Lululemon Marketing Anaylsis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lululemon Marketing Anaylsis - Research Paper Example The company boasts of her ability to incorporate fashion and style in their products, which has ensured her strong brand recognition and high number of sales. The company’s concentration in Canada is much better especially brand awareness than in the US despite the fact that it has more stores in US than Canada. Current Market According to Tucker, Lululemon identifies itself with a high quality as well as exclusive yoga and sporting apparel strictly meant for female (Web). It operates in numerous stores across North America, Australia and New Zealand where it offers women’s wear for yoga, dance, running and other sport events. Most of the company’s customers are high-income women that are insulated to prices and the downturn of the economy as was evident in 2008 when the sales grew despite economic challenges. It has more stores in U.S compared with Canada that contributed to the $452.9 million revenue and gross of $ 223. Lululemon intends to make her US brand as better as the Canadian one because US has more stores than in Canada. The company is putting a lot of effort boost her brand awareness in the US market (Tucker Web). The organization has successfully returned to the community that gives it support such as hosting free yoga events around town. The company focuses on high quality products, which attracts higher prices for her upper income women target. Lululemon ensures prestigious and exclusive products that act as fashion forward and shows a healthy, well off lifestyle. The expensive high-end workout apparel has seen it standing even amid recession in 2008 due to the current market perception of the brand. Target Market Lululemon’s target market is 18-34 fit, health conscious and fashion forward, high-income females who are the company’s vital customers. The active young thinking woman who are appearance conscious, physically fit and well educated. Lululemon targets mostly the upper and middle class females residing i n North America with the niche marketing strategy by pursuing a narrowly defined market segment. The niche market strategy has greatly contributed to the success of the company thus making it remain a primary market target. In the recent past, the company has been striving to gain reach the male workout market for some time (Tucker Web). New male clothing brand with very high quality is another target market that the company looks forward to dominate. The males targeted are educated and physically active and appearance conscious aged between 16 and 45 living in North America. It is also targeting the pre-teen girls who may not be identified with the more mature females as well as more for more value proposition within all brands of the company. The target customer for Lululemon is very complex, active as well as health and is aimed at carrying out product expansion and matching the lifecycle and social status of those women. Current Marketing Strategy Acording to Ellis, Lululemonâ⠂¬â„¢s goal is to implement brand extension and reposition brand awareness that may result into 10% total growth as well 5% female growth within the next one year (Web). The strategy also involves holding a challenge in five Canadian cities and general 10% increase until 2025. The company has laid down various marketing strategies that may boost her sales and cover wider market. There are special marketing displays proposed by the management that helps in displaying products in stores for customers to distinguish between the products.

Team Week Three Reflection Essay Example for Free

Team Week Three Reflection Essay This week Learning Team was tasked with understanding three objectives. Those objectives were as follows: 2.1 State the purpose of the business research. 2.1 Develop appropriate research questions and hypotheses. 2.3 Identify dependent and independent variables in business research. Our learning team discovered that business research is designed to increase your understanding a given management dilemma by looking for ways others have addressed or solved problems similar to yours. Business research can be applied in any number of ways in a business setting, such as determining what kind of business strategy your competitors are using, and finding ways that other businesses have countered that strategy in the past. Business research can also be used to determine how to market a product coming to market by creating research panels to determine how potential customers will react to the product. We also learned that unless proper research questions are developed along with a meaningful hypotheses, any research conducted will be flawed or incomplete. For instance, without asking potential customers in focus groups what they don’t like about your new product or service you may launch the new product and see dismal sales as customers reject your product because of the faults you failed to find or correct. A corresponding hypothesis will help direct the research once the correct questions are asked, as well as leading to further questions to help complete your research. Questions and hypothesis are therefor intertwined, and can be considered together when creating a research plan. Finally, we discovered that independent variables are unchangeable, such as a research population’s social status. An independent variable is manipulated by the researcher, and the manipulation causes an effect on the dependent variable. There is usually more than one independent variable, and each of them are usually â€Å"correlated† to some extent.

Missing Children Essay -- Law, Adam Walsh

The case of six-year old Adam Walsh is perhaps one that will never leave the minds of anyone initially horrified by its details. In 1981 young Adam was kidnapped from a local mall and regardless of tireless efforts by his parents John and Reve Walsh, volunteers, and law enforcement; Adam fell victim to murder. Two weeks after the boy went missing, his decapitated head was located, but his body was never found. This prompted his father John Walsh to start a campaign and legislature policy submission toward more stringent accountability for child crime offenders. â€Å"The murder transformed John Walsh's life, turning him from a middle-class hotel marketing executive into one of country's best known advocates for missing children† (Thomas, 2008). In this paper, the initial legislative policy signed into law by President George W. Bush and the current policy addition initiative sought by Mr. Walsh is examined. The Scope of the Initiative With the signing of the initial policy by President Bush in 2006, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act became law. Aforementioned, the policy directive was to enact tougher laws on child predators however; the policy contains two additional provisions that would violate states rights and state policy’s currently in place for adoptive, foster, and relative caregivers. The two provisions contained in the Adam Walsh law are to follow. 1. Modified existing requirements for conducting criminal background checks 2. Created a new requirement to conduct child abuse registry checks of prospective foster and adoptive parents. (Miller, 2007). The policy provisions left the states the discretion of choosing placement however, if those in the household filing for adoption or fostering o... ...l, such as in Morse’s report cited, now have the opportunity to voice concerns and suggestions. Conclusion The Adam Walsh Act while regulatory and legislative, still requires changes before all parties affected stand united in approval. Whereas Congress could use its spending power to encourage state compliance, not all states would view this as constitutional. There is much to do concerning this act, but the outcome is unpredictable. Current filings to repeal or revise the entire Adam Walsh Act exist such as by Citizens for Change in America, represented by Michael R. Handler. The repeal document cites the AWA as being draconian and going against Due Process and the Bail Reform Act of 1984. Only time will prove the Adam Walsh Act is successful as currently written, but undoubtedly there are changes to come with such opposition and reasoning.

