted nothing better than that. The author describes Margot as "an old photograph dusted from an album, whitened away" (Bradbury).The girl was pale and listless with a voice like a ghost's. On the other hand, three year old Anthony was a already a strong character, who could do whatever he wanted just by thinking. His ability to discern people's thoughts and react put him in an all powerful position. While his 'good deeds' for the people he liked were bad enough, his bad deeds for those whom he disliked were horrible, resulting in everybody trying not to displease or even please him. The dynamism in Anthony's character is seen in the speed with which he reacts. "When the rat saw Bill Soames coming, it tried to run, but Anthony thought at it, and it turned a flip-flop on the gr ass, and lay trembling, its eyes gleaming in small black terror."(Bixby) This shows the quickness of Anthony's reaction which could be quicker than a rat. While the plot of Bradbury's story moves linearly, it does make use of some flashbacks, although they are few. Margot remembers the Sun whom she had seen five years ago, while living on

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Sandman by E.T.A. Hoffmann Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Sandman by E.T.A. Hoffmann - Essay Example The point of argument in this short story is that: can a child’s imagination be so strong that he may be able to carry his imagination throughout his life, especially if it has affected him in his childhood profoundly? This point is important to the design of the story because it relates to child psychology, since the story talks about a child’s weird imaginations and perception of bizarre ideas that continue to affect him throughout his life. Parents and caregivers should be very careful when they tell terrifying stories to their children, as young brains are very receptive of imaginations, pictures, and concepts. We mention some quotes of the story here, and elaborate them so as to determine how they relate to our main point of argument. The reader of the story reads: But if, like a bold painter, you had first sketched in a few audacious strokes the outline of the picture you had in your own soul, you would then easily have been able to deepen and intensify the colors one after the other, until the varied throng of living figures carried your friends away and they, like you, saw themselves in the midst of the scene that had proceeded out of your own soul (Hoffmann, para.54). This quote means how a human being is able to draw a picture out of his imagination, and is able to give life and meaning to it, so much so that the conception continues to hover over his mind for the rest of his life, continuing to affect him and his friends and family around him. All human beings are like painters of their imaginary conceptions. A child is a special painter, because he strongly conceives every idea told to him in his vulnerable years. It is only his luck and maturity that comes with age that pulls him out his frantic imaginations. Nathaniel has not been that lucky. He was not able to come out of his horror which was induced into him when he was a child. He continued to be terrified of eyes and the sandman coming to take them, so much so that he lost his li fe. This quote shows its real meaning when we see Nathaniel relating the concept of the sandman to his father’s friend, Coppola, and thinking it is him when his father dies during an experiment. Later on as an adult, his life again gets disturbed when he meets Coppelius, who comes in to sell spectacles, making Nathaniel relate him to the dead Coppola, making him think that Coppola has come back in the shape of Coppelius, to take his eyes. Hence, we see that a child is able to relate horrifying imaginations to real people and events, and this disturbance of mind continues till adulthood, proving our point of argument. The strength of a child’s imagination gets further confirmed when we read (Hoffmann, para. 56) that, â€Å"Perhaps, like a good portrait-painter, I may succeed in catching the outline in this way, so that you will realize it is a likeness even without knowing the original, and feel as if you had often seen the person with your own corporeal eyes.† T his shows how a child is able to paint a picture out of his imagination, and how he can make it real with his thoughts and conceptions. Why Nathaniel’s horror about eyes relives when he sees Olimpia’s eyes falling out of her head as Coppelius and Spalanzani fight over her, and why he becomes frantic, is because his frenzied imagination that he carried through childhood makes him all the more hysterical about his imagination of eyes and the sandman coming back to take them. This again confirms that a child’s imaginations are very strong and sturdy, not letting go of the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

E-Services in Cambodia Essay Example for Free

E-Services in Cambodia Essay The day length varies from 11 hours 29 minutes to 12 hours 48 minutes without twilight. Mean maximum and minimum temperature range among 30 to 36 °C and 21 to 25 °C respectively. Annual rainfall is 1,343 mm mostly during May to November. The national economy of Cambodia similar to many other developing countries are largely based on agriculture and income-earning opportunities. 90% of Cambodian population makes its living from agriculture. Agricultural development becomes important not only for food and livelihood security of the rural families, but also as a support for industrial progress. Most of Cambodian farmers are poor and live under extreme agroecological, socioeconomic constraints and fear of unrest of war. The poor farmers with small and scattered holdings are surviving on rain fed, mono cropped and rice based farming. Cambodia is rice exported country of mid 1960s has now annual shortage of about 50 000-70 000 tons. Out of exported rice, Cambodia has also exported many agricultural products such as timbers, fish, maize, rubbers, soybean, ground nuts, sesame, jute, cotton and tobacco. These products have been used very low by Cambodian people, because of lacking technology and facilities to improve qualities for food consumption. Agricultural sector in Cambodia contributes about 45 percent to the GDP, and more than 80 percent of the population earns their livings from the agriculture. Apparently, a process of agricultural development is considered to be an effective approach to promote the economic growth with a broadest possible base. Nonetheless, the development of this sector is mainly constrained due to the exceptionally low productivity if compared with the neighboring countries. Research on agricultural development in developing countries has clearly shown that the fundamental problem of agricultural growth is an agricultural education as it plays a vital role in providing qualified manpower for agricultural requirements and conducting agricultural research, thus providing farmers with new techniques of production and new input. Indeed, innovation of technology and management capacities for more intensive and modernized griculture becomes paramount to maximize agricultural output to ensure food security and to alleviate rural poverty in the country. Needless to say, this can be accomplished through the upgrading of human resources employed in the sector at a ll levels from the basic education to higher education. Cambodia has two rice crops each year, a monsoon-season crop (long-cycle) and a dry-season crop. The major monsoon crop is planted in late May through July, when the first rains of the monsoon season begin to inundate and soften the land. Rice shoots are transplanted from late June through September. The main harvest is usually gathered six months later, in December. The dry-season crop is smaller, and it takes less time to grow (three months from planting to harvest). It is planted in November in areas that have trapped or retained part of the monsoon rains, and it is harvested in January or February. The dry-season crop seldom exceeds 15 percent of the total annual production. The per-hectare rice yield in Cambodia is among the lowest in Asia. The average yield for the wet crop is about 0. 95 ton of unmilled rice per hectare. The dry-season crop yield is traditionally higher, 1. 8 tons of unmilled rice per hectare. New rice varieties (IR36 and IR42) have much higher yields, between five and six tons of unmilled rice per hectare under good conditions. Unlike local strains, however, these varieties require a fair amount of urea and phosphate fertilizer (25,000 tons for 5,000 tons of seed), which the government could not afford to import in the late 1980s. The main secondary crops in the late 1980s were maize, cassava, sweet potatoes, groundnuts, soybeans, sesame seeds, dry beans, and rubber. According to Phnom Penh, the country produced 92,000 tons of corn (maize), as well as 100,000 tons of cassava, about 34,000 tons of sweet potatoes, and 37,000 tons of dry beans in 1986. In 1987 local officials urged residents of the different agricultural regions of the country to step up the cultivation of subsidiary food crops, particularly of starchy crops, to make up for the rice deficit caused by a severe drought. Animal husbandry has been an essential part of Cambodian economic life, but a part that farmers have carried on mostly as a sideline. Traditionally, draft animals water buffalo and oxen have playe a crucial role in the preparation of rice fields for cultivation. In 1979 the decreasing number of draft animals hampered agricultural expansion. In 1967 there were 1. 2 million head of draft animals; in 1979 there were only 768,000. Cambodias preferred source of protein is freshwater fish, caught mainly from the Tonle Sap and from the Tonle Sab, the Mekong, and the Basak rivers. Cambodians eat it fresh, salted, smoked, or made into fish sauce and paste. A fishing program, developed with Western assistance, was very successful in that it more than quadrupled the output of inland freshwater fish in three years, from 15,000 tons in 1979 to 68,700 tons in 1982, a peak year. After leveling off, output declined somewhat, dipping to 62,000 tons in 1986. The 1986 total was less than half the prewar figure of some 125,000 tons a year. Saltwater fishing was less developed, and the output was insignificant, less than 10 percent of the total catch. According to the First Plan, fisheries were projected to increase their annual output to 130,000 metric tons by 1990. II. Potentiality of paddy production in Cambodia Paddy Production Wet rice is a unique crop in many ways: It is a traditional, reliable and appreciated stable food †¢ It provides a livelihood for many people (for example some 75 percent of the people living in the Lower Mekong Basin) †¢ It can grow in places that are unsuited for other crops, including waterlogged or inundat ed areas †¢ It can be stored for months or years, if need be †¢ It is rather robust towards pests, and very robust towards weeds †¢ It can be raised within the period of a monsoon rainfall Water for cultivation Having developed in a context of abundant water availability, traditional wet rice cultivation is not water-efficient at all. Production of 1 kg milled rice can require the availability (if not consumption) of 3-6 m3 of water, including various losses and return flows. The monsoon rainfall in Cambodia, where most paddy fields are rain fed, with others supplied by seasonal flood water, and/or from irrigation. The seasonal variation is rather predictable, but the cultivation has adapted so closely that small deviations from the normal pattern can have a significant effects. This is particularly the case for the small dry season, a dry spell of perhaps around a couple of weeks not long after the onset of the wet season. A protracted and severe small dry season after transplanting can seriously affect the annual rain fed crop. 2. The traditional cultivation systems a. Rain fed rice cultivation -The cropping system Rain fed rice cultivation is linked to the rainfall. Over the centuries, the timing and duration of the cultivation cycle have adjusted accordingly, depending on local soil conditions. Due to uncertain rainfall, risk aversion is a strong consideration in choice of technology and in technological innovation for rain fed lowland rice. Traditionally, seeds are produced simply by retaining a portion of the harvest. Better seeds can make a visible difference, both regarding yield and robustness, but must be bought from the good seed keepers in the local area at intervals of a few years. Also, fertilizers can highly improve both the yield and the resilience of the crops. However, the opportunity for its application depends on the rainfall. The size of the land holding is important to the viability of cultivation of rice as well as many other crops. Land holdings in Cambodia tend to be minimal. One among other reasons is the increasing population combined with generation shifts. The farming system Traditional farming systems provide a balance between the availability of land, water and labor, in response to household needs and market demands. Paddy cultivation is highly labor-intensive during transplanting and harvest, but less so in other periods, and not at all outside the cultivation season. Therefore, it can conveniently be combined with other occupations. A traditional Cambodian farming system would comprise paddy cultivation, livestock and palm sugar production. Todays farming systems can be more diverse. Examples of their elements are, A typical Cambodian cultivated landscape is recognised by its sugar palms. A sugar palm can produce 25-50 kg sugar per season (which is 5-7 months), providing a supplementary occupation and cash income. Trees that are unproductive for sugar can supply leaves for thatch-making, mats or rice bins, and can eventually be used for construction and fuelwood. Sugar production is labor-intensive and can compete with Labor for other purposes. Also, it requires fuelwood. It is regarded as a hard way to earn an income and is now in decline. The agricultural value generation Cultivation generates a substantial value upstream and downstream of the farm level, in connection with production and supply of inputs, and processing and distribution of outputs. Rice milling is capital-intensive and is provided by speciali zed operators outside the village. The millers often serve as wholesale buyers. They may provide loans to the farmers with the next crop as collateral, or the rice can simply be sold some time before it is harvested. Few Asian paddy farmers have direct access to (or exposure to) an open market. Some countries see a rather monopolized distribution at the wholesale level. Many governments try to square the circle between appropriate revenue at the farm level and affordable food to the urban poor, applying gentle or more strict regulation of trade and/or prices. Conditions can be quite different for crops other than rice an aspect that can favor a certain crop diversification. b. Irrigated rice cultivation The cropping system Small parts of rain fed rice areas have irrigation or supplementary irrigation. A higher reliability of access to water reduces a major risk and provides opportunities for innovation, provided that technology, skills and inputs are available. This requires coordination of the development of irrigation services and agricultural education and services. Where raw water is available for dry season irrigation, it becomes possible to raise two (or perhaps even three) crops per year an obvious opportunity, so much more because the dry season yield is much higher that the wet season yield (due to the higher sunlight radiation from clear skies). A shift from one to two crops require a shift from long-duration to medium- or short duration varieties. For example, a medium-duration variety can be grown in the wet season and a short-duration