Working Mothers and Its Effect to Children

Mothers’ involvement in the labor force displays significant increase in the last decade as well as reliance to non-parental child care. Considering the traditional view of motherhood and parenting, this condition raises the question regarding children’s welfare while their mothers are engaging in professional work. Such question is generally not a new one. Various studies have engaged on researches about children’s welfare in relation of their parent’s behavior for many years now. However, there are still no conclusive results particularly in answering the question whether a condition where a mother is working part or full-time result in a worse condition for the welfare of the children in comparison to a condition where the mother is constantly at home. This question is also in line to questions whether enhancement in working hours has particular effects to children’s condition. In this paper, I will address the issue by reviewing the proponents and opponents of the sentiment that ‘working mothers causes negative affects toward their children’ and present my own opinions and arguments to the discussion. I. Summary of Positions The proponents of the sentiment are supported by the traditional view of mother hood and parental roles. Thus, they generally become the more popular side of the debate in social studies. In empirical perspective, proponents of the sentiment uses numerous studies which relate children’s behavior to parental behavior and discover that children with working parents at different ages performs poorer than other group of children in several cognitive and social tests and observations (Brooks Gun, 2002, Aizer, 2002). One study revealed that infants in the age of one to three years old will have a poorer cognitive performance when their mothers are working in their babies’ first year of life. Another study indicated that adolescence who spend more time unsupervised by their parents will have poorer academic performance and more likely to engage in socially poor behaviors. The opponent of the sentiment uses the flaws of the researches above. Most of the studies that generated acceptable results were studies about how children would be negatively affected by poor care or poor environment. One study even results in the increase in children’s academic performance as their parents gained better jobs which mean longer working hours. Opponents of the sentiment argued that it was not the fact that the mother is working that negatively affected children’s welfare and development, it was the fact that the children was placed on worse care than their parents while their parents were at work. In the basis of this argument, better jobs would result the ability to provide better care for the children while their parents are working, and thus would not necessarily result negative effect for the children (Conger 1994, Dearing, 2001). II. Statement of Position My personal position in this matter is based on logic and empirical studies. Although traditional sentiment and our intuition let us to believe that working mother would obviously resulted poorer care of the children, there is no actual proof of the sentiment. Statistical researches have so far failed to conclude in positive that working mothers do cause negative effects toward their children. Some have clustered results and some even produce the opposite of the sentiment. In short, I stand in negative that working mothers generate negative effect toward children. Another reason of my standpoint is the consideration that children’s welfare consist of various factors rather only few. Researches who attempt to find correlation between children’s welfare and parental behavior are mostly concern over children’s cognitive abilities and academic performance. Few actually consider the social and actual psychological and physiological effect of working mother toward the children. On the contrary to the discussed sentiment, a study revealed that there is no correlation between children’s poor dietary quality to the mother being active in professional work (‘Working Mothers, 2005). There is also no statistical correlation between the development of children’s behavior to the fact that their mothers are working or not (Anderson, 2003). Most of the cases where children having poor cognitive and physiological development and academic performance, and their mothers are working, displayed other factors behind the ‘working mother’ factors. They were these other factors, like poor environment, poor and unprofessional care given by the people in charge of the child while the mother was working, poor education and insensitive mothers, which causes the negative effect toward the children (Brooks-Gun, 2002). III.Multicultural Application The state in which the sentiment is popular is different in different cultures. In Europe and the United States, working mothers are considered more common phenomena. There are fewer concerns over the issues of child care by working mothers especially with the availability of professional caretaker services. Within these cultures, the fear over neglected children is also less due to the presence of various studies revealing that there is no actual evidence that working mothers generate children with poorer state of mind, body and soul. In other cultures, especially more traditional ones, the sentiment has a stronger existence. Some cultures even consider the sentiment as a general truth. In these cultures, leaving the child in their growth stages are considered taboo rather than generating adverse effect toward children. The consideration is influenced by socio-cultural thinking rather than scientific thoughts. However, if researches are to be conducted within these countries, the result would be in the advantage of proponents of the sentiment. This is caused by the state of the culture which may not be able to provide alternative care (beside the birth mother) with similar or better quality. Furthermore, beliefs and cultural suggestions contribute to making the sentiment a reality within these countries. IV. Critical literacy Despite the popularity of the sentiment that working mother has negative effect on children, statistical researches revealed otherwise. A study even revealed that children at the age 10-12 displayed increased cognitive and academic performance as their parents’ working hours increased. The researcher believes that this odd result has several explanations. The first is the fact that increased working hours means better pay and increased ability to provide better care or assistance to children’s daily life and education. The second is considering the psychological effect on children as they watch their parents achieving success is life. In some families, parents’ achievement is considered to have a significant influence that boosted children’s self esteem and efforts (Conger 1994). This strengthened my argument that most researches neglected psychological factors in children’s development as they define the correlation between working mothers and negative effects toward children. V. Civil Literacy A large portion of working mother throughout the world has no choice but to engage in professional work. Thus, getting the truth out about how working mothers affected children’s conditions and development is very much important because it will influence the lives of these women and their families. In the developed world where people have more access to researches and studies, it is more possible for working mothers to understand the risks that they might face and how to reduce them. In the developing world on the other hand, this sentiment might lead to poorer condition of children and the entire family because mothers are not allowed to engage in professional work and bring in financial contributions. VI.Science Literacy Researchers discovered that in the age of 3, children whose mother are working in the first year of the children’s life have poorer cognitive performance compare to children’s whose mother are not working. However, similar results are not discovered when researchers observe other stages of children’s life and age. Some argued that in further ages, the test instrument is no longer able to take into account various factors that influences the children cognitive behavior and therefore, unable to display conclusive results (Brooks-Gun, 2002). In my opinion, this is just scientific evidence that there is no actual justification to the sentiment that working mothers negatively affects their children VII.Values Literacy Scientific and cultural discussions are not one and the same. In most occurrences, their encounter generated contradictive opinions regarding the same phenomenon. This is also the case within this particular discussion. Culturally speaking, mothers are the natural caretaker of children at any age. Going against this sentiment is not something many of us would agree with, especially in a more traditional society. Nevertheless, in the latest decade, we have witness a change of culture, especially in the United States and the European countries. The change was first caused by necessities and later become a trend. Today, there are many women who voluntarily choose to work rather than stay home with their children all day. Therefore, I personally believe that culture can be gradually shaped by altered way of thinking in the community. VIII. Conclusion In conclusion, despite the growing new trend, I believe that being a working mother can be a necessity rather than a choice. In light of this condition, it is necessary for us to justly identify whether being a working mother means generating negative effect toward one’s children. Researches showed that there are no actual correlation between a mother who actively engage in professional and the negative effect suffered by children. On the other hand, other studies revealed that factors like mother’s insensitiveness, poor environment, poor quality of the caretaker and other factors are the ones who actually have a negative effect toward children’s cognitive performance, academic performance and dietary quality. Bibliography Aizer, Anna. 2002. ‘Home Alone: Supervision After School and Child Behavior’. Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Wallace Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 Anderson, Patricia M., Kristin F. Butcher, Phillip B. Levine. 2003. â€Å"Maternal Employment and Overweight Children†, Journal of Health Economics, 22(3), 477-504. Brooks-Gun, Jeanne. Han, Wen-Jui. Waldfogel, Jane. 2002. ‘Maternal Employment and Child Cognitive Outcomes in the First Three Years of Life: The NICHD Study of Early Child Care’. Child Development, July/August 2002, Volume 73, Number 4, pages 1052-1072. Conger, R. D., & Elder, G. H. 1994. ‘Families In Troubled Times: Adapting to Change in Rural America’. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine DeGruyter. Dearing, E., McCartney, K., & Taylor, B. A. 2001. ‘Change in family income-to-needs matters more for children with less’. Child Development, 72, 1779-1793. ‘Working Mothers do not Adversely Impact on Children’s Diets’. 2005. Sci Tech. Retrieved July 11, 2007 from

Community based tourism

On the one hand, al local level, opportunities have been observed to evolve plans for the participation of new actors and strategies, and for the involvement of civil corporations in the development process. Tourism is the travel for recreational, leisure, family or business purposes, usually of a limited duration. Tourism is refers to travel to another location within the same country and as well as trans-national travel. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people â€Å"traveling to and staying In places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes†.The concept of Community-based Tourism (CB) can be found in the work of Murphy (1985), where aspects concerning tourism and developing local communities are analyzed, and in a further study by the same author in 2004 (Murphy and Murphy, 2004). Along with these two studies, there are several other research papers analyzing the relationship between tou rism and local communities (such as Richards and Hall, 2000). This concept paves the way for new lines of investigation and for the possibility of tourism development together with other alternatives such as Pro-PoorTourism (PPTP); Community Benefit Tourist Initiatives (Cobalt) (Simpson, 2008); or Community-Based Enterprises (Cubes) (Mammary and Jones, 2007). To summaries, all these Initiatives agree that the destination community should be included In the tourism planning and management decision-making process, owed to three mall reasons: It considers them to be part of the tourist product, local communities adapt to changes easily, and it helps to open their minds. Several projects based on CB Kibosh, 2008), Asia (Enplane et al. 2006; Kaki, 2008; Kate, 2010), Oceania (Dyer et al. 2003), and in different countries of Latin America such as Brazil (Grouchier, 2007), Ecuador (Uric teal. , 2008), Mexico (Brings and Israel, 2004) and Peru (Zorn and Farthing, 2007). CB is based on the ac tive participation of the local community. This is why the creation of community events which may favors this type of tourism, while at the same time helping to create a relationship between the local community and visitors, is so important.To facilitate this, different public administrations, Non- Governmental Organizations (Nags), private institutions and the local community itself should get involved and work together. According to Enplane et al. (2006), the main limitations local communities have to face when implementing tourism projects are the following: lack of financial resources, infrastructure or know-how; limitations of a cultural kind; and potential conflicts between the different public administrations.At the same time, the following factors are described as being highly important for CB implementation (Kibosh, 2008): the inclusion of stakeholders, the evaluation of individual and collective benefits, the setting of objectives, And analysis f decisions to be implemente d. The main benefits of community tourism are the direct economic impact on families, socioeconomic improvements, and sustainable diversification of lifestyles (Mammary and Jones, 2007; Raster, 2010).CB is certainly an effective way of implementing policy coordination, avoiding conflicts between different actors in tourism, and obtaining synergies based on the exchange of knowledge, analysis and ability among all members of the community. One of the most controversial aspects in scientific literature is determining the number and type of tourists. Thus, Enplane et al. 2006) highlight the importance of receiving a small number of tourists, which means more contact with local culture and society. This way, the risk of tourists invading private aspects of the local culture is avoided.However, at the same time, his limited number of visitors reduces the economic resources generated by tourism Having taken this element into consideration, the creation of cooperatives allowing the communi ty to manage its own tourist resources is seen a fundamental element (Leap, 2007; Groans and Kaufmann, 2010). However, there are some negative aspects in the development of the tourist product, including he potential link between a high number of tourists, sex and alcohol, and the loss of cultural identity; and the hypothetical degradation of natural resources (They et al. 2002). In this case, residents have five alternatives to minimize this negative impact on the community – resistance, retreat, boundary maintenance, revitalization and adoption (Dugan, 1989). We must remember that tourism can change (or event destroy) the local culture if it is being treated as Just another tourist attraction and only aims for a rapid development of the area (Dyer et al. , 2003). CB is based on the reaction of tourist products characterized by community participation in their development.CB emerged as a possible solution to the negative effects of mass tourism in developing countries, and w as, and the same time, a strategy for community organization in order to attain better living conditions. Its core idea is the integration of hotel management, food and beverages, complementary services and tourism management, but also includes other subsystems (infrastructure, health, education and environment) as main characteristics, thus presenting a sustainable between the local community and visitors as a key element in the development of a aorist product (Choice et al. 2007). CB is protected and supported by different international organizations, such as the World Tourism Organization (2002), and has several objectives, among which community empowerment and ownership, social and economic development, conservation of natural and cultural resources, and a high quality visitor experience, should be noted. Community participation in tourism development has been originally developed and implemented in the so-called developed world, where tourism supply emerged.In these regions, sp ecial programmers have supported locally driven development. An example of this is the Else's LEADER programmers focusing on development of sustainable rural areas. It is now claimed that developing countries could avoid many of the problems that have plagued past tourism development by involving diverse social groups from the popular sectors of local communities in decision making. They should become convinced of the benefits of tourism and thus support its development or at least acquiesce to it with resignation rather than apathy.From the summary reflected above it becomes clear that a community-based approach requires mutual elaboration and co-operation, conceptualized as a process of Joint-decision-making among autonomous keys take holders of an inter-organizational, community tourism domain. It should be resolving planning problems and managing issues related to development of that domain. And it is exactly this that is missing in most developing countries. Now we come to the discussion of â€Å"preserve or develop† that is never ending, especially when focusing on developing countries.Community participation has been used to attempt readjusting the balance of power and reassert local community views against those of the developers or local authorities. Furthermore, though we think that community participation is a powerful tool to educate the community in rights, laws and political good sense, the question should be asked to what extent local people, with sometimes limited understanding of wider issues, can accurately decide what is best frothier long term well-being.Also, community participation should not only focus on this political dimension, ignoring financial and economic considerations which are often the primary drivers at local level. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: Community-Based Tourism (CB) enables tourists to discover local habitats and lilied, celebrates and respects traditional cultures, rituals, and wisdom. The community will be aware of the commercial and social value placed on their natural and cultural heritage through tourism, and this will foster community based conservation of these resources (www. Communicativeness's. Info). There are many study related on CB. Kaki (2008) developed the model of CB integrating the concepts the ladder of participation, power redistribution, collaboration processes, and social capital. The study demonstrated that the model can be used to assess the actual participation level in a study site. Bothersome, Byrd (2007) argued that there is not a definable single generic interest for the host community. The interests will be community can either assist in keeping an individual in a community or increase their chance to leave the community.Current tourism and tourism development in the community will also influence their support for future endeavors and their interactions with visitors. The support and interactions will in turn influence the overall success of the tourism development. Moreover, Baggier and Console (2009) elaborated the meaning of community in tourism. They argued that customers may interact with companies and other customers and may achieve more information that allows them to reduce their information asymmetry and become more empowered than they were in a pre-let era.Numerous recent researches report that online reviews and comments do influence individuals' purchase decisions, affecting the evolution of demand within communities. In this respect, virtual communities play a pivotal role in boosting tourist product innovation by leveraging learning from customer relationships. Customers may become a source of innovation since they gain an economic benefit from innovation which boosts their creativity, and show gig expertise which may be transferred to firms and among communities.Virtual communities allow people who interact to satisfy their own needs and to share purpose such as an interest, need, information exchange, or service that provides a reason for the community. Firms may leverage these communities by providing a suitable context where customers may share social conventions, language, and protocols. Bothersome, Bananas and Jasmines (2011) examined the potential of CB in Villain district municipality, as well as to propose measures to make this activity feasible.The study demonstrates that communities considered their participation in ours development reported a number of difficulties they have confronted with. The problems were mentioned most often: disagreement with the local government; lack of communal land; lack of finance; apathy and lack of initiative amongst local residents; lack of sociality and solidarity. Moreover, Lappers (2010) assesses the potential contribution of Community-Based Tourism Enterprises (Cubes) to poverty alleviation and empowerment.It shows that tourism income captured locally improves rural households' livelihoods and generates linkages in the local economy. On the Job learning, traini ng sessions and extensive support by non-governmental organizations and donors are further shown to empower rural actors and unlock socioeconomic opportunities for the future. In this context, Cubes can be characterized as pro-poor initiatives. However, this study provides counter evidence that the sustainability of such community tourism ventures is to be questioned.First, mainstreaming these projects within the competitive tourism commodity chain proves highly challenging and costly; second, communities' institutional and managerial capacity is weak and thus Cubes' viability is limited; finally, inadequate support by donors and non-governmental organizations fails to tackle challenges aced by community tourism ventures. Bothersome, Mammary and Jones (2007) evaluate the potential of Community-Based Enterprise (CUBE) as avenues of poverty alleviation in Kenya and the challenges facing them.The key factors that could influence local community attitudes towards CUBE fall into two cate gories: motivational factors and community factors. A sense of ownership was seen as critical so that local communities were adequately empowered and involved. CUBE initiatives had to be also have to be addressed. Furthermore, Foreleg and Boo (2012) studied Community- based customize. It aims at environmental conservation but it is also a way to empower communities, by allowing them a degree of control over tourism projects and their impacts.Foreleg and Boo explored the varying degrees of empowerment of host communities provided by community-based customize through a meta study analysis of six case studies of tourism projects. Not all contemporary tourism projects take local populations into consideration thus the six case studies are nonrandom selections for the purpose of representing the concept embodied in the thesis and showing its appropriateness with the new tourists' expectations. Furthermore, Salary (2012), studied community-based tourism using long-term anthropological fie ldwork in Tanzania.The study critically analyzes how well generally accepted community-based tourism discourses resonate with the reality on the ground. It focuses on how local guides handle their role as ambassadors of communal cultural heritage and how community members react to their narratives and practices. It pays special attention to the time-limited, project-based development method, the need for an effective exit strategy, for quality control, tour guide training and long-term our guide retention.Findings reveal multiple complex issues of power and resistance that illustrate many community-based tourism conflicts. The encounter with the â€Å"Other† is shown to be central and that the role of professional intermediaries in facilitating this experience of cultural contact is crucial. Tour guides are often the only â€Å"locals† with whom tourists spend considerable time: they have considerable agency in the image-building process of the peoples and places visit ed, (re)shaping tourist destination images and indirectly influencing the self-image of those visited too. Community Based Tourism Capacity Building Capacity building is important in preparing the community as a host as it will educate and prepare all community members to provide the best services. Through capacity building, skills are acquired. Training is given to increase the skill level and to strengthen the capacity of individuals and organizations to develop and support the program of CBT as a tourist activity. Capacity building for Kampung Sinaran Baru, Kempas homestay can be done based on study tour, where the community is learning to be better in Malaysia or abroad and the training program or course of communication are provided. Such courses are languages, computer skills training, finance and marketing courses, and homestay management. Part of the program for capacity building for the local community consists of eight modules described below and it is designed to educate and develop the skills of local communities. The modules are: Capacity Building -APEC TOURISM WORKING GROUP (TWG02/2008A) All the participants attain the course to learn how to behave in order to acquire good behavioral attributes. Every homestay has a first aid kit. Food safety, quality and knowledge is essential to the participants. Good level of communication with the tourists is highly encouraged because communication is very important to enhance learning and mutual understanding. Body language and signs aid high understanding and help participants to handle the tourists. The ministry of culture and tourism has a program in place, which is aimed at selecting a hand-full of participants and to train them on Basic English language skills. Many of them end up as better people by operating a public cookie’s kitchen which is part of the village tour by women or Teaching basket weaving and making handicrafts to the tourists Style of Leadership The success of CBT projects is essentially dependent on leadership and organisation. It is common for some members of a community to have more advanced skills or areas of experience than others. These people can champion their skills, show leadership in their skill area, and share their knowledge base with others in the community for everyone’s benefit (Effective Community Based Tourism: Sally Asker, Louise Boronyak †¦. ) In 2006, a female called Mrs. Norbi Binti Ahmad, is an Elder of the Kampung Sinaran Baru, Kempas homestay. As she teaches Quran, she had gained so much respect from the local community, she had the power to fight for the local community’s rights, and she is hardworking. Since 2006 she has been the only champion. Every 3 years they have an election to select local champion. The last time they had an election, competing with another nominee, she gained 40 out of 48 votes. The final decision is made by the local champion herself. Product development and packaging A tourism product in Malaysia that is becoming increasingly popular among local and foreign tourists is the homestay programme. Under the homestay programme, tourists live with a local family in a kampung (village) house and learn about close-knit family relationships, enjoy sumptuous home-cooked food and discover the simple lifestyle in the country. It offers a chance for visitors to experience the daily life outside of bustling capital cities and puts tourists closer to our natural â€Å"assets,† the culture and friendly people of Malaysia. Each homestay village has something unique to offer tourists and organizes its own special activities for their guests such as jungle trekking, fishing, rubber tapping, fruit picking, handicraft-making, etc. From just RM75 a day, a guest will be hosted by a family and share their meals and enjoy the daily routines of a kampung life. Accommodation is usually in traditional wooden houses on stilts set amidst a pretty landscaped garden. Basic amenities include bed and bathroom (either en suite or commonly shared). The homestay packages are priced between RM75 and RM295 ( per person) which include on-board bunk beds and meals, an entertainment coach with karaoke facilities for groups of 40 and above, as well as a full range of authentic traditional and cultural activities at the chosen homestay. The main objective of the programme is to promote the authentic experience of culture, tradition and lifestyle of the homestay communities. Sinaran Baru, Kempas homestay The experience derived from Kampung Sinaran Baru, Kempas homestay could be described as an amazing way of tradition life. Imaging been woke up first thing in the morning by the singing of birds and cockerels. Then feeling like sleeping more but the sounds of the birds continues to remind you to get up from the bed and face the beauty of the day. As you rise from the bed, open up your windows, plenty of fresh natural air salutes you. This unpolluted air brings in a new sense of life and energy for the day activities. Savory local food follows remarkable having lunch in the mushroom farm and the participation in a host of delightful activities throughout the day begins, such activities include harvesting local crops, visiting a fish farm, learning how to make traditional delicacies and playing traditional games. The unique experience which continues when the villagers try to involve tourists or rather engages them in the participation of cultural performances by inviting them to dance to the tune of their traditional music. This natural local enjoyment continues as fascinating spectrum of cultures and traditions in a Malay village of Kampung Sinaran Baru, Kempas indulge tourist in various village pastimes, from enjoyable indoor games to exciting outdoor activities. Furthermore, Tourist can acquire some basic farming skills for example, they can learn how to tap a rubber tree and learn how to weave a basket. They could visit the plantations, acquire some skills in harvesting, rubber tapping and fruits picking. Products and Activities Let’s relax and take your time to enjoy the beautiful scenery while mingling with the locals. You can experience the following at Sinaran Baru Rubber tapping, Homestay and Mushroom farming. There are activities like traditional dance, plantation visiting, mushroom farm, traditional game and handicrafts. 1. Mushroom farm (visit the farm and have lunch) especially for agriculture students. agro-tourism) Azmi said the company was started in 1986 with a shed has now grown to 10 barns that could accommodate as many as 60,000 blocks of mushroom. He said the response the company by the name of Mushroom Biotech Enterprise is moving one step further by introducing the concept of agro-tourism since February2007. He said the company is now able to attract tourists, especially from Singapore. â€Å"Through this company, they offer tour packages are preparing bre akfast of nasi lemak, two traditional cakes and drinks and fried mushrooms cost RM8 per person. . Typical Malay â€Å"kampung† house & local way of life (lifestyle) Visitors will experience the full spectrum of village life. Home-cooking lessons and meal times will surely be a memorable part of your stay. The wide variety and sumptuousness of painstakingly prepared dishes can sometimes be enough to confuse most people. Guests will learn how to prepare the food. This might include gathering, cooking and washing it as well. Experience the charm of Malay traditions that have been preserved throughout the ages, which remain very much alive. Live with your hosts, eat with them, be a part of their family. And when you return home, take with you a memorable cultural experience and the friendships of a family happy to welcome you whenever you return to Malaysia. 3. Traditional Malay dance & music (Zapin dance , kompang music) Zapin Zapin is a popular dance in the state of Johor. Introduced by Muslim missionaries from the Middle East, the original dance was performed to Islamic devotional chanting to spread knowledge about the history of the Islamic civilisation. Kompang Arguably the most popular Malay traditional instrument, the kompang is widely used in a variety of social occasions such as the National Day parades, official functions and weddings. Similar to the tambourine but without the jingling metal discs, this hand drum is most commonly played in large kompang ensembles, where various rhythmic composite patterns are produced by overlapping multiple layers of different rhythms. 4. Local traditional game (sepak raga,congkak,batu seremban) Tourists could experience playing Malay community traditional games such as sepak raga and congkak. 5. Fruit farm 6. Rubber & oil palm plantations