variety in the dry season. The farming system Sharing an irrigation system requires an even stronger collaboration than rain fed cultivation, and ability to collaborate is one of the several success criteria for new systems. Farmers Water User Communities (FWUCs) are promoted by Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM) in support of de-central support to operation and maintenance. Some of these work well, while many others are in need of consolidation, faced with complex new challenges and a need of close collaboration. If water is available but sparse in the dry season, a part of the land can be cultivated with crops other than rice. The soil quality, taken as a given without irrigation, get a new significance in connection with the new potential cropping opportunities. Soil conditioning becomes a new requirement in connection with crop diversification in areas that are not immediately suited for crops other than rice. Land becomes an even more precious production factor when irrigation is available, as reflected by a higher price. This makes sense, because of the higher revenue that can be generated, but it also imposes a pressure on the land ownership in case of social shocks, such as failed crops or illness in the family, where households risk to lose their land and turn to sharecropping. This is a visible tendency in newly irrigated areas. The need for supplementary occupations remains, one reason being the moderate income generated from rice cultivation. Households that combine paddy cultivation and livestock will typically earn more from the latter. Cattle and buffaloes can feed on marginal lands unsuited for cultivation, and on by-products such as straw, husk and bran. They provide manure, and draft animals can generate a cash income from transport and ploughings. Further, cattle and buffaloes provide capital for emergencies (such as medical treatment costs in case of illness in the family). The agricultural value generation A second annual crop will highly benefit from more external inputs seeds and fertilizer- and will in turn supply much more rice to the market, considering that a substantial part of the first crop from a small land holding is consumed by the household. This amplifies the value (and livelihoods) generated before and after the cultivation hopefully to the benefit of the farmers as well as society as a whole. 3. Traditional gender roles There are some traditions in connection with the task allocation between the household members. These traditions are not strictly observed, however, and all hands are at work during busy periods. 4. Trends Traditional paddy cultivation is developing in response to challenges, such as for example: †¢ A stronger market demand for crops other than rice including vegetables and biofuel crops, as well as a stronger demand for meat; †¢ a stronger competition for raw water in the dry season, related to development of irrigation infrastructure and intensified cultivation; and/or †¢ a stronger exposure to competition, related to improved transport infrastructure, porous borders, and regional and international promotion of lower trade barriers. Also, inevitably, modern lifestyles will reach even remote, traditional farming households. A cash income is needed for clothes and kerosene (or electricity where available), and every household strives to achieve a TV, a hand phone, and a motorbike. In many cases, this requires paid off-farm employment by one or several household members typically young adults, who migrate to the towns in search of work. III. Quality a. Milling and reprocessing plants Milling and reprocessing plants are being upgraded with high capacity and modern technology to ensure quality of rice. The global milled rice trade in 2010 has been estimated at around 31. 3 million tons, compared to 29. 7 million tons in 2009. However, the demand for the import of medium and low-quality milled rice has been on the increase in Asia, due to the weather problems in the Philippines, crops failure and reduced subsidy on fertilizers in Indonesia, as well as the requirement by some countries in the region to fill in reserve stock. It is estimated that milled rice trade in Asia may reach 14. 5 million tons in 2010, and at the same time, the milled rice price may increase and fluctuate. Overall, the regional and global milled rice trade has high growth potential for the medium and long term, but there are some down-side risks, due to factors such as changes in prices resulted from changing economic and political landscape in every country across the globe. The potential for increasing milled rice trade could be attributed to factors such as population and economic growth and globalization that imply changes in lifestyle and taste in rice consumption. However, the global milled rice markets are protected and highly subsidized because of its political sensitivity and paddy rice growing tradition being important in the context of national religion and food security. Nevertheless, such developments provide an opportunity for Cambodia’s milled rice export into the global markets. Milling Rice Cambodian farmers take immense pride in having commenced construction of International standard rice mill in Cambodia. The state-of-the-art high capacity paddy-to-white rice mill in the Udon region is anticipated to be commissioned in Q3 2012 and represents the first of multi-phase investment strategy and deep-rooted commitment to the country. Significantly larger milling lines are planned for commissioning throughout 2013-2015. The complete milling operations are being designed from the ground up by world-renowned rice experts with unparalleled expertise in advanced rice milling process and technology currently used by the world’s most successful rice millers. The advanced mill design will provide immense flexibility in processing capacity enabling us to handle large scale paddy in short harvesting periods without affecting quality. All mills will be fully equipped with state of the art rice milling, grading, sortexing equipment from Japan and modern packing facilities to ensure consistent production of products to the highest standards whilst meeting the highest stringent quality and safety requirements of the national and international food and retail industries. Utilising multipass technology consisting of whitening and polishing, we can ensure efficient removal of bran and an extremely clean white appearance to the individual rice grains. Our optical sorters look at each individual grain of rice detecting shape, length and colour which guarantees uniformity and an average grain length. Reprocessing plants Until recently, Cambodian farmer didnt have access to high-quality rice seed. For years, the farmer did what most Cambodians do when it’s time to plant their fields: use leftover seed from a past harvest. But the quality of the resulting crops tended to be poor, producing rice that was often pale brown, small, and lacking in aroma. As a result, buyers and rice millers offered low prices, and his sales and income suffered. Almost of Cambodian farmer finally has access to high-quality seed. On the advice of program agronomists, since 2000 they planted a small test plot of the Phka Rumdoul variety to be used exclusively for re-planting. Phka Rumdoul is one of 10 rice varieties recommended by the Cambodian government for their high productivity, quality, and market value. Cambodian farmer harvested the test plot four months later to great success. Though the initial plot was small at 1,500 square meters, the harvest provided enough seed to plant his entire farm of five hectares next season. Program agronomists estimate that the improved seed – combined with Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia planting methods – will save them an estimated 70 percent on seed inputs and increase their sales by roughly 100 percent, both through increased production and higher prices when he sells. Lack