History of Education Essays

History of Education Essays History of Education Essay History of Education Essay Education began in the earliest prehistory, as adults trained the young in the knowledge and skills deemed necessary in their society. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling passed knowledge, values, and skills from one generation to the next. As cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond skills that could be readily learned through imitation, formal education developed. Schools existed in Egypt at the time of the Middle Kingdom. Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclid’s Elements published in 1607 Plato founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in Europe. The city of Alexandria in Egypt, established in 330 BCE, became the successor to Athens as the intellectual cradle of Ancient Greece. There, mathematician Euclid and anatomist Herophilus constructed the great Library of Alexandria and translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. European civilizations suffered a collapse of literacy and organization following the fall of Rome in AD 476. In China, Confucius (551-479 BCE), of the State of Lu, was the country’s most influential ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and neighbors like Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Confucius gathered disciples and searched in vain for a ruler who would adopt his ideals for good governance, but his Analects were written down by followers and have continued to influence education in East Asia into the modern era. After the Fall of Rome, the Catholic Church became the sole preserver of literate scholarship in Western Europe. The church established cathedral schools in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education. Some of these establishments ultimately evolved into medieval universities and forebears of many of Europe’s modern universities. During the High Middle Ages, Chartres Cathedral operated the famous and influential Chartres Cathedral School. The medieval universities of Western Christendom were well-integrated across all of Western Europe, encouraged freedom of inquiry, and produced a great variety of fine scholars and natural philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas of the University of Naples, Robert Grosseteste of the University of Oxford, an early expositor of a systematic method of scientific experimentation, and Saint Albert the Great, a pioneer of biological field research. The University of Bologne is considered the oldest continually operating university. Elsewhere during the Middle Ages, Islamic science and mathematics flourished under the Islamic caliphate which was established across the Middle East, extending from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus in the east and to the Almoravid Dynasty and Mali Empire in the south.

Charles Darwin Student WebQuest

Charles Darwin Student WebQuest Learning about the life and work of scientist Charles Darwin can be more engaging with a lesson plan incorporating a WebQuest. Students can do their own research to learn more about the Father of Evolution by using these questions with the links provided. Charles Darwin WebQuest:    Directions:  Go to the webpages listed below and answer the following questions using the information on those pages.    Link #1:  Who Is Charles Darwin?  https://www.thoughtco.com/who-is-charles-darwin-1224477​    1.  When and where was Charles Darwin born?  What were his parents named and did he have any siblings?    2.  Briefly describe Darwin’s schooling and why he did not become a doctor.    3.  How did Darwin get selected to sail on the HMS Beagle?    4.  What year did Darwin first propose the Theory of Evolution through Natural Selection and who was his collaborator?      5.  What was the name of his most famous book, when was it published, and why was he so reluctant to publish it?    6.  When did Charles Darwin die and where is he buried?    Link #2: 5 Interesting Facts About Charles Darwin https://www.thoughtco.com/interesting-facts-about-charles-darwin-1224479​    1.  Who did Charles Darwin marry and how did he meet her?  How many children did they have?    2.  What TWO things did Charles Darwin have in common with Abraham Lincoln?    3.  How did Darwin influence the beginning of Psychology?    4.  What is the name of the book Darwin wrote that was influenced by Buddhism and how is it related to that religion?    Link #3:  People Who Influenced Charles Darwin https://www.thoughtco.com/people-who-influenced-charles-darwin-1224651​ (Note:  In this section, you may have to click on the links of the people’s names to get to their biographies to answer some of the following questions)    1.  Give the birth and death dates of Jean Baptiste Lamarck.    2.  What did Lamarck believe would happen to older, unused structures as new adaptations took over for them?    3.  Who influenced Darwin to come up with the idea of Natural Selection (also sometimes called â€Å"Survival of the Fittest†)?    4.  The Comte de Buffon was not a scientist.  What area was he most known for and what did he help discover?    5.  Alfred Russel Wallace contributed to the Theory of Evolution as well but is far less known outside scientific circles. Briefly describe Wallaces contributions.    6.  What relation was Erasmus Darwin to Charles Darwin and how did he influence Charles Darwin?    Link #4:  Darwin’s Finches  https://www.thoughtco.com/charles-darwins-finches-1224472​    1.  How long did it take the HMS Beagle to reach South America and how long did they stay there?    2.  Besides the finches, what two things did Darwin study while on the Galapagos Islands?    3.  What year did Darwin return to England and whom did he enlist to help him figure out the situation with the finches’ beaks?  (Name the man and his occupation.) Describe the man’s reaction and what he said about Darwin’s information.    4.  Relate why the finches had different beaks to the evolution of the species.  How did this new information compare to Jean Baptiste Lamarck’s ideas?    5.  What is the name of the book Darwin published about his trip to South America?

Tail and Tale - Commonly Confused Words

Tail and Tale - Commonly Confused Words The words tail and tale are homophones: they sound the same but have different meanings. Both a noun and a verb, tail has several meanings, including the rear part of an animal or vehicle. The noun tale refers to a report or story. Examples: A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.(Mark Twain)I used small words and short sentences as if I were telling a fairy tale to a child.(Maya Angelou,  The Heart of a Woman. Random House, 1981)Memphis is a sad story of long-distance love, with an unexpected twist at the tail end of the tale.(Fred Rothwell, Long Distance Information: Chuck Berrys Recorded Legacy. Music Mentor Books, 2001) Practice: (a)  Kevin told a wonderful _____ about an angel who falls in love with a girl and then becomes human so that he can be with her.(Christopher Pike, The Midnight Club, 1991)(b) A dog wags its _____ with its heart. Answers (a)  Kevin  told a wonderful  tale  about an angel who falls in love with a girl and then becomes human so that he can be with her.(Christopher Pike,  The Midnight Club, 1991)(b) A dog wags its  tail  with its heart. See also: Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words   A Misspelled Tail, by Elizabeth T. Corbett

Qualitative Research Methods Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Qualitative Research Methods Assignment - Essay Example Meanwhile, Cox (2003) discovered that intrapersonal, intragroup, and intergroup conflict have negative impacts on work satisfaction and team effectiveness. On the other hand, Gilson, et al. (2005) found out that standardization is capable of influencing the relationship between creativity and team effectiveness. Research Question and Setting Cognizant of the differences in perceptions of team effectiveness, this qualitative study will attempt to address the research question: Do the perceptions of team effectiveness of selected members of virtual teams in INT Corporation EMEA closely approximate the theoretical components of team effectiveness? A qualitative research is deemed most appropriate for this study because the study intends to explore attitude and behaviours by obtaining in-depth opinions from the respondents of the study (Dawson, 2004). Needless to say, therefore, that the setting will be INT Corporation EMEA. Sampling and Data Gathering Since interviews will take much lon ger than a questionnaire survey, a qualitative research can not accommodate as many respondents as a survey. Sample size was determined using randomised parameters: (1) margin of error of 7%; (2) confidence level of 90% (3) company population of 60,000; and (4) response distribution of 10%. The minimum required sample size is 50. However, selection of respondents will not anymore be randomised, but through purposive sampling. Dane (2011) describes purposive sampling as the selection of sampling elements grounded on characteristics of interest for the study, which in this case is, membership in a virtual team. Purposive sampling does not involve probability sampling, but combining sampling procedures in this regard are allowed and practiced according to Teddlie and Tashakkori (2009). Data for the study will be collected using one of the most common methods of qualitative research – a semi-structured interview using an interview guide as the main instrument of the study. A semi -structured interview may be described as one which â€Å"consists of predetermined questions related to the domains of interest, administered to a representative sample of respondents to confirm study domains and identify factors, variables or attributes of variables for analysis or use in a survey† (Schensul, et al., 1999, p. 149). The study can benefit from semi-structured interviews since this data gathering procedure harmonises the flexibility of unstructured or open-ended interviews and the directionality of the survey questionnaire, capable of generating focused qualitative data. The best thing about a semi-structured interview is that the questions are formulated before the actual interview, but the answers are open-ended and may be expanded based on the discretion of the interviewer. The main limitation of interview as a data-gathering technique is the time required to conduct the interview. This is usually offset by using a smaller number of respondents. Hence, in-d epth information can be gathered from the respondents or interviewees. In this study, perceptions of team effectiveness will be categorised into five areas, namely: atmosphere, relationships, communication, direction and objectives. Five main questions corresponding to the five categories named will be included in the interview guide. These questions are: 1. How will you describe the

The Effect of Emotional and Psychosocial Difficulties and Anonymity in Research Proposal

The Effect of Emotional and Psychosocial Difficulties and Anonymity in Online Interaction on the Willingness of Teenagers to Engage in Cyber Bullying - Research Proposal Example Ultimately, it is similarly crucial to become aware of useful ways of addressing episodes of cyber bullying when they happen. Statement of the Problem Cyber bullying, not like traditional bullying, can take place anytime and anywhere, and it is virtually unlikely for a cyber bullying victim to avoid or walk away from the cyber bully. Moreover, in majority of cases, even though the cyber bully knows or is acquainted to the victim, the latter does not know his/her attacker’s identity. Hence, according to some studies (Willard, 2006), anonymity in the Internet is the primary motivator of cyber bullying. However, aside from this external motivation, there are also internal ones such as emotional and psychosocial problems (Ybarra et al., 2007) which are discussed in the latter sections of the research proposal. This study focuses on the motivations behind the behavior of cyber bullies. More specifically, this study explores potential motivators, namely, (1) emotional and psychosoci al factors (e.g. depression and anxiety) and (2) anonymity in the Internet. Brief Background to the Problem Cyber bullies have distinct social and psychological profiles. Teenage cyber bullies, according to Pellegrini and colleagues (1999), have a tendency to have low self-discipline and high emotionality. Even though bullies are reactively and proactively antagonistic, bullies seem to exercise proactive hostility to build authority and power in their peer groups. Bullies display little or no empathy to their victims (Pellegrini et al., 1999). As reported by Menesini and colleagues (2003), bullies are usually aware of the feelings of their victims but are reluctant to or incapable of letting those sentiments affect them. Schoolyard bullying and cyber bullying equally... Cyber bullies have distinct social and psychological profiles. Teenage cyber bullies, according to Pellegrini and colleagues, have a tendency to have low self-discipline and high emotionality. Even though bullies are reactively and proactively antagonistic, bullies seem to exercise proactive hostility to build authority and power in their peer groups. Bullies display little or no empathy to their victims. As reported by Menesini and colleagues, bullies are usually aware of the feelings of their victims but are reluctant to or incapable of letting those sentiments affect them. Schoolyard bullying and cyber bullying equally affect bullies. Bullying, as reported by Ybarra and colleagues, is correlated with serious psychological and health difficulties among adolescents such as poor academic performance, emotional distress, anxiety, and depression. Research on cyber bullying is a new field of inquiry. Even though studies on cyber bullying focus on the effects of bullying on victims and other researchers have explored the frequency, associated factors and forms of victimization and incident of cyber bullying in depth, there remains an inadequacy of findings about the factors that motivate adolescents to engage in cyber bullying and whether cyber bullying behaviors can be predicted from certain psychological and social needs. These issues are addressed in the study.

Turkey and the European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Turkey and the European Union - Essay Example As a prerequisite for joining the union, a country should satisfy a basic condition of being able to prove that it is democratically stable and able to address the issues of humanitarian and international concerns. However, the public and media circles have been full of accusations labeled against turkey mostly because it is a predominantly Muslim nation. Most of the European Union nations have argued that the country is of an incompatible value system having been through a different timeline in its historical and religious history. As a result, the arguments against the nation’s membership to the EU have been based on a religious cum cultural compatibility with other states in the union. In other words, by being a country that has faced a lot of historical influence through Islamic dominance in its political and social structure, the opposing voices for the country’s inclusion in the EU state that this has worked against the country. The attachment of Islamic faith wit h terrorism has also been a factor in the determination of the country’s EU status at least according to some public observers. The fear of Islam among other faiths in the region has been high in the aftermath of terror attacks in major European cities; all connected to individuals or groups of Islamic background. It then follows that most people have wanted to associate the integration of the country into the union to increased terrorism in the region. Apart from the country’s religious heritage, its size has been a factor with many arguing that the country population which nears that of Germany; may be a hindrance to the region’s economic development. Other issues raised have attachment to the country’s poverty index, largely rural population and conflict prone boarders. Turkey has myriad of problems just like other European Union countries. Some of the problems are a result of the coup attempt in Cyprus. Muftuler and Guney (282) indicate some of the re asons why this conflict has a bearing on the determination of Turkey as a member of the EU. The origin of this conflict starts with the long followed conflict in Cyprus, which stems from the Greek and Turkish Cypriots living in the country. The country has been in the middle of the conflict due to its push to defend their counterparts who are settled in Cyprus. One factor that complicates this matter is that Greece is already a member of the EU yet it has been conflicting with the country concerning Cyprus. Turkey’s involvement in the conflict was as a result of the marginalization of the Turkish Cypriots even after the United Kingdom, Greece and the country signed a treaty of guarantee to Cyprus. This issue also highlights the problem of immigration. Migration has historically been attached to the enhancement of multiculturalism in regions such as Europe. However, Huysmans (752) highlights that a social realignment of this issue has resulted in ‘securitization of migra tion.’ Simply put, migration has been attached mostly to security issues rather than on the potential of interactions of the immigrants that can result into economic and social development. Most western nations have always majored on security and used this as a reason for restricting movement against the foundations of freedoms of association and movement.

Answer the questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Answer the questions - Assignment Example Under such bacterial attack, the body is unable to fight back because of weakened immunity. Because of stress, the brain functioning gets affected negatively as the learning capability of individuals and memory work poorly. The productiveness of an individual is also affected because of stress. Stress hits the brain due to which, people are unable to feel pleasure in anything. The chronic stress and telomeres are connected because chronic stress shortens the telomeres due to which, the aging process is fast. In fact, the stress hormones speed up the shortening of telomeres. The medically serious aging is because of chronic stress. According to the Dutch Hunger Winter study, the children born with fetal stress undergo the consequences of this stress even in their late lives; they have augmented risks of heart diseases, poor health and hypercholesterolemia. Therefore, the health of the children who underwent fetal stress, have dire health consequences. In the tuberculosis crisis, the alpha male baboons, the one who were aggressive and dominant got killed while the other baboons that were left behind led a more calm and non-aggressive life. The troupe lived in much harmony due to which, the stress levels were reduced. The lesson that can be learned here is that people do not worry about their status in society until others make them worried. It means that human beings working in any rank can be satisfied and less stressed out if society does not humiliate them about their ranks. The aggressive people pressurize others due to which, there is more stress with people of lower statuses. The baboons teach us about stress management that we should be more giving than receiving, should have social affiliations, should be friendly and accommodative in place of dominating, and lastly, we should be appreciative and should allow others to express themselves. A stress free life is essential for healthy

Third World and Climate Change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Third World and Climate Change - Research Paper Example The principal way in which humans are understood to be affecting the climate is through the release of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the air† (‘What is Climate Change’, 2010). As the environment is mostly affected by climate change, agriculture is facing an unknown future due to the increased rivalry for land, water, and labor from non-agricultural sectors and also increasing climatic unpredictability. The latter is connected with global warming and will result in significant seasonal/annual unpredictability in food production. All agricultural products are susceptible to droughts, floods, tropical cyclones, heavy precipitation events, and heat waves. These are known to have an impact on agricultural products and farmers’ livelihoods. Kumar et al. (2011) assert: â€Å"It has been projected by the recent report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and a few other global studies that unless we adopt, there is a probability of 10–40% loss in crop production in India by 2080–2100 due to global warming, despite beneficial aspects of increased CO2†. Agriculture and grazing currently occupy 40 percent of the earth’s land surface. Mendelsohn and Dinar (2009: 544) make the argument that â€Å"agriculture is responsible for six percent of the world’s GDP†. In many developing countries, agriculture is the most important sector of the economy and is the prime source of livelihood for about 70 percent of rural residents. Climate change has an effect on farmers all over the world because it affects both crops and farm animals in different ways, either directly or indirectly. On the other hand, there are adequate facts to expect that climate change will affect agricultural productivity. Mendelsohn and Dinar (2009: 546) further assert:   

Chap 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chap 8 - Essay Example In practice, the audit process has five steps: planning, studying and evaluating controls, testing and evaluating controls, reporting, follow up and reports (Hingarh and Ahmed, 39). Understanding the scope of an audit is fundamental in ensuring that one conducts a successful audit. The scope of an audit is supposed to guide the editor and give him understanding of exactly what is expected of him during the audit (Hingarh and Ahmed, 56). In the case given, the scope of the audit required that the IT manager identifies the causes of bounced checks, unrecorded transactions especially between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. In addition to this, the manager was expected to identify the cause of wrong order of execution of business transactions. Apart from the scope of an audit, IT managers conducting systems audit and supposed to understand the best control environment that will give the best results of an audit. The control environment helps managers to know exactly the best control features to add to a system for better performance (Hingarh and Ahmed, 68). In conclusion, information system audit is an important exercise in any organization’s systems and needs to be done regularly to avoid errors and miscalculations in a system. According to research, system audit saves many companies from losses and ensures steady execution of business activities and transactions (Hingarh and Ahmed,

Third World and Climate Change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Third World and Climate Change - Research Paper Example The principal way in which humans are understood to be affecting the climate is through the release of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the air† (‘What is Climate Change’, 2010). As the environment is mostly affected by climate change, agriculture is facing an unknown future due to the increased rivalry for land, water, and labor from non-agricultural sectors and also increasing climatic unpredictability. The latter is connected with global warming and will result in significant seasonal/annual unpredictability in food production. All agricultural products are susceptible to droughts, floods, tropical cyclones, heavy precipitation events, and heat waves. These are known to have an impact on agricultural products and farmers’ livelihoods. Kumar et al. (2011) assert: â€Å"It has been projected by the recent report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and a few other global studies that unless we adopt, there is a probability of 10–40% loss in crop production in India by 2080–2100 due to global warming, despite beneficial aspects of increased CO2†. Agriculture and grazing currently occupy 40 percent of the earth’s land surface. Mendelsohn and Dinar (2009: 544) make the argument that â€Å"agriculture is responsible for six percent of the world’s GDP†. In many developing countries, agriculture is the most important sector of the economy and is the prime source of livelihood for about 70 percent of rural residents. Climate change has an effect on farmers all over the world because it affects both crops and farm animals in different ways, either directly or indirectly. On the other hand, there are adequate facts to expect that climate change will affect agricultural productivity. Mendelsohn and Dinar (2009: 546) further assert:   