of high-quality seed is a major hindrance to Cambodia’s rice industry. If the country hopes to reach the government’s target of exporting 1 million tons by 2015, Cambodian farmers must improve the quality of their product to make it more desirable to overseas markets. Increasing access to high-quality seed – in addition to good agricultural practices and improved marketing techniques, both of which Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia is addressing – is crucial to this happening. About 5,352 rice Cambodian farmer receiving technical assistance from Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia, a number that will grow to 30,000 over the life of the program. They have no doubt that Phka Rumdoul can find a market outside of Cambodia. â€Å"These seeds are high quality. You can tell just by looking,† they said one recent afternoon, sifting the grain through his fingers. â€Å"With good seeds and Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia techniques, I’m confident that I can produce high-quality, tasty rice. † b. Good and fertile soil condition and fertilizer usage Farmer use limited chemical fertilizer and natural fertilizers to its actuality: produce high yield and good quality paddy and good tasted rice. Fertile soil condition At the time of writing this report there were no data available on the degree of erosion in Cambodia. But because of the high vulnerability of soils to erosion in Cambodia and the accumulated impact on agriculture and the environment, attention urgently needs be given to the problem. That need is underscored by the following facts: Some 63 per cent of Cambodia’s forests are located in mountainous watershed areas (Ministry of Environment, 1994), much of which has been extensively logged, deforested or degraded. Loss and reduction of the vegetation cover leads to exposure of the soil to sunlight and heavy rainfall, which speeds up the decomposition rate and therefore decreases organic matter in the soil. The process also brings about changes in the physical and chemical soil structure. Consequently, the soil undergoes crusting, and the water filtration, and water and nutrient retention capacity are reduced. The end result is intensive run-off and erosion; Some provinces in Cambodia, sheet erosion can be seen as silt which has collected behind cut logs and stumps in the fields, while rill erosion occurs in some fields only three months after clearing and burning the forest for farming. When that occurs, the actual amount of top soil being lost, measured from the top of the remaining grass and tree stumps to the soil surface, is an estimated 1 to 1. 5 cm. The fact that rill erosion has already begun in some places suggests that the yearly top soil loss is very serious. Farmers have reported that yield decreases about 20-25 per cent in the second year of cultivation, and about 40-50 per cent in the third year on wards. Soil loss through erosion can be observed at coffee and hevea farms where the natural vegetation cover has been completed cleared, leaving the soil surface uncovered between the rows of young seedlings. Erosion occurs not only in the upland areas but also in the lowland areas. In practice, water run-off occurs on all land, and the top soil is lost when no protective and conservation measures are in place. In Cambodia, however, few people understand that erosion is a serious problem in the rain fed lowland areas. In addition, population pressure in the rain fed lowlands is triggering a chain of events which will lead to intensive run-off, erosion and a reduction in the groundwater recharge. Those events include: Excessive collection of fuelwood from woodland and forest areas; Overstocking and overgrazing (although the number of animals is increasing, the fodder supply is decreasing); Increased run-off of water from rice fields. Because dikes in some areas, for example, in Svay Rieng, are not high enough to contain rainwater, the run-off contains a great of nutrient. Fertilizer usage The average rice yields in Cambodia over the past five years have been relatively constant, varying between 1. 2 and 1. tons/ha in the monsoon season and 2. 5 to 2. 7 tons/ha in the dry season. During 1995/ 96 a considerable increase in rice yield was recorded: 1. 64 tons/ha in the monsoon season and 3. 0 tons/ha in the dry season (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1995). That rise in yield has b een linked to good weather conditions, increased use of fertilizer and the expanding cultivation of high-yielding varieties in the dry season1 . For other important secondary crops the yield has remained relatively constant. The average yield of cassava is 6. 61 tons/ha, sweet potatoes 4. 16 tons/ha, mung beans 0. 78 tons/ha, sugar cane 27. 29 tons/ha and soybean 1. 7 tons/ha (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1995). Soil fertility depends on the agro-ecosystem. There are four important rice agro-ecosystems in Cambodia: rainfed lowland rice; rainfed upland farming; deep-water or floating rice; and dry-season (mostly flood recession) rice. While declining soil fertility is increasingly affecting the rainfed lowland agro-ecosystem, the soil fertility in the other systems can be restored through yearly siltation or through the clearing of forest areas. Unfortunately, the rainfed lowland agro-ecosystem is the most important in Cambodia because that area covers about 85 pe r cent of the cultivated area of the country. Rice in that ecosystem is commonly grown on Ultisols and Alfisols (Reyes and others, 1995). Those soils, especially Ultisols which comprise the most common rainfed lowland soil, are sandy, acidic, extremely infertile and low in organic carbon and cation exchange capacity. The rainfed lowland areas are badly degraded, especially where land settlement has continuously occurred over hundreds of years (for example, Oudong in Kampong Speu province, and Bati in Takeo province). In those areas, the soils are very sandy and the top soil has been seriously depleted or eroded. IV. Price, Tax-free and Market of Cambodian rice a. Cambodian rice price in the market Cambodian rice’s price is competitive, especially fragrant rice. Cambodian milled rice is becoming more popular throughout Asia, particularly in Malaysia, which is the number one importer of milled rice from the Kingdom. The price of Cambodian paddy rice is 30% to 40% cheaper than its neighbors Thailand and Vietnam. This low profit margin is a competitive advantage but unofficial fees, high transportation costs and high processing costs make this less significant. Exporting paddy rice is a lost. If processed domestically, some byproducts such as broken rice, husk and bran can be used as important inputs for aquaculture and animal breeding that enable farmers to earn extra income. With more investment in modern rice mill facilities, Cambodia can increase its production of quality milled rice for the growing international market and boost the reputation and international recognition of the Cambodian milled rice standards. In this connection, the Royal Government must address the following issues to increase domestic value-added: High electricity price Electricity represents 25% of the total processing costs. This fades Cambodia’s competitive advantage and the situation can be worse taking into account high and volatile oil price. High energy price is an obstacle to the expansion of the irrigation systems. In the low land Mekong plain, petroleum products are used to pump water into irrigation canals. Therefore, high energy prices limit the ability of farmers to plant two paddy crops a year and to increase yields. For instance, urban dwellers pay 18 20 cents per kWh, while those living in the rural areas are forced to pay up to 30 90 cents, compared to 10 cents in Vietnam. Unreliable supply and high electricity price force rice mills to use their own diesel generators which cost them 12. 60 dollars or 2. 2% per ton of rice, compared to 23. 38 dollars or 4. 1% per ton if electricity is used instead. High transportation cost Poor transport infrastructures such as roads, railways, warehouses, and handling equipment increase rice price. To transport one ton of rice on 100-km road, Cambodian farmers must spend 15 dollars, while this costs only 4 dollars and 7. dollars in Thailand and Vietnam respectively. Moreover, the number of handling equipment and port-nearby warehouses are not adequate, a major challenge for rice export especially during rainy season. Lack of access to and high cost of credit Lack of access to and high cost of credit decrease domestic value-added and hinder milled rice expor t. Limited access to credit, both for working capital and investment outlays, represents an obstacle for rice millers to stockpile paddy rice and modernize their processing machineries. However, given the sound and vibrant banking system and a large amount of available credit lines, the capital and the costs of financing should not be a problem. The problem is that bank intermediaries do not clearly understand the risks and the expected returns from agriculture investments, as the majority of bankers believe that agriculture is a high risk and low return sector. Moreover, lack of borrowers’ financial information and records make it more difficult for the banks to assess the repayment capacity and the status of the borrowers. b. Tax-Free for Cambodian rice export Nowadays, Cambodian rice can export to some countries in the world is tax? free, e. g. , the EU Countries, Russia and China. However, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has issued a prakas that will exempt rice producers from a 1 per cent tax in a bid to stimulate rice production and exports. The prakas, or edict – dated October 11 and signed by Minister of Economy and Finance – rescinds the tax on rice production and milled rice sales for three years. The move comes as the Cambodian government attempts to close in on its goal of exporting 1 million tonnes of milled rice by 2015. President of Loran Import-Export Company, said was not aware of the prakas, but added that the tax relief would help the countrys rice exports as soon as it was implemented. Rice exporters have long insisted that Cambodia remove domestic rice production taxes, Minister said. Thailand and Vietnam do not have such taxes, and the removal of the tax would put Cambodia on a more equal playing field, he said. It would encourage exporters, including me, to be more motivated to export. General director of Rural Development Bank, said he was not sure of the significance of the prakas yet but he supported the ministrys attempt to push milled rice production. The ministry had tried to facilitate milled rice production very much. They have pushed hard for tax exemption of export,. As a relatively new player in the milled rice market, Cambodia faces a steep learning curve. However, with a surplus of 3. 5 million tons of paddy rice (equivalent to 2 million tons of milled rice), Cambodia has the potential to soon be among the top five milled rice exporters in the world. More importantly, growth in the agricultural sector will translate into more economic opportunities for Cambodia’s vast rural population. While not a silver bullet, the success of the rice sector is an exciting and potentially crucial driver in Cambodia’s prosperous and equitable development. c. Market Milled rice market is heavily protected and import procedures vary from one country to another. As Cambodia is a new player in milled rice market, it must face a steep learning curve and improve its export capacity to penetrate the international market. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Malaysia imported over 7,000 tonnes of a total 25,700 tonnes exported. Poland is the second-largest importer, importing 5,880 tonnes in the first month of the year, and France the third largest, importing over 4,300 tonnes. The of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and director of the single-window secretariat for facilitating milled rice exports, said though Malaysia ranked highest for milled rice exports, Cambodia could further capitalist on Malaysian demand for fragrant milled rice. Cambodia needs to diversify its exports to better take advantage of the Malaysian market, Vanhorn added. But Cambodia also still faces challenges in managing the use of different seeds grown in different areas, adding that officials could not always control the quantity of these unspecified seeds â€Å"According to these figures, we hope we reach our target, but anything can happen in the future,† Minister said, adding that â€Å"rice exports can be affected by many other factors†. The Asian market is huge for rice exporters, with Malaysia importing from Thailand and Vietnam as well. Malaysia imports a lot of rice to supply its market demand from Thailand and Vietnam, and now they also turn to Cambodia because of competitive prices. Cambodia announced two major bilateral trade agreements last month, with the Philippines and Thailand, that are expected to further expand the country’s rice export sector. Over the last few years, Cambodia has emerged as a major rice exporter in the region, due in large part to the Royal Government of Cambodia’s recent expansion of its agricultural sector. Agriculture, led by rice farming, contributes to roughly a third of the country’s GDP and has immense potential for strengthening Cambodia’s economic growth, accelerating poverty reduction, and improving the living standard of its citizens. As part of this agenda, in 2010, the RGC adopted a new Policy Paper on Paddy Production and Rice Export, better known as the Rice Policy, to promote diversification of Cambodia’s economic sectors by catalyzing growth in paddy rice production and milled rice export to match the growth seen in the garment and service sectors. In his keynote address at the policy’s launch, Prime Minister said: â€Å"The policy aims to ensure that we grab the rare opportunity to develop Cambodia in the post global financial and economic cataclysm. † If Cambodia’s rice export sector were to reach its full potential, it could produce 3 million tons of milled rice, with the total export value amounting to $2. 1 billion (approximately 20% of the GDP) and an estimated additional $600 million (approximately 5% of the GDP) to the national economy. It would also boost employment and income for agricultural farmers who make up more than 70 percent of the population living in rural area s. To better understand the bottlenecks in the rice sector, The Asia Foundation, in partnership with the AusAID-funded program, â€Å"Cambodia Agricultural Value Chain† (CAVAC), hosted a series of consultative forums last year in three provinces – Kampong Thom, Kampot, and Takeo – with stakeholders from the private sector (farmers, seed producers, agro-business owners, exporters) and the public sector (Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce, and Water Resources Management, provincial governors, provincial departments of line ministries, and local authorities). Approximately 370 participants attended the workshops and discussed how to create business-friendly environments (i. e. competitiveness and productivity, access to finance, access to markets), and the technical aspects of rice production (use of fertilizers and insecticides, seed categories, and availability of water sources). The insights were frank and eye-opening. Although the challenges are significant, the o pportunities for the sector are greater. Secretary of State for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, optimistically predicted that the RGC can achieve its target for milled rice: â€Å"With regards to RGC’s rice export target in 2015, we may achieve up to 80 percent of the 1 million tons planned. This should include the milled rice to Vietnamese, Thai, and non-EU markets. † Implementing a strategic framework like the