War crimes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

War crimes - Essay Example o justice has been the fact that it provides a mechanism for international prosecutions where crimes committed that are not catered for within the state policy can be looked into, in addition to this, heads of state are not immune to prosecution thus the full potential of justice is achieved (Maweni, 2011). The court is also not affiliate to the United Nations hence it is not a political instrument. With these views in place, the ICC and other tribunals are in a position to ensure that justice prevails (Maweni, 2011). However, despite these successes, the court is faced with some setbacks. The weakness that tribunals and the ICC face is the fact that given the number and range of crimes that are committed against humanity, it is hard for the ICC to decide on which ones to prosecute and which ones to leave (Russell & Elliot, 2002). This is under the trigger mechanisms, which are three ways under the Rome Statute through which cases can be taken to the ICC. A state party forwarding a case to the tribunal is the most contentious issue because state decision may be interfered with sovereignty and power of the concerned parties (Russell & Elliot, 2002). Therefore, justice for war crime victims may not be achieved if a country does not forward its case to the ICC. As per discussions in the meeting, to ensure that international bodies ensure justice in cases of war crimes, it is the responsibility of various states to support its initiative. This is because the courts can only act in areas where they have jurisdiction. Countries such as America do not support it and this and other nations that do not support the tribunal may be impeding the true course of justice that may be provided by an international tribunal and the International Criminal

Tourism Industry in India Essay Example for Free

Tourism Industry in India Essay This gave India the fifth rank among countries with the fastest growing tourism industry. India has a large medical tourism sector which is expected to grow at an estimated rate of 30% annually to reach about ? 9,500 crore by 2015. In the year 2011, there were nearly 6. 29 million foreign tourist arrivals in India, up by over 8% from the year 2010 when 5. 78 million foreign tourists arrived in India. Domestic tourist visits to all states and Union Territories numbered 747. 70 million. The majority of foreign tourists come from the United States (16%) and the United Kingdom (12. %). In 2011 Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi were the most popular states for foreign tourists. Domestic tourists visited the states Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu most frequently. Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Agra have been the four most visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2011. Worldwide, Chennai is ranked 41 by the number of foreign tourists, while Delhi is ranked at 50, Mumbai at 57 and Agra at 65. The Travel amp; Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011 ranked the price competitiveness of Indias tourism sector 28th out of 139 countries. It mentions that India has quite good air transport (ranked 39th), particularly given the country’s stage of development, and reasonable ground transport infrastructure (ranked 43rd). Some other aspects of its tourism infrastructure remain somewhat underdeveloped however. The nation has very few hotel rooms per capita by international comparison and low ATM penetration. The Indian government has identified a shortage of 150,000 hotel rooms, with most of the undersupply in the budget sector. The Ministry of Tourism designs national policies for the development and promotion of tourism. In the process, the Ministry consults and collaborates with other stakeholders in the sector including various Central Ministries/agencies, state governments, Union Territories and the representatives of the private sector. Concerted efforts are being made to promote new forms of tourism such as rural, cruise, medical and eco-tourism. The Ministry also maintains the Incredible India campaign. Indias rich history and its cultural and geographical diversity make its international tourism appeal large and diverse. It presents heritage and cultural tourism along with medical, business and sports tourism. ABSTRACT Tourism today is the most vibrant tertiary activity and a multi-billion industry in India. Traditionally known largely for its historical and cultural dimensions, tourism today is highlighted for its immense business opportunities. With its lucrative linkages with transport, hotel industry etc. , the potential and performance of India’s tourism industry needs to be gauged in terms of its socio-economic magnitudes. This paper traces the progress made by India’s tourism industry in the planning era, and the emerging issues (like alternative tourism) under globalization. It examines the problems and challenges of the country as well as the pitfalls in tourism planning in India. The paper also makes some policy suggestions to address the constraints in promoting sustainable tourism in India. The Indian governments Incredible India tourism campaign and the information technology growth in India have been attracting millions of foreign tourists and business tourists to India. Medical tourism has also recently mushroomed in India. Tourism industry is a big foreign exchange earner in India, yet the industry still is hampered by Tourism development has always has been an integral part of the country’s five-year plans. Initially allocations were meager: Rs. 3. 36 crore in the Second Plan,Rs. 5 crore in the Third Plan ;amp; Rs. 36 crore in the Fourth Plan. It was doubled in the Fifth Plan. The National Tourism Policy in 1982 gave a momentum to this sector. Expenditure rose from about Rs. 187 crore in the Seventh Plan to Rs. 95 crore in the Ninth Plan and further to Rs. 2900 crore in the Tenth five-year Plan. The Tourism Development Corporation, Tourism Finance Corporation, Hotel Management and Catering Technology Institutes, Food Craft Institutes, Indian Institute Tourism and Travel Management, India Tourism Development Corporation, Indian Association of Tour Operators, Travel Agents Association of India and a large number of hotel management colleges, sports and adventure clubs, beach resorts etc have also contributed to the growth and development of this industry. Emphasis laid on HRD is clear. The first major effort to promote the industry was launched with the announcement of 1991 as the ‘Visit India Year’. Enormous tourist resources were commercialized. The first ever Indian Tourism Day was celebrated on January 25, 1998. The year 1999 was celebrated as ‘Explore India Millennium Year’ with a host of shows, exhibitions etc. The next decade saw the restructuring of the schemes of Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits, and Product/Infrastructure Destination Development. Additional schemes/incentives were announced for service providers. Upgrading of beaches, airports, tax incentives were also introduced. Besides creating an official website for the Tourism Ministry, now the calendar of events is planned. Even the new initiatives to encourage the NRIs and PIOs, through visit India programmes, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebration, Dual Citizenship to certain categories of diasporic Indians have given much fillip to tourism in India. Thanks also to the booming IT and outsourcing industry a growing number of business trips are made by foreigners to India, who will often add a weekend break or longer holiday to their trip. Foreign tourists, generally spend more in India than almost any other country worldwide. Tourist arrivals are projected to increase by over 22 per cent per year through till 2010, with a 33 per cent increase in foreign exchange earnings recorded in 2004. The Tourism Ministry has also played an important role in the development of the industry, initiating advertising campaigns such as the â€Å"Incredible India† campaign, which promoted India’s culture and tourist attractions in a fresh and emorable way. The tourism industry has helped growth in other sectors as diverse as horticulture, handicrafts, agriculture, construction and even poultry. India’s governmental bodies have also made a significant impact in tourism by requiring that each and every state of India have a corporation to administer support issues related to tourism. The tourism industry of India is based on certain core nationalistic ideals and standards which are: Swaagat or welcome, Sahyog or cooperation, Soochanaa or information, Sanrachanaa or infrastructure, Suvidha or facilitation, Safaai or cleanliness and Surakshaa or security. Commonwealth Games is the additional opportunity for the Travel Industry to gain some additional business, by offering special tour packages to the tourists. As per the reports, it is estimated that more than 3. 5 million tourists are going to reach India in 2010 to be a part of the eminent Commonwealth Games that are scheduled to be held in Delhi the capital city of India. It is the high time for the Indias Tourism Industry, as the foreign tourists will be heavily dependent upon them for the flight bookings, hotel reservations, travel itineraries and visas. The growth of India Tourism market is also equally beneficial for the several associated industries such as the aviation industry, medical tourism industry and hotel industry. However year 2008, sees a whopping rise in the arrival of eco tourists in the country. Recently a new concept Rural Tourism has been launched by the government in India, which is equally doing very well. It is believed that in the next few years India Tour Industry will gain new heights and the percentage of Indias share in the global tourism will grow 1. 5% by 2010. Industry is going to fetch maximum business from the Agra (Taj Mahal), Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala , Gujarat and Rajasthan, that are expected to receive maximum number of tourists.