Rice Policy is just the beginning. To increase the paddy rice production to meet market demand and promote the export of milled rice, the government must initiate and support a host of reforms in partnership with the private sector. For instance, to solve the issue of credit shortages for buying and processing paddy rice, the government can provide incentives to commercial banks to increase the loan portfolio for agriculture. At the end of the day, the RGC must keep the farmers themselves in mind. Introducing new technologies or improving agricultural practices can only go so far if they are not accepted and adopted by farmers. Donors and NGOs can play a pivotal role in providing support and facilitating the successful implementation of new policies and projects aimed at improving the agricultural value chain. V. Conclusion Though the current global milled rice market is highly protected, Cambodia is blessed with opportunity to export milled rice in the future thank to the increase in domestic paddy rice production and the potential in the world milled rice trade. So far, the performance of agriculture is outstanding especially in terms of productivity improvement and diversification, due to steadfast efforts of the Royal Government and all stakeholders including the participation of farmers. Rice will mainly mean the stunning landscapes of rice fields, yellow at harvest time, bright and liquid during the rainy season, with shades of green meanwhile. But to a Cambodian consumer and to a Cambodian farmer, as well as to their Government (and to the French economist), rice is the staple crop, a possible â€Å"white gold† as the Prime Minister once put it, and a major part of a poverty reduction strategy. Through, the Prime Minister launched a â€Å"policy paper on the promotion of paddy production and rice exports†. This is a good and promising example of a cluster approach to Cambodias growth strategy. Cambodia is an important but still small rice exporter. Cambodia has been an exporter of rice since 2004, but a large part of the exports was unprocessed (paddy) or even smuggled through the border. Yet Cambodia has abundant land and sits in a region that is both fertile for and in high demand of rice. So far the potential comparative advantage for rice was diluted by various costs, official (e. g. electricity) or unofficial (e. g. llegal check points). Poor coordination of public and private actors was also undermining the potential. For instance weak land titling systems and weak sanitary controls were a constraint that led to limited access to finance, itself contributing to limited value addition. However the significant increase in price in 2008 and again a rebound in the past few weeks has drastically changed the economics of the sector. The policy includes a range of actions, from helping farmers to organize in associations and use better seeds, to improving irrigation systems, developing certification systems, strengthening logistics, and facilitating access to finance. Although I did not get a chance to consult Paul the Octopus as my colleague in Thailand did, the policy makes a strong case for the rapid development of rice exports in Cambodia. Potentiality of Cambodian rice, Cambodia has great potentialities and prospects in paddy and rice production promotion for the supply. Cambodia will be able to produce large quantity of paddy in response to the increasing demand of the world markets. In the future, Cambodia necessarily need to export milled rice in large quantity rather than selling as paddy rice. In fact, high growth in agricultural sector will benefit most Cambodian people who are farmers with their living standard improved. Thus, the Royal Government is committed to promoting paddy rice production and removing all constraints to milled rice export from Cambodia. Indeed, the success of this policy will depend on actual implementation; and the task is complex and hard to achieve, yet it really requires cooperation, coordination and strong commitment especially by way of improving the leadership and management of all concerned ministries/agencies and stakeholders. The new policy recognizes this new environment and promotes: coordination of various actors along the value chain, from the rice fields to the export market; shift from production increase to commercial agriculture; and Organic rice should be promoted country wide Link all producer group into cluster and union Farmers should involved in this industry and form themselves into network Local and national authority support the industry NGO should provide more capacity building training related to value added Government should re-check the policy of land investment ( esp. land concession) Government should rehabilitate the existing irrigation system and build the new ones where the re is lack of irrigation system Government should facilitate to find the loan or provide loan to farmers with low interest rate to ensure that farmers will have enough financial resource to invest in this industry. Both government and NGO must try to look for and expand the market for organic rice products. Recognition of the leading role of the private sector and the critical facilitating role of the State. The Royal Government is strongly convinced that all ministries/agencies of the Royal Government and other stakeholders, including the private sector and development partners, and particularly Cambodian farmers across the country, will join hands in pursuing this mission to bring about development, progress, and prosperity to the Kingdom of Cambodia. Reference 1. Cosslett, Tuyet L. The Economy. Cambodia: A Country Study (Russell R. Ross, editor) Library of Congress Federal Research Division (December 1987) 2. Cambodian Environment Management Project, 1996. Summary report of Phnom Penh and provincial working group meetings on pesticide information and education (Ministry of Environment). 3. Dr. Jan-Peter Mund [[emailprotected] com] is working as Professor at the University of Eberswalde GIS and Remote Sensing and serves as an advisor to the UN-Water Programme at the United Nations University in Bonn. From 2007-2010 he was a Senior Researcher at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). 4. Cambodia Must Up its Game in Rice Exports, Khut Inserey is The Asia Foundation’s senior program officer in Cambodia. He can be reached at [emailprotected] org. 5. Policy Document on Promotion of Paddy Rice Production and Export of Milled Rice, Royal Government of Cambodia, 2010. 6. Abrar, S. , O. Morrissey and T. Rayner. 2004. Crop-level supply response by agro-climatic region in Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural Economics 55(2): 289–311. 7. ADB (Asian Development Bank). 2008. Food prices and inflation in developing Asia: Is poverty reduction coming to an end? Special report. Manila, Philippines: Asian Development Bank. 8. ACI (Agrifood Consulting International) and CamConsult. 2006. Cambodia agriculture sector diagnostic report. Diagnostic study, phase 1 of design. Agricultural Program, Cambodia, December 2007. Program concept document final report, prepared for AusAID. Bethesda, Maryland: Agrifood Consulting International. 9. Albayrak, N. 1998. Wheat supply response: Some evidence on aggregation issues. Development Policy Review 16: 241–263. 10. Arulpagasam, J. , F. Goletti, T. M. Atinc, and V. Songwe. 2003. â€Å"Trade in sectors important to the poor: Rice in Cambodia and Vietnam and Cashmere in Mongolia. † In K. Krumm and H. Kharas (ed. East Asia Integrates: A Trade Policy Agenda for Shared Growth. Washington D. C. : World Bank. 11. Ball, V. E. , et al. 2003. Modeling supply response in a multiproduct framework revisited: The nexus of empirics and economics. Paper presented at â€Å"The American Agricultural Economics Association Annua l Meeting. † July 26-30, Montreal, Canada. 12. Bogahawatte, C. 1983. Simulating the impact of changes in wheat flour imports and world price of rice on the supply and demand for rice in Sri Lanka. Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics. 13. CDRI (Cambodia Development Resource Institute). 2008. Impact of high food prices in Cambodia. Survey report. Cambodia Development Resource Institute: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 14. Choeun, H. , Y. Godo, and Y. Hayami. 2006. The economics and politics of rice export taxation in Thailand: A historical simulation analysis, 1950–1985. Journal of Asian Economics 17: 103–125. 15. Coleman, D. R. 1983. Review of the arts of supply response analysis. Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics 51(3): 201–230. 16. CSES (Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey). 2004 and 2007. National Institute of Statistics, Cambodia. 17. Danh, V. T. 2007. The role of prices in stimulating Vietnamese rice economy. Centre for ASEAN Studies discussion paper no. 52. University of Antwerp: The Netherlands. 8. Deb, S. 2005. Terms of trade and supply response of Indian agriculture: Analysis in cointegration framework. Indian Economic Review 40(1): 65–92. 19. Fan, S. 2008, Public Expenditure, Growth and Poverty in Developing Countries: Issues, Methods and Findings. Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins Publicat ions. 20. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). 2008. FAOSTAT. Rome, Italy. . Last accessed June 2008. 21. Flinn, J. C. , K. P. Kalirajan, and L. L. Castillo. 1982. Supply responsiveness of rice farmers in Laguna, Philippines. Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics 26(1): 39–48. 22. Grethe, H. , and G. Weber. 2005. Comparing supply systems derived from a symmetric generalized McFadden profit function to isoelastic supply systems: Costs and benefits. Paper presented at â€Å"The EAAE seminar for Modeling Agricultural Policies: State of the Art and New Challenges. † February 3-5, Parma, Italy. 23. Gunawardana, P. J. , and E. A. Oczkowski. 1992. Government policies and agricultural supply response: Paddy in Sri Lanka. Journal of Agricultural Economics 43(2): 231–242. 24. Hattink, W. , N. Heerink, and G. Thijssen. 1998. Supply response of cocoa in Ghana: A farm-level profit function analysis. Journal of African Economies 7(3): 424–444. 25. Heltberg, R. , and F. Tarp. 2002. Agricultural supply response and poverty in Mozambique. Food Policy 27: 103–124.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Outline For Urie Bronfenbrenners

The Outline For Urie Bronfenbrenners Urie Bronfenbrenner theory is based on ecological theory, which is focusing on environmental factors (Santrock, 2011). The Urie Bronfenbrenners ecological theory is explained how natural environments can be a big influence to the development of persons. In other words, the development of persons can be affected by the surroundings from home to the wider context such as culture. Bronfenbrenner stated that there were many different levels and types of environment effects that might affect how a child grows and develops (Shaffer Kipp, 2010). There are the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem. The microsystem refers to the interactions between a person and the people surroundings him or closes to him. To put in differently, it is the small and immediate environment where the person lives in for instance a persons family, school, peers, neighborhood play area and work. The second of Bronfenbrenners environmental layers is the mesosystem. The mesosystem is defined as the relationship or connection between different parts of the microsystem like the relationships between family and teachers, family and peers, and teachers and religious group. Next is the exosystem. The exosytem level has the less interaction or may not have it all between the children or adolescents and the other people or places but they may affect the development of the person herself, for instance parents work environments, extended family members and neighborhood. Last but not least is the macrosystem. Bronfenbrenner defines that the macrosystem consists of cultural, subcultural, or social class context ( Shaffer Kipp, 2010). It is wide, and the largest level in this theory but still it has a great influence to the person. The macrosystem includes the economy, government, wars, the relative freedoms and cultural values. Therefore, the persons can get the positive and negative impact from this level. Finally is the chronosystem. The chronosystem is about how the pattern of individuals life is changing over time depending on the environmental events. Besides, the environmental changes caused by cognitive and biological changing that occur at the puberty as well as the age of the individual. How the Bronfenbrenners ecological theory apply to child development Family, teachers and community members play important role in raising children with applying values and customs to socialize them so they can contribute something to the society. From the views of Barbour, Barbour and Scully (2011), children develop some attitudes by observing actions, hearing words and surmising the feelings of significant others in their environment. At this point, family, peers and religious group are located in the Bronfenbrenners innermost environmental layer, or microsystem. It means people in the microsystem are the major influence of the child especially at the early age. Childrens perceptions and behaviors can be developed early from home and the direct interactions take place in the microsystem like the interaction between a child and parents, siblings, teachers and peer group. Besides, the good environment and better encouragement to the child will affect how better the child will grow up (Oswalt, 2008). According to Oswalt (2008), Each childs special genetic and biologically influenced personality traits, what is known as temperament, end up affecting how others treat them. Another case is how some parts in microsystem having the connections or interrelationships among them like parents, teachers and peers. For example, a childs parents have a good relationship with teachers will have a major influence on childrens learning and acceptance of school. Also parents and teachers support the childrens interest and the competition that they participate. As a result, it will help the childs overall growth. The child might feel confident about her talent and ability consequently will affect her performance in study and have good relationship with other people. This kind of interaction between different parts of the microsystem is called the mesosystem. . According to the Shaffer and Kipp (2010), Bronfenbrenner argues that development of a child will be effective if the connections between microsystems are strong and supportive. Conversely, if the connections are non-supportive, it can produce trouble on child. For the third environmental layer or exosystem, this may not have contact with the child but might affect the development of the child. As an illustration, parents work environment. If both parents have their own careers, it might cause the conflict between the caring for children and the responsibility at the workplace. The conflict is largely happened to the mother because beside responsibility for children, they also have full participation at the workplace. Therefore, this will give the impact to the children and the time for family interaction will decrease, increased dependence on child care and fewer choices in recreation. As a result the family will have less information about the childrens activities and the children only depending on her friends who can be good or bad friends. Oswalt (2008) states that the child at home can possibly be affected by a parents experience at work. Then, another environment is about the larger context called the macrosystem. For example, the family role in culture, how children should be treated, what they should be taught and the goals they should achieve. The styles of interaction within family will reflect the roles expected of children (Barbour, Barbour Scully, 2011). For instance, in most European American families encourage their children to go outside and find and establish other relationship. While in Asian families cultures, they pay respect for elders and the children are expected to be family oriented and encouraged to work hard for the family. To sum up, very family has different styles in raising their children and from that it will influence their behavior. Lastly is the chronosystem. The chronosystem is about how the feeling, perceptions and attitudes of child can be changed over time. This model includes a temporal dimension (Shaffer Kipp, 2010). It is focusing on the ecological context of development or the transformation of the child can influence the way that development is likely to take (Shaffer Kipp, 2010). For instance, when the child is found out he is an adopted child, he will feel rejected and abandoned. He will have low self -esteem and struggle with identity development issues. This event may affect the child for a few years, but after he has grown up, the curiosity, sensitivity and the rebellious are becoming less and the interaction with family will be more stable. After all, the environmental factors like age, cognitive and biological changing play a major role in human development. How the Bronfenbrenners ecological theory apply children in preschool and early primary levels Normally children are only exposed to the family at home until they are placed in day care, preschool classes and begin their formal schooling. When they grow up, there are more exposures from many sources to them. In the microsystem, family is one of the factors that affect children in development. Furthermore, family plays important role to the physical development of children in aspect of education and family income. Family who has good education and good income usually has awareness with their diet. Therefore, parents will model healthy eating habits for their children, who are also dependent what food is put in the table. When the child gets enough nutrition in his diet, he will develop well. Besides that, environmental factors like family and peers also affect the social development of child. For example, when a child is shy, aside from inherited characteristic from a parent, it also can be caused from interaction between parents and child. Sometimes, parents are having less in teraction with the child and the parents dont even speak to each other. It will affect the social development of child, however, the difficulty to have appropriate sociality with peers will decrease after he enters the school. It can be concluded that, parents can influence the social actions of child but it will change after being exposed to the peers, hence surely can be influential factor to the development of child. The interaction between people in the microsystem is essential for the development of child in the aspect of emotional development. For instance, family-teacher relationship that many people overlooked the importance of this relationship especially the teachers that only focus on to their relationship with children only. Children in the school always feel insecure, difficult to accept criticism, or punishment and unadaptable. Therefore, parents and teacher should work together for childs growth and development. Teacher can know the family background of the child and their culture. Furthermore, it is really important for teacher to maintain the childrens culture since cultural identity and family connectedness are critical emotional health. In addition, both teacher and parents can discuss the childrens problem in school and together helping to solve the problems that may have lifelong consequences. Also, when their relationship is good, they can inform one another and the information might be useful and has lifelong effects on the child. Invite families to the social events in school and hold a parent-teacher conferences are some of the ways to build the partnership. On the whole, this relationship can provide support to children and build childrens emotional health. Next we proceed to the level where children do not make any contact with these people and places but still have an effect on them. This level is the exosystem. Parents workplaces and mass media can be a largely affected to the children in term of emotional problems and cognitive development. Parents nowadays usually spend their time at work more than at home with their children. It will result in having less time to spend with children. They dont have time to know their childrens activities, they cant control their children and they dont have time to help their children in developing important skills. Stress at work also influences the children because they might release their stress by resting and sleeping at home and lead to have less interaction with children. So then, the emotional problem will be faced by children because dont have bond with parents. Studies have shown children who are given plenty of attention and love usually less have emotional problems than those who do. Bes ides that, mass media also influences the development of children. Children can develop and acquire the cognitive development from the good television shows. For example Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go!, and The Smurfs. Moreover, another electronic media source is internet that also contributes the cognitive development of children. It provides children to solve problems, practice skills and creativity, and widen their knowledge base (Barbour, Barbour Scully, 2011). For instance, practice chess, puzzle word and creative writing. But, as long as parents monitor their children from accessing inappropriate websites, internet can be a rich resource for childrens lives. The next layer of Bronfenbrenners ecological theory is the macrosystem. Government plays a big role to the development of children. What government can do is enacting the law for protecting the children hence to ensure the well-being of development of children. The examples of the law are Education Act 1996 [Act 550] and The Compulsory Education Act. Both are related to the compulsory for parents to make sure their children attend preschool and primary school. Preschool Education is for all children to improve their necessary skills at the early age and the programmes are provided by Government in rural and urban area. The purposes are to develop basic communication skills, and characters, moral values, doing physical activities for good health and improve critical thinking skills through senses. Besides, the Education system in preschool emphasizes on nine elements for children development like Malay language, English language, Islamic education, moral studies, civics education and childrens physical development. From the policies, personal development and the socialization process can be acquired by children and can affect children positively. Summary Children acquire many things from surroundings for their development and they depend on how good and bad of their environmental are. Adult people should know their roles as parents, teachers and societies to the development of children. Although they affect the childrens growth and development in some ways, their behaviors and viewpoints also affect their perceptions and attitudes. However, adult also can be influenced by children. The family is the major influence in the systems because they are the most trusted by children. So it is essential for family to stress on the development of children in the elements of physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. The place also like home, is supposed to be the suitable place for children to develop with more tools provided and more interaction with children. Even though some environment is out of familys control, but they can do their best to develop their children necessaries skills for their lifelong consequences.