Impact of Dumping and Agricultural Subsidies on Developing Countries

Impact of Dumping and Agricultural Subsidies on Developing Countries The term subsidy is often used in the economic context, but the concept behind it fails to have been defined appropriately for all practical purposes. The term is most often used synonymously with governmental transfer of money to an entity in the private sector, or it may refer to the provision of a good or service at a price below what a private entity would otherwise have had to pay for it. Moreover, it may also refer to various government policies that may favorably affect the competitive position of private entities, in the form of procurement policies or programs to educate workers. Ambiguity continues to prevail with respect to the aforementioned measures as subsidies in the meaningful sense of the term.  [1]   Governments engage in a wide range of tax and expenditure policies that impose costs and confer benefits on entities belonging to the private sector. To an economist, perhaps a natural phenomenon for identifying subsidization is a hypothetical market equilibrium without governmental activity. The classic economic models of general competitive equilibrium, for example, are entirely decentralized and embody no government sector.  [2]  The government makes an entry by way of taxation and expenditure policies, this alters equilibrium prices and output. Activities for which the net returns are reduced are discouraged to some degree, and those activities are then subject to be taxed. Activities for which the net returns are enhanced will be encouraged to a degree, and they may be said to be subsidized. The difficulty with this concept of subsidization is that it is exceedingly difficult to apply as a practical matter. The hypothetical market equilibrium without government cannot be observed, and indeed is not clear that the concept is coherent. Implicit in the classic general equilibrium models is a capacity for actors to engage in transactions, yet it is difficult to see how such a capacity can arise in a large economy without a government to create property rights. Further, the deviations from any benchmark equilibrium that result from government activity are exceedingly complex. Governments engage in a wide variety of taxation practice, not only are the number of tax instruments large in number, but the incidence of the various taxes is often quite uncertain. Governments also engage in innumerable regulatory programs that impose costs on private entities of various sorts; in the form of occupational health and safety programs, environmental quality programs, programs to transfer resources to certain disadvantaged groups, and untold others. Finally, government expenditure programs provide vast benefits to private sector entities in direct and indirect ways, including public education, highways, research and development funding, low cost insurance, fire and security services, a legal system, and on and on. Against this backdrop, it is surely impossible in practice to ascertain the precise impact of governmental activity on any entity according to the sort of benchmark put forth above. The simplest alternative is to look at each government program in isolation, and to ignore the question of whether any benefits conferred may be offset by costs in another form. If a particular program confers benefits on a private entity, a subsidy is declared to exist without further inquiry. Further it is plausible to assume that generally applicable tax, expenditure and regulatory policies affect most enterprises almost in equal standards and thus do not confer any form of subsidy. Programs of narrow applicability that target benefits at particular industries, by contrast, might be assumed to confer benefits that encourage production in that industry. To illustrate, a government might make an investment tax credit available to all industries that use durable goods, on the premise that all industries benefit about equally and that any affects on international competitiveness wash out through exchange rates, such a program might be ignored for purposes of identifying subsidies. By contrast, if the automobile industry is the beneficiary of a special tax credit program for investment in automobile manufacturing, a subsidy might be found as to that industry. Yet another alternative is to focus on the impact of government on private activities relative to the impact of other governments on similarly situated entities elsewhere. In the international context, one might look for programs that seem to confer particularly large benefits on particular entities relative to the benefits that governments confer on similar entities in other countries. The presumption would be that most governments tax and regulate in somewhat similar fashion, resulting in similar effects on the competitive position of most private entities only when a program for a particular group of private entities stands out as especially generous relative to such other programs would a subsidy be present. Thus, for example, if most governments provide a certain range of benefits to their farmers, those programs might be presumed to have a cancelation affect in international trade more or less, and no subsidy would be found. Each of these alternatives have obvious deficiencies. The first has the virtue of simplicity, but its essential failing has been noted above by ignoring the offsetting costs imposed by government on private actors it raises a great danger that subsidization will be found where a private entity has not been meaningfully advantaged by government programs. Indeed, because so many government programs are funded out of general revenues, a narrow focus on particular government expenditure programs without any offset for various forms of taxation would lead to the conclusion that there is rampant subsidization. The second alternative deals with the insuperable complexities of calculating the net impact of national governments on domestic industries which are avoided by assuming that generally applicable programs have a neutral impact while targeted programs do not. But there is no reason to believe that this assumption is correct. Many broadly applicable programs have widely disparate effects on different industries. The third alternative brings out another dimension, and treats subsidization as an alteration in the competitive position of private entities relative to similar entities elsewhere. This shift in emphasis perhaps captures the notion that subsidization involves tilting the playing field, and might be defended on that basis. This assumption has inherent practical problems the presumption that most governments tax and regulate similarly with respect to background factors that affect the competitive position of private entities is highly suspect, and the mere fact that a particular type of program exists in one country and not another, or is more generous in one country than in another, is at best a weak marker for a program that shifts the competitive balance overall. In sum, it is far easier to conceptualize a subsidy in simple economic models that it is to identify a subsidy in practice. Any administrative rule for determining whether a particular government program is in relation to subsidy or not will result in serious errors of over-inclusion and under-inclusion. The OECD, which estimates agricultural subsidies, uses a broad definition that includes any government policy that distorts the market such that prices do not reflect marginal costs. So a tariff on imports, which taxes consumers by raising the price of imported agricultural products to benefit producers, is a subsidy, just like a direct payment to a farmer. That however is not the common understanding of a subsidy. Their definition is narrower, referring only to government payments that allow prices to remain below marginal costs. Some are direct, such as payments to farmers; others are indirect, such as government support for irrigation infrastructure, which allows producers to exclude that cost from their prices. The OECDs Producer Support Estimate (herein after PSE) is the most widely used estimate of the agricultural subsidies provided to the farmers on the developed countries. The PSE has been challenged by the developed nations on the grounds that the two-thirds of the estimate is comprised of not the direct support provided to the farmers but rather what is referred to as the non-subsidy support. This component of the PSE includes the market price support which is essentially the tariffs, price support and quotas. Despite the fact that none of these are subsidies per se yet he OECD figure tries to calculate the dollar estimate of this figure and incorporate it in the PSE.  [3]   Dumping An Overview In economics, dumping can refer to any form of predatory pricing, and is by most definitions a form of price discrimination. However, the word is now generally used only in the context of international trade law, where dumping is defined as the act of a manufacturer in one country exporting a product to another country at what may be perceived as an unreasonably low price, usually meaning below the costs of production. The term has a negative connotation, but advocates that free markets see dumping as beneficial for consumers. When these subsidized goods are exported to foreign markets it can be referred to as dumping.  [4]   More than 40 members of the World Trade Organization (herein after WTO) are now active users of antidumping policy, and developing countries are the newest and most frequent users. However many developing countries have started using antidumping to limit imports, thereby having given up other forms of flexibility in trade policy by adopting WTO disciplines and agreeing to bind their tariffs. Despite antidumping policys escalating use by developing countries, relatively little is known about which industries within developing countries are using antidumping and how they are using it. Under the WTO Antidumping Agreement, any member that uses the policy must create an administrative procedure to investigate demands for antidumping protection. Firms in an industry that seek this form of import protection must overcome the organizational challenges of free riding in order to initiate and successfully pursue an antidumping legal proceeding. Before a government can impose a definitive antidumping import restriction, the Agreement also requires that its administrating authority solicit and collect substantial economic evidence to confirm that market conditions and behavior of foreign exporters satisfy technical, WTO mandated legal criteria. Nevertheless, given that antidumping has become many WTO member governments protectionist instrument, the resulting pattern of antidumping import protection across industries may be an increasingly important indicator of these countries overall patterns of import protection. While the four historical developed-country users of antidumping the US, EU, Canada and Australia have continued to be active users under the WTO, they are no longer the dominant users as they were during the prior decade (1985-1994) under the GATT regime. A sizable share of the global use of antidumping, at least as measured by the frequency of initiated cases and imposed measures, is now made up of new user developing countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Turkey and Venezuela, the nine developing countries forming the sample of our formal empirical investigation.  [5]   WTO and the Agreement on Agriculture An attempt to regulate the protection afforded to the farmers in the developed countries and the tariff rates in the developing countries through the Agreement on Agriculture which is an international treaty of the World Trade Organization. It was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (herein after GATT), and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO on January 1, 1995. This AoA is based on three concepts or pillars which are domestic support, market access and export subsidies. However not much has changed since the AoA was implemented. The document hinged precariously on eliminating agriculture subsidies as a basic step in getting the fiscal house in order. Knowing well that any reduction in subsidies would be politically suicidal, the developed countries managed to not only maintain the level of subsidies but in fact succeeded in increasing it manifold. At the same time, they continue to arm-twist the developing countries to reduce tariffs and open up markets for farm goods from the industrialized countries. As already stated, the developed nations often believe that the PSE is not an accurate indicator of the amount of the protection afforded by them and have repeatedly challenged this statistic. In this paper the researcher will analyze the subsidies granted to the agricultural sector in the developed nations, its impact on the developing nations and the role played by the WTO in negotiations between these two blocs. C h a p t e r 1 : A g r i c u l t u r a l S u b s i d i e s a n d D u m p i ng in t h e D e v e l o p e d N a t i o n s Widespread dumping by the Developed Nations: The WTO Antidumping Agreement and the Theory of Endogenous Trade Policy January 1, 2005 marked the 10-year anniversary of the World Trade Organizations Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). When governments launched the agreement, they hailed it as a victory for farmers around the world: farmers were to benefit from more trade, greater access to markets and higher prices. A decade later, there is unquestionably more trade in agricultural products. However, higher and fair prices for farmers seem further away than ever. It is hard to make the case that the Agreement on Agriculture has done anything to benefit farmers anywhere in the world. Since the WTOs inception, widespread agricultural dumping, the selling of products at below their cost of production, by global agribusiness companies based in the United States and European Union has wreaked havoc on global agricultural markets. Hit hardest are the farmers in the developing and the least devel oped nations who have been forced to go out of business because of these policies. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) has documented export dumping from U.S.-based multinational corporations onto world agricultural markets for the last 14 years. The U.S. is one of the worlds largest sources of dumped agricultural commodities. The latest update shows that the US still undertakes large scale dumping the five most commonly exported products namely; wheat, soybean, corn, cotton and rice. Though the statistic shows that the amount of dumping has gone down as compared to the previous statistic but this is perceived to be largely as a result of the reduced supply because of bad weather and pest infestation than as a change in policy.  [6]   The proliferation of WTO-authorized antidumping laws and the global increase in use of this form of administered import protection has been widely recognized (Miranda, Torres and Ruiz 1998; Prusa, 2001; Zanardi, 2004). While antidumping was once a policy instrument used primarily by the US, Canada, EU and Australia, it is now used actively by over 40 WTO member countries. To develop a theoretical motivation for our empirical analysis of the determinants of antidumping use by industries in developing countries, we proceed in two steps. In the next section we describe the WTO Antidumping Agreement, which sets out the general rules for national administration of antidumping law as well as the technical evidence necessary for a government to justify imposition of any new antidumping measure. Given the political-economic environment created by the WTO Antidumping Agreement, in section we use the theory of endogenous trade policy to generate additional testable predictions for the economet ric analysis. The WTOs evidentiary requirements for national use of antidumping Since the 1947 GATT, the rules of the international trading system have authorized countries to establish national antidumping statutes and to implement antidumping trade restrictions.  [7]  During the Kennedy and Tokyo Rounds in the 1960s and 1970s, negotiators attempted to put more structure on the GATT antidumping rules, but countries adopted the resulting Antidumping Codes only on a plurilateral basis. The 1995 inception of the WTO and its Antidumping Agreement (WTO, 1995) provided more detailed guidance for countries to implement and administer antidumping laws.  [8]  First, because the Antidumping Agreement was part of the Single Undertaking, it established a common set of basic rules that would apply to all WTO members and be subject to the enforcement provisions of the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU).  [9]  Second, relative to the GATT, the WTO Antidumping Agreement did impose more structure on the evidentiary requirements for a government to implement a new antidumping measure, although those requirements still allow for substantial government discretion and are at best questionable from the perspective of economic welfare. Under the Antidumping Agreement, a national government must undertake an investigation and consider substantial economic evidence before it can impose a definitive antidumping measure that restricts imports. The investigating authority is instructed to consider a number of factors when making its decision, but most critical among them are whether two important legal criteria have been met: that a domestic industry suffers material injury and that this injury is the result of dumped imports. The domestic industry provides evidence of dumping to the national governments antidumping authority by showing that prices of competing products sold by foreign exporters in the domestic market were lower than the normal value of the product (WTO, 1995; Article 2.1). The national government authority has substantial discretion in calculating the normal value benchmark with which to compare the export price. The benchmark can be determined by any of three methods: i) the price for sales of the same good in the exporters home market, ii) the price for export sales of the same good in a third market, or iii) a constructed measure of the exporters average cost.  [10]   Dumping in the United states: Dumping by U.S.-based corporations is possible because commodity production is badly managed. The 1996 and 2002 U.S. Farm Bills have produced a vast structural, price-depressing oversupply of most major agricultural commodities. This oversupply has driven prices down. Both the 1996 and 2002 Farm Bills were driven by efforts to make them compliant with WTO rules. The result has been the institutionalization of agricultural dumping by U.S. farm policy. U.S. farm subsidies are frequently blamed for agricultural dumping, yet they are only a symptom of a much deeper market failure. The sharp increases in agricultural dumping in the U.S. can be traced to the 1996 U.S. Farm Bill, which stripped away already weakened programs that were designed to manage supply. These supply management programs helped to balance supply with demand, ensuring a fair return to farmers from the marketplace. The pre-1996 commodity programs in effect set a floor price that commodity b uyers had to pay farmers. Given the structural imbalance in market power between farmers and agribusiness corporations, the government traditionally intervened to ensure competitive markets and prevent anticompetitive business practices.  [11]   In 1996, the U.S. government abandoned intervention mechanisms at the behest of agribusiness lobbyists, supported by free trade economists. The result: U.S. agricultural prices went into freefall. Without the supply control programs and other interventions, commodity buyers were able to drive prices below the costs of production and leave them there. To prevent the collapse of U.S. agriculture, Congress then set up counter-cyclical payments to make up part of the losses resulting from the Farm Bill reforms. The U.S. now has very expensive farm programs that distort market signals while doing nothing to correct the deeper distortion inherent in the unbalanced market power between farmers and commodity buyers and processors.  [12]   The event of dumping in itself does not pose a major problem for the international community but what has been a constant source of concern is the widespread damage that has caused to the developing countries.  [13]  The researcher shall devote the next two chapters of this project to discuss the damage that have been caused all around the world because of dumping by the developed countries and the mechanism employed by the WTO to counter this problem and how far that has been successful. C h a p t e r 2 : T h e I m p a c t o f D u m p i n g a n d A g r i c u l t u r a l S u b s i d i e s o n D e v e l o p i n g C o u n t r i e s. Ten years after the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into existence, and some 20 years after the holy grail of economic liberalization for more open markets and less government intervention in the developing world based on the idea that economies must grow if poor people are to reap the benefits of globalization, the tragedy is that the process of economic liberalization may already have set poor communities back a generation.  [14]  No where has the impact been more severely felt than in the agricultural sector. Conventional wisdom has it that the agricultural sector is heavily subsidized in most developed nations. Whatever difficulties may arise in determining the net impact of government on industries in general, most observers seem to agree that agriculture is a net beneficiary of government largesse. It is ironic that the one sector considered to be the most subsidized is subject to the least degree of discipline on subsidies (among goods markets). As noted, both export and domestic subsidies are generally permissible under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, though subject to negotiated ceilings and some reduction over time. The absence of tight discipline on export subsidies is unfortunate for the reasons discussed at length earlier. Export subsidies are almost certainly a source of economic distortion, and indeed the agricultural sector affords a case study of how pressures for competitive subsidization have led trading nations down the road of mutually wasteful expenditures. The resistance to the elimination of domestic farm programs is likely a source of economic waste as well, for much the same reason that any form of protectionism is a source of waste. But as indicated in the discussion of protective subsidies, it is hardly clear that protection through subsidization is any worse from an economic standpoint than other forms of protection. Thus, if the political equilibrium is such that agriculture must be protected, domestic farm programs may be no more troublesome that border measures. One objection that might be tabled to the continued coexistence of domestic farm programs and protective border measures for the same commodities (assuming that protection is inevitable) is that multiple protective measures complicate trade negotiations. If country A wishes to bargain for access to the agricultural markets of country B, it is harder to evaluate the benefits of a tariff concession from country B in the face of a subsidy program that also protects farmers in country B. The added transaction costs of negotiation in the face of multiple instruments of protection can be avoided by channeling all protection into a single, transparent policy instrument-this is the essential rationale for efforts in the WTO/GATT system toward tariffication of all trade barriers. Yet, the prevalence of domestic farm programs suggests that border measures alone are inadequate to the task of achieving the anticompetitive purposes compelled by current politics. One need only look at the United States, which is a net exporter of many agricultural commodities, to realize that import restrictions may do little to ensure politically acceptable prices or rates of return to the producers of certain commodities. Thus, perhaps the best that can be done is to schedule all the protective policies, both subsidies and tariffs, and bargain over both simultaneously to achieve limits on their magnitude. This is the approach of the Agriculture Agreement, and one might reasonably hope that sequential rounds of negotiations over these protective instruments in the agricultural area will produce gradual liberalization, much as the sequence of negotiating rounds under GATT brought great reductions in the tariffs applicable elsewhere. There is also something to be said for the effort in Annex 2 of the Agriculture Agreement to favor subsidies that do not encourage output. To the degree that subsidies are being granted for reasons that do not relate to the correction of an externality, programs that confer financial benefits on the intended recipients without inducing an expansion of their output may create fewer distortions. The caveat, of course, relates to the fundamental problem of identifying subsidies in the first instance-an output-expanding subsidy might counteract some distortion associated with other tax and regulatory policies. But in the agriculture sector, where most observers believe that net subsidies are present at the outset, efforts to channel farm aid into programs that do not stimulate agricultural production may make good sense. Subsidies to the producers of goods and services lower the producers costs of production, other things being equal. This reduction in their costs of production can lead to an expansion of their output in two ways, depending on the nature of the subsidy. First, some subsidies depend directly on output-the subsidy program may provide a producer with $1 for each widget that it produces, for example (or $1 for each widget that it exports, the classic export subsidy discussed below). Subsidies that increase with output in this fashion are economically equivalent to a reduction in the short-run marginal costs of production for the producer that receives them. In general, producers will respond to a reduction in short-run marginal costs by lowering price. Of course, when price falls, the quantity demanded by buyers will rise and output will expand to meet the increased demand. Second, even where the amount of the subsidy is not contingent on output and does not affect short-run marginal costs of production, subsidies can affect long-run marginal costs in a way that causes additional productive capacity to come on line or to remain on line. For example, imagine an unprofitable company that is unable to cover its variable costs of production at any level of output, and would thus shut down its operations under ordinary circumstances. A subsidy to that company that is contingent on it remaining in business can avert a shut-down in operations-it must simply be enough to allow the company to cover its variable costs at some level of output. Likewise, a subsidy can induce a company to build new capacity to enter a market when the expected returns to entry absent the subsidy would not be high enough to induce entry. It is also possible, to be sure, that a subsidy will have no impact on the output of recipients. Imagine, for example, that a government simply sends a company an unexpected check for $1 million. The money is in no way contingent on the companys output, or on it remaining in business. The owners of the company will be pleased to receive this subsidy, of course, but there is no reason for them to change their operations in any way-whatever level of output was most profitable without the subsidy will also be most profitable with the subsidy. These observations suggest another important issue that must be confronted in conceptualizing subsidies. For a government program to confer a subsidy, must it encourage an increase in output by the recipient? If it does not, then it cannot tilt the playing field in a way that causes detriment to competing producers. But if this question is answered affirmatively, it becomes necessary to inquire whether the government program in question affects marginal costs in the short run, or has an effect on long-run marginal cost that is sufficient to cause capacity to remain in production when it would exit otherwise, or to enter when it would not otherwise. Such issues are not always easily resolved.  [15]   The adverse effect of Dumping: Dumping in amongst the most harmful of all price distortions; developing country agriculture, vital for food security, rural livelihoods, poverty reduction and generating foreign exchange, is crippled by the competition from major commodities sold at well below cost of production prices in world markets. The structural price depression associated with agricultural dumping and a dual effect on the agricultural structure of the developing countries. Firstly, as a result of the below cost imports the farmers are driven out of their domestic markets. If the farmers do not have access to a safety net of subsidies and credit, they have to abandon their land. When this happens, the farm economy shrinks, in turn shrinking the rural economy as a whole and sending rural people into trade-related migration. Second, developing country farmers who sell their products to exporters find their global market share undermined by the policy of a depressed global price. Th e cascading effects of dumping are felt around the world in places as far apart as Jamaica, Burkina Faso and the Philippines.  [16]   The effect of Dumping on Indian Agriculture: The liberalization of the Indian economy initiated during the early 1990s was launched with a view to accelerating agricultural growth by ending discrimination against agriculture. The idea was to turn the terms of trade in favor of agriculture through a large, real devaluation of the currency and increase in output prices of agriculture. An exponential growth was expected which was to have a significant impact on poverty reduction and thereby have a positive impact on livelihood security of